#smol but mighty | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fizzigigsimmer · 6 months ago

Text

Moonwood: Part 6

<< Part One

Steve is worried Billy Hargrove may be his soulmate. It consumes his thoughts, and yet he still hasn’t figured out a way forward by the time the bonfire starts. He tries to convince himself that his suspicions are wrong - that maybe he's panicking over nothing and the reason he can't stop thinking about Billy is like pink elephants. The harder he tries not to think about Billy the more he's going to.

Maybe they're not soulmates and Steve is just freaking himself out over a few coincidences. They do go to the same school. Of course they bump into each other. It doesn't have to mean there’s some cosmic influence behind it. Right? The trouble is he has no idea how to go about checking either way.

He can't just go up and ask Billy - Hey are we soulmates? But the bonfire arrives, the streets fill up with parked cars as people from the neighboring towns flood in and join the families from Moonwood as they amble their way up the trail that leads to the old ranger station at the top of the bluff; and that’s still the best plan Steve’s got.

Steve trails a step behind his family, bracing himself for the night ahead. If he’s wrong about Billy - which he probably is - and Hargrove decks him, there will be plenty of people around to witness his humiliation.

Some of his worry fades to the background as he takes it all in. The fire built high on a pyre behind a large stone slab that reminds him of that rock in the Lion King. The rich smells of roasting meat hanging heavy in the air from people roasting dogs and turning over kabobs. The sound of many voices raised in conversation, pierced by the occasional shriek of laughter from over excited children, their faces painted with half moons and strange symbols.

A little girl runs past them up the hill with big fluffy wolf ears stitched to her headband and a muzzle painted on her face. Colorful banners decorated with stars and moons, along with paper lanterns have been strung between the tree branches in a wide circle around the gathering. Steve’s nose itches the closer they get because there’s a strange smell emanating from them: minty and sort of green.

He stops just before the ring of lights, uneasy, but his family continues on oblivious to the feeling of unease that suddenly grips him. A few strides ahead his mom seems to sense he’s no longer just behind them and looks back, the concern on her brow melting into a teasing smile as she comes back to take his hand and guide him into the circle.

“Wolfsbane: for the humans.” She whispers in his ear with an apologetic smile. He’s still not used to the idea of them not being entirely human.

“Even just the vapor is enough to drain our strength, but it doesn’t hurt us.”

He relaxes a little after hearing that, the proof of her words all around him. It’s just like Sasha and the girls said it would be. Like a music festival and a county fair had a baby. Everywhere he looks people are clustered together talking, laughing. A large group of elementary school aged kids are engaged in a tug-of-war contest. Everybody’s having a good time so Steve tries to relax and do the same.

There's a band of sorts with a bunch of people playing guitars, handrums, and some weird elongated flute thing that sounds sultry to his ears and makes him want to dance. He settles for sorta swaying a little bit as he shifts his weight around, only half listening to the conversations going on around him as his family chats with their neighbors about mundane things. Steve’s attention keeps drifting back to Billy Hargrove and the possibility that they might be soulmates.

His grandfather said that he’d know his soulmate when he met him. Them. There’s no reason to assume his soulmate is a boy after all but Steve realizes that he has definitely been picturing a guy since the concept became real to him, despite the fact that he’s never even been with one before. He doesn’t count the sloppy kisses at parties or the handjob that guy from Minnesota gave him on the beach over the summer. That was just fooling around. The kind of shit everyone gets up to sometimes when they’ve had enough drinks and the feeling is right.

The weird thing is: Steve’s only ever seriously been with girls, yet he can’t drum up the face of a single one just then strong enough to drive out thoughts of Billy Hargrove. Billy’s sharp smile full of teeth, and his even sharper blue eyes. Billy’s freckled cheeks and dark spiky eyelashes. Billy’s long torso and thick legs, body roped with muscle, standing a head taller than all the townie boys - because he’s not like them. Not normal.

But well neither is Steve, and holy shit. Steve wonders when he got so turned on by Billy Hargrove, cause he’s half hard in his jeans and in danger of embarrassing himself in front of his mother’s friends. Like she can read his mind Steve’s mom darts a look at him, and gives him a worried look. He shoots her a reassuring smile before excusing himself to go and find his friends from school.

Despite the fact that people seem to be clumping together in groups and sticking to them there’s still so many people packed onto the hill that it’s difficult to find anyone easily. Steve’s feet carry him through the trees. They carry him around families clustered together on picnic blankets and camp chairs, and through a thick crowd of teens that have gathered around something on the northwest side of the firepit.

Soulmates can always find each other, which is why Steve’s feet carry him right to where Billy Hargrove sits in the center of the trunk of a massive broken tree, feet dangling above the thick roots tangled at the base with a cigarette in his mouth.

Billy is the something the other teens have gathered around, and Steve doesn’t blame them one bit. Under the setting sun with the fire’s glow red and gold against his skin Billy looks like something not of this world - a fairy king, watching his subjects as they dance and make fools of themselves for his entertainment.

Steve’s mouth goes dry as two things crystalize in his mind. One: Billy’s unfairly hot. He’s struck by the sudden desire to weave flowers through Billy’s hair, shove his hands down Billy’s pants, his tongue down his throat, and raise his babies - in that order.

Two: Billy is most definitely his soulmate which probably explains both why Steve feels that way, and why he’s felt that way from the moment he first laid eyes on him. He just didn’t realize it. He feels like a giant idiot now for needing his grandfather to spell it out for him. Because who needs their grandpa to explain what a crush feels like at freaking eighteen?!

It helps a little when he remembers that it’s not just a crush he feels for Billy - supposedly they’re it for each other. The deepest kind of love there is. And Steve’s never felt the kinda love his grandpa described until now.

But he wants to. Boy does he want to. Steve’s chest feels tight and it feels like there are hands around his throat as he sucks in a breath, but he starts walking forward again - because there’s something inside of him that wants to be Billy’s everything as much as it wants to give Billy everything. He’s used to giving people his whole heart, but no one has ever given it back.

He feels a little guilty having such thoughts because he knows his mom loves him, and that she’s always tried her best. It just wasn’t enough…

But all of that is in the past. Where he’s going now - Billy - that’s the future. That’s everything.

Only before Steve can get there, one of the guys hanging around Billy sees him coming and nudges Chet. By the time Steve reaches the stump, half the basketball team has formed a wall in front of it. Steve swallows. He’s already accepted the truth, and he’s pretty used to how much bigger people in Moonwood are, but there’s something about having five guys all over six feet tall leering down at him with teeth filled smiles that drives the point home. These guys are wolves.

“Well look who it is!” one of the guys calls out, and the people who have been dancing and chatting nearby stop what they’re doing to look.

“Uh-hey guys.” Steve greets with a small two fingered wave to break the tension, and also because he’d rather control the conversation than see just what might be inspiring the hungry gleam in the eyes of the literal ‘pack of wolves’ standing between him and his soulmate. They’re Billy’s pack… which on a fundamental level he’s always known, but it certainly brings basketball tryouts into sharper focus now. There’s no getting on the team, no getting close to Billy, without going through them.

“Is that you Harrington?!” Billy calls from his seat up on the stump, grinning over their heads at Steve, which is how Steve knows he’s fucking lying when he says. “I can barely see you. Try standing on something.”

Everyone within hearing distance laughs like his height is just hilarious, way more than the joke actually warrants but Steve blames the red cups in their hands.

“Very funny asshole,” Steve grumbles. Then realizes he probably shouldn’t call his soulmate an asshole - oops - and moderates his tone to something less pissy. “Listen, I need to talk to you.”

A chorus of ‘oos’ go around the crowd of teens and Billy’s friend Dave leans on Chet’s shoulder and smirks as he taunts, “He can hear you just fine.”

“Where’s your pack Steve?” Chet asks, in a slightly friendlier tone, but it doesn’t sound like a real question. It sounds like he’s asking Steve why he bothered to come at all, which is confusing to say the least. They’re not buddies or anything but Chet has always been cool with him and he stuck up for Steve when those other guys tried to bully him.

“Yeah, pretty sure you can all hear me.” Steve answers Dave before lifting his eyes back up to Billy. He hates that he has to lean forward on his toes a bit to do it, and he can’t quite keep the irritation out of his tone.

“And my family’s back there.” He jerks his head in the general direction of where he came, “but I need to talk to you alone, Hargrove.”

He tries to impress with his eyes to Billy how important this is. But doubt begins to creep in. Shouldn’t Billy know what they have to talk about? If they’re true mates or whatever, Billy wouldn’t be such a jerk to him all the time. Would he?

Billy doesn’t acknowledge Steve asking to talk to him. He sucks on the cigarette between his teeth and lets the smoke lazyly before he drawls.

“The Dalca’s are good people. Funny they haven’t introduced you yet. I was starting to think I’d never see you at one of these.”

Steve has no idea what he’s talking about. He’s been in town for months now and met plenty of people. His aunt and his grandparents seem to know everyone and they always stop him to make introductions.

But clearly Steve’s missing something here because he knows the prying looks and sly smiles that the other teens are suddenly wearing - knows the feeling of being whispered about, and that this time it’s not for a good reason.

“He’s not talking about saying hi at the grocery store, Steve.” someone comes up and starts to explain gently from behind Steve and he tenses, seeing the dark glare that clouds Billy’s features, before he turns and realizes that it’s just Hank.

“What’s going on? I don’t get it.”

“Of course you don’t.” Billy scoffs, and it stings like a slap. Hank shoots Billy a look that says clearly that Steve’s not the only one who thinks he’s being an asshole for no good reason.

“Bonfire nights have really old traditions. It’s mostly ceremony now but they started in the villages to keep people safe.” Hank goes on explaining. “One of them is that you stick with your people, and you don’t bother any of the other, uh clans, unless you’ve been introduced to their leader… like officially.”

Now that he knows, Steve realizes how hard the other teen is trying not to say anything too incriminating.

“You mean like in a wolfy way?” Steve asks, and grins when Hank's mouth drops open.

“So you do know.” Billy’s voice growls, almost accusing, tearing Steve’s eyes away from the other boy and he shivers.

“Hank here thought you were just afraid of moonlight.”

Billy scoffs, and Steve doesn’t know why Billy’s suddenly so angry, but he’s starting to regret not taking his family up on any of their invitations instead of bumming around with tourists all summer. Because he’s betting they would have spilled the truth before now and made all these ‘ceremonial’ introductions; but in his defense he didn’t exactly know what a big deal it was. He wasn’t trying to offend anyone. But it’s in the past now, and Steve’s not willing to give up on the future. Not just yet.

“Yeah. Hi. I’m Steve. I know what you are, and no I’m not afraid of moonlight.” Or anything else, he dares silently, holding Billy’s gaze. “So can we talk now, or what?”

|Part 7|

Friendly tags for those who have asked in the past:

@darleenjade @sweetwaterangel @dragonflylady77 @natchula @tip-tap-tired @sparklingsprinkles @adelacreations @bluetree76 @deadfromtheneckdown @heavensfinest @marklee-blackmore @slightlydepressedmelon @percabeth-trashcan @a-lovely-craziness

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #Moonwood #Moonwood series #MWS #soulmates #Soulmate fic #Soulmate au #billy hargrove is a werewolf #werewolf au #werewolves #Steve Harrington is a halfling #Billy calls Steve pet names #size difference #Steve is a smol but mighty bean #Billy is into it

35 notes · View notes