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starkstruck27 · 11 months

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Based loosely on a Red Hot Chili Peppers song called Police Station... Also, TW for murder, child abuse and sexual abuse. It's sad and kind of messed up, so please read carefully my friends!

Steve never intended to become a cop. But it was better than becoming another cog in Daddy Harrington's multi-million dollar machine. And his uncle Phil was a cop, so he and Hopper helped him get into the police academy and, well, there he was. Walking into the police station. And stopping in his tracks as soon as he got to his desk.

Sitting in front of him was Billy Hargrove, his leather jacket torn, his face bruised and bloody, and a toddler in his arms. He was staring at the floor, not even paying attention when the little girl he was holding tugged on his golden curls, and he didn't seem to notice as Steve stood before him.

The girl couldn't have been older than maybe four or five years old, and she didn't really look like Billy at all. She had straight brown hair and bright green eyes, and her skin tone was a light olive color. She didn't look like she could be Billy's daughter, but then again, it'd been nearly seven years since Steve last saw the guy, so he really didn't know. Maybe he'd gotten married and the kid just looked more like her mother.

"Steve, good, you're here," Phil said as he walked over, lowering his voice as he led Steve over to the coffee machine so no one would overhear.

"Uncle Phil, what's going on? Why is Billy Hargrove at my desk? And who's the little girl?" Steve asked, glancing over at the two of them between every word.

"That's what we all want to know," Phil replied, "Earlier tonight, we got a call about a domestic disturbance in progress, so Powell and I rushed out there. When we got to the scene, we found the owner of the house on the floor, beaten unconscious, and Hargrove trying to calm the kid down as he looked for what we assume was his keys. The guy was taken to the hospital and we tried to take the girl and slap handcuffs on Hargrove, but he wouldn't let her go. He almost knocked me out when I tried to take her from him. He said no one was to touch her, and that he'd go with us with no problems as long as we didn't touch her. We agreed to those terms and brought him here, but when we tried to question him, he said he wouldn't talk to anybody but you. Not even the chief could get him to crack. He said nobody but you. We knew you were coming in for your shift in just a little bit, so we told him to just wait at your desk. That was a half hour ago."

"Jesus Christ," Steve mumbled, "You think he was trying to kidnap her?"

"I don't know," Phil said, biting his lip, "In my opinion, no. If he were going for kidnapping, he would've high-tailed it outta there as soon as we showed up. Instead he came with us voluntarily. And I don't think he would've been so worried about the kid if it were just a regular kidnapping, but he refused to let her go, even after we got here. I think there's more to it than that, but right now, you're the only one who might be able to find that out. He won't talk to anyone else."

Steve glanced over at Billy and the little girl again and sighed. He could feel his heart beginning to break as he looked at them, but if Billy was only willing to talk to him, he would have to do it. He had to get to the bottom of this.

"Clear out an interview room and try and find some things for the girl to play with," Steve said, running a hand through his hair as he walked back over to his desk, standing directly in front of Billy.

"Hi Billy," Steve said, but the other man still didn't look up. "Billy? Can you hear me? Billy!"

Steve snapped his fingers in front of the other man's face and finally it got his attention, making him jerk his head up and blink a few times before he finally seemed to come back to reality.

"Harrington?" He asked, his voice tiny as he gripped the little girl tighter.

"Yeah it's me," Steve said, "Officer Callahan said you wanted to talk to me?"

Billy nodded.

"Okay, we can do that. But why don't we go somewhere a little more private and let someone else keep an eye on this little lady, okay?"

Billy seemed to tense up as soon as Steve mentioned him putting the girl down, and his eyes turned as cold as ice.

"No," he said, "She stays with me."

"Billy, listen to me, this is pretty serious stuff and she’s already lived through it once, she doesn't need to hear about it again. Why don't you let Hopper take her, just until we're done talking?" Steve asked, making sure to keep his tone gentle.

"I said no, Harrington. I just got her back, I'm not letting her go again." Billy said, his face contorting with anger and something else. Desperation.

"I understand that you're worried about her, but there's nothing bad that can happen to her here. Now I know it's not always easy for you to trust people, so what if I were the one to keep an eye on her and you went to talk to someone else? Would that be okay with you?" Steve asked, but Billy only snorted in response, as if Steve just made a stupid joke. Maybe that’s what it sounded like to him.

"C'mon, Billy, you gotta work with me here. You're in a lot of trouble and I want to help you, but I can't do that if you don't work with me. Now look, I know you don't trust the cops, but you trust me, and I trust them. And I know that none of them would want anything bad to happen to you or to her, so why don't you let us help you?" Steve said, his eyes never leaving Billy's for a second. It was like a staring contest after that, neither of them saying a word until a few moments later, when finally, Billy sighed.

"Who do you trust the most?" He asked, his voice still smaller than Steve had ever heard it before. "Like, if it came down to it, who do you know would take a bullet if it meant saving your life?"

Steve was almost taken aback by the question, but he supposed it made sense, in a way. Billy's trust issues were severe, always had been, so it was pretty par for the course that he wouldn't be willing to give up anything to just a random cop, whether that be an explanation for his actions or the little girl he seemed to care about so much.

"If I had to pick someone, I'd say my uncle, Phil Callahan. He's a good cop and a great guy, and he'd lay down his life to protect anybody." Steve said, and Billy nodded once. He stood then and followed Steve to the interview room, hesitating only for a second when he had to hand the girl off to Phil. He watched as Phil took her over to his desk to play with whatever toys he'd scrounged up, and only when he heard her laugh and start to babble away did he go fully into the room and let Steve shut the door.

"Can I get you anything?" Steve asked as Billy sat down at the table in the center of the room. "Coffee? Pop? A sandwich?"

"No, thanks," Billy replied, drumming his fingers on the table, "Let's just get this over with."

"Okay then," Steve said, pulling out a notepad and a pen. "Why don't you start by telling me who that little girl is?"

"Her name's Bonnie," Billy said, biting his thumbnail. "My friend Gina's daughter. I'm her godfather."

"Okay, and what's their last name?" Steve asked, scribbling all over the notepad.

"Tassler." Billy said, and Steve wrote it down. Gina Tassler, the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Okay, and how did the two of you end up here tonight?" Steve asked, folding his hands on top of the table and looking at Billy. He looked somehow both guilty and proud at the same time, and Steve was almost impressed that he could achieve that.

"I went to check on her. I promised Gina I'd keep an eye on Bonnie no matter what, so I go over there all the time to make sure everything's okay. Tonight it wasn't." Billy shrugged, his hand curling into a fist.

"What do you mean, Billy? What wasn't okay?" Steve asked, tapping his pen nervously on the paper.

"Frank," he replied, his eyes beginning to fill, "That's what wasn't okay."

"And who is Frank?"

"Frank Tassler, Gina's husband."

As soon as the name left Billy's mouth, Steve remembered where he'd heard these names before. Gina Tassler had been one of his first cases when he'd joined the force, and one of the few confirmed murders in Hawkins history. As the story went, she and her husband were returning from a night out with their young daughter, and when her husband went inside to put the baby to sleep, Gina disappeared. A few days later, she was found in the woods by a couple of teenagers looking for a good camping spot. There was little evidence, and the case went unsolved. It was nearly three years ago at this point, and even though they knew that Gina had been murdered, they couldn't do much about it and the case went cold.

"And," Steve said, his heartbeat picking up just a tick as he wrote the name down, "What did Frank do?"

Once the question was asked, Billy's face contorted again, but this time it was with sadness. Tears began to flow down his cheeks in waterfalls, and he tried not to sob as he looked away from Steve, shaking his head.

"He killed Gina," he said, hiding his face in his hands.

That stopped Steve in his tracks. They'd investigated Frank Tassler three years ago, but they couldn't find anything that pointed to him. Nobody saw anything that night that would indicate him, nobody heard anything suspicious at their house, and Frank seemed worried sick when his wife went missing. Hell, he was the one who called the cops! They couldn't find anything close to a murder weapon in his house, his car, or at his job, and he nearly went to pieces when they told him they'd found her body a couple days later. They had to be talking about a different guy.

"How do you know he killed Gina, Billy?" Steve asked, giving the other man a little bit of time to calm down before he pressed on.

"Because she knew it, too. Gina was my best friend, we met at work and I loved her and Bonnie with all my heart. So, one day she asks me to meet her for coffee before we go into the office, right? And I agreed, because she just sounded... off. So I meet her for coffee and she finally comes clean about everything. She says that Frank's been mistreating her and she's worried for Bonnie, so she says she's gonna try and leave him. And I wasn't stupid, I saw the signs a long time before she said anything, but I knew what it was like to be trapped like that, so I let her come to me in her own time and told myself that I would only step in if it got to a certain point. But I told her then that I would do anything I could to help them. Anything she needed, it was done. She only asked that I let her and Bonnie stay with me once she was able to leave and if she wasn't able to get out, that I make sure Bonnie stays safe. I told her not to talk like that, but she didn't listen, she only made me promise that I would protect Bonnie and that I wouldn't go to the cops or child protective services because if Frank found out, he might kill Bonnie or skip town before they could do anything. She said Frank was smart, that he was good at covering things up, so if things went South, all she wanted was for me to keep Bonnie safe, and I promised her I would."

Billy paused, swallowing hard and swiping harshly at his eyes to clear away the tears as he continued.

"Two days after she talked to me, on the night she was planning on leaving, she went missing. I knew she was dead, but I couldn't say anything, because she was right, Frank was good at covering things up, and by then he'd already called the cops and started to play the grieving husband. He knew Gina and I were friends and he knew that I loved Bonnie like she was my own daughter, so in order to keep up the act, he still let me come around and see her. He didn't know then that I knew what he'd done. He didn't know that every night from then until now I would park at the end of his street and walk around their house to make sure that he wasn't doing anything to Bonnie. I was at every one of her birthday parties and other events, and I would come over almost every weekend to take her to the park or the zoo or wherever just to get her out of that house for a little while. I told him it made me feel closer to Gina, so in order to keep up the charade, he let me do it. When Bonnie started to talk, she called me Uncle Billy, and I could tell Frank hated it, but he couldn't say anything. And then a few weeks ago, he stopped letting me come over as much."

Billy paused again, leaning forward across the table and making sure Steve was looking him in the eyes. Steve was still scribbling away on his notepad, but he stared back at Billy, nodding to let him know to go on.

"I knew something had started to go on then," he said, "I was still able to see Bonnie from time to time, and I still went by their house every night, but I couldn't see everything. I saw the signs, though. He let me take her out for her birthday a couple of weeks ago, and she wouldn't let me go into the dressing room with her to help her try on the outfits I was gonna buy her. Every other time I've taken her shopping, she always insisted I come in with her to help. And then a week or two later, when I was allowed to babysit her for a night, she woke up crying after sleeping for an hour because she wet the bed, and when I tried to help her clean up, she only cried harder. And like I told you earlier, I'm not an idiot, I could read between the lines clear enough, but I didn't know how to protect her without any proof, so I started to look for some. I came over a week later unannounced to surprise her and take her out somewhere. Since it was almost the anniversary of Gina's death, I said that I was doing it so Frank could have a night to himself in case he wanted to be alone, and since he didn't know I knew what was happening, he thanked me and left it at that. I said I would take Bonnie out anywhere that she wanted to go, and since she wanted to go out to dinner and the movies, she said she wanted to get dressed up. It killed me when Frank said he would go and help her pick out a dress, but I had to let him go, because if I didn't he would've figured out that I knew since I didn't want him to be alone with her. And while they were off in Bonnie's bedroom, I started poking around in his to try and find something, anything that could incriminate him, but I came up empty. I took Bonnie out and while we were at dinner, I tried to ask her some questions, but anytime I mentioned Frank, she would get fidgety and irritated, so I stopped asking. That was answer enough, and I didn't want to put her through more hell, so I let it go, but I started trying to come around and check on her more and more without Frank knowing. I checked around every morning and every night, but I still came up empty, until tonight."

"And what happened tonight?" Steve asked, though he was dreading the answer. Billy looked like he was dreading it, too, but he continued on anyway, his voice as serious as a heart attack and his eyes as cold and hard as stone.

"I was making my way around their house, checking all the windows like I always did. Their house is only one level, so I was able to see into every room from some angle or another. I went past the kitchen and looked inside, and from there I could see into the bathroom in the hallway, the only room in the house that doesn't have a window. I nearly puked when I saw it, Steve. Bonnie was in the bathtub, and Frank was standing over her with a camera in one hand and... himself in the other. He was wearing his boxers, but nothing else, and Bonnie wasn't wearing anything at all. Steve, she looked lifeless. Like her body was just a shell and her soul had completely seeped out of it. I was horrified, and I don't even know if I even thought about it, I just moved. All I knew in that moment was that Bonnie needed me and that I wanted to kill Frank. That was it. So I just acted. The kitchen door has always been flimsy, I know because Gina always used to ask Frank to change the locks, but he never did it, and I said I would, but before I could get a chance, she was dead. So I broke it down easy with one hard shove of the shoulder and then I went to... I don't even know what I went to do, but I was seeing red at this point and I can't really remember much. When I finally started seeing straight again, Frank was on the floor, bloody and unconscious, my face felt like I'd been clocked with something, and Bonnie was crying somewhere behind me. I turned around and saw her in the bathroom doorway, and I knew she'd seen everything, but I figured there wasn't much I could do about that, so I just wanted to get her out of there. I got a blanket from the basket by the couch and I crawled over to her, trying to make myself seem smaller so she wouldn't be so scared, and I wrapped it around her and told her that everything was okay now because I was never going to let anything bad happen to her ever again. I told her that I had made a promise to her mommy that I would always keep her safe and I was gonna keep that promise, no matter what. Once I knew that she understood me and that she trusted me, I took her to her room and let her get dressed, and I left the room so that she wouldn't be uncomfortable. I told her before I shut the door that I was gonna take her to stay at my sister's house and then I was gonna go and make sure everything was okay so that she would never get hurt again. But by the time she came out of her room, I could hear the sirens coming, and she got scared again. Frank told her that if anyone ever found out about what he did to her that she would be the one in trouble, so she thought they were coming for her and she started crying again. I was trying to calm her down when the cops came in, and after all that'd happened, I didn't trust anyone else with her, especially with how things looked right then. An ambulance came and Frank was starting to come to, and I knew he would try to paint me in a bad light as soon as he could speak, and since I'd had Bonnie get dressed and she was in her pajamas, it looked like I'd just come in randomly while the two of them were getting ready for bed. So I grabbed her and I refused to let her go, because the second I let someone else take her they'd give her right back to that asshole, and I was not going to let that happen. And I agreed to come down here because I knew that that was the only way they'd let me keep Bonnie with me, and I was planning on coming down to tell you all this anyway, once I'd dropped Bonnie off with Max. But I didn't think that any of the other cops would believe me, because I know that this is a crazy story, but it's completely true. And I also know that if anyone would believe it, or at least take it seriously enough to consider it as a possibility instead of just writing it off with me as the bad guy, it would be you. That's why I wouldn't talk to anyone but you, Steve, because you're the only one I can trust to believe me."

"I believe you, Billy. I really do. But I'm not the one you have to convince. You have to prove your case to lawyers, then a grand jury, then a judge and a trial jury, and that's not going to be easy. You broke into someone's house and assaulted him. And since the only witness is a scared little girl and whoever called us, it's not looking good for you." Steve said, biting his lip as he looked at the other man. He really didn't want to have to send him to jail for protecting a kid, but it was starting to look like that was his only option.

"If that's what has to happen, then so be it," Billy said, his tone tired, but stern. "But if I have to go to jail, then you have to make me a promise. You gotta promise me that no matter what, you won't send her back to Frank. I don't care what you do to me, because it's not about me, but you can't send her back to that monster. Come hell or high water, she doesn't go back to him, that's all I ask."

"I'll see what I can do," Steve said, standing and taking his notepad, but he couldn't leave yet, because Billy grabbed his wrist, holding it in an iron grip and staring at him with a steely impenetrable gaze.

"That's not good enough," he said, his voice low and serious. "You gotta promise me, Harrington. I'm not gonna let you leave until I know that you're gonna keep her safe."

Steve wanted to be able to make that promise, but right now, it wasn't looking like he could. There was no evidence to prove this, just Billy's word against someone else's, and in the criminal justice world, that was pretty much nothing. But he knew Billy was being serious. He knew it by the look on his face. His bruised up, bloody face. Steve let his eyes trace all over that face, searching for anything to say, anything that might get through to Billy, but he found nothing. His eyes just kept going back to the darkening bruises. He knew he must've gotten them when he attacked Bonnie's father, but they didn't quite make sense. There were two of them, but they weren't shaped like a fist, or really any other blunt object. They were almost circular in shape, and evenly spaced out about a quarter of an inch.

Like the lens of a camera.

"Holy shit, Billy, wait a second," Steve said as he sat back down, flipping through his notes to try and find something. "Phil said you were looking for your keys when they found you inside the house, but that's not it, is it? You were looking for that camera, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was. Fuck, I don't know what happened to it. I guess he hit me with it and it must've fallen out of his hands, but I didn't see where it went. You gotta find that camera, Steve, I know that it'll prove what I'm telling you, you have to find it!" Billy pleaded, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. His eyes began to well up again, but he didn't cry this time, just kept staring at Steve with an expression like he was begging for something.

"We will, Billy. We will. I'm gonna go tell Callahan and Powell to go back and search for it now, and then I'm gonna take Bonnie to the hospital to get checked out. If this all ends up like you're telling it to me, then there could be evidence on her that will only last so long, and we have to document it as soon as possible. Then as soon as we get all that done, we can see about letting you go. For now, you're going to have to stay here, but I promise you, I won't let anything happen to Bonnie, no matter what."

"I know you won't," Billy said, his smile big, but hollow, "But I don't know if she'll let you do it. She hasn't seen a doctor since last year around her birthday, and since everything that's happened, I don't know if she'll let anyone see her. Especially if I'm not there. If she gets scared, well, I just don't know what'll happen. Maybe if I could go with her... But I probably can't, can I?"

"No, I'm sorry. I can't let you leave until we get this all figured out." Steve said, sighing heavily. He really wished things could be different, if for no one else's sake, then at least for Bonnie's.

"I understand. Then can I at least see her before you leave? If I can talk to her first, maybe it won't be so bad for her."

"I think that'll be okay," Steve said, standing again and holding a hand out for Billy. "Follow me."

Billy did just that, following Steve out until they got to Phil's desk, where the man was holding a sleeping Bonnie and trying not to fall asleep himself. Steve took a step back so as not to crowd the girl as Billy knelt down to talk to her, shaking her lightly to wake her up.

"Junebug," he called her, and Steve's heart melted, "C'mon, kiddo, can you wake up for me? I gotta talk to you."

"Unca Billy?" She mumbled as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Yeah, Junebug, it's me, I'm here. Listen, I gotta talk to you, it's important, but you're not in any trouble, okay? You just gotta listen to me." Billy said, standing up again once the girl was back in his arms.

"Okay," she said, yawning a little and brushing some of her hair out of her eyes.

"Okay," Billy repeated, then turned towards Steve. "Bonnie, this is my friend Steve, he's a policeman. He's gonna take you to the doctor to get checked out, okay?"

"Are you coming with us?" Bonnie asked.

"No, Junebug, I can't. I have to stay here. But Steve will be with you the whole time." Billy said, hoping that she wouldn't notice the guilty look on his face.

"Why do you have to stay here? I don't wanna go without you."

"I know that, kiddo, I don't want you to have to go, either. But you remember how I told you I was never gonna let anything bad happen to you ever again, and I promised I was gonna do whatever I had to to keep you safe?" Bonnie nodded. "Well, this is what I have to do to keep that promise. I would never do anything to hurt you, never in a hundred million years, and I wouldn't let anyone be around you or do anything to you if I thought that it would be bad for you. So I want you to go with Steve and be nice to him and the doctors, and then as soon as you're done, you can come back here and we'll figure out where to go from there. But you have to be a big girl and go see the doctors first, okay?"

"Can we go home after I see the doctors if I'm a good big girl?" She asked, and Billy bit his lip. He glanced at Steve, but the other man didn't have an answer either, so Billy just sighed.

"I don't know yet, Junebug. It depends on how it plays out, but we gotta at least try, right?" Bonnie nodded again, and Billy hugged her close, hoping she wouldn't have to see him crying. "I promise, there's nothing to be scared of. Everything's gonna be okay."

And finally, once Steve had told Callahan and Powell what they were looking for, he took Bonnie from Billy's arms and they left the station. Bonnie waved shyly to Billy over Steve's shoulder, then buried her face in his neck, almost like she was trying to hide. Steve found himself gripping her a little tighter after that.

For nearly two hours, Billy sat alone in the police station, the receptionist, Flo, being his only company, and even she didn't say a word. He still wasn't handcuffed, so he mostly just sat at Steve's desk and tried to keep himself calm, though that was easier said than done. Finally, Powell and Callahan returned, a digital camera with a broken lens sealed in a plastic evidence bag, and they went to process it like any other piece of evidence. Billy knew it was more than that, though, and he felt like kissing the both of them when he saw them carrying it in a moment ago, along with a shoe box Billy didn't recognize. He would later find out that it contained even more incriminating evidence that would lead them to solving Gina's cold case, but right now, he was relieved that they had even found the camera. And he was right, it proved everything he'd said.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Steve held Bonnie's hand the entire time the doctors checked her out. She almost panicked when they brought in a camera to document the bruises on her legs and backside, but Steve managed to calm her down enough for them to get what they needed with no problems. Luckily, the bruises seemed to be the extent of the physical damage, so once they had the evidence they needed, they gave her a lollipop and let Steve take her back to the station.

When they got back, Bonnie ran right up to Billy and the man caught her in his arms, holding her as if she were some kind of precious and extremely breakable jewel. He fought back tears as he cradled her, stroking her hair and whispering that it was all gonna be okay now.

"Unca Billy, I'm sleepy," she said, "Since I was a good girl for the doctors and Mr. Steve, can we go home now?"

"I... I don't know yet," Billy said, looking up at Steve, who was talking to Phil. He nodded and then the two of them walked over, calm yet blank expressions on their faces.

"Bonnie, I have to talk to Billy alone really quick. Can Mr. Phil take you again while I do that?" Steve asked the girl, and she nodded, reaching out her arms so that Phil could take her to the break room while Steve and Billy spoke.

"So, I suppose you've figured out by now that we found the camera," Steve started off with, and upon Billy's nod, continued, "We found enough pictures on there to put this guy away for a long, long time, and that's exactly what we're gonna do. As for you, you're off the hook. As far as we're concerned, you were protecting Bonnie, and now that we've got solid proof, we can rule your actions as defense of others. Obviously we're gonna have to have a trial unless Frank takes a plea deal, but honestly, there's not a whole lot that they can do to get him off easy on this, but either way, it's over. You can take Bonnie home."

Billy didn't know what came over him, maybe it was just the intense rush of relief and happiness that flooded him right then, but whatever it was, it had him flinging himself at Steve and wrapping him in the tightest hug he could manage. He practically crushed Steve's spine with the force of it, but he didn't seem to care as he returned the gesture and hugged Billy back. He held him the same way Billy had been holding Bonnie a few minutes ago, and he didn't even care when he felt his shirt starting to get wet with the other man's tears.

"Hey, it's alright, Billy. You kept your promise, Bonnie's safe. It can only get better from here on out," Steve said, trying to help him calm down. Billy was practically hysterical at this point.

"I know, I know," he said, slightly slurred due to the irregular breathing, "I just- God, I could just kiss you right now! You found the camera and you believed me and you made everything alright again and I just... Fuck, I just don't know how to thank you."

"Well, for now why don't you just take Bonnie home and get some sleep, and then if you still feel like kissing me and thanking me tomorrow, we can see about maybe going for a cup of coffee, my treat. Would that be okay with you?" Steve asked, and he could feel Billy chuckle against him as he got himself under control.

"Yeah," he said, wiping his face with his hands, "It's a date, pretty boy."

Billy wasn't sure if Steve had taken his words all that seriously when they first met up at the coffee shop the next day, but he'd meant them. He did want it to be a date. And he hoped he wasn't reading too much into the whole "if you still feel like kissing me tomorrow" thing, either, because he wanted that, too. He felt like a teenager again as the two of them sat in a quiet little corner booth, sipping their coffees and sharing a chocolate chip cookie. He could feel his heart racing whenever Steve smiled at him, and when he laughed, it felt like it stopped altogether. He just hoped he wasn't being too obvious about it all, but he supposed that even if he wasn't, Steve would still be able to see right through him. He was a cop, after all, it was his job to notice the little things.

"So, how's Bonnie holding up?" Steve asked as they began to clean up their trash later that afternoon.

"She's alright. Better now since she's away from Frank. It's gonna take a while for her to be 100%, but I'm just glad things stopped before it got too bad and she was messed up beyond repair. Both she and I owe a lot of that to you, so I know you said earlier to quit it, but I'm gonna thank you again," Billy answered, following Steve out the door and over to their cars, which were parked right next to each other. "I may not ever be able to repay you for it, but I want you to know I'm grateful. You saved both of us."

"I was glad to do it. Neither of you deserved to go through that. And while you really don't need to thank me for just doing my job, I do seem to remember someone suggesting maybe a kiss to show your gratitude?" Steve said, and Billy couldn't help but smile as he felt his cheeks go pink.

"I'm glad your memory is in tact, but do you really think that just one kiss will be enough to prove it to you?" Billy said, his eyes never leaving Steve's.

"Hm, maybe not, but there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"

And no, one kiss was not enough, and neither was two or three or ten. Maybe one day, they would find a number that was, but they seriously doubted it. After all, Billy would never get tired of thanking Steve for all the good things he did and continued to do for them. And Steve supposed that if this was the reward for doing it, he wouldn't get tired of it, either.

#this one's sad but it does end happily #steve is a cop in this one #protective billy hargrove #he would not be able to stand seeing a child in need and not doing something about it #neither of them would #harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #stranger things #billy hargrove x steve harrington

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sp0o0kylights · 6 months

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Whole thing on A03

It didn't matter how much Steve explained. Not one member of the Party was going to get it.

Tommy and Carol would, but then, they were no longer on speaking terms. A fact that hurt even if it was for the best--particularly in times like these, because they got it.

They understood how he had been ensnared with the very same wealth people mocked him for. What it meant when his parents demanded Steve drop everything and go on vacation, his own plans be damned.

They knew, because their families had done much the same, and so the lives they led also were tethered to leashes made of their parents' design.

Dustin, whose mother bent over backwards to try and better her kid’s life, didn’t even have a frame of reference for this kind of thing, let alone sympathy.

"Do they not understand you have a job?" Dustin asked incredulously, and Steve didn't have the emotional bandwidth to explain that his parents didn't consider working at Family Video to be a real job.

As far as they were concerned, Steve could quit if he had to, and then go find another job when they were done using him to play the nice, All-American family.

Likely for business purposes.

"They aren't the type to care." Steve said instead.

It was easier than getting into it.

(Easier than explaining the BMW wasn't in his name, but his parents.

How his money went into a bank account they had access to.

That practically everything he owned was actually owned by Richard and Stella Harrington, and both were quick to remind him of that fact the second they felt Steve was acting out of line.

And boy, had he been acting out of line.

Getting into fights.

Turning their punishment of working a job they picked specifically for the humiliating outfit, into the far worse public embarrassment of being involved in a mall fire--an embarrassment because Steve had "lost" the keys to the BMW, had "put himself in danger" playing hero instead of letting the perfectly capable firefighters do it, then “paraded around” with bruises all over his face, racking up medical bills.

Truly a sin for someone who hadn’t made it into college.)

So no, this vacation they demanded Steve drop everything for was not anything close to a reward, or even something they were doing to spend time together. There was a reason they needed Steve, and as far as they were concerned, Steve was at their beck and call until he shaped up and got his life back on track.

His own plans be damned.

"That's not fair though!" Dustin burst out and Steve sighed in relief, because here at least, he knew what to do to distract his younger friend.

“We planned our trip months ago!” Dustin continued, looking two seconds away from giving in and stomping his foot.

The kid might have been smarter than Steve--smarter than most people really--by a hell of a lot, but he was still fourteen.

Smarts, Steve knew, didn't exactly equate to emotional intelligence, and it definitely didn't stop rampaging hormones.

Ice cream on the other hand, was a great aid in both areas.

"You better be making this up to us." Dustin threatened thirty minutes later, spoon wedged deep into a sundae. “We can’t do, like, half the stuff we were going to do without you!”

“I'm sure you guys didn’t need me to play ghost runners or whatever.” Steve said, but was quick to back down when Dustin nearly threw his spoon at him.

Rather than antagonizing him more, Steve dutifully raised his hand to put over his heart. "I swear on your mom that I’ll make it up to you.”

Dustin rolled his eyes, but otherwise, finally, let the whole thing go.

Stupidly, Steve thought this meant the worst was over.

He was wrong.

xXx

Mike hadn’t cared.

El and Will hadn’t really either, though both expressed some sadness that Steve wouldn’t be participating in the camping trip that the Party as a whole had been looking forward to for the past few months.

Erica had simply snapped at him, making him promise much the same as Dustin had that he would be making it up to her sometime in the future. Likewise, she had been bought off by ice cream (even if she insisted it didn’t count because Steve owed her ice cream anyways.)

Max was the surprising emotional standout.

"You can't tell them no?" She demanded, arms crossed over her chest.

Lucas was hovering awkwardly at her shoulder, shooting "what can you do?" vibes as hard as he could at Steve as his (currently on-again) girlfriend outright dressed the elder boy down; her shoulders creeping up higher and higher until she seemed to realize she was visually giving away her upset and forcibly relaxed them.

Unlike Dustin and Erica, her tirade was very out of character and Steve was growing more concerned by the second that something was wrong the more she spat at him.

“I mean for fucks sake, didn’t you tell them you had plans!?” She finished, eyes narrowed in rage.

Which was rich coming from someone whose stepdad had Billy Hargrove running all over town before he’d run off after the guy’s death, but then, Steve knew better than to bring all that up.

(The image of Max, unresponsive in the hospital with casts on almost every limb, was still too fresh.

Even now he didn’t like to push her, even if the Party as a whole did their best to take notice when one of them was isolating themselves again.

Max, though she was down to one crutch, was still inclined to use it as a weapon and very much enjoyed practicing her swings on people’s ankles.)

“I did indeed. They don’t care and they’re not giving me a choice, but for what it’s worth I am sorry.” Steve tried to keep his voice even and out of angry-shrieking range, and vaguely prayed it was working. “I swear, I will make it up to you guys, even if we have to go on a second camping trip.”

This was clearly not the correct thing to say.

Though judging by the murderous rage being aimed his way, Steve was pretty sure nothing short of “You know what you’re right, let me go tell my parents to fuck off!” would make Max happy.

“So you’re seriously just going to drop everything, all our plans, your job, us,” She took a very threatening step forward and despite her being a full foot shorter than him, Steve had to fight not to take a responding step back. “So you can go play rich boy in the Bahamas?”

“We’re not going to the Bahamas--” Steve tried, but was interrupted with a loud “ugh!” of disapproval.

“Whatever makes you happy, Steven.” Max spat, and then turned on her heel, storming off towards the rest of the Party (who had taken one look at Max’s face and fled into the arcade so she and Steve could “talk.”) “I’m sorry us peasants weren’t good enough to hang around!”

“Sorry man.” Lucas apologized quietly, on his way to run after Max.

Steve just scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed.

xXx

“The kids are mad at you.” Nancy announced, appearing across the Family Video counter like a phantom.

Steve swore, nearly dropping his stack of VHS’s, while Robin (who had clearly seen Nancy approach) cackled at his fumble.

“Yeah, I did get that memo.” Steve said, after he stabilized his stack, safely moving them from his arms to the counter.

Nancy peered around them, her face giving away nothing. “It is kind of shitty to cancel at the last minute like that. We were relying on you to drive.”

An old fury shook itself awake in Steve’s chest, taking an interest in the conversation the second Steve realized what Nancy was here to do.

He took a deep, shuddering breath, and pressed it down, back into the box he’d slammed it in all those years ago.

“I’d leave the keys to Robin here, but unfortunately, someone failed their drivers test.” Steve said instead, jamming his finger over his shoulder and blatantly attempting to pass the buck.

Robin, who absolutely knew that was what he was doing, faked a gasp and kicked at his ankles.

“That crotchety asshole failed me on purpose!” She protested, spinning to face Nancy. “He made like, three misogynistic comments before we even got in the car!”

“Pointing out that he knew the car wasn’t yours wasn’t misogynistic, he was just surprised to see me letting you use the Beemer.” Steve shot back, rolling his eyes. “I don’t exactly let a lot of people drive it.”

Unspoken was that Steve’s BMW was one of the town’s more unique cars, and thus easily identifiable by the locals at large.

“How is that better!?” Robin returned, but Nancy cleared her throat before they could successfully get the Steve-and-Robin show on the road.

“The point is that we--but really, the kids, were counting on you.” Nancy said, dipping into her patented “I’m upset with you” tone.

A year ago it would have cut Steve to the bone, even if he didn’t show it.

Now he just stared tiredly at her back.

“I’m sorry, Nance, but it is what it is.” He said simply, hoping the apology (even if he knew it wasn’t so much a real apology as it was something he said to keep the rage from breaking out and wrecking havoc via his mouth) would soften his ex. “I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Given the abrupt narrowing of her eyes, it very much did not help his case.

“For someone who was so vocal about trying to change I have to say this is pretty disappointing.” Nancy said simply, but with just enough of a tone that Steve had to close his eyes for a second.

Feel the way that old anger, the one that had powered King Steve, hit the bars of its cage.

Robin stilled immediately next to him, her head ping-ponging between Steve and Nancy both as she too, clocked that Nancy was pissed, and here to chew Steve out about it.

“Um.” She said, voice going high in discomfort.

Steve grit his teeth. “I don’t exactly get a say in these things, Nancy. You know that.”

He had to work to keep his voice even, fighting against the ice that wanted to sharpen his own tone.

It was just---Nancy did know.

Steve had told her all those years ago, in the safety of her arms, about his parents' expectations. Their predetermined path, the way they dictated large swathes of his life.

How they’d allowed him to pick which sports he played, but required that he play a sport no matter the time of year.

That the pool they had installed wasn’t for him, he just got to use it as much as he did in part because he’d joined the swim team, and the kind of mental mind games he and his parents played about things like that.

Apparently either Nancy had forgotten, or simply hadn’t taken it in to begin with because she wasn’t backing down.

(Not that Steve had ever seen Nancy Wheeler back down.)

“I know you have trouble juggling your parents' plans with your own.” Nancy said, and her tone was absolutely icy now. “I certainly remember waiting for a date that never happened.”

Steve sucked in a breath through his teeth, knowing immediately what Nancy was referring to.

“I told you they came home unexpectedly.” He said, arms now crossed against his chest, nails digging into his arms as a way to help himself stay grounded. “They wouldn’t let me use the phone until the next day and I apologized.”

“And I recall having a lovely conversation with your mother where she said otherwise.” Nancy said, her words punctuated by another high pitched “Uhhhh.” from Robin.

“Funny how you believe my mom over me.” Steve said and whoops, yup, he definitely sounded mad now.

So much for all the effort he’d put in to staying calm.

“Because I look at actions, Steve. Patterns. The same ones you kept repeating.” Nancy was clearly about to escalate, and Robin, bless her, had had enough.

“He-eeey.” She said, wedging herself in between Steve and the counter Nancy was starting to lean over. “I totally get it, you’re both upset, but this maybe isn’t the venue to fight about it? There are customers in the store and--sorry Nancy--but I do kinda need Steve for work, so…”

She trailed off, glancing nervously between the two of them.

Nancy took a breath, blasting it out of her mouth like an academically inclined dragon. “You’re right. I’m sorry Robin.”

She then turned on her heel, making her way to the doors. She paused before them, and Steve prepared himself because he knew whatever she was going to say next, it was going to hurt.

“I wouldn’t care if it was just me, Steve, but the kids don’t deserve you pulling this shit. Not after all they’ve been through.” With that, Nancy pushed through the door, head held high as she stormed to her car.

As was typical for Nancy’s aim, she scored a direct hit.

Steve, somehow, resisted throwing things.

“Can you believe her!?” He said, the second the doors were closed and Nancy safely out of eyeshot. “Coming in here like that!?”

He ran his hand through his hair, once, twice.

A third time for good measure.

“Yeah, that was seriously public for her.” Robin agreed, sliding up next to him. “Like really public.”

Steve shrugged, because well. Not really.

Not anymore.

But Robin didn’t know that, just like Robin wasn’t entirely familiar with the depths Steve’s parents went to save face. They hadn’t exactly had time to really dig into it all, given how fast the Vecna situation had hit after Starcourt and the sheer PTSD both incidents had caused.

Most nights they spent together was spent trying to avoid reliving nightmares, not discussing ones they were currently still living in.

A fact that Steve was more than happy to bring her up to speed on, but to do so involved a lot of backstory, and backstory involved Nancy, and God, he was fucking pissed at Nancy.

Soon it was an hour into his rant and he hadn’t actually gotten around to the sheer level of shit his parents would pull, too busy with Nancy and old echoes of ‘bullshit.’

He only stopped when Robin put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him ever so slightly.

“Dingus. You know I love you, and I know you’ve changed, but you do gotta admit, canceling at the last minute is kinda shitty and I get why they’re upset.”

It was like the carpet had been pulled right out from under Steve, yanked so quickly he’d have to pinwheel to keep his feet.

“What?” He said, eyes round in sheer surprise.

“I just mean like, I get your parents are dicks but,” Robin’s face screwed up, looking like she’d sucked a lemon. It was her “I’m going to say something you don’t like face” and it hit Steve like a punch to the gut.

“Our shift’s almost over and no offense, you’ve started to repeat yourself about Nance, and I get it! I do, memory shit is hard!” Robin’s hands moved as she talked, her bracelets jingling as if punctuating her point.

“But I also think admitting you double booked yourself on accident and just taking responsibility for it would help smooth things over. Middle ground, you know?” Robin waggled her hands in a gesture that, for the first time in a long time, Steve didn’t understand.

He found himself suddenly struggling to breathe.

“Are you--are you saying you think I didn’t tell them I had a trip already planned?”

Steve wasn’t sure how he managed to get it out. Wasn’t sure how he was doing anything, given the heat that was shooting through him, a hot mix of confusion and betrayal as Robin fidgeted to his left.

“No! Okay well,” The lemon face got worse for a second. “I’m just saying you did kinda forget to pick me up that one time, and you do kinda blame your parents when stuff like that happens.” She bit a nail, peering at him out of the corner of her eyes.

“I don’t--” Steve said, completely knocked adrift. “I…”

Robin didn’t believe him.

His Robin.

Who wasn’t--wasn’t exactly siding with Nancy, but wasn’t saying she was wrong either, or that she understood that this shit was out of his control, and in fact, was kind of implying that Nancy was right more so than Steve was and---and--

There was a ringing in Steve’s ears he wasn’t sure actually existed.

“I’m sure a lot of it is your brain injury. The doctors said your short term memory can take a while to fully come back and I totally get why you don’t wanna say that, I just, I think it would be better if--Steve?” Robin jumped back as Steve finally found his footing, swiping his jacket and punching out before she could catch how badly his hands were shaking.

“I’m leaving.” Steve told her, his own words a million miles away, entirely uncaring if Keith fired him.

Keith was likely going to fire him anyway, given Steve was about to ask for a week-long vacation not even four months after the whole Vecna ordeal.

“Wait, Steve, hey--Dingus! I wasn’t done, I mean, I had more to say I, dammit Steve--!” Robin called after him frantically as Steve bolted for the door.

Steve ignored her, aiming for the Beemer and swinging himself numbly into the driver's seat when he got it open.

Put the car in park and avoided Robin’s face entirely as he backed it out, punching the gas far harder than he needed to.

The Beemer roared in response, nose rising as it shot forward.

Robin was his best friend. His fucking--platonic soulmate, as she kept calling him. The very idea that she agreed with Nancy in general was a blow but in this?

Against his parents?

Nausea rolled angrily in Steve’s stomach, matching the sudden wetness that coated his eyes.

Angry and needing an outlet, Steve stomped hard on the gas, taking the next corner far too sharp and making the beemer fishtail, tires squealing .

He didn’t know where he was going.

He figured he’d find out when he got there.

xXx

Given what Steve knew about the universe at large, (nevermind Hawkins) it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to hang around the Quarry at night.

But then, summer was in full swing. Kids were home from college and itching to find a place to party without parental overhead.

Deep to the left side of the water, around a few bends and tucked oh so neatly out of sight, was a place where one could do just that.

Party.

This stretch had long been claimed by the college kids of Hawkins, and guarded zealously for it.

With the sheer number of drunk people whooping and hollering around the bonfires below the ridge where everyone parked their cars, Steve figured he was safe enough.

Even if he was up with said cars, sitting alone.

Not like it mattered. If a demodog or demogorgan or demo-fucking-dragon decided to come along, Steve had half a mind to just let it have him.

It felt easier than trying to fix the current mess his life was in.

So he sat up here, blowing through the alcohol he’d purchased from the one gas station that never carded, drinking his problems away.

(That also wasn’t the best course of action but with his parents home to spring the whole “vacation” ordeal on him, it wasn’t like Steve had a choice.)

He hadn’t grabbed a lot--had been so damn upset and struggling to hide it that he’d picked up a four pack of wine coolers instead of the intended beer he’d wanted. It was all he had though, and so he chugged the last bottle with a wince and wished he was a hell of a lot drunker than he felt.

Then promptly caught sight of the person walking towards him, and wondered vaguely if he was drunker than he felt.

Of all the people to come and offer him a can of beer, Steve would have never expected Tommy Hagan.

He eyed it and his old friend both, before slowly reaching out and taking the can.

“Heard you and your parents are doing CoHo this year.” Tommy said casually, leaning up against the front of the Beemer like it was old times.

“Yup.” Steve replied, drawing the word out.

“Angie Tideman’s parents are going, they’re bringing her ith .” Tommy said it casually, and had the good graces not to grin when Steve audibly groaned.

“Oh god.”

Tommy sucked on a lip, nodding absently. “Yeah.”

Then; “It gets worse.”

Steve, who now knew what this conversation was about, instantly began tearing into the beer can. “How can it get worse? You know what Angie’s like.”

Angie, whose full name was Angelina, lived a few towns over. Born to wealthy parents who doted on their beloved only child, Angie had more in common with your average shark than she did her fellow humans.

A comparison that, frankly, was unkind to sharks.

She was without a doubt the most selfish person Steve had ever had the misfortune of encountering, and the mere idea of being trapped in a room with her made his skin crawl.

Their parents were business buddies though, and god forbid he ever insult a business buddies kid,

“She goes to Purdue, you know, with me and Carol.” Tommy said, instead of answering directly. “We cross paths a lot, party wise.”

Steve stayed silent.

Knew how Tommy talked, how his stories meandered. Especially the juicy ones.

“She’s been talking a lot recently. Given you don’t look all that informed, I’m gonna assume the one person she hasn’t talked to is you.”

Steve gripped the can of beer, a sudden, sick fear blooming in his gut.

“Tommy.” He said mildly, not loud enough to really interrupt, but with enough force to let his former friend know to get to the point, now.

“Got all super fancy right before we left for summer break. Hair done, whole new wardrobe, nails, you know.” Tommy waggled his fingers playfully, but dropped them when Steve just stared. “Went full whore on us. I swear she was making out with any guy who even looked at her--”

“Tommy.” He repeated, this time a hell of a lot firmer.

Done pushing, Tommy let go of the proverbial bombshell. “Apparently you’re planning on proposing to her this summer. She’s gonna return next year as an engaged woman, with you in tow, because apparently, you got into Purdue. Congrats by the way.”

Tommy clapped him on the shoulder, right as Steve’s mouth went dry.

For the second time that day, he found himself fighting the burning heat of embarrassment and fury as it rolled through him.

“I’m proposing.” Steve said, as if saying it out loud would scare the very idea away. “To Angie.”

“Yeah we kinda figured you didn’t know.” Tommy said with a snide little grin. To the average outsider it was mocking, but Steve knew better.

Tommy was uncomfortable, because Tommy had understood what Steve’s parents had done.

“What I’d like to know is just how much Angie’s parents paid to get you into Purdue. That’s gotta be a minimum fifty thousand dollar donation at least.” Tommy removed his hand, to instead lean his shoulder against Steve’s. Like this was the old times, before they’d fought. “ I didn’t think they had that kind of money to throw around.”

A past conversation with his father struck Steve, running through the front of his mind like a bad horror movie.

“They sold the estate.” Steve said vacantly, the implications not quite hitting. “The one they’ve been trying to get rid of forever, over in Cape Cod.”

“Oh shit.” Tommy said, blinking as he too, recalled what was likely his father telling him the very same news.

“They sold the place on Cape Cod, and they used part of the funds to fucking buy me like a toy.” And yeah, saying it out loud, it definitely sounded bad. “I didn’t think Angie even liked me.”

“Does Angie like anyone?” Tommy asked, incredulously, but nudged Steve’s shoulder again when his joke didn’t net him the laugh he wanted.. “I mean, you had to know your old man had plans to straighten you out. He keeps getting mad at my dad, because the ass won't stop making jokes that I’m going to take over the company instead of you.”

“And this is it. Attaching me to Angie.” Steve said vacantly. “Because they know if I get married…”

He’d put his wife first. His family, first.

The one he’d wanted, dreamed of, since he first realized he didn’t have one.

He’d been playing checkers the entire time, too busy fighting fucking monsters and Russians to realize his parents had upgraded to chess.

In a dizzying array of mental connect-the-dots, Steve replayed the last years worth of conversations. All the odd little things they’d said. All the dumb things Steve had just ignored.

They’d warned him.

Had told him he better shape up, or they’d be forced to do something drastic.

That his parents hadn’t wasted all this time, effort, money on him, for him to throw away his life like he was.

“You better start acting right and figuring out how to get your life back on track, because you won’t like what happens if I have to fix it for you. You get a month Steven, and after that? Well. Just remember you forced my hand, Steven.”

They knew. They knew him, and what made him tick.

“I think the real question is what Angie’s parents see in you.” Tommy teased, but then they both knew the answer to that puzzle.

For all that Steve’s mom complained about her husband, the guy was a shrewd and calculating businessman. Those weekends, then weekdays, then more and more time away hadn’t just been so he could go screw his secretary.

Richard Harrington had fast tracked his business to the point where it was now getting attention. The business journal, ‘Top 50 Companies to Watch’ kind.

Even if Steve fucked up entirely, he was set to inherit a fortune and a business that would continue adding to it, for some time to come.

Provided he did what his parents wanted.

Such as marrying Angie.

Thing was, if his parents did what they always did, and held their wealth (his car, his home, his life and all the little things in it) against him like a gun to his head, if Angie got that ring around her finger?

Steve would bow to their whims.

Because they could fluster him into proposing so he didn’t embarrass Angie, and her parents and anyone else who’d undoubtedly be watching. They’d make a spectacle of it.

Because once he did propose, they wouldn’t let him back out, burying him under guilt trips and veiled threats until he was marched down the aisle in a groomsman suite and told to stand.

Because against all common sense, Steve wanted a family who loved him so desperately he’d chase it like a dog if he was presented with the opportunity and told to make it work.

It didn’t matter that Angie was selfish.

Steve would try anyway.

His parents were maneuvering him as easily as they had back when he was a kid, using love as a tool to get him to do what they wanted and even seeing the nose hanging from the rafters, they knew just the right words to get him to place it around his neck.

“Thought you’d wanna know.” Tommy finished, pushing himself off Steve’s car. “Before your parents sprung it on you.”

“Sonofabitch.” Steve hissed angrily, a million thoughts racing through his head, the heat of being caught in a trap blasting down his spine.

“Yeah.” Tommy added, rather unhelpfully. “But hey, given that you’re about to go on vacation to propose, why don’t we consider this,” here Tommy swept his hand, gesturing to the party below, “your proposal party?”

It was a downright horrible idea.

But then, Steve didn’t exactly have a better one.

Not when the world itself seemed against him, grinding its heel into his back and laughing about it.

He knew the drill. If he went down there, arm in arm with Tommy, then it wouldn’t matter that half those kids were from a few towns over, driven in by new college buddies.

They’d see him as a reason to get wild, absolutely uncaring that they didn’t know who the hell he was.

Steve needed that.

People who weren’t mad at him, buying into the easy lies his parents wove, or who didn't understand the games played against him.

“Fuck it.” He announced, standing up from the hood of his car as Tommy’s grin morphed into something he used to see in the days of old, back when they were sneaking drinks from their parents' alcohol cabinets. “This way at least I get a party.”

Not like his parents were going to let him have an engagement party. Or a bachelor party, or likely let his ass back into Hawkins.

No matter how long the engagement.

Tommy cheered, raising his arms to the sky and Steve grinned wildly with him.

He’d figure out how to get out of all this later--but for now, he wanted just a few damn hours where he didn’t have to think.

Not about his parents, or Angie, or possible attempts to force him into marriage, like this was the yee olden days and Steve was a Victorian maiden who needed to be brought to heel.

Likewise he didn’t want to think about the Party, or Russian torture, or how Nancy could be so damn smart in some things and downright stupid in others.

He absolutely didn't want to think about Robin.

“Hey boys and girls, look who I drug up!” Tommy yelled as they approached and soon, word had spread.

This was Steve’s proposal party, and he was here to get absolutely smashed (while encouraging everyone else to do the exact same, in his honor.)

Which would be how Eddie found him a few hours later.

Still at the quarry, crossfaded off his ass, a forty in one hand and a lawn dart in the other.

“Are you kidding me, Steve?” Eddie grit out, desperately trying to wrestle the lawn dart out of his hand. “You’re fucking partying with Tommy Hagan!?”

Steve blinked at him a few times, finally catching on that Eddie was in fact, actually there.

“When did you show up?” He asked, though given the wince on Eddie’s face and just how hard it had been to move his lips, Steve correctly assumed he’d slurred the shit out of the question.

Somehow, Eddie understood him anyway.

“Robin called me a while ago, gave me a list of places you might be. Almost skipped this one until I stepped out of my van to take a piss and heard the party.” Eddie explained, and somehow while doing so, he’d successfully gotten a hold of the dart.

He was now working on removing the 40 ounce.

Steve frowned, using his newly freed hand to grip it closer to his chest.

“Harrington.” Eddie warned, and oh, wow, they were back to last names huh?

Well why not, it wasn't like his night could get worse.

“This is mine, Munson.” Steve fired back, putting as much vitriol into Eddie’s last name as he could.

This did not detour the metalhead.

“Come on man, give me the bottle.” Eddie said firmly.

Steve shook his head stubbornly, enjoying the way his hair whipped at his face. “No.”

Another man stumbled over, a guy Steve absolutely did not know. He frowned, looking between Eddie and Steve.

For two seconds, Steve thought they might have trouble, and given the way Eddie was tensing, he clearly thought so too.

Instead, New Guy just kind of rocked on his heels. “Hey, shove off it, buddy. It’s this guy's bachelor party, let the man drink!”

Eddie’s face did something complicated then, pulling the sort of expressive looks only he could manage.

It was both adorable and hilarious, and if Steve hadn’t just been reminded of the very reason he was drinking, he’d have told Eddie so.

“Yeah!” He said instead, raising his hand in the air, toasting his bottle of forty against the other guy’s red solo cup. “It’s my proposalengagmentbachelor party!”

Given the second, adorable-slash-hilarious look on Eddie’s face, Steve assumed those words hadn’t come out right either.

“Okay.” Eddie said hands on his hips in a stance Steve was pretty sure Eddie had gotten from him. “Here’s what's going to happen. You’re going to put the bottle away. Then you’re going to give me your car keys, and then the two of us are going to my house to sleep whatever is happening here, off.”

At least, that's what Steve thought he heard. It was a pretty un-Eddie like speech, and Steve maybe, might have been the one to say it, because he maybe, might have been mocking what Eddie had actually said.

Maybe.

It was hard to know, given that Steve’s thoughts were a thick soup on a bit of a time delay, and he was having a hard time figuring up from down, let alone what Eddie had been actually saying.

Speaking of;

“When did I get into your car?” Steve asked, blinking as the van’s passenger seat appeared before him.

“Just now.” Eddie said, helping him in.

“Huh.” Said Steve, and then he maybe passed out a bit, because once again, he found himself awake and alert at a place that wasn’t where he’d just been.

“Come on.” Eddie said gently, one of Steve’s arms over his shoulder as Steve leaned heavily into him, guiding the jock up the stairs and into the small house he and Wayne now called a home.

The guy might have muttered a few things about bachelor parties along the way, but Steve was too focused on walking straight to really take notice.

Part Two

#lol remember when I said I wasnt posting parts to stuff until they were finished #THAT SURE LASTED LONG #pre steddie #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #0o0 fanfics #This is very Steve focused #TW his horrible parents #VERY hurt #comforts later #with eddie!#I really wanted to explore Steves Parents #in proper Rich Asshole Controling fashion #TW forced marriage #or mentions of #I also wanted to explore a lot of how the kids #and Nancy and Robin (who are also STILL kids #would react because sure they came up against monsters and the government #but neither of those things want you to like them #theyll let you know theyll eat you #Steves parents #like many rich dicks #want to isolate #want you to think theyre amazing #and its often the inner circle who knows whats up but are also caught in their own chokechain #hence the title of this fic #whiiiich is chokechain #stranger things #tw drinking

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