"What do you want?" I crossed my arms." he looked at me with one of those looks that make you feel violated.
He bent down to meet my height before whispering, "you."
the words left his lips without any form of hesitation.
And just like his words...
"Nana, this was you?" Amber my youngest granddaughter, sat on Billy's lap, her little finger pointing to a photo of a 25-year-old me, standing barefoot and sun-kissed in front of the first surf store we ever opened. Billy, his once-blond hair now silver, smiled as he looked at it too.
"You see Nana's legs, don't you?" he teased, grinning at Amber. I laughed and swatted his shoulder. "You're impossible." "Half my closet was Mom's old clothes growing up. Everyone thought it was so retro," Beth, our daughter, our heart said as she leaned over to see. She was named after Billy's late mother, and not a day passed that she didn't make us proud. "It was all your mother ever did," I added with a laugh. "Go into my closet and try on everything when she was about your age."
Amber giggled and flipped to the next page in the album. "Oh man, you were so mad at me that day," Billy chuckled, pointing to the picture of him handing me the keys to a brand-new car. I hadn't known he bought it until he tossed me the keys and said, "It's time you stop driving something from the 18th century." I gave him hell for it, but later I cried and hugged him like my life depended on it. Beneath that photo was one of us holding our second baby, August, born with the brightest blond hair I had ever seen. The sun itself couldn't compete.
"Uncle August looks like Jake," Amber said, wrinkling her nose at her brother's name.
She turned the page again. There was Nancy and John's wedding Billy as grooms men, and the maid of honor. Then, Max's first wedding. Then her second, this time to Lucas, her high school sweetheart. After that came Will's engagement to his partner, James. Then came our parents' retirement parties, followed by Jim's from the Hawkins Police Department. Then Dustin's after making a fortune with Mike and the others from some tech startup I still didn't fully understand. These new touchscreen phones? Never liked them. And finally, my retirement photos. After 25 years on the force and 10 years as captain, it was the honor of my life to retire my badge. Billy had pinned the final one on me. I still remember the way his hands shook.
Amber turned to the last page. Our college graduation. There he was, Billy on one knee in front of the fountain, the whole crowd watching as he asked me to marry him. He'd called my parents for their blessing, wrote out a whole speech... which I cut off halfway through when I said yes.
A million times, yes. We were married on the beach. Billy loved the ocean. Always had. I used to call him a thalassophile, and he'd laugh, pretending he didn't know what it meant. Our little surf shop expanded into one of the biggest sea-to-table restaurant chains along the coast. But we kept the soul. The warmth. The beach cafés. The bed-and-breakfasts. The slow mornings and salt air.
Amber slid off Billy's lap and ran to Beth to show her more. Billy scooted closer, and I rested my head on his shoulder, my home, no matter where we were. "It's been a while since we've seen everyone from Hawkins," I murmured. "They're all coming down for the Fourth." He nodded, drawing me in closer. "It'll be good to see everyone. Max especially." There was a softness in his voice when he said her name; he was kind, only a brother could have been. When Neil left and Susan remarried, Billy didn't hesitate. He stepped in. Showed up. And he never stopped. He became her real family, every day from then on.
"We lived a good life," I whispered. "A blessed one," he said, without missing a beat. I looked up at him. "I think we should do Europe again this summer." Billy grinned. "My life's always been simpler when I agree with you." I playfully slapped his chest. He laughed, that deep, familiar laugh that echoed through every hallway we ever called home. Then, with a quiet smile, he looked at me and said, "Thank you."
I blinked. "For what?" "For never putting up with my shit," he said, eyes sparkling. "And for slapping me." I laughed. "Slap? What slap?" "High school," he said, grinning widely. "Right in front of everyone. Changed my whole damn life." I shook my head, smiling. "Who knew slapping Billy Hargrove would turn into this?"
Outside, we heard the crunch of tires on gravel. A car door slammed. "That's Nancy and John," I said, watching through the window. More followed. One by one, they all arrived. The ones who lived. The ones who fought. The ones who stayed. But not a day went by that we didn't honor and remember Heather Holloway, the one who died young, just a kid, the girl who was robbed of a long life. Billy turned to me, and I turned to him. No matter where this life took me, it would always be with him. I would follow him to the ends of the world. And not even death could part us.
"I love you, Billy Hargrove."
"I love you, Kai Nadir-Hargrove."
The End
A/N and that's a wrap, everyone for those who have stayed this long thank you for waiting the last few years have been hectic and not easy I started to write this in 2021 so it only seemed to bring my characters to this timeline as well, Both Kai and Billy lived very full and happy lives, and they still do. I hope you all enjoyed this story and again thank you for this ride, this isn't the end of their story but only their beginning.
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