little things; stranger things littlespace oneshots

♡ 8 - busted ♡

cg!steve
little!billy (2-3)

Billy sat on the floor of his bedroom, thinking.

Steve and him were roommates, and they were pretty close. But naturally, they both had their secrets. And Steve didn't know that Billy was a little.

He was pretty embarrassed about it. He was ashamed of how good it felt to slip into his headspace, how much he enjoyed using his toys and paci, and how relaxed he felt afterward. So he tended to hide it well.

"mm.. but stevie's not home wight now.." Billy contemplated, not aware that he had already slipped.
"s'okay i guess." he shrugged, and began pulling things out of his closet. He brought out his favorite Nemo coloring book, a set of crayons, a couple stuffed animals, and a few other little things like a pacifier and sippy cup. Billy smiled. He was happy to have all that time to play!

He took a few toy cars and pushed them around, imagining that they were racing. The sound of the wheels accompanied Billy's occasional voiceovers:
"faster!", and "whooshhh! the final lap!" he said, with a childlike lisp. Billy always had trouble with pronouncing his r's like w's when he was little, so he just went with it.

After awhile, the cars lost his attention. He laid on the floor and opened his coloring book. Billy grabbed his paci and put it in his mouth before scribbling away.
After a page or two, he began to slip out of littlespace. Sometimes Billy would sort of "zone back in" and feel shameful. The pacifier fell out of his mouth. He sat up and frowned.
"What.. what am I doing?" he asked to himself.

It was more of a rhetorical question. Billy knew what he was doing, he really meant "why?". Why did he have to find comfort in such brainless things?
He looked over at his plushies and toy cars and his worry melted away. He had slipped back and happily colored again, as if it had never happened. He put his paci back in his mouth and talked to his stuffies around it while he colored.

"This is my favowite colowing book. It's Nemo, see? Cause' it got Nemo on it. He's a fishie! A special fishie. Did'ya know he gots a big fin and a small fin?" he rambled.
Billy paused and looked up at the plushies, pursing his lips. He knew they wouldn't respond. He didn't imagine they did. Sometimes he wished he had someone to talk to. Someone that could reply, that is.

Meanwhile, Steve was driving back to their apartment.
"Damn shift was cancelled. Why didn't they just drop a call?" he mumbled to himself.
"I guess I should be grateful though." he said, parking the car. He headed into the complex and took the elevator up a few floors to their place, unlocking the door with his keys.
"Hey, Bill?" he called out.
Hm. No response.
"Billy?" he dragged out.
Unsuccessful to get a response, he sighed, heading towards Billy's room. He twisted the knob and opened the door, revealing a sight that both of them were surprised to see.

Billy was there, on the floor, with a pacifier in his mouth. And the floor around him was littered with toys, plushies, and crayons. Steve didn't say anything, he only stared, taking it all in.
Billy mentally cursed himself for forgetting to lock the door. He instantly fell out of littlespace, the pacifier dropping out of his mouth.
"Get out! Get the fuck out of here!" Billy screamed, getting up and trying to shove Steve away from the door. Steve stumbled, trying to stay for a moment.
"Billy- what- what's going on?" he yelled.
"Get the fuck out, asshole!" Billy fired, pushing him far enough to slam the door shut and lock himself inside.

Silence.

Billy fell to the floor, his back against the door. He rested his head in his knees. He was saddened by himself. He could turn from a sweet boy to a raging foul-mouth within seconds. He was ashamed of the violent, abusive nature that sometimes controlled him. He felt guilty. Steve didn't deserve to be berated, Billy just panicked and didn't know what to say.
His thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

On the other side of the door, Steve leaned against it and spoke to him.
"I'm sorry I didn't knock. I should've. I don't know what I walked in on, and I'm sure I wasn't supposed to see it, but.. it's okay. If it makes you happy, go for it."
Steve sighed before finishing,
"You don't have to come out now. You don't even have to talk! But I'd like to see you again.. so.. come out when you're ready."
Steve lingered in the silence for a moment before walking away.

Billy sobbed quietly to himself. Why did Steve have to find out? He was sure that Steve would have so many questions, and it would be extremely embarrassing. Not to mention that he'd be disgusted with Billy. It was over. Everything was ruined.

A few hours later, the two still hadn't exchanged a word. Billy had spent the time curled up in his bed anxiously, while Steve could only worry about him. Billy sat up at the sound of soft footsteps heading towards his door.
"Billy?" Steve called, gently knocking on the door.
Billy was too afraid to say anything back, so he stared at the door in silence. Steve continued.
"Uh, I made pasta for dinner. You can have some, if you want. It's on the stove."
Steve walked away again, acknowledging that Billy needed his space.

A little while later, Billy finally left his bedroom and shuffled into the kitchen. Steve turned around and looked at him, his expression becoming concerned. Billy's eyes were red and puffy from crying, and he looked tired. Steve was slightly unsure of Billy's mental state or how to go about this, so he spoke to him gently, almost as if he would to a child.
"Aww, Billy.. I'm sorry, please don't be upset. I'm not judging you, okay?"

Billy slightly relaxed at that but wouldn't meet his eyes or respond.
"Sit down, I'll make you a plate." Steve offered.
Billy awkwardly sat at the table, staring down, while Steve made food for him in total silence. Steve set down a plate and slid it in front of Billy, before sitting across from him. It was still silent as Steve watched Billy stare at his food, only pushing it around with a fork.

Steve decided to break the silence.
"Can we talk about what happened today?"
Billy paused and looked up.
"Oh. Yeah, sorry I yelled at you." he responded, avoiding the subject.
"You know what I mean. About what you were doing in there." Steve asserted.
Billy stared at the table. "Don't worry about it. That won't happen again."
"No, Bill, it's okay-" Steve started.
"No. It's not. I shouldn't be doing that and you shouldn't have to see it, so let's drop it." Billy interrupted him.

"Billy," Steve started, "I've heard of this stuff before. I understand. And it's nothing to be embarrassed about, hell, it's better than coping with drugs or some crap. So if it makes you happy, do it."
Billy sat in shock for a moment, before speaking.
"Thank you. Really. I'm just embarrassed, and.. I wanted to keep it a secret. And I'm sorry I shut you out." he said.
"It's okay. But I don't quite like the idea of you being alone when you're little. It's basically leaving a child unattended, I mean, something could go totally wrong." Steve said.
"I-I'm fine, really. It's not a big deal, I just keep to myself." Billy replied.

"Hm. Well if it doesn't bother you too much, I could take care of you." offered Steve.
"What? N-no, I wouldn't put that on you, it's a lot of work, and-"
"Billy." Steve stopped him. "I don't mind it. Really. You can even show me some of your stuff right now, if you want."
"Really?"
"Yeah!"

Billy's eyes lit up, and he grabbed Steve's hand, dragging him to his room so he could introduce him to his plushies.

- 1367 words
no requests lately so i'm making stuff up loll
ALSO APPARENTLY NOAH SCHNAPP CONFIRMED WILL IS GAY?? finally😭😭