Chapter Text
“Danny, come back here!” Steve shouted to his oldest son as the toddler ran away from the shopping cart his father was pushing. Steve held his bulky cell phone in the crook of his neck. “Please Dustin, I'm desperate, I need to work late tonight and the babysitter canceled on me.”
“I'm sorry, Steve, I have an exam tomorrow that I need to study for,” Dustin replied as Steve finally wrangled Danny back towards the cart. “ Did you try Max? I don't think she's doing anything later.”
“No, I'll try her next, thanks anyway, see you next Wednesday,” Steve told Dustin. Every Wednesday Steve would meet up with the now grown-up kids for dinner.
“Yeah, see you then,” Dustin replied and hung up the phone. Steve ran a hand through his hair, looking down at the twins who were sitting in the shopping cart. Michael and Amber were just over 2 years old, Danny was 4.
Steve walked towards the checkout, holding Danny's hand to keep him from going anywhere. The cart jolted. Steve's eyes darted up to see he had hit a man in a suit with the cart.
“Oh shit, I'm so sorry,” Steve apologized, the man gave him a curious look.
“Steve Harrington?” The man asked. Steve nodded, raising an eyebrow, he was pretty sure he'd never seen this guy in his life, he was clean shaven and his hair was short and styled in a very professional look.
“I'm sorry, who are you?” Steve asked, the man chuckled. Steve's stomach dropped when the man said his name.
“Billy Hargrove.”
“Billy? What- Danny! For the hundredth time, get back here!” Steve cut himself off to get the attention of his kid. Billy eyed them all curiously.
“What's with all the kids, Harrington?” Billy asked, genuinely confused. Steve plopped Danny into the cart with his siblings, Danny giggled.
“When one is a father they usually have kids, right?” Steve asked, sass lacing his voice. Billy gave a small nod, unsure of what to say. “So, you're back in town.”
“Yeah, I came up to visit Max, I'm staying for Christmas then I'm going back to LA,” Billy told him. Steve nodded.
“Can you ask Max if she can babysit for me tonight? My boss called me earlier and told me I had to work late tonight and my usual babysitter and backup babysitter are unavailable,” Steve asked as he placed his groceries on the checkout belt. Billy placed a single loaf of bread on the checkout belt behind Steve's stuff, placing a plastic divider between them.
Steve visibly paled when he saw the price climb higher and higher. Billy watched on, concern etched into his features.
“Your total today will be $101.30,” the cashier told him, Steve sighed and patted his pockets with one hand while the other rubbed a surprisingly large scar on his jaw just beside his chin. A few seconds later he dropped his head onto the handlebar of the cart.
“Shit...” Steve grumbled. Billy and the cashier looked at him. “I forgot my wallet... I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to my body.”
“Ring his stuff up with mine, I'll pay for it.” At this point Steve was passed embarrassed, he couldn't even pay for his kids needs himself, his high school tormentor had to bail him out. Steve and Billy walked out together.
“I'll pay you back, I promise. Shit, I'm so embarrassed,” Steve told Billy. Billy shook his head, looking at the kids, who had fallen asleep.
“Please, don't worry about it, I owe you,” Billy insisted, gesturing to Steve's scarred face. Billy walked with Steve to his car, he still had his BMW but by now it was falling apart because he didn't have the time to get it into the shop.
“Thank you, I guess I'll see you later, get Max to call me, yeah?” Steve asked after he loaded his kids into the car, popping open the trunk.
“Wait, you never told me the kids' names,” Billy told him, looking towards the car.
“The twins are Michael and Amber, they are 2, then the oldest, of course, is Danny, he's 4,” Steve told him, loading the groceries into the trunk of the car.
“Okay, I'll see you later, Max will call before 3,” Billy told Steve and walked over to his sleek, black Honda NSX.
Steve stood there for a minute after closing the trunk.
“What the hell just happened?”