#Just Billy taking care of Steve is something so special to me

[plistommy]

Steve waking up from a nightmare and Billy holding him after will always have such a soft spot in my heart…

He’d kiss Steve’s forehead and tell him that everything will be okay, that he was here to keep Steve safe and no one could hurt him or the people he loved as long as Billy was around. Steve would laugh softly at that.

He’d hold Steve till the sun starts to creep its way through the blinds, Steve’s back to his chest as the boy finally falls asleep relaxed in Billy’s arms.

[half-oz-eddie]

🎁 ❤️

Max was not supposed to be in Billy’s room. She knew better. 

But it was 7:30 AM and she really wanted to leave something for him on his desk. 

She quietly crept in, sliding her slim frame through the ajar door and tiptoed to his desk to gently place something on it. 

“The hell’re you doing?” A groggy voice startled her. 

She should’ve expected the hyper-vigilant teen to wake up while she was there. 

“I was—I just wanted t-to leave something here for you.” She nervously stammered. 

He narrowed his sleepy eyes at her. “Give it here.” 

Max slowly walked over, handing the surprise to Billy. 

It slowly exchanged hands and Billy examined it closely. 

“I-I know you don’t have a record player but I saw the posters in your room and I thought you’d want to—like—have something to collect. So Steve drove me to a record store to get you a vinyl.”

He stared at the Mötley Crüe vinyl for a few moments, then handed it back to Max. “Put it on my desk.” He said as he laid back down. 

“Y-you don’t like it?” She frowned. 

“Never said I didn’t. I’m just tired.”

Max slowly walked back over to his desk and set the vinyl down. 

“Why’d you buy that for me?” He asked. 

“Don’t you know what today is? It’s your—“

“I know that.” He said in a snippy voice. “I’m asking why the hell you bought me anything. You never cared before.”

“Well, last year, I tried to buy you something with my allowance and my mom said Neil would be mad if I used my money on you, so she wouldn’t take me to the mall.”

“And you said Harrington drove you? Why the hell did he do that?” Billy continued to question.

“We had a long talk about that night at the Byers and we came to a realization of how unfair we were being to you. So I—I didn’t wanna lose you forever. We don’t get along but like, we had our moments, where we’d talk to each other a little bit. Now we don’t speak at all.”

“You stabbed me with a needle.”

“You were gonna kill Steve if I didn’t stop you.” Max sighed. “I’m sorry, okay?”

“You don’t need to be. But whatever, guess I’m sorry too.”

Max smiled.  “I’ll let you sleep. Happy birthday.”

She closed the door behind her upon exiting and went back to her bed.

It was nearly 11AM when Max woke up again. Neil and Susan were already at work. Susan left a note behind with instructions for heating up lunch. 

This year, there was no school on Billy’s birthday, so Max decided to heat up the lunch for both of them. 

She set down two plates just in time, as she heard Billy resurfacing from his room.

He stepped through the quiet house and stopped by the table, glaring at Max.

“Nobody’s home?”

“No. Mom left lunch for us, so I heated it up.”

Billy looked down at the chicken Parmesan. Susan normally only made it for holidays, but Easter wasn’t until Sunday. 

Max figured it was Susan’s subtle way of giving Billy a little something special for his birthday.

“There were some breadsticks too.” Max mentioned, grabbing them out of the toaster oven. “I put some of that garlic and herb stuff on them because I remembered that you like it.”

Billy glared at Max as she started eating. 

“What?” She asked with her mouth half full.

Billy shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Nothin’. Forget it.” 

They ate in complete silence. Billy finished first and got up from the table without a word.

Max didn’t expect much conversation from Billy, but he wasn’t as unpleasant as he could’ve been, so it was fine.

She washed the dishes and sat back down at the table reading a magazine when Billy returned once more with his jacket on.

“C’mon.”

“Where’re we going?”

“Somewhere. I can’t leave you here by yourself. Susan and dad would bitch about it.”

Max grabbed her jacket and slipped on some shoes, then followed Billy to his car.

The drive was brief and they stopped at the quarry.

To Max’s surprise, Billy invited her to sit on the hood of his car. He offered her a soda and cracked open a beer for himself.

They clinked their cans together and drank as they quietly watched the early afternoon scenery. 

“It’s surprisingly warm today.” Max initiated small talk. 

“I think the groundhog saw its shadow—or didn’t see its shadow—or whichever meant a late winter.”

“It’s…when he sees his shadow.” She paused. “I think.”

Billy snorted. “Why are we listening to a big ass rodent about the weather anyway?”

Max softly giggled. “Tradition, I guess.”

“Yeah, well, it’s stupid.” He mumbled in response as he brought the beer can to his lips.

Silence returned again, and Billy glanced over at Max.

“So y’said Harrington drove you to the record store. That’s like…across town.”

“I wasn’t alone with him, if that’s what you’re worried about. Dustin and Lucas went too.”

Billy quickly responded with a scoff. “What’s so great about Harrington anyway? You defended him over me that night—“

“Is that what made you so upset?”

“No. But you defended him and I’m asking about it.”

“Well, he’s really nice. He looks after all my friends, everyone around town knows him and his family—“

“So he’s just the opposite of me.”

“W—I—I mean, you’re nice sometimes. You’ve been nice to me 4 times and I remember them all.”

Billy shrugged. “Yeah. Anyway, thanks for the gift, shitbird.”

“You better get me something nice for my birthday too!”

“When is it again? April…may…tember…”

“July.” She snapped.

Billy laughed. “I know when your birthday is, don’t be such a baby.”

“I’m not.” She fired back. “You’re just a jerk.”

“And?”

Max scoffed. “You’re so lucky it’s your birthday or I’d—“

“You’d what?”

Max chugged her soda and tossed the empty can at Billy.

“You piece of shit. You’re dead!”

Max jumped off the hood of Billy’s car and ran off laughing, with Billy not too far behind. 

When Billy finally caught up to Max, he chugged his beer and tossed the can at Max.

The out of breath siblings glared at one another, before their expressions softened and they began to laugh.

“Hey, d’you wanna go to the movies or something?” Max offered. “I’ll buy you popcorn.”

“And I get to pick the movie?”

Max groaned. “Fine.”

“You know I pick better movies than you do, anyway.”

“Bullshit! Your movie choices suck ass!”

The two bickered all the way back to Billy’s car. Sure, this was a nice day, but Billy couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t stop thinking about Steve Harrington driving his little sister across town to get him a gift.

‘Maybe I should thank him too…’

[weird-an]

"Are you sure this is the place?"

Steve squints his eyes. It just looks like some seedy bar that's only frequented by truckers on the way to better places and occasionally undercover detectives chasing serial killers.

"It's the address Heather gave me." Robin doesn't sound so sure. Maybe it's too good to be true. A queer bar, somewhere between Indianapolis and Hawkins.

Steve swallows. His hands are sweaty which is stupid, because if it's not the shred of hope they were chasing after, it's just a bar. They'll pretend to be on a date, drink a beer and that's it. Nothing special, except for devastating disappointment.

Robin squeezes his hand. Steve squeezes back.

They walk through the door. At the first glance Steve thinks it seems like a usual bar. People chatting, laughing, drinking.

But there's something different about it. Women holding hands, obviously flirting, guys winking at each other, touching each other, people that seem to be neither women nor men and everybody just seems so... happy. Free. And most importantly, it feels safe.

Steve sees Robin's shoulders relaxing and his own relief in her smile.

"You came!" Heather waves at them. The blond guy standing next to her turns around, probably to see who she's talking to and freezes.

Billy Hargrove stares at him with wide eyes. The bottle of beer slides out of his hands. Steve is glad he hasn't gotten a drink yet, because he would have choked on it.

Billy Hargrove is here. In the gayest place near Hawkins. Wearing eyeliner and black nail polish- what's even more distracting is the red crop top leaving very little to the imagination (not that Steve needs to imagine it, he has seen everything under the showers).

"Careful, sweetie." A tall woman grabs a broom and collects the shards from the ground, shushing Billy when he wants to help her. "If the guy is that jaw dropping, you have to buy him a drink."

Even in the dim light Steve can see Billy's face turning bright red.

"You've heard the lady." Steve grins at Billy. He doesn't think Billy will take a swing at him here. All the secrets are out it seems.

Billy rolls his eyes. "Bet you're an expensive date, Harrington."

It would probably be a smooth line. If Heather wasn't cackling next to him and if his hands weren't shaking. Billy frowns in annoyance. His nose scrunches. Steve always thought he was hot, but now he also looks cute.

"Only one way to find out."

This is going to be the best night ever.

[billyharringson]

Treacle

A short one-shot that i've been wanting to write for a while.

Pairing: Harringrove

Rating: Mature

Additional Tags: Safewords, Safe Sane and Consensual, Light BDSM, Dom/sub, Sub Billy Hargrove, Dom Steve Harrington, Spanking, Belts, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse

Summary: Steve had never used his safe word before, in fact Billy had almost forgotten it, so this was bad. The way Steve was trembling and sobbing in his arms was doing little to dissuade him of that fact.

You can also read it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59247157

It only took one strike with the belt for Steve to realise that this wasn’t going to work. All previous excitement and arousal left his body, to be replaced with ice. Billy’s erotic gasp as he arched into the hit didn’t help, and he barely heard his boyfriend’s moaned expletive as a haze of panic fell over him.

He hadn’t anticipated this. They’d done things much more extreme in the past and he’d loved it. He still replayed the image of Billy, bound and gagged, covered in tiny cuts from the knife that Steve had lovingly trailed over his skin, multiple times a month. He spanked Billy on a regular basis, to the point where Billy sometimes quipped that Steve wasn’t happy unless he couldn’t sit down properly.

But they’d never used belts before. He’d only ever struck Billy with the flat of his hand.

“Steve?”

Billy’s voice brought him back to reality and Steve stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over, his chest heaving and tears flowing down his cheeks.

When had he started crying?

“Steve, hey, hey. Look at me.” Billy was standing now, making his way towards him even as Steve continued to back away.

“I... I can’t... s-shit.” He dropped the belt, grabbing at his hair. “Sorry I... I... fuck. I can’t...” He squeezed his eyes closed, squeaking out another sob. “T-treacle.”

--

Billy’s eyes widened as Steve stuttered his safe word, he hadn’t expected that. He’d known that his boyfriend wasn’t reacting well to something, he still wasn’t sure what, but it probably had something to do with the belt.

“Okay, okay, baby. You’re okay.” Billy surged forward, gathering Steve in his arms and holding him close. “I’m here, pretty boy, you’re okay. Just breath for me now, there we go.”

Steve had never used his safe word before, in fact Billy had almost forgotten it, so this was bad. The way Steve was trembling and sobbing in his arms was doing little to dissuade him of that fact.

“You ne... you never call me b-baby.” Steve whispered, nuzzling into Billy’s shoulder. He was still crying, Billy’s shoulder growing wet with his tears.

“Well, this is a special case.” Billy replied with a smile, stroking down Steve’s hair. “What do you need, Stevie? What do you need from me?”

Steve’s aftercare usually consisted of taking care of Billy, of doting on him, but Billy figured that wouldn’t work right now. Just as he figured that Steve probably wouldn’t appreciate a bubble bath and a mug of hot chocolate the way Billy did when he dropped.

“You want me to undress you, sir?” Billy asked, knowing it was a risk to use Steve’s title but wanting to see where his head was.

Steve squeezed him once more before nodding and letting him go. “I’m sorry.” He whispered as Billy slowly and gently peeled off his clothes.

“Nope.” Billy said with a shit eating grin, popping the ‘p’ as he looked up at his boyfriend from where he was knelt between his legs. “Isn’t that what you always say to me? You don’t get to say sorry for using your safe word. You did what you needed to do.” He took hold of Steve’s hand and pulled him back over to the bed, swiping the rest of the restraints onto the floor and folding down the covers. “In you get, sir. I’ll be right back.”

--

Steve grabbed hold of Billy’s hand. “Where are you going?” He asked, following Billy’s gentle guidance and climbing under the covers.

“To get some snacks.” Billy said, leaning forward and pressing a quick kiss to Steve’s forehead. “And a movie. I’ll be gone for a minute tops, I promise.”

Steve swallowed the apology that he could feel building again and instead snuggled further down in their bed. He was feeling slightly less wobbly already, the fact that Billy had instantly taken charge was doing wonders for his nerves.

Was helping him to think that maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t hurt him too much.

He knew that Billy liked pain, just as he knew that a lot of the things Billy asked him to do were to help him bury his memories of past pain. And Steve had been able to do that because he knew he was helping.

Because it wasn’t a pain he could relate to.

“How are you doing, sir?” Billy asked, shouldering open the bedroom door, his arms filled with a bowl of freshly microwaved popcorn and a VHS tape.

“I’ll be better when you’re in here with me, baby.” Steve replied, giving him a watery smile.

Billy put the tape into the player underneath their tiny bedroom TV before crawling into bed next to him. “I’m here, Stevie. How are you feeling now?”

Steve wrapped his arms around Billy, manoeuvring them until his boyfriend was cradled against his chest. “Better.” He muttered, kissing Billy’s cheek. “I’m...”

“Don’t say you’re sorry.” Billy interrupted, pushing a piece of popcorn past Steve’s lips as though to silence him.

“Okay.” Steve said with a chuckle, accepting a few more pieces of popcorn.

“You okay to talk about it? Or do we need to leave it till tomorrow?”

Steve had anticipated this question. It was an unspoken rule between them that should they discover a hard limit that they talk about it. He hummed, settling more firmly against the pillows. “When I was about 5, my grandfather came to live with us. He was only there for a few months but... well, he had different ideas about discipline than my parents.”

“Oh, pretty boy.” Billy cooed, turning around and cupping Steve’s face. “You should have said something.”

Steve smiled and shook his head. “I didn’t remember until now. I guess I didn’t think it had affected me but... the second I hit you, I... I remembered how I always felt whenever he took his belt off and...” Steve could feel the tears coming again and hid his face in Billy’s hair. “...the thought of doing that to you just...”

“It’s okay.” Billy said, his words barely audible where his lips were pressed to Steve’s collarbone. “You didn’t hurt me, Stevie. I promise.”

Steve nodded and they sat in silence for a few minutes until he lay back again, brushing the back of his hand down Billy’s cheek. “Maybe we’ll just stick with hands for a bit, hmm?”

“We don’t ever have to try the belt again, Steve. I’m more than happy for you to just use your hands, or maybe we can try a cane or whip or something.”

Steve paused, more memories returning. “Not a cane. I can’t use a cane.”

“Okay.” Billy said simply, not pushing more than that as he picked up the remote. “Now, let’s eat popcorn and watch movies until we fall asleep.”

“I love you.” Steve whispered as the opening sounds of ‘The Little Mermaid’ filled the small space of their bedroom.

“I love you too, Stevie.”

[lorifragolina]

More than Roommates...?

Another entry for @harringrovesummerbingo!

It's a silly rom com and I tried to keep it short :) I hope you enjoy it!

Title: More than Roommates...?

Square & Prompt: C1 "Laughter"

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 2501

Major Tags: Friendly schemes, Enemies to Lovers

Summary:

Steve and Billy are roommates, but they didn't start with the right foot... even if they became attracted to each other pretty soon. But both of them think that the other didn't swing the same way... Two smart friends and a good scheme are needed for making them move... or not?

Read it on AO3

“Robin, he’s not gay, it’s as plain as day”.

“I never see him with a girl”.

“It’s because he’s not… I mean, he doesn’t… he just goes casual”.

“Well you can just ask and remove any doubt”.

“Are you nuts? He’s my roommate, I can’t go and ask something like this”.

Robin snorted and shrugged. It was the third or fourth time they had a similar discussion, in a corner of the cafeteria in front of their morning coffees. Usually, Steve had some wet dream about his roommate and went to venting with her. 

“Well I’ll ask him then,” she said stubbornly, frankly fed up with the hesitation of her best friend.

“Don’t you dare! Do you have an idea of how much it has cost me to find that room? I can’t ruin things with him”.

“I know, Steve, do you forget we moved here together?”

“Yes but you are a brainiac and you have your room granted in the residence”.

Robin snorted again soundly. It hadn't been so easy as Steve was painting it,  for her, but she could understand his doubts. 

Moreover, Steve and his roommate had a rough start and now, almost at the end of their freshman year, things were smoother and it was better trying not to ruin them.

“So, did you have some action lately?”

Heather adjusted the camera and went nearer to the screen, smiling slyly.

Billy sighed. “Nothing at all… dead calm”, he moaned, shaking his head.

“Don’t tell me you're still after him,” she raised her eyes. “Why don’t you make a move yet?”

“Sweet Jesus, he’s not gay!” shrieked Billy, regretting immediately for raising his voice, even if he was in his room alone. “He’s not gay, I already told you”.

“You can’t say. Do you know how many people swing in both ways?”

“He’s not”.

“Did he ever bring a girl into his room?”

“Well Robin is always here, but…”

“But they’re having sex? No, they don’t, so?”

“Well, maybe they…”

“Why don’t you ask him out? What could happen? At least you’ll stop bothering me with that nonsense”.

Billy knew that Heather loved him madly and he didn’t take her words badly, but she didn’t live there and she had no real idea of the situation.

It was him who had to live with Steve, and he didn’t want to ruin the delicate situation they created lately.

They had bitter arguments at the start of the year;  Billy liked to blast his metal out loud and having large Skype call in the common space until late, while Steve loved cheesy pop music and he wanted to sleep in the middle of the night; Billy liked to exercise and go to the gym and take care of his appearance, occupying the bathroom for hours. Steve was equally vain, but ha was not a morning person, so he passed half of his mornings knocking frantically at the bathroom door, and when he was able to going in, he didn’t mind to use Billy’s hair and body product, driving him mad when he smelled the scent of his special hair mousse on Steve’s hair. 

One time Steve had run out of the bathroom yelling like mad because he found Billy’s body hair in his razor, starting an argument that lasted almost two weeks. As if that were not enough, they had argued also in class, bickering about some unimportant detail in the textbook and their feud had been the goss of the week. 

They kept being on each other's way in college orientation events and in the basketball matches, but after a really tense few months, they reasoned out as adults, then they apologized and the cohabitation had started to go better. 

The problem was, for Billy, that all the confront and bickering had made him fixating in Steve’s body language, his moves and gestures and to walk in the room when he was agitated, how he passed his hands in his hair or put his hand on his hips, and specially in how the little mole at the side of his mouth moved when he was arguing, distracting Billy and driving Steve really mad; he didn’t know that in those moment when Billy forgot how to blink, he was thinking of kissing that little mole and all the other moles in his face and licking his neck and biting him and…

“Billy? Are you here?” Steve knocked at the door before entering.

Billy was still on his Skype call.

“I have to go, Heater, I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said in a rush, closing the laptop.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to bother you”.

“Don’t worry, I have already finished the call”.

“Ok… something important?”

“Oh no… family thing, you know, nothing important…”

Steve nodded, taking a glass of water and drinking near the sink with his hand on his hips, pensive. Billy had to gulp his agitation and smiled tensely.

“I was thinking to have a shower, do you want to use the bathroom?” He asked kindly, one of the things he learned to do to maintain their good relationship.

“Oh, no thanks, go ahead,” Steve smiled tensely too, washing a couple of dishes still in the sink since the morning. 

He was almost sure that he heard a feminine voice, he knew that Billy had a sister but it didn’t seem to him the same voice; Billy always closed his calls when he came in the room, because he didn’t want to argue anymore about bothering calls, but Steve suspected he called always the same girl, probably his distant girlfriend and for this he never bring any woman at home. Steve didn’t dare ask to maintain the balance between them and the peace they gained so difficulty.

He suffered for not knowing, anyway… he didn’t define himself as gay, he liked girls, but he also liked men very much, and Billy in particular was his type almost exactly, although they started hating each other; but he liked ripped, neat men, well trimmed, with an angelic nuisance and a nasty attitude; and Billy, with his Californian Barbie complexion, was almost near to perfection, making him struggle to stay formal near to him. Even if Billy still hadn’t picked up any girl at college, he had a crowd of female admirers and he seemed to enjoy it, so Steve knew he couldn’t have a possibility. Moreover, if he would come out with Billy, he could feel uncomfortable; he didn’t seem homophobe, but not everyone wanted to sleep with a non straight roommate. 

“Oh, shit,” groaned Steve, raising his eyes to the cafeteria door. 

“Oh, shit,” echoed Robin, for completely different reasons. 

Billy had just entered with a stunning brunette hanging at his arm, a beaming smile and gushing with happiness.

The girl was short but curvy, with pink hearted glasses and red lips, and a pair of mini shorts that showed her nicely shaped legs; the perfect Barbie complement for Billy, sighed Steve seeing his hopes shattered in the floor. 

Robin couldn’t also take her eyes off of the girl, definitely her type, even if she seemed she couldn't take her eyes off of Billy.

“Hey,” Billy waved at Steve, who he felt he wanted to die. He smiled and waved back. 

“Hello, I didn’t know you were here either… Heather just arrived by train to visit me”.

“Hello,” said the girl, lowering the glasses and raising her hand directly to Robin. “I’m Heather”.

“I’m Robin,” she answered, breathless. They looked at each other for a long, long moment, until Billy dared to speak again.

“And he’s Steve, my roommate”.

Heather smiled again, giving him her hand too. “Oh. I heard a lot about you”.

Steve blushed and Billy nudged her. “Stop it,” he hissed, then went to the bar to order the coffee.

“So, you’re studying here too?” Heather asked directly to Robin, who blushed, leaving Steve wide mouthed and speechless. They talked a little bit, ignoring Steve completely until Billy returned with the drinks. Robin got up to go to class reluctantly.

“Well I’m staying all weekend, I hope you can join us for dinner tonight,” Heather chirped with a soundly voice, and Robin nodded and went away, giggling. 

“So you’re the famous Steve,” she immediately turned to him, resting her face on her hand. “I thought you were taller”.

“Heather!” Hissed Billy.

Steve cleared his throat. “Will you… will you stay in our room?” His voice was oddly high pitched.

“Oh no, I booked a B&B here near the campus. I don’t want to bother you two big guys,” she giggled and they both blushed furiously. 

“But I hope you don’t mind if she stays a little in the room…” said Billy carefully. 

“Oh no, not at all”.

Heather smiled and they finished their drink, then she and Billy went away to visit the campus, leaving Steve sitting there, heartbroken.

“I don’t want to go to dinner with the lovebirds!” Said Steve later, outside Robin dorm. Robin pouted and looked at him with flames in her eyes. 

“Are you stupid?” She hissed. “I’ll go even if you don’t come”.

“If you like to be the third wheel…”

“God, you’re really stupid!” Robin crossed her arms and refused to talk again with him. 

When she reached them at the restaurant, Steve looked at her, really puzzled. He never saw her so dressed up before. She barely used makeup and combed her hair with a bobby pin to avoid hair in the eyes, but that night she was wearing a fancy jacket and pants and she curled her hair and painted her eyes and lips; she was really pretty, and when he looked the glance Heather gave to her, he finally understood why she called him stupid lately. 

Billy and Steve witnessed their shameless flirtation with wide eyes, unable to say anything and looking furtively at each other, utterly embarrassed. Steve was glad she definitely wasn’t his distant girlfriend, and Billy was glad that Robin was the platonic girlfriend of Steve, but they didn’t know how to break the ice to each other and bring the topic on the table. They kept talking about trivial things, some sport results and TV shows while their friends were talking intensely and ignoring them.

Steve and Billy didn’t notice that they exchanged each other's numbers, but when they left the restaurant, Heather announced that she wanted to go resting after the trip, but she would be free the rest of the weekend to do something fun with them.

Billy walked her to her hotel and Steve and Robin went away in the opposite direction.

“What the fuck was that?” Snapped Steve once they were a little far.

“What?”

“All that thing, you were… flirting with her? You had just met her!”

Robin shrugged, looking at her mobile that had just buzzed. 

“Well she’s not his girlfriend. And he clearly hasn’t problems with queer people”.

Steve sighed. Well, there was a difference between having a lesbian friend and sleeping in the same room with someone who wanted to be in your pants.

“You couldn’t stay quiet, not for a little minute, could you?” Hissed Billy walking with her.

“You didn’t tell me she was gorgeous and lesbian, Billy. Is your gaydar broken?”

“I don’t… hey I don’t need to justify with you! I… I just didn’t realize”.

“Well it’s the perfect excuse to make a move with him, don’t you think? And you didn’t tell me he had that juicy ass, you little scoundrel”.

“Oh, please, stop! It’s a coincidence his friend is a lesbian. It doesn’t mean anything”

“Oh, it doesn't mean anything, Mr queer like a three dollar bill?”

“Stop this nonsense, I can do nothing with him. He’s straight and we are roommates, that’s all”.

Heather groaned and entered the hotel. She wrote to Robin immediately, chatting with her all night. 

“Is there some club to go dancing near there?” Asked Heather the next night, peeping a glimpse at Robin. 

“Well the Pink Flag is over there and they have good cocktails,” answered Robin immediately, waving at the end of the street. “You don’t have problems going to a queer bar, right, Steve?”

Steve blushed and nodded, of course he didn’t have problems, they went there very often, but he looked at Billy’s face, who blushed, lowered his face and nodded too. The girls joined the queue hand in hand and abandoned them behind. 

Billy tried to smile, worried, and saw the same expression on Steve's face. “Well at least they’re having a good time,” he sighed, while the girls were already chatting with the bouncer, who knew Robin, and obviously Steve. He accurately avoided confessing to Billy that he was a regular there, but he couldn't hide it for longer.

“Hey Steve, it’s been ages, I missed you! Oh, he is the guy Robin just told me about?”

“Hello… hello Alan…” answered nervously Steve, looking at his feet and running inside before the bouncer could say more embarrassing things. 

Robin and Heather were still inside, giggling at the dirty look he launched at them.

“How you dared!” He hissed to Robin. 

“Well you needed a nudge,” she giggled, disappearing on the dance floor with Heather.

Billy was looking at him, confused. “I’m not sure what had just happened outside… Do you come here often?”

Steve blushed. “Well, me and Robin, we… well, you know…”

“And what he said? You… talked about… me… with Robin?”

Steve gulped, looking away, feeling the tense in Billy’s words. 

“She thinks… well, she thinks I have… she thinks I have a little crush on you, that’s all. But don’t worry, I am not…”

“Oh shit,” Billy hit his forehead. “Don’t you see?” Steve looked at him, puzzled. “Don’t you see? They set a trap! It’s so clear!”

“A trap? But why? You don’t… don’t you…?”

Billy snickered, a little embarrassed too. “Well, well it’s possible that I… I mentioned to Heather that… I may like my roommate just a little bit”.

“Those filthy little bitches!” Snapped Steve, and Billy laughed, heartily, defusing the tension between them. Steve joined his laughter, looking in his eyes and staring at his swollen, juicy lips.

“I… I never heard you laughing…” he said, touching Billy’s arm with bashfulness. “I like it,” he smiled then, and Billy melted, looking at him with glossy, puppy eyes. 

He cupped Steve’s face and pecked him, kissing his smile, then Steve pecked him back, and they finally kissed, finally biting each other's lips, with a stupid happy look on their faces. 

“So what will we do now?” Whispered Billy, taking Steve’s hand. Steve looked at him with a mischievous smile. 

“Well, my roommate is cool, you can come in my room later,” he grinned, and Billy laughed again. “But meanwhile, those little schemers don’t deserve satisfaction”.

Billy nodded. “Agree. Let’s make them suffer a little more. But first, kiss me again”.

Steve laughed, and threw his arms around him, bursting in happiness.

[xoxoladyaz]

AU-gust, Day One: Sculpture Artist

I saw the prompts and this grabbed me by the throat! I wrote it in about an hour, so my apologies if it's not up to my normal quality.

Steve wasn’t good at a lot of things.

He wasn’t very intelligent; while everyone else in town eagerly devoured the latest books delivered monthly by Murray, the traveling librarian, Steve struggled to make it through the first few pages. (He thought it might have been a curse at first, the way that the letters and words moved all over the page. When he had asked Madam Byers, the town witch, she had just smiled sadly at him and, well, he already knew everyone thought he was an idiot. He should really be used to it by now.)

He wasn’t the strongest or most athletic either; that honor belonged to Sir Hargrove and his knights. (Once upon a time Steve had been the one the town was counting on for protection. He was the one getting parades in the streets, catching handkerchiefs thrown by all of the eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. He was the son of Sir Harrington, after all.

But when the darkness came, when he took his stand against the creatures that appeared like smoke out of the great forest, his knights – his friends – abandoned him.

All except for Sir Hargrove, for Billy, his – well, it doesn’t matter anymore now, does it? All that matters is that Billy stuck his own sword into Steve’s back and left him to the creatures, only “rescuing” him once the damage had been done. And it did not matter what Steve said, or that there was a mark that clearly belonged to a sword on his spine; Billy, who was shortly knighted by Steve’s own father soon after, emerged the victor, flawless and golden.)

He was no longer the handsomest man in town (not next to Billy, not with scars all over his body.) He did not know a useful trade, given that he was not trained to have such. If he was the best at anything, it was at being a disappointment. An embarrassment. So much for the Harrington name, people still said on his infrequent ventures into town. Such a shame, such a waste.

So no, Steve formerly-of-House-Harrington was not particularly special in any way. If he had had some wit, or maintained some beauty, or was able to discuss the latest tales from court, perhaps things would be different. Perhaps he would have been accepted by the town. Instead, he lived in a small thatched cottage a morning’s ride away from the rest of Hawkins (the only thing his father gave him before taking his name, his money and his protection) and spent his days working in his garden, caring for his few elderly animals, and entertaining the children of the neighboring shepherds.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true; he did also work on his sculpting.

(The stone was from Robin, a traveling student. She had run into some trouble with her horse while passing through and Steve might not have been a knight anymore, but he still knew how to care for horses. Robin had offered to pay him for his help, but he would not accept it. It was payment enough to have someone his age to talk to. It was nice, to spend time with someone who did not know him as the former knight of Hawkins, as the disgraced noble he truly was; she just knew him as Steve and she saw a potential in him that he didn’t see in himself.

You are good with your hands, she had written in the note that had accompanied the massive piles of stone, delivered straight from the royal quarry. And you have much love in your heart. May this inspire you to see your own strength and beauty once again.)

She had probably expected him to use it to build a well, or perhaps some sort of fence for his small piece of land. But when he looked at the stone – a beautiful, shining white, the likes of which seemed far too grand for his small corner of the world – he could not see it serving such a purpose. No; this was made for something more.

He had never studied the arts; why would he, Steve of House Harrington, future knight of the realm, have had any need to learn what his father believed was woman’s work? Formal training, then, was something he did not have. But he did have fine tools, given to him by Madam Byers; he had a pair of crystal glasses, lent to him by Dustin, his favorite shepherd; and he had ample amounts of time to go slow, to focus on the task at hand. (Not that he really knew what he was creating, just that he was creating something.)

And so the months flew by: summer turned to fall and fall turned to winter, and when Steve was not doing his chores or tending to the young, he was slowly and patiently chipping away at the block of stone that he kept safely sheltered inside his small home, next to the worn-down hearth.

It wasn’t until he had knocked away the final chip of stone, until his bones had rattled with knowing that it was done, it was finally done, that Steve had finally realized just what he’d created.

It was a man, one near his age. He had the long hair of nobility, curled tresses that cascaded down his bare shoulders; he was clad in a simple robe much like the masters of old; large rings adorned his fingers, rings that proclaimed the man in front of him to be of royal blood. His feet were bare, as were his legs, and they were strong; he felt that if he looked closely enough, Steve would be able to see defined muscles underneath skin.

But the most striking part of the statute – aside from his royal dress and stature – was his face: a royal, aquiline nose above lips that were flushed with life and there, nestled under a noble brow, a pair of large, soulful eyes. The eyes were the same color as the rest of the statue, of course, but Steve found that the longer he stared into them, the more he felt that this statue, this man was staring back.

It didn’t seem possible, the longer Steve looked at it – at him. It didn’t seem possible that someone like Steve – the disgrace of Hawkins – could create something so beautiful, so ethereal, so entirely arresting as the man in front of him, because this man was the most beautiful man – human or statue – that Steve had ever seen.

And suddenly, Steve couldn’t bear to look at it. Couldn’t bear to live in a world where the thing that he was most proud of, that he had poured all of his time and attention and love into, was something that could never possibly return it. And even if the statue came alive, somehow, even if this perfect man was human, what would he possibly see in someone like Steve when there was a world of better, smarter, handsomer men out there?

Steve turned and reached for his hammer, the one blunt instrument that remained unused from Madam Byers' gift. He turned back around and, with a mighty cry, swung the hammer at the statue and sent it shattering into a thousand different pieces.

He expected that he would have to spend the rest of the night cleaning up the ruins of the one wonderful thing he had ever done.

He did not expect the stone to shatter and reveal a flesh and blood man standing before him.

The last of the stone fell to the ground and the man took a deep breath. He blinked once, twice, and then his eyes alighted on Steve. The moment their eyes met, the man’s formerly taciturn expression transformed into the brightest smile Steve had ever seen.

And it was a smile that was aimed at him.

“There you are,” the man said. He stepped forward and took Steve’s hand in his own. “I have been waiting a long time for you.”

Steve cleared his throat and looked down, unable to bear the enduring warmth in the man’s eyes. “I – I am sorry to disappoint you, my lord.”

“No,” the man chastened him, and a warm hand tucked itself under his cheek, pulling Steve’s eyes back to meet his. “You are everything I have been waiting for.”

“I'm afraid you must be mistaken, for I am just Steve. I can offer you nothing.”

“And I am just Eddie, and you are not just Steve,” the man – Eddie – replied firmly. “You are a kind man with a good heart. You care for other people and expect nothing in return. And most importantly of all, you dedicate your time and your love to everything, even things that cannot love you in return. Those are qualities sorely lacking in this world, and that makes them all the more valuable.

“I foresaw you long, long ago Steve of House Harrington,” the man finished quietly, a small smile now on his face. “And I would consign myself to thousands more years behind stone if it meant that one day I would find you.”

Steve did not know when he started to cry, he just knew that he had tears in his eyes. “You do me great honor, my lord.” Reaching for Eddie’s hands, the hands that oh-so-gently held Steve’s face, Steve drew them to his mouth and pressed watery kisses against his rings. “I will spend my life to be worthy of that. To be worthy of you.”

“Dear one,” Eddie said, and he laid his forehead against Steve. “You already are.”

Steve knew that he wasn’t good at a lot of things. He would never be the smartest, or the strongest, or the handsomest, or the most clever man in the world, or maybe even in Hawkins. But as Steve kissed his Eddie – his Eddie, who had travelled across time and magic to reach him – none of that mattered anymore. Because he might not have all of those things, but he did have love. 

And what could possibly be more important than that?

[makeadealwithdean]

makeadealwithdean's friday fic rec list - harringrove edition

here's a list of the fics i've read lately and highly recommend! these fics are not mine and belong only to the writers, so writers, as always, if you don't want to be mentioned on here, message me, and i'll take you off no questions asked! also, this list is special because i'll be focusing on just harringrove, and since several of these are camboy!au's, these fics are smut and 18+ ONLY, so minors dni!! (gif is mine)

camboy!au's:

"never gets old" - @brawlite & @toastranger

Rating: E || Words: 78k

Falling in love with a cam boy named KingSteve isn't the smartest thing Billy Hargrove has ever done, nor is it the most healthy -- but the good choice is rarely ever the fun choice, and Billy is all about living life fast and loose.

"Love Is A Sickness (And Lust Is Absolute Madness)"

Rating: E || Words: 25k

Steve snaps a pic with his hand around his dick, angling the camera so that the stream is visible in the back. He can’t help but stroke a few times before sending it, wishing he had the balls to just put his webcam to good use so SuckMeDead could see him in all of his wet, messy, horny glory. Realistically though, he knows that full-on cybersex isn’t something he’s ready for, not until— Not until he’s made sure this camboy isn’t Billy Hargrove.

"Ride The Lightning" - socknonny

Rating: E || Words: 12k

Steve has an epic plan to Get Back At Daddy after his parents don't embrace his new-found bisexuality. An epic, epic plan, inspired by his favorite camboy. There's no way this can go wrong.

"Not Your Prince (But I'm Your Pretty Boy)" - ImNeitherNor

Rating: E || Words: 10k

“Not desperate,” Steve told himself, staring at the page while heat crawled up his chest and neck. “So not desperate.” Which was a lie because he was getting a membership just to comment and view more videos of the guy with the pierced dick. He licked his lips and tapped his thumbs on the space bar, deleted it, and almost hit his forehead against his desk. It was a username. Why did it matter so fucking much? Christ.

others:

"Sideways" - robthegoodfellow

Rating: E || Words: 46k

On Friday, Billy terrorized his stepsister, harassed his crush, and got blitzed with the school drug dealer. And then it all went sideways.

"definitely better than being dead" - @dragonflylady77

Rating: T || Words: 3.5k

When Billy comes to, everything hurts. He keeps his eyes closed, even though the space around him feels dark, and slowly takes a tally of where it hurts: hands, sides, chest, back, feet too... He listens to the noises in the room and the regular beeping of a machine close by tells him he’s in a hospital.

"Cross Road Blues" - @weird-an

Rating: E || Words: 6.6k

Billy sells his soul to Steve Harrington at the crossroads.

"His baby" - @lovebillyhargrove

Rating: E || Words: 32k

After Billy's death his car comes alive and decides to take revenge on certain residents of Hawkins. (My note: BILLY'S CAMARO FIC, MY BELOVED)

"come back down to my knees, gotta get back (gotta get free)" - @hartigays

Rating: E || Words: 5.5k

Billy is like, really gross. Steve likes that. He really likes that. And honestly, what could it hurt to indulge a little? (This is flayed!Billy, btw)

"The Art of the Dick Pic" - @lazybakerart

Rating: E || Words: 4.8k

Steve gets shipped off to a military academy, yet his biggest problem is his lighting.

"silvertongue" - @the-copperkid

Rating: E || Words: 9.2k

It's a hot summer night, and Billy and Steve find themselves stranded in the middle of a flash flood when Steve starts getting Upside Down-related anxiety. There's, unfortunately, only one thing that's certain to take his mind off of it — but Billy assures him that it wouldn't be so strange if they did it together. Just as long as they don't touch.

"Bed-sharing, almost-caring" - Thei

Rating: Not Rated || Words: 11.8k

It's late, dark and snowing, and Steve would rather do anything else than drive around looking for Billy Hargrove. But Max asked, and he can't say no to those kids. Not after everything. He finds Billy at the quarry. Billy is not okay.

"Cherry" - @lazybakerart

Rating: E || Words: 58k

They’ve got ten minutes before Steve’s break is up and he has to go back to wishing for death with a smile.

"King of Diamonds" - @shieldofiron

Rating: E || Words: 4.7k

“What’s the matter, Hargrove?” Steve Harrington flings his bags onto the bed with a fucked up little grin, “Scared of the big bad bed?” Billy just glowers at him, for the five hundredth time that day. He should have known when coach said they were bunking alphabetically and some of the rooms would only have one bed, that luck would not be on his side. Billy shuffles on his feet, squaring his shoulders, “Get out of my way.” Harrington cocks his head to the side, “Is that how you speak to your King?” “Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. My. Way.” “Or what?” Harrington's smiling in that vicious way, lip curling. (Or literally any part of this series, cause holy shit, King Steve)

"Rules for Survival" - @jad3w1ngs

Rating: E || Words: 5.5k

His first breath of free air had got caught in his throat however, because God may have allowed him to leave his old hell, but that was only so that he could be plunged into a new one. Sure, maybe he was being overdramatic, but the universe must have it out for him. Why else would he be roomed with possibly the prettiest, most infuriatingly sweet man ever? One who spoke about boobs and chicks and everything else enough to hammer home how out of bounds he was? One that he’d have to continue to pretend around. Billy’s other survival mechanisms had kicked in almost instantly. Unfortunately, the survival mechanism for dealing with his crush on his stupidly handsome roommate was apparently to be a massive asshole. Every innocent comment, every kind remark or offer of friendship was rebuffed with a snappy or bitchy quip, ones that had him groaning internally each time they left his lips. Not that it seemed to deter Steve, if anything his eyes lit up whenever Billy threw an insult his way, which was odd because he wouldn’t have pegged Steve as a masochist.

"Locker Room Antics" - @mid-nightmare13

Rating: E || Words: 5k

Just as he was about to take another swing for Hargrove's face, Steve found his wrist caught in a large hand, his back against the metal lockers, and his lips pressed against another pair. He grunted, protesting for maybe ten seconds before he was grabbing Billy's hair with his free hand, and kissed him back. Kissing Billy was nothing like kissing a girl. It was a dangerous combination of teeth and tongue locked in a battle for dominance. And he hated himself for backing down. "I want to fuck you," Billy said against his lips before beginning to suck and bite down his jaw. Steve let out an involuntary moan, suddenly finding his jeans far too tight...

"Wild on You" - @oopsiedaisiesbaby

Rating: E || Words: 2.6k (series wc: 80k)

Billy startled when rather than fall to his own back, beside him, Steve tightened his grip in Billy’s hair and moved halfway on top of him as he reconnected their lips. (this whole series actually is amazing, 10/10 recommend)

"if you don't like the company, let's just do it you and me" - hoppnhorn, @the-copperkid

Rating: E || Words: 9k

“Stevie, Stevie, Stevie,” Billy tuts, and it’s nearly sickening, too fucking good, the way he looks like he can think of nothing better than digging his teeth into Steve Harrington. “Look at you. What’re we gonna do with you, huh? Tell me what you want, pretty boy.” * Steve is really fed up with walking in on Billy having sex in his bed, until Billy’s opening up the invitation to him, too — because like, if you can’t beat 'em, join ‘em, right? But see, three's a crowd. And Steve doesn't like to share.

"break up with your girlfriend ('cause i'm bored)" - @the-copperkid

Rating: E || Words: 15k

@umissedconnections: Bambi eyes. m4m. i was rippin cigs in the sae p-lot. u made urself puke 2 make room 4 more beer. incredible? ur my hero PLS say ur into guys * Steve finds he has a secret admirer who's continuously hitting on him via his university's Missed Connections Twitter account. // Tommy and Billy are the worst roommates ever.

last time's list || my fic rec masterpost || my masterlist

[kleenexwoman]

I'm finally getting out of my fog and writing again!

Naturally, I'm writing about brain chemicals more. This time it's Steve and Eddie, and there might be a surprise mentally ill guest star I will make you feel unexpectedly bad for. (@thorniest-rose you are literally the mortal inspiration for me writing this all tbh)

Sneak preview:

Billy oozes by Eddie’s locker after lunch, and Eddie expects him to say something about Steve, but he doesn’t.

“Need some white heat,” is Billy’s opening line.

“Dude, your dealer in Los Angeles might know what the fuck you mean, but you gotta be a little more specific with us hicks,” Eddie says. “That could be, like, anything.”

“Nose candy, moron.” Billy rolls his eyes.

“Are you fuckin–” Eddie stuffs his books into his locker and lowers his voice. “What are you, a narc? You can’t just buy cocaine off me in the hallway, idiot!”

“I’m so bored, man,” Billy whines. “What, do I gotta come to your special little goblin rock in the woods or whatever for anything halfway decent?”

“Look,” Eddie says. “It’s pizza day. I have oregano, ‘cause the pizza here is basically grilled cheese, and then I have antacids so you can concentrate in class. And I have some aspirin for girls on their periods. If you want anything more interesting than that, you gotta come to my place.”

“I thought you delivered,” Billy says.

“You can walk to my place,” Eddie points out. “I don’t deliver when I can hear you blasting Speedwagon across the park.”

“There’s nothing wrong with Speedwagon,” Billy says.

“Didn’t say there was,” Eddie says. “I’m just saying, you can walk. Or drive, or whatever.”

“Fine,” Billy says, and points at him. “Five-thirty, sharp.”

“Yeah, whatever, man,” Eddie says as Billy walks off.

Whatever. He’ll be at home or he won’t. It’s not like Billy has that much money, not unless Hagan is sending him to get the drugs, which seems like a reversal of dynamic on their part. But the world has changed, who knows what bright new social order blah blah.

It’s a little more of a surprise when Eddie closes his locker ten seconds later and Nancy Wheeler, of all people, is standing there.

“I don’t sell study pills to bitches,” Eddie says.

“Yeah, I’m fine on the… study pills,” Nancy says, wrinkling up her nose like she’s not going to be slamming Mother’s Little Helpers come her frosh year of U of C or wherever the fuck she thinks she’s headed. “It’s about Steve.”

Eddie points at himself, then at Nancy, then raises his eyebrows.

“Please, please don’t sell him anything,” Nancy says.

Eddie angles his whole body towards the retreating Billy, looks back to Nancy, back to Billy, shakes his head, and then turns back to Nancy.

“That’s Billy over there,” Eddie says, “unless I’m very much mistaken.”

“I saw you sitting with him at lunch,” Nancy says.

“Yeah, well, nobody else was,” Eddie says. “Can I go to class now, hall monitor, or do we need to take this to the interrogation chamber?”

“I’m just saying that he’s been through a really hard time,” Nancy says, and raises her hands defensively, “and yes, I know I was part of that–”

“So you understand the unfeasibility, nay, the pure absurdity of your negotiating position here,” Eddie says.

“–but just because we’re broken up doesn’t mean I don’t care about him,” Nancy says. “I mean, six kids? Who has that many children in one lifetime?”

“Mormons?” Eddie blinks slowly. “I’m sorry. Are you coming to me to ask me not to engage in the commerce that is my trade, or are we discussing birth control now?”

“I’m saying that it’s probably unethical for you to target Steve for, like, drug-selling reasons when he’s just been through a really bad weekend,” Nancy says. “So please? Like, please? I don’t want to have to call his parents and explain why their son is in a straitjacket at Central State Hospital.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have called the guy ‘bullshit’ in front of all his friends then,” Eddie chirps. He opens his locker door, shoves his math book inside, and rattles it around for a few seconds just to make a point. “Seems like anything I’m gonna do after that is just gravy.”

“Look,” Nancy says from behind the locker door. “It wasn’t my best moment.”

“It wasn’t,” Eddie agrees. “Neither is this. But I’m willing to do you a favor and forget it.”

“But I’m really serious,” Nancy says. “You have no idea how much harm it could do–”

“Rule One of the Munson Doctrine.” Eddie slams his locker. “Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.”

“What?” Nancy tilts her head forward in that way smart girls do when they’re not sure if they’re hearing you wrong or they just think you’re stupid.

“Ethics,” Eddie says. “You mentioned ethics. I have ethics, and I’m sorry they don’t line up with yours, but that’s a big one. Rule Eight: Do not complain about that which you need not subject yourself.”

“Those are the Satanic Rules of the Earth,” Nancy says slowly. “I saw Anton LaVey on Geraldo too, y’know.”

“Okay, you got me.” Eddie throws up his hands. “Twenty bucks and I won’t sell anything to Steve this week. Are you happy?”

“Fine.” Nancy visibly sets her jaw, like she wasn’t the one just accusing Eddie of preying on the weak-minded for sport and profit, and digs a crumpled twenty out of her purse. “Thank you. I really appreciate this.”

“And I appreciate making a sale without even having to move any product,” Eddie says, stuffing the money into his pocket. “Break up with a few more guys, and I might be able to get into Warhammer.”

[jellyfishloveletterghosts]

My Harringrove AU List A-M

Part 2 - N-Z

Afterlife

I Missed You - Steve dies and is reunited with Billy in the afterlife.

Android

Build-A-Man - Mrs. Harrington buys Steve an android to take care of him, he doesn't particularly like it but Billy isn't going anywhere.

Animal Hybrids

Bunny - Billy comes home to his bunny.

Collars - Catboy Steve has a collection of collars.

Nest Material - Billy has been stealing bits of hair and fur from Steve since he got to town. Today it comes to a head.

Night Time Rituals - Catboy Steve and Billy’s bedtime ritual. 

Eggcellent - Steve is just trying to do his job and get his eggs delivered but finds himself waylaid by a determined wolf.

Seashells and Books on Tape - When Billy gets to Hawkins he finds his mate, the only problem is Billy can't get his mouth to work right around him so he has to find other ways to make his intentions known.

Bender (AtLA)

Fight Night - Steve and Billy are forced to fight. When Steve throws the match it pisses Billy off. 

New Trick? - Steve likes to fuck with Billy when he’s angry.

Childhood Friends to Loves

Helping Hand - Steve has hang ups about touching his own dick preventing him from masturbating, Billy offers him a helping hand.

Kill For You - Steve accidently killed Neil when they were kids, Billy has been protecting him ever since and he'll never stop.

College/University

Bidder, Bidder Won’t You Take Me Home - Steve is up for auction for a charity event Carol's sorority is hosting, after seeing Billy he wants his bid. (Werewolf/Succubus) 

Drink Me - Billy adds a little something special to Steve's coffee every morning. (Coffee Shop Au)

Insecurities of Drinking - Steve gets insecure when he is drinking and seeing some drunk girl kiss Billy doesn't help.

It’s A Date - Billy's advisor insists he needs to take a refresher course, Billy doesn't want to be there until Steve Harrington of all people walks in.

Worm - Billy takes issue with Steve's sweater.

Crime Boss

Trigger Happy - Steve doesn't like it when Billy shows up with injuries.

Curses

Care and Feeding - Billy comes to town and befriends Steve. Billy would like to pursue more than that but he is determined to wait until Steve gets over his recent heartbreak. (Werewolf/Fairy)

Deaged

The Babe With The Power (Series) - Steve ends up a much younger version of himself and Billy happens to be his favorite person.

Demigods

Death and Flowers - Steve ventures down into the underworld to retrieve Dustin’s soul, Billy offers him a deal in return for it.

Demons

Demon Steve/Mob boss Billy - Steve follows his nose to Billy and instead of getting a soul gets a date. 

Disabilities

All In The Hands - Billy isn't sure how surviving Starcout leads to the kids deciding he's friend material but he'd be lying if he said he minded. Especially when they help him learn sign language and get a date.

As Many Times As You Want - Steve is a little drunk and he finally takes Billy up on an offer he has been making for months.

Helper Billy - Steve suffers from neurological issues and Billy is hired to help him in his day to day life.

Farmer

The Fairy In The Garden - Billy finds an unexpected visitor in his garden. (Werewolf/Fairy)

Fairy 

How to Catch a Boyfriend - Billy wanders into the forest and meets a fairy. He's sure Steve and the fairy are one in the same and all he wants to do is keep them.

Christmas - Just some Hc’s for HtCaB during the holiday. 

FemHarringrove

Best Behavior - Stevie needs to be on her best behavior and Billie makes sure she will be. (Royalty)

California - Stevie invites Billie out to California for her birthday.

The Hawkins Roller Rink - Billie Goes exploring when she gets to Hawkins and see the most beautiful girl on skates.

Melt - Billie fucks Stevie with a popsicle.

Straight From The Source - Billie takes the long path to get what she wants, luckily it works out.

Sweatpants - Billie just wants to see her girlfriend in some pants.

Tastes Like Sunshine - Billie has dinner waiting when Stevie gets home. (Werewolf/Vampire)

Flayed/Killer

Black in The Moonlight - The mind flayer thinks they need to get rid of Steve until they follow him.

Let Me Mu-Marry You - They take someone Steve wanted.

Flayed/Powers

The Grower and The Shower - Steve reveals his powers to save everyone at the last minute, Billy checks on him in the aftermath.

Furries

Come Sit On My Lap - Billy borrows his new work uniform. It definitely awakens some things even if Steve is not willing to admit he is into it too.

Furry Billy - Billy making his own suits

Genderfluid/Genderqueer

It’s Cold But Your Mouth It’s Burning - Billy likes wearing makeup he’s not expecting Steve to think it looks good on him.

Washed Pink - Steve gets his cheap little red heart shaped sunglasses after sleeping with Tammy, and they end up being friends. Steve really likes the way he looks in those sunglasses, the way the world looks, turns out Billy really liked them too.

Haunting (Real or Imagined)

Baby Steve and the Ghosts - this isn’t technically harringrove but honorable mention because if I ever actually add more it’s supposed to be harringrove. - Steve is born during a winter storm and the ghosts think of him as theirs.

Ghost Deterrent -  Billy is bored and wants nachos, Steve is bathing in the dark and has nachos. Billy gets more than nachos.

You’re A Vision - Billy dies but he's not gone, he spends most of his time haunting Steve.

Headless Horseman

Pumpkin Head - Headless Horseman Billy and his witchy partner having some fun in the pumpkin patch.

Magic

A Different Kind of Love Spell - Steve leaves the castle on his tenth birthday looking to gain parental love. (Royalty)

Dandelion Wishes - Billy finds a dandelion as a child and makes a wish for someone that will love him forever.

It’s Your Birthday, We Can Cry If We Want To - Every year Steve makes a cake and every year he summons Billy Hargrove from beyond the grave.

Kitchen Witch - Steve has magic, he just doesn't know it. He doesn't believe Dustin no matter how many times he insists that Steve's food is magic, because that is preposterous. Slowly others start to recognize that Steve has magic too, and then Billy comes along with accusations of a love potion when Neil gets a hold of some cookies Steve made and starts acting nice.

Magic Touch – Werewolf Billy steals Steve’s sex sleeve and has no idea what he’s really gotten ahold of. 

Magical Boy

Mantle of The Black Cat - Things are looking really bad at the junkyard so Steve makes a deal with a talking cat.

Mechanic

Perkin’s Repair Shop - Billy’s car breaks down, his car can’t be fixed today but his day can.

Minotaur

Minotaur Billy - Steve enters the labyrinth to help out Robin and there he meets Billy.

Modern

Dick Pic - Billy sends Steve a dick pic. The response he gets is better than he hoped for. 

Making Friends - Steve hasn't made any friends in his fandom, Billy tries to help.

Pretty Boy - Billy starts texting Steve while he is out of town, when he gets home he comes for Steve. 

Squish Me - Steve is a content creator who mostly posts about Squishmallows. Billy doesn't care about the mallows but he still watches all of Steve's videos.

Take a Dirty Picture for Me - Billy and Max have a deal she takes pictures of Steve for him and he leaves her friends and her alone. Steve find out and Billy makes a new deal, Steve takes the pictures Billy wants and he continues to leave them be. Billy wants more than candids though and things heat up.

Tickle - Steve has been playing the same song for hours, Billy is going to put a stop to it. 

The View - Billy works at the Hot Topic in the mall and Steve works in the Sanrio store right next door.

Your Little Shit - Steve treats himself to some lingerie and Billy just happens to be around when his box full of pretty lacy things comes in. Billy insists Steve try them on so he can act as his second opinion.

Models

Model Behavior - Billy finally gets to do a shoot with Steve 'The Hair' Harrington and he could not be happier with the way it turns out. 

MPreg

The Belly - Billy insists on taking pictures of Steve's stomach as soon as they get the positive test.

Musicians

Video Killed the Radio Star - Billy gets a lot of flack for defending a fan against a creeper. Billy finally meets the fan he defended.

Part 2 - N-Z

[camaro-and-smokes]

Princess

Rating: Explicit Warnings: No warnings except smut Category: M/M Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington Characters: Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington, Original male character Tags: Tattoos, Harringrove, Fluff and Smut, Shameless Smut, Oral Sex, Gay Billy Hargrove, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Boys Kissing, Gay Sex, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Billy Hargrove Redemption Words: 1538

Summary: Steve gives Billy a special gift for their 10th anniversary.

Authors note: This is my entry to @harringroveson-bingo 2022, Round 1, C3: Tattoos

::::::::::

Steve looked at the drawings on the tattoo parlor's wall.

"See anything you like?" the tattooist asked.

"Um...not really."

"I can draw you a piece if you want. You can't get it today though, you have to wait for a few days."

"I'm afraid I don't have the time. I have to get it today or not at all."

"Ok. My clients aren't usually in that much of a hurry. So, what is so urgent that you want it done right now?"

"It's a gift to someone. For an anniversary."

"Tattoo on your skin as a gift to someone else? Are you sure you want to do that? These babies are permanent and in most cases outlast the relationship."

"Well, I want it to be small and in a place that no one else can see but me and them. And I don't want a name. Something cute."

The artist nodded. "Alright. So, what might the place be? Because there are some limitations on those areas."

Steve pointed to his hip.

"On the hip or closer to your bellybutton?"

Steve blushed.

The tattooist understood Steve's unintentional hint. "So, closer to there? Son, that's a delicate area. I can do a piece there, but only if you can take it."

Steve pursed his lips. "Can I try it first? How it feels?"

The tattooist sighed. "It's either I do it or I don't. If you can't take it you'll have a speck of a tattoo in your skin forever in any case. But you have to either take it or leave it."

Steve nodded. "Ok. So, uh, I want it to be hidden unless I...you know...take off all my clothes."

"Can do. So, what picture do you want me to do?"

Steve told him.

The tattooist thought for a while. Then he went to the backroom and came soon back with a folder. "I have this one picture I drew for a client a while ago. They decided not to have the tattoo in the end, so it's available and no one else has it." After browsing through the folder, he found what he was looking for and handed Steve the picture. "It's simple and I can make it small. Would that work?"

Steve smiled. "It's perfect."

-oOo-

“Hey, I’m home!” Steve shouted after he closed the door to his and Billy’s house. It was small, but it was all theirs, had been for the last five years. And today was their tenth anniversary.

“Yeah,” came a tired groan from the bedroom.

After a while Steve sat on the bed next to Billy and leaned over him to kiss his neck. “Hey, firecracker, time to wake up. It’s already afternoon.”

“It’s Saturday,” Billy mumbled after a while.

“Yeah, but not just any Saturday.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t remember what day it is today.”

“You woke me up literally a minute ago. Give me some slack.”

Steve laughed and curled around Billy as a big spoon, pulling Billy against him and hugging him. “Happy anniversary babe.”

“Oh, right,” Billy said. “Shit.” He kissed Steve’s palm, and turned around smiling. “Happy anniversary. What was it...ten?”

Steve grinned and set his forehead against Billy’s. “You remember something at least.”

“How could I not?” he said. Then his smile faltered a little. He didn’t want to think about how it all started, not really. After he woke up in the sterile white of a hospital, hurting all over all the fucking time. But Steve had been there since the faithful day, by his side, hoping that he would wake up even though the doctors hadn’t really given him much hope. He’d been there when no one else than he and Max had even really cared if he lived or died. And when Steve had come to stay with him after work, day after day, eventually they’d started to talk about deeper things, happy and sad things, regrets and all, and Steve being there became really important to him too. That Steve really cared what happened to him, cared that he’d get better and heal when he didn't matter to the rest of the world. “I remember the day vividly. You suddenly deciding...”

“It wasn’t ‘suddenly’. I’d spend almost three months by your side and thought it was time to get it over with because I knew you wanted it too. Even when you hadn't said it with..."

Billy put his finger on Steve's mouth to silence him. "As I was saying, you sitting on the bed, telling me to scoot over, and leaning in to kiss me. Even though I was a pathetic mess.”

“You weren’t pathetic or a mess,” Steve said softly, pushing a strand of hair behind Billy’s ear. “You were healing. And you were beautiful. Just like you are now.”

Billy smiled and kissed Steve, and Steve returned it the way he always did. Pulling Billy closer and kissing him breathless. The kisses heated up quickly, and soon they were all small bites of lips and tongues lapping against each other.

Steve pushed Billy on his back and underneath him, and because Billy always slept naked, he had easy access to his whole body. He trailed small kisses down from Billy’s neck to his chest. He gently kissed each and every scar on Billy’s body as he moved lower, making Billy let out deep sighs each time for the area around the scars remained more sensitive than the rest of his skin.

Steve kissed his way down the trail of tiny blond curls on Billy’s abdomen, meeting his erect cock. “I have a gift for you,” he said, brushing his cheek against it as he kissed his way lower on Billy’s groin and to the very base of the hard-on.

“Is it this?" Billy asked and moaned when Steve took his balls into his hand and kissed his way up towards the tip on the front of Billy's cock.

“Nope," Steve said, raising his gaze up to meet Billy’s. After licking the salty pre-cum away from the tip he continued: “Well, I guess this could be a prelude to it’s unwrapping.”

“Mhmm,” Billy groaned as Steve took his cock into his mouth, pushing his tongue against the front of it as he took it deeper. “Please unwrap this first.”

Steve kneaded Billy's balls in his hand while he lazily moved his mouth back and forth on his cock.

After a while Billy started to take deeper breaths and put his hands on Steve's head to control his pace. When he got closer to his orgasm, he started to gently fuck Steve's mouth in addition, and moaned loudly when he came. He took deep breaths as he kept Steve’s head in place and thrust in his mouth until he was fully spent.

When Billy let go, Steve looked up at him and swallowed his cum, wiping the corners of his mouth with a finger and licking it to savor it all.

“So, what’s the gift?” Billy asked when Steve laid next to him.

“Guess.”

Billy got up to lean on his elbow and looked at Steve. “Where is it?”

Steve grinned. “Somewhere only you can see it.”

“Oh,” Billy said and a mischievous smile painted his face. “Back or front?”

“Find out,” Steve said and opened his belt buckle.

Billy kissed Steve hungrily, getting aroused again by tasting himself on his mouth, and didn’t spend too much time to wander down to Steve’s groin. When Steve winced, Billy froze.

“What did I do?” he asked concerned.

“Uh, I didn’t expect it to be that, um, sensitive.”

Billy let out a breath. “What have you done, naughty boy?” he said slowly with a smirk.

Steve smiled. “Go ahead, unwrap it,” he urged.

Billy pulled Steve’s slacks off of him, throwing them on the floor.

“Be gentle, it’s fresh,” Steve said.

Billy pulled carefully Steve’s boxers down a little, first just on the right side. When he didn’t see anything there, he pulled them off, and moved Steve’s cock to see what was hidden on the other side of it. His jaw dropped open. “Oh princess...” he whispered, “it’s pretty.” He moved his hand gently over the plastic wrapping that protected a small tattoo of a tiara. “You got it for me?”

“Yeah, just for you to see.”

Billy had to swallow to control the lump that suddenly swell in his throat. “Babe, this is the best gift anyone has ever given me.”

"There's just one but," Steve said. "I think we need to keep it to blowjobs on my part for a while. It’s too sensitive for anything else. And the tattooist told me to keep it very clean for a few weeks before it heals properly.”

“I don’t mind. I already love to just look at it. And seeing it while giving you a head...” Billy said licking his lips, “I'm sure I won’t ever get tired of it.”

"Maybe you want to get one on this side too?" Steve asked. "For me to look at while..."

"Don't get greedy, princess," Billy interrupted Steve, "you already got one."

Steve grinned. "Well, ok, 'Bad Boy' written on right above your buttocks is kinda nice to look at..."

[two-sides-samecoin]

☕ steve Harrington ☕ steddie ☕ harringrove

Ohhh very interesting

Steve Harrington : legit my baby, I’m constantly thinking about him 24/7 and he’s just a special guy to me. Honestly I really just loved him from the beginning and he’s so sweet and adorable and just 😍😍😍😍😍 he just wants to protect his friends and find love and be happy. Which I need Steve to be happy like he’s a very sad character if you think about his life and I need him to be happy. Anyway he’s my special guy and character that I think about a lot like I have more to say but I also feel like this says it all lol he’s just my fav of all time and I fucking love him so much

Steddie: okay maybe controversial here but lol: I used to like this ship and then it just kind of got to the point where the fandom obsessed way too much over this and I just didn’t like it anymore. Like half of the steddie stuff I see just kind of completely depicts Steve completely wrong. And since Steve is my fav it’s kind of annoying. Also they only had like one bonding scene and it wasn’t even that much. Like idk I just don’t see it at all (I get why other people would but I don’t ship it at all)

Harringrove: hate it , burn it , hate it with the force of a thousand suns. Ngl this ship is just like ‘what if we make Steve completely obsessed with billy and put Steve in an abusive relationship’ like Steve hates billy in canon and even is indifferent towards billy at the beginning. Like Steve legit protects the kids against billy and people expect me to believe that Steve would actually be romantically involved with billy? When billy was the one to hurt the kids, something that Steve doesn’t take lightly? When Steve made it his job to protect the kids and care about them? This guy is suddenly gonna get involved with billy? Absolutely not! (Also I have a deep rage for billy and I hate him lol)

[half-oz-eddie]

The Widowmaker (Part III)

[Part 2]

18+, slurs, Billy has a daddy kink

Billy settled in Hawkins for a month, laying the Widowmaker to rest for awhile. The last man he killed was an important member of society, blah blah, whatever...the world was better off without him.

But it was a good time for Billy to lay low, to spend more time with Steve, which he really enjoyed.

“There’s something I wanna tell you.” Steve told Billy, fingers scraping the coffee table.

Billy noticed how uneasy Steve was, and this made him uneasy in turn. “What is it?”

“Billy, I—I really like you. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

Billy could hear his father calling him a fag. He knew he’d have to kill again just to quiet that voice. 

“Billy?”

“Yeah, I—um…listen, I’m not gay or anything—“

“I’m not either. I’ve never had feelings like this before. Tell me you feel it too.”

Billy eventually nodded, albeit reluctantly. “I feel it. I like you too.”

Not even another word was exchanged before they were in Steve’s bedroom, tossing their clothes about, kissing and touching on his bed.

He threw on a condom and slid inside Billy’s ass. Steve was no stranger to anal, but he’d never even romantically touched a man’s hand before this. He was taken aback by how much pleasure Billy found in his thrusts. 

“Feels that good?”

“Mmh, yeah. Steve, oh, god, Steve!”

As Steve caressed his cheek, Billy pulled his hand down to his neck. 

Steve indulged him, enjoying the way Billy moaned and writhed beneath his hands as he thrusted in and out of him, but eventually moved his hand and planted kisses instead. 

Steve was the gentle type, and Billy wasn’t used to gentleness. It felt so nice and so damn sweet. 

He softly shushed Billy as he whimpered. 

“I know it feels good. I just want to take care of you.”

Billy nodded. “You…like to be called daddy?”

“Yeah. You can call me daddy if you want.” Steve noticed a shift in Billy once he said that. His eyes softened and his chest expanded.

“Mm, daddy.” He whined. 

“Yeah? You like that?” He thrusted even faster. 

“Fuck me, daddy. Hurt me as much as you want.”

“Not too much. You’re too precious, baby.”

“Y-you mean that?”

“Of course.” He gently thrusted, kissing him between strokes. 

“Ooh, daddy! You feel so good.”

“You feel even better, baby.” He sputtered precum inside Billy. “I’m not gonna last long. You’re too good.”

“I’m close. Just a little longer, daddy.” He plead. “Don’t stop, daddy! Don’t stop! Don’t you fucking stop!”

Steve fought back the urge to cum for as long as he could, but Billy’s tight ass really sucked his cock in. 

Billy came with a loud moan, squeezing his hole on Steve’s cock, making him cum with a groan and a mouth full of breathless curse words.

“Fuck. I’ve never had sex like that before.”

“Me neither.”

Billy was afraid to get attached, but it was too late. He simply told himself if things went wrong, he’d kill Steve—but only if he had to.

—

When Steve woke up the next morning, Billy was gone. 

He left breakfast and a note on the table.

“Didn’t wanna wake you. I’ll be back in a few days. I’ll miss you.”

Steve clutched the note to his chest and smiled. He couldn’t wait to see him again. 

—

Billy wasn’t sure if going back to Hawkins was a good idea. Sure, having a normal, stable life in a small town made him seem less suspicious if things ever started closing in on him, but it felt safer being a nobody. 

In Hawkins? He was somebody. Somebody special, somebody that meant a lot to Steve. He couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not. Everything about Billy was a lie in every aspect of his life. He lied about his name, his occupation, he even lied about his sexuality. He always knew he was gay. 

He wanted to be Billy. Gay Billy who woke up early, turned in late, swam in a pool whenever he wanted, and kissed a lonely, rich guy every single day. 

But Billy needed to stop Neil’s voice. The only way to stop him was to keep killing. He needed keep Neil quiet so he could be happy. Maybe killing every few weeks, and living in Hawkins full time wasn’t a bad idea. Hopefully that was enough to keep Neil’s voice out of his head. 

“One day, I won’t hear you anymore.” Billy said through his teeth, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel as he sped out of Hawkins. “And when that day comes, I’ll win. I’ll fucking win and you’ll really be dead.”

—

Steve: Will you be home soon? Steve: It’s so hard to sleep without you here. 

Billy was floored by the wording of Steve’s text. Home? Soon? Was Hawkins his home now? 

Billy: Yeah. Just finishing up a job.

Steve: There’s a serial killer going around the country killing men. Please be careful. 

Billy: Lol I’m probably not his type. 

Steve: you’re not funny 😭 but you’re my type. 

Billy: I love knowing that.  Billy: Be careful, okay?

Billy told him, as if he were trying to save Steve from himself. He’d never want to hurt Steve, of course, but it did make him uneasy to live his life knowing a monster was resting dormant inside him.

When he was with Steve, he was a normal, fun-loving guy and the widowmaker would never emerge. Even in the presence of Jim Hopper, an older, remarried father. He felt no urge to kill.

Jim became someone dear to him, along with his daughter and the sweet wife he had, who would make him desserts and bring them by when Billy was alone at Steve’s while Steve worked.

Billy parked his car in a random residential area, not expecting a thing. He just wanted some place quiet to think, to shake Hawkins off for a bit and awaken the widowmaker.

He was startled by the sound of breaking dishes, and he could see a man beating his wife. 

“Stop before the kids get home!” She plead.

Neil. He thought to himself. 

He didn’t care if this man was remarried or not. Billy was going to kill him.

He was going to kill Neil.

Again.

[etherealxwitch]

first, here are some pictures to sum my reactions:

BLONDIE IS GONNA GIVE INTO HER FEELINGS!!! YES!!!!!!!

why am i feeling nervous as if i’m blondie?

for once i’m in my life, i’m agreeing with billy

“Would he be proud of you now?”

OH! OKAY!!!! gotta slide a little emotion in there, don’t ya?

‘He’d want you to have it anyway.’

ANDY PLEASE I CANNOT TAKE THIS RN

we all know why steve is running late. he’s a little busy doing taking care of something… hard

i’m actually so proud of eddie for getting the date omg

blondie and eddie’s relationship is something so special :(( i love them both

“he won’t be going to college, he won’t be going anywhere, at least not now, not yet, maybe not ever, even though it’s all he ever wanted.”

poor eddie just wants out of hawkins :((

“It doesn’t matter what they say or think because he got people who believed him, people who care about him, people who were willing to fight for him, people who are worth staying for.”

ANDY YOURE MAKING ME EMOTIONAL!!!

everyone loves argyle, he’s the best

“he gave Wayne a home”

I DIDNT KNOW ID BE NEEDING TISSUES THIS CHAPTER

OH AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING EMOTIONAL WITH THE MENTION OF BLONDIES PARENTS

yeah, how could anyone be irritated with steve? i’d like a full page essay ms. nancy

STEVE DITCHED ROBIN??? SIR

NO NO NO NO! THAT CANT BE THE REASON, I REFUSE TO

“How saddening it is to long for someone who was forced to like you.”

ANDY I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE, I REFUSE (keep giving it to me)

this angst is hitting so close to home and i’m eating every single bit of it up like it’s a four course meal

“Steve Harrington is fucked. He is utterly fucked.”

AS HE SHOULD BE!!!

HE DODGED HEIDIS KISS??? OH MAN HAS GOT IT BAD

“Perv? Are you going to continue to play fucking dumb?” 

i’ve never wanted to fuck a man more

THEYRE KISSING!!! FUCKING FINALLY

ANDY IM ON THE FUCKINF EDGE OF MY SEAT READING THIS OMG OMG OMG

“I fucking hate you, Blondie. I hate that I want you so much.” 

LITERALLY GASPING!!!!!

“show me how much you hate me, Stevie.” 

IM KICKING MY FEET SND GIGGLING

“I need to hear you first.” 

I AM MOANING OVER THIS RN

i don’t have any thought during this other than OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

“you’re so desperate for my cock, huh?”

RAAAAAAAAAAH!!! YES I AM!!!!

“please fuck me, Steve… Please…”

IM LITERALLY GOING TO COMBUST

“If I knew that my cock would shut you up, I would’ve done this a long time ago.” 

I SUDDENLY NEED SOMETHING TO SHUT ME UP!!

NOT ONLY DID HE FUCK HER TO SLEEP BUT HE LAYS DOWN AND SNUGGLES HER TOO?! HES TOO PERFECT!!

Dancing with our hands tied | S.H.

Chapter eight ⭐︎ Say my name and everything just stops

Warnings: 18+, minors don't interact! jealousy, angst, low self-esteem (kinda?), mentions of the upside down. weed and alcohol consumption. I will not spoiler anything here, so read with caution

Pairing: Steve Harrington x fem!reader

Summary: You blindly began to follow your feelings, hanging onto a hope that died just as quickly as it came.

Word count: 10k+

Author's note: @hellfire--cult and I came up with this whole idea and we kept talking about this moment for weeks and now its finally here, I hope you guys are gonna enjoy it as much as we did hehe

Series Masterlist ⭐︎ Previous Chapter ⭐︎ Next Chapter

♡

The spring wind blows through the open windows in your room, touching your skin and slightly lifting the ends of your new dress. The smell of vanilla and the floral scent of your perfume lingers in the air. You’re leaning closer to your mirror as you apply your favorite gloss to your lips. 

A tingling, exciting feeling bubbles in your stomach, your heart jumping every few seconds or so at the thought of seeing him today. 

Steve’s reactions were everything you were hoping for when you teased him at the diner and in his car, yesterday. His blushing cheeks and the wide, darkened eyes filled you with victory after you had placed a kiss upon his flushed skin. You are still not sure what had caused you the sudden rush of courage, but you’re glad that it hit you because the way he looked at you, the way he reacted, the way his breath hitched in his throat finally gave you the last push to do what you had always wanted to do. Today, you’re finally going to give in to your feelings. 

The nervous, insecure part of you is telling you that there is still a big chance that he might reject you, that you will ruin this thing between you both by making the final move. 

And usually that weak part of your mind would win, it would fill you with enough humiliating images to pull back, to make you rethink your decision, to keep you hiding in the shadows, the way you always did. 

But you’re no longer letting it win. 

You will do this, even if you might lose your dignity. 

Placing the lip gloss back on your vanity, you reach for your favorite necklace, and put it on. You touch up your hair one last time, fixing your bangs before you take a step back, eying the red and white sundress, the little bows on the straps, the dainty flowers on the material, the shortness of it that exposes enough of your skin to drive him crazy… you hope. 

‘Just make your move, babe. Do you really think King Steve would reject you?’

Your smile falls a little when Billy’s voice echoes in your mind. 

Every memory of your best friend brings a hurtful pang to your heart. 

He was the only one who knew about your feelings for Steve and surprisingly he kept encouraging you to ask him out, to make your move. 

Would he be proud of you now? 

Or would he still make fun of you for liking someone like Steve? 

You step away from the mirror and walk over to the window, closing it before you leave your room and make your way downstairs. Eddie isn’t picking you up for once, even though he called you three times already, asking if he should come pick you up and if you’re truly feeling good enough to drive yourself again – you are. The headaches are gone, the dizziness is gone too. All that is left are the nightmares and the sudden rushes of anxiety but you are okay, you feel okay. 

You walk over to the dresser in your hallway, reaching inside the key bowl to retrieve your car keys when something else catches your eye. The one single key, lying in there, you reach for it, furrowing your brows as you trace your finger along the metal, letting it fall in your palm. 

You still remember the day when Max had showed up at your house, asking for you to take Billy’s car before Neil would destroy it in a moment of rage. 

‘He’d want you to have it anyway.’ She said as she handed you the keys. 

You remember how you broke down crying the moment you got into the driver's seat. You missed your best friend and it felt so wrong to sit in the place that once belonged to him. 

You got the windshield fixed and anything else that needed to be repaired, before you parked it in your garage, planning to never open the gate again and just leave the car there until Max would ask for it back. And, you did leave it there, for a few weeks at least. 

Your car broke down on a hot Friday afternoon and the mechanic at the local shop told you that it would take a few weeks to get it fixed. You walked and used the bus for a few days, and then the rain and the storms crashed upon Hawkins, giving you no choice but to take the blue Camaro.

Max even joked about it, she told you that it was Billy who caused your car to break down and who somehow let it rain and storm over the town so you would finally take his beloved car out for a ride because it’s just too pretty to be hidden and locked away in a dark, cold garage.

You’d sometimes drive around at night, when the streets were empty and no one was around. 

When you visited your sister in Indianapolis, you took his car. 

But now it’s been a while, the last time you sat behind that steering wheel was right before the apocalypse almost hit the town. 

A sigh falls from your lips as you stare at the key. 

“Not today,” you murmur as you place it back where it laid before and reach for your keys. 

The drive to Eddie’s new place isn’t a long one, he only lives a few streets away from you now, it would only be a ten minute walk but you desperately waited for the moment when you could finally drive again, and you didn’t want to pass up on the opportunity today. 

You missed this, sitting behind the steering wheel, instead of the passenger seat, longing to be the one in control. You missed picking the music yourself – not that Eddie’s music taste is a bad one, you just need a mix of everything, not just rock and heavy metal, sometimes you just need a girly pop song – not that you would ever admit it to him. 

When you arrive at your destination and you pull up to Eddie’s driveway, you notice that Steve’s car isn’t there yet. Only Jonathan’s car is parked next to Eddie’s Impala. 

Steve is never late, yesterday being the first time that he was the last one to arrive, so he is either still waiting for Robin or… running late is his new thing. 

“There she is!” Eddie chuckles as opens the front door at the same time as you get out of your car, “and she’s here in one piece!” 

A laugh tumbles from your lips as you close the door and lock your car before you make your way over to him, eying the new shirt he’s wearing – which is just another band tee that you have never heard of before. His curly hair up in a bun and a can of beer in his hand.

“I’m a good driver, what are you talking about, Eds?”

He furrows his brows, lips curling into an amused smile, “are you?” 

You walk up the steps to his porch, greeting him with an eye roll, “you know what, next time I’ll pick you up.”

He smirks, using his index finger to point at your car. 

“What, with your baby Mustang over there?” 

You squint your eyes at him, “nope, I’ll take the hidden gem in my garage.” 

“Wait what… What hidden gem?” 

“You’ll find out,” you wink at him, trying to brush past him when he stops you, placing his hand on your arm, he pulls you back softly. 

“Wait.”

You raise your brows at him, “yes?” 

He’s got the twinkle in his eyes, the one he always has when he’s happy about something. His lip twitches, pale cheeks slowly changing color, he’s barely able to contain his excitement as he bounces on his feet.

“Guess who scored a date?” 

Your eyes widen, lips parting as you remember the pretty waitress from the diner. 

Eddie is blushing, lips now curling into a full smile. 

“Oh my god, really?” You ask as a grin appears on your face. 

“Yeah! I’m gonna take her out tomorrow night, I can’t fucking wait, sweets.” He says with a dreamy look in his eyes. “She was so sweet a-and fuck… she’s gorgeous, don’t know how she said yes to me.” 

You frown at him, reaching your hand out to pinch his cheek, “you’re a handsome, sweet boy, Edward, now shush. You’re gonna knock her off her feet. Any girl would be lucky to have you.” 

His eyes soften, he rubs the back of his neck before his fingers trace the scar on the side – you know that it’s now an insecurity of his, just like it is one of yours. Scars litter your skin from where a bat had left a gnarly wound on the back of your shoulder, from where Jason had hurt you, from where he had left reminders for you that he was the one who did this to you. 

But your scars aren’t nearly half as bad as all the ones on his skin. 

“I’ve never been on a date before,” he murmurs, eyes flashing with doubt. 

“So? It’s gonna be even more special then,” you shrug.

“I just don’t wanna mess it up.” 

“You won’t,” you smile at him, “you’ve got that special charm, one that makes others like you right away, you’re funny and you’re sweet, now stop doubting yourself or I’ll kick your ass and hunt down every asshole who ever made you feel otherwise.” 

He chuckles at your words, though his eyes are still soft as he looks at you. He doesn’t doubt you, he knows that you would actually hunt down every name on the list of people who hurt him. 

“Got it?” 

“Got it.”

“Good,” you say, sternly.

“Good,” he nods. 

You stare at each other for a moment before you both burst into giggles. He wraps his arm around your shoulder and he pulls you inside his house, narrowing his eyes as he takes in your dress.

“Who’d you dress up for, sweets?” He asks, “there’s no hot guys here.” 

“Well, aren’t you humble?” 

“No hot guys besides me, of course,” he corrects himself after clearing his throat, smirking at you. 

You only shake your head in response. 

You pass by the kitchen and the big shelf that was specifically customized for Wayne’s mug collection. Vinyls are on the walls in the long hallway that leads to the living room where you hear the chatter of your friends and the faint music that sounds through the house. 

The smell of weed already lingering in the air. 

The sound of Nancy’s giggle, followed by a voice you hadn’t heard in a while makes you furrow your brows.

“Argyle is back?” 

Your surprised voice along with the wide eyes you look at him with make him chuckle. He knew you weren’t paying attention when he told you about it days back. You were too distracted by whatever daydream you were stuck in as he let both you and Steve know that Argyle was coming back to spend the summer in Hawkins before going off to college in September – something that Eddie definitely won’t be doing, he won’t be going to college, he won’t be going anywhere, at least not now, not yet, maybe not ever, even though it’s all he ever wanted. 

He walked the stupid stage, he snatched his diploma and he finally flipped Higgins the bird, despite the glares, despite the whispers of the people who still blamed him for what had happened weeks back but it doesn’t matter, he tells himself. It doesn’t matter what they say or think because he got people who believed him, people who care about him, people who were willing to fight for him, people who are worth staying for. 

“Yeah, he’s here the whole summer.” 

“Ooh, means we’re gonna get high a lot, cool,” you giggle. 

“Like we don’t do that all that time,” Eddie rolls his eyes, though a smile tugs at his lips as he pushes towards the living room, your feet carrying you closer and closer to your friends. 

Despite Steve not being here yet, you already feel the rush of excitement mixed with the nervousness of what you plan on doing, flushing through your veins. 

Your eyes first fall on Jonathan and Nancy who are standing by the door that leads out into Eddie’s backyard, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, a smile tugging at her lips when she sees you. 

“Hi!” She waves at you, a friendly look on her face. 

“Hey,” you smile at her before you look over at her boyfriend, greeting him as well. You then turn your head to your right, your smile widening when your eyes meet Argyle’s already very dazed ones.

He stands up from his seat on the couch, his hair falling in front of his face a little, he opens his arms, revealing his Bob Marley shirt to you. 

“Well look at what the cat dragged in,” he jokes as he steps towards you, “come here, chica.” 

You chuckle, leaving Eddie’s side to greet Argyle, who instantly pulls you into a tight hug. The smell of weed enveloping you, right away.

“I didn’t know you’d be back so soon!” 

“So soon?” He slurs, patting your head when you pull back again, chuckling when you swat his hand away. “You didn’t miss me?” He jokes as he wraps his arm around your shoulder, just the way Eddie did before, he pulls something out of his pocket, handing it to you, “here, got you a little gift from California.” 

Your eyes lighten up in amusement, a smile tugging at your lips as you look at the blunt he’s holding, you take it, holding it up as you look up at him with a grin, “why thanks.” 

“You gotta share that one with me,” Jonathan grins at you, lazily. 

“You’ve had enough already,” Nancy rolls her eyes, though not without a smile on her lips. She pats his chest, “come on, let’s go outside.” 

“Yeah, you guys go ahead, I’m gonna grab some more drinks,” Eddie says before he leaves the living room. 

You all step out into the backyard, walking over to the little fire pit where the flames are already glowing, surrounded by the comfortable seats. The sound of water flowing from the stream filling the air with a fresh scent, the smell of flowers and the trees giving you a sense of peace. 

Eddie’s backyard is comforting and nice, despite being close to the forest, it’s making you feel safe. He wouldn’t have this now if he hadn’t been dragged into a world of darkness – unlike you, he didn’t grow up in wealth, he didn’t have a fancy house, a fancy backyard with a pool. No. Eddie grew up in a lonesome house, one that certainly wasn’t as luxurious as yours or the one he lives in now. The house he grew up in was haunted by painful memories of his mother that he lost at a way too young age and his father who came and went as he pleased, it was the only thing that he had, the only thing he called his own, but that was taken from him too and he had no choice but to move in with his Uncle Wayne, who had done everything to give him a home – and now, Eddie gave him that back, he gave Wayne a home, a nice house with a nice roof over his head, a garden that he always wanted to have. Eddie had tried to keep the upside down a secret, he didn’t want to talk about what was out there, he didn’t want to worry him, he didn’t want to tell him where all the money actually came from but Wayne isn’t stupid and Eddie isn’t exactly the best at keeping secrets from the people he loves and cares about. 

You wonder what you would have told your parents if they were still here – would you have told them the truth about what actually happened at the Creel house? Or would you have kept it all a secret? You are certainly much better at keeping secrets hidden. Eddie couldn’t even look Wayne in the eyes when he told him that the bite marks on his skin came from a rabid dog and not from interdimensional bats. 

Something cold touches your shoulder, making you flinch in surprise. You tilt your head up, meeting the eyes of your best friend again, “where’s your head at, sweets?” He chuckles, holding the can of diet pepsi out to you. 

With furrowed brows, you look down at the drink and reach for it, “thanks,” you murmur, “and uh, nowhere. I’m just fascinated by your backyard.” 

His dimples show when a laugh escapes him, he takes a seat beside you, snatching away the blunt from your lap, he places it between his lips and uses his red lighter to light it up. He lets out a content sigh as he leans back, puffing out the smoke into the sky before he takes a look around, “it’s nice isn’t it?” 

You nod, pulling the tab on your pepsi, it opens with a pop. 

“It’s better than mine.” 

He turns his head to look at you, a bewildered look on his face, “you’re crazy, sweets. You got a pool.”

“You got one too!” You chuckle, pointing to the pool that has yet to be used, it’s warm out, not hot yet. 

“Yeah, well yours is fucking huge, and you got a hot tub too!” 

“You got a hot tub, chica?” Argyle gasps from your right, “oh, you’re rich rich.” 

“Correction, my parents were rich.” 

“Correction, we’re all rich now,” Jonathan adds, pointing at you with a dazed smile. 

“Rich isn’t exactly the term I would use,” Nancy mumbles as she takes a sip of her soda. 

“Then what term would you use, Wheeler?” Eddie asks, shaking his head at her, “enlighten us.” 

Nancy clears her throat, placing her elbow on the wooden armrest, “we’re taken care of.” 

Jonathan snorts, putting his hand on her thigh as he gives her an amused smile, while she already rolls her eyes at whatever is about to leave his mouth – there’s no annoyance behind her eyes though, no tension in her body from where he touched her, unlike with Steve, who she always looked tense and irritated with. Back then you didn’t understand why, there were so many questions in your mind when you watched them and when she left him – how could anyone be irritated with Steve? How could anyone be tense with someone that provides so much love and warmth to the people he so deeply cares about? How could she leave him? How could she break his heart? Who could ever hurt Steve Harrington? 

“Just admit it, we’re rich.” 

A groan echoes through the backyard, one that doesn’t belong to Eddie, Nancy or anyone else sitting in the circle. You all turn your heads towards the house, finding a very annoyed Robin making her way over to you, a six pack of beers in her hand, sunglasses perched on her nose even though the sun is starting to go down already. 

Eddie isn’t surprised at her barging into his home, she does it all the time, to him, to you, to Steve, he doesn’t mind it though. 

You straighten your back, holding your drink tighter as you look away from her, waiting for Steve to walk through the door. 

The feelings inside of you start to rise again, your heart picking up the pace as your skin starts burning from the excitement.

Robin plops down in the seat next to Eddie, placing the beers on the ground as she slumps back, sighing loudly. 

Everyone’s watching her, expecting a rant already but you’re still fixated on the door, waiting for him. 

“Buckley, why so angry?” 

She pulls her sunglasses up into her hair, turning to face him, “I’m glad you asked,” she murmurs as she reaches for one of the beers, “Dingus ditched me, so I had to walk all the way here!” She throws her arms up dramatically. 

You furrow your brows at her words, the burning on your skin beginning to die down just as fast as it came. 

Argyle and Jonathan chuckle at her. 

“You live 3 blocks away from here…” Nancy mumbles. 

“Not the point, Nance,” she argues, glaring at her friend. 

“Wait, so Steve isn’t coming?” Jonathan slurs. 

Your eyes are wide and hopeful, your hand clutching the can tighter as you dig your feet into the grass beneath you, a weird feeling settling in the pit of your stomach. 

“Wetting his dick with Heidi seems more fucking important today,” she grumbles, rolling her eyes as she raises the beer to her lips. 

Your heart drops. 

The burning in your skin disappears completely as the fire is replaced by ice, the coldness of it freezing your whole body, stopping your heart and taking the false hope away as it kills every feeling that had taken home inside of you just seconds ago. 

Your eyes are stuck on her like you’re waiting, waiting for her to laugh and say it was a joke, that he will be here soon, that he isn’t out with some other girl after what happened between you and him yesterday. 

“Whoa, what?” Eddie mumbles, holding his hands up, “so… he’s on a date with the girl he didn’t want to keep seeing?” 

“Yep.”

Every ounce of excitement is now replaced by the sickness in your stomach, the lump in your throat that makes you struggle to breathe. 

What were you thinking? 

That the game you played wasn't just a game to him? That it was something more than that? That he wanted you just the way you always wanted him? That he could ever feel something for you? 

You don’t know whether you want to laugh at yourself or cry. 

How saddening it is to long for someone who was forced to like you. 

While you were getting ready, making yourself look pretty for him, thinking that he might like you in this dress – he was getting ready to take out another girl, a girl that he chose to like. 

You slowly slump back in your seat when Eddie’s laughter pulls you back into reality. You blink, masking the shocked, pained look on your face with a relaxed one as you take a sip of your drink, hoping that it will get rid of the lump sitting in your throat – it doesn’t. Nothing does. 

Your friends move on to another topic, while you stay there, where you will stay for a while now. The pain of the rejection that has never even taken place, slowly sinking in and everything around you begins to suffocate you – the dress you are wearing, the necklace around your neck, even the presence of your friends. 

You don’t want to be here any longer, you need to be alone. 

But you can’t go, not now, not yet. 

It would be too soon, too obvious and they can’t know, no one can know about your feelings for Steve, about how much it hurts to feel that way for him. 

So you hide the pain as best as you can, you nod along to your friends' conversation, you speak and you laugh when you have to, even when everything inside of you wants you to cry both out of sadness and anger. 

You’re not even angry at him, you couldn’t be angry at him even if you tried to be. He doesn’t know about your feelings – if he did, he wouldn’t have filled you with false hope, you know he wouldn’t. 

He wouldn’t string you along, you know he’s not the type of person to do something like that, not even to you. But you really thought that you had something, that there was something between you, that’s why you let your walls crumble, that’s why you started acting upon your feelings, that’s why you were ready to do more than just the subtle touches and the flirtations. 

You wait, you wait for the right moment to leave, when everyone is distracted enough, you get up, after whispering an apology, a lie into Eddie’s ear, knowing that he doesn’t believe you, that he will probably call you later or even show up to check on you. But he lets you go. 

And as you leave your friends, making your way back into the house, their laughter echoes in your ears, their happy voices and the cheerfulness they’re all feeling, that you were supposed to feel too. 

You blink back the tears, not wanting them to fall just yet. 

You make your way back to your car, not wasting a second to start it and drive home, your vision blurred and your throat hurting from how much you want to cry. 

How foolish it was of you to think that you could ever stand a chance – there was never one to begin with. You will always be the one in the shadows, the one to secretly watch him, the one to secretly want him, the one with the jealousy and the heartache, the one wishing to be anyone but herself because maybe then, he would want you too. 

The smell of smoke from the campfire is now lingering on your clothes and in your hair, tears are now falling freely, ruining the makeup that you have spent hours on, the makeup that you can’t wait to wash off now. 

You don’t even want to think about him. 

You don’t want to ask yourself what he’s doing now. 

He touched you so softly, so subtly, and yet it did everything to set your insides on fire, to make you feel special, even if only for a short moment. 

Now he is touching someone else, in far more special ways. 

A frustrated sigh falls from your lips when you step inside your home, it’s cold and empty, something that you have felt like for a very long time until he started the fire inside of you, only to make it die again… and all without his knowledge. 

You walk up the stairs and past your room, going straight into the bathroom, feeling the need to wash away the day, as though it could ease the aching in your chest. You start the shower before you turn to the sink, not even bothering to look at your reflection in the mirror, it would only make you feel more pathetic. 

You can feel the hot tears rolling down your cheeks, the quivering in your bottom lip. 

You hate this, you hate the sadness that you shouldn’t be feeling in the first place. 

You got no reason to be sad, you should have put your feelings aside, knowing that nothing would ever come out of it. 

It was all so obvious, it was just teasing, nothing more, nothing less. Nothing ever happened, so why would it happen now? He just found another way of messing with you, so that you two wouldn’t go at each other's throats like before.

You just have to go back. No more teasing like this. No more letting yourself get sucked into delusions. He is just having fun while you crave something more with him and get hopeful. 

You aren’t having fun. You wanted more.

You have no choice but to go back to how you were before this… thing started. 

Once your makeup is off and your dress is now laying on the bathroom floor, you step inside the shower, letting the warmth envelope you, hoping for a sense of comfort from it. 

Standing there for a moment, you let the water rain upon your skin, matching the pace of your tears that you’re willing away. 

You will hunt Billy in the afterlife for making you believe that King Steve could ever want you. 

You use your scented shampoo, hoping that it will get rid of the smell of smoke in your hair. You love campfire’s but you can’t stand the stench it leaves on your clothes and your hair. 

Your hands run over your smooth skin as you wash your body, reminding you of the fact that you even shaved this morning – you couldn’t feel more stupid than you do right now. 

Despite the loudness of your own voice cursing at you inwardly and the water hitting the glass, you hear the sound of your doorbell going off – multiple times. 

“What the fuck,” you murmur in confusion. 

It keeps ringing again and again – once, twice and it stops after a third time before it turns into rapid knocking. 

You know it isn’t Eddie, he wouldn’t even have the patience to ring your doorbell and wait for you to open, he’d just barge right in. 

You’d choose to ignore it if the person outside wasn’t so goddamn persistent. 

You turn off the shower, squeezing the water from your hair before you get out, and wrap a towel around your body. The mirror is fogged, as the rest of the room is, you open the door and step out into the hallway, that now feels colder than before. 

The knocking continues, filling you with anger. 

Who shows up at night, knocking like a mad man? 

Maybe you shouldn’t make your way downstairs now, maybe you shouldn’t open the door to whoever it is on the other side. It could be anyone or anything but you doubt that Vecna came back from the dead to knock on doors now and hunt you of all people – he could have done that weeks back, you went through enough trauma, he could have easily chosen you but even he didn’t want you. 

You rip open the door, ready to curse and yell at whoever is terrorizing you at this hour but every word gets caught in your throat and even your breathing halts for a second as your glassy eyes meet the hazel ones that you have been missing all day. Frustration and anger swirling inside them, blazing fire raging behind his eyes. His cheeks are slightly flushed, his chest rising up and down heavily as he stands on your porch, looking better than ever. 

“Steve?” His name tumbles out of your mouth before you can stop it as you stare at him in confusion. 

He eyes you up and down, taking in the sight of your exposed skin that is still dripping with water before he clenches his jaw, raising his hand to run his fingers through his hair, tugging at it. 

Steve Harrington is fucked. He is utterly fucked. You have cursed him in every way possible, he can’t get you out of his mind, he can’t get you out of his system and the thought that you were only playing with him drove him insane. His hunger for you made him desperate, desperate for release. 

So in his state of frustration and desperation, he called up Heidi, thinking that a date and sex with a girl he had been with before would help him move on and stop thinking about you but who was he fooling. He couldn’t even kiss her when she leaned in to greet him with her lips, he dodged her. He couldn’t even listen to the things she was telling him after they ordered their drinks. He couldn’t care less about her. All he could think about was you. All he wanted was you. He wanted your lips to kiss him, he wanted your hands to touch him, he wanted your body under his and the more he thought about it, the more he stopped caring about a possible humiliation after he’d finally make a move on you, he needed you, and he needed to try – if you’d reject him, then so be it, at least he would know and not live with the what if’s in his head. 

He canceled the date in the middle of it, not caring about how messed up that was. He drove her home and without a second thought, he drove here, he came to you. 

And now, you’re standing in front of him, in nothing but a towel, water rolling down your soft skin, big eyes filled with confusion, lips parted, lips that he wants to kiss until he grows breathless. 

The sight in front of him does little to make any of this easier for him. You look like you’ve just walked out of one the dreams he had about you. 

“You gotta be kidding me,” he murmurs under his breath, surprising you when he invites himself into your home, brushing past you with an intensity that almost knocks you off your feet. 

You blink, turning around abruptly, a bewildered look replacing your confused one. 

As you take in the sight of him, your sadness begins to dissolve as the anger you started to miss floods through your veins the longer you look at him. 

You slam the door shut when the wind causes goosebumps to rise on your skin, you hold the towel tighter against your body as you glare at him, “what the fuck?”

“I have to be the one to say that!” He argues.

“Excuse me?” You scoff, your face now burning with rage. Every second that passes now makes you forget about the tears you just shed over him, irritation sparking inside of you so wildly that you want nothing more than to kick him out of your house for behaving that way towards you for no reason. “Weren’t you on a date with… Heidi?” 

Steve clenches his jaw at the mocking voice, at the smirk now tugging on your lips. He chuckles, though not in amusement, he points a finger at you, “see, that’s what I’m fucking talking about!”

Your brows knit together at his outburst, the fire in his eyes growing stronger and bigger. 

“Harrington, if you came to yell nonesense at me, just fucking leave!” You roll your eyes and turn away from him, making your way back towards the stairs. 

But his scoff stops you. 

“Oh, so you keep running away huh!? Didn’t you already get over that!?” 

You turn around with nothing but anger boiling inside of you, “running away!? From what!?”

This should have been enough to make him turn around and leave, because clearly nothing changed, clearly this is still just a game to you – but he has hope, and he is desperate enough to throw every bit of his dignity away and risk something. 

“Oh, don’t play fucking dumb right now. Acting like that for two weeks and pretending to be stupid is not a good look on you, Blondie.” 

You take in a sharp breath, digging your fingers into your towel as you frown at him. 

What does he want from you? 

Why did he come here? 

Was the date so bad, was the sex so awful that he had to come here to torture you? 

Without another word, you turn around and you stomp up the stairs, not wanting to see him, not wanting to hear his voice anymore. 

Your heart starts pounding in your chest again, and you can’t help but wonder – did he figure you out? Did he figure out your feelings? Is that why he is here? To confront you about them? To reject you?

You feel more and more stupid about what you had wanted to do when you woke up this morning. 

Just when your feet carry you up to the second floor, and you rush across the hallway to walk into your room, his footsteps echo behind you, making you more irritated than before. You turn around to face him, but before you can even say anything, Steve is suddenly right in front of you, and his hands reach out to grab your waist, he pushes you against the wall behind you, gently, careful not to hurt you. 

The gasp that falls from your lips startles you. His hands that touch the only thing that covers your body leaving your skin on fire. Your heart rate picks up so rapidly that it nearly steals your breath away. You look up into his golden brown orbs, the ones that are nearly black as he steps even closer, invading your space completely, making you breathe in the scent of his cologne, the one that has butterflies swirling in your stomach. 

He catches you off guard completely. 

You feel so vulnerable, so exposed as you stand there, caged in by his arms, his breath on your skin, his eyes that are filled with so much hunger. 

The words die on your tongue, and yet, after you breathe in more of his scent, you open your mouth to speak. 

“Shut up, Blondie… Just shut up for a second,” he murmurs, interrupting whatever words you had prepared to lie to him with. 

His right hand leaves your waist, inching closer to your stomach as his fingers trace the hem of your towel, drool already forming in his mouth at the sight of you, he is ready to take you, ready to devour you and make you scream his name before he fucks you for only this time. 

He notices the way your chest is moving, the way your breathing stutters. 

“W-What are you doing, perv?” You stutter as you watch him play with the opening of your towel. 

He can’t help but laugh, shaking his head at your insult. 

“Perv? Are you going to continue to play fucking dumb?” 

“Dumb? You are the dumb one if you think that I’m going to be the one to break into your teasing.” 

Steve’s eyes flash with satisfaction. 

This is what he wanted – to hear you admit that you were playing that game with him after all and not because you were playing him and stringing him along just to turn him down to gain something from it, whatever it might be. No. You were doing just what he was hoping for, all along. 

You want him just as much as he wants you and that’s all he needs to know. 

You roll your eyes at him, turning your head as you try to push your way out of his grasp but before you can even step away from him, his hands stop you but not on your waist this time. His large hands cup your cheeks, making you freeze. You stare at him wide eyed when he brings you closer, and you can’t even react before his whole body is suddenly pressed against yours, your heartbeat lurches into your throat. 

As though his touch wasn’t shocking enough, his next move almost causes you to collapse, because now it isn’t only his body against yours, his hands on your cheeks or his breath on your skin, now it’s his lips… his lips on yours, his lips moving against yours in desperation as he takes every last of your breath and makes it his own. 

You can’t do anything, you can’t move, you can’t breathe, you can’t even blink as you stare at him – how his eyes are closed and his cheeks are flushed, the furrowed brows as he kisses you with a kind of passion no one has ever kissed you with before. 

Steve is kissing you. 

Steve Harrington is kissing you. 

His lips are moving roughly against yours, his hands holding your cheeks so softly, yet with an intensity. 

This is all you ever wanted, to feel his touch and his lips on yours but you are too stunned to move, too surprised to kiss him back right now, too distracted wondering if this is real or not.

Along with the shock, you feel the slightest bit of insecurity flooding through you because even though he is kissing you, you can’t help but wonder why. Why isn’t he with Heidi? Why isn’t he kissing her right now? Did she turn him down? Did he come here because he just needed someone? Because he knew that you would fall for this? Or is this just another way for him to tease you? 

Those questions prompt you to push him away, forcing him to break the kiss that he was so deeply lost in. 

You notice the way he begrudgingly pulls away, the way he seems so drawn to your lips, the way his brows furrow in confusion now, his face is flushed and his pupils dilated as he looks at you with nothing but desperation in his eyes – he isn’t teasing, he wants you, he wants you right now and isn’t that all that matters? That he wants you?

His eyes stare into yours as he is breathing heavily. A flash of rejection takes over his features and by the look in his eyes, you can tell that he is beginning to get lost in his anxious thoughts – thoughts that you quickly shut down by making the move that he just made. You cup his cheeks and you pull him down, closing your eyes as you slam your lips against his for the very first time. 

Unlike you, he wastes no second to reciprocate the kiss, a sigh of content leaving him as he presses you back against the wall. 

Warmth blooms in your stomach, one that doesn’t stay the same temperature for long because the moment he deepens the kiss, the moment his hands hold you tighter and his knee parts your legs, sliding his thigh in between yours as the kiss gets rougher and rougher, you feel the warmth evolving into a deeper, burning sensation – a fire inside of you that only he can mend. 

You can’t believe that this is happening, that something that you had been craving for years is now here. 

And Steve, he feels his heart pounding in his chest from the rush, from the adrenaline, from his desperation that grows bigger and stronger when he feels just how much you want him as your lips move roughly with his. 

You're hesitant with your touch, but when he grabs your face and pulls you even tighter against his body, his thigh pressing stronger against your core, you can’t help but throw your arms around his neck, digging your fingers into the hair that you’ve always wanted to touch. 

You can feel him smirking against your lips when you moan into the kiss, which prompts you to tug at his hair and press your tongue against his bottom lip.

He welcomes it into his mouth so eagerly, his tongue now clashing against yours as his palms slide down to your waist while your hands reach for the front of his shirt, fisting the material tightly as you begin to drag him into your room. 

You both know, you both feel where this is going, what this is leading to – what the past few weeks have been leading to. 

You want this, you need this, you need him, even if just for tonight. 

And you know, you already know that you will be done for, that he will ruin you for anyone else but you couldn’t care less, right now. Especially when he kisses you with so much roughness, everything about this setting all your insides on fire, leaving your skin burning and yet aching for more. 

Steve is careful not to step on your bare feet as you lead him backwards into a different room. Excitement bubbles in his stomach and he grows even more breathless than before, he pulls away and breaks the kiss but doesn’t hesitate to latch his lips onto your neck, kissing and biting your flesh, “I fucking hate you, Blondie. I hate that I want you so much.” 

Your lashes flutter as you close your eyes, tilting your head to the side as you feel your stomach and your heart fluttering at his touch, at his lips on your skin but especially at his words. 

Your knees grow weak and a needy whimper falls from your puffy lips. 

All that echoes in your mind now is I want you. I want you. I want you. 

You don’t even care about the other things he said to you, you only care about the three little words you have only ever dreamt of before. 

You almost fall when you feel the back of your legs hitting your bed, but he keeps you upright, not pushing you down just yet. He keeps nibbling on your neck, kissing, biting, sucking as he breathes heavily against you, growing harder against your stomach. 

“Couldn’t even finish the fucking date, couldn’t do anything cause I kept thinking about you, Blondie,” he speaks into your neck, fingers now dangerously close to your bare skin behind the towel. 

Your heart nearly explodes at his words and you can’t help but sigh in relief, knowing that nothing happened between him and Heidi. And all because of you. 

“You drive me fucking crazy, I want to rip the towel right off–”

“Then do!” You whine, not caring about how eager and desperate you sound, “show me how much you hate me, Stevie.” 

He pulls away from your neck after placing another wet kiss to your skin, strands of your hair getting caught in his as he faces you again, with flushed cheeks and almost black eyes he looks at you and takes in the sight of you, the pout on your lips, the flustered look on your face, big eyes that you are begging him with. 

He doesn’t even bother to look around the room, just caring about the bed behind you. 

He rips the towel off your body, letting it fall to the ground, his hands find your bare waist that he grips tightly as he throws you on the bed, smirking at the gasp that leaves your lips again. 

Without hesitating to, he reaches for the hem of his shirt and rips it off. 

Just like back then on the boat, when he took his shirt off before he jumped into the water, you stare at his chest, almost drooling at the delicious sight in front of you. His broad shoulders, the scar around his neck that makes him look even hotter, the hairs on his chest, the muscles in his arms that have visibly gotten bigger since high school. You bite your lip as your eyes move down, almost whining when you see the bulge in his tight jeans. 

You wish you could run your finger down his chest and his stomach, tracing every little scar that the bats have left behind, but instead, you push yourself up, blushing at the fact that you are completely bare in front of him. You reach for his belt, fingers beginning to fumble with the metal when he stops you with a simple touch and a headshake. 

“None of that,” he murmurs as he leans over, his hands digging between your ass and the mattress as he suddenly pulls you to the edge of the bed, dropping to his knees before you, he throws your legs over his shoulder and looks up at you with hooded eyes, “I need to hear you first.” 

You nearly combust when you feel his breath on your pussy and his lips on your inner thighs. A whimper falling from your mouth as you try to close your legs out of instinct, blushing even harder than before. 

“You’re fucking soaked,” he smirks, holding your thighs open as he teasingly slips a finger through your folds, “all for me, huh?” 

You don’t answer but you don’t need to, the loud moan that you let out when he dives right into you with his tongue, gives him everything he needs to know. 

He moans in content as he grabs your ass roughly, eyes rolling back when he tastes you for the first time, he almost starts drooling over you, finding pleasure in this. 

He teasingly licks a stripe up from your entrance to your clit, circling the tip of his tongue around your already aching nub as he uses his fingers to part your lips. 

You scrunch up your face as his tongue pleases you in ways your fingers never could, sighs and whimpers start escaping you as he now presses his thumb against your clit and he starts eating you out, his moans vibrating against you. 

Your mouth falls open as your back arches in pleasure, fingers digging into the sheets beneath you as you fall apart completely. 

No words are spoken as you both just enjoy this moment of bliss, him getting lost in you, you getting lost in the pleasure he blesses you with. 

You focus on everything and also on nothing – his whimpers send shivers through you, his tongue that he fucks you with making you gasp and drool, and despite the heaviness in your eyes, you manage to open them, wanting, needing to see him. 

He eats you out slowly, yet desperately, fingers and tongue now working together to unravel you. His eyes are closed and he keeps moaning and whimpering as saliva runs down his chin. He looks so content, so pleased from only this. 

Steve curls his fingers inside of you as he keeps his thumb on your clit, rubbing circles on it. 

Tears of pleasure prickle in your eyes as needy sounds keep escaping you. You hold the sheets even tighter now, closing your legs around his head, caging him in between them. 

Steve finally opens his eyes, they darken even more now when he sees how you are falling apart for him, it only prompts him to fuck you even harder with his tongue and his two fingers. 

Your moans and whimpers are enough to drive him crazy, enough to make the erection in his pants feel painful but he wants more, he needs to hear his name falling from your lips and he gets what he wants only seconds later when your body grows tense and your back arches again as a tear rolls down your cheek. 

“Steve!” You nearly scream as you come undone, writhing beneath his touch. 

You tilt your head to the side, bringing your hand up to your face, you bite your teeth into your knuckles as hot tears run down your flushed cheeks. 

Steve laps at your pussy, moans still falling from his mouth. Only as you whimper weakly does he pull away from you, but not without giving your clit another teasing lick, causing you to spasm which only makes him chuckle darkly. 

He carefully removes your legs from his shoulders and lets go of you before he rises back to his full height. 

You instantly press your legs together, breathing heavily as you try to calm down from the orgasm he just gave you. 

What Steve didn’t do before was take in the sight of your bare body, and now as he does it, he has to swallow harshly, his dick twitching in his jeans, begging for release. He finds himself aching for you, even more than before, he not only wants you, he needs you in ways he can’t even describe. 

He watches the way your chest glistens with sweat, your nipples hard from the pleasure that curses through your body, your eyes are shut, your brows pulled together. He licks his lips before he bites down as his eyes trace every inch of your skin, the scars that make you look even more attractive. 

It takes everything in him not to drop to his knees and taste you once again. 

He needs you, he needs to feel you wrapped around his dick, he needs to hear your moans as he fills you to the brim, he needs to fuck you. 

Steve unbuckles his belt, the metal clinking against each other, causing you to open your eyes at the sound. 

You look at him through your glassy eyes, pushing yourself up on your elbows as you watch him unbutton his pants but before he pushes them down, he reaches for his wallet in his back pocket and you watch him curiously. 

He opens it to take out the condom he had prepared for a different… less exciting occasion. He hastily pushes his pants and boxers down, his dick slaps against his stomach and he fails to notice the way your eyes widen or the way your lips part in surprise at the sight, at the size of him. He steps out of his shoes, cursing under his breath as he pushes them aside before he uses both hands to part your legs, getting on the mattress.

Before he rips the foil apart, he looks into your eyes, wanting your consent first but no words have to leave his mouth because you are the first to make the move, you sit up slightly, taking the tiny foil pack from his fingers, surprising him by bringing it up to your lips and ripping it open with your teeth. 

Despite the streaks of tears on your skin, the fucked out look in your eyes, the shakiness in your body, you look at him so dangerously. 

And he can’t do anything but watch you in awe for a moment, how you wrap your much smaller hand around his dick, pressing your thumb against his slit to tease him. 

“O-Oh fuck…” He shudders, eyes nearly closing at only that. 

You bite your bottom lip, trying not to drool as you roll the condom over his length. You look up at him again to find him staring at you with flushed cheeks and lust in his eyes. It’s dark in the room, but you can see each other just well enough, the moon shines brightly into your room tonight. 

You can’t even help yourself when you cup his cheeks and pull him down for a kiss, closing your eyes when your lips meet again. 

He grabs your waist, making you crawl back until you’re far enough on the mattress for your head to hit the pillows when he pushes you down. He presses his hands on your knees and you part your legs eagerly for him. 

His fingers trace your skin as he brings his hand up, passing your hip bone and your waist and grabbing your boob with roughness as he slips his tongue into your mouth, wanting you to taste yourself. He pinches your nipple with his fingers, smirking against you when you whine and writhe underneath him. 

You reach your hand down, not wanting to waste any more seconds, you wrap your hand around his dick again, jerking him off a few times before you line him up with your entrance, whining desperately again. 

Steve breaks the kiss and opens his eyes to look at you, “you’re so desperate for my cock, huh?” He breathes, still playing with your nipple. 

You raise yourself up a little, pecking his lips again as you nod your head. 

He can’t believe that you are this needy for him, that you are giving him those eyes. 

If only he knew how many times you have dreamt of this moment. 

“Please,” you whimper. 

“Please what, Blondie?” He teases you as his hand now slides down your stomach, fingertips brushing your clit, making you shiver. 

You blink and you breathe heavily as you place your hand on his shoulder, “please fuck me, Steve… Please…”

A satisfied smirk appears on his face, your desperation making him feel smug – but the smugness quickly dissolves into something else when he pushes inside you and feels your tightness around him for the very first time. 

You breathe in harshly and hold it, shutting your eyes when you feel him stretching you out. Nothing could have prepared you for this moment, not his tongue, not his fingers, nothing. The stretch is both painful and delicious, it makes you gasp but it also makes you drool as he inches deeper and deeper. 

Steve can only curse and whimper in pleasure as he watches his cock disappearing inside of you, he doesn’t push in fully though, too scared to hurt you. 

He bites his bottom lip, bottoming out again before he pushes back in, listening to the wet sound and the neediness in your voice as you moan. 

“M-More,” you whine, your eyes now watching him, “please…”

His dick twitches at the sound of that and at the look on your face. 

“Fuck me, Steve.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice, he pushes in deeper than before, until he’s buried inside of you completely. Usually, he would take a moment to catch his breathe, to adjust to the tightness but he is too eager, too desperate for this. So he grabs your hips and he starts thrusting, slowly at first, not wanting to hurt you. 

You gasp, hands finding the sheets beneath you again as your eyes follow the movement of his hips, watching the way his dick slides in and out of you. You throw your head back and look at his face next.

Strands of his hair fall in front of his eyes, his lips are puffy from all the kissing, his cheeks are flushed. He is moaning, for you, because of you. You are in utter bliss, feeling pride swell in your chest when he moans even louder as you clench around him. 

He watches the way he fucks you, eyes growing darker and darker and then, he looks at your chest, the way your tits bounce from the movements, something that prompts him to move his hips even faster, fucking into you harder now. 

“F-Fuck,” you whine loudly. 

His eyes meet your face and the pleasure on it is suddenly not enough for him, he wants to throw you over the edge, he needs to hear you scream for him. 

He curses under his breath when you clench around him again. 

Steve’s knees dig into the mattress, his fingers now holding you even stronger than before, he is sure to leave bruises but you don’t mind, you would never mind. He fastens his pace, railing into you and thrusting in and out of you, making you fall apart in the matter of a few seconds. You can’t speak, even if you tried. All that you can do is moan pathetically, letting him use you. 

“You take me so well, holy shit, Blondie,” he whimpers, voicing out his thoughts, brows scrunching together as he watches you, your lips parted, moans that he only ever dreamt of leaving you. “L-Look at you, fuck. If I knew that my cock would shut you up, I would’ve done this a long time ago.” 

“S-Steve!” You whine with a high pitched voice, something that only leads him to pound you even harder even if a tiny part of him wants to mock you. 

Your eyes roll back, the tension in your stomach rolling back in, only stronger and hotter this time, and you already don’t know what to do with yourself, but when he suddenly reaches for your legs, hooking the back of your knees around his forearms, your eyes widen when they meet his again and a wicked smirk appears on his face as he starts fucking you from a different angle, snapping his hips into yours so wildly that you can’t help but cry out as your eyelids become droopy, tears now begging to be released, just like the drool that starts coming from the corner of your mouth. 

The room now filled with nothing but the dirty sounds of your skin slapping together, the squelching noises from your pussy and his pleasing moans. 

Steve watches you in awe, eyes growing wide when he sees just how cockdrunk you are for him. 

He fucks you recklessly, eagerly and as though it is the last thing he will ever do. 

Your tears fall freely, your whimpers turning into cries the moment his thumb finds your clit again. 

He feels your walls clenching around him, gripping his twitching cock tightly – and he knows you’re close, he knows that he is close but he doesn’t want to stop, he doesn’t want this moment to be over. 

Steve savors every second, pounding into you roughly and harshly, grabbing your face with his left hand when your head falls to the side, he needs to watch you, he needs to see you when you cum around him. 

“You wanna cum for me?” He asks breathlessly. 

You nod eagerly, without letting a word fall from your lips, you only nod and whine. 

You feel the overstimulation rushing through you, the fire in your stomach that is about to burst into something bigger. You can feel him everywhere, he is so deep inside of you that it makes your body shake like crazy, but it feels good, so good that it almost wants to make you cry for different reasons when you think about how this could be a one time thing. 

His hand leaves your face, he throws his palm into the pillow next to you, holding it tightly as his own eyes fall shut now, moaning your name as he picks up the pace of his fingers against your clit, his hips snapping faster into yours now. 

“I-I’m–”

“I know, I know…” He coos, letting his face fall into the crook of your neck. 

You feel the urge to feel him even closer, so despite the weakness in your body, you use every bit of your strength to lift your hand and press it against his warm back. 

“Cum for me,” he whimpers into your neck before he bites into your flesh, marking you up for anyone to see. 

A loud gasp tears out of you as his last thrusts grow rougher and his fingers move faster, you can’t help but dig your nails into his back, scratching him as stars blur your vision and the shockwaves grip your body so tightly as you cum around his cock, just as he spills into the condom, moaning into your neck. 

You can’t even feel your tears nor the drool still coming out of your mouth, all that you can feel is him. Your arm now falls back onto the mattress and your eyes shutting as the darkness starts to envelope you. 

“F-Fuck,” he whispers as he stops moving, pressing another kiss to your neck before he pulls out of you, hissing at the feeling. 

He can feel your trembling body beneath his, the sighs that keep falling from your lips, he smugly pulls away to take a look at you, only to see your eyes dropping as you start to lose your consciousness. 

“Shit,” he whispers, cupping your cheeks, “you okay, Blondie?” 

You nod as best as you can, slapping his hand away as you snuggle into the pillows, not even bothering with the blanket. 

He scratches the back of his neck, pressing his lips together as he watches you fall asleep so quickly. He can’t help but feel smug as he looks at the way your thighs are trembling still. 

He stands up, leaving the room to walk into the bathroom, where the light is still turned on. He steps inside, noticing how the mirror is a little fogged, the smell of vanilla and strawberries lingering in the air, making his stomach flutter ever so slightly. 

Discarded clothes lay on the ground, he picks them up and puts them on the counter before he rolls off the condom, tying it up before he throws it into the trash. He turns towards the sink and washes his hands before he walks back into your room, a smile tugging on his lips. 

He plops down beside you, pulling the cover over you and himself, scooting closer to you. 

He doesn’t know where this will go or what is going to happen tomorrow but as he looks at your stained face, and every single previous second replays in his head, he is sure of one thing. 

There is not a single fucking chance that this is going to be a one time thing. 

♡

tagging friends and mutuals!

@prettyboyeddiemunson @taintedcigs @mysticmunson @wroteclassicaly @maroon-cardigan @munson-mjstan @sherrylyn628 @munsonlore @ibellcipem @joekeerysmoles

[writingfanficsfan]

My Stranger Things Steve/Billy fic didn’t get 1 comment but it did get 55 views and 10 kudos so I’m going to pretend that at least 10 people want to read chapter 2. 

I know, I know. We always tell writers to ‘write for yourself and don’t care about the comments’ but honestly, I think that’s a load of bullshit. 

Yes, the idea started with me and I started writing it because it’s a new fandom and a good challenge but I post it online because I want people to read it and hopefully like it. I want to know if my idea/my writing is considered good in other people’s eyes. Why else would I share it? If it was just about ‘write for yourself’ then I would keep all the stories I have written on my Google Docs and never talk about them. 

So yeah, maybe it’s ‘wrong’ but I do write for other people too and it gets me sad and disappointed when I post something and I don’t even get 1 comment. 

People sometimes wonder why we stop making things (either artwork or fanfics) but some of them don’t even take the time to comment or even leave a kudos. It’s almost like writing for the void and for me that sometimes makes it difficult to continue. 

I like writing but it’s not easy. I always feel a bit unsure when I post something, specially when it’s a new fandom, and opening up your ao3 or email and noticing that no one liked it enough to leave a comment sometimes makes me want to stop writing altogether. (Ofcourse, that’s because I’m insecure) 

[chrisbitchtree]

One of Steve’s moms favourite things to do when she was with Billy was to tell him embarrassing stories about Steve’s childhood, which Billy was incredibly thankful for, even if Steve was always mortified when Billy would recount the tales later.

Of all the stories, the one that had stood out to him the most was the story of Steve going to the dentist and getting laughing gas as a child. He was convinced that there were tall, green aliens at the end of the dental chair, waving hello to him, and he couldn’t be convinced otherwise.

“They’re right there!” He’d shouted around the dental tools in his mouth, pointing at his feet and causing the dentist to jump and almost puncture Steve in the gums.

“Sure there are, honey,” his mom had replied, patting his hand from her chair beside the dental chair, trying to hide her giggle. “You stay still and I’ll wave for you.”

For the remainder of the appointment, Steve continued to point at the “aliens” and it had taken hours after they’d returned home to convince him that the aliens were special dental aliens and they hadn’t followed them home, and no, they weren’t under Steve’s bed.

***

Billy had laughed, but then largely forgot about the story until Steve had come home from a dental appointment saying that he had to get a root canal, and they would be administering laughing gas.

“I’ll take you, pretty boy, that way you don’t need to call a taxi after.” Now was his time to see Steve on laughing gas in action.

Steve had protested, telling Billy that there was really no reason for the blond to take time off work, but Billy insisted, so Steve shrugged, agreeing.

***

The day of the procedure arrived, and Billy drove Steve there, waiting in the lobby while Steve had his dental work done.

About an hour later, Steve emerged into the reception area on the arm of the dental assistant.

“Hi Billy baby!” Steve garbled out around the gauze stuffed in his mouth, waving frantically at Billy, a dopey smile on his face. “I can’t feel my face!”

Billy rushed to collect Steve, a grin spreading over his face. He thanked the assistant, who informed Billy that the dentist would be out soon to talk to Billy about Steve’s after appointment care.

A couple minutes later, a young brunette woman emerged through the swinging door and headed right for Billy and Steve.

“Hi,” she said, sticking out her hand for Billy to shake. “I’m Dr. Phillips. You must be Billy. Steve’s husband? Steve’s told me so much about you.”

Billy took her hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you Dr. Phillips.”

“Isn’t he pretty? Look at him. His hair is so curly and his skin is so gold.” Steve said suddenly, turning to the oral surgeon.

She nodded, a smile on her face. “Yes, Steve, he’s very pretty.”

Steve leaned in closer to her. “Did I tell you how nice his boobies are? He has nice boobies. And a big” Steve held his hands out about a foot apart, which was flattering, but frankly untrue. “I have a big crush on him. But don’t tell him, ok? Billy can’t know I like him.”

The doctor winked at Steve conspiratorially, making a motion as if locking her lips. “Your secrets safe with me.”

She turned to Billy, whose face was now crimson. Fuck, he thought Steve would just talk about aliens or something again. Billy felt like he was going to melt into the floor.

Thankfully, the doctor went through Steve’s care plan quickly, and they were able to get on their way.

“Hey,” Steve said to Billy, tugging on the blonde’s sleeve. “Did I tell you I have a crush on Billy? He’s the best.”

Billy smiled, looping his arm around Steve’s shoulder and pulling him close as they walked to the parking lot. “No, Steve. You’ve never told me. I’m sure he’d be really happy to hear it though. I think he has a crush on you too.”

“Really, you think so?” Steve asked, his eyes wide.

Billy’s heart warmed, filled with fondness for the silly brunette. “Yeah, I really think so.”

[passivenovember]

There’s an ugly bruise on the inside, somewhere, that’s got its fingers wedged between his ribs. 

“Can you keep a secret?” The guy asks, lips curled and curdled in the chill, gumming a thick dairy-rich smile he aims to spread over Steve like marmalade that’s gone bad. 

He’s never felt like this before. An itch, spreading under his skin, raising gooseflesh all along the back of his neck so his fingernails scratch along the rim of PBR Steve cracked hours ago to keep him from lunging at the guy’s sockets instead.

Billy’s boyfriend waggles his eyebrows.

Steve doesn’t say anything. 

He clocks the backyard, mostly empty now that everyone’s inside having apple pie with homemade ice cream, and wonders if he could get away with murder. 

Billy’s boyfriend looks around, leaning forward until Steve can smell turkey stuffing and brown gravy on his breath. “I’m going to ask Billy to marry me tomorrow,” He says.

And.

Maybe there’s a plane crash. Maybe it parades into an intersection at rush hour. Maybe it causes a pile up and a bus full of senior citizens plows into a hospital that’s dedicated to nursing sick orphans back to health.

Maybe the whole world burns down in two seconds.

Steve sips the PBR even though it’s gone flat. Even though he knows what’s coming.

“Will you help me?” Billy’s boyfriend asks, and.

Every time he breathes, Steve’s heart shudders in resistance. With every blink, microscopic parts of him break off and blow past the fairy lights in Joyce’s backyard, spreading to the four corners like seeds that hope against all hope that they’ll find somewhere to grow.

Steve’s entire life flashes before his eyes, and it’s just like the movies.

Light-leak film, sepia colored memories of Abraham Lincoln playground and Billy, covered in Cinderella band aids. 

Middle school dances where they ditched early to eat Chicago dogs at the only food cart in Hawkins. Freshman afternoons, studying with Billy in the library where the Golden-hour would turn him to folklore. 

Senior year, and college, and rush after homecoming bash after graduation, wishing and hoping Billy would look at him and realize that they belonged together.

And now this.

Now the end.

Steve rocks a little, on his heels, reeling like he just took a PBR can to the gut. 

Billy’s boyfriend stares at him, big brown eyes flooded with hope and pixie dust, and.

Love.

So much love Steve can feel it crackling through the air. It’s warm and pure and true. 

Exactly what Billy deserves. What Steve always wanted to give him--

“Congratulations,” Steve manages.

Because it’s what he’s supposed to say. How his mother always taught him to respond to good news, even if it sinks his own.  

He’s bleeding, somewhere. The words have spikes. They scrape on the way out. He finishes the rest of his beer. “Excuse me.”

“Sure,” Prince Charming says.

Steve stalks back toward the house. It’s warm inside. Golden, filled with warmth and laughter. All over the place, everyone’s cuddled up in knitted love made special from what they found at the end of the world.

Eddie and Chrissy, Nancy and Jonathan, Joyce and Hopper, Max and Lucas--

Paired off. Two by two, parading down the rose-pedaled isle Steve has always wanted for himself, and.

“Hey,” Someone says, smile draining slowly from their lips. “Steve, you okay?”

Steve doesn’t know who noticed him. Doesn’t care, he just. Can’t see Billy right now.

Ever again.

“Yeah,” Steve mumbles, searching for his coat. “Yeah, I’m just a little tired.”

Joyce dries her hands on a towel, brows plated with sachrine worry. “You don’t want to stay and help decorate the tree?”

He chances a look around the room and almost deflates in relief when Billy isn’t there, washing the dishes or packing leftovers. “I’m really sorry, I’m just so exhausted, all of a sudden,” Steve lies. He sniffles a little, for good measure. “I think I’m coming down with something--”

“Well, here,” Joyce tells him, rounding the kitchen table, “Let me pack you something to take home, since I won’t see you until Thursday.”

Steve makes it quick. 

Says his goodbyes with a fire under his ass, swallowing against the rising tide of panic and regret that he let his yellow brick road pass him by. That he didn’t do something about all the love he’s carrying for Billy when he had the chance.

No one seems to notice. 

They fall back into their own rhythm, filling the hole left by Steve and five minutes later he’s out the door, balancing Tupperware of Thanksgiving leftovers against his chest when a lighter flares red in the darkness.

“You leaving?”

Steve pulls away from the driver’s side door, stomach settling like cement around his ankles. 

Billy watches with narrowed eyes from the soft, romantic glow of the front porch. The soft blue sweater that protects him from the chill of Hawkins in November stands in staunch opposition to Billy’s face. 

His jaw is tight. Teeth on edge.

He’s uncomfortable. He’s caught on to something.

“Yeah,” Steve says quietly. “Yeah, I’m out.”

“How come?

Billy’s beautiful. 

And he’s always been beautiful, but Steve takes a snapshot of him, like this. Thanksgiving, full of turkey and apple pie and love that he doesn’t see coming. Silver on his ring finger. 

Steve shrugs.

Billy pushes off the side of the house, at that. His nose is red from the cold, eyelashes so long they look like pine thistles swirling against pools of blue when he gets close enough. 

“You can’t leave, yet,” Billy insists.

Steve’s already gone. He’s sold the house, maybe, bought a plane thicket--

“I’m tired.”

“That’s a dumb reason,”  Billy says quietly. “You get the weekend off for the holiday--”

Steve flares red-hot with annoyance. “I don’t give a shit about that, Billy, I came and had dinner and now I want to go home.”

“I never see you, anymore.” Billy stares at him, looks right into his soul. Ashes his cigarette, puffing on it even though his hands shake. From the cold, maybe. 

Steve doesn’t say anything. 

He grips the car door, resisting the urge to slam it in Billy’s face when he discards his cigarette and moves closer, thick, clever fingers fiddling with the collar of Steve’s jacket. 

“I can’t watch you marry someone else,” Steve says simply. “I’ve watched you love someone else for so long, but. I can’t do that. It’ll kill me.”

It feels good to say it.

He tucks a lock of hair behind Billy’s ear, aching to find it rosy with the cold.

Billy watches him, face dissolved into a single, sugary twist of pain. His eyes are blue. So blue they put the morning sky to shame. So blue they give Steve third degree scorch marks all across his memory, burning everything else to the ground until Steve cracks like a block of old cement. 

And Billy doesn’t look surprised.

Or shaken up, or all that heartbroken when he cups Steve’s jaw between both hands. 

Steve waits for him to say the words. I don’t love him, I love you. I want to be with you, let’s run away together. Come live with me and we can play pirates--

Steve doesn’t hold his breath.