Work Text:
Billy loved his hair. He always had. His long blonde curls looked exactly like his mother’s and now that she was gone, he cherished them even more. Which is why he put up with his father calling him a fag on a regular basis. His dad could go fuck himself. Billy looked like his Mom and he was gonna keep it that way.
Of course when Steve Harrington, resident prep and “King” of Hawkins High, took it upon himself to call Billy Goldilocks after practice one day, Billy hadn’t expected the nickname to catch on.
But oh, catch on it did.
With everyone.
Billy couldn’t walk into a single class without getting at least one “what’s up, Goldilocks?” And of course he would laugh and shake his head, cracking his knuckles for good measure to remind everyone he wasn’t afraid to break a few skulls if the teasing when too far for his liking.
Honestly, it didn’t bother him. It was true. He did have gold locks. And, since he was in on the joke and he laughed along with everyone, it was more like good natured ribbing, than straight up teasing.
“Why did that kid just call you, Goldilocks?” Max asked when she slid into the passenger side of Billy’s car. “And why did you let him get away with it?”
Billy shrugged.
“It’s kind of a joke that’s going around school. Harrington called me Goldilocks once and it just kind of stuck,” he explained, trying to appear nonchalant.
But Max saw right through him, smirking knowingly.
“Ohhh, I might have known Steve was involved,” she teased.
Billy rolled his eyes. One drunken evening he had accidentally confessed to his step sister that he was harboring a crush on Hawkins golden boy. He couldn’t help it. Steve was pretty and fun and he had this way of looking at Billy like he actually mattered. It was more than his heart could take.
Even with the unfortunate crush on Steve, things in Hawkins were going pretty well. Until the day his dad came into his room…
With a pair of scissors.
He’d handed them to Billy. Made him sit in front of his makeshift vanity and cut his own curls off in great big lopsided chunks. Billy cried the whole time.
No one called him Goldilocks at school that day. No one dared. Billy caught Steve’s eye across the room during fourth period, the first time they’d seen each other all day. Steve’s eyes widened as he stared at Billy’s sheered locks. His hair was still curly, but it was so short now and yup, Billy was totally going to cry with Steve looking at him like that. He raised his hand to go to the bathroom, hustling down the hall and locking himself in.
He stared at himself in the mirror, tears sliding down his cheeks as he ran a hand through his hair. It didn’t look that bad. It just didn’t look like him. A knock at the door made him jump.
“Occupied,” he snapped.
“It’s me.”
Oh, okay, that was definitely Steve. Billy took a couple deep breaths, wiping the tears from his cheeks before he opened the door, trying to maintain a modicum of dignity.
Steve stepped into the bathroom, locking the door behind him again before turning to face Billy. He took in Billy’s red eyes and trembling lower lip.
“Oh, Billy,” he said quietly, surprising the other boy by pulling him in for a hug.
Billy struggled for a moment before he settled into Steve’s embrace, wrapping his arms around him and tucking his face into Steve’s neck. It occurred to him that Steve must know on some level about his dad. He did babysit Max and the rest of the nerd troupe. He must have known Billy’s haircut wasn’t voluntary.
“Sorry,” Billy mumbled when he saw the tear stains on Steve’s shirt as he pulled away.
Steve shook his head, reaching out a tentative hand to brush a few of Billy’s shortened curls back.
“You know, it doesn’t look bad. You, um, you still look…” he trailed off, blushing and yeah, Billy recognized the look on Steve’s face. It was the same face he wore when he looked at Steve. Oh. My. God.
“You like me,” Billy said, eyes wide in disbelief.
Steve shrugged, biting his bottom lip.
“Maybe.”
Billy’s heart was beating so hard he thought it might actually burst out of his chest, like it was trying to get closer to Steve. Which was fair, since it totally belonged to him anyway. Unable to resist any longer, Billy yanked Steve forward and kissed him. He kept it relatively chaste, even though his body screamed at him to just take Steve right there.
Steve grinned toothily at him when Billy pulled away, lacing their fingers together and pecking the other boy several more times on the lips.
“You like me,” Billy said again, teasing the other boy.
Steve rolled his eyes.
“Whatever, Goldilocks.”