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Steve sighed, it’s not that he didn’t like parties anymore, it’s just that… he’s always too tired to keep up with the too loud music and tasteless booze. As if the upside down has turned him into an old man in a teenager’s body. God, he was just eighteen, how the hell things got so-
Robin elbowed him lightly, her face showed she knew his lane of thinking. He smiled at her in assurance, though it came out tired.
“Loosen up, dingus, enjoy a break from your kids” She teased.
“They are not my kids, Robin” He parroted, at this point, the reply comes out on its own, Robin never stops reminding him about his ‘children’.
“Sure, they aren’t, mom” Steve glared at her, he doesn’t get why people can’t use his name, is it necessary to give him nicknames? He opened his mouth to argue before he got interrupted, again.
“Steve!” It was Nancy. He couldn’t help closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he might have been over Nancy but seeing her around didn’t really make him happy. Robin was ready to tell her off, her eyes narrowing as she stood in front of him protectively- Steve almost cooed at her action, she pretends like she doesn’t give a fuck about him but it’s pretty obvious. “I didn’t know you were coming,” She says, her voice still sweet and nice, Steve offered her a small smile which vanished when he saw Jonathan trailing behind her. He couldn’t repress the bitter feeling that crawled his throat- he always had to pester her about the parties, but she was here without any frown on her face with her new boyfriend.
He shook his head, what’s past is past.
“Oh yeah, Tina invite-”
“Why should he tell you if he was coming?” Robin asks, more like scowls at her. Nancy looks taken aback at the hostility, probably not used to being treated as if she was in the wrong.
“I was just saying-”
“No need”
“I am sorry, did I do something to you?” Nancy questions with her quiet innocent voice, saccharine, and- Steve stops himself- he is an idiot. He may not be excited about Nancy anymore but first love doesn’t disappear that easily, just his luck.
“Yeah, when you decided to fuck with my best-”
“Robs!” Steve touches her shoulder to calm her down “Let it go, don’t start a fight, people will notice”
“Fuck you, dingus, she is being a stuck up and-”
“Robin” This time it’s soft and caring, the kind that immediately alerts Robin, also the kind that makes her feel safe “It’s fine”
“Agh, whatever” She mumbles, downing the whole cup and throwing it in the trash in the corner of the room.
“Sorry about her, she is a bit drunk,” Steve says apologetically as he watches her striding to the dance floor, he isn’t sure if Tammy Thompson is here but someone must have caught her eyes. He was nursing a drink himself but he had only taken two sips. He was Robin’s ride and with the way she kept pouring, he is sure she’d be wasted by the end of the night. Plus, he was a lightweight.
“Oh… uh yeah, I just- I just came to say hi” She looks at him curiously “Is she your girlfriend?”
“What? No! What the- uh” Steve stopped short, it wouldn’t be a hard guess, they got along well, too well, she knew him better than most people in this town- so really, it was understandable why anyone would assume. But what’s not understandable is his adamant denial, perhaps he shouldn’t show his displeasure so vocally. Especially with the way Nancy was staring at him. “She is my… best friend. And she is into someone else. I don’t make the habit of falling for people who don’t love me back” Ah, damn, he didn’t mean to say that. Nancy had a hurtful expression on her face, lips ready to say comforting words. He didn’t wanna listen. He could see Jonathan watching him intently.
Well, he did like her a bit but that was before she came out to him. Does that count?
“Steve, I a-”
“Oh look, it’s King Steve” Tommy.
He really can’t catch a break now, can he? Steve swallowed as he saw Billy beside him, he looked restrained, drained… there was still fire in his eyes and tension in his muscles but he didn’t look like he was about to explode. He was smoking. And he- he looked good. His hair seemed a bit shorter, his blue eyes held hurls of emotions that cannot be read so easily. He had buffed up, Steve could see the abs that the white tank top was sticking to, his biceps that were thic-
“We are talking, Hagan” Nancy replies in a cold voice. Steve almost feels proud of how she’s standing her ground. Almost.
“Awh, isn’t it the great Nancy Wheeler who fucked the fallen King and the creep? Quite a slut-”
“Shut it, Hagan” Steve gritted out, he was hurt- he was heartbroken- but he would never let anyone name-call the people he cared for. Not again.
“Oh my fucking god, you still looove her? That’s sick, Harrington. After she two timed like a cheap-” Jonathan punched him straight in the face. Steve stifled his laughter at the sudden action. He must be going crazy if he was finding Jonathan funny. But it was a good punch, he would know.
“Jonathan!” Nancy gasps, she doesn’t berate him for the violence but hurriedly checks his hand for injuries, there is a bit of redness and maybe blood but Byers doesn’t seem too hung up on it. He is still staring down at Tommy.
“Let it go, Hagan” It was Billy who said it, tone filled with a warning when Tommy tried to stand up and hit Byers again. He nodded hesitantly before making a quick escape, mumbling something Steve didn’t care to catch on. “You should go, Wheeler,” he says, more like scoff at her name. Right, he isn’t fond of Nancy.
“Wha-”
“-before he comes back to bother again, if anything, he is persistent” With that he stubbed his cigarette, and sat over the sit where Steve was sitting before Nancy came, taking another drink. They all stared at him, after the star court incident, Billy stopped getting in their faces, left everyone alone, and kept to himself. Of course, he still growled and threw punches but it wasn’t as often. It has been a long while. He knows Max is worried about her brother. She said he is treating her better, and doesn’t give her a hard time anymore but she cannot say the same thing about Billy, she thinks he is bottling everything inside. And Steve gets that. He does. He can’t even fathom how Billy is dealing with all monster crap. It gets easier with others’ help… but Billy had no one.
He was worried and not just because Billy looks like a wet dream come alive, no. Seeing him brooding over the counter, at a party no less, without caring about anyone around him, downing shots after shots, he feels… he feels, okay?
“Bi- Hargrove, how much did you drink?” Steve asks, knowing the suspicious look Nancy might be throwing at him. Nobody expects them to interact.
“I donno… seven? eight?” it’s surprising how Billy isn’t staggering even after that much intake. He was pouring another one. Oh shit.
“Steve…”
“Yes, Nancy?”
“Is- do you-”
“Let’s go, Nance” Jonathan intervenes, and Steve sighs in relief, nodding at the other man. “Talk to him later, alright?”
“Yeah, I should probably call him a ride, Max will be worried about him” Steve adds the last part, just to avoid suspicion. Understanding dawns and Nancy smiles at him, the type that says ‘you’re too good for this world’, he would have jumped and grinned if she had smiled like that before but now? He just… he doesn’t know what he feels.
“I am not going home, Harrington,” Billy says as soon as they both leave, on the way to his tenth shot, his cheeks were flushed and eyes drooping, his posture stayed firm but Steve could see he was drunk.
“Let’s get you out of here, Billy” Steve grounds, pulling a very heavy Billy off the chair, who stumbled out, eying him weirdly. Somehow Steve manages to get out of the party without causing too much of a ruckus. Robin sees him taking Billy out the door and approaches him. Steve looks at the other girl she was with, she is… he doesn’t know her, he will have to grill Robin about this later.
“Where ya goin’?”
“He downed like ten shots. I am taking him to my place” He pointedly looks at Robin so she doesn’t make any stupid comments. She just smirks, showing him a thumbs up before hightailing back.
“Will you be okay?” He yells out.
“Yeah! I have a ride!”
Steve doesn’t get why Billy is so adamant about staying strangers in front of others. It’s not like he has any reputation to keep, Billy had taken the title anyway, plus nobody cared about him anymore. But no, Billy didn’t want people to know Steve was something like a friend to Hargrove- said it’d be bad for his 'mom position' among the kids. Steve had chucked a bottle at him- which the asshole easily dodged.
Billy didn’t change much, not for others anyway, he was still an A-class jerk, but in Steve’s home, where he was completely different. Robin says Billy is only nice to him, and a bit to his kids because he’d be angry at Billy if he wasn’t. He wants to deny the claims but… he had noticed too. The way Billy would clean up after him, help him with the college applications, take extra time to explain shit he didn’t understand- hell, he’d even tutor the kids if they begged enough. Billy even cooked for him at times. Oh yeah, Steve let Billy stay at the mansion, once Max slipped about his father, Steve couldn’t let Billy go back there again. Not without making sure he was safe. Billy still doesn’t know the Party and Steve had asked Hopper to… do something about Neil. At least the asshole had stopped beating Billy- for now. If the blonde knew, he is sure he’d lay on him good. But that’s a problem for later.
So, they were friends now. Good ones if you ignore the troubling past. The boys, except Will, are still wary of Billy but Eleven likes him. Max doesn’t show but she worries about him a lot. It’s not all bad. He never expected them to come this far, but they did, somehow.
He notices that Billy didn’t say a word since they got in his car while he was lost in his musings, his Camaro was still in the garage where Billy was slowly repairing his darling. Usually, he’d say, put some music, Harrington, or don’t play your shitty music, Harrington. But right now, he was just staring at Steve.
“Billy, are you okay?” Steve asks, worried, he knows it's not easy to be okay after all that mess, Billy doesn’t talk about it either- aside from the obvious nightmares, so it’s concerning when he goes all quiet.
"I am fine" Billy grunts, his eyes were trained on him but they were in a daze "just really fucking horny for you"
"W-What-" He chokes, pushing the brakes before he lands them in an accident, good thing they had reached his place "U-Uh- you wanna sleep with me?"
"Not- Not just that- I-" Steve can see it's getting hard for Billy to pace his thoughts, it's like he'd fall asleep right in the middle of the conversation "You make me smile"
"Oh" Steve blushes, he was not expecting that. "You- uh-"
"And also super horny, but that's not the point.” He slurs “You make me happy. And… hard. But mostly happy. Wait, mostly hard… both?" He then looks at Steve before nodding again "Both."
Steve doesn’t know what the hell he is supposed to say. His heart is beating loudly against his chest, and the look Billy is giving him, his lustful ocean eyes staring right into his soul- Steve gulps. Can he chalk it up to drunken shenanigans? He doesn’t want to, god, he doesn’t, but Billy is obviously tipsy- even if he has an unnaturally high tolerance. He isn’t wasted yet but-
Oh fuck, he doesn’t know.
“Billy, dude, just… shut up” he ends up saying, because he cannot take it if Billy utters another word- he doesn’t wanna get up tomorrow morning and think about this confession that’s spinning his world. “You’re saying stupid things, come on, we are here-”
“Did you know… your fucking eyes are so annoying?”
“What?’
“They are so- so brown, and big, and like beautiful… like Bambi, it’s adorable” Steve decides he is not gonna listen to this anymore, ready to open the door before Billy grabbed his wrist, dragging him over his lap with such force that Steve finds himself awkwardly hanging over the seat touching Billy’s thighs. “Listen to me, princess”
“Bil- Hargrove, you are drunk-”
“You in that sailor shorts- I wanna take you right on that damn ice cream counter and violate you in every way possible. And your legs- your fat ass-”
“Oh my god, shut up, what the hell is wrong with you!?” Steve is panicking, his feelings are coming to the surface the more Billy talks, and it's not good. He is blushing so hard, that it would be obvious even if Billy is drunk. Which- now that he thinks about it- his voice is weirdly stable for someone who drank so much.
“I know you want me too, Steve, you are not as subtle as you think you are” then he is arranging Steve in a way that the brunette was straddling Billy, his hands wrapping around his neck to not fall over as Billy’s settled onto his waist.
“That’s no- wh- wait-” Billy ignores his shuttering, he is grinning now, continuing his rambling.
“And your lips, how can they be so pink? It’s literal crime. And so plush. Are they as soft as they look?” Billy’s voice is getting deeper, raspier, his eyes clearing but filling with dark intent. Steve shivers.
“Why… why don’t you see it for yourself?” Steve replies, throwing caution to the wind. Billy flashes him a sly smile before he is diving for his lips, clashing with him almost desperately, it’s not perfect- the kiss- they both are too eager, too impatient to properly make out but Steve loves it all just the same. Billy is forceful but his hands are gentle in the way they cup his face, while he was sucking his face like his life depended on it, his hands caged him protectively. They pull back before Steve is going back for more, Billy smiles against his lips but kisses back, taking control once again, his hands grabbing the back of Steve’s neck in a firm hold.
Steve takes a moment to breathe, holy christ, Billy kisses like he wants to drown him, he is panting by the second session, fisting Billy’s denim jacket as the blonde is making his way to Steve’s neck, peppering light and wet kisses all over the pale skin, licking adorable freckles and nipping at the delicate flesh. It’s very satisfying to see them bloom red under his teeth, and the way Steve moans at the bite, whiney and desperate. They are both hard by just kissing each other and they want more.
“Let’s take this inside, pretty boy” Steve’s stomach does a weird motion at the name, he hates how much it affects him, even more so now. Then he is nodding, attempting to get off Billy’s lap and out of the car but strong hands have held him hostage. He looks at Billy in confusion. He doesn’t get to say a word before Billy is getting out, with Steve still hanging off on him- he hurriedly wraps his legs around Billy’s waist, yelling at Billy to let him down and that someone could see them. All that falls to deaf ears, and Steve scolds himself for being turned on at how easily Billy had lifted him like he weighed nothing and approached the door of his mansion.
“Billy…” he breathes. They are stumbling inside, Billy locking the door before throwing Steve on the couch, it’s too fast and too slow, they should head to his bedroom but they both are impatient, already pulling at each other’s clothes and eager to touch.
“Fuck, pretty boy, you’re so damn beautiful, did you know that? Seeing you like this, all laid out for me… how did I get so lucky?”
“… are you still drunk?” Steve murmurs, embarrassed at the easy way compliments fall from Billy’s lips, it’s annoying how warmth fills him as the words are uttered, and Billy seems to know what his words are doing to Steve.
“Princess, my head’s all cleared now” He is grinning, tweaking his nipples and pulling them roughly, Steve whimpers at the careless touch, liking it way more than he should. “don’t worry, I can talk about your fucking sexy body and fucking pretty eyes all day, and night- without the alcohol”
“I’d rather you don’t!” Steve whines, hiding his face with his hands, King Steve might have been fluttering under the praise (well, he wouldn’t have been under Hargrove, for that matter) but this Steve is just mountain loads shy.
“Too late” Billy laughs, its so rich and beautiful, Steve stares at the boy in front of him- Billy keeps calling him pretty but he is the one who looks fucking ethereal- with his golden curls and deepest blue eyes, really good body and sinful wine for a voice.
“This is… if we do this… it won’t be a one-time thing, right?” Steve asks, quietly, he needs to make sure of it.
“Pretty boy, you’re not going anywhere, even if you beg to leave” It should be scary, the way Billy said it, but Steve can feel himself twitch, he likes this hunger inside Billy Hargrove. “Okay?”
“Okay” Steve smiles, all bright and pure, Billy resists the urge to ruin him too soon.
“Now, where were we? Oh yes, fucking you hard enough that you won’t be able to walk tomorrow” He whispers into Steve’s ear, before his hands were grabbing Steve’s body like a ragdoll, grip tight enough to bruise, even his mouth was everywhere, licking and biting everywhere to leave prominent marks.
“N-No, no, gentle, Billy! You can’t- ah- wait!-”
“Agh, Billy, shut the alarm please”
“Why would you even set it on Sunday!?” Billy says angrily, sounding a little sexier than Steve expected.
“Kids come here sometimes…” He mumbles, eyes shutting down again, the comforting weight of Billy’s hand over his waist, as he snuggles into his chest, is too blissful to miss out.
The next time he wakes up, it’s already noon, and something smells delicious downstairs. He yawns loudly, laying on the bed for a few minutes before getting up- which he should have been careful about as the pain shot through his body the moment he stood up. Cursing as he clumsily made his way towards the bathroom, he finally managed to wash his face and brush his teeth, attempted to set his hair a bit but without the spray, it just fell all over his eyes. Agh, whatever, Billy has seen him at worst. He puts on his comfy shorts, it's very hot in this town and Steve gets sweaty with the Hawkins heat. His eyes catch Billy’s discarded clothes at the edge of the bed- it’s one of the loose tees that’s baggy even on Billy- so of course, it’s big on him. After changing, he happily skips down the stairs, where Billy was sitting on the couch, some Shakespeare book in his hand. He looked really sexy with the way he was concentrating, brows furrowed and eyes sharp. Steve kept staring and missed a step, hissing as he ended up hurting himself. Billy was on him instantly, concern etched over his face.
“I am fine, Billy” he assured fondly. “Did you make breakfast?”
“Yeah, I- uh- I wanted to do this… properly” Steve couldn’t help kissing him, he was being so cute it was impossible to resist. After a few minutes of making out session, Billy’s hands were skipping down to his ass, Steve smacked it away.
“Weren’t we supposed to eat?”
“I could eat you up” Billy groans. “You look so good in my clothes”
“I know. Come on, we can do all sorts of things later, we have the whole day” Steve winks and Billy sighs, so this is what it feels like to be wrapped around someone’s finger. Though he happily followed him to the kitchen, helping him get food on the table.
“We are boyfriends, okay?” Billy suddenly says, his eyes are downcast, attention on chewing his food, his cheeks reddening a little.
“Yes, we are” Steve smiles shyly, his cheeks matching the red shade on Billy.
It was probably time to have lunch but Steve didn’t care, he was so happy at this moment, all he wanted was to kiss Billy all day and just… stay as it is. They moved back to the couch, Billy’s book forgotten as Billy bit new marks all over his neck and collarbones. They were going slow, Billy’s hand caressing his skin gently but Steve was growing impatient again, his ass was still sore but doing the deed again felt like a good idea. Steve had almost gotten rid of his tee but Billy stopped him.
“…let it… let it stay”
“Oh,” Steve chuckles “Alright-”
“STEVE!”
Steve is tumbling down the couch at the loud yelling of his name. Shit, the Party was here. Dustin had the key to his door. Billy was pretending to read the forgotten book, cushion covering his lap. Steve looked at him in betrayal, how could Billy let him fend for himself?
“ROBIN SAID YOU WENT HOME WITH BI- oh hi, Billy”
“Dustin… how many times have I told you to not come unannounced?” Steve asks in exasperation “What are you all even doing here on Sunday morning?”
“It’s already twelve-thirty, Steve” Mike rolls his eyes.
“Shut up, Wheeler”
“I was worried!”
“Wait a minute- who dropped you all here-”
“Hey, dingus”
“Robin!?” His eyes clearly told her how could she cockblock him.
“Not my fault your kids wanted to make sure you were okay” She shrugs, waving at Billy who nods at her, as she sits beside him.
“Okay? For what?”
“What’s all those bruises, Steve?”
“Is that a hickey?”
“There are lots of it!”
Steve, embarrassed, tries his best to tug the tee closer, but it didn’t help much except to make everyone more aware. He wanted to dig a hole- there were some things you don’t wanna show in front of the kids!
“Are you… and my brother together?” Max is the one who asks straightforwardly. Steve sighs, this is not how he expected it to go. Maybe date a little secretly before coming clean- but these idiots… god.
“Yeah…” Steve turns to look at Billy who’s smiling at him, it's full of adoration and love, Steve looks away again.
“Why him!?” Dustin and Mike say at the same time. Steve rubs his forehead, this is too much for today.
“Will you both shut up if I make that chocolate pie from my grandma’s recipe?” they both brighten up at that, nodding quickly before rushing to the kitchen. It’s a once-a-year only pie but Steve thinks it’s a better option than to let these dimwits ask too many personal questions. Lucas and Will follow the duo, while Max and Eleven waited behind them.
“Max? El?”
“Don’t hurt him, Billy” Max says abruptly, though it looks like she is more worried about Billy. Steve smiles, ruffling her red hair which she glares at him for.
“Don’t worry, Max, we will look out for each other” She nods at him. “El?”
“You both are bitchin’” Billy snickers at that, high-fiving Eleven as she settles in the space between the end of the couch and Billy. It’s her way of saying ‘read it to me’. Now that everyone was engaged in other activities, Steve turned to Robin.
“Robs?”
“What? It slipped, I didn’t know Dustin was eavesdropping, okay? Then he was worried about you, then the Party got worried and they forced me to come here” Steve eyes her once more, his infamous ‘spill the bean’ look. “… and uh- I wanted to see- how- how’s it going”
“Awh, were you worried about me too?”
“Shut it, dipshit”
“Not dingus?” He asks, but he is smiling. “I can’t believe the kids except Dustin gave a damn about me”
“Oh come on, you’re their babysitter, their stated mom- how can they not?”
“Robs, I love you but call me mom once more and I-”
“Don’t be angry with Robin, Steve” Dustin calls out “we just wanted to make sure you were fine” Will nods from behind, still shy to be outspoken.
“Though it was Robin’s idea to come here” Mike smirked, Robin’s face turning murderous at the young wheeler.
“Oh yeah? And should I tell him how you fussed about Steve, hmm? Asking Nancy to leave his babysitter alone, hmm?”
“Fuck you”
“Language, Wheeler!” Steve automatically reprimanded, before groaning at his mistake. “Alright, round up, kids” Despite their complaints, all of them were in front of Steve “I am touched that you all care, really, but there’s nothing to worry about, we both are adults and-”
“Adults makes more mistake though”
“Shut it, Wheeler” Billy drawled.
“You’re not wrong, Mike” Steve glares at Billy “My point is, we are good so don’t worry your little heads over this, yeah?”
Billy didn’t really mind the protectiveness coming from the kids and Robin, hell, he was glad Steve had people in his corner. They were right to be cautious- as they should be- it’s on him to make them trust.
“I will take good care of your mother, I promise” Billy grins, there’s mirth in his magnificent blue eyes. Dustin and the Party laugh at that, but it’s obvious they seemed relieved.
“You better, if you split up, I am going with mom” Dustin jokes, though he’s half serious, the other kids join in saying ‘me too, me too’. Max just says she’d visit them both, but mostly mom, which makes Billy mock-pout at her. Robin raises her hand “I’d go with the mom too!”
“All of you, out”
All that was heard was more obnoxious laughter as Billy pulled him in, kissing him soundly.