Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ever After Inc. was a small family-owned business that dealt in organizing and facilitating fairy tale Happily Ever Afters for their clients. Owned by the Harringtons, they've built a reputation for themselves over the years in using the tiny bit of magic they have to look at a person and put them in just the right place at the right time to make good things happen for them. Their most famous service was being able to unite soulmates. As their tagline said, "It's not chance, and it's not just fate. It's Ever After." (And then came the harp that started their trademark jingle.)

"Look, Steve, don't you want a happy Ever After for the princess?" his dad asked him, crossing his arms. Steve could practically hear the stupid harp, itching in the back of his head. He did not want to be arguing about this.

"Look, Dad," Steve threw back, also crossing his arms, "I don't know why you'd think I'd want her to be happy when she was the one that broke up with me."

"You said you were over it," his dad said, raising an eyebrow.

Steve fumed a little. He was over it, really. Their break-up was over a year ago, but that didn’t mean he wanted to help her find her soulmate or whatever. "I am , but I'd just rather not talk to her again." Even if he did miss her. She’d been his best friend for a long time, but they haven't spoken since they split.

It was easy to avoid Nancy. She was the princess of the kingdom of Hawkins, and heir to the throne, so she spent a lot of time in the Wheeler castle. Steve just had to make sure not to go anywhere near there and he was safe. He just had to avoid the stores near the castle and the diner they always used to go to, and the bookstore she visited three times a week.

Unfortunately it wasn't until they broke up that he realized just how much of his time he spent with her, and the amount of free time he suddenly found himself with led to a lot of laying around the house doing nothing.

Which was probably why his dad was doing this to him now.

"Come on, son, you're going to inherit this business one day so just take on the Wheelers as a client."

Steve turned to look at his dad. "I don't know why you think it's a good idea for my first ever client to be the Royal Family."

"You know Nancy! It's much easier to facilitate an Ever After if you know the person better. Your soul will already know them."

"And again," Steve said, "I don't even know about this soul magic shit, Dad! And don't you think if I knew her soul that I'd've known she was going to break up with me?" Okay so maybe he wasn't totally over it, but he was definitely over feeling romantic about Nancy herself. He just kind of still smarted that he didn't see it coming in the slightest.

His dad's face softened. "You have the magic, Steve," he said. "We always used to hear about how you made everyone feel better in class and knew how to plan the best games."

"That just makes me good at being sociable," Steve grumbled.

"But you always said you had a good feeling about these things when we asked," his dad countered. "That's what our magic is, Steve. We don’t have a lot of magic, but we’re magic with people. Looking at them and feeling an instinct about their lives, having a feeling about how to lead them to a better fortune. Knowing someone and being friends with them will only strengthen that feeling."

Steve grimaced but he thought about it. He did know Nancy pretty well—kind of uncomfortably well, considering how they haven't spoken in a year. He knew her smile and her laugh intimately, the way her brow would wrinkle when she got ahead of herself thinking of the future of the kingdom and how he could smooth it out by softly pressing his thumb right on that wrinkle and brushing back her bangs, kissing her temple. Then when she'd finally look at him, he'd bring her out of the castle for some fresh air, to clear her head. He knew the way she took her coffee and her favourite brand of soap and the songs she wouldn’t admit she liked but would sing in the shower, although he supposed all these things might have changed.

What were you supposed to do with all this knowledge of a person when you didn't need to use it anymore? Just let it sit there and reminisce and ultimately feel way lonelier for it?

Apparently, what you were supposed to do is take that intimate knowledge, internalize it until your soul knows it almost like its own, and then let it lead the way to the Ever After of the person you once thought was supposed to be your Ever After.

Fuckin' wonderful. One more glance at the beseeching look in his dad's eyes and Steve caved.

"Fine ," he said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I knew you would do it," his dad said, satisfied, nodding with confidence. Steve tried to convince himself he wasn't predictable and/or easily stepped on by the people who knew him. He was only slightly successful. "I would like them to meet before Princess Nancy's 21st birthday ball."

"Dad, that's in three days!"

"And I have no doubt that you'll succeed." Before Steve had a chance to protest, his dad clapped him on the shoulder and strode out of the room. "Your mother and I will be working with another client but we'll see you at the ball! I'm sure you can do it, Steven!"

His dad looked entirely too jovial about dumping his work on Steve and then leaving him alone to deal with it.

"Gee thanks," Steve said flatly to the empty room.

This was going to be great.

Chapter Text

The next day, Steve had no idea where to start. He sat by the kitchen counter, spooning cereal into his mouth, and wondered how on Earth he was supposed to find Nancy's person. Was he supposed to like... Just think real hard about it and get some sort of epiphany? Hear some sort of call? Go outside to watch the clouds part so the sun can shine down and light the path he was to take to meet Nancy's destiny?

Yeah, right.

His dad said that he thought Steve had the magic because he had good feelings about things and then they worked out. In reality, Steve was often just bored and things always just ended up working in his (and everyone else's) favour, but he supposed he could start there and see what happened, at least for today.

So what did Steve do when he was bored? He wandered.

He put his empty cereal bowl in the sink, grabbed his jacket, slipped on his shoes and headed outside, deciding on a whim to walk left.

He continued to walk through his neighbourhood until he reached the end of it, walked past downtown square, stopped at a convenience store to quickly buy a six pack of beer because why not. On his way to the cashier, he saw a pack of frozen Eggo waffles in one of the fridges and felt something in his chest niggle at him. He was probably craving some waffles? Shrugging, Steve reached for the waffles, and at the last minute, also grabbed a carton of milk. If he was going to be having waffles, then he was going to have milk with them, damn it.

Steve left the convenience store and turned right, content to wander until he felt like he should stop. He found himself on the other side of Hawkins, walking through a small children’s park with a swing set and eventually he walked between two houses onto a small road with smaller houses than he was used to coming from the richer part of the kingdom.

The box of waffles in the bag was starting to sweat a little the way cold things do when they stopped being so cold. Steve stopped, looked into his plastic bag of stuff and wondered why the fuck he bought frozen waffles when he had nothing to keep them cool with. The beer was going to be lukewarm… and the milk was going to spoil if he kept walking! Shit. Did he not have any foresight?

Steve looked up at the house in front of him. It was quaint with a few steps leading up to a porch, and some cute flowers in a small pot hanging off the railing. There was an obviously loved but very cared for Camaro in the driveway. He felt something about the house. It was giving him a good feeling.

He chewed on his lip for a little bit, but he didn’t feel like wandering anymore, and the waffles and milk… Maybe his dad was onto something about the good feeling thing and he should just trust his gut?

Ah, fuck it.

He hopped up the two steps and knocked on the door, trying to think about how he would introduce himself.

When the door opened, the most gorgeous man Steve had ever seen was revealed to him and he floundered. Blue eyes somehow both bright and deep, golden curls, a mean tilt to his brows that made him look intimidating, but which Steve was kind of worryingly into. Jesus Christ.

There was a feeling behind his heart like something clicking, kind of familiar like he felt it before… For some reason, his brain came up with the memory of the time he was keeping Nancy company while she and her parents were trying to find a new photographer for the royal family. They were still dating at the time, and he— 

“Yes?” the man asked, distracting Steve from his train of thought. He sounded impatient already, and Steve thought that was a little unfair. But maybe what was unfair was how pretty he was, god .

“Uh, hi,” Steve waved lamely, “I’m from Ever After Inc. and I think I’m supposed to be hooking you up with your soulmate by next week, if you’re down?” Smooth, Steve. Very professional.

The man looked at him for a moment and then laughed in his face. Like straight up roared with laughter, and Steve had never used the word ‘roar’ to describe someone’s laughter before that very moment. Rude.

“Okay, rude,” Steve reiterated out loud. 

“Dude, you heard yourself, right?” The man was still laughing in his face. Steve felt his cheeks heat up.

“It’s the truth! I can help you find your soulmate!” Steve was aware that he was probably coming off slightly whiny, but he was flustered, okay.

“Right, and I’m the prince of Hawkins,” the guy deadpanned, calming down. “Thanks for the laugh, man.”

Before the man shut the door, Steve jammed his foot into the door jamb. “You can be!”

The man paused. “What?”

“Listen, your soulmate is the princess of Hawkins. Princess Nancy?”

There was probably some sort of wild look in Steve’s eye but he was a little bit desperate. It’s not like he could just find some other person. This guy was it so he couldn’t mess it up and throw the first Ever After job he’s ever had, even if he didn’t want it at first. His dad would be disappointed.

The man furrowed his eyebrows. “You’re not pulling my leg, are you?” Steve shook his head vigorously but the guy still looked unconvinced. His thighs were starting to strain a little from the way his one leg was jammed in the doorway, and he was becoming increasingly aware of the weight of the plastic bag in his hand.

Steve lifted his hand up slightly. “I have waffles?”

Blue eyes flicked to the bag in Steve’s hand with the slowly defrosting waffles inside, and then back to Steve’s own brown. “Oh wow. Waffles.” Eyes like the ocean and tone dry as the fucking desert. Steve was stuck between annoyed and charmed and he was sure it showed in the way his sheepish grin felt more like a baring of teeth.

“Waffles. And a royal soulmate.”

After one last long pause, the man opened the door fully and let Steve in. Steve breathed a sigh of relief, shook out his leg a little, and walked on in.

Chapter Text

It turned out the gorgeous man’s name was Billy Hargrove, and he was currently not alone in the house. He had a teenaged step-sister, Maxine-but-call-me-Max, who lived with him, and Max also had her friend Jane over at the moment.

Stroke of luck, Billy was just about to leave to go grab waffles and milk for a snack because Jane turned out to be obsessed with Eggo waffles and they were apparently whining at Billy to go get some. Or maybe it was less luck, and more… Well, no, he refused to apply the Ever After tagline to his life. It was just a huge coincidence. Things just always happened to work out when Steve was bored, that was all.

Billy was setting the oven timer and Steve surreptitiously watched the breadth of his shoulders as he crouched down to turn the timer dial on the toaster before moving and stretching out to grab whipped cream and butter and syrup from the fridge. His shoulder blades moved from beneath his t-shirt and Steve wanted to touch.

Max cleared her throat and Steve snapped his gaze back to her, sitting across from him at their kitchen table. He reminded himself that he shouldn’t lust after a client when it was his job to get this person united with his soulmate and that soulmate was decidedly not him.

“So Billy said his soulmate was Princess Nancy?” Max asked. Jane was also looking at him very intensely from where she sat beside Max. With Billy settling against the countertop behind Max and Jane, crossing his arms and staring straight into his eyes, Steve felt like he was going to get the third degree.

“Yeah,” Steve said. No one spoke, and he cleared his throat. “Yeah, uh, I work for Ever After Incorporated and we kind of facilitate soulmate meetings? We were hired by the Wheelers to unite Nance with her soulmate by her 21st birthday, when they hold her annual birthday ball.”

“That’s in two days,” Max said, raising her eyebrows skeptically. Jane narrowed her eyes, and Billy looked on with a pretty blank expression.

“I would’ve been here sooner if I knew about it sooner,” Steve snapped back, maybe a little too waspishly. He compensated by adding, “Anyways, I’m here to give you the best meeting, which means if you need like a suit or something for the ball, then we’re happy to provide for free.”

Something in Max’s eyes glinted. Steve’s stomach sank. “Can he bring guests, and will you pay for all their things too?”

“Uh…” The ball was technically invite only, but Steve has always had a standing invite—as a Harrington, if not as Nancy’s friend—and it was a huge event anyways. Two more guests probably wouldn’t hurt? Besides, it felt like Max and Jane needed to be at the ball, for whatever reason. “Sure.”

Max and Jane turned to each other giddly and Billy snorted. “I’ll go call the party right now!” Max exclaimed excitedly.

“The party…?” Steve was lost. Steve watched as Max got up excitedly to find a phone or something, and Jane grinned wide. Steve felt like maybe he shouldn’t listen to his gut feelings.

Damn it, Steve.

The toaster oven dinged, and Billy walked to retrieve four waffles and put them on plates before returning to stick the last four from the box into the toaster. He placed the four plates of waffles on the table, followed by the whipped cream and butter and syrup. He then went back to the fridge, poured two glasses of milk, and then grabbed two beer bottles from the six pack Steve bought, bringing it all over and finally sitting down himself.

Steve heard Max chattering in another room somewhere in the house, but it was quiet in the kitchen as Jane turned her very intense focus on buttering the waffle in front of her. The toaster oven’s timer ticked. Steve could feel Billy’s eyes on him, but Steve himself was staring intently at his own waffle.

“So, I have questions about this soulmate thing,” Billy said. Steve whipped his head up. Jane sprayed some whipped cream onto the top of her waffle and the whooshing noise gave Steve a few seconds to prepare himself.

“Like what?”

“You’re sure Princess Nancy is my soulmate?” Billy asked.

“Uh,” Steve said again, “pretty sure?” Steve Harrington, king of professionalism.

“Real encouraging, princess,” Billy said, giving him a look that Steve couldn’t exactly decipher but which he felt was definitely making fun of him. Steve’s hackles raised slightly, but he tamped down his irritation. Wouldn’t do to get annoyed at the stupidly hot client.

“I’m not the princess, your soulmate is,” Steve ground out. He focused instead on the waffle in front of him, picking it up so he could pour a lot of syrup into the plate and then spray a whole bunch of whipped cream onto half of the plate.

“I highly doubt she’s my soulmate, but I’ll give you a chance if you’re going to buy me a suit,” Billy said, and Steve could hear the smug in his voice. “Princess,” he added, clearly goading. 

Steve looked back up to make challenging eye contact with Billy before ripping a piece off his waffle and dipping it first in the syrup then into the whipped cream before stuffing it into his mouth. When he glanced at Jane, he noticed she was looking at his plate with an intriguing expression, and Billy just shook his head.

Max came in at that moment with a happy look on her face. “The party’s coming in like a half hour,” she announced before settling into her chair, “and then we can go shopping!”

“Shopping!” Jane echoed happily, stuffing the last of her waffle into her mouth.

Billy started to dig in after Max did, waiting until she was done with the butter before starting herself. The toaster oven dinged again and Billy stood up to retrieve the last four just as Steve finished with his.

Both he and Jane grabbed another waffle before Billy even finished sitting down, and he gave them both the stink eye. “Be patient,” he said to Jane, “and I just met you, princess, try to be less comfortable in a stranger’s house, jesus. So entitled.”

Steve grinned as he poured more syrup into his plate. “But if you’re going to call me a princess, I might as well act like one, right?” Never mind that Nancy hated when people acted entitled. Oh well, she wasn’t here to judge his princessiness.

Billy shook his head but his mouth definitely twitched up a little. Steve definitely saw the start of a smile before it was tamped down.

Not that he was proud about it or anything, because soon Billy a real princess would be making Billy smile. Right.

“You’re going to be so rich when you marry Princess Nancy, Billy,” Max said with her mouth full.

Billy gave her a look. “Swallow your food before you talk, Maxine, gross.” Steve noticed Jane was copying the way he ate his waffle and saw Billy roll his eyes as he noticed too. Steve felt smug. “And yeah, it’d be nice to get away from this small place, right shitbird?”

“You’re happier about the money than you are about the love?” Steve asked, purposely not swallowing before he opened his mouth to speak. Billy curled his lip at him, he looked so grossed out. It delighted Steve a little.

“I guess the love thing is fine, but I’m telling you, she’s not my soulmate,” Billy said. Steve opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when Billy continued. “But like I said, I’m not going to say no to a free suit, fancy wear for my sister and her nerd herd, and a fun night in the castle. Might as well enjoy myself before you realize you’re fucking up.”

Steve frowned, but Max beat him to a response. “What if he’s not fucking up though?” she asked. “I want to live in the castle! I want you to marry rich so we have money!”

Her step-brother snorted. “Your ulterior motives are showing, Maxine,” he said.

Max pouted. “I want you to be happy, though. Won’t you find happiness with a soulmate?”

Jane patted her friend’s back, and Billy actually looked a little surprised, a little touched. The expression was gone before Steve could really take it in, and Billy said in a mocking tone, “aw thanks squirt. If I ever marry rich, I’ll definitely make my rich soulmate buy you lots of things.”

Max smirked a little, looking satisfied, and both the girls returned their attention to the last of their waffles.

“You will marry rich, you know,” Steve said. “I have a good feeling about you. There’s something about you, and Nancy’s my client, and so you two must be destined. It’s Ever After, after all.”

Billy looked at him for a moment longer and then said, “Sure, Harrington. Sure.”

Steve took a deep breath. Billy might not trust him, but Steve had to trust his gut to get this job done. He locked eyes with Billy and Steve felt it again, that weird clicking feeling in his chest, the way it felt like things were going to be okay, settling something in him. It was a good feeling, and it was about Billy Hargrove, and he had to trust this.

He was right and Billy was important. This was the truth.

Chapter Text

There was fast knocking at the door. Max shot out of her seat followed quickly by Jane, and Billy was already gathering up the dishes from their impromptu-ish waffle snack.

“Thanks for the waffles,” Steve said.

“Sure thing, princess,” Billy replied, sticking his tongue out in a grin. “You bought ‘em, after all.”

Steve shook his head and smiled a little, taking a swig of his beer. Billy had traded in his beer bottle for a glass of milk before he started drinking it, but Steve had already opened his so he committed to finishing it. He wasn’t sure why at first but then realized Max said she wanted to go shopping, and Billy probably just assumed he was going to be driving.

Well, he was the only one with a car anyways, so. He kind of had to. Big oops on Steve’s part, probably, but apparently wandering was part of his process so he didn’t feel too bad.

A bunch of youth tumbled into the kitchen, looking to be like sixteen or seventeen years old each. One with curly hair and a guileless smile, one with dark skin and eyes that wouldn’t stop glancing back at Max, and one with a bowl cut and a puppy dog expression.

Steve looked at Max and the boy who kept looking back at her and felt that clicking feeling behind his heart again. Huh. So maybe that was… a Thing? Like, maybe Max and this boy were soulmates, and this was how Steve could tell? He pondered back to when he felt it with Nancy, but realized he was being addressed and put the thought away for later.

The teenagers were introducing themselves. Curly hair was Dustin, Max’s probably-soulmate was Lucas, and bowl cut was Will.

“This is Steve, and he’s going to take us shopping and then to Princess Nancy’s ball!” Max announced excitedly. There was some clamouring directly after this.

“What stores are we gonna hit up?”

“Will you buy us food too?”

“Will we go to like a real tailor and get our measurements and everything?”

“Holy shit we’ll all look so fancy!”

“Can you buy us more than one thing to wear? What if we can’t choose?”

“ Guys! ” Billy called out over everyone, shutting them up. “This is what is happening. We will drive to the mall. You will pick out one suit that you really like while the girls go looking for their dresses. Harrington will pay for our suits and then meet up with the girls to pay for their dresses and then we will all go to the tailors to do any necessary tailoring.”

Billy caught his eye and grinned at him. Steve didn’t say anything about tailoring but he couldn’t say no now. God damn it, and Billy looked so charming with that glint in his eye. Fuck, he was Nancy’s soulmate, he was Nancy’s soulmate!  

There was a chorus of agreements from the group of teenagers Billy had earlier dubbed the nerd herd, and with that, Billy shepherded them outside. He was going to wait a little bit but he was definitely going to call Billy a nerd shepherd at some point.

Steve apparently couldn’t count because he didn’t realize there were over five people in their group until they were all staring at Billy’s Camaro.

“You didn’t drive?” Billy asked Steve.

“Uh, no,” he replied, “I walked.”

“And you just knew where to stop to find us?”

Steve floundered and then bluffed, scoffing, “Don’t judge my process!”

Max looked at them both before giving them both a mockingly disappointed look. “Adults,” she sighed, before going back into the house and retrieving another set of keys. It seemed like she had a car that was parked just down the road, and she led the way to it with all her friends following, leaving just Steve and Billy in front of the Camaro.

Billy shrugged before getting in, and Steve circled around to get into shotgun.

It was quiet for the first three minutes of the drive, and then Steve just had to ask, “So what’s the deal with your sister and Lucas?”

Billy glanced at Steve before looking back to the front. “Max says they’re not dating but I never believe her,” he replied, an amused tilt to his lips. “How could you tell though?”

“Lucas wasn’t subtle about looking at her,” Steve said, and then decided to risk adding, “Plus I got a good feeling from the both of them, when they were in the room together.”

“This your magic feeling thing?” Billy asked. His eyes were steady on the road, so Steve took a moment to just observe the way his hands gripped the steering wheel, the way the sun shone on and off on his hair and how it lit him up differently between buildings. His lips were a really pretty pink, and his eyelashes were long.

“Yeah,” Steve said absently, returning to that clicking feeling from before. He was getting it again, probably because they were talking about Max and Lucas. “It’s like, this feeling of a puzzle piece sliding into place? Like, when these two people are together, everything is right in the world and everything will be okay.”

“And you get that with my sister and Lucas?”

Steve pondered this for a moment. He definitely felt the clicking puzzle piece feeling, but maybe not the other thing. He was feeling it now looking at Billy though, so… Maybe this is what his dad meant about the soul-knowing thing. It was stronger because he knew Nancy? “I get the clicking feeling, at least,” Steve replied, “But I definitely get the other feeling looking at you.”

Pink bloomed across Billy’s cheeks and he glanced at Steve again, looking embarrassed, irritated and also slightly confused. “Aren’t I Princess Nancy’s soulmate?”

“What? Yeah?” Steve replayed what he said in his head and realized how it sounded. He felt himself blushed too. “Oh, I think I just get that feeling ‘cuz I know Nance and my dad said knowing someone makes it easier to find their soulmate, so…”

“Right.” Steve watched the pink fade from Billy’s cheeks and tried not to feel too bummed out about it. “So you and the princess are friends?”

“We were,” he replied. “Haven’t really talked to her in a year or so though.”

“Why not?”

Steve shrugged, not really wanting to get into it at the moment. “So you and Max are close, huh?”

Billy eyed him for a moment but let him change the subject. “Yeah, unfortunately. That shitbird doesn’t know when to give up.”

“It sounds like there’s a story there,” Steve said.

Billy laughed but it wasn’t a production like it was before when he almost shut the door in Steve’s face. Actually this laugh seemed less like an honest laugh and more like cold humour. It gave Steve the opposite of a good feeling.

“Let’s just say I was a terrible fucking human being and I owe it to her to be nice,” he replied, looking steadily at the road. “She deserved better than what she got. Deserves, still.”

There was an awkward pause, Steve not knowing what to say. Hesitantly, he reached out to pat Billy’s shoulder gently. “Well, she seems to want the best for you,” he said, “and if almost driving her and her friends to the mall and making her waffles are any indication, it looks like you’re being nice just fine.”

Steve withdrew his hand as Billy drove smoothly into a parking spot. When had they even got to the mall? Woah, Steve had not been paying attention.

When he looked over at the driver’s seat, Billy was still sitting there, looking back at him intently. Steve nervously ran his hand through his hair, sweeping it back from his face a little, and Billy’s eyes seemed to follow the action. “I just met you, Harrington,” he said, eyes returning to Steve’s. “You know nothing about me or my family. And I think you’re just plain wrong about who my soulmate is.”

And ouch, that hurt. How many times did Steve have to go over this? “You’re Nancy’s soulmate, Billy. Just accept it. I don’t think my gut feeling is wrong.”

“Well, I think your gut might be right but your head’s in a different place,” Billy replied, patting Steve’s cheek twice, roughly and condescendingly, before turning to unbuckle his seatbelt. “Come on, pretty boy, let’s buy some suits for some stupid nerds.”

Pretty boy was a new one. Steve felt a whole host of feelings about it as well as the cheek thing and decided not to examine any single one of them, because no fucking thanks . Introspection was for people who had chances, and Steve’s business was literally in eliminating those because fate or whatever. He had no chance with Billy because he was Nancy’s soulmate.

And he didn’t want a chance with Billy anyways. Obviously.

Obviously?

Wait, definitely obviously! And he was on the job, anyways! Shut up, Steve! Jesus, this was why he didn’t want to examine his fucking feelings.

Steve tried to force the heat out of his cheeks as he unbuckled his own seatbelt and said, “Do you think ‘stupid nerd’ is an oxymoron?”

Billy rolled his eyes so hard, Steve would swear they could roll right out of his head. It made Steve forget about his inner turmoil, made him chuckle and feel fond.

“Clever, Harrington. Do you think that’s an oxymoron?”

They made their way through the parking lot toward the mall and Steve scoffed, playing at offended. “Now that’s just rude ,” Steve said snottily, sticking his nose in the air. “Nothing I want to hear from a simple plebeian nerd shepherd.”

Billy looked at him dumbly and then burst out laughing, full of warmth and sunshine, so very different from the laugh in the car and even from their initial meeting. It might be Steve’s favourite one yet. 

“God, you’re an idiot, Harrington,” Billy said with a grin, giving his back a good hearty pat.

Steve grinned back. “Takes one to know one.”

Chapter Text

They were outside of the menswear shop. The girls said they would pick dresses out and meet Steve in the food court in like two hours, which left the boys looking for suits. Steve actually needed to find one for the event too, and his dad gave him the company credit card, so everything was good.

Even better was the amount of opinions Billy seemed to have. After seeing the first five things Steve gravitated toward, Billy snobbily declared him a prep, and they proceeded to take great delight in showing each other the things they thought the other would hate being caught in.

“Hey Billy,” he called from across the aisle, “wouldn’t I look absolutely dashing in this?” Steve held up a suit jacket and pants that were made out of corduroy and the worst shade of dark brown you could think of.

The way Billy’s mouth opened and his eyes squinted in obvious disgust said everything it needed to, but he still made sure to add, “Fucking gross Harrington, never dress yourself up like that. It would be a crime to your pretty looks.”

Steve laughed and tried not to feel too flattered while he waved the suit around some more. “Aw, come on! I bet I could find extra short pants so I can wear lime green socks with is that everyone could see.”

“A crime , pretty boy. A travesty! ” Billy said back, shaking his head.

“Aw, corduroy’s not so bad,” Lucas piped up from the other side of the aisle where Steve was. His head was poking out above the hangers.

“Sure, but not together at the same time, and certainly not in that colour,” Billy said, having come from the other aisle to join them. “Did you find anything, Sinclair?”

Lucas held up some blazers in dark purple, tweed, deep red, and a simple black. “Black pants, black button up, matching tie?” Billy inclined his head in approval and Lucas grinned before heading to the changing rooms.

A quick look over told Steve that Will was already trying on a mint blue blazer in front of the changing room mirrors, and Dustin was still pawing through pants on the other side of the store. The store seemed like they had a good selection so hopefully they were finally going to be buying things from this one.

Steve turned back to Billy just in time to catch the pile of suit jackets and pants that was unceremoniously dumped into his arms.

“Try these on, Harrington,” he said, settling the rest of the clothes in his arms. Steve had no idea how he carried everything.

“I can dress myself, you know,” Steve grumbled.

“I know,” Billy said with a smirk, “that’s why I gave you the clothes instead of helping you into them.” Steve gaped at him as he walked toward the changing rooms without looking back. With another stern reminder about whose soulmate Billy was (not! his!), Steve followed.

Will seemed to be happy with his choices and was sitting while Lucas was turning around in a pair of black pants and the tweed jacket.

“I don’t know, I kinda liked the red one,” Will was saying. “It’s a ball, not a formal, so I think we can go with something more fun.”

“Yeah, but what if I wanna use this for a formal later on, you know?” Lucas replied. “Gotta buy things with re-use value.”

Will shrugged. “Good point. It’s up to you, dude.”

Steve made his way into one of the stalls while Lucas deliberated, hanging all the stuff in his hands onto the hooks.

He heard shuffling in the next stall followed by a bump and a muffled curse in a familiar voice. It sounded like Billy was struggling in there.

“You good, Hargrove?” Steve asked, amused, shrugging off his jacket.

“Shut up, Harrington!” came the reply. Steve laughed.

They walked out of their stalls at the same time, in suits pants and plain button downs so they could try on different jackets. Billy was wearing suit pants that hugged his thighs in all the right places and Steve tried not to let his mouth water. There was that clicking feeling again, and he sighed, drawing his gaze up the rest of Billy to his face, who was looking back at Steve with a questioning look on his face.

Nancy’s soulmate. Nancy’s soulmate. Nancy’s! Soulmate!

Soulmate!

Yeah, yeah, Steve’s feelings could just calm the fuck down already. He got it, okay? Billy was Nancy’s fate and his heart should back the fuck off.

Steve also tried not to think too hard about why his feelings were escalating so quickly despite the fact that they’d only met a handful of hours ago, and failed miserably. Steve just fell easily, it seemed.

“You look good, Billy,” Steve offered after his moment of silent internal angsting.

“You too, pretty boy,” he replied. He was staring into Steve’s eyes like he was trying to find something in them, but Steve had no idea what he was looking for.

“Yeah, you both look great,” Will said. Steve had forgotten he was there, and a turn of the head revealed Lucas too. Will looked a little shy about the compliment, but Lucas smiled and gave them a thumbs-up that only felt half-sarcastic.

The clatter of the third door had them all swerving their heads to the last changing room stall, and Dustin walked out in white suit pants and a matching jacket. The best part about it though were the huge bright red flame prints on the bottom third of both the pants and the jacket.

“What do you think guys?” he asked with a big grin, holding his arms out and presenting himself in the suit in its full glory. “Am I looking hot or what?”

The boys all burst into laughter, except Billy who buried his face in his hands. “Fuckin’ nerd ,” he said in an extremely exasperated voice.

“Aw, come on, Billy,” Dustin said, nudging him a little. When Billy lifted his head to glare at him, Dustin waggled his brows and made the most ridiculous purring noise with his mouth that Steve has ever experienced with his own two ears. Billy looked both horrified and on the verge of laughter, and he pushed Dustin away with his hand right in Dustin’s face.

“Henderson, why, ” he said, but his laughter had won out, and he wheezed while batting Dustin away. Steve wiped the tears from his face and felt really, truly good . Right at this moment, everything in the world was absolutely okay, and looking at Billy laughing, he was happy. Everything was clicked right into place.

Chapter Text

The boys were happy with their purchases and lined up at the tailor to get minor adjustments done on the jackets and pants so that they fit into them impeccably. Steve and Billy got their adjustments done first so they could go off and find the girls.

Max and Jane were at the food court by the ice cream place, chatting happily. They both got up when they spotted Steve and Billy and led them to the dress shop. Max couldn’t decide between dresses—she said something about how her hair clashes with a lot of things?—but Jane was ready to go buy hers so Steve went with her first while Billy stayed to help his sister to choose.

When she was done, Jane went to go browse the shoe section and Steve made his way back to the changing rooms. Max was turning left and right in a stunning forest green ball gown with lace on the skirt.

Billy was smiling at her. “You know, Lucas bought a bowtie this colour,” he was saying. Max’s entire face turned a blotchy red, and Steve understood what she meant about her hair clashing with a lot of things. Billy cackled.

“Whatever, Billy!” She stormed back into the changing stall and Billy laughed some more. He gave Steve a nod of acknowledgement as Steve took a seat beside Billy. There was some shuffling, and the two of them ended up sitting unnecessarily close, but no one said a word.

It was quiet, and then from inside the stall, Max said, “You know, I’ll miss you when you move into the royal castle.”

Billy frowned, looking at the door of the stall. “That’s a big if , shitbird,” he said.

“Yeah, yeah, I know you don’t think she’s your soulmate,” she was saying. Billy’s mouth twitched and he tensed like he was preparing for her to say something worrisome. “I just wanted to say that I’d miss you.” Billy relaxed, but then he cocked his head.

“...I’d miss you too, you know,” he replied, scratching his nose. He looked at Steve and then looked quickly away like he was embarrassed. Steve smiled.

“Yeah, I know,” Max said, and you could hear the smug dripping out of her voice. “I’m just glad you chose us when Mom finally kicked out your deadbeat dad. He didn’t deserve you.”

“Max!” Billy snapped. “Steve’s here!”

“What?” She peeked her head out of the door and spotted Steve, who felt like a fish out of water. Shit, he should’ve announced himself out loud or something. “Oh shit, sorry.” Max was that blotchy red again, and she looked worriedly at Billy.

Billy glared at her for all of two seconds, but he closed his eyes and slowly took a deep breath. When he breathed out, he shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, Maxine,” he said.

She closed the door quickly, and Billy turned to look at Steve.

“So—”

“Uh—”

They both started at the same time. Billy closed his mouth, so Steve rushed on to say, “It’s okay if you don’t want to say anything! I don’t want to pry.”

Billy opened and closed his mouth a few times before shaking his head. “I appreciate it, Harrington,” he said, running his fingers through his curls.

The stall door opened again and Max rushed out and straight into Billy’s arms, giving him a tight hug. “I didn’t mean to expose you, sorry!”

“I said it was fine , Max,” Billy sounded irritated, but his body language said he just didn’t know what to do, how to receive such physical affection.

Max pulled back and gave him a smile. “You’re a lot better than you were, you know that right?”

Billy looked at Steve and said, “Are you not exposing me more by saying this shit in front of Harrington.”

Max spared Steve a quick glance but then looked back at Billy. “But I’m proud of it, you know? That I like you now.”

It was Billy’s turn to turn red. “I was really shitty before,” he mumbled.

“Which is why I like you better now,” she said, patting his cheek roughly and condescendingly, just like Billy did to Steve in the parking lot earlier. Siblings. “Anyways, I said I already forgive you.”

Billy looked like he wanted to argue and then sullenly chose not to. “We should pay for the goddamn dress,” he said, stalking off, cheeks still kind of red.

“And by ‘we’, you mean ‘Steve’!” Max added helpfully, turning to give Steve a wink.

“Anything to make your Ever After happy,” he said with the cheesiest grin he could muster up, complete with an arm swing and a thumbs-up. He was going for ironic company man, but it clearly didn’t come through.

Max gave him a look and then caught up with her brother, loudly saying, “Billy, your fairy godmother is weird.”

“Tell me about it,” Billy replied, looking over his shoulder to stick his tongue out at Steve again.

Steve tried not to feel too offended as he pulled the company credit card from his wallet, and, in what seemed to be turning into a theme with him, failed miserably.

Chapter Text

They all got ice cream at Scoops Ahoy before they left Starcourt for the day. The girl working the counter, Robin, smirked at him when he said he was paying for everyone and asked him if it was a normal date thing to treat his boyfriend and their five teenagers to ice cream.

Steve tried not to turn red as he stuttered out a “he’s basically taken and it’s not with me” at her before just shoving the credit card in her direction. Billy gave him a look not unlike the one Max gave him a half hour ago, before they bought her dress. Steve just looked away and reminded himself about Nancy for the umpteenth time.

They discussed what they bought, showing each other what was inside their bags. Lucas’s bowtie did indeed match Max’s green dress, and they smiled at each other shyly. Dustin pretended to gag, Will hit him lightly in the arm, and Steve felt the click behind his heart again, but with the feeling of everything being all right with the world strangely absent. This must definitely mean it was a Nancy thing.

Will showed everyone the mint blue colour of the blazer he liked, and Lucas pulled out the sleeve of the tweed suit jacket he went with. Jane showed everyone the deep blue ruffles with the inlaid sparkles of the ball gown she chose, and Dustin pulled out a dark teal suit jack, alas having forgone the suit with the flames on it.

Steve himself had chosen a soft light blue suit jacket and matching pants, to which Billy had jeered “Prep!” when he bought it, and Billy himself chose a bright red suit jacket with black pants, which he said he’s wear with a black button up. No tie, “because I’m cool, Harrington.”

Was Steve kind of looking forward to seeing Billy in the full get up? Yes. Was he going to examine why? No. Mostly because he’d skirted around it so many times in his head today, he basically knew it anyways by its shape. But for all intents and purposes, he was still avoiding it, so. Yeah.

They all made their way to the parking lot, and Max and her friends split from Billy and Steve to go find the car they arrived in.

Billy twirled the keys on his finger, looked at him. “Need a ride, Harrington?”

Steve nodded. “I’d appreciate it.”

They walked to where they parked earlier that day, and Steve directed him back to his house. Billy said something about how far he must have walked if he came from his house all the way to Billy’s, but Steve wasn’t paying attention, too busy trying to remember the path he took. He didn’t want to risk finding out if his magical wandering feet and his good feelings were enough to get them unlost.

They fortunately got there with no problems, and they pulled into the Harrington driveway. Billy sort of stared up at Steve’s big house in Loch Nora as he put his car in park. “Damn, princess, you’re really living large.”

“It’s mostly my parents,” Steve replied, a little embarrassed. None of it really belonged to him.

“Still,” Billy said. Steve felt a bit bad, trying to think about what Billy must be thinking, comparing the small kitchen they were eating Eggo waffles in to the lawn in front of Steve’s house, maybe, or the driveway itself. Steve personally found smaller spaces cozier, though. Warmer. “I’m gonna marry rich, huh,” Billy murmured absently, almost to himself.

Steve was unbuckling his seatbelt, but he heard, so he replied, “That’s what I said.” Billy finally turned from the Harrington house back to Steve. “I mean, the Wheelers are the richest family in the kingdom, right.” Ah, that wasn’t his heart aching a little bit. No siree.

Billy nodded slowly. “Right. The Wheelers.”

Steve awkwardly nodded at Billy’s nod, feeling kind of like an idiot, and then just turned to open the Camaro door. Billy wasn’t saying anything else, so. Whatever. “I’ll see you at the ball, Billy.”

“Wait!” Billy’s hand shot out, grabbing Steve’s forearm, and Steve settled back into the seat. “Come over tomorrow?” Billy asked, hand tightening momentarily on Steve’s arm before falling away again. “You should probably teach me and the nerd herd about like, royal etiquette or something.”

“I mean, it’s not that hard?” Steve said, but something in Billy’s face made him add, “but I guess if you go grabbing people like that, I should probably teach you a thing or two after all.”

“Oh, sor—” Billy started, but then paused as Steve’s words sunk in, and his eyes seemed to brighten. “Actually, maybe you’re right.”

“Will I have to bring more food?”

“Nah, we’ll cook or order pizza or something,” Billy replied, a small and happy tilt to to his mouth. Steve was unfortunately very into it, and he felt very suddenly fond. The clicking behind his heart came back full force, an insistent yearning that in return opened up a bit of a hole in Steve’s chest because Billy wasn’t supposed to be his , but like. Fuck it, you know?

Billy will meet his soulmate in two days, but Steve can at least have the one day tomorrow, right? Right.

“Maybe we can watch a movie, too.” Steve suggested.

“It’s a date, pretty boy,” Billy said, his grin wide and open, his tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip and then wagging a little bit. It’s possible Steve is staring too much.

He cleared his throat, flicking his eyes back to Billy’s, and instead of refuting the statement or bringing up the Nancy’s-your-soulmate thing or the nerd herd that Billy said would be there tomorrow, Steve just replied,

“It’s a date.”

Chapter Text

“All right, nerds,” Steve said, pacing in front of five teenagers and a hot blond in the Hargrove-Mayfield living room, couch and coffee table pushed aside to make more space. Several mouths opened to protest being called a nerd, including Billy’s, but Steve continued to speak over all of them. “Princess Nancy’s birthday ball is tomorrow, and you’re all peasants that need to be taught some grace.”

“And you think you have enough grace to teach us?” Billy retorted.

“Shut up, Billy,” Steve replied in as haughty a manner as he could. “It’s really not that hard. It’s not like they’re having a feast so you don’t need to worry about which spoon is the soup spoon or some shit. You just show up and try to have a good time.”

“Isn’t there like… ballroom dancing?” Max asked, looking slightly intimidated at the prospect.

“Oh,” Steve said. “Actually, yeah, you’re right. There is.”

“And you were just going to let us waltz in there?” Lucas asked, and then immediately pushed Dustin’s excited face away and steamrolled over anything he had to say with, “No pun intended.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw both Max and Billy facepalm, and it was great.

“I mean, you only need to do it for one or two songs and then you can hang out by the snacks or something, and it’s easy to fake it.” Steve said. Lucas and Max seemed relieved, Dustin, Jane and Billy more or less indifferent.

“But if we’re gonna go, we might as well get the whole experience and learn how to do it right, right?” Will asked, looking a little hopeful. It was hard to say no to this kid’s big eyes, and it was obvious that his friends felt the same if the way Lucas’s and Max’s shoulders drooped with resignation said anything.

”It’s really not that hard to pick up,” Steve said encouragingly. “You just kinda like…” He mimed holding someone in a loose dance position and stepped back and forth, “And you like, step…”

“Harrington, you look stupid,” Billy interrupted his perfectly fine exemplifying.

Steve stopped, glaring at him, and didn’t think before he snapped, “Well, come help me out then if I look so stupid.”

Billy did that thing where he grinned with an open mouth and his tongue stuck out again, and Steve felt vaguely like he got caught in a trap. He came right up to Steve with no protesting whatsoever—surely a bad sign?—and raised his hand in what Steve felt was pointedly the lead position. Steve gave him a flat look but if Billy knew how to lead, then why waste time arguing.

He placed one of his hands on Billy’s shoulder in a way that allowed his thumb to brush the nape of his neck and a curl of blond hair and then grazed his hand along his shoulder to rest further away from his neck, not being able to resist a chance to feel the breadth of his shoulder firsthand. If Billy noticed, he didn’t say anything.

Steve cleared his throat as he grabbed one of Billy’s hands and tried not to blush when he felt Billy’s other hand rest just above his hip bone. “Right, so, dancing. The one they like to do at these balls is a really simple waltz, no lifting or anything. So first…”

He explained where to go and how to lead versus how to follow, and Billy was synched with him the whole time, seeming to know when to step, when to turn, and how to move so that the kids could see what he was talking about. Steve avoided eye contact with Billy as much as he could for fear of getting so flustered he forgot his train of thought, but every time he chanced a look up, Billy was paying a lot of attention and listening intently. Probably why he was such a great partner , Steve thought, and ended the thought right there.

“So, you get it?” Steve asked, turning to face the nerd herd once more. Steve started to turn and let go, but Billy held on and Steve felt the warmth of his fingers slide from his waist to the small of his back. He reflexively straightened out his posture, bringing his chest closer to Billy’s, and that was when Billy let go and turned.

Instead of looking at Billy’s expression like he wanted to, Steve cleared his throat (again) and looked at the kids, who were looking back with blank expressions.

“Okay, it looks like you don’t get it,” he said.

“Pair them up,” Billy suggested from his side, and Steve nodded.

Before he could say anything, Max and Lucas rushed to stand next to each other, and Will and Jane  locked eyes. Dustin cast a quick glance at his friends and then looked Steve directly in the eye and made his purring noise. “What d’you say, Steve-o?”

Steve resisted heaving a great big sigh, but just barely. “Fine.”

He continued to explain the steps, and it turned out it was good that he was partnered with Dustin because he asked questions that seemed to help the group as a whole. Billy also walked around, correcting posture and counting steps when needed. Steve was having fun, if he was being honest.

Finally, it seemed like they all got the hang of it, and the youth left the living room in search of snacks and drinks. Will gave him a big excited smile before following his friends into the kitchen and it made Steve feel warm inside.

“So where’d you pick the dancing up?” Billy asked, jolting him a little. Steve hadn’t realized he hung back. “Benefits of being friends with royalty?”

“Yeah,” Steve replied. “I was Nancy’s plus one to a lot of events. What about you?”

“My mom used to like to dance with me when I was a kid,” Billy said with a nostalgic curve of the lip. Steve remembered Max calling Billy’s dad a deadbeat, mentally putting some pieces together, but he must have made some kind of expression because Billy said, “She left.”

Steve didn’t really know what to say, so he just kind of patted Billy on the arm in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. Billy looked a little sad and a little grateful, and then he turned away and gave Steve one of those many back pats and walked off into the kitchen too.

They all goofed around for a while before eventually putting on a movie and ordering pizza delivery. Whenever they had questions about the royal staff or the Wheelers, Steve dutifully answered, but it felt like he was hanging out with friends more than he was teaching about royal etiquette or whatever Billy had suggested yesterday. He was okay with that though.

The nerd herd (“We like to be called the party Steve, not a nerd herd!” “But then what will Billy shepherd, if not nerds?” “Shut up, Harrington.”) eventually left the Hargrove-Mayfield residence one by one, and Max went into her room soon after, leaving just Billy and Steve on the sofa in front of the television. It was off, the movie having finished a while back, the group just socializing until their respective rides came to pick them up or they felt like leaving.

Steve did not yet feel like leaving, and Billy seemed okay with that.

It was kind of quiet for a while, but in a comfortable way. Steve couldn’t really believe he met Billy just yesterday when he felt like he fit in so well, that they fit somehow. And yet, the terrible clicking feeling was there by Steve’s heart, reminding him that Billy was supposed to fit with someone else. With Nancy.

“You excited to meet the princess tomorrow?” he asked, breaking the silence with a question he immediately regretted letting out of his mouth.

Billy gave him a strange look. “Not really,” he said. “Never was interested in meeting royalty, not gonna be interested now.”

“She’s your soulmate though. I feel it.” Steve didn’t really know why he was pushing. Maybe he would feel better if he heard Billy say he was excited to live the rest of his life, have his happily Ever After. Steve really hadn’t known him very long at all but he’s confident in his assessment that Billy deserves to be happy. Steve wants him to be happy.

“Again, Harrington, not to disregard your magic whatever but I really don’t think so,” Billy said. “She’s not really my type.”

“Nancy’s everyone’s type,” he said confidently. “If you’re saying that because you think all rich people suck, the Wheelers are different. Nancy’s different.” 

“That’s a lot of faith there, pretty boy,” Billy said, and then seemed to think for a moment. Steve watched him fidget with his hands a little. “You said you were her plus one to a lot of events. You her special friend or something?”

Was that supposed to be a weird dig? Well, Steve ignored it. “I was, yeah,” he replied, and was surprised when it didn’t come out bitter. “We broke up over a year ago, though. And like I said, we haven’t spoken since.”

Billy scoffed. “So it turns out rich and royal is your type, huh, princess,” he said. This one was definitely supposed to be a weird dig, and Steve bristled.

“I liked her for her, not because she’s a princess. Or rich.”

“Oh, right,” Billy said sarcastically, “I guess you don’t need anymore riches since you’re so fucking loaded.”

The embarrassing feeling from when Billy dropped him off came back, and he didn’t know what to say except maybe, “Billy, what?”

“How strange is it that you’re trying to hook up your ex with a soulmate? You still secretly pining for her? Did you think she was your Ever After, Harrington?”

Steve got up from the couch, feeling hot-headed. That one hit a little too close. “You’re not fucking funny, Hargrove,” he ground out, fists clenched.

Billy looked up at him with a mean gleam in his eye but then seemed to clock Steve’s expression or something because he abruptly closed his eyes and breathed in deep, exhaling long like he was counting in his head. Steve felt hurt and angry but he waited.

When Billy opened his eyes again, he looked to the side of Steve’s head and ground his jaw so hard Steve watched the tendons in his neck stand out. Finally, the tension in his body released and he grumbled out, “Shit. Sorry.”

Things paused for a moment, Steve still on alert, Billy looking disgruntled and also slightly abashed. Slowly, Steve lowered himself back onto the couch beside Billy. It was the regretful look in Billy’s eyes as Steve cautiously seated himself that actually made him relax.

“Sorry,” Billy said again. “I got worked up, and… I’m not even really sure why.”

“It’s okay,” Steve said stiffly, and then louder, “don’t worry about it. You weren’t… terribly off the mark. I did think she was my soulmate at some point in my life, but I was clearly wrong, and now you think I’m wrong about the two of you.”

Billy bit his lip. “You don’t have feelings for her anymore though?”

“No,” Steve replied, “just kind of sad that I don’t have anyone, I guess.”

There was another silence, not as comfortable, but actually not that terrible considering the almost-argument they had.

“Did you get that soulmate feeling you were talking about when you looked at her?” Billy asked, breaking the short silent moment.

Steve thought back, and really only came up with the one time he’d recalled before. “Only once, actually,” he said. “They were hiring a bunch of new media staff for the family, and Nance had to go too. She made me keep her company…” 

Huh. He’d been feeling the clicking persistently around Billy as well as some other unfortunate fuzzy feelings, and he got the click looking at Max and Lucas together every now and then, but he only felt it once with Nancy. He knew he was over his feelings, but he still felt relieved getting confirmation that they didn’t cosmically belong and Steve just blew his chance or something.

“What was so special about that day?” Billy asked. “What made your powers go off?”

Good question. There was some photographer or other in front of them with a portfolio, they were all ooh-ing and aah-ing at his photos, and Nance looked so interested in his work, smiling at something the guy was saying as he explained this shot or that location. She was always beautiful, but more so when she was engaged in what she was discussing. He’d felt it then.

“I probably thought she looked really pretty talking about photography or something,” Steve said with a shrug, and then the rest of what Billy said caught up to him and he laughed “And don’t call them powers like I can harness them or something. I barely know what I’m doing.”

Billy looked like he was trying to bite something back, and then seemed to decide not to. “You get offended when I say I don’t think she’s my soulmate, and then you say you don’t know what you’re doing?” He could tell Billy was trying for honest levity and decided not to fault him because he was trying. And also because he had a point.

“I told you, man,” Steve said. “I’m on the job searching for Nancy’s soulmate, and my feet led me to your house, and then I get that weird soulmate-y feeling even though you’re not in the room with her so it must mean that I’ve gotta lead you to her. That’s what we’re supposed to do at Ever After.”

“And what happens if you don’t succeed or you get her soulmate wrong or something?”

“You’re really doubting my skills here, Billy,” Steve said jokingly, but when Billy continued to wait for an answer, he sighed. “We might lose the client, which is bad. The Wheelers are important ‘cuz they’re royals, and they might want more business from us later ‘cuz they’ve got two other kids and you know. They need heirs.”

Billy snorted at that, and Steve felt himself smile. “So it’s bad for business if you’re wrong.”

“Yeah,” Steve said. “I wouldn’t know where to look if her soulmate’s not you, Billy. And then I’d disappoint my parents too. They decided to give me the fucking Wheelers as my first ever job and it’s way too late to back out now.”

Steve watched Billy as he shifted in his seat and squished his mouth to the side like he was biting the inside of his cheek as he thought about whatever. It was kind of cute. It occurred to Steve that maybe Billy was caught up on all this soulmate stuff because he thought he wasn’t good enough for royalty or something.

“You know, like I said, Nancy’s great and won’t care that you’re not rich,” he said. “And like… You’re a great guy? I know I haven’t known you long, but Nancy’s will be lucky to have you in her life. You and Max, I guess.”

“Uh, what?”

“‘Cuz I’m guessing you and Max are a package deal. And hey, Nancy’s brother Mike is around the nerd herd’s age, so they’ll get along!” Steve reasoned. “And you and Nancy will have really good-looking babies, you know. The future heirs to throne are gonna be drop-dead gorgeous if you two are anything to go by. It’ll be the best Ever After ever.”

Billy’s face was doing a weird thing where his mouth twitched and his nose wrinkled kind of cutely. Steve wasn’t really sure what kind of emotions Billy was experiencing, but the one that won out was general amusement because he laughed again, warm and bright.

“Oh, Steve,” he said, and Steve totally did not flush to the tips of his ears at hearing Billy use his first name, nope.

Instead of continuing his sentence, Billy got up in a way that was almost bouncy, and he ruffled Steve’s hair. Steve protested, feeling like a child, but then Billy kept his hand in his hair and combed through it twice with his fingers almost absently before giving the top of Steve’s head a pat and withdrawing his hand. Neither of them mentioned it.

“Come on, pretty boy, it’s late,” he said, ushering Steve up. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

They walked to the front door and Billy opened it for him. He stepped out onto the porch and turned to look at Billy. “See you tomorrow?”

Billy smiled, and there was that clicking feeling, that warm belonging Steve could drown in—if only it was meant for him.

“See you tomorrow, Harrington.”

Chapter Text

Billy looked like a walking wet dream, and Steve didn’t really know what to do with himself.

Everyone met up at Billy and Max’s house, dressed and ready to go, looking spiffy in the clothes they all bought and had tailored for them courtesy of Ever After Inc. Dustin had his hair gelled up in a handsome and fun curly faux-hawk, Jane had eyeliner and blush on that made her look even softer and more adorable than usual, Will’s bangs were gelled off his forehead in a way that made his eyes stand out even more. Max and Lucas couldn’t stop looking at each other in spite of their red faces and they kept stumbling over their words trying to compliment each other.

Billy kept laughing at both of them, in his styled golden hair. He was wearing those thigh-hugging slim black pants from the store paired with that red suit jacket that was the perfect shade for his complexion, buttoned once in the middle. His black collared shirt underneath was open enough at the throat to reveal the golden chain of his necklace, and Steve had a hard time choosing to stare there where his collarbone was just peeking out, or at the small amount of eyeliner he was wearing that made his blue eyes impossibly bluer.

He must be wearing some sort of clear mascara or something because his eyelashes were already long but now they made Steve want to die a little, the way they fanned over his cheeks and stood out when he was in profile. He had an earring in one of his ears that was a dangling silver dagger. God, and his cologne? He reminded Steve of lava, or fires from hell that just made Steve want to burn. He’d sin all day for Billy.

It was possible that Steve was a little bit thirsty.

Anyways, Steve was bursting out of his skin on the drive to the castle, especially considering the fact that it was only himself and Billy in the car—the nerd herd took Max’s car, like they did when they went to the mall. Neither Billy or Steve said anything on the drive over, both seemingly caught up in their thoughts. While Billy drove the Camaro, Steve wondered why he felt so strongly for this man he met like two days ago, and tried his hardest not to inhale Billy’s cologne too deeply. He smelled too good , and surely that was illegal?

When they reached the castle, Steve was just starting to wonder if he might end up searching the aisles of the drug store near his house for Billy’s cologne when Billy was happily married to Nancy, and was glad to be interrupted.

He was glad all the way into the castle halls to the ballroom with Billy beside him, meeting up with the kids and seeing the excitement on their faces as they took in the pomp and circumstance of a royal birthday bash. He was glad that he was at Billy’s side when Billy let out a soft “woah” at the large hall and the bright lights, the lavish decorations strung along the big windows and the high ceiling, glad he was there for the reluctantly impressed look Billy threw his way. Steve was even glad when he spotted Nancy at the same time she spotted him, and there was surprise and relief on her face as she came over to greet him.

He was glad until Billy said, while she was making her way to them, “So that’s Princess Nancy, huh,” and Steve remembered why he was here.

“Steve, you made it!” Nancy exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck.

He squeezed her right back, falling into her embrace the way he always did and being hit with a wave of nostalgia and warmth. He really did miss her.

“Yeah, I did,” he said when they pulled back. “Happy birthday, Nance. You look great.”

“So do you,” she replied, sweeping imaginary lint off his shoulder the way she always liked to. Steve felt fond. “And who’s this?” she asked, turning to Billy.

Billy looked between them with a tight smile on his face. “William Hargrove, but you can call me Billy,” he said, holding out a hand for a handshake, before withdrawing it and going for a formal bow instead. “It’s an honour to meet you, your highness.”

Steve raised his eyebrows, impressed, and also distantly realized he didn’t go over greeting protocol with the teenagers, in the unlikely event they came across one of the royal family… which was actually pretty likely , now that Steve thought of it, considering they were there to accompany Billy in meeting the princess .

Giving himself a mental facepalm, he tuned back into the conversation in time to catch Nancy laughing. She’d given her hand out for a handshake after Billy’s bow after all, and Billy turned it into one of those things where you bend over to gallantly kiss the back of the lady’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Billy,” Nancy said.

“Pleasure’s all mine, Princess,” Billy replied, and Steve reeled a little at hearing Billy call someone else ‘princess’.

He hastily shoved that feeling away, because as heavy as his heart may feel, he had a job to do. Speaking of which: “By the way, Nance, the two of you should get on the ballroom floor, get to know each other a little better! I’ve got a good feeling about him, you know. You’re both great people and you should date.” Without consulting either of them, he pushed them onto the dance floor together and then turned tail and ran to a bit of wall space obscured by a crowd of people large enough he could stand there and pretend he was mingling instead of hiding.

Steve busied himself by looking at the corners of the high ceilings in the ballroom, counting the lights. His eyes skimmed over the dance floor, but he noticed Jane on the higher landing of the ballroom. It was like a platform with a railing for when the king or queen announces things to the whole room before events begin. Normal people aren’t usually allowed up there, but it seems Jane managed, and she was eyeing everyone from her perch there.

He saw security start to make their way up the stairs, apparently finally having noticed her, and Steve was about to pursue them just in case Jane needed back up when Nancy’s little brother Mike stopped them and made his way up instead.

When Mike got up to the little announcement area and started speaking to Jane, apparently slightly flustered if his red face and flailing arms while he said things were any indication, Steve felt the click behind his heart again.

Huh. So that makes Billy and Nancy, and Jane and Prince Michael, and even though things were already starting there, Steve figured he also helped out a little bit with Max and Lucas too. Turns out his dad might be, just a little bit, slightly right about the whole magical gut feeling thing.

“Steven,” an even voice said from in front of him. Nancy was there with her arms crossed, nicely done eyebrows poised at an angle that meant nothing good for him.

“Nancy,” he replied, his eyes darting around her, looking for gold curls and sure shoulders.

“Billy went to go find his sister,” she answered his unasked question. “Dance with me, won’t you Steven?”

“Can we please stop saying ‘Steven’?” he asked desperately as he offered his hand.

She took it and, in a prim and very royal manner, replied, “I will continue calling you ‘Steven’ until I am less mad. Are we in accordance?”

Steve resigned himself to a lecture and settled his hand on her waist as another song began. They didn’t dance so much as they stepped back and forth, and Steve became slightly concerned she might stab her heel through his foot.

“Tell me, Steven,” Nancy started, “ why did you say I should date Billy?”

“Um.” He stepped back just in time to avoid what he felt was a particularly vicious forward step from Nancy. “I think you two are soulmates.”

Nancy basically manhandled him into rotating while they stepped back and forth. “And this soulmates thing wouldn’t have anything to do with your family business, would it?”

“It does,” he said, following her lead despite the fact that she was in the follow position. “I assumed your parents told you they hired us.”

She grit her teeth and said, “They did not.”

“Oh.”

“I told them I didn’t need any help finding anyone!” She hissed. “I’m pretty sure I have my soulmate already!”

Steve blinked, looking at her dumbly. They were still dancing, but it was more swaying without moving their feet at this point. “What?”

“I found someone and it’s not Billy,” she said, clearly still irritated.

“But…” he said. “I have a good feeling about him.”

Nancy’s face changed into something sympathetic. “Sorry Steve,” she said, before lightly smacking him on the shoulder. “You’d know this if you weren’t avoiding me!"

Steve felt sheepish in the face of all of Nancy’s… Nanciness, always warm and welcoming and full of heart, but there was a reason he avoided her and it was a good reason. “Can you blame me? You broke my heart, Nance.”

She had the grace to look guilty, at least. “I missed you though,” she said. “You were my best friend.”

“You were mine too,” he replied softly.

“I am sorry, Steve,” she said, looking into his eyes earnestly. “I could have let you down a little nicer.”

“And probably in a more sober state,” he added, only feeling a little spiky.

Nancy took it as elegantly as the royalty she is, though. “I deserved that.”

They swayed quietly to the music, and Steve contemplated the feeling of having Nancy in his arms again. His arms and his body knew her and it felt familiar, but it also felt different. There was no more excited tension, the places they were touching didn’t feel full of potential, and there was still warmth but it wasn’t all-consuming like it had been. He didn’t want to drown in it, not like with…

Steve sighed, but he felt lighter. “It’s okay, Nance,” he finally said. “I forgive you.”

Nancy looked up at him and smiled, and straightened up like she felt lighter too. “Thanks, Steve.” Holding her now felt like closure, and Steve was relieved.

“So tell me about this someone you found,” he said after a moment, and Nancy positively lit up.

“His name’s Jonathan, and he’s here right now,” she said. She lifted her head to look around the large room.

“If he’s here, why hasn’t he been beside you all night?” Steve asked.

“He’s working right now,” she replied distractedly. “Besides, we wanted to keep it lowkey since we just started dating like a little over a month ago. It’s why my parents don’t know—aha!”

Nancy was half out of his arms so that she could point behind her to one of the royal photographers milling around. Looking at Jonathan and Nancy together, he felt that clicking feeling, but it was strangely devoid of all those other warm happy feelings, just like with Max and Lucas, and actually also just like with Jane and Mike.

Steve was starting to put pieces together and feeling sort of like an idiot.

“You know,” Nancy said thoughtfully, “thinking back, I’m pretty sure we hired him because of you.”

“Me?” he asked, taken aback.

“Wait, yeah!” she exclaimed. “You were there when we hired him! His portfolio looked cool but my parents and I were worried because he was so young, but then you said something about how age doesn’t really matter if he can work independently and—and! You said you had a good feeling about him!”

Steve felt like slapping himself. She was definitely talking about the one time he mentioned he felt the soulmate-click feeling about Nancy, and it turned out it was because Jonathan was in the room . Jesus Christ why was Steve like this.

“I remember,” he said faintly, shaking his head. “Oh my god, I’m so stupid. ”

“No, Steve, this is good!” Nancy insisted. “You technically did find my soulmate, it was just way before my parents hired you!”

Steve was starting to feel pretty hopeful, especially considering what this meant about Billy. He still had to ask one thing though. “Nance… We were still dating when those interviews happened and when you met him. Was it because of Jonathan that… You didn’t, like, do anything…?”

Nancy shook her head right away. “No! No, Steve, I never really saw him around until a few weeks after we broke up. He was assigned to a completely separate part of the castle for a while.”

“Oh, good,” he said. He was glad he asked. Actually, he was glad he got to talk to Nancy again, and he said as much.

She smiled at him. “I’m glad we got to catch up too. Now, go dance with Billy!” She abruptly stepped out of his arms and turned toward Jonathan, parting with a wink and a teasing, “I’ve got a good feeling about him!”

Steve rolled his eyes but did as he was told and seeked Billy out.

Chapter Text

He found Billy dancing with Max. Steve assumed it started out with good heartfelt intentions, but now they were both stilted, clutching at each other in angry death grips and trying to out-stubborn the other into caving out of the dance first. Max was in the middle of rolling her eyes and Billy looked sullen about something when they noticed Steve approaching.

Immediately they separated, Max with a wide grin in Billy’s direction, Billy already glaring back.

“Fuck off , shitbird,” Billy growled, baring his canines at his sister.

Max cackled and then stuck her tongue out at Billy before leaving. Steve fleetingly wondered how it would be like to have a younger sibling that picked up your bad habits and threw them back in your face like that. Weird, he was sure.

“Be nice to your sister,” Steve said absently, taking the space in front of Billy that Max had vacated.

“She was making fun of me and so deserves only terrible things,” Billy said back. He was being grumpy and Steve found it cute. And he let himself think it, because Nancy had a soulmate and that soulmate wasn’t Billy.

Steve offered his hand to Billy, silently asking for a dance, and Billy eyed his hand for only a moment before taking it. His hand was warm and a little dry. Steve placed his hand on Billy’s hip, and Billy put his other hand on Steve’s shoulder. They started swaying back and forth, just stepping a little aimlessly left and right, to the beat of the song.

They both just existed in each others’ spaces for a minute, and Steve didn’t know where to look. Billy’s face was right in front of his, but he felt a little bit embarrassed, eyes wandering over to the other dancing couples behind Billy, the balustrade upstairs behind which Jane and Mike were still talking, over to the texture of Billy’s suit jacket, down to the edges of Billy’s collarbones. God.

His eyes followed up his neck to his chin, where he could see some stubble starting to come in. Steve thought it would feel prickly against his hand, drag deliciously across his own jaw. His lips were a pretty pink bow. Those lips opened and white teeth peeked out as Billy said, “So Princess Nancy seemed pretty confused when you abandoned us to dance and told us we should date.”

Steve’s eyes snapped to Billy’s. It was hard to choose where to look: Billy was so close and his eyes were so blue. He kind of settled for the bridge of Billy’s nose. It turned out there were light freckles there and Steve wanted to nuzzle them, but he refrained in favour of replying. “Yeah, well, it turns out her parents hired Ever After without her knowing, and she’s actually already dating someone.”

Billy snorted. “Of course she is. What did you do about it, pretty boy?”

Steve frowned, pulled back a little to look Billy in the eyes. “Was I supposed to do something about it?"

“Well, you were pretty hell-bent on me being her soulmate. Isn’t the guy she’s dating the wrong one for her?” he asked. “You gonna have to break ‘em up?”

“Oh,” Steve said, and pondered for a moment what he would have done had Jonathan not been Nancy’s soulmate. He decided not to think too hard about it though because things worked out. That was supposedly his superpower anyways, so maybe it always would’ve ended up like this. “No, it turns out you were right.”

There was a pause. “About…?”

Steve cleared his throat and looked to the side, embarrassed. “You’re not Nancy’s soulmate. The guy she’s dating is.”

Billy’s eyebrows were high on his forehead. “You know this for sure?”

“Yeah. I saw them together and felt that click I told you about,” Steve said. Steve fidgeted with the cloth of Billy’s suit jacket at his hip, smiled to himself while he avoided eye contact with Billy. “Turned out that time I thought I felt the soulmate feeling with Nancy was actually just ‘cuz Jonathan was in the room with her at the time too.”

“Well, shit,” Billy said. His mouth was twitching up at the corner like he was trying hard not to laugh, and Steve appreciated the effort. “I guess I’m out of a royal soulmate.” He didn’t sound too broken up about it.

Steve bit his lip. “Yeah, I was just confused because you kept giving me that soulmate feeling too,” he said.

“Oh yeah?” Billy asked. “Wonder why that was?” He looked up at Steve through his lashes, coy, and Steve realized Billy probably had an inkling about this the entire three days they’ve known each other. Steve wasn’t mad about it; he’d never been so glad to be wrong about something.

He felt Billy’s thumb brush underneath the collar of his button-up, pressing down a little, and Steve inhaled. Squeezed Billy’s hand a little, slipped his hand from Billy’s hip to his lower back and pulled him a little closer. Billy stepped right into Steve’s space, easy as anything, and Steve felt warmth flood his chest as a whole damn puzzle seemed to just fall right into place right in his heart. A feeling of completion. That soulmate feeling click but times a thousand.

“It might have been because, just maybe…” Steve was dragging it out. He was enjoying the closeness of Billy, the way his body seemed to give off heat. “I’m an idiot who can’t read my feelings.”

Billy pulled back to give him a disapproving frown. “Hey now,” he said, “you’re not an idiot.” He let shook off Steve’s hand from his so that he could pat Steve’s cheek condescendingly. “Just a little slow sometimes,” he added, and while Steve rolled his eyes, Billy casually moved that hand to Steve’s other shoulder, and then just moved in closer to loop his arms around Steve’s neck.

Steve breathed in Billy’s cologne and revelled in everything Billy. He interlaced his own fingers on Billy’s back and pulled them flush together and he smiled as he squeezed. They were basically just standing and hugging tight on the edge of the dance floor now, not even trying to move anymore. Steve was okay with it. Steve was especially okay with how he felt Billy’s fingers toying with his hair a little.

“So it turns out,” Steve started, speaking right into Billy’s neck, enjoying the feeling of Billy’s collar on his lips and pretending it was skin. “I get that soulmate feeling around you ‘cuz your my soulmate. Hope you don’t mind dating me or something.”

He felt Billy laugh in his arms and Steve’s Earth shook. Like, his whole body was right up against Billy’s whole body and Billy shook when he laughed, chest vibrating and arms tightening and the fingers in Steve’s hair pausing on his scalp, and Steve was holding that small moment of delight right in his arms. What a joyful feeling.

Billy moved to look Steve in his eyes and beamed. “I would like nothing more, Steve.”

And when they kissed, it really felt like a happily ever after.