#harringroveson bingo 2022 oneshots

[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..."

[writer-in-theory]

Harringroveson Masterlist

◇ introduction ◇ taglist signup ◇ request guidelines ◇ send requests here ◇

OTHER COLLECTIONS ◇ Stranger Things Masterlist ◇ Harringroveson Bingo 2022

◇ Trust In The Time Warp (10k) ◇ Type: Multichapter Rating: T Category: Fluff, Angst Summary: After Steve loses both of his boyfriends in the span of a year, he's not sure how to recover. Luckily, the Upside Down seems to have other plans for him because suddenly, he's waking up on November 4, 1984…for the second time. Status: In-Progress

◇ Seven Foot Wave, Six Feet Under (5.4k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Rating: M Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: Dating Eddie and Steve had its perks—namely having access to Nancy Wheeler's investigating skills whenever Billy wants. When they uncover the truth about the dark past of the Hargrove family, it's clear to Steve, Eddie, and Billy that there's only one choice left: Neil Hargrove must die. Status: Completed

[camaro-and-smokes]

The Letter

Rating: Mature Warning: Major Character Death Category: M/M Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Relationship: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington Characters: Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove Additional Tags: Harringrove, Heavy Angst, I mean seriously heavy, Mentions of Death

Notes: This is my 9th and final entry to the @harringroveson-bingo 2022-2023 square A1: What could've been. NOTE! This fic has an overall theme that some might find disturbing. If you choose to read, make sure you have tissues. Because I cried my eyes off when I wrote this.

Summary: The fact that the letter needed to be written in the first place was the worst.

::::::::::

Billy,

Steve looked at the name on the paper. How it smudged when his tear fell on the ink that hadn’t yet dried in full. He let out a frustrated scream and crushed the paper, chucking it onto the floor with other crumbled papers that covered the big part of the room’s floor.

He leaned onto the table and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, and took a deep breath to keep himself from crying again. The sleeves and the hem of his shirt were soaked because he had run out of tissues a long time ago. But he couldn’t leave the house to buy more before he got his feelings on a paper.

It was the only way he knew to tackle the bottomless hurt that was his life now after a long agonizing time—and yet, all too soon.

He wanted the letter to be perfect, but it felt like every start had something wrong from the get go.

But everything was wrong now. Him having to write the letter in the first place was the worst.

His head hurt, his eyes hurt, and his heart ached. If ever, now he knew that heart could indeed break. Because his had.

And nothing would ever make it better.

He was angry at Billy for leaving. For going away. For hurting him like no one else ever could. Shattering his heart into a thousand pieces. It could never be put together again the way it had been.

Maybe he should’ve told Billy that his leaving would make him a shadow of his former self. Maybe it would’ve made all the difference. Maybe Billy would’ve stayed if he had.

But Billy probably had known that even without him saying the words.

Steve knew it was useless, all this anger. But he was at a point he would’ve done anything to have Billy back. If it would make a difference, he would travel on the other side of the world to find him. He would give his left kidney, if it changed everything. His life, even.

The things he would do just to see Billy one more time, to have him in his arms, just once more. Just one more touch, one more kiss.

People told him he would find someone new. That he would get over Billy.

As if it was that simple. How do you get over someone who made you the person you are? Someone you wanted to make happy every moment of every day? Someone who made you happy just by existing?

Why would you ever want to get over something like that?

He sat back down, and took another paper in front of him, and started writing.

Billy… You broke me into a thousand pieces. My life halted that moment on that couch when you left. I’m still there, sitting, still unable to breathe, just waiting for you to come back into my arms.

I’ve never hurt more, and I wish you could feel how much. I know it’s not fair to think like that. But you took everything from me. I was left with nothing, and now I don’t know how I’m supposed to live.

Because you were my everything.

There’s so much we should’ve done instead of what we did. We used to bicker about such useless things and moped in different rooms.

We should’ve taken that trip to Hawaii you always wanted. I don’t know why I always said no. Just a long weekend. Two days off from work. I could’ve done that. Or the grass in the backyard that always burned in the summer when there wasn’t enough rain. I should’ve just changed it into a plastic one and you would've had green grass all year long.

Or we should've had that baby you so much wanted, with a surrogate mother. Then I’d at least have them to remind me of you. Someone looking like you. Maybe even being a little like you.

So many things you wanted, and I denied them from you. And now I see I denied them also from myself.

What could have been if in all those moments I would’ve just listened instead and agreed to what you wanted? And then just kissed everything better.

Yes, we should’ve kissed so much more. And made love. Even though I loved your mind, it was never a secret that I adored your body. I don’t think I can ever touch anyone the way I did you.

I don’t think I will ever even want to.

I wish I’d known how to fix everything. How to fix whatever was causing it all, quietly eating you from the inside until it was too late to stop it.

But I know these what ifs are useless. You’re beyond of point of no return. You’re not coming back. The fucking cancer took you from me.

I loved you so much. More than I realized even myself until now when I can no longer tell you.

I just wish that when my words weren’t enough to tell you how much I loved you, my deeds spoke for themselves, even if they weren't always perfect, and that all of them together said everything you needed to hear.

Billy, you will forever be my first and my last, my alpha and my omega, my everything.

Now my only wish is that when it’s my time to join you, you’ll be at the gates, waiting.

Your ever loving husband, Steve

[writer-in-theory]

STRANGER THINGS MASTERLIST

◇ introduction ◇ taglist signup

WHAT I WRITE FOR ◇ Steve Harrington x Billy Hargrove ◇ Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson ◇ Steve Harrington x Billy Hargrove x Eddie Munson ◇ Gen fics

REQUESTS ◇ currently: open ◇ request guidelines ◇ send requests here

COLLECTIONS ◇ Whumptober 2022 ◇ Harringroveson Bingo 2022 ◇ Billy Hargrove Bingo 2022/2023

◇ Harringrove Ficlets ◇

◇ Complete Me (1.8k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: One month after Neil died, Billy gets a letter with his mother's name on it. Status: Completed

◇ I'm Fucking Peachy, Harrington (1.5k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: What if Steve finds Billy having a panic attack in the bathroom at a party? Status: Completed

◇ You're My King, Baby (2k, 18+ ONLY) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Smut Summary: Billy is starting to think this King Steve he keeps hearing so much about is fake. Well, if Hawkins High is so insistent that they used to have a ruler, then Billy is determined to meet him. Status: Completed

◇ Wait For Me, Pretty Boy (3.6k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: After finding out Billy had survived Starcourt and ended up in the Upside Down, Steve and Billy return to the one place they could call their own to heal. Status: Completed

◇ I Hate You, I Love You (1.6k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Angst No Happy Ending Summary: Billy comes to a tough realization after graduation. Status: Completed

◇ Bleachers & Diner Booths (2.9k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: Steve notices the signs in Billy, and wonders how no one’s ever noticed before. Status: Completed

◇ Private Swimming Lessons (3.6k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: When Billy threw Steve into his backyard pool, he was expecting a laugh. What he got instead, was a scream of pure terror and a story. Status: Completed

◇ Swiping Right (9.3k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort Summary: Steve helps his roommate, Robin, land a Tinder date and maybe finds some romance of his own along the way. Status: Completed

◇ Steddie Ficlets ◇

◇ Me & You, and Your Uncle Wayne (3.4k) ◇ Type: Multichapter Category: Hurt/Comfort, Fluff Summary: Eddie tells his Uncle Wayne about him and Steve. Status: Completed

◇ Do Not Go Gently (2k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: Steve is apparently supposed to die in 24 hours, but there’s so much left to say. —or, what if Steve was targeted by Vecna instead? Status: Completed

◇ Midnight Rendezvous (8.6k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: After Starcourt, Steve can’t sleep for fear of the Russians coming back for them. He finds help in the most unlikely of people. Status: Completed

◇ Aftershocks (3.4k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: After the Russian interrogation takes a greater toll on Steve than expected, he tries to hide it from Eddie. Everything is fine until the Upside Down comes back. Status: Completed

◇ Happy Birthday, Eddie Munson (5.4k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort Summary: Steve meant to slip the birthday card into Tina's locker, but the smile on Eddie Munson's face made it all worth it—even if he forgot to sign the card. Status: Completed

◇ Trust In The Time Warp (10k) ◇ Type: Multichapter Category: Fluff, Angst Summary: After Steve loses both of his boyfriends in the span of a year, he's not sure how to recover. Luckily, the Upside Down seems to have other plans for him because suddenly, he's waking up on November 4, 1984…for the second time. Status: In-Progress

◇ Seven Foot Wave, Six Feet Under (5.4k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: Dating Eddie and Steve had its perks—namely having access to Nancy Wheeler's investigating skills whenever Billy wants. When they uncover the truth about the dark past of the Hargrove family, it's clear to Steve, Eddie, and Billy that there's only one choice left: Neil Hargrove must die. Status: Completed

◇ Nothing Can Stop Me Now (2.4k) ◇ Type: Oneshot Category: Hurt/Comfort Summary: Steve is the babysitter. He’s meant to be taking care of everyone else, so he’ll do anything in his power to keep doing it even when he's sick. Status: Completed

[camaro-and-smokes]

Cat in Heat

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Rape/Non-Con Category: M/M Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Relationship: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington Characters: Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington Tags: Smut, Shameless Smut, Porn With Plot, Oral Sex, Non-Consensual Oral Sex, Exhibitionism, Gay Billy Hargrove, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Boys Kissing, Non-Consensual Turns Consensual, Non-consensual Exhibitionism, Harringrove

Summary: Steve tries to find a way to ease Billy's neverending lust, but it comes with a price. A juicy one.

Author notes: This is my fourth entry to @harringroveson-bingo 2022, Round 1, A2: Oral sex. Note that the work includes non-consentual sex and non-concentual exhibitionism. Please move on if this kind of content disturbs you.

::::::::::

Another basketball practice, another day being teased by Billy throughout it. Steve liked it - and hated it. Because Billy just wouldn’t stop.

Steve definitely hadn’t known what he had gotten himself into when he started dating Billy. He was annoying at best at school, but whenever they were together alone, he was like a cat in heat at first. Sure, he was nice and gentle if Steve so wanted, but getting him to chill without having sex was just not gonna happen. Billy had so much energy, created by all kinds of negative feelings and experiences old and new built up inside, that when he could let his guard down, it all poured on Steve, and sex was Billy’s preferred choice of releasing it.

Steve had suggested that they’d taken a run in the woods, or gone swimming - though it was getting a bit chilly for that - or done any physical activities other than sex. They’d tried but it had just made Billy crave sex more.

Now, Steve liked to have sex with Billy. A lot. They had a perfect dynamic for it, him wanting to be on top and Billy wanting to submit when he felt safe, and Billy’s willingness to do anything Steve wanted - aaand Billy being the right size to give extra kicks for Steve.

And Steve really liked Billy. He was abrasive when they were at school or around other people, but in private the sharp angles settled, and he was molten wax in Steve's hands. And Steve got to be his caring and protective self with Billy, because it made him feel safe.

But at some point Steve started to feel like he was a sex toy. He had the stamina and eagerness, sure, but slowly he had started to understand why Nancy hadn’t been so eager to have sex on every date. Having it too much took something away from their budding relationship.

“Billy?” Steve asked when they were laying on his bed after having yet another session of very satisfying sex. “Steve?” “Have you ever thought of having sex in a way that might double the release of energy for you at once?” “What do you mean?” “I don’t know, something that might give you even more kicks out of it?” “More? You want more?” Billy asked chuckling incredulously. “No. I don’t want more, I want less. No. That’s not correct. I want the same amount - less often. Sometimes I just would like to talk with you instead of having sex.” “But we do talk.” “We do. After having sex.” “Doesn’t that count?”

Steve sighed, and turned on his side, leaning to his elbow, to look at Billy. “I liked the date at the fair. I know we can’t go on dates like that often, even though the kids agreed to come as a disguise whenever we want to have a date like that again, but we had fun without having sex - and I really liked it. I like having sex with you, but it’s not all I want from you. In addition to the lower head, I want the insides of this upper head of yours, too,” he said, tapping Billy’s forehead with his index finger. “I’d like to have just that sometimes.”

Billy frowned. “I haven’t ever had to think about that. Everyone’s always been very happy with my wantings.” “I’m not everyone, remember?” Steve murmured. “To get some, you have to give some.” Billy thought for a moment. He bit his lower lip, and turned on his side to face Steve. “I do have something I’d like to try. But I don’t know if you’re up for it.” “I assure you, I’m up for pretty much anything if it keeps your sex drive at bay little better.” “Uh...It might not be so if you’d know what it was.” “Ok...Does it involve other bodily fluids than cum?” “No!” “Ok, then I’m cool with it.” “Without me telling you what it is?” “Uh...Ok, why not. Just hit me with it when you feel like it.” Billy looked at Steve now with a serious expression. “Are you absolutely and positively sure?” “Yeah. Absolutely.” Billy chuckled. “Ok then.”

So - they were at the basketball practice. Steve was once again starting to get very frustrated and antsy with Billy, who was on his skin whenever Steve had the ball. The frustration broke out for Steve him being more physical towards everyone else in the game, and he didn’t like it. When there was a break in the game, Steve walked to Billy, and hit him on his arm with his fist, quite hard too. “Cut it, Hargrove! I’m this full of your bullshit,” Steve hissed keeping his hand way above his head to demonstrate the level of his frustration. Billy grinned the wide shit eating grin Steve had gotten so used to over the months in practices. Billy didn’t waste time on saying anything, instead he pushed Steve, who fell on the floor from the force of it. “Alright you two! Out, now!” the coach exasperated. “I won’t tolerate that here. We’ll talk about it tomorrow when you’re both calmed down a little.”

Steve walked out of the court, Billy close in tow. Steve could feel Billy’s eyes on his back, getting ready to unleash insults once they got into the locker rooms. “What the actual fuck was that?” Steve asked when he opened his locker door to get rid of his sweaty clothes and get his towel. Billy didn’t answer, he grabbed his towel from his locker, and just had a smug grin on his face when he walked by Steve towards the showers. Steve shook his head taking a deep sigh, and followed Billy.

Steve was so annoyed with Billy that he went into a single shower stall. He didn’t even want to see the fucker right now. Suddenly Billy barged in, took Steve’s head in his hands, and kissed him. Not in a nice, gentle and subtle way, but hard and messy, full of tongue and moans. Steve wasn’t ready for it, and in fact, couldn’t have wanted it less at the moment. So he tried to push Billy away. But Billy was determined, and pushed Steve against the tiled wall, pinning him against it, and kept kissing him despite Steve’s tries, albeit pretty weak, to push him away. Steve felt his cock totally betraying his wants to refuse Billy’s determination, and after a while of Billy's eager persuasion he gave in. Which in turn made Billy push himself against him even harder and moaning louder.

Then Steve remembered where they were. “Billy, stop!” he managed to gasp in between kisses. “Not here!”

“You wanted me to have the kind of sex with you that would drain me better of my drive, remember?” Billy whispered. “This is me doing exactly that.” Steve’s eyes widened and he looked at Billy in horror. “You want to get caught doing it in here?” “Well, I don’t want to get caught, but there’s a chance of it. That’s the point.” Billy put his finger on Steve’s mouth to silence him and grinned. “So, you have to be very quiet boy now.”

Steve tried to lean to the tile wall even harder as Billy kneeled down in front of him, keeping his eyes on Steve’s the whole time. When he was on his knees, he looked at Steve’s very hard cock, and licked his lips. Steve closed his eyes, his heartbeats thundering in his ears, scared shitless - but also aroused like he’d never been before.

When Steve felt Billy cup his balls in his hand squeezing them gently, and then licking the length of his cock from bottom to the slit and tip, that was already dripping with precum, he couldn’t help a whimper escape his mouth. “Shhh, quiet!” Billy whispered, squeezing Steve’s balls a bit tighter. Having his family jewels held so tightly made Steve submit without further noise.

Billy licked the slit again, teasing the rim of the hole, and ran his tongue around the whole tip, slowly. Steve let out gasp, and deep breaths came out of him in the rhythm Billy teased him. Finally he glanced down, and his gaze was met with Billy looking up at him with a wicked smile. Billy chuckled quietly with the eye contact as if he’d been waiting for it before proceeding to take the whole tip into his mouth. Steve melted at the gentle way Billy pushed his tongue against his cock as he took it into his mouth, slowly working its way in deeper, relaxing his throat more on each down move of his head to accommodate it in full. Steve put his hand on Billy’s head, and tucked his hair. Billy let out a muffled whimper, and Steve guided his up and down moves gently with his hand on the back of Billy’s head, feeling the glorious pressure starting to build up in his groin.

That’s when Steve heard voices from the locker room, and froze his hand, making Billy stop too.

Billy had Steve almost in full in his mouth, and of all things, he let out a muffled laugh. Steve let go of Billy's hair and glared down at him. “Get off me,” he pleaded quietly. But Billy shook his head slightly, and returned to work, and Steve couldn’t do anything else but to give in into the bliss that was Billy’s mouth on him. Now Billy was faster, tightening his grip on Steve’s balls, pushing his tongue tighter against the cock, and putting his other hand on Steve’s ass to pull him closer.

Steve realized, that Billy was going to make him come while their teammates were in the locker room. Or worse – in the showers just a few feet away. And him coming wouldn’t take long anymore. “I’m...” Steve whispered as quietly as he could, knowing Billy would get his drift. Billy let go of Steve’s ass, and took his own cock in his hand, and started jacking it at a furious pace.

Steve heard the showers being turned on, and almost instantly with them, he came. He'd never come so hard so quietly. Billy’s load flew on his shin a moment later with Billy letting out a small muffled groan.

Billy let go, and Steve looked down, gasping of pleasure when he saw his own cum dripping from the corner of Billy’s mouth on his chin. “Swallow it,” Steve whispered, and Billy licked what he could of the cum from his chin, and did just that.

Billy got up and leaned on Steve, both of them listening for any voices that would tell them where the others were. More voices came closer, and more showers were turned on. After a time that had felt like eternity, last voices vanished from the shower room and into the locker room.

Some time later Billy stepped out of the shower as if he’d been in there alone, leaving Steve to hide in the corner that wasn’t visible straight from the shower space. “It’s clear,” Billy shouted to Steve once everyone else was gone.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Steve exasperated as he walked to his locker. “That’s the last time we did that!” “You liked it, don’t deny it! I could feel it!” Billy laughed. “Well, can we at least now talk tonight and not have sex as the first thing?” Steve asked. Billy glanced at him and grinned. “Maybe. We’ll see.” “Oh for fuck’s sake,” Steve sighed, but then shook his head with a laughter. ”The things I do for you...”

[camaro-and-smokes]

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Rating: EXPLICIT Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply. Category: M/M Fandom: Stranger Things. Relationship: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington Characters: Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington. Tags: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Billy Hargrove Lives, Billy Hargrove Redemption, Gay Billy Hargrove, Bisexual Steve Harrington, POV Steve Harrington, First Meetings, Dreamsharing, Fluff, Billy Hargrove Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington Has a Crush on Billy Hargrove, Dreams and Nightmares, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington as adults, Mild Language, Harringrove. SEE ALL TAGS ON AO3.

Summary: Modern setting AU where Steve Harrington is VP of marketing in a Fortune500 firm. He starts to have a recurring dream of a relationship where he feels content in a way he'd never felt before. "It's just another dream" he tries to tell himself. But then it suddenly isn't just a dream anymore.

This accidentally grew into a longer work, so...

Chapters: 1 / 21 Read in full on AO3 >>

Author notes: This is my third entry to the @harringroveson-bingo 2022, Round 1, Card 001, B2; Free space: Coffee shop :) Christ, I never thought I'd write this trope, but here I am, just as confused about it as Steve.

For some inspiration... 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. You're welcome 😘

::::::::::

The nightmares had finally stopped. Steve was obviously happy about it, but in a weird way he also missed them. They had been at least something different in his life that was pretty much the same day in, day out. He got up in the morning, grabbed a coffee from the coffee shop downstairs, took an uber to work, spent eight to twelve hours working for money he didn't really know how to spend anymore in his bachelor's life, came home, and streamed something for few hours, and went to bed. Rinse and repeat.

He wanted something to break that cycle, and when the nightmares had started a few years prior, as sad as it was, they'd been a welcomed change. Dreams of an afterlife or something, in his childhood hometown Hawkins, but it was all somehow distorted. There was only night, and it was full of horrors, big and small. First he'd seen them a few times a month, then they'd started coming more often. He'd gone to psychotherapy to get rid of them, and learned, that his great childhood had actually been miserable and he’d been basically abandoned by his parents weeks on end at a time. But with that realization the nightmares had lessened, and then finally stopped altogether.

And so he was back in square one. Though now he had a better grip on his inner life, or so he hoped. So, to find something meaningful to his life, he tried to go on dates. He found them on apps, through friends, and work, and sure enough, he had a lot of takers with his Chicago penthouse and his work as a VP of marketing in a Fortune500 firm. But even though a few of those had come close, none of them really hit home for him.

Then he started to have a recurring dream again. He woke up from it in such a peace that he almost couldn't wait to get back home, and to bed with the hope that he'd see it again. And sure enough, it returned.

First it was just bits and pieces here and there. A sunny day, a bright blue sky with some wispy clouds, some rooftops in the rims of the view, but nothing that he could recognize.

The dream returned first a few times a month, just like the nightmares before. But instead of being scared, and waking up in a cold sweat after each one, he waited for these dreams.

Because when he woke up from them, he felt happy and content in a way he had never experienced before.

Of course he also felt sad, because the feelings came from a dream, and in his real life he had nothing that he really could be as happy about as he was in the dream. But he had nothing better for now, so he indulged himself in it, because why not.

When the dreams started coming more often, he saw more glimpses of the surroundings. The location was apparently a park. There was a lot of green around, the skyline as a backdrop to all the green.

And then there were sounds. Children, definitely, some talk, music, sounds of a city. Each time the dream returned, it had something new that added to it.

On his work trips Steve started to visit the parks in each town to see if the one from the dream was any real one. He knew it was stupid, but again, he really didn't have anything better to do when he was off work, and he always had preferred running outside to a mat.

In early June he took his running shoes to the Central Park in New York. It was a cloudy day, but when he recognized the familiar shape of rooftops on one opening, he stopped dead on his tracks. He walked on the grass and looked around, listening. The sounds of the city were the same as in the dream, but everything else was amiss.

Of course it was, because it was just a stupid dream. He'd seen the skyline in some TV show or a movie, and it had caught on into his dream from there.

Feeling depressed he ran back to his hotel, canceled the dinner he'd had planned, and decided just to stay in his room and empty the mini-bar.

That night he saw the dream again, and it had something totally new in it: a long, blond, curly lock of hair, swaying in the breeze. A breeze he also felt on his face. The curl tickled, and then someone laughed.

Steve woke up in the middle of the night, sitting straight up, and shouting. The dream in its beauty was starting to get the better of him. It was getting to be too much, too perfect.

He had just made it up from all the pop-culture references he'd consumed throughout his life, and now it started to consume him, and getting on his nerves - quite literally. He could still feel the curl on his face, and the breeze.

And the laughter. It sat in his ears like a memory, even though he knew he actually had never heard it before. The voice was a bit raspy, like someone who’d smoked and drank whiskey for a long time, but it bubbled in the air, and made him want to laugh too.

He laid back down, and decided, that in the morning he would ask his assistant to book an appointment with his doctor to get some of those anti-psychotics he'd used to get the nightmares to go away. He wouldn't allow himself to wallow any more in something he had cooked up himself.

Steve returned to Chicago on Sunday, messaged his assistant, and in the evening his assistant informed him that he had an appointment with his doctor on Monday afternoon. Soon there would be no more nights of self-indulging torture, but just blissful nothingness for six hours every night.

If would see the dream again that night, he could take it once more. And sure as hell, it did.

The curl swayed in the breeze, and when he followed it, it passed in front of an eye. A deep blue one with long, black lashes surrounding it, beginnings of crows feet in the corner. He could tell there was obviously an eyebrow too, a nose, and a cheek, but all of that was fuzzy, as if a camera shot was focused only on the eye.

And then he heard the laughter again, and felt the curl on his face, and he was almost waking himself up, when the raspy laughter turned into an almost inaudible whisper: 'I love you'.

That morning Steve wept when he woke up. The reality of not having that person from his dream, was now too much. He really had to get rid of the dream now, before it broke him.

He went about his morning chores trying desperately not to think about the last words from the dream. He took a shower, dried his hair, put on his suit, tied his tie, took his phone and laptop, and rode the elevator downstairs. He walked into the coffee shop reading the first of his emails on his phone, when he almost bumped into someone. He looked around, and realized that there was a queue in the shop. It wasn't unheard of, but not common either. Every tenant on his block had decided that this Monday morning was the one they wanted coffee here.

He groaned. He was already a bit late, but as he was the VP, him being late for the start of the week meeting for the marketing department wasn't the worst thing that could happen.

That's when he heard the raspy, bubbly laughter.

He could tell it apart from any noises in the loudest of rooms, and he actually did. The shop was packed, and the patrons were forced to wait for their orders standing, crowding the floor.

Steve felt elated. How could it be that the exact same laughter from his dream was someone's actual laughter? Had he dreamed it, or had he heard it here before? He didn't know, but now he had to find out.

He tried to listen if he heard it again, but it didn't before he had to pay for his order. He got his usual, and the barista, whom Steve knew well, apologized for the queue, and told him, that he would have to wait for a short while as the other barista made the order.

For once Steve didn't mind the wait. He turned, and glanced around the shop while pretending to look at something on his phone. Then he heard the laughter again, and hearing it made him smile. He turned to look at the direction he thought he'd heard it, but everyone stared at their phones, and some people were talking on theirs, so it could've been anyone.

Then the barista called his name, and he picked his order up, and left the shop. If the laughter was here today, and he'd heard it here before, it would be here on another day too.

He still lingered in front of the window of the shop just to see if there were any women with long, blonde, curly hair inside, but he couldn't see any. So he got an uber, and rode to work.

He told his assistant to cancel the doctor's appointment first thing when he got into the office.

The following weeks Steve went about his days just to get to bed and wait for the dream to come, and when it didn't, he waited the coffee shop to open where maybe he would hear the laughter again. But neither one returned.

He started to feel stupid. It was such adolescent behavior to expect something like that to happen, a dream to come true. But he knew that the laughter was real. All he had to do was to be at the same place at the same time with the woman who held such intoxicating laughter within her.

Then he had the dream again one night. It was heavy as a weighted blanket, and he immersed into it in full.

He could see a back of a head with the long, blond curls. This time the curls were swaying in front of him, his hand was in hers, and the woman was pulling him after her, laughing. The curls reached her shoulders, and she was wearing a tight brown leather jacket. Steve said something to her, and she turned to look at him, and he almost saw her face before the dream ended.

When he opened his eyes, he couldn't remember anything else of the face but the freckles. They were peppered all over the nose, cheekbones, and even forehead, surrounding the gorgeous blue eyes from all sides. Despite not seeing the whole face, Steve couldn't help but to smile his way through the mundane tasks of getting ready for work.

Freckles. Lots of them. He would recognize those with the blue eyes and the curly locks anywhere.

He stepped into the coffee shop that was almost empty. Steve had started to look around the shop first thing when he walked in, and this time he saw a few of the patrons he knew sitting on the side tables with their open laptops and phones. He couldn’t see if the two tables in the small nook behind the end of the counter were occupied, but because he wasn't in a hurry that day, he decided he would check them out when he got his order, and maybe even sit down there for a bit, and reply to some emails in peace for once.

So, when he got his order from the other end of the counter, he peeked to the nook to see if the tables were empty. The other one was, but the other one was occupied.

By someone with long, blond curls on a loose ponytail.

The woman was sitting her back towards Steve, legs crossed, looking out the window, and talking on the phone with a quiet voice. There was something familiar in her frame, the way she carried herself, maybe. The shoulders sat the same way in the pullover she was wearing, as they did in the leather jacket in the dream.

But something was off. Steve couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Well, obviously he was there comparing a stranger into someone he'd seen in his dream, and that was way off in all kinds of wrong ways. So, maybe he should just give himself some slack.

It's not like you can dream someone perfect alive, can you?

Steve decided to at least see if he'd gotten the freckles right, because the hair was pretty much exactly the one from his dream. So, he sat to the empty table with his coffee, and picked up his laptop from his bag. He didn't want to disturb the woman as long as she was on the phone, so he turned the laptop on, and started going through his emails.

He couldn't keep himself from glancing to the neighboring table from time to time though. He realized that the person wasn’t necessarily built like an average woman. The shoulders were wider, and their torso too was more heavily built, though not overly so. They were wearing black skin tight jeans, and boots with high heels, higher than Steve would expect from someone who clearly wasn’t a woman. Their pullover was black and had a very lose knit in front, and through it peeked a white Metallica shirt. They had black nail polish, and smudged fingers, maybe from the pen they had in front of them on the table, on an open notebook.

When Steve was writing a quick answer to his assistant on the messaging app, the person ended the call. They sighed, and set their phone on the table, but kept their gaze in the window as if pondering something.

Steve kept his eyes on them, and it took him a moment before he realized that the person was looking at him through the reflection in the window.

Steve blushed, and his phone slipped from his hands, making him fumble with it before he caught it, and put it quickly on the table next to his laptop, his hand frozen on top of it.

The raspy, bubbly laughter filled the air. "Sorry man, I shouldn't laugh. But if you try to score chicks, you have to be a little more inconspicuous when checking them out, so that you don't paint yourself as a creepy, drooling fuck who wants to take photos under the table secretly. Just saying."

Steve felt his ears burning, and he was so embarrassed getting caught, that he couldn't raise his gaze from the table. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, you're absolutely correct. Sorry."

There was a pause.

"But you're not here to score chicks, are you? Or just any chicks, just one in particular. And that might turn out not to be a chick at all," the person said.

Steve raised his gaze, and looked at the stranger. A long, blond, curly lock of hair fell over their right eye, a blue one, and the freckles - they were all there just like Steve remembered. Suddenly all the fuzzy images of a woman in his dreams became focused, in 4k high definition - and Steve realized, that the stranger was right.

It had never been a woman in his dreams to begin with. It had been this stranger all along.

"Let's not make this uncomfortable," they said starting to collect their stuff from the table. "I'm clearly not what you expected."

"No!" Steve yelped. "No, I mean, what? What do you mean?" he asked confused. "Did you dream of me too?"

"No, I didn't dream of you. I dreamed you."

When Steve just looked at them confused, they continued. "Have you seen nightmares of this horrible underworld with unspeakable monsters?"

"Yes, I did. For years. They were of my childhood town. I went to therapy and learned that they were a reflection of my bad childhood with parents who were never there."

"Listen. I don't know how this shit actually works, but those dreams are something alive, and they're trying to reach us. Another dimension, or some shit. I've read everything I can about them. We're not the only ones having those dreams. My sister, step-sister actually, has had them too, and one of my musician friends. I guess the dreams were trying to catch me when I was on my weakest. Anyway, after the nightmares stopped bothering me, when I stopped drinking for good, I started seeing good dreams, ones of someone I was happy with. First I didn't see the person at all, just some skyline, and clouds, a glimpse of dark hair, a park or something. I knew I wanted meaning in my life, and the feeling that person left me with when I woke up, was everything I'd ever wanted. So, I wanted to see more of that person in the dream. Then the picture started to fill in."

"And here you are," Steve said.

"Yeah, here we are."

Steve stared in front of him dumbfounded for a while. "Uh...I-I'm sorry,” he stuttered. “I think we got off the wrong foot," he said getting up, and walked to the other table, and reached out his hand. "Hi. I'm Steve. Steve Harrington."

The stranger took his hand and shook it, smiling a gorgeous smile. "Hi. I'm Billy Hargrove. Nice to finally meet you."

[camaro-and-smokes]

My second entry to the @harringroveson-bingo 2022 Round1/Card001 prompt C1: The Party

A Fair Deal

Rating: Teens and up audiences Warnings: No warnings apply Category: General Relationships: Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington and the Party, including Max Mayfield and Eleven/Jane Hopper. Characters: Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, Eleven, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, Max Mayfield. Tags: Fluff, some light cursing, boys kissing, AU - no supernatural events, The Party, Billy Hargrove redemption, Attempt at humor Words: 3626

Author Notes: This works as a follow up to the previous NSFW entry in the series, but works alone as well. Have some fun fluff peeps :)

Read it on AO3 >> All of my Harringroveson bingo 2022 entries in one series on AO3 >>

Summary: Steve comes up with a plan to take Billy on a date out in the open - and it involves the party.

-oOo-

"So, what do you say if I took you on a date?" Steve asked while they were cuddling on the bed.

"A date? Here, in Hawkins? A movie or something? We exactly can't go on a date just anywhere."

"Yeah, I know that. But I have the perfect solution. And it includes your sister."

"Max?" Billy asked incredulous. "Yes, and that's the perfect camouflage."

-oOo-

"What's the emergency?" Lucas asked as he and Will ran down the stairs to Wheeler's basement. "This is the most serious of most serious emergencies," Dustin said as he stood in the end of their new DnD game table and crossed his arms. "Steve wants to take us to the fair." "And that's a problem because…?" Will asked. "He's paying." "What? That's like the best thing ever!" Mike said and high fived with Lucas. Will looked curiously at Dustin who didn't seem amused of the situation. "There is a catch isn't there?" Dustin looked at Max. "I had nothing to do with it!" Max exasperated. Everyone turned to look at her frowning, then back at Dustin. Dustin set his hands on the table. "Steve said that Billy is coming with us."

"Why?" the boys groaned in unison. "Your guess is as good as mine. But I smell a rat," Dustin said. "And because you're nosy, Henderson, you want to know what it is, right?" Mike asked crossing his arms. "Well, aren't you at all interested to know why two guys who hate each other's guts suddenly agree to take a bunch of kids to a fair together?" "Ok, you got a point," Lucas agreed. "But I'm passing this opportunity for obvious reasons. Just let me know what happens, ok?" "Ok, you don't have to come with us. So, anyone have any ideas why they’re doing this?" Dustin asked looking at the others. Everyone turned to look at Max who just shrugged. "Maybe my mom asked Billy to come with me because she doesn't know any of you." "How likely is that?" Dustin asked. "How should I know? No one has before asked to take me anywhere as long as we've been in Hawkins. Quite possible, I guess." "So, that's one plausible reason. Anyone else have ideas?" "Maybe they have schoolwork that includes them doing something like this? Like the lamest pair work ever," Will offered. "That would be lame, but one they both probably would want to get done asap," Dustin agreed. "Maybe they were caught fighting and the principal told them to do something together so that they get away from detention? Then they'd be supervised by someone there at the fair," Mike offered. "That's so out there that even I can't come up with something like that, and you know I’m good with conspiracies," Dustin said.

"What if…" El started, "what if they just act at school and they've become friends outside school? Somewhere we don't know about? And they just genuinely want to hang out at the fair and to take us there too?" "Now there's an idea that sounds solid. But there's still the fact that they keep acting as if they hate each other at school. Why would they do that if they're cool outside school?" Dustin said rubbing his chin. He turned to Max. "Has Steve been around your place?" "Uh, no."

"Here's an idea for you, Dustin," Will said, "Why don't you just go and ask Steve? Wouldn't this be solved easily just with that?" "Well, no, because I already asked! He refused to elaborate, and said that he was already late, so he left almost before I could say goodbye. Which is why I'm here presenting this problem to you. He turned to leave immediately when I asked about it and that was what got me suspicious." "So, what do you think it is then?" Mike asked Dustin.

Dustin smirked and crossed his arms. "They have something going on with each other."

Everyone looked at Dustin with disgusted expressions. "You mean… gross!" the others said out loud. "Exactly," Dustin said triumphantly. "Steve sucks in lying and even if he would just leave something out it always makes him look guilty, and that's how he acted when he stopped by to tell me about this. So, is anyone now interested to go and find out if I'm right?" The kids looked at each other for a while. "Think about it. If I'm right, they don't want it to become public information. So, a prime possibility to get free film rentals, and a ride whenever necessary, for life, in return for staying quiet about it," Dustin tried to sell the point to the others. "Well, I gotta give it to you Henderson, that is a devious plan," Mike said. "I'm in." The girls nodded their agreement from the sofa. "I can keep an eye on Billy at home, you know, for any signs," Max suggested. "Excellent!" Dustin said. "We need all the Intel available." "I guess I'm in too. I mean, I do want to see Steve's face when their secret is out. Whatever it then might be," Will said. "Alright. I'll call Steve and tell him when we want to go," Dustin said smiling.

-oOo-

Dustin sat on the passenger seat of the Camaro and pulled the door closed after him. "Don't slam…" was all Billy managed to say before the door whumped close and he winced, "…the door! Fuck! This car is a piece of machinery that needs to be treated with respect!" he exasperated as he turned the key in the ignition and the V8 barked to life. "Ok, chill," Dustin said raising his hands. "I'm not exactly happy about this either." "How should I have known Max wanted to ride with El? They have some kind of secret society so they can't ride in separate cars though we're all going into the same place." Dustin looked behind him to the backseat. "Well, that backseat fits, like, a grocery bag at best." "This is a muscle car, not a family saloon!" Billy growled. "It does this," he continued and gave the V8 gas, making the car to plunge forward, and Dustin to grab the handle on the door. "Tell me again why were you invited? Because I can imagine how cheery this day is going to be," Dustin said sardonically. "Steve said that he can't handle you lot alone. So, ta-dah, here I am," Billy said annoyed. "Against my will," he added for emphasis, just to make sure he didn't blow his cover before the whole thing even started.

They drove behind Steve's BMW because Steve had told Billy not to make any stupid moves that would mess the day. So, bored out of his mind for being forced to drive by the speed limit, Billy turned on the radio, and Rainbow's 'Since you've been gone' started playing.

When the song got to the chorus, he hummed the melody tapping the wheel with his finger, and at the same time Dustin sang the lyrics under his breath, looking out through the side window.

Both did it again when the chorus played again.

Neither one addressed it any further, until the song got to 'Your poison letter, your telegram, just to show…' "You don't give a damn!" they sang in unison, not in tune, as loud as they could, and laughed. When the chorus came again, they sang it out loud too.

Billy glanced at Dustin and a smile tucked the corner of his mouth when he saw the kid trying to hide a wide grin. “Maybe it’s not going to be entirely shitty day, right?” Billy said, grinning himself too.

Their cars were parked next to each other on the field that was designated as the parking lot for the fair on the other side of the road.

“You survived the ride of death,” Mike stated at Dustin, and glared at Billy, who actually smiled a little at the remark. “I had to follow the speed limits. Those things keep you little shits alive apparently,” Billy said, glaring back at Mike, but unable to fully wipe the smile of his face. Because he was actually excited for this event, one he had waited for days.

The kids took hasty steps towards the fairground, leaving Steve and Billy behind. “What was he like?” Mike asked Dustin the moment Steve and Billy were out of hearing distance. “We actually sang in the car,” Dustin said. Everyone stared at him mouth hanging open. “You did what?” Will managed to ask. “Well, a song came on that apparently we both liked. We knew the lyrics of the chorus, so we sang. It’s a hell of a good song!” “But it’s Billy!” Max said, as surprised as everyone else. “I know,” Dustin matched her tone of voice. “You were right,” Mike agreed. “There’s definitely something off, big time.”

The kids left Steve and Billy quickly behind them. “I gotta buy them the tickets,” Steve said and dug his wallet from his pocket. “Will you buy mine too?” Billy said elbowing Steve to his side. “Hey! Stop with the violence! I will get you a ticket too. Chill,” Steve said smiling. “It wouldn’t be a date otherwise, would it?” he continued under his breath, making Billy chuckle a little.

First ride was Round Up. Standing on the outer rim of a round thing that would speed up fast and keep it up while turning upwards and shaking. Guaranteed to make you feel sick. Except that none of the kids seemed to have any issues afterwards and they just ran towards the second ride.

Steve instead felt his stomach churn. “Ok, nothing that goes around fast or shakes for me tonight." Once the kids were again out of hearing distance Billy leaned to him. “Maybe a round in my Camaro and a bit different kinds of shakes on me though once we’re done here?” Steve blushed on the spot. “We’re supposed to be out with the kids tonight, alright!” he said, but couldn’t help smiling when he saw Billy chewing his gum with a sly smile. He really liked Billy’s smile, it always made his heart flip a little.

“Billy just said something to Steve that made him blush and laugh,” Max reported to Dustin when she’d glanced behind her at the two. “They’re like teens on a date.” “I think they are,” Dustin replied and kept looking ahead. “We just need a confirmation on it.” “Like, a kiss?” Mike asked crunching his nose. “That would work.” Dustin said. “They’re not going to do it out here in the open for sure,” Will said. “It’s not like they can, you know.” “I already know where it’s going to happen.”

Steve and Billy tried to keep up with the kids from booth to booth and different rides. They kept glancing at each other every time any one of the kids looked behind them nonchalantly - and not being nonchalant at it at all, because they were teens. “They’re up to something,” Steve said to Billy, keeping his gaze on the group ahead of them. “Yeah, I noticed. Any idea what? Trying to flee from us?” “Dustin is behind it all, I just know it. I almost blew everything when I stopped by his home to tell him about this evening. He asked why you’d be with us and, well… Everything kinda went south from there. I just left in the middle of a sentence.” “You suck at lying, even if it’s just leaving something unsaid. I know that much already by now,” Billy smirked. “Gee, thanks,” Steve said shaking his head. “This is bad, I just know it.”

They still tried to keep up the appearances, not being overly cozy with each other or accidentally walk too close to each other. Steve even took a bullet when he agreed to go on a viking ship ride with the other kids, knowing it would make him feel sick again, and left Billy with Max.

“Wanna go shoot some ducks?” Billy asked Max. Max shrugged. She had been tasked to just ask Billy because everyone was getting tired of trying to find out otherwise - because the two had totally realized that they were being observed. Billy was aiming his airgun into one of the moving ducks when Max asked: “What’s going on between you two?” “With who?” he asked, and hit a duck straight in the middle. Max looked at him as if he was half-witted. “Steve." Billy almost pulled his gum into his windpipe and had a coughing fit. “Hah. I knew it,” Max said smugly. She aimed her own gun and squeezed the trigger, hitting a duck on first shot. Billy glared at her. “You better keep that to yourself or I’ll kick your sorry ass, shitbird.” “It comes with a price,” Max replied, and shot a second duck down. “Yeah, I know,” he said flatly. He didn’t feel like shooting more ducks, but Max shot a third one, and was allowed to pick any of the big prices.

Billy was carrying a massive teddy bear when he and Max met Steve and the other kids. “That’s huge,” Mike said wide eyed, while the rest of the kids managed barely to hide their laughter. “It’s not mine, it’s Max’s,” Billy tried to defend himself and rolled his eyes when Steve joined the rest chuckling. “It’s going to look nice on your bed,” Steve whispered to him once they were again left behind the kids who were now eating cotton candy. "Don't you fucking start or I will replace you with it," Billy shot back, but couldn't keep a smile creeping on his face. “Hey, why don’t we go to the ferris wheel?” Steve asked as they walked by the massive wheel dominating the fairground. Billy looked at him raising one of his eyebrows as a question. “Yes, exactly because of that,” Steve whispered. “Hey guys, wanna go to the wheel?” he shouted after the kids.

“We want to go again to the Roundup,” Mike said, joined by Max and El. “Again? Are you sure that's a good idea? Because everyone is cleaning their own messes in case all the cotton candy and other stuff you've eaten here comes up in either of our cars.” The trio nodded, Steve gave them three of his last tickets, and turned to look at Dustin and Mike. “What about you two?”

The boys looked at each other for a while. Then they both looked at both Steve and Billy squinting, as if they were contemplating of something simultaneously. The look made Billy blush, as he just knew they were on to him and Steve, and he was all of a sudden very interested of the booth with wheel of fortune behind him. "We're coming to the ferris wheel with you,” Dustin said after a while.

“You're willing to share a pod with him, but not with us?” Dustin asked from Steve, pointing at Billy, when they were at the gate to the ride. Steve had really hard time to keep his face from not revealing anything, because he just knew the kid suspected something. “Well, yes. I mean, if someone has to suffer, let it be me,” Steve tried to reply nonchalantly. Dustin and Mike just shared a look on it. “You guys take the first one,” Steve rushed them into the pod. Steve and Billy with the gigantic teddy took a pod that was few pods behind Dustin's and Mike's. Billy sat on the other seat and set the teddy next to him. “Hey! That’s rude. He’s already taking my place,” Steve said mock-upset pointing at the bear. “Fine,” Billy laughed and moved it on the seat on the other side of the pod. Steve sat next to Billy, and looked at him. He took Billy’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “This is such a teenager date that it’s not even funny,” Billy chuckled. “Shy looks and holding hands, maybe dreaming of getting into the first base.” “Well, that was my idea of getting onto this thing,” Steve said and looked up. “I just wish those two…” Billy interrupted him. “They definitely suspect something. And Max knows.” “What?” Steve said incredulous. Billy shrugged. “I didn't tell her anything. You tell me how they pick stuff like this up on their own.” Steve looked back up and to the boy’s pod. They weren't peeking over the sides – at least not now.

When Billy's and Steve's pod was on top of the wheel, the wheel stopped from rotating for a while, leaving the pod moving slowly back and forth. The sun had just gone down, and the horizon was painted red, turning slowly into turquoise that finally faded into darkness. Billy marveled at the sky, but all Steve saw was Billy. “Hey,” he said to get Billy’s attention. When Billy turned to look at Steve, Steve cupped Billy's chin into his hand, and kissed him. Up here Steve was brave enough to do it out in the open. The kiss was as shy as they were on this their very first date, and short, to make sure no one accidentally saw it. They smiled when they broke the kiss. “This is so stupid. I feel like I'm thirteen again,” Billy said chuckling. “Me too,” Steve said laughing. "Maybe that's a good thing?" "Why?" "Because," Billy started but paused, squeezing Steve's hand a little tighter. "Maybe I want to see where this thing could go? You know, not just…what we did last time." "You do?" Steve asked surprised. "Hey, you asked me on this date, dumbass. I guess you had some thoughts behind it too." “Well, yeah,“ Steve said sheepishly, “I just didn't think you might feel the same way.” “I told you that I don't let just anyone into my head, and I meant it,” Billy said, and gave Steve a kiss just as the wheel started moving. Both of their eyes widened and they turned to look down at Dustin's and Mike's pod.

Steve groaned when he saw the boys high fiving each other. “There goes the secret.” “Well, what the hell are we going to do to it? Beat them up so that they know to keep their mouths shut?” Billy asked alarmed. “I know I'll be bringing a lot of films for them to watch from the rental. And drive them wherever they need a ride to,” Steve replied, rubbing his forehead. “What do you have to trade?” “Uh…well, not much to be honest,” Billy confessed. “Oh, fuuck,” he then let out. “Rides. I'm going to have to drive those little shits to places too. And endure whatever they come up with while at it.” Steve couldn't help but to laugh. “You're going to have glorious times ahead,” he said, getting another elbow from Billy in return. “They're loud and messy. Be prepared to clean up your car at least once a week. I have no idea where all those crumbs come from but there's tons of them on the floor and in between the seats.” “Hey, you're not making this any better!” Billy said, but couldn't help laughing either. “Though they're going to have to stuff each other on the backseat of the Camaro, so, there's always that for me to bring some satisfaction.” “And obviously speeding, they'll love that,” Steve nodded making Billy laugh again.

Dustin and Mike were smirking slyly when Steve and Billy got out from the pod.

Billy threw the gigantic teddy bear at them and the kids fell down on the ground like bowling pins. “Serves you shits right,” he muttered under his breath.

When the kids got up, laughing, Dustin took the teddy, and he and Mike started to run towards the ride where the rest of the party was.

“Hey, give it back, it's Max's!” Billy shouted and ran after them. “You better not tell them anything,” Steve shouted at the kids as he ran after Billy, who was faster, both of them trying to avoid the other fair goers. “I'm telling them everything!” Dustin shouted back.

Steve managed to catch Billy when they were forced to stop behind a family of at least six screaming kids. “This is useless,” Steve said breathing heavily. Billy was leaning his hands on his thighs, also taking heavy breaths. “How the fuck do they run so fast for kids that age? Weren't these supposed to be DnD kids who do nothing else but sit and play indoors?” “You have no idea what they're capable of when left without supervision,” Steve said knowingly. “I’ve been trying to find them for who knows how long several times after leaving them alone just for five minutes.”

Finally Steve and Billy arrived at the ride where the rest of the kids were waiting. They both were still short of breath. “So, what's the price?” Steve asked panting. “Oh, I don't know, unlimited free video rentals and rides to anywhere we want to whenever we need seems a fair deal, don't you think?” Mike said on behalf of the group who were all grinning. “You shits planned all this,” Billy said unamused. “Max, you're in so much trouble for telling them.” “It wasn't me!” Max replied. “Dustin figured it out almost the day Steve told him that you'd be coming with us.” “It's not like you two somehow magically get along unless there's something more behind it. Simple detective work,” Dustin said and high fived with the rest of the party.

“Steve, I'm so not driving behind you when we drive back tonight,” Billy said annoyed. Steve glanced at him. “Maybe you'd like to take the beemer?” Steve suggested taking the keys from his pocket and giving them to Billy, making all of the kids freeze with wide eyes. “I think that's an excellent idea,” Billy nodded, and gave the keys to the Camaro to Steve. Suddenly all of the kids were shouting dibs on the front seat and the tiny backseat of the Camaro, making both Billy and Steve grin at each other. “A fair deal, I’d say,” Steve said, and high fived with Billy.