Unexpectedly Enough

Seven

Steve unlocked the door and went inside, finding Billy sitting on the couch, the tv glow bouncing off his face. Steve rushes to his side, crouching down in front of Billy and cupping his face when he saw the new bruises and cuts.
"Freaking hell, Billy", Steve curses under his breath. Billy shifts his head out of Steve's hand when his thumb grazes over a bruise, and he winces. "Stay right here, don't move", Steve tells him, and rushes off to get a first-aid kit and returns seconds later.

It's quiet as Steve patches up Billy's wounds, and he can't help the tears that well up in his eyes, he tries to keep his eye contact with Billy to the minimum so he wouldn't notice, but as he's putting the gauze down, Billy reaches out and puts his hand under Steve's chin, pulling it up gently to look him in the eyes.
"Pretty boy, why are you crying? Don't cry", Billy says, his expression sad. Steve climbs up onto the couch next to Billy and throws the rest of the gauze in his hand harshly.
"Because you don't deserve this! You don't deserve to be hit and treated like shit by that bastard all the time! If anyone deserves to be treated like shit it's him."

"Steve..."

"No! Don't tell me to calm down, I can't calm down. You're one of the sweetest and most caring people I know, no matter how much you try to make people think you aren't. And your father, deserves to be in jail. It's makes me so mad, I hate it when you show up here all beat and bruised, I hate that he doesn't that to you. It breaks my heart, it makes me sick!"

Billy cups Steve's cheeks in his hands and uses his thumbs to gently wipe the tears away that are streaming down his face.
"It makes me fucking sick...", Steve sobs. Billy pulls him into a hug, hushing him, showing a side of him that nobody knows existed.
"Hey...don't cry, please don't cry", Billy pleads.
He rubs Steve's back, calming his sobs to whimpers.
"Hey, look at me", Billy whispers, pulling Steve gently out of the hug, wiping his tears again.

"Don't you worry about me pretty boy. I'll be ok, I have you."

"B-But you still...have to go home to him", Steve chokes out. Billy shakes his head.
"I do, but I'm here most of the time anyways, and I'm going to be 18 soon, and the second I am I'm taking Max and getting the hell out of there", he reassures Steve.

"Promise you'll be ok?" Steve cries.

Billy nods, "I promise."

After that it's silent as they watch the tv, Billy calming Steve down but rubbing circles on the back of his hand. But at one point, Billy notices Steve staring at him, looking at him, with his eyes glistening.

"What're you thinking about pretty boy?" Billy wonders aloud. Steve snaps out of his daze and blushes lightly.

"Nothing..."

"There's obviously something."

"Just that you need a haircut", Steve pokes, making them both laugh.

Billy turns the tv down, and turns more towards Steve, determined to get an answer.
"If you're gonna lie to me at least make it believable. Seriously, 'cmon..."

"What're you thinking?" Billy asks again, his voice low and soft, his eyes focusing on Steve as he waits for an answer.

"I think if you really knew what I thought, you wouldn't even want to be my friend", Steve says.

"Harrington..."

"I don't stare at boys because I hate them, Billy. Or because I'm worried they are attracted to Nancy because I am way over Nancy, or any other girl for that matter."

"What do you mean?", Billy asked, his eyes wide as if he already knew.

"It's because they won't stop staring at him. With his stupid jackets, and dumb hair, and his fancy car. Even if they think he's so cool because he's such a badass even though he's a real softie on the inside. But none of that matters because they are all still staring at him, and no matter how much they keep staring at him, that won't change anything. It won't get me what I want."

"...And what do you want?"

A moment of silence goes by as Steve tries to look anywhere else but Billy, tears welling up in his eyes.

"...For him to look at, me", Steve confesses.

Billy's face drops in realization. "Oh."

"Oh...", He repeats, realizing more and more what it meant.

"Yeah", Steve laughs humorlessly, "oh."

Billy stares blankly for a few moments, the room being overwhelmed in an uncomfortable silence. Steve hopes he hasn't ruined what they had by revealing this about himself.

"Can I ask you something?", Billy finally speaks.

"Yeah, yeah of course."

"Who's the guy?"

And suddenly, all of Steve's air is stuck in his throat. He wasn't ready to reveal that, not now. Not to Billy. But then again, he wasn't really sure if he'd ever be ready.

"Harrington? You still awake over there?", Billy speaks, and Steve realizes it's been a few minutes.

"Yeah just uh, thinking."

Billy nods, but puts his hand on Steve's leg, sending a spark of electricity up his leg and across his torso, eventually to his face where a blush formed.
"You can tell me, Steve" and he realizes that's the first time Billy's ever used his name.

Steve sighs loudly, looking at his hands, and then where Billy's hand is on his leg.

"It's you", Steve says, his voice almost cracking with fear, barely above a whisper.

He can't bare looking at Billy's face, unable to read his emotion. His face is almost blank, undoubtably shocked. Steve feels the lump in his throat, his breathing heavier with tears pricking his eyes, and he fears he's just lost Billy.

"Listen, I don't expect anything to change between us, and I certainly don't blame you if you don't want to be around me anymore because I get it, I'm a guy and so are you, and this is Hawkins and nothing could event happen. But you asked me to tell you and so I did so I just hope that you don't hate me and I didn't-"

Billy cuts him off, his hand going up to cup Steve's cheek, his lips quickly smashing into Steve's. His breath hitches, but Steve ultimately kisses back, sparks flying through his lips and down his spine, making the hair on the back of his neck and arms stand up with electricity. Billy doesn't pull back until it's evident they are both desperate for air. Billy's eyes roam Steve's face, unable to look away, his blue orbs staring into Steve's brown ones.
"I like you, pretty boy. I always have", Billy states, his forehead going to rest against Steve's.

"...you do?"

"Are you kidding? Why the hell would I call you pretty boy, or pick on you every chance I get because I'm scared out of my mind that you wouldn't like me back, or the fact that I can't keep my eyes off you and manage to run into you pretty much everywhere I go because I just can't stay away no matter how much I feel like I should. But yeah, holy shit Harrington, I like you a lot", Billy confesses.

Steve moves around to look Billy in the eyes because he's turned away as if he was shy to confess all these things.
"Billy you have no idea the things I feel for you. I wish I was every single girl that has ever gotten to flirt with you, or ride home with you in your car and stay the night, or get the amazing privilege to date the beautiful Billy Hargrove. Every glance, every smile, every laugh, every shy remark you give them, I crave that, I wanted you to look at me that way. I still do."

Steve can feel Billy's eyelashes flutter on his face, his warm breathe breathing onto his lips as Billy looks up to meet Steve's eyes again, a smile spreading across his face before he closes the gap between them again, this time more passionate than the last because this time,
holy shit, this time they knew it was leading somewhere for both of them. This time, it meant something. They both had gotten something they wanted, something good.