Tea Party

Holly is in her room playing with her dolls and setting up for a tea party, a tea party Steve has been invited to. Steve is loitering in the hall, ducking back around the corner whenever Holly turns toward him. Billy was just going to let it play out, he figured either Steve would finally venture in or Holly would come get him.

Fifteen minutes and still nothing, so Billy intervenes. Walking up to Steve and squatting down next to him watching Holly over his shoulder. "What's wrong pretty boy?"

Steve did not notice his approach, he spins around and nearly topples over, hair flying about, face pinching up and cheeks flushing as he holds a hand over his chest. "Don't do that, you scared me." Huffy before he glances back and sees Holly watching them and then he is diving to the side like he is trying to escape gunfire.

Billy laughs, laughing harder when Steve reaches for him, trying to tug him out of view of the doorway. "Billy!" Little fingers dig into his arm as Steve plants his feet and tries uselessly to pull Billy where he wants him. Finally Billy gives in and lets his body tip in that direction, Steve falling to his ass when resistance is no longer given.

"Hurry, hurry she is going to see you." Steve insists like they have not already been seen and heard, he is not exactly being quiet about this. He starts trying to drag him further when he realizes Billy’s feet are still in the doorway. 

Billy shakes his head and goes with it, Steve sagging against him with over the top panting once his feet are out of the light of the open door. "That was close."

"Why are you hiding? Have you got a crush on baby Wheeler?" Billy teases, it would be kind of funny and a little annoying. Billy does not know if he can watch this version of Steve moon over a Wheeler too, even in an adorable first crush sort of way. It might be too much of a stinging reminder that Steve has always liked girls and only girls both this version and when he is older.

"No, I have a crush on you." Steve reminds so matter of fact it pulls Billy right out of his disappointment over older Steve’s dating history.

"Right of course how silly of me." Billy shakes his head, he is not about to try and explain to Steve that people can crush on more than one person. He has a feeling it will just make Steve worry about Billy not wanting him again and that way leads to tears.

"So why are you hiding kiddo? As I recall you were invited to a pretty exclusive tea party." When they arrived to pick up Dustin who was not actually ready to leave, the party’s campaign running long, Holly had come and invited Steve and only Steve to her little shindig. Billy had sat on the couch for a few minutes watching sports with Ted. The quiet upstairs had gotten to him and he had creeped up to find Steve being shy in the hallway.

Steve is not looking in his direction, eyes on the peeling wallpaper near the baseboard, from where something clearly hit it. Billy's money is on Mike being at fault but he would not put it past Nancy either, she is all flailing limbs and bag when she is in a rush. Steve shuffles away from him using his feet to drag his ass over the carpet toward the door stopping before his feet are in view and peaking in. 

"Go on, pretty boy lil Holly doesn't bite." Not usually at least, and even though he does not know why it happened Billy is pretty sure Mike deserved it when she bit him. 

"What if she doesn't like me?" Steve asks almost too quietly for Billy to hear as he hunches over, curling over his knees.

"Impossible, everybody likes you.” Billy has not seen a single person around wee Steve that has not been delighted by him and wrapped around his cute little finger.

“No,” Steve shakes his head against his knees “they like the me that is older but I’m not him, not really.” Steve mutters as Billy drags him back, and hooks his arms around him in a hug.

“Who said that?” Billy has anger boiling in his belly, arms tightening on Steve. 

“No one.” A wobbly sniffle of a lie.

“Stevie.” Billy is not going to just let this go, twisting Steve around, and catching his chin, making him meet his eyes. He almost gives in at the wet eyes and the wobbling lip but luckily Steve caves first.

“I heard Dustin complaining on that… that talkie thing and the voices agreed.” Billy is going to kill all of them.

“Dustin and the voices are fucking idiots.” Billy pushes Steve’s cheeks between his hands ignoring his little gasp at the cursing.

“You won’t marry me until I’m older.” Steve says with dejection the tears flowing. As cute as the persistence is, some days Billy actually wishes he would stop, it rubs at the raw nerve that knows Steve will not want him when he is back to normal.

“That’s not the same. For one you’re way too young to be getting married right now and if you don’t change back by the time you are old enough I’ll be a wrinkly old man, with a big gut and beard, my hair will probably have gone white by then you won’t even want to marry.” Billy claims dramatically feeling a little better about all of this when Steve’s tears dry and he giggles. Billy is still going to make the party regret making him feel bad.

“Like Santa, I like Santa!” Steve declares.

Billy drops his hands from Steve face blinking dumbly, had he been describing Santa Claus? “Uh, sure.”

“I’d still marry you if you looked like Santa.” Steve reassures as if that was a real fear Billy might have. Billy just watches as he lifts his shirt and folds it over so he can rub his wet nose on the inside. He should probably make him stop that but it is not as if Billy has anything for him to rub his nose on readily available and he has covered Billy’s shirts in plenty of snot by now. It is a nice change

“Thanks.” Billy shakes it off and moves things back to the source of Steve’s wet nose. He does not want him to think people do not actually like him, does not want that thought to fester more than it already has. “No one likes the older you better, they just miss him. You’re just as great as he is and we all love you the same.”

“You love me?” Billy makes a noise in the back of the throat, a mix between a hum and choking. He does love Steve. This sweet child version of him has his love but he is in love with older Steve and he is not sure he is ever going to get to see him again. Steve takes it as a yes “No take backs!” he declares triumphantly no sign of tears left but the red rims of his eyes.

“I’m not taking anything back, pretty boy.” Billy shakes his head with a little laugh “Now, you’re late for tea so you better hurry.” Billy stands up dragging Steve to his feet with him before nudging him toward the door.

“Will you come with me?” Steve plants his little feet against it, twisting back to give Billy big puppy dog eyes.

“I wasn’t invited.” Holly had been very specific about who was invited up for tea.

“You can come,” Holly pokes her head out the door, blond curls bouncing, “but I have to go invite daddy now so we have an even number.” She heaves a sigh like she is being greatly inconvenienced. “You can have Shelly’s cup of tea, he won’t mind, he prefers coffee anyways.” She says as she is passing, running down the stairs to go and force her father to attend her tea party.

Twenty minutes later all four of them are set around a small table, Billy’s and Ted’s knees practically at their collarbones as they sit in little chairs that threaten to give out with any movement. Holly and Steve are on either side of them, considerably more comfortable, as they make up nonsense about what is happening in the world. All of them pretending to drink out of little plastic cups and eating imaginary tea cakes. 

Occasionally Holly turns to Shelly tucked back on to her bed “Stop complaining, you didn’t even want that seat, you hate tea, it gives you the runs just like mommy.” Her and Steve dissolve into giggles over it while Mr. Wheeler just nods his head along, paying more attention to the sound of the sports game coming from the television downstairs than what is happening in the room. Billy just shakes his head and accepts another invisible scone when Steve offers him one.

-End