Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You are Cordially invited to the Wedding of Lucas Charles Sinclair & Maxine Mayfield

Please Join Us in Celebrating Their Union

December 23, 1991 at the Hawkins Presbyterian Church

Please come home for my wedding. 

Please come home for my wedding. 

Chapter Text

December 17th, 1991

They met at a coffee shop down the street from the hospital. For a reunion. For reminiscing. Reconciliation, whatever. Steve didn’t know what to call the conversation he and Billy were about to have, but the Alpha had asked ‘please’ and ‘just a few minutes’ and just like senior year, just like all the times in the locker room, just like during the after midnight phone calls and sneaking away from crowded parties-- Steve had said yes. 

They agreed to meet at ten am. By the time Billy’s loud truck pulled into the parking lot at 9:45, Steve had been sitting in the back booth nursing a cup of coffee for a solid hour. 

He watched Billy step from the cab of the truck and land with a wince on the pavement as if too hard a step still hurt clear up his wrecked chest. He watched Billy reach in and manhandle-- gently manhandle-- the little boy out of the backseat. Steve sat and watched as the big Alpha with long blond hair with bright blue eyes held out his hand for the little boy with even longer blonder hair and even brighter blue eyes so they could walk in together, and when Billy pushed the café door open and sent the bells above jingling announcing their arrival, the Omega clutched at his coffee cup in a desperate bid for balance and wondered if he could really do this. 

“Steve.” Billy lit up with a smile when he saw Steve sitting there, couldn’t help hurrying forward a few steps instinctively trying to get immediately close to the Omega, but he slowed when he caught the apprehension on Steve’s face, slowed further when the initial rush of elation tempered behind a stomach turning bout of nervousness. 

Six years. Six years it had been since the last time they’d been face to face talking and Billy felt the weight of every second of those years apart when Steve’s dark eyes landed at him and one of the heavy brows arched almost challengingly. 

Shit. 

“Steve.” he tried again, softer. Held his hand out offering as he and Blue approached the table. “Hey. Thanks for coming. For meeting us.” 

“I um-- I already--.” Steve’s fingers twitched wanting to reach for the Alpha’s outstretched hand, but he curled them into a fist, then set his fist in his lap to force himself still. He’d always been helpless to resist whenever Billy asked for him, whenever Billy had quit being loud and obnoxious and went mostly non verbal, begged silently with his hands outreached and his heart shining out of his eyes for the Omega to please. 

Please please please. 

Six years later was too damn long for Steve to still be so affected by Billy Hargrove, fuck. 

“I’m here for coffee every day already.” Steve’s nails cut into his palm as he tried tried to stay balanced. “Meeting you didn’t affect my schedule too much.” 

“Right.” Billy rubbed at the back of his neck, nostrils flaring as he tried to get a read on the Omega’s scent and his shoulders dropping a notch relieved when the tendrils of lavender soothed the ragged edge of his anxiety, the tension in his jaw easing beneath the hint of sweet sage. He knew Steve’s scent clear down to his soul and even after six years he was instantly calmer breathing it in. “Did I know that? I knew that, right? That you came here every day for coffee?” 

“I don’t see why you would, the shop didn’t open until after you left.” Steve kept his voice calm. Kept himself steady. He’d been sick to his stomach again this morning just thinking about seeing Billy and-- and Billy’s kid and he didn’t know if watching the Alpha visibly physically relax once they were close made him want to break down and scream… or freak out and smash something. 

Fuck. 

“Sure. Sorry.” Billy wasn’t sorry for not remembering this particular coffee shop but he was sorry for a bunch of other things so he said it anyway. “Sorry. Um. Here, Bubba come here.” the Alpha reached behind him and tugged the kid forward. “Guess you two should officially meet, huh? Introduce yourself, kiddo.” 

“I’m Blue Hargrove.” Blue took his hands out the pockets of his leather jacket and stuck one out for Steve to shake. “How you doin’?” 

“Blue Hargrove.” Steve pried his fingers off the coffee cup and reached to solemnly shake the little boys hand. “I’m Steve Harrington and I…” he wanted to laugh at the confident smirk Blue sent his way. He wanted to throw up because it was far too similar to ones Billy used to send his way. “I guess I’m doing just fine. How are you?” 

“Bored with all of this. I wanted to watch a movie at the motel but Billy said I had to come.” Blue shrugged his backpack off his shoulders and unzipped it with a flourish. He yanked out a well worn copy of 'The Neverending Story' and announced, “I’m gonna go read over on the couch. Billy, I want hot cocoa?"

“Use your gosh darn manners asking for cocoa first of all. Second of all, walk don’t run to the couch, and stay where I can see you.” The Alpha instructed mildly. “Post up in a comfy spot and if you gotta go piss, come and tell me first. No dirty shoes on the couch, act like I raised you right.” 

“No to all of that.” Blue stuck his tongue out but he still moved carefully through the café rather than sprinting wildly for the unoccupied couch by the fire place, he checked over his shoulder once, twice to make sure he and Billy stayed in each other’s line of sight and when he cozied into the corner cushions on the couch, his shoes stayed decidedly off the upholstery. 

“He’s acts like a little shithead, but he’s a damn good kid most of the time.” Billy chuckled when Blue stuck his tongue out again. “Do the waitresses come around to tables in this place or do I gotta go up to the counter and order?” 

“The waitress will come around.” Steve cut his eyes at the booth seat across from him. “Gonna sit down?” 

“Sorta felt like maybe I should ask for permission before getting in your space. But uh--.” Billy hesitated, hesitated, then slid into the seat. Scooched his way across the vinyl covering. Clasped his hands on the table in front of him and tried to figure out how the hell to start the conversation, then poked his tongue at the side of his cheek and decided to just be honest, “You look good, Steve.” 

And rasping, “Omega. You’re beautiful.” 

“So are you.” Steve slouched back in the booth chair, arms folded over his chest, head turned just a little, just a little because the physical proximity to his Alpha prickled at his skin almost painful and he was having a hard time standing his ground. “California looks good on you.” 

And quieter, “Being a Dad. Looks good on you.” 

“Blue is--” Billy stopped. Shook his head. They could talk about Blue and that history later, talk about it at some point when he could look the Omega in the eye without wanting to wince away from the condemnation and resignation and exhaustion lining Steve’s handsome features. 

“So.” He changed the subject. Took the cowardly way out and avoided the difficult topic for the time being. “I drove past the Loch Nora house. Looked like a whole other family is living in Castle Harrington.” 

“Yeah.” Steve took the subject change in stride, maybe with a little bit of relief. “My parents divorced the Christmas after graduation.” the Christmas after Starcourt. He didn’t call it that, though. “Mom decided to be single and spend all her alimony living it up in a condo in Florida. Dad sold the local office, sold the house and relocated full time to Chicago.” 

“You stayed though.” Billy stated rather than asked. “College? Or--?” 

“Nursing school.” The waitress came by to take Billy’s order and Steve stayed quiet while the Alpha ordered coffee for himself and a hot chocolate to be delivered to Blue, then clarified, “I took classes at the community college, worked at the hospital to earn course credits and graduate faster.” 

“And then you stayed in Hawkins.” the Alpha pointed out. “Even though you had your license and could’a gone anywhere to work. Even though you had the chance and ability to leave? You stayed?"

“Yeah, well.” He took a long drink of his coffee, then set the mug down with a quietly damning thunk on the table. “Not all of us can just turn tail and run away from the truth of Hawkins. Some of us felt like we had to stay just in case. Some of us wanted to stay just in case. Just to make sure the people we love stayed safe."

The statement would have been easier to deflect if Steve had been angry and accusatory about Billy leaving, but the Omega said it as calmly as if he were discussing the weather and somehow the lack of emotion made it all hurt worse. 

“The kids are grown.” Billy ducked the subject again. Goddamn coward of an Alpha, he was. “Your brat pack. The Party. All graduated and gettin’ married I guess.” 

“Eighteen isn’t grown.” Affection for the rowdy group of kids had Steve smiling, his fangs gleaming in the café lights. “At least not for them. They come back from college on their breaks and they’re still just maniacs. Erica’s driving now so they all pile in and wreak bullshit all over the place. At Thanksgiving, Dustin and Mike actually coordinated this whole group prank against Mrs. Henderson. They worked it all out so when she left for work, they could--” 

Billy didn’t realize how hard he was staring at Steve’s mouth, how dialed in focused he was on the curve of the Omega’s fangs, the huskiness of the Omega’s voice and the sugar sweet bump of family-centered contentment in the Omega’s scent until the smile dropped right off Steve’s face and the enthusiasm dimmed from his voice. 

“And they what.” Billy tore his eyes from Steve’s lips to prod, “What did they do?” 

“You don’t care what they did.” There it was again. A sentence that would have been an accusation or the start of a fight if Steve didn’t say it nearly bored, nearly dully, as if Billy’s attention or interest really didn’t matter to him.

A slap would have hurt less. At least then Billy would have known what the hell Steve was feeling. 

But he was a coward. So instead of pushing the Omega for answers or making an inadequate apology, Billy asked, “So Erica’s the last one, right?” He only vaguely remembered Erica Sinclair and he remembered her being downright vicious even as a kid. “Once she’s graduated, your babysitter’s club will all be grown. What um-- what will you do then?” 

“Same thing I do now.” the conversation was almost painfully awkward. Uncomfortably stilted. Alpha and Omega had nothing to talk about and far too much to talk about all at the same time and the small talk was brutal. “I’ll keep working. Keep an eye out to make sure the monsters stay away. Hawkins is home. So I'm here. Probably forever.”

He scratched his nail at a worn spot on the tablecloth. "I've made my peace with it."  

“There's no uh,” Billy straightened up enough to catch Blue’s eyes so he didn’t feel abandoned or ignored over on the couch by himself, then cleared his throat and asked as casually as he could manage. “No love life keeping you busy?” 

“Billy.” Steve went very still. “Don’t.” 

“I’m not trying to be a dick about it,” Billy put his hands up placatingly. “I’m just… asking. That’s what two people who used to know each other do, right? Ask about love lives?” 

“Two people who used to know each other.” he repeated harshly. “Sure. Cos that’s what we are.” 

“I just thought.” Careful careful, the Alpha was being careful verbally tip toeing through what could quickly become a disastrous turn in their painstakingly civil exchange. “I thought you’d be back with Nancy. Maybe."

“No.” Steve hadn’t ever told anyone about that one awful day in the spring of 86 when he’d gone to Nancy asking please. The Alpha had turned him down gently, sweetly, crying as she kissed him and told him no. No they weren’t who each other needed anymore and no she knew he wasn’t ready to talk about Billy yet, but no they weren’t who each other wanted anymore. 

No, she’d said and “No.” Steve said from behind gritted teeth. “I’m not with Nancy.” 

“I just figured if I ever came back, you'd be, you know, one white picket fence away from being Ted Wheeler.” Billy’s coffee had long gone cold but he kept sipping at it, rolling the bitter aftertaste on his tongue to give himself time to think through his words. “You always wanted it, right? To get bonded and mated up young, pop out two kids, have a dog and a cat and a house in the suburbs. The RV. You always wanted a motorhome. Talked about it all the time.” 

“Shockingly enough,” Steve tried for a smile but it came through a grimace. “I’m not exactly the white picket fence type anymore.” 

“I bet you still are.” Billy tried for a smile too. His came through wistful and longing and chock full of remembering when he used to tease and laugh at Steve for being so god damn domestic all the time. “You’re just waiting for an Alpha who wants all that too, right?” 

Snap, the Omega’s scent snapped instantly frigid and a passing waitress sent them both a concerned look as she walked by in time to see Steve’s lip curl into a snarl as he hissed, “Oh fuck you, Billy Hargrove. You left me.” 

Shit. “No I wasn’t trying to--” Billy reached for Steve’s hand before he thought about it, lunged halfway across the table instinctively grasping trying to calm his the Omega down. “Steve, I wasn’t tryna be a dick about that, I was just saying-- cos we always used to joke about--” 

“Fuck you, Billy Hargrove.” Steve yanked his hand off the table before Billy could touch him, eyes blazing furious. “You don’t get to sit here and joke about me waiting for the right Alpha to mate me up when you left me. You. Left. Me.” 

“I left Hawkins.” The atmosphere in their booth charged brittle and Billy’s vision rimmed red in response to the open challenge. “But not because of the domestic thing, don’t make it sound like I left cos I was afraid of commitment or something. I sure as hell wasn’t ever the white picket fence type, but you know that’s not why I left.” 

“I know full well why you left.” Just that fast, the Omega was too quiet again. Too steady. Too locked down. Too empty meeting Billy’s eyes so he could point out quietly, brutally calmly, “And you’re right, you weren’t ever the white picket fence type. Or at least you never were for me.” 

“For you.” The whiplash of frostbite beneath the sting of Steve’s anger to the echoing nothing of emotion from the Omega left Billy’s head spinning and it took him a few seconds to follow. “What do you mean, I wasn’t for you, what do you--” 

Steve inclined his head towards Blue and oh, Billy shook his head, oh no it made perfect sense for Steve to think Billy had gone off and been happy to play house with some other Omega but no no that wasn’t it at all. 

“Steve.” Billy reached for him again. Couldn’t help it. Pushed his hand palm up offering and pleading across the table. “Omega. Lemme tell you about Blue, alright?” 

“It’s none of my business.” Steve ignored his outstretched hand, even went so far as to angle his body slightly away from the Alpha as if trying to protect himself. 

“Steve--” 

“None.” Flatly. Turned away. Steve thought he’d be able to talk about it, about Blue, but he couldn’t so he stayed flat and stayed turned away and finished, "Of my business. How long are you in town?” 

“Until the 26th.” Steve had been gracious enough to allow Billy to change the subject a couple different times so Billy bit his tongue and let the Omega change the subject too. 

“We’re in town until right after Christmas.” He clarified when Steve didn’t comment. “I have to be back to work by New Years and it’s a lot slower driving cross country with a kid.” 

“What do you do for work?” They were back to small talk. Stilted and awkward and shallow and terrible. 

“Mechanic shop.” A too large swallow of cold coffee landed uncomfortable in Billy’s stomach. “Been there just over five years now. I uh-- needed to trade some labor for parts for the camper I was sleeping in for a while and my boss, he’s a good guy. He hired me on full time after the parts were paid off and his Omega mate even watches Blue sometimes when I work late…” 

He sniffed. Changed the subject. Steve didn’t want to talk about Blue. “Um. So. Nursing. Have you been at Hawkins General the entire time?” 

“I have a shift in an hour.” Abruptly done with the conversation, fragile from listening to the pride in Billy’s voice talking about Blue, blistering from the scratch scratch scratch against long buried and attempted forgotten memories crowding up into his consciousness and wreaking havoc on his heart,  Steve stood up from the booth and pushed his coffee cup away. “I still have to get home and change. I’m gonna go.” 

“Wait.” Billy scrambled to his feet too, almost upending the table as he tried to get out in time to stop the Omega from just walking away. “Wait wait, Steve. Just um. Could I--” 

“Billy.” It sounded like please. Like Steve was begging the Alpha to just let it go. “I’m gonna be late.” 

“Can I see you again?” Billy blurted out, blunt and uncaring of who might over hear. “Can we do this again? Here or--or wherever. My place or dinner or something. Max said I owed you a conversation and she’s right, you and me we gotta-- we gotta talk or something, we gotta--” 

“Can I say goodbye to Blue?” Steve cut in, and Billy blinked a few times, “Um. Yeah? Yeah you can say bye to him, but Steve. Sweetheart. When can I see you again?” 

“Don’t do that.” The Omega took a step away, a step away, a step away, “It’s been six years. Don’t call me sweetheart.” then turned his back on Billy entirely and went to say goodbye to Blue. 

Billy would have warned anyone else that Blue didn’t like to be approached too quickly. He would have cautioned them to keep a little distance and not take it personally if Blue didn’t look up from his book to acknowledge them.  In fact, with anyone else the Alpha would have followed just to make sure Blue didn’t feel pressured into an interaction with a stranger. 

But when Steve went to say goodbye to Blue, all Billy did was slump back into the booth and watch in disbelief as the Omega knelt down in front of the couch and reached his fingers to brush lightly through Blue’s blond curls, then down to his cheek. Blue set his book aside and scooted forward to nuzzle noses before turning into Steve’s palm and closing his eyes, nudging into the warmth of Steve’s hand and all Billy could do was watch as his the Omega tangled gentle fingers into Blue’s messy blond hair and pulled the little boy in until their foreheads touched. 

The Alpha clocked the moment Steve started purring, he could tell the very instant the comfortingly low buzz affected Blue, Billy saw the exact second when Blue’s whole body slumped forward relieved and content into the Omega’s arms. 

Billy knew exactly how good it felt-- he used to know exactly how good it felt-- to be held by Steve, to feel the vibration of the Omega’s purr against his skin, to close his eyes and sink into the warmth of a hug and think for a few minutes that maybe everything would be okay. 

Billy knew exactly how that felt but god damn he hadn’t realized how good it would feel to watch his kid be bundled into that same safety and warmth. 

“Steve’s nice. Smells good. Not like some of the other Omegas you take on dates.” Steve left without looking at Billy, without even pausing to acknowledge the Alpha as he passed, and after the door jingled closed behind him, Blue came to stand by Billy, his book held tight in both hands. “When are we gonna see him again?” 

“I don’t know, Bubba.” Billy answered hoarsely, reluctantly. “I don’t uh-- I don’t think Steve wants to see me again.” 

“I bet he’ll want to see me.” Blue scooted into the booth and opened his book again. “He told me I was a precious pup. How come you don’t call me a precious pup?” 

“Cos you’re stinky and gross and barely housebroken.” Billy signaled the waitress over to order some breakfast. His stomach was churning too hard to eat, but Blue needed to eat and he didn’t like to eat alone, so Billy would have to force down a few bites too. “Face it kiddo, you’re more like a feral cat than a precious pup.” 

“Better a feral cat than a trash panda.” came the quick retort and Billy rapped his knuckles on the table, chuckling, “Well as far as feral cats go, I guess you’re probably the best of the bunch.” 

Blue peeked up with a quick smile, then went back to his book and Billy lolled his head back against the head rest of the booth, eyes closed and heart hurting. 

Hawkins had only ever felt like home when Steve was smiling at him. 

*****

December 19th, 1991

“Stevie.” the front desk attendant stuck her head into the empty clinic room and sent the Omega a quick smile. “When you’re done with inventory in here, there’s someone waiting to see you up front.” 

“Who is it?” Steve kept counting boxes of bandaids, hiding a tremor of anxiety by rifling quickly through the supply drawer. “Are they an Alpha?” 

Billy hadn’t called yet. Or rather, Billy hadn’t called again. The Alpha could have called the hospital to talk to him or called his home and left a message but for two days now there had been nothing and Steve was running out of ways to convince himself it was fine. 

Six years he’d been just fine without Billy Hargrove, so he was definitely fully fine now. He’d told Billy they’d see each other at the wedding and it was fine for the Alpha to apparently agree. Steve had called Blue a precious pup, he’d scratched his fingers through the little boys hair and pulled him in close to scent at his soft skin and purr into his ear because Blue made the Omega ache the way he’d ached one day in the spring after his heat when Billy had bit into his throat and pressed a big hand down low where Steve was still a little crampy and promised, “One day I’ll pup you up Omega, fuckin’ swear it…” 

…it was fine. Two days and no call, not a single conversation, not anything. It was fine. 

Steve didn’t want to see him anyway. Billy and the pup the Alpha had been apparently willing to have with a different Omega. 

He was fine. 

“I’m not an Alpha, and I’m almost offended you’d think such a terrible thing when I clearly smell miles better than those gross rutting knotheads, ew.” It was Robin at the door, hanging halfway into the room with her hair cut short and died some impossible color, a ridiculously puffy coat wrapping her from shoulders to feet, huge clunky boots and mittens clutched in her hands. “By the way? You’re welcome for even showing up. Hawkins is so cold this time of year, you owe me a shiny new present just for walking through the snow.” 

“Robin.” Steve dropped his clipboard and rushed to scoop the other Omega up, picking her up off her feet and twirling into a hug. “Welcome back.” 

“Hi.” Robin laughed out loud and hugged on Steve just as tight as she could. “Pretty Omega, it is so good to see you.” 

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you.” Steve set her down but didn’t let go, kept her right in his arms so he could noisily scent up and down her neck and into her hair. “How are you? Besides being dramatic about a few inches of snow and single digit temperatures, I mean.” 

“Look, I moved to Arizona so I’d never have to deal with this winter bullshit again.” Robin clicked and trilled at Steve as she scented at him too, nosing at his cheek and pushing the shaggy strands of hair off his forehead. “I have found my true calling, and it’s grading English Lit papers under palm trees, not trudging through the icy streets of this nightmare town and drinking crappy coffee at my hotel.” 

“Hawkins misses you too.” Steve rolled his eyes at her dramatics but still didn’t let go, still kept his arms around her waist and held his best friend tight. “Is that why you haven’t come to visit in two years? The palm trees are holding you prisoner?” 

“You could come visit me, you know.” Robin tapped her nails playfully on his nose, then untangled to unzip out of her heavy coat so she could breathe. “There’s so much more to the world than stocking bandaids at Hawkins General. And we could find you a fantastic Alpha in Arizona. I’m not even into Alphas but I’m telling you, everyone is golden and tan and sort of ridiculously beautiful there, you should come just to take in the eye candy.” 

“Thanks for that advice, I’ll file it away.” Steve retrieved his clipboard and went back to quickly counting. “I’m almost done with inventory in here, I’ve got one more office to do, then I can take my break. Did Chel come with you?” 

“My parents are traveling for the holidays so we’re spending Christmas in Texas with her folks. Chel flew out to Dallas a couple days ago while I finished up the semester grading, and I fly out like two hours after the wedding to join her.” The pretty Omega hopped up on the examination table, long legs kicking idly in the air. “Oh and by the way? I’m pretty sure she’s going to propose this year.””

“Robin!” Steve’s scent burst with happiness and Robin turned pink with pleasure, “I know. I feel like it shouldn’t be all that big of a deal considering we’ve been living together since Freshman year of college and full on bonded for eighteen months but… it’s still exciting?” 

“I guess I could handle taking in the eye candy beneath a palm tree for your wedding.” Steve closed the medicine cupboard and locked it, then took her hand to pull her off the table, winding their fingers together tight. “Have you seen Max yet? Or at least checked in with El about the bachelorette party? Erica swung by to drop me off an invitation but I’m pretty sure I’m only invited cos I’ll be designated driver. Max can’t drink but she shouldn’t have to drive on her own bachelorette party so I guess I’m going for that.”

“You got an invitation because Max loves you and wants you to be part of everything for her special day.” Robin jabbed at Steve’s ribs. “You’re not their babysitter anymore, Steve sheesh. Quit being such a Mama Omega and go get drunk with the pups. I’ll be the designated driver. I hardly ever drink anymore anyway, and since I’m thoroughly spoiled on all the fancy fruity Arizona drinks, I certainly won’t be missing out on the swill the Hawkins bars consider drinkable.”

“Well as good as you made all that sound,” Steve shook his head and pushed her into the next office so he could keep doing inventory. “you can’t tell me to stop being a Mama Omega and then call the kids pups all at the same time. Either they’re kids who still need me or fully grown people who I’m supposed to treat as equals instead of like annoying little children who have to be reminded to buckle up.” 

He slanted Robin a faux annoyed frown when she just laughed at him. “You can’t have it both ways. Messes with my head.” 

“I’m just saying.” That office had an examination table too and the paper lining crinkle crackled under Robin’s weight as she hopped up on it again. “If Max invited you it’s cos she wants you there. Not as designated driver, but as a friend. As family. You’re the closest thing she has to a big brother unless someone else has suddenly arrived back in town...?"

The Omega trailed off, eyebrows raised and scent curious, “Hm?” 

“Damn it.” Steve dropped his head and sighed, “You know about Billy, huh?” 

“I called Max literally the second I got into town so I could plan when and where to meet up.” she confessed all in a rush. “She told me Billy is here so you might be a little on edge and then she told me you guys met for coffee a couple days ago so you could meet his son?” 

Robin’s voice went high pitched and a little bit hysterical. “Billy has a kid? A little boy? Max says he’s the spitting image of him and I came right here to see you because I thought you’d be a mess and I thought you’d be--”

“--upset because the Alpha I used to sleep with knocked someone up and brought him home to meet his Auntie Max before her wedding, which is the most important day of all our lives currently and not the place to bring up years old drama?” Steve shook his head, shook his head, cataloged the number of sterile needles in the well secured drawer and shook his head again. “It’s not as big of a deal as you’re making it, Rob. I’m fine.”

“Are you?” 

“Yes!” Steve slammed the drawer just a little bit harder than necessary, and when Robin made a quietly sympathetic noise, the Omega shuddered through another sigh and admitted, “Okay no. No I’m not fine. But it doesn't matter. Billy's here for Max's wedding and that's it, so I'm just gonna deal with it and it-- it doesn't matter how the kid could be--"

He coughed. Tried again. "It’s just uh-- I don’t want it to be a big deal but--” 

“But?” 

“But he looks just like Billy.” Steve confessed in a miserable whisper. “Blue does. Blond hair and blue eyes and he wears this little leather jacket and boots and he’s so damn cocky, you can see it. It’s all bravado and bullshit and he’s so,” Steve’s voice cracked. “He’s beautiful, Rob. And I can’t even ask Billy about him. It hurts too bad. Cos every time I think about them, I have to think about how Blue’s almost the right age like he could be--” 

“Yours.” she finished softly. “Max says he looks like he’s about six which means in some different life or alternate dimension, Blue could have been yours. Yours and Billy’s from that last summer.” 

“A different life.” Steve nodded. Kept counting. “Some alternate dimension where my boyfriend wasn’t possessed and killed a bunch of people and you and I weren’t fucked up by the Russians and I didn’t have to be in Starcourt watching Billy--” 

Slam! The cupboard door fell off it’s hinges cockeyed when the Omega smacked it hard with the flat of his hand. 

And, “No.” Steve rubbed at his eyes. “I’m definitely not as fine with all this as I’m pretending to be.” 

“No shit, Sherlock.” Robin flicked him on the ear affectionately, then dragged him into a quick hug. “After I sleep off the hangover from the bachelorette party I’m gonna come over to your place and we’ll talk for hours, yeah? I have a whole bunch to tell you about Chel and I know you need to get this out of your system so we’ll do ice cream and wildly spiked eggnog and have a sleepover like old times.” 

“But until then.” Robin squeezed at his hand. “Until then, you need to do two things.” 

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” 

“You need to stop referring to Billy as the guy you used to sleep with, or just your boyfriend because we all know--” she caught his chin and forced the Omega to meet her eyes. “We all know you and he were a half step away from full on mated when everything happened, okay? I remember how the bite he gave you right at the end of your heat started to turn silver before fading.” 

“I remember too.” Steve’s fingers went to his throat, to the long gone mark of his Alpha’s teeth at his bonding spot. They hadn’t spent his heat together, not that one or any one previous, not when Neil still wielded so much control over Billy’s life and well being, but Billy had come to Steve after. Just as soon as he’d been able to manage. The Alpha been half feral with the lingering scent of heat still on Steve’s skin and Billy had pinned him down, knotted him full, cut his teeth in deep deep chasing a bond and for a few days, for almost a week right at the end of June, silver had set into the scar. 

Mating bonds only took during full heat, silver only set binding when the Alpha was lost in a rut but Steve had loved each other enough, Billy had almost wanted him enough so close to the end of his heat that silver had sparkled just in hints against his skin.

Steve remembered.

But then July. And Starcourt. And everything. Billy left and the silver had faded right along with all of Steve’s hopes and dreams and the way he’d been so sure Billy was going to be the rest of his life. 

Steve remembered. 

“What,” he ground out. “Is the second thing?” 

“The second thing is.” Robin trilled at him coaxingly. “Steve, I think you need to maybe give Billy a chance.” 

“What?!” 

“Stop.” She held up her hand when his scent frazzled out in immediate disbelief. “Don’t do that bug eyed thing where you stare at me like I’ve lost my damn mind. Just listen. This is the first time in six years you’ve even known Billy was actually alive, and he’s staying in the same zipcode. Within driving distance. He made a point to try and meet you, brought his boy to meet you cos you are important to him and I think you need to give him a chance.” 

“A chance.” Steve echoed incredulously. “He’s here for Max’s wedding, not to rehash anything with me. He didn’t even know I was still in Hawkins! You’ve been watching too many rom-coms Rob, real life doesn't work like that, real life doesn't involve two long time exes getting back together over Christmas that's not real."

“No of course not." Robin shrugged carelessly. "Our real life involves monsters and government conspiracies and secret Russian bases full of scary drugs and torture devices and us watching our friends nearly die. Real life involves us losing people and being scared for years afterwards but you're right. Real life could never involve reconciling with the love of your young, fucked up life. No, that's too much of a stretch. Mind Flayer, okay. Second chances at romance? Absolutely not."

Steve’s throat moved as he swallowed, but when he couldn’t come up with an answer to her brutal sarcasm Robin continued, “Besides. If you were ever going to be a little reckless, now’s the time to do it. Tis the damn season, Omega.” 

“For what?” 

“For weekends spent with someone you never let yourself get over.” She counted off on her fingers. “For finding reasons to be under the mistletoe and getting purposefully drunk so you have the courage to kiss. For babbling out love confessions with the security of knowing you can blame it on the holiday nostalgia and it doesn’t have to carry over into the New Year if you don’t want.” 

“I don’t want any of that.” Steve maintained, but when Robin tried to interject, he talked over her louder, “I don’t want any of that, Rob. And I can’t do it. Not with him.” 

“What do you have to lose, though?” she whispered. “Steve, you haven’t been on a date since Starcourt and I know you get asked out all the time. Your heart is so hurt, you barely made it through Nancy and Jonathan’s wedding and when Mike and El announced their mating bond, you disappeared for days. When Dustin got his college acceptance letter you left so he wouldn’t see you grieve about losing him and when Will left for school, you were so sad you didn't come out of your house for almost a week. Everyone is growing up and moving on but you’re still stuck here in Hawkins, still stuck in that summer cos your heart just hasn’t gotten over him. You need some closure and it literally just walked into Hawkins. Go and get it.” 

“I…” Steve hesitated, then his shoulders slumped. “I don’t know how to get ahold of Billy. He called me but it was from a payphone. Even if I was willing to try for the whole closure thing or the reckless thing, I don’t even know where to begin--” 

“Steve.” The front desk attendant again, rapping loud at the door and shooting Robin an apologetic glance. “Hey, I’m sorry I know you’re technically on your break but we just got a little boy in through the emergency room for an asthma attack and his Daddy’s asking for you, just keeps asking for you. He’s freaking out and it’s riling up the other patients so if you don’t mind--” 

Steve was already running, dropping his clipboard and grabbing his stethoscope, shoving his hands into gloves as he bolted for the emergency room. 

“Blue!” The crowd in the emergency room scattered when the Omega burst through the double doors. “Blue?” 

“Steve.” Billy had Blue cradled in his arms and the big Alpha was trembling, shaking as he clutched the little boy to his chest. “Steve. I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to see me but I didn’t know who else to call for, Blue’s havin’ a hard time breathing and his inhaler isn’t working and I don't know what to do, I thought if I asked for you maybe he'd get help sooner or-- or--" 

“Shh shh shh.” Steve snapped into professional mode, crooning hushing at the Alpha while he felt at Blue’s forehead, pried the little boy’s eyes open to check his pupil response. “Hush hush Alpha, it’s okay. I just need you to talk me through a few details. When was the last time you gave him an inhaler?” 

“H-half hour maybe?” Billy stammered. “I don’t-- he says it’s hard to breathe here but I thought he was just tired but it’s-- he isn’t--” 

"Has this every happened before?"

"Not since he was really little? We try to stay on top of it so I don't know why-- or-- or how--?"

“I'm sure it's just the change in altitude and the change in weather coming from California to Hawkins. Cold weather can absolutely be a trigger for some asthma cases.” Steve leaned in close to click his tongue at Blue, trilling and purring when Blue began to stir and fuss. “Hi Baby Blue, precious pup, I’m just gonna listen to your breathing okay? Gotta pull your shirt up and listen to your lungs a second. Tell your Daddy to hush hush cos it’s gonna be okay.” 

To Billy, “Hold him steady, Alpha.” as he rucked up Blue’s shirt and set the stethoscope over his little chest to listen. 

“Hush hush, Daddy…” Blue mumbled listlessly, and Billy’s features crumpled with fear and pain, “Steve? Please."

“Hush hush, it’s gonna be okay..” Steve straightened up and put the stethoscope away, snapped his fingers at the next nearest nurse and ordered. “Prep me a bed and oxygen, his skin is sunken in around his collarbones, there’s a little bit of blue tinge at his lips. Corticosteroid to help his lungs, Ipratropium to get his air ways open. His prescription for regular medication is on file in the temporary box behind the front counter, last name Hargrove. Ready a set up for intubation if the Ipratropium doesn’t help.” 

“C’mere Baby Blue. Billy, let me have him.” Steve tried to take Blue from Billy, scooping his arms under the kid to hold him. “We’re gonna get you through these doors here and into a room. I’ve got medicine all ready and we’ll get you feeling better in no time, okay? Come on, come with me pup, c’mere with me.” 

“No don’t-- don’t--” Billy tried to resist but Steve shook his head, “Billy. You're scenting out of control scared right now and it’s not helping Blue. He’s reacting to you and you’re reacting to him and neither of you will be able to calm down at this rate, so it’s just gonna cycle messier until things really get bad. I know you don't want to be separated, but there won't be space for you in the room until I get all the machines hooked up so I need you to trust me with your pup right now and I’ll be right back. I’ll come get you just as soon as I can, but I need you to trust me.” 

“He’s-- he’s my boy--” Billy was a wreck, scent ragged and breathing harsh, eyes wide and red with panic. “Steve, please-- I tried to make him feel better, I did, I tried to be a good Dad to him, I don't know what I did wrong, please--!"

“Alpha!” Steve popped his fangs loud and the red in the Alpha’s eyes faded as Billy startled back to focusing. 

“There you are.” Steve immediately softened, immediately nodded in approval and appreciation so the Alpha would relax another notch. “Hush hush, my Alpha. Trust me with your baby, okay? Trust me.” 

“I -- I trust you.” Billy relinquished his hold on Blue and Steve caught the pup up in his arms, hugging Blue close and upright so he had an easier chance at breathing. 

“Daddy.” Blue went to Steve willingly, but as Steve went running through the doors again to get him into a room, Blue reached out with both small hands, straining over the Omega’s shoulder for Billy. “Daddy? Daddy I’m scared--! Daddy I'm scared!"

Billy collapsed back into a chair, a helpless anxious growl bursting from his chest as he listened to his son cry for him. He folded in over his knees, hugging at himself and trying to keep from breaking down completely, too worried about Blue to even realize Steve had called him Alpha. 

Hush hush, my Alpha. Trust me.

… …

… …

… …

Blue was sleeping when the nurse came back to get Billy close to twenty minutes later. She explained in hushed tones how they’d given him a light sedative to make the IV insertion easier, how the doctor had decided against intubation and just went with the breathing mask, how the medicine was already making a difference and the little boy was sleeping exhausted but breathing clearly. 

“Shit.” Billy dropped into the chair next to Blue’s bed and stared at all the machines, all the tubes and wires and dripping IV’s. “Shit. Is he-- he’s okay though?” 

“He’s okay.” Steve, coming through the door with a clipboard and a weary smile. “I promised I’d take care of him. He’s sleeping, his breathing is good, everything’s going to be okay. We need to keep him at least twenty fours just to make sure he recovers fully hydrated and without any hurt to his lungs from struggling to breathe, but it looks like it’s fine. Just a cold-triggered asthma attack."

“Thank you.” Billy reached for Steve’s hand, grabbed for the Omega’s fingers and pressed a rough kiss to his knuckles, “Thank you for saving my boy.” turned his hand over and lay a kiss at his palm, pulled pulled pulled coaxing until Steve stumbled forward between his knees and Billy could push his face into the softness of the Omega’s stomach. “Steve.” 

“Hush hush.” Steve swallowed hard then put his hand gently gently at the top of Billy’s head, sank his fingers into the thick curls and stepped forward another inch so Billy would wrap both arms at his waist and hug him. The Alpha made a rough, pleading sound and Steve nodded, gave into the clamor at his heart and soul and curved in around to cover Billy warm and protective. “Hush hush, my Alpha. It’s… It’s gonna be alright.”

*****

Chapter Notes:

My favorite part of this chapter is absolutely Steve going over to Blue in the cafe and how Billy is all ready to be like "hey my kid doesn't like strangers" but then just sits and watches while Steve is the most natural caregiver with Blue and Blue just melts into him as if he already recognizes Steve as family.

Also though, I really love Take Charge Nurse Steve. My little brother used to have very severe cold-worsened asthma and I remember how scary it was when he'd have the really bad asthma attacks so writing Steve as someone who knew exactly what to do and how to fix it was comforting for me.

One of my favorite things about Omegaverse (or soulmate verses) is how the characters fall into each other in the worst most stressful moments. It doesn't matter how long it's been or how awkward the small talk is or how big the hurt, at some point their hearts and souls win out over their mind/common sense and they fall in to one another for comfort. Idk, I just love it.

Coming Up! Blue recovers (I'd never let him be too sick) and BillySteve give in to all the emotional upheaval to get closer. Cue the saxophone noises and make it "we probably shouldn't but its Christms and I miss you" themed.

Chapter Text

December 20th, 1991

Billy would have gladly gone the rest of his life without ever setting foot back in one of the patient rooms of Hawkins General. 

The hospital had been bad enough, useless enough, the few times Susan and Max had helped Billy stand and dragged him through the doors of the emergency room to fix his ribs or to set his wrist or that one time, to snap his nose back into place. The hospital had been worse after Starcourt, unhelpful in the most horrifying of ways as Billy’s body magically-- Upside Down scientifically?-- knit itself back together while doctors casually chatted about planning experiments on him as if the Alpha was nothing more than a test subject in their quest for knowledge and research. 

For a while after leaving Hawkins, Billy used to dream about burning the hospital to the ground just so the nurses who believed Neil’s lies and the doctors who labeled him “Flayed Victim Zero” could understand even a fraction of how their apathy hurt him. 

Now with Blue lying weak and small in the bed, a half dozen machines beep beep beeping making sure his boy survived the night without losing oxygen, the Alpha breathed through the echoes of his own trauma and nightmares and was grateful the hospital was still standing so Blue could get some help.  

And of course.  “Hey, good news. As soon as Blue wakes up and we run just a few tests on his oxygen levels and breathing capacity, you guys can get out of here.” Steve rapped at the door and offered Billy a quick smile, and oh the Alpha was grateful for him too. “I’m sure you’d rather be literally anywhere else in the world than sitting back in this goddamn hospital, so I got a headstart on the paperwork already.” 

“Uh.” Billy straightened in the uncomfortable chair, dragging both hands down his face and blinking gritty eyes trying to orient himself. “That’s um--” he’d been staring at Blue for hours now, watching the readout on the machines for hours now, sitting cramped in the chair unwilling to rest long enough to even nap so long as his kiddo was laying there too small in the too sterile bed. “Sorry, I uh-- gimme a second to—“

“No rush, just take it easy.” Steve was in professional mode. Scrubs, stethoscope, clipboard and pen and glasses balanced on his nose cos he’d had an emotional, stressed out sort of headache for days now and squinting at the doctor’s barely legible writing made the headache worse. 

“Here, have a drink.” Professional mode. Steve didn’t mention how Billy had reached for him, clung to him, dragged him in, begging for comfort from that same chair the previous night. He poured a glass of room temperature water, pressed it into the Alpha’s palm and didn’t let their fingers brush. Didn’t reach to pet through Billy’s hair or curve close to offer his once upon a time intended mate support. 

“Don’t gulp that too fast, you haven’t eaten or slept in at least 18 hours and you’ll make yourself sick.” The Omega was professional. Scrubs and stethoscope and clipboard. Distance and careful and polite. “But still drink all of it. You’re starting to look dehydrated.” 

“Thanks.” Billy felt better after the first swallow of water, felt better when he managed a full breath and got a sorely needed influx of lavender and sage into his senses. Christ his Omega smelled good, Steve always smelled so good, nothing had ever calmed Billy down faster than the sweet scent of his Omega in his nose and mind. “I didn’t know you wore glasses.” 

“I didn’t until after 85, now I wear them when the headaches get bad.” Steve dragged a second chair over to the bedside, close enough to talk, not so close for the Alpha’s woodsmoke scent to compromise him hazy and stumbling and needy. “Here. I violated about eight different HIPPA laws filling in your information on the paperwork, medical history and all that sort of thing so you wouldn’t have to sit and try to fill out all these damn little boxes, but I didn’t know any current addresses or any of Blue’s information, so if you wanna tell me, I can write it all down.” 

“Yeah, that’s um-- I’d appreciate it.” Billy flexed stiff fingers and angled his body sideways. Didn’t try to bump his knee against the Omega and didn’t put his hand out hoping Steve might take it again, but turned sideways enough to keep both Blue and Steve in full view. “What do you need to know first?” 

“Blue’s full, legal name is…?” Steve waited, pen raised, posture poised, perfectly professional waiting for the Alpha to tell him details about the kid that should have been theirs. 

Sure, he was devastated by it. Sure, he’d been torn up heartbroken after Billy had hugged him so close for so long the night before. Sure, Steve had almost called in sick just to avoid having to be face to face with Billy again, no he was in no way any thing close to fine but Steve was a professional, so he was gonna handle it. The wedding was only a few days away, then he could go right back to living his life without Billy Hargrove, he was going to handle it. 

…and if the thought of losing Blue, of losing Billy’s pup so soon after only barely knowing him made the Omega ache in a small, secret part of his lonely heart, well that was nobody’s business but his own. 

“Blue’s name is Blue.” Billy flexed the stiff joints of his knuckles, rolled his shoulders and popped his neck and groaned in relief when his entire body loosened a notch. “Blue Hargrove. That’s the whole thing. I didn’t think about a middle name so he’s just… Blue.” 

“It suits him, Blue for the baby with the brightest eyes.” Scritch scritch scritch. Steve wrote it down and tried not to dwell on the sound of Billy groaning or the exhaustion rough rasp of the Alpha’s voice or how his mind immediately jumped to trying to choose an appropriate middle name for the pup. Not his place. Not his kid. Not his Alpha. “What’s his birth date?”

“March 20th, 1984. He’s gonna be eight in a few months.” Billy clocked the change in Steve's scent between one breath and the next. He rolled the taste of shocked sage and ribbon of lavender tinted disbelief around in his tongue and sat up straighter, curious and maybe a little bit obsessed to know he could still read Steve so clearly… a little bit giddy to know the Omega couldn’t truly hide from him, even with all the distance and professionalism and purposefully avoidant eye contact.

Mine. Even after Starcourt. Even after six years. A claim of possession stirred deep in Billy’s chest, blurred into his woodsmoke scent hazy and the Alpha instinctively dropped his voice a notch toward commanding to ask, “What are you thinking right now? Why did your scent change?”

“Blue's small for his age.” The pen fell from Steve's grip, clattering at the clipboard and rolling unnoticed to the floor. The Omega’s entire body rocked instantly affected by the hint of command in Billy's voice, in the flare of red deep in the blue eyes and he had to make a concentrated effort to be calm, to focus through the sudden clamor of questions he had about Blue and about Billy’s life after Hawkins and the timeline of it all and the what if and what next possibilities choking at the back of his throat. “I thought maybe he was. Six. At the oldest.”

“Six? Nah, he’s just pocket sized. Punky.” Billy smiled towards Blue, doting and protective. “I dunno if he’s sick so much cos he’s small or small cos he’s always sick. But you know. Either way."

Steve made a vaguely agreeing noise and kept writing. Turned a page and started on the next bit of paperwork. Bit at the inside of his cheek hard avoiding the urge to trill approving at the show of protectiveness from the Papa Alpha and bit at his tongue so he wouldn’t ask about 1984 and the timeline and the now of Billy’s little family. Billy was waiting for another question but Steve kept his head down and pen moving, so quiet filled the space between them, thickly tentative with all the things the Omega couldn’t bring himself ask and all the conversations the Alpha didn’t know how to start. 

Then. Elvis. Crooning in that signature voice along with a familiar beat and Billy reached to mess with the radio, twisting the dial until the melancholy lyrics were loud enough to cover the beep-beep of the monitors and the fzhhhh of the oxygen machine and the deafening of silence the longer Alpha and Omega sat together-- not together-- and didn’t talk about Starcourt or Blue or the way Steve had whispered ‘my Alpha’ while hugging Billy in against his heart.

Instead, “I’ll have a Blue Christmas, with you…” 

“It’s his favorite song.” Steve didn’t ask but Billy said it out loud anyway, just to move past the burn of frazzled uncertainty growing stronger in the Omega’s scent with each passing second. “Blue Christmas. He thinks it’s about him, cos it has his name in it. He thinks Elvis is saying he’ll have a ‘Blue for Christmas’, and Bubba always laughs. Says the only present I’ll get for Christmas is him.” 

He shook his head a little sheepishly, “Guess I should’a corrected him at some point, but I never did. Blue didn’t smile a whole lot when he was little, but he always smiled about that song no matter what.” 

“It’s cute.” Steve could have sobbed at the thought of Billy and Blue singing Christmas carols together with—with who? With another Mama Omega? With the pretty Beta or Alpha woman who has given Blue the adorably upturned nose and tiny stature? Steve could have sobbed for it but instead he held his hand out. “Does your Drivers License have your current address?” 

“Uh yeah. Yeah.” Billy wiggled his wallet out from the back pocket of his jeans and fished the license out from the plastic cover. “You need a place to send the bill?” He didn’t know how the hell he was going to afford a surprise hospital stay bill but he’d figure it out just like he and Blue figured everything else out. 

“You’re not being charged for this." Steve denied as he copied the address down. "Ever since Starcourt,  any time any of our names come up in the healthcare system, someone somewhere takes care of it. Me and the pups haven’t had to pay for so much as a bandaid in years, our families either. Blue's covered both by being your kiddo and by being Max’s nephew.”

Having an address for his Alpha after six years of wondering if Billy had died somewhere on the stretch of road between Hawkins and the beach was enough to leave Steve dizzy. It was so normal. Numbers and letters and a real place in a real city Steve could really drive to, he could drive right up to the door and knock as hard as he wanted and demand answers from the Alpha. 

But Steve couldn’t bring himself to demand answers while Billy was sitting two feet to his left, he certainly wasn’t going to chase Billy back to California and demand answers at his house. 

No. 

“He never lets me call him Baby Blue.” Billy couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t take the silence from the Omega or the perfectly professionally polite answers or the brittleness in Steve’s scent as if the Omega were only a breath away from breaking down so he blurted out, “Bubba doesn’t, I mean. You called him Baby Blue and he went right to you but the first time I called him Baby or Baby Blue, he kicked me in the shins really hard and screeched about not being a baby.” 

“Cos seven years old is full grown, right?” Steve rubbed at the back of his neck, squeezing hard trying to alleviate the building headache. “What a bratty pup.” 

“The fudging worst, yeah.” Billy leaned forward in the chair, hand outstretched to clasp the base of Steve’s neck and massage at the sensitive pressure points meant to settle an Omega. Steve had always had headaches and Billy had always been quick to settle and soothe him, it hadn’t ever taken more than a few minutes, a few purposeful tugs at Steve’s long hair and the weight of Billy's palm steady and cradling at the back of his scalp. 

But.

“What are you doing?” Steve didn’t jerk away from Billy's hand but he didn’t lean into the offer of comfort either. He sat ramrod straight in the chair staring at the Alpha, the very tips of his fangs showing when his lips parted curious and a little stunned and maybe a little panicked. “What are you trying to do right now? Are you trying to settle me?”

“God, I don’t even know.” Billy dropped his hand, dropped his head, scooted his chair back a few inches and tried for a laugh that didn’t sound strangled. Painful. “Geez. Sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. Just— just habit I guess.” 

“It has been six years.” The Omega wasn’t angry and snarling, or devastated and shrinking away, he didn’t even scent brittle and confused like he had a moment before. Steve stayed very still, very tense, torn between leaping away and running for it or baring his throat and begging for it, he didn’t know what to do so he stayed still. Locked down. Barely breathing cos Billy had acted on instinct and habit trying to settle him and it meant… something. 

It meant something. 

“It’s been six years.” He repeated breathlessly, almost pleading. “Nothing about me and you should be habit anymore.”

“Still is, though.” Billy rubbed his hands together a few times, then took a deep breath and risked a glance up, peering up at the Onega from beneath the fringe of his hair and hoping demanding praying for honesty. “…right?”

Steve didn’t look away. Didn’t blink. Felt the phantom pressure of Billy's hands at his waist from the night before, the blunt dig of the Alpha’s fingers into his back. He remembered arching into the heat of Billy's palm as he was dragged in closer, he remembered whining when the Alpha buried his face at his stomach rumbling begging for comfort the way only the two of them could comfort each other— plenty of things between them were still habit, brought back to the forefront by nothing more than a touch and made all the stronger with the stress of Blue winding them both up worried. 

“Some things never change.” Clipboard and pen and paperwork were forgotten as Steve locked eyes with his Alpha, the beeping of machines and croon of Christmas carols lost behind the rush of blood in his ears, the sound of his breathing loud between them as the entire world dialed down to Billy Billy Billy Billy Alpha.

“Some things.” Billy repeated in a low rumble, eyes dropping to the line of Steve's throat, the scatter of moles like a constellation closer to his jaw, the hammer of the Omega’s pulse, the flush of red tinting at the gorgeous skin. “Never fudging change.” 

“Fudging. You uh— you keep saying that.” Steve's skin was tight, prickling with the Alpha locked on him staring and he scratched at his neck, at his jaw, into his hair subconsciously unconsciously touching all the places Billy would scent and scent mark on him. Habit. Six years hadn't changed anything. “Why?”

“I don’t cuss in front of Bubba.” Billy didn’t blink, only sat tense and staring barely even breathing as the razors edge of almost loomed up between them. He could feel the uncertainty in Steve's scent giving way to acceptance, he could see flecks of gold lighting hopeful in the dark eyes, the Alpha could see the twitch in Steve's fingers as if the Omega were going to turn his hand over and offer and ask for Billy to please…

“I don’t uh,” Billy dragged his tongue over his teeth, over his dry lips. “I don’t figure it’s right to get mad at him for using bad language if he hears me do it all the time. Doesn’t seem fair.”

“Alpha,” soft soft and adoring, Steve's scent shimmering with sudden admiration as if he couldn’t stop himself from blurting this particular truth, from sharing this specific nearly primal appreciation, “You’re a good Dad.”

Oh. And, “Oh.” Billy’s entire body rocked beneath the flush of approval from Steve, acknowledgment from his Omega that the hard work on himself and conscious decisions to be not Neil and attempts to raise Blue right were all good things. 

He was a good Dad.

“Fffffu--” Billy swallowed, throat clicking parched and fingers clutching tight at the arm rest of the chair. “Steve.” praise from the gorgeous Omega, a little bit of a smile and a spark of gold in the dark eyes had him spinning, skin heating and heart pounding. Six years hadn’t changed anything at all. “Omega...” 

“Daddy?” Blue spoke up then, quiet and confused and sleepy, groggy and exhausted and faint. “D-Daddy?” 

“I’m here, Bubba.” Billy tore away from the sweetness bubbling in Steve’s lavender scent and scrambled up from the chair to get to the hospital bed. Reacting to his Omega was habit and ingrained and instinctive but taking care of Blue was his entire world so the Alpha tore away from the dizzying curve of Steve's tentative smile and turned all his attention to his son. 

He was a good Dad.  

“Hey hey, I’m here.” Billy usually waited to get into Blue's space, usually gave Blue the time to ask for physical affection but this time the Aloha bent right into the bed to nuzzle noses with his boy, to drag huffing and scenting across Blue's face and into his hair to check on him. “Bubba Blue. Welcome back. I’m so glad you’re awake.”

His voice cracked hoarse and he covered it with a cough, with a shaky grin, “You were snoring so loud the other patients were complaining. I was about to dump cold water on you just so you’d cut it out.”

“Fud-dging rude.” Blue blinked slow, heavy, the medication in his system leaving him lethargic but his smile was bright. “I’d never do something that mean to you.” 

“You have done that to me, you periwinkle little menace.” Billy held on tight to the safety bars at the side of Blue’s bed, “You okay, bud? Cos you sorta scared me there being all dramatic like that.” 

“That’s cos you’re a wuss.” Blue held out both arms, stretching his hands towards his Dad. “Please?” 

“C’mere .” Billy hooked an arm under Blue’s knees then another at his shoulders and scooped the seven year old right off the bed and right into a hug. “I’ll get you outta here real soon. Promise.” 

…Steve let himself out of the room quietly, leaving the Alpha and his boy to hug and scent mark and comfort each other after a terrifying night. 

“Stevie.” the nurse at the desk snagged him down. “Stevie, there’s a Robin Buckley on the phone for you? She said something about needing to gauge how far into a denial spiral you’re in?” 

“Great.” Steve set the clipboard down and reached over the counter to pick up the phone. “Rob. How are you, pretty Omega?” 

“Hi, beautiful.” Robin chirped back. “I called to tell you I survived the bachelorette party, to remind you about the rehearsal tomorrow morning at ten, and to ask how things are going with you and Billy.” 

“Um.” Steve gripped the back of his neck again and squeezed hard. “Well. First thing. Blue is almost eight, Rob. Not six. He’s gonna be eight. Just um. Punky and small for his age.” 

“Blue is eight?" 

“Yeah. Not six." Deep breath. "He's not Billy's kid from right after Starcourt. From right after leaving me. I don't know the whole story but at least Blue isn't-- you know? He isn't six. Which means--"

"Which means there's more to the story than your Alpha running away and playing family with a different Omega."

"Yes."

“...and does that...change things for you?” 

“Yeah. It really does.” Steve closed his eyes. “I need to talk to him.”

"Yeah beauty." she replied softly. "I think you really do."

****

“I can’t believe you didn’t call me!” Max was peeved, her voice scratchy over the phone. “Billy, that asthma attack sounds so scary! You should have called me, I would have come and sat with you or sat with Blue so you could sleep or something! Why didn’t you call?!” 

“Max.” Billy pinched at the bridge of his nose and tried not to let the irritation leech into his tone. He’d barely gotten Blue to eat anything solid for dinner and was worried about how quick the kid had fallen back asleep, he was trying to get his own heart and head right after whatever the hell had almost happened between he and Steve-- a conversation? A touch? Some understanding? Fudge if he knew-- the Alpha was stressed out and trying not to show it but his little sister hollering at him over the phone wasn’t helping matters. “Max!” 

“What?!” 

“My boy was in the hospital, I had a whole lotta stuff on my mind. Why would I have called you?” Billy wasn’t being mean. He wasn’t being mean, he was being honest and he was being practical about the situation and he braced himself for the onslaught of misunderstood anger from the hormonal Omega…

"no, you’re right. I’m sorry.” The speaker crackled when Max sighed loud. “You’re right. You were worried about getting Blue better, which is the right thing to be focused on and seeing as how we haven’t talked in like, six years, and I’m basically a stranger to Blue of course you didn’t tell me to come or help or anything. Right. That’s-- you’re right.” 

“I’m…right?” Billy almost didn’t trust it. Almost pulled the phone away from his ear to stare at it suspiciously. “Could you repeat that?” 

“Fuck off.” she warned him lightly, and Billy cracked a small smile. “I just forget sometimes, you know? Ever since Starcourt, we’ve all been wondering when you would come back home and come back to your family, but you don’t consider Hawkins home. You and I are only barely family. So you’re right. Why would you have called me when Blue was sick. It… makes sense.” 

“Yeah. I guess. But.” Now the Alpha felt mean. Now he shoved a hand into his hair and pulled at the strands hard before admitting, “I’m not used to having anyone I can call for this sorta thing. Good to know I could call… you? From now on?” 

“Yes.” Enthusiastic. Billy could almost feel the lift in Max’s scent. “Yeah, Billy. Even when you’re back in Cali. You can call me anytime something’s going on. Not that me worrying from long distance will do any good, but that’s my nephew alright? It’s my God given right to worry, so keep me in the loop.” 

“Being a Mama Omega has made you soft.” Billy snorted, and right on cue Max audibly popped her fangs into the phone and snorted, “The hell it has!” 

“How did you find out Blue was in the hospital anyway?” He scooped up the few dishes from their light dinner and dumped them in the sink of the little kitchenette. “Was it the healthcare thing?”

“The healthcare thing?” 

“Steve said uh,” Billy cleared his throat. Just saying the Omega’s name bound his chest up tight. “He said after Starcourt anytime any of you guys or your family gets sick the bill gets taken care of as part of the settlement. Did someone call you to make sure he was family or something before they made the bill disappear? 

“Oh no.” She made a negative noise at him. “No. I mean yeah, all our health stuff is taken care of all the time now, I think Joyce put that into the clauses of all the NDAs we signed? Like if they were going to expect us to keep our mouths shut, the least they could do is pay for the mental and physical consequences of what we went through. Hopper called it PTSD? Anyway, no I didn’t get a call about Blue. He’d be under your name anyway. No, Steve called me.” 

“Steve called you.” A flare of heat had Billy’s eyes falling shut. Steve was calling family members to share updates about Blue, as if Blue was his. Jesus. “What did he say?” 

“He was calling to apologize for missing my bachelorette party.” Max explained . “But he mentioned how good Blue was doing and how he’d kept an eye on you all night too so I didn’t have to worry. He also asked me where you were staying, so I gave him the address and room number. I think he was planning to stop by after his shift.”

Oh that was too much information. Steve had been invited to the bachelorette party but missed it to take care of Blue. The Omega had kept an eye on Billy specifically all night. He’d asked where they were staying and Max had even given him the room number…

“Why um.” Billy rubbed at his eyes. “Why was he going to stop by?” 

“I asked the same thing and he called me a Nosy Nellie.” she informed him with an offended little sniff. “But if he’s wanting to come by after his shift and see you, can I assume the two of you patched some things up and he won’t be actively trying to rip your throat out during my wedding?” 

“He said he was gonna drop by after his shift? What time does he get off work?” 

“I just told you there was a solid chance Steve was gonna murder you at my wedding.” Max’s wholehearted amusement was immediately evident. “And all you care about is what time he gets off work? Are things going good with you guys?” 

“None of your business, Nosy Nellie.” Knock knock knock, someone knocked at the door just then and Billy’s entire frame snapped tense with awareness and anticipation. “I gotta go.” 

“Okay but wait! Wait, I was going to call and see if you’d come with me tomorrow afternoon to finalize the wedding flowers but I didn’t know if the pollen would make Blue’s asthma worse.” 

“Nah, he’s never had an issue with flowers.” Knock knock knock, someone knocked at the door then called quietly, “Billy?” and the Alpha jumped right to his feet. “Max, I gotta go.” 

“Tell Blue I love him?” Max cried and Billy nodded, “He’s sleeping but I’ll tell him in the morning. Max, I gotta go.” 

“Okay, I love you.” Max said it quick, blurted it out then hung up the phone and Billy stared at the receiver for a few seconds in surprise before-- knock knock knock-- he scrambled up off the couch and lunged for the door. 

“Omega.” It was Steve. Of course it was Steve. Max had said the Omega was asking about where Billy and Blue were staying, she’d said Steve was going to come over after his shift, Billy had known it was Steve but the knowledge didn’t stop him from staring. From needing to brace a hand at the door jam to keep his balance when Steve shook all that hair out of his eyes and smiled.

And, “Omega.” Billy murmured it soft. Didn’t mean to sound needy but could hear it frantic in his voice and feel it frazzled at the edges of his consciousness. "Hey.” 

“Hey.” Steve blinked blinked blinked when he got a noseful of the Alpha’s heady scent, lashes fluttering and breath audibly catching for a few seconds. “I uh-- I hope this isn’t weird. Showing up like this.” 

“Nah, it’s.” Billy tried to shrug. Tried not to smile too wide and too goofy. Tried not to feel so fucking awkward making conversation with someone who used to-- key word, used to be-- his whole world. “I mean, Max said you’d be coming by.” 

“Of course she did.” The Omega muttered something that sounded like ‘nosy nellie’ then held up a white paper bag. “I stopped by the pharmacy and picked up Blue’s medicine. Figured I’d bring on my way home.” 

“Oh shit.” Billy frowned guilty, self loathing coloring his scent gray. “Shit. I forgot his medicine, didn’t I?” 

“No.” Steve started forward and stopped himself, made to reach out to the Alpha quickly comforting, but locked his hand down at his side. “No, you didn’t forget it. It wasn’t ready when you left, remember the nurse telling you to come back in the morning and grab it?”

“No. I don’t.” Billy’s face crumpled further. “I was just tryna get Blue in the truck and warm, I wasn’t hardly listening to anything they said."

“Someone would have called you in the morning.” This time Steve did let himself reach out, tugging just there and gone at Billy’s sleeve. You’re a good Dad. “You didn’t forget. They would have called you when it was ready. I just… made sure it was ready when I was on my way out the door. Figured this way you don’t have to decide between leaving the baby here alone in the hotel or taking him out in the cold again first thing tomorrow.” 

“The ‘baby’,” Billy crooked his fingers into air quotes. “Is old enough to punch me if I tried leaving him behind anywhere.”

“Right. Cos he’s like, eight.” The very tip of Steve’s ears turned red. “Not-- not a baby. But you know. I still call the pups pups and everyone but Erica is over eighteen now. So.” 

“So what?” God the Omega was sweet just barely blushing. Billy had almost forgotten how much a little bit of vulnerability from Steve affected him. “You’re gonna call Blue ‘baby’ for another ten years till he’s eighteen too?” 

“Well.” Softer, yearning sparking like gold in Steve’s eyes. “Maybe.” 

Oh hell. Billy made up his mind in a split second, gave into the longing twisting round his heart and cut in, “Steve, you wanna come in for a beer?” 

And fuck it, Steve made up his mind in the same split second, pressed a hand at his heart where he ached lonely and cut in louder-- “Billy, can we talk?” 

They both stopped. Stared. After a weird few seconds Billy huffed a little and motioned towards the Omega, “You go first.”  

“Can we talk for a minute?” Steve chewed at the inside of his cheek, lips pursed and hands in his pockets as if bracing for a rejection. “Can I come in and stay for-- for a little bit?” 

“Yeah, of course.” There’d never been any chance Billy would reject Steve, but just so it was real clear, the Alpha stepped back and opened the door wide. “Come on in.” 

Steve stepped past him quickly, angled to avoid brushing bodies or bumping hands, head turned maybe not in submission, but certainly not staring straight on challenging as he entered the Alpha’s space. Billy breathed in the drowsy calming scent of lavender, the bite of heat in the sage aura and closed the door behind Steve, left it unlocked just so Steve wouldn’t feel trapped, then leaned back against the door and folded his arms, “Smell good, Omega.” 

“So do you.” Steve ran his fingers over the top of the couch, stopped to linger at Billy’s leather jacket and glanced up from beneath his lashes, “Thought I’d forgotten. But.” sniff. “Not even a little bit.”

Billy rumbled in approval but made no move to step away from the door to chase the interest winding through the words, choosing instead to stand back and just watch his Omega move around the room. Steve picked up the leather jacket and brought it to his nose before setting it back down, meandered over to inspect a book and flip through a few pages. He dug his fingers into the thick knit of a comfortable blanket set over a chair, plucked at Billy’s scarf and wrapped it around his wrist a few times before dropping it back onto the counter, stopped and smiled over a kid sized hoodie then lifted it to his face to inhale Blue’s sweetly innocent scent before rubbing his cheek into the worn material. 

Scent marking. Steve was scent marking Billy and Blue’s space, inhaling them and leaving hints of lavender and sage all over their temporary home…

…And Billy remembered.

Billy remembered. He remembered not talking to the Omega again until after Steve’s heat, he remembered lugging himself through the bedroom window of the giant Loch Nora house and tumbling into Steve’s bed mumbling apologies and begging his Omega to hold him, please please forgive me and please please kiss me I missed you and Billy remembered the way Steve cried when he’d held him down against the pillows to knot him up full.

Steve had gasped about not meaning it, about being sorry, and Billy had spread his hand wide on the Omega’s tummy and promised to pup him up, to make Steve his one day, to bite him and not let go until it bled silver and no one could keep them apart, they’d get a place and Steve could scent mark everywhere until it was impossible to figure out where Billy left off and Steve began, they’d just be together… 

Billy remembered how that bite had very nearly turned silver, as if all they had to do was want each other badly enough to make it true. 

And he remembered a week later driving to meet Steve at the motel when the monster took him and how suddenly it was too late, he was too damaged, everything was too ruined to ever go back to the simplicity of Steve just wanting to be in his room. 

Six years. 

Christ. 

“Can I check in on Blue?” Steve broke into Billy’s spiraling thoughts, and the Alpha shook himself out of the memories and regret to nod, “Yeah. He’s sleeping though, so just--” 

“I won't wake him up.” Steve turned the door knob to the tiny bedroom very quietly and stepped inside. "Trust me with your baby."

He didn’t hear Billy whisper hoarse, “I do, Omega.” 

Blue was sleeping. The little boy was tucked in and tucked in and tucked in with the warmest blankets, set snug in the center of the biggest bed and surrounded by pillows meant to make sure he didn’t roll too far and fall right off. He was snoring, cheeks flushed and hair damp, his fingers curled tight around a well loved teddy bear and he was so beautiful Steve almost couldn’t stand it. 

“Precious pup.” The Omega could barely speak over the lump in his throat as he reached to brush Blue’s hair away from his eyes. He touched just lightly at Blue’s forehead to make sure he was warm from sleeping and not warm from a fever, Steve bent close to listen to Blue’s breathing in case it sounded strained, then left a featherlight kiss on the mussed hair. “Sweet dreams.” 

When he stepped from the bedroom, Billy had a couple of beers waiting. “Gonna stay?” the Alpha offered a cold beer out and Steve took it without hesitation, popped the top off and headed toward the far end of the couch for a drink… and a heart to heart with his Alpha. 

“So.” Billy sat on the other end of the couch. Farther away than he wanted to be. Close enough to still hear everything Steve said. Too far to touch. Close enough to reach out and take Steve’s hand if the Omega so much as twitched towards him. “You wanted to talk?” 

“Yeah.” Steve took a drink, took a drink, took a drink. Realized the beer was already half empty and put it aside to clasp his hands together. “So. Um. At the hospital when Blue woke up? You called him…periwinkle.” 

“Huh.” Billy chuckled under his breath. “Yeah. Periwinkle.” 

“Why?” 

“Uhhhh cos I try not to yell at him?” The Alpha grimaced self consciously when Steve’s eyebrows shot towards his hairline in surprise. “Yeah it’s just-- you know there isn’t all that many reasons for a kid to be hollered at. Maybe not any reasons. So whenever he’s throwing a tantrum or in trouble or anytime I just wanna shout cos I’m freaking out, I just… start callin’ him all the different shades of blue I can remember.” 

“So.” Steve picked at the peeling edge of the beer bottle wrapper. “So Periwinkle is…” 

“For when he’s scared. Or sad.” Billy nodded a few times. “Periwinkle and like… like Robin’s Egg? Sometimes I call him pastel. Then he cheers up. When he’s in trouble it’s like, Indigo. Or Cobalt, Every once in a while I throw out an Ocean. Aquamarine when he’s being dramatic. Teal, maybe, but he doesn’t like that one so I gotta take it out of rotation.” 

“Soft blue colors when he’s sad.” The Omega pieced together. “Dark colors when he’s being stormy. Brilliant bright unique colors when he’s being over the top.” 

“Exactly.” 

“Because you don’t want to yell at him.” 

“It’s just.” Billy shook his head. “Kids shouldn’t be yelled at. Shouldn’t be screamed at. Like what the fudge, what could a kid really do that makes them need to get yelled at. Half th’time if you just look at Blue a little cross he apologizes, we don’t gotta yell at him. And he’s just a baby, you know?” 

He took a quick drink, emotion making his voice rough as he got carried away on the topic, “Blue thinks he’s grown, but seven is small. He’s just a kid. Just a baby. Couldn’t even tie his own shoes until just a few months ago, nothing in the world is actually his fault so why would I yell at him for it.” 

Steve put his fingers to his mouth and nodded a few times, “Mhm. Mhm. That’s um-- I mean, it’s--” 

Billy waited for the Omega to finish the sentence or the thought, but when Steve just sat there staring down at his beer, Billy prodded anxiously, “What? What is it, Steve? What are you thinking?” 

“Just.” Steve rotated towards him on the couch, tucking a foot under his butt so he could sit sideways and study the Alpha for a long minute. “Tell me about Blue. Start at the beginning and tell me everything."

Billy told him everything. About the shitty California apartment in the worst part of town and how two year old Blue would play outside in the hall with his race cars while noise and chaos shook the door of his Mom’s apartment. About coming home from work at the mechanic shop and stopping to share his McDonalds with the toddler cos he didn’t know if Blue had eaten that day. About learning to change diapers and babyproofing his tiny studio cos as winter came on the hallways were too cold for Blue to stay in and his Mom had people in and out all the time and it didn’t feel fucking safe. 

Billy told the Omega about how Blue’s Mom had demons, how her eyes looked haunted the same way his looked haunted in the mirror. How whatever she put into her veins trying to cope took her life right over and how he couldn’t say he’d ever seen her sober and about how one day she’d shown up with Blue in her arms and asked Billy to keep him for a few days. 

“She said a few days.” he clarified grimly. “Said she’d be back soon. Said since I already took care of him sometimes when she was busy, maybe I could take care of him for a few days while she tried to find another job and then she just… left.” 

“I don’t blame her.” Hoarsely. “I don’t blame her. I don’t think Mama’s ever wanna leave their babies but sometimes-- sometimes life is-- we never know, you know.” Pain bled into the Alpha’s woodsmoke scent, all the memories of his own Mom he’d tried to keep buried, all the hurt he’d always hid until a little boy with blue eyes brought it all up all over again. “And I guess she figured he’d be safe with me, if she was gonna leave, at least she left him with someone safe which is,” sniff. “More than my Mom ever did. So.” 

The rest of the story came easier, faster. How Billy had gone to request permanent custody as a guardian and been told by an overworked state employee who hadn’t cared enough to listen to the whole problem to just put his name on the damn birth certificate. How he’d contacted social workers to do it the right way and got rushed through the adoption process cos they didn’t want another kid and another set of paperwork and another burden costing the state money. How Blue played with tools in the corner of the mechanic shop while Billy worked fifteen hours a day trying to get enough money to rent an apartment. How they spent weekends at the library because the park was too cold and Billy couldn’t afford toys and how he read to Bubba every single day trying to get the kid to talk even a little bit… How he’d left the first name line on the birth certificate blank until it was time to enroll Bubba in school and he’d let the boy pick his own name. 

“He picked Blue.” Steve realized and the Alpha smiled, “Yeah. I said ‘hey I can call you Bubba every day for the rest of your life but what do you want everyone else to call you’ and he said ‘Blue’ so that’s his name. Blue.” 

“So his Mama…?” 

“I dunno.” Billy shrugged. “I got the adoption legalized, got the birth certificate changed, and then I just… quit searching for her. Maybe that ain’t right, maybe I should’ve turned him over to foster care or something, but-- but every time I hear him laugh, I think I did the right thing. I know I did the right thing. He’s my boy. Family. Neither one of us never had anyone but now we have each other.”

“Does he...remember her?” 

“I don’t know.” 

The Omega was silent, stunned, and Billy got up to get a couple more beers, took the long way around the couch to the kitchenette fridge to give himself and Steve a minute to collect themselves. 

Then, “You thought he was six.” Billy said it slowly, said it pointedly. “You thought he was mine, thought Blue was six, which means you figured I’d gone and had him the second I got outta Hawkins.” 

“The math didn’t quite add up.” Steve held out his hand for Billy’s lighter and cracked the top of his beer before tossing it back. “But yeah. I thought he was yours. Thought he was… six. But he’s almost eight which meant if he was yours--”

“I would’a had him at like fifteen.” Billy snorted. “No. Adopted the little bugger.” and, “You were upset. Thinking Blue was six.” 

“I thought you left me behind.” Steve whispered it barely audible. “Thought you turned tail and ran from being mine but you were willing to be someone else’s right away.” 

“No.” Billy didn’t so much as hesitate, didn’t even blink. “No, Omega. I left but not cos of you. And Blue’s mine but not cos I chose someone else instead of you. No.” 

“I--” Steve slipped his tongue over his fangs, then poked it at the side of his cheek thinking. “I needed to hear that. For-- for closure or whatever. Thank you.” 

“Closure.” Billy echoed. “So what, you just needed to know about Blue and then you’re good? We’re good? Or you’re done and we’re done, which is it?” His deep voice pitched a little bit stressed but the Alpha didn’t care. “Geez Steve, just tell me what you’re thinking. Please. I used’ta be able to read you like a book but I can’t anymore and you said you wanted to talk so let’s talk. What are you thinking?” 

“I’m thinking…” Steve tapped at his bottom lip with the rim of the beer bottle, then with the tips of his fingers. “I’m just-- I’m thinking--” 

Then the Omega went quiet just looking, eyes hooded and cheeks flushing red and Billy-- Billy squirmed under the sudden perusal. Under the weight of the Omega’s observation. His skin tingled, the hair on his arms standing on end when Steve tilted his head and parted his lips to show off the pointed ends of his porcelain fangs. Billy shifted on the couch and dug his fingers into his thighs when Steve’s dark eyes dropped to fixate on his mouth, down to his throat and the Alpha instinctively lifted his chin, not submissive like an Omega but preening showing off the strong line of his neck so Steve could look his fill. 

Steve’s gorgeous mouth tipped up at the corner over the display then his gaze dropped lower over the stretch of Billy’s shoulders in the worn long sleeve shirt, lower to where the material bunched at the Alpha’s stomach, lower to the pull of faded denim across Billy’s thighs and Billy choked on a too quick inhale, wet at his lips and tried to force himself to breathe slow, “Mercy, Omega. Can’t just stare at a fella like that without saying anything.” 

“You’re just.” Steve swallowed. Dragged his gaze up and found the Alpha’s eyes again. “Different than I expected. But the same too. When I used to think about us and the future, sometimes I’d think about you’d be with pups. With our pups and this is how I thought you’d be. How you are with Blue, I knew you’d be that good of a Dad. With ours.” 

Billy’s eyes flared red and Steve took a big gulp of his beer, rubbing at his mouth and sniffing loudly. “Which is a stupid thing to think all things considered. But I can’t help but wonder. Or maybe wish--"

“Omega.” Growly growly, Billy couldn’t stop the rumble from deep in his chest. “Sweetheart.” 

“I gotta go.” Just that fast, panic flared in Steve’s eyes, skittered into his scent. He scrambled up from the couch and left his mostly full beer behind, nearly running for the door. “I gotta go. I have a shift in the morning and I only came over to drop off the medicine and--” 

“Steve Steve wait.” Billy didn’t jump in front of the Omega, he didn’t even make a move towards the door. Once he’d gotten in between Steve and trying to leave and the big Omega had damn near put him through the floor. Sure that had been back before their snapping snarling rivalry had turned to kisses and laughter and bonding, but Billy had learned the lesson well. 

No, Billy didn’t move towards the door or try to physically stop the Omega from leaving but he did stand up. Did set his beer down and hold both his hands out. Did let his voice bottom out somewhere near a rumble so he could ask, “Omega. Can I scent you?” 

“You know what I smell like.” the Alpha was asking for intimacy, for trust, for a chance to get beneath the words and tension to find the truth buried in Steve’s scent and soul and the risk of it left Steve shaking. “You know what I smell like.” 

“Yeah, I do.” Billy held both his hands out, palms up, fingers curled coaxing, he was asking please he was begging fully aware that if the Omega walked out the door now, the entire night would be called closure and he’d never have a chance to make anything right again. “Can I scent you anyway?” 

And Steve said, “Yes.” The Omega gasped“Yes.” and set his fingers in Billy’s palm, let the Alpha pull him in and in until they fit up against each other, into each other, notched in close like they had a thousand times before. 

Billy found Steve’s throat immediately, brushed his nose first tentatively over the slight bump of the Omega’s bonding glands where the lavender sage scent was strongest, then when Steve tipped his chin up and clicked encouraging, Billy groaned and pushed his face in deeper, burrowing into the curve of the Omega’s neck and open mouth inhaling, greedily gasping trying to get as much of his mate into his lungs as possible. Steve’s hands landed at Billy’s shoulders then held stronger at the width of his biceps, squeezing experimentally at the strength coiled in the Alpha’s frame as he huffed scenting along Billy’s collarbone, up the length of his throat to the hinge of his jaw, up further pushing aside the fringe of hair until the Omega could set his mouth whisper soft at the sensitive patch of skin behind Billy’s ear. 

“Omega…” Billy crooned it into the three beauty marks at Steve’s neck, mumbled something adoring and nearly subsonic as he swept his mouth beneath Steve’s chin and felt the rasp of stubble along his lips. Steve angled his head searching, nosed at Billy’s temple until the Alpha lifted enough for Steve to rub his cheek against him then tangled his fingers into Billy’s curls and sighed shuddering in whole body relief when the Alpha mirrored the motion and buried his rough hands deep into Steve’s thick hair. 

“Omega…” Billy mouthed over Steve’s jaw line, at the sweep of his cheek bone, left a kiss between the Omega’s brows, at the tip of his nose then paused at the very corner of Steve’s mouth, waiting waiting breathing giving Steve every opportunity to pull away. 

Steve turned into it. The Omega turned into the wordless question and brought their mouths together slowly, carefully, not pliant but patient, not submissive but searching as he pressed a half inch closer and deepened the kiss. And, “Steve.” Billy cupped at his chin, pressed his thumb into Steve’s bottom lip until the Omega opened to let him in, then Billy lost a groan into the slick slide of tongues and dragged Steve in even tighter. 

“Fffffu--” Steve’s head dropped back, mouth falling open when Billy bent to seal in at his throat, sucking a hard kiss onto the unmarked skin and dragging his teeth along the thrum of Steve’s pulse, sweeping his tongue after to soothe the red marks. Steve grabbed for Billy’s shoulders, looped his arms at the Alpha’s neck and Billy growled for it, braced his big hands at Steve’s hips then onto his ass and held tight when the Omega’s knees buckled beneath the unexpected grab. 

“No no no, I’ve got you.” Billy had him, caught him, backed up stumbling over the Omega's toes and his own feet trying to backpedal enough to fall onto the couch. Steve hit the cushions first but Billy was on him a second later, crawling up over Steve’s body to cage the Omega in with his bulk, a hand planted at the arm of the couch to keep his balance and the other buried in Steve’s hair dragging him up for kiss after kiss after uncoordinated, nearly messy, almost desperate kiss. 

“Billy.” Billy wedged a thick thigh high between Steve’s legs and the Omega reflexively tightened around him, instinctively snapped his legs closed and rutted up into the pressure before, “Alpha…” mewling soft and melting beneath him. They scrambled to rearrange, clumsy on the couch trying to untangle limbs until Steve’s knees fell open and the Alpha could slot in heavy and hot against him. 

“Fuck.” Billy’s gasp dragged off into a bass pitched growl when Steve hooked an ankle at his calf and rocked up to meet him, dragging the hard line of his cock directly over the Alpha and tossing his head back moaning when Billy jerked against him. “Fuck, c’mere.” Another kiss, crashing together with tongues and teeth and the sting of fangs cutting at Billy’s lip until he tasted blood and the vibration of the Omega’s purr clear down his throat. He sat up to try and yank at Steve’s shirt and nearly got bit for the effort by an Omega who wasn’t done kissing yet, had to dodge Steve’s sharp teeth and wrap a hand at Steve’s throat to make him stop, to make Steve soothe and settle and suck at his tongue, at his lips, at his neck and trill eager and impatient carried away by the greedy of it all. 

“Vicious pretty Omega.” Billy finally got the shirt off, finally got his hands on the expanse of flawless skin and the trail of coarse hair down Steve’s chest to his navel. He dug his fingers into the meat of Steve’s chest and broke away from a drugging kiss to seal his mouth over a pebbled nipple, scraped his teeth pulling until Steve arched up beneath him swearing and scrabbling at his arms, murmuring hushed and nonsensical into his ear, “Alpha, my Alpha please please, I’ve missed you…” 

When Billy’s shirt came off the kiss slowed, the frantic grabbiness eased. Steve’s mouth went tight and his eyes went watery, hands faltering at the expanse of scars at Billy’s sternum, over his ribs and around at the center of his back. The Omega tasted like tears when Billy bent to hush him, tasted like six years alone and a summer full of horror and broken hearts and Billy shook his head, covered Steve’s hands over the scars and rumbled, “Hush hush, my Omega. It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” 

“I wanted to take care of you.” Steve tasted like crying and sorry sorry my Alpha and everything Billy had ever needed to hear in those long, awful months of recovery. 

“I wanted to be the one taking care of you!” The Omega tasted furious, angry cos Billy had left, devastated cos Billy had gone through everything alone. 

But they could talk about it later. Later. Starcourt and summer and leaving-- later. They needed to rush tonight, needed to hurry and be quiet with Blue sleeping in the other room, no time to linger and learn and remember, so Billy hushed his Omega with dotted kisses and graceless fumbling at his button and zipper until he could Steve’s pants down to close his fist around the Omega’s cock. Steve shook through a ragged moan--too loud, Billy clapped a hand at his mouth and Steve scrambled to quiet the next one into the arm of the couch, to get on all fours with his head down and back bowed, hips and ass up presenting and oh. 

Oh, Billy had to swallow a growl into a bite at the Omega’s shoulder, had to grip at himself squeezing his knot hard to force his mind to clear enough to not take too much too soon. 

“Got you.” Billy mumbled into Steve’s hair, into his shoulder, down the knobs of his spine and across every beauty mark and mole he found as he swept his hands along Steve’s strong back and tore the underwear away,. “Fuck you’re so wet, sweetheart.” as he pulled the Omega’s cheeks apart and thumbed over the puffy rim, dipped through the clear slick trickling from Steve’s entrance until Steve mewled and tried to clench around the too light pressure. 

“C’mere.” Billy wrapped an arm at Steve’s stomach and dragged him back an inch, folded far over the Omega’s body so he could scatter kisses across his back, up onto his throat, “Open for me right here, lemme in, open for me.” and Steve shoved his face into the couch arm to wail at the first push, at the first slide of Billy’s blunt finger past his rim and inside. 

“That’s good, you’re doing so good for me, what a pretty perfect Omega--” The Alpha choked on the words when Steve opened wet and keening around a second finger, around a third, drawing Billy into tight heat and rocking back into every shove of his hand, every twist of his wrist and crook of his fingers stroking at his insides. “God Steve look at you.” Billy curled his fingers searching for Steve’s prostate and cut his teeth sharp into the Omega’s back when Steve gushed wet for him, soaking down his wrist, “Omega.” 

“Don’t stop.” Steve peeled himself off the couch, leaned his way backwards swaying on his knees trying not to dislodge Billy’s fingers and pursing his lips for a kiss. He was mumbling, slurring his words as the Alpha found his prostate again and again, lashes wet on his cheeks, eyes wide and wondering and Billy grabbed for his chin, dug his fingers into Steve’s jaw and forced him round for a messy, bruising kiss. 

“More.” Steve bit at him, snapped his fangs at Billy’s tongue and lips and cheek and Billy-- “Steve.” snarled it red eyed and wanting as they rocked together. He couldn’t touch himself or Steve’s cock with one hand buried inside the Omega and the other grasping for balance but he wasn’t going to stop until Steve came twisting apart beneath him, Billy wasn’t going to stop until the Omega told him--

“More.” Steve’s head fell back onto Billy’s shoulder, hair sweat damp and clinging to his forehead, hips moving in jerky thrusts and cock bobbing against his stomach as he tried tried to get the Alpha further inside him. “Billy.” 

“I don’t have anything with me.” Billy breathed it like a prayer, a curse, an apology. “Sweetheart, I don’t have anything on me. I didn’t think we’d-- fuck I didn’t even dream we’d--” 

“I have one.” Steve had one, had a condom in his discarded pants pocket, specifically an Alpha sized condom.

And, “Why do you have--?” Billy was almost scared to ask. Had Steve planned this? Had he planned a night with someone else? “Were you hoping--?” 

“Maybe you just fuck me.” The Omega was all teeth and tongue crushing their mouths together, nearly brutal and undeniably impatient, his hands in the way stroking the Alpha's cock as Billy unrolled the condom down his length, his fingers bruising Billy's thighs as he fell back into presenting and dragged the Alpha up against him. “Billy please just-- please--!” 

“Nuh uh, sweetheart.” Billy lined up at Steve’s hole but didn’t push in, just lay his full weight over the Omega until Steve went very still beneath him, until the Omega turned his head to expose his neck and let his lashes flutter at his cheek submissive. Then Billy wrapped his big palm at Steve’s throat, then he bent close and rumbled into the Omega’s ear, “Wanna hear you call me Alpha when you want me in you. Call me Alpha.” 

Softer. “The way you used to. Like you did when you used to love me.” 

“When I used to love you? Alpha you’re so fucking stupid.” Steve barked out a hoarse curse when Billy nudged his cock forward, when the first few thick inches of the Alpha split him burning at his rim before sinking in deep. The Omega turned his face into the couch and gripped hard at the worn out upholstery and whispered out hungry and needy and resigned, “You’re so fucking stupid…”

“I never stopped loving you…” 

*****

December 21, 1991

“Billy.” Blue found the Alpha out on the couch the next morning, passed out snoring in his jeans, crammed uncomfortable on the narrow cushions. Blue sniffed experimentally at the hint of Mama Omega in the air, lavender and sage and Steve who scented like family, then clambered onto the couch and curled right into Billy’s side. “Billy?” 

“Blue.” Billy didn’t remember falling asleep after Steve had left-- after he’d asked the Omega to stay and Steve had kissed him sad and slow and left anyway-- he didn’t remember falling back onto the sofa and passing out, but he automatically opened his arms for his kid and felt around for a blanket to pull over his bare chest and Blue’s little frame. “Heya bud. How you feelin’?” 

“I’m okay.” Blue sniffed and curled closer, shivering a little in the early morning air. “I was thinking though.” 

“Mmm, what’r’ya thinkin’ bout Bubba?” Billy bit back a jaw cracking yawn, and when the motion twinged at a newly formed hickey, the Alpha smiled still drowsy and still in disbelief that the night had happened at all. 

“I’m thinking, my song Blue Christmas? Isn’t really about me. I think I heard it wrong.” 

“Oh yeah?” Billy petted tiredly at Blue’s messy hair. “How does that make you feel?” 

“I dunno.” Blue shrugged. “Like maybe I was dumb for thinkin’ it was about me. Why would Elvis sing about me?” 

Billy didn’t have an answer for that, and Blue decided after another minute, “I think I’m gonna keep singing it like we do though. I like our way of singing it.” 

“I like how we sing it too.” The Alpha plonked a kiss on his forehead. “Got some new medicine for you to take, okay?” 

“Did Steve bring it?” Blue wanted to know, and Billy hesitated before nodding, “Yeah, he sure did. Did you hear him come in and check on you last night?” 

“No. But it smells like him.” Blue burrowed another bit closer, voice very soft. “Not like how Mommy used to scent? But like a Mama Omega anyway. He scents like you do. Like family. Smells good.” 

“Yeah. Steve smells real good.” Billy waited to see if Blue would say anything else about his mommy, the little boy hadn’t ever mentioned her before but Billy wasn’t gonna shut down the conversation if Blue wanted to keep going. 

Instead Blue asked, “Is Steve coming back today?” 

“I don’t know.” Billy had asked Steve to stay. The kiss the Omega gave him had felt like closure and goodbye and the end. “But I fudging hope so.” 

“I fudging hope so too.” Blue replied solemnly. “I like him.” 

“Me too, Bubba.” Billy closed his eyes and settled back into the pillows, arm securely around his son. “Me too.”

*****

Chapter Notes:

I feel like most of my readers know this, but for those who don't-- I was adopted out of an unfortunately similar-to-Blue situation so please know when Billy talks about not blaming the Mom and how her coping by way of addiction and how we never know what someone's going through-- I agree with all that. But also, I agree wholeheartedly STRONGER with the sentiment of "fuck any adult who puts their own shit in front of the well being of their innocent kids".

Moving on to happier notes: I LOVE the moments where BillySteve make eye contact and just can't look away. They get all horny and intense and tbh Steve telling Billy "you're a good Dad" and Billy basically melting into a puddle is just top tier.

I went back and forth about making the couch scene fully Rated E. On one hand, why not? It's Christmas, we deserve a treat. But on the other hand, I think there's still too much to talk about and they're still all fuzzy about actually being back together to focus on the sexy times...? Idk. Maybe the next scene will get a little spicier.

Coming Up! Max's Wedding and Steve shows up to speak his mind about a couple Important Things.

Chapter Text

December 23th

“Billy.” Blue yanked the tie out from his collar and held it up to the Alpha, scowling at the thin stripe of material as if it had personally offended him. “Billy, I need help.” 

“Sure thing, Blue.” Billy smoothed his own tie down the front of the crisply ironed dress shirt then bent down to quickly loop the tie at Blue’s neck, talking him through the motions as he did. “Take the wide end of the tie and pull it over, then under and across, through the center, loop it up, set it tight. Easy. Now you’re all set.”

“Hm.” Blue turned back to the mirror and straightened the tie, squinting one eye comically serious at his reflection. “I guess it’s okay. Did your Dad teach you how to tie a tie?” 

“Nah, bud.” Billy’s hands faltered fastening the buttons at the shirt cuffs, and he had to pause to flex his fingers a few times. Roll his shoulders. Plant his feet. Hold his ground against the memory of Neil rearing up ugly and hateful in his head. “Nah. My old man didn’t teach me nothing about anything.”

“Then who taught you?” Blue’s little nose wrinkled when the Alpha’s scent changed suffocating like pissed off. “Was it Steve?” 

“No it wasn’t Steve either. It was uh-- it was the police chief. Hopper. He taught me the day I graduated highschool. I was late to the ceremony, ran into him in the parking lot and he helped me fix my tie, helped with my cuff links then let me sneak in through the back doors so I wouldn’t have to walk in where everyone would notice.” 

…Hopper had done all that without mentioning the still visible bruise at Billy’s eye or the way Billy flinched anytime those big hands got too close to his neck. The huge Alpha had tied Billy’s tie for him, then rumbled low and protective, “You did good this year, turning things around with Max, with the other kids, your grades and figuring out all that shit with Steve so you can take care of him proper. Proud of you for graduating today, even if your piece of shit old man isn’t.” 

Billy hadn’t known what to say. Hopper had patted him on the back and sent him on his way and six years later, Billy realized he’d almost forgotten about it. In the wash of blood and nightmares and horror of summer 1985, that small moment with the Chief of Police had almost been left behind entirely. 

“Police Chief Hopper taught me how to tie a tie.” he told Blue again, his voice stronger. “He’s a good guy. A good Alpha.” 

“The police chief?” Blue arched an eyebrow skeptically. “Señor Hoppity?” 

“Señor Hoppity?” Billy barked out a startled laugh. “Did your Auntie Max tell you to call him that?” 

“No.” Blue shoved his feet into his clunky boots and pulled the cuff of his cleanest jeans down over the laces. “Auntie Erica did.” 

“Okay well, your Auntie Erica is a whole menace.” The Alpha smiled a little bit. “But if you call Chief Hopper ‘Señor Hoppity’ to his face? I’ll buy you a candy bar.” 

“Shake on it.” Blue stuck his hand out and Billy shook it solemnly. “Okay, lets go!” 

“Yeah, alright.” Billy grabbed his truck keys, took a last look in the mirror and blew out a long breath. “Let’s go see Max get married.” 

*****

The wedding was at the church, the same church almost everyone in Hawkins went to every Sunday, the same church Neil had dragged their patchwork family too every weekend as if singing psalms for one day made up for being the devil incarnate the other six days of the week.

But the day wasn’t about Billy’s shitty memories of the church or the way he’d hated the pastor for always shaking his hand and smiling and never once commenting on the bruises or stiffness or bandages or the way Neil kept their family in line with curt words and threatening glances. 

The day and church and celebration was about Max and honestly, the church was beautiful. The sign on the lawn had been changed to announce the Sinclair-Mayfield wedding, the sounds of a stringed quartet warbled through the open doors as a line of guests made their way up the steps, boldly colored flowers were tucked into the holiday greenery and garlands winding along the hand rails leading up to the huge double doors, and the sun set early in the winter in Hawkins so the sky lit up cold and brilliant in shades of pink, orange and purple behind the soaring steeple and snow frosted stained glass windows. 

It was a beautiful venue, a beautiful day to be married and when Billy was snatched by Erica and shoved towards the bride’s room near the back of the chapel... well Max was pretty beautiful too.

“Cheese and crackers, Auntie Max! You look like a princess!” Blue’s mouth dropped wide open, his eyes comically round when they stepped into the room and got a first look at Max in her wedding dress. “Wow!” 

“Blue.” Max gathered up the folds of her gorgeous gown and crouched down to open her arms for a hug. “Hi bud. I’m so glad you’re here.” 

“We could use your skirts as a parachute!” Blue made a zooming motion with his hand. “Jump right off a cliff and still land safe in the fields!” 

 “Cheese and crackers, Max.” Billy whistled low and maybe just a little bit sarcastic as he  reached for Max’s hand and helped compensate for her pregnant belly and the outrageously full skirt. “We could use your dress as a parachute.”

“Fudge off with all your cheese and crackers stuff.” Max got her balance back, set a hand at her rounded tummy and beckoned her brother in for a quick peck at his cheek. “I’d give you a real hug but I ate a bunch of cake before this and if you squeeze too hard I might actually vomit. Consider yourself warned.” 

“Charming and ladylike as ever.” Billy snorted, then took a step back so he could get a good look at the gown and admitted, “You look really pretty, Max. Definitely like a princess. Your dress is uh--” 

“Horrifyingly puffy? Potentially dangerous if I twirl too hard and some of these beads and pearls shoot off and hit people in the eye?” she bared her little fangs laughing out loud. “You know, I never thought I’d be into big fancy wedding gowns, but I do feel very much feel like Cinderella right now.” 

“You’re beautiful.” Billy nodded quickly, jerkily, and Max’s sweet scent perfumed in open affection. “We should maybe-- maybe get a picture together, huh?” 

“That’s why I had Erica snag you as soon as you two arrived.” Max raised her voice to holler, “Hey! Come in!” towards a side door, then turned back to explain, “I’m apparently in the eating everything and then crying over everything phase of my pregnancy right now, and since I know I’ll be a blubbery, snotty mess after the ceremony and I know you’ll probably try to leave as soon as possible cos you don’t really want to be here--” 

Right on cue the Omega teared up, and Billy blanched, “Oh heck, Max. Don’t cry. Sheesh.” 

“No no it's not a big deal, this is just my life right now.” Max snatched a hanky out of the bodice of the overly beaded, overly full dress and dabbed at her eyes. “I’m crying over everything. Saw a baby bird and burst into tears. It’s been super fun. But I'm just saying I know it isn’t easy for you to be back in Hawkins and around everybody and all the questions, so we’ll do some pictures now and then if you want to sneak out early, you can. No hard feelings, I promise."

“I’m here to see you get married, Max.” Billy clicked his tongue just once, just soft in appreciation for her thoughtfulness. “I can stay the whole time. I’ve dealt with scarier shit than nosy small town gossips, you know?” 

“I know you’ve dealt with scarier stuff than this, Billy.” Max knew, they all knew, and her eyes dimmed in a blink of sadness before she sniffed and waved off his concern. “But I’m telling you anyway. You don’t have to stay the whole time if you don’t want. Or if Blue doesn’t want. Or.” 

Now her eyes gleamed knowing, “Or if you see Steve in his fancy wedding suit and decide to take him back to the motel and not let him leave this time…?” 

“Goddam--” Billy started to growl, started to curse, but he shot a quick look at a closely watching Blue and hissed, “Gosh darn it. Are there no secrets in this town?” 

“No.” Max decided triumphantly. “Of course not. Steve told Robin about what happened and Robin let it slip to me when we were putting my bouquet together and even though it initially weirded me out to talk about my brother and one of my best friends rekindling their love life, I’ve decided to be fully invested in it so yes, if you and Steve decide to leave the wedding early together, I won’t be upset. You have my blessing. Please make an honest Omega out of him, he's so lonely he breaks my heart."

“Great. I’ll keep that in mind.” The Alpha tried for irritable, but it only came out wistful. Longing. Steve hadn’t called or returned Billy’s call in two days and he was about climbing out of his skin scratching itching needing to get back to the Omega and back on the Omega and back in the Omega until their scents blended and Steve was breathing purring into his ear, trembling in his arms clutching at him telling Billy to stay. 

Billy tried to sound irritable about his little sister being nosy about his love life but god damn it all anyway. 

“C’mere and take a picture with me.” Max pressed her fingers into Billy’s palm like she understood just how torn up he was inside. “Blue come and stand here, just push in close by my dress.” and to the photographer, “I want a couple of all of us, a couple of just me and my brother and then a few of just me and my nephew. Maybe one of Billy and Blue alone so they have a nice picture together too.” 

“Sure thing, Ms. Mayfield.” the photographer smiled and promptly began snapping candid photos as the three tried to figure out how to stand. “Alright, big brother put your arm around her waist, little Bubba down there be careful not to step on your Auntie’s dress but scooch in close and give me a big smile, big smile, big smile….!” 

“Auntie Max.” Blue cheesed his best grin at the camera, then tugged at her dress urgently. “If we stay in Hawkins with you, will you let me babysit sometimes? I’m big enough and I’ll be real careful! I won't drop him or nothing!"

“You-- you want to stay in Hawkins so you can babysit your new cousin?” Tears. Promptly. “Blue, that’s so sweet, you’re such a sweet pup, we’d be a whole real family together wouldn’t we?” 

“Maxine, seriously with the waterworks?” Billy dropped his tone rumbling at her, then turned to pull her into a full hug. “You’re gonna be all blotchy faced and ugly for your pictures and I’m pretty sure everyone in this place would blame me for it. Cut it out.” 

“Oh my god, Billy!” 

That was the picture the photographer snapped. Max laughing through her tears. Billy hugging his little sister close. Blue leaning into the bride’s huge dress with a comically confused expression lighting his blue eyes and tilting at his smile. 

Family. 

“You’re beautiful.” Billy took the hankie and dabbed at the corner of Max’s eyes carefully, down at her face trying not to smudge the little bit of glitter on her cheekbones as she blinked blinked blinked drying tears before they ran into her eyeliner. “We’ll see you out there?” 

“Love you guys.” Max blew them a kiss just as Mrs. Sinclair swept through the door with her bouquet. “See you soon.” 

“C’mon Bubba.” Billy nudged Blue towards the sanctuary, the growing crowd of wedding guests and the rows of pews with name cards for guests of the bride and groom. “Let’s go find our seats.” 

“I was serious, you know.” Blue held on tight to Billy’s hand so they didn’t get separated and hurried his way alongside his Dad. “I’m big enough to babysit Auntie Max’s kid. I’m almost eight and eight is big enough to babysit a baby."

“I dunno if eight is old enough to babysit anyone actually.” Billy steered him around another clump of people then pointed to their name cards on the third row from the stage. “But maybe once your cousin is big enough to travel, Max and Lucas can come out to Cali to see us. You might be big enough to babysit by then. Ten or eleven or whatever.” 

“Ten? No way, I’m big enough now.” Blue flopped down on the pew, tried and mostly failed to hide a wince when his butt connected with the uncomfortable surface, but kept right on arguing, “I’ll be eight when the baby’s born. That’s old enough. Specially if you help me.” 

“We won’t be here when the baby’s born, bud.” The Alpha pointed out and Blue raised his voice, “But we could stay though! We could stay in Hawkins!” 

“Blue.” Billy went very still. Very cold. “Blue, no. We can’t--” 

“Auntie Max said she was happy you were home again.” Blue interrupted talking quick, talking over the change in his Dad’s scent and the way Billy’s shoulders had gone stiff and straight. “So if this is home--” 

“Home is in California.” the Alpha said softly. Plainly. “Not Hawkins. Home is in California.” 

“Then how come Steve and Auntie Max and Señor Hoppity and everyone else smells like family?” The pastor moved to stand at the pulpit and the wedding guests all hurried towards their seats, so Blue lowered his voice and persisted, “If California’s home then how come everyone here smells like family? Isn’t home where our family is?” 

“It’s-- Blue, you can’t--” 

The music changed. The ceremony started. The huge doors of the church closed and the crowded pews hushed and the Alpha took the coward’s way out of answering. 

“Shh.” he held a finger to his lips to hush Blue up. Shook his head when the seven year old crossed his arms mutinously. “We’ll talk about it later.” 

“But--!” 

Steve hurried past their row to find his own seat just then, scooting in almost late to the wedding and apologizing to Robin as he squeezed past her to get settled in the pew. Billy’s attention was instantly caught by the Omega, all that hair perfectly combed and a well fitted suit wrapped round his gorgeous body… the two day old bruise and imprint of Billy’s teeth at his throat covered by the stiffly starched collar…

Steve hadn’t called or returned Billy’s call in two days. Forty eight hours. Blue was asking why Hawkins wasn’t home and the only Omega who could’ve convinced Billy to call the place home hadn’t said a single word since leaving the Alpha’s arms and bed two whole days ago. 

Fuck. 

Or rather, fudge. 

“There’s Steve!” Blue tugged at Billy’s sleeve, then stuck his hand right in the air and waved, whispering loud above the muted sounds of the string quartet, “Steve! Steve! Over here!” 

“Hi precious pup.” Steve leaned around Robin to waggle his fingers in a quick wave. “Hi Baby Blue.” 

“Come sit by us!” 

“I’ll come over and see you later.” the Omega promised with a quickly adoring smile for the pup. Then with less of a smile and more of a pointed look towards Billy, “Later.” 

Oh fudge. 

The wedding was…. Nice. Billy felt fake smiling along to all the prayers, he was uncomfortable with every person who glanced his way then stopped and stared, he couldn’t stop thinking about the implications of his Omega promising later but even with all that on his mind, the wedding was nice. 

Max was beautiful in her ridiculous dress, Lucas swore out loud in shock when he saw her come down the aisle then had to apologize to the pastor over the sound of Dustin’s hysterical cackle. Mike got audibly choked up reading a poem he’d written in honor of the event while Will unveiled a portrait he’d painted of the newlyweds and maid of honor Eleven hugged Max until they both cried when it was time to exchange the rings. 

Most of the wedding guests would never know how amazing it was for all six members of the Party to be present together for one of their weddings, most of the attendees wouldn’t ever understand just what it meant for Robin and Steve, for Jonathan and Nancy and Billy, for Joyce and Chief Hopper to watch the kids be grown up, they had no clue how much of a relief and blessing and answer to prayers it was for the kids to even have the chance to move on, much less to have the chance to move on together.

So many times the core group of pups could have fallen apart, fallen aside, ran from each other and the reminder of trauma and nightmares and everything Upside Down, but instead they’d clung to each other, made it through the other side to call each other family and to continue calling Hawkins home. 

Home. 

Billy hadn’t ever wanted to consider Hawkins home but when the pastor announced Max and Lucas as Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair and Max found Billy’s eyes first to laugh out loud in excitement and cheer, when they moved to the reception hall and El untangled herself from Mike’s side and came to brush her fingers lightly at Billy’s cheek and trill at him welcoming and relieved, when Blue grabbed Holly’s hand and rushed her out onto the dance floor to attempt his very best boogie to whatever was playing over the speakers…

Well. 

The reception was busy and loud and crowded, so Billy got himself a spot by the bar to sip a drink and simply take it all in. He managed a few smiles when people looked his way, stood up and clapped and cheered along with everyone else when Max and Lucas made their appearance, and grinned proud watching Blue giggle his way through dancing with each and every pretty girl who looked his way. Blue hadn’t ever been the type to warm up to anyone quickly, he was shy to the point of being painful at the beginning of every school year and Billy didn’t know if it was just the atmosphere of wedding or the safety of having his Dad and some family-scented people around that made Blue so open and carefree but it sure made Billy think about home and Hawkins and what it fucking meant for his boy to be happier here than he’d ever been in their familiar apartment and familiar neighborhood. 

California was home. 

But. 

“Billy.” 

“Shit.” Billy nearly dropped his glass of wine when Steve popped up unexpected and announced at his side. “Shit. I mean shoot. Sorry. You um-- I didn’t-- what are you-- you startled me. Fuck. Fudge. Sorry. Uh--” 

“You broke my heart, Billy Hargrove.” Steve ignored Billy’s stammering and sat himself on the stool right next to the Alpha, elbows propped casually on the bar and long legs crossed, chin tilted up almost lazily so his hair fell long at the back of his suit jacket. He appeared calm, but when Billy leaned in enough to check his scent, the sage was nearly burnt, the lavender smudged and murky to reflect the pain sank deep into the Omega’s dark eyes, the way his fangs pressed bulky behind the stress-tight line of his mouth.

“You.” Steve’s throat moved when he swallowed, the motion exaggerated by the lift of his chin, the way his hair framed at his flawless skin. “Broke. My heart.” 

They had to talk about it. About them. About Hawkins and summertime and leaving. 

“I know.” Billy didn’t bother denying or arguing or trying to clarify anything. Just, “I know I did.” And, “I’m sorry. But I couldn’t stay here.” 

“I know you couldn’t stay.” The Omega nodded once. Dug his tongue at the point of his fangs and nodded again. “I understand why you had to leave. But.” 

Billy waited. The moment dragged long. Steve finally took a breath, “We always planned to run away together. You and me. But then you left and didn’t ask me to go with you.” 

“Would you have gone with me?” Billy used to torture himself by imagining this exact conversation. Never once in all the ways he thought he’d be face to face with his Omega hashing out the abrupt destruction of their relationship, had he imagined it would be at his little sister’s wedding with his son dancing to Whitney Houston in the background. He’d thought about it too many times to bother stammering and stuttering, it wasn’t the conversation he’d pictured but the Alpha still knew what he needed to say. 

So. 

 “If I’d asked you to get in the car and drive away with me after Starcourt.” He motioned for another drink from the bartender, held up a second finger so the Beta would pour Steve one too. “Would you have gone?” 

“No.” Steve kept his voice quiet, kept it soft so none of the other wedding guests milling around would over hear. “Not after Starcourt, I couldn’t. Up till that summer, we thought it was over. We thought El had banished the last of the bad stuff and we were all safe, but after July? I had to think maybe it wouldn’t ever be over so I couldn’t leave the pups. Couldn’t leave Robin. Couldn’t leave Hawkins cos what the fuck, you know? What if it all came back and I was gone and couldn’t help and then people died? I couldn’t risk it. Couldn’t leave. Wouldn’t have gone with you.” 

“But?” the Alpha prodded, and Steve’s smile was quick, painful, “But I wanted you to ask. I get you needing to leave after what happened, I understood you wanting to leave before all that. This place was a punishment for you and especially after Neil died, I get why you needed to just go. To just run. If it were me in your shoes, I would have left too. Hell I would have left the day I graduated.” 

A breath. “But if it were me in your shoes, I would have asked you to come with me. I would have begged you to come with me. I would have done anything short of fucking kidnapping you in the trunk of my car to make sure you came with me. But you didn’t feel the same way. You didn't ask me to come. Didn’t beg me to think about it. You didn’t even say goodbye. You just left.” 

“Omega.” Billy inched closer, stretched his fingers to bump at Steve’s pinky. “I was just a kid. We were just kids. One minute we were sneaking around hooking up and saving money to get a place together and the next minute there were monsters and people dying and that thing in my head. I couldn’t handle it.” 

“I wanted to help you handle it.” A flush of sorrow in the Omega’s scent, sodden and purple and miserable. Steve kept staring out at the party and kept stabbing at Billy’s soul with every whispered bit of truth. “Alpha. I wanted to help you handle it. I wanted to hold you and-- and change all the bandaging.” he motioned at his chest, miming the scars on Billy’s torso. “I wanted to deal with the medication and help with doctors and yell at Owens and take you home and put you to bed. I wanted to do that for you.” 

He blinked blinked trying to keep himself steady. “I wanted to do that with you. But you wouldn’t let me. Didn’t let me try. And then you left and didn’t ask me to go with you.” 

“...baby…” The Alpha murmured helplessly. “Omega.” 

“You called me yours.” Strangled. “You called me yours then left me behind like you weren’t ever mine. You always did that. Were possessive about me but I couldn’t be possessive about you. Wanted to take care of me but didn’t want me to take care of you. I was yours but you never were ever mine and then you left. We could have made it. We might have been broke and miserable and dealing with nightmares and all that bad shit, but we could have made it. Together.” 

He grit his teeth. “Or maybe we wouldn't have made it. Maybe we would’ve fallen apart and gone our separate ways cos we were just kids and life was fucked up beyond what we could handle. Maybe we wouldn’t have made it, but we could have at least tried. I was willing to try.  But you-- you just left.” 

Billy didn’t know what to say to that. Six years and imagining the conversation countless times but he’d never thought the Omega would break down mourning over the lost chance to take care of him. 

“What are you doing for Christmas?” 

The change of subject threw Billy for a loop and it took him a minute to catch up, took him a bit to straighten up and frown, to go back through the last few sentences and wonder where he’d missed the change from talking about leaving to talking about the holidays. 

“Wait.” He shook his head. “What? What are you asking?”

“What are you doing for Christmas?” Steve finally picked up his waiting wine glass and took a slow sip. “You and Blue.” 

“I don’t uh-- I don’t know.” Up at the front of the hall, Mr. Sinclair whistled for everyone to quiet down so Dustin could make the first of the best man speeches, and Billy lowered his voice another notch. “I planned on buying him a few things while we were here, but he’s been sick and we’ve been busy with the wedding stuff so I haven't had time yet. Mrs. Sinclair invited us to their place with Susan since Max and Lucas are leaving for a honeymoon but that felt a little awkward so maybe-- maybe just staying at the motel and watching movies. Maybe get some pizza.” 

“I have a tree up. It’s decorated.” The Omega said then, far too casual for how loaded the words were. “Kid should have a tree on Christmas morning, you know?” 

“Yeah.” Billy audibly gulped. “Yeah. I mean. We’ve always had a tree. Even if it was just a shitty one. This would have been our first Christmas without one.” 

“I have Christmas Eve night off, but I’m working the 7am shift Christmas morning so the other nurse can spend the day with her family.” Steve didn’t look at him. Didn’t so much as glance at the Alpha. “Maybe you and Blue spend tomorrow night and Christmas morning at my place. With me.”

“Shit.” Billy breathed. “Shit, Steve, are you serious?” 

“Tis the damn season.” Now Steve turned to look right at Billy, dropped his head back and to the side to pin the Alpha in place with his eyes, flecks of gold sparking deep in his dark gaze. His fangs caught the light glinting when he smiled, but it was a little bit heartbroken, his scent still a little bit bruised. “I thought I could fuck you and leave and call it closure but I can’t. I’m crawling out of my skin needing to get back to you. Keep touching where you bit me just to feel it sting. Wound up all anxious missing Blue and he isn’t even mine.” 

“Omega.” 

“I don’t want closure. Not yet.” Steve crooked his pinky through Billy’s, discreet and out of sight for anyone but the bartender if the Beta was so inclined to get nosy. “I don’t want closure, I want you. And I want to pretend, even if it's just for a night. Even if it’s just for Christmas. So maybe--” 

Maybe. 

Steve didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, “Come spend Christmas with me.” he grasped at the Alpha’s hand, at Billy’s wrist, up to his elbow to his bicep, tangled into the long blond curls and used it as leverage to pull Billy into a slow, heated kiss. “...please?” 

“Tomorrow night.” Steve pulled away, shaky fingers pressed to his lips as a round of applause broke out after Dustin finished his speech. He picked up his glass and slid off the stool to make his way to the front for his own speech, but paused, “I’m off work at four.” 

“Four.” Billy repeated numbly, stunned. “Yeah. Yes. We’ll be there.” 

“Don’t disappoint me.” The Omega set his palm warm at Billy’s knee, fingers digging at the seam of Billy’s trousers. “Okay?” 

“I won’t disappoint you.” he grabbed for Steve’s hand before the Omega slid away and set his mouth at the scarred knuckles, at the center of Steve’s palm. “I promise. We’ll be there for Christmas.” 

Promise.

*****

Christmas Eve

Steve really had a Christmas tree up at his little apartment, a perfectly plump pine full of tinsel and lights and handmade ornaments from the pups going back to 1983. The Omega had presents under the tree, an assortment of boxes wrapped in festive paper and tied with bows and when Blue found his name on not just one or two boxes but on five different packages, the little boy shrieked and shrieked until he had to bend over coughing trying to catch his breath so he could shriek all over again. 

“Breathe, Ocean boy!” Billy called, then informed Steve, “Good luck with him, by the way. We stopped by the Sinclairs and by Susan’s first, and they had presents for him too so he’s getting more this year than he ever has. Be fully prepared for him to turn into a greedy grabbing gremlin by midnight.” 

“If there’s one day a year when a kid when be a greedy grabbing gremlin, it’s Christmas.” Steve laughed softly as he closed the door behind the Alpha and the accompanying pile of presents. “Want help with all those?” 

“No but I wanna kiss you.” Billy set all the presents down then turned back to the Omega, both hands outstretched and woodsmoke scent brightening tentatively hopeful. “Can I kiss you?” 

“Yes.” 

Steve stepped right into Billy’s space to take the kiss the Alpha was so eager to give. He wound their fingers together then let go of Billy’s hands to loop his arms at the Alpha’s neck instead, hauling Billy in close and dragging the kiss out long. Billy bunched his hands in the bulky material of Steve’s eyesore of a Christmas sweater and gathered Steve in plastering against his body. He inhaled the Omega’s lavender sage scent and tasted the peppermint and hot chocolate lingering at Steve’s tongue when the kiss deepened, licked over the sharp points of Steve’s fangs and palmed lower over the curve of the Omega’s ass when Steve whimpered and arched into the touch. 

“Pretty perfect thing.” Billy only let go once Steve was purring through the kiss, only once the Omega was melting soft and pliant into Billy’s chest and kneading absentmindedly instinctive at Billy’s side to keep the Alpha close. Billy left one last kiss, sucking at Steve’s tongue and dragging his teeth at the Omega’s bottom lip and murmured hoarse, “Sweet gorgeous Omega. You taste so good.” 

“Mmm.” Steve’s eyes opened a little dazed, a little bit golden to match the loopiness of his smile. “You taste good too. Alpha. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Yeah.” One more kiss. Just one. Billy left it dotted there and gone at Steve’s mouth and shifted his weight to fold Steve into a proper, full body hug, notching his nose into the curve of the Omega’s throat. “Yeah, me too.” 

“First, I’m going to arrange my presents by size! Then by weight!” Blue’s babbling brought them back to the moment, and though Billy was loathe to leave the heat of Steve’s body pressed against his own, the Omega nuzzled their noses together and stepped back to put some distance between them as Blue continued, “Then, I’m going to group them by similar shape! And then within the groups of similar shape, regroup them by size! And then I’m going to decide which ones to open first based on the wrapping paper! Big bows mean big exciting presents, right? Right?!” 

“I think you’re absolutely right about that.” Everything Steve had wrapped had both a bow and ribbon on it as well as a coordinated name tag and the Omega chuckled delighted when Blue clutched one up close to his chest in sheer excitement. 

“But you know.” Steve crouched down by the seven year old and pretended to be very serious. “You have a stocking too. So that’s a whole other thing to add to your categorization of which to open first and what might be the best present.” 

“I have a stocking too?!” Blue’s voice went scratchy and high pitched and hysterical to match the sheer shock in his big blue eyes, “Where is it?!” 

“Hey.” Billy couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around Steve’s waist and dragging the Omega into a backwards hug, “You got him a stocking too? What’s in it?” 

“About eight pounds of candy.” Steve leaned into the hug, tilted his head back, offered up his throat to the Alpha’s lips and teeth and shuddered through a sigh when Billy promptly mouthed at the offered skin. “So have fun with that tomorrow while I’m at work and Blue is bouncing off the walls.” 

“Billy look!” Blue again, shouting at the top of his lungs. “Daddy look! Steve got me a stocking with my name on it, it has my name on it!” 

Steve laughed out loud at Blue’s excitement, scent blossoming sweet over the little boy’s ear to ear smiles. 

Billy laughed out loud cos he couldn’t believe he was celebrating Christmas with his Omega and his son. 

“Come on.” Steve patted at Billy’s arm so the Alpha would release him, and headed for his kitchen. “I’ve got food ordered, it should be here any minute. Help me get some plates? And I didn’t know what Blue wanted to drink so I got like-- like eight different juices and sodas, just everything the pups usually drink when they’re over here so hopefully there’s something he likes.” 

“You have the pups over here?” The apartment was nice but it was small, bigger than the tiny two bedroom Billy and Blue shared in California but still small compared to the McMansion on Loch Nora and still small when it came to housing seven full grown pups ranging from Erica’s still rather petite size clear to Mike and Lucas’s well over six foot tall frames. “Where the heck do you put them all?” 

“They all still puppy pile together.” Steve shot Billy a quick smile over his shoulder as he bent to open the dishwasher and pull clean cups out. “My second bedroom is storage and now that they’re all presented it’s a little weird for them to sleep in my bed like they used to. Dustin still shares a spot with me unless Rob is in town, then she sleeps in the bed with me and everyone else just piles in the living room.” 

“No matter how big your place is, it’s still a safe spot for the pups.” It wasn’t so much a question as it was a statement from the Alpha, memories from six years previous when Billy had to navigate the social schedules and whiny demands of a pre-presented pups just for some quiet time with his Omega, nights that should have been just them in Steve’s room but turned into the kids climbing through the window or knocking at the door one by one until the floor of Steve’s bedroom was full and the Omega was smiling apologetically at Billy for the interruption. 

Steve was safe for the Party, had been safe back then and was still safe now and on Christmas Eve, the Omega was safe for Blue who hadn’t stopped smiling once, who had called Billy Daddy half a dozen times because he was emotional and a smidge overstimulated and needed the security of his Dad right there at his side to keep him balanced. 

And, “Steve.” Billy turned Steve from the fridge and backed him into the counter, clasped at the back of the Omega’s neck and held tight to bring their mouths together in a long kiss. He didn’t have anything to say or a point to make but, “Omega.” Billy pushed their foreheads together and brushed his knuckles at Steve’s cheek, crooning and rumbling under his breath until the confusion faded from Steve’s eyes and his gaze warmed content instead. 

Steve didn’t want closure, yet. He just wanted to pretend, for now. Wanted Christmas Eve with Blue and Billy and to answer the what if of the season, of their entire dynamic, of the very few days they had before every day life and New Years came back around and forced them back to reality.

Billy could do yet and for now and Christmas Eve with the Omega of his dreams. He could pretend and then leave and call it closure. 

…right? 

“I’ve got four different Christmas movies picked out.” Food arrived just as Steve finished unloading the dishwasher and Billy finished getting out plates and silverware and letting Blue choose a drink. “Blue pick which one you wanna watch first, then your Daddy can pick the next one.” 

“Which one do you wanna watch first?” Blue blinked his big eyes up at Steve sweetly, innocently. “We can watch the movie you want!” 

“Nah Baby Blue.” Steve trilled down at him on his way to answer the door. “I love all those movies, so anything you pick to watch first will be one I want to watch first too.” 

“Okay!” Satisfied that his one attempt at being polite was enough to get him through an entire evening of being excited and grabby, Blue whirled back around to shove the first tape into the VHS player. “Let’s watch this one!” 

“Come on.” Steve balanced all the food in one arm and reached to take Billy’s hand. “We can eat in the living room.” 

“Sounds good to me.” 

They ate on the couch, Billy at one end and Steve at the other end with Blue sandwiched in the middle between them. The food was good for Christmas Eve take out, the movie animated and jingle jangly and chock full of heart warming holiday messages meant for kids to learn big lessons about the true meaning of Christmas before they dove face first and double fisting into the pile of presents beneath the tree. 

The apartment was cozy and comfortable, the tree lit up glowing and festive, the lamps down low so the shadows gathered close and tempered their voices down to whispers to preserve the quiet. Steve was calm and scenting pleased as he sat curled into the cushions with fuzzy socks over his feet and the honestly dorky holiday sweater billowing out around his body. Blue snuggled into a blanket then snuggled into Steve’s side when the Omega hugged him in close and Billy stretched his arm out across the top of the couch until his fingers could hook into the long ends of Steve’s hair. 

The Omega smiled in the glow of the television, knowing and lazy and languid and tipped his head back into Billy’s palm. Billy rubbed soothing circles, stroked slow at the curve of Steve’s neck over the imprint of his teeth and down along the Omega’s bonding spot until Steve was purring under his breath and Blue was chirping and trilling in sleepy contentment in response to the comforting sound from the Mama scenting Omega. 

All was calm, all was bright, and Billy thought as his fingers caught in a snag of Steve’s hair and the Omega’s lips parted breathless and shivering over the sudden tug-- Billy thought he was nowhere near capable of calling this pretending and then walking away like it was closure. 

Shit. 

Blue fell asleep halfway through the second movie, conked out snoring with his head in Steve’s lap as the Omega petted through his shaggy hair. Billy got up first to turn the TV off and switch the radio on to holiday music so Blue wouldn’t wake up to silence later in the night, then Steve carefully carefully slid out from beneath Blue’s weight and turned off the lamps but plugged in another strand of Christmas lights so the pup wouldn’t wake up in the dark, either. Billy offered out the last of his wine and Steve tipped it back in one big gulp while the Alpha picked up the dishes and soda cans and they tip toed to the kitchen to clean up as quietly as they could manage. 

Then, “C’mere.” Steve reached for Billy, grabbed for the Alpha, backpedaled to the nearest counter and brought Billy with him, opened immediately into a wet kiss and dug his fingers into Billy’s back, gripped into the flex of muscle then dragged his hands around to Billy’s stomach and swept up to cover at the Alpha’s heart, at his sternum where the thick scars were evident even through his shirt. 

“Alpha.” Steve framed at Billy’s face with both hands, buried his fingers into Billy’s hair, stood up on his toes and tossed his head back and bit his fangs into his bottom lip to hush a needy, gasping mewl when the Alpha latched onto his throat with teeth and tongue and a bottomed out possessive growl over his bonding spot. 

“I don’t want to talk tonight.” Steve murmured when Billy pulled away enough to speak. He cut the Alpha off with a quick shake of his head and repeated, “I don’t want to talk. Just come to bed with me. It’s Christmas Eve and you’re home for the first time in a really long time and fuck, I’m so goddamn happy with you and Blue here for Christmas, please just-- just come to bed with me. Please.” 

The bedroom door was closed click but not locked. Not locked just in case Blue woke up because Billy was a parent now and Steve wasn’t a Mama Omega but his heart already was committed and even when they were fumbling in the dark, yanking at clothes and falling onto the bed bare together the door stayed closed but not locked just in case their Billy’s boy woke up and needed them. 

“Right here, Alpha. Right here.” Steve pushed Billy into the pillows and scrambled over on top of the Alpha, planting his hands at Billy’s chest, light over the compromised parts of his rib cage but still trusting Billy to hold him steady. They took lube from the nearby drawer but when Billy drenched his fingers and reached high between Steve’s thighs, he found the Omega already soaked, they didn’t need lube when Steve was slick, open and lush and whining at the very first hint of pressure, cock jumping when Billy braced a hand at his hip and stroked his thick fingers far inside the Omega’s body. 

“Yes.” Steve was ready before Billy was, lifting off the Alpha’s hand before Billy was done feeling Steve clench tight rippling around his fingers. And, “Here here here,” Steve dragged the tip of the Alpha’s cock along the inside of his thighs to coat him in slick then lined Billy up at his entrance and sank down onto him, rocking his hips and swiveling his weight nudging the Alpha inch by inch deeper. 

Then, “Ffffffuck--!” Steve tossed his head back gasping, cut his fangs into the inside of his cheek trying to stop a shout as he dropped the last little bit and could sit heavy atop his Alpha. He had to move immediately, had to lift up on his knees then sink down and down and down again, rock up and take the Alpha deeper on the next downstroke, he couldn’t sit still, couldn’t stay still, could barely breathe, “Billy…” 

“I’ve got you.” Billy swept his hands through the coarse hair at Steve’s thighs, up the Omega’s hips and at the soft give of his stomach, up to his chest and across his nipples, further until he could close a hand at Steve’s throat and hold until the Omega sucked in a ragged breath and went loose on him, body sagging and frame going pliant fully trusting the Alpha to hold him up. 

“Gorgeous Omega.” Billy crooned and Steve nodded, head back, eyes closed, mouth open panting as he began to move over the Alpha’s cock again. “Pretty perfect thing, look at you.” 

“Fuck, look at you.” He flattened his hand at Steve’s tummy, dug his fingers in below the Omega’s navel where Steve would carry a pup if this was heat and they were bonded and all of it was real. “You’re so so beautiful.” Steve moved faster, rode the Alpha harder, covered Billy’s hand with his own and whined when Billy rumbled, “My Omega, mine, scent so sweet and look so beautiful, you’d make such a good Mam--” 

Steve’s eyes flew open wide and Billy stopped himself. Bit at his tongue and held the Omega tighter but didn’t finish the sentence, only ground out, “I’ve missed you, beauty. Missed you.” 

“Knot me.” Steve begged for Billy’s knot when the Alpha flipped him back into the sheets, once he was flushed and sweaty, open mouth panting and legs shaking a little with the strain of riding the Alpha for so long. “Knot me. Like this. So I can see you, I wanna see you.” 

“C’mere, sweetheart.” Billy knotted his Omega face to face, pinned Steve to the blankets and covered him with his bulk, felt down low around Steve’s soaked, stretched rim and slid his fingers crooking at the puffy entrance, tugging and pressing while the Omega whined and bit slicing his fangs into Billy’s throat, into his shoulder while the Alpha opened him up further to make room for his knot. 

“Deep breath.” Billy growled into Steve’s ear, hitched the Omega’s hips an inch higher and snapped his hips forward. “Deep breath baby, let me in.” 

Billy didn’t bother fucking deeper into the Omega once his knot popped past Steve’s rim. He just ground in in in bit by overwhelming bit, held Steve tight and held Steve still and stared down through the fringe of sweat damp hair to watch his Omega’s eyes fill, fuller fuller fuller until Steve’s lashes fluttered shut and tears tracked down his cheeks as his body snapped tight finishing all over his stomach and striping up onto his chest. 

“I miss you.” Not past tense, present. Not six years ago, right there in that exact second. Not pretending but heartbreakingly honest as Steve pulled Billy down into a thready kiss, to bump their noses and push their foreheads together. “Alpha. I-- I miss you. I never stopped missing you.” 

“I miss you too.” Billy hooked an arm around Steve’s shoulders, palmed down at the Omega’s hip and rutted into him hard, breathless, obsessing over every punched out little moan and desperate quiet gasp falling from Steve’s kiss swollen mouth. “My Omega, I miss you too.” 

… Steve fell asleep when they were still locked knotted together, fell into purring tucked into the Alpha’s chest almost as soon as Billy managed to roll them over in the pillows and arrange Steve’s limbs and weight so they could be comfortable. 

Steve curled in tight and promptly dropped off to sleep safe and held by his Alpha. 

Billy stayed away the entire night staring at the ceiling and rubbing lightly at his Omega’s back, not willing to miss even a single second of their time together. 

*****

Chapter Notes:

Chapter Text

December 26th

“Hey Bubba, you see that mechanic shop just down a few doors, the one with the For Sale sign?” Billy hefted their packed bag into the back seat of the truck and pushed it all the way to the other side, against the other door. Blue liked to sit right in the middle so he could pop up and chatter away as they drove, so the Alpha shoved that bag against the passenger side door then set the second, smaller bag of toiletries and medication on the floor behind the drivers seat. 

“When I used to live here, that’s the shop I’d take my Camaro to whenever it needed a tune up.” It was lunch time, noontime, time to leave Hawkins. Billy had planned on being on the road by sunrise but Blue had slept late after an exhausting, over stimulating Christmas and Steve had slept late curled into Billy’s chest, scenting sweet and content and purring in a pitch only meant for an Alpha to hear, humming and kneading his fingers at Billy’s side and well. 

Well there weren’t many Alphas out there who could resist their Omega purring and kneading and coaxing with little trills of their tongue so Billy’s plan to leave at sunrise had been modified. 

Now it was lunch time. Noontime. Time to leave Hawkins. 

“The old man who owned the place.” Billy put a plastic bag full of road trip snacks and a six pack of soda front passenger side, double checked his keys and his wallet. “Used to give me free parts for my Camaro so long as I did the work myself. He knew I couldn't afford it but always said me working on my car was better than gettin' out and causing trouble. Sometimes he let me work on the other cars that came in to earn some side cash. He was a nice guy. Ancient as all heck though.” 

Blue didn’t answer. The seven year old didn’t so much as huff in Billy’s direction and the Alpha fiddled with a pack of open gum before sighing out loud and turning to face his boy. 

“Blue?”

Blue didn’t answer. He just scowled, fierce and terrible and just as mean as his little face could handle. Nose scrunched and teeth bared and arms folded over his chest. If his blue eyes could have blinked Alpha scarlet, they would have. If he could have popped Omegan fangs and snarled, he would have. 

Blue didn’t answer and Billy sighed all over again cos god damn it, the kid was pissed.  

“Bubba.” He tried, and Blue’s scrunchy scowl only deepened. 

“Hey.” The Alpha dropped his voice a notch towards warning. “Use your words, small fry.” 

“Fine, I will.” Blue threw his hands on his hips and glowered towards his Dad. “I don’t to go. I don’t want to leave Hawkins.” 

“Bubba Blue, we’ve talked about this--” Billy started but Blue cut in louder, “But I like it here! And I like Steve! Where is he? Why isn’t he here to say goodbye, we can’t leave until we say goodbye!” 

“I know.” Billy knew. Leaving without saying goodbye to Steve, leaving the Omega again without saying a single word was unacceptable. Billy knew. He’d planned to load the truck then call the hospital to see when Steve’s next break was, he’d planned to meet somewhere less public than the parking lot and say a real goodbye to the Omega but hearing the accusation from his pup, hearing the assumption from Blue that they’d leave without a goodbye hit too close to his heart, too close to the guilt of six years previous, and he had to brace himself before continuing, “But Steve had to get up and go to work. You heard him. He said he works extra during the holidays so people with families can stay home, so I thought we could--”

“What about Steve’s family though!” Blue’s voice pitched towards frazzled. “Why can’t he take time off to spend with family too! That's not fair!” 

“Steve doesn’t.” The Alpha swallowed, swallowed. Thought about Steve lonely at Christmas time senior year and how they’d found ways to be not lonely together in the backseat of the BMW at the very edge of the quarry. “Bud, Steve doesn’t have any family here. His parents moved away a while ago and he doesn't have any brothers or sisters or cousins or anything.” 

“But he has Auntie Max!” Another pitch towards frazzled. “And Senor Hoppity? And Granny Joyce! And he has us! We scent like family, don’t we?!” 

“Sure. But” Billy stopped. Didn’t manage to swallow that time when his throat closed up miserable and tight. “It’s not. I mean, we can’t just-- Baby Blue, it’s not that easy. Not that easy.” 

“Don’t call me Baby Blue!” Shrieked. Blue stomped his foot and shrieked. “I am not a baby! I’m not a baby! Don’t call me that!

“Indigo Ocean Midnight Hargrove…” The Alpha’s eyes twitched red and he slammed them shut before Blue saw, clamped down on the surge of anger and sorrow before it spoiled sour into his scent. “I don’t want to go either, okay? I don’t--” he forced himself honest. “--I don’t want to leave Steve. But we have to. We have work and school waiting back in California, our whole life is there. This was just a quick trip, just a vacation and I know it’s hard to end a vacation but we have to go.” 

“If you don’t want to go, then why are we going! It’s so stupid!” Blue was hysterical, shaking, every single one of his instincts demanding they stay home and with family and surrounded by the comfort he’d found in Hawkins. The pup was too young to see the big picture, too young to care about the big picture and the constant denial from his family Alpha, the insistence that they pack up and leave when all Blue wanted to do was curl up and nest in the comfort of the Omega who scented like Mama and all the Aunties and Uncles he’d suddenly acquired-- 

--Blue was hysterical. His light scent fracturing in distress. Eyes welling with tears and face red and little fists clenched by his side, he didn't understand and his entire soul was raw, every single one of his instincts hurt as his whole body rebelled against leaving.

“This is home!” Louder, Blue got louder, echoing across the parking lot. “This is home and they are family and I don’t want to--!!” 

“Fudge Bubba, it's killing me you're so sad, c’mere c’mere c’mere.” Billy grabbed at him, snatched the anguished pup into a hug and held him tight, held him close and held him carefully protective. He set Blue’s nose right at his throat to inhale comfort and rubbed his hands all over Blue’s back, petting him soothing him until the panicked choppy breathing started to slow. 

“It’s okay.” Billy pressed a kiss to Blue’s hair, to his temple. “It’s okay, Bubba. I promise. It’s gonna be okay. You gotta breathe right now okay? I never planned on leaving without saying goodbye to Steve, so don’t worry about that."

"We-- we can say goodbye to him?"

"We'd never go without saying goodbye first." Again, Billy mentally amended, mentally apologized. He wouldn't ever leave without saying goodbye again. "We’ll go say goodbye, then you and me will hit the road and-- and we'll talk about this later when we’re both calm and can talk like grownups instead’a screeching like nekkid banshees okay?” 

Blue hiccuped a tiny, tremulous laugh and the Alpha rumbled at him in relief. “Yeah yeah Bubba, it’s gonna be fine. We’ll talk about it. Use our words. But no matter what, we still gotta get on the road and get driving cos we have responsibilities back home, right? We got stuff to do back home. What’s the rules?” 

“F-First we do the chore things.” Blue wrapped his arms at Billy’s neck and clung tight, trembling through an unsteady breath. “Then we do the fun things.” 

“And right now, one of our chore things is getting in the truck and getting back to California.” Billy said firmly, kindly. “Okay?” 

“Fine.” Blue muffled the words right into Billy’s shoulder. “But you’re sad too. You stink super sad. Admit it.” 

“I’m-- I’m--” Words failed and Billy just held his son tighter for another minute until he could manage,. “I’m sorry, alright? I’m sorry today’s so rough and I promise one day we’ll come back and visit. But for right now we gotta go.” 

Blue pulled away a few steps and scrubbed at his face, blinked solemn and wide eyed at the Alpha until Billy leaned in again to wipe a stray tear away from Blue’s cheeks. “You gonna be okay, pup?” 

“No.” Sniff. “Yes.” Sniff. “Sorry for--for freaking out.” 

“We all freak out sometimes.” Billy ruffled at Blue’s hair and rumbled low encouraging until the scattered in the little boy’s scent calmed. “And that’s okay. We’re allowed to freak out. But just so you know? Once I get you some ice cream and a new book to read for the road, I’m gonna make fun of you for being so dang dramatic there for a minute.” 

“I’m pretty dramatic.” Sniff. This time Blue offered up a small smile. “I should be in Hollywood. In the movies."

“You should be in Hollywood, they pay big bucks for people half as dramatic as you on the big screen.” Billy scooped Blue back into a hug. “I’m sorry, pup. You sure you’re okay?” 

“Sorta.” Blue wiped his nose noisily. “Maybe.” 

“I can live with maybe.” Billy stood back up and rolled his shoulders, working to hide a grimace when everything at his chest and ribs pulled. “Let’s call the hospital, make sure we can see Steve for a quick good--” 

“There’s Steve!” Blue shouted and pointed and took off running towards Steve’s car parking just a few spaces down. “Steve Steve Steve!” The pup jumped and skipped and waved his arms. “Steve! You came to see us!” 

“Baby Blue.” Steve stepped from the car and moved right to catch Blue as the kid ran for him. He scooped the pup up and twirled him in a hug then crouched down to pull Blue in close to scent into his throat. The Omega trilled right into Blue’s ear, huffed noisily over the pup’s skin until Blue was laughing and complaining that it tickled, then Steve cupped at Blue’s chin and brought him in to rest forehead to forehead for a quiet moment. 

“I thought you weren’t gonna make it.” Blue whispered. “I thought we’d hafta leave without seeing you.”

“Precious pup.” Steve closed his eyes and purred, and Blue closed his hands at the collar of Steve’s scrubs and purred right back. “I wouldn’t let you leave without a goodbye. But you scent upset, Baby Blue. Are you okay?” 

“I don’t want to leave.”

“Oh. Well.” Steve rubbed Blue’s back slowly, met the Alpha’s eyes over Blue’s shoulders and tried to smile. “Sometimes what we want and what we need doesn’t match up at the same time. And it’s okay to be sad about it, but you know. That’s just life, bud. Sometimes it sucks but it just-- is what it is.” 

“Well, what it is sucks.” Blue decided. “It sucks.” 

“Yeah Blue. Sometimes what it is sucks.” Steve let Blue burrow in or a tighter hug, folded the little boy in close. “Sweet little pup. Go get in the truck so I can say bye to your Daddy, huh?” 

“...Fine.” Blue sniffed again, but nodded and pulled away to trudge towards the truck. He paused at Billy’s side to nudge at the Alpha’s hand, and once Billy ruffled at Blue’s curls and crooned at him, Blue clicked up at him in quiet apology and acceptance, then climbed into the backseat of the truck. 

And. 

“Billy.” Steve straightened up slowly, dark eyes wary and scent uncertain. “Um. I didn’t know if I should come. We left things sort of uncertain this morning and I wasn't sure--” 

“I was gonna come by the hospital.” Billy moved forward forward forward towards his Omega, reached with both hands for Steve. “I was gonna come see you. Try to catch you on your break. I wasn’t gonna leave without saying goodbye. Not this time. I swear.” 

“I’m on my lunch. Figured I'd come see you whether you were planning on seeing me or not. I needed to--” Steve’s hands were shaking and Billy caught his wrists to set the Omega’s palm over his chest, grounding Steve with the steady thrum of his heartbeat and gathering him into his arms. “Fffuck-- Fuck I’m--” 

Even after spending Christmas Eve and Christmas night together, Steve crumpled when his Alpha held him close. Even after a thousand kisses and with the imprint of Billy’s teeth lingering at his throat, the Omega still whined, still curled close and dug his fingers bruising into Billy’s chest and chirped tentative and coaxing until Billy folded in around him and rumbled back in response. 

“Alpha.” 

“We’re gonna come back.” Billy set his teeth at the curve of Steve’s neck, at the hinge of his jaw, at the delicate curl of his ear. Promised rough. “You hear me, Omega? We’re gonna come back. Don’t know when yet but I promise.” 

Steve went a little more liquid against him, nipped the sharp ends of his fangs into Billy’s shoulder. He scented sad, scented resigned and Christ Billy was so tired of leaving this Omega sad, he was so tired of it.

“I’m not leaving you behind again, sweetheart.” He meant it, even if he didn’t know how to pull it off yet. “We’ll come back.” 

“Sure you will.” Steve didn’t believe him. Obviously didn’t believe him. The Omega tried to smile but the way he didn’t believe a single word about Billy’s promise shone through in his eyes. In the downturn to his gorgeous mouth. In the way he tensed against Billy's frame and set his jaw bracing himself for the next few minutes.

Billy was promising to come back but Steve had already made his peace with a forever goodbye and the Alpha ached with six years worth of guilt for his part in Steve’s hopelessness. 

“I’m coming back. I swear.” Billy drew his blunt fingers along Steve’s chin, set his thumb at the corner of the full lips and leaned in for a kiss. “But until then, I’m really gonna miss you, Omega.” 

“Yeah well.” Steve dodged the kiss. Took a step away. Let his scent blank. Took a step away. Let his scent blank further towards empty. “At least this time I actually to say goodbye.”

“Steve.” Billy tried to hold onto his hand, tried to hold onto the moment. “Wait. Please--” 

“Drive safe.” Steve set his fingers to his lips, to his heart then waved at Blue through the window. “And um. Maybe call me. When you get there. Or call me from the road. If you have time.” 

“Omega.” 

“Bye, Billy.” Their hands fell away, Steve’s finger tips sliding over Billy’s palm before dropping completely. “Bye… Alpha.” 

“Bye Steve! See you soon! I’ll come back soon!!” Blue was cheerful and hopeful hollering through the open door, and Steve tried his best to smile, “Bye, Baby Blue.”

Steve left. Billy watched his car disappear down Main Street and turn towards the hospital then dug the heels of his hands into his eyes breathed out a choked curse.

"...Billy?" Blue's eyes went wide, his bottom lip quivering when the Alpha's scent bottomoed out devastated. "D-Daddy?"

"We're okay." Billy forced himself up, forced himself moving, climbed in the truck and cranked the ignition over. "We're okay, Bubba. It was just uh-- just my turn to be a little dramatic."

"You should be in the movies." Blue whispered and Billy tried to smile at him through the rearview mirror, "Nah kiddo, I'm not pretty enough for the movies. You ready to go?"

"You still scent sad, Daddy."

"That's better than stinking like unwashed seven year old." The snarky comment got a predictably offended squawk out of Blue and Billy breathed a little easier once the boy was laughing again. Blue dug into the bag of snacks before they hit the first red light, by the time they turned off Main Street and headed for the outskirts, Blue had jammed his favorite tape in the player and was singing along and by the time they passed the 'Now Leaving Hawkins' sign, the pup was caterwauling right along with Elvis--

"I'll have a Bluuuuuuue! For Christmas!"

'Now Leaving Hawkins, Come Again Soon'.

The neatly printed letters blurred behind the tears in Billy’s eyes as he pressed the accelerator down and went racing for the highway. 

I’ll be so blue, just thinking about you…

****

Springfield, MO

“Billy?” Blue poked his head up over the middle seat sleepy and disoriented almost eight hours later when the truck rattled to a quick stop. “Why are we stopping again? I thought we just got gas? Did I dream it?"

"You didn't dream it." Billy pulled into a parking spot just in front of a small convenience store and turned the key off. "But I need to make a phone call, so I figured your lazy bones could wake up and go get us some chips while I talk to someone, okay?"

“Okay.” Blue rubbed at his eyes tiredly, then set his little hand at the Alpha’s shoulder and patted a few times. Just cautious. Just loving. “Daddy? Are you-- are you still very sad? Or are you okay now?” 

“I’m still very sad.” Billy cleared his throat and reached to hold Blue’s fingers. “But it’s okay. We’re gonna be okay. I’m gonna make a call and talk to an old...friend. I’m gonna call him and-- and just try to figure something out.” 

“Okay.” Blue held on a minute longer. “You want an ice cream cone too?” 

“Just some vanilla is fine, bud. Thanks."

“Fudge you’re boring.” 

“Yeah.” He turned around quick and plonked a kiss on Blue’s forehead before the little boy could fuss and whine about the sappy gesture. “Yeah I am. Vanilla ice cream. Root beer. You got some money in your pocket or do you need some?” 

“I have money.” Blue held out his hand anyway. “But I want some too.” 

“That sounds about right.” The Alpha dug out a crumpled wad of bills and handed them over. “Go on inside now. I’m gonna call from that payphone right by the window, I’ll be able to see you the entire time and you’ll be able to see me the entire time, okay?” 

“Okay!” 

Blue took off for the store and Billy followed slower. He couldn’t run anymore, didn’t want to run anymore, just followed his boy across the parking lot and didn’t move to the payphone until Blue was safely inside and very seriously browsing the freezer ice cream section. 

Then Billy pulled a worn, folded piece of paper from the bottom corner of his wallet and dialed a number he swore he never would. 

It rang twice. Clicked on. No one spoke but Billy started talking anyway, “This is Billy Hargrove. Identification number 2013084530. Calling for Dr. Owens.” 

Silence. Click. He closed his eyes and held onto the receiver until his knuckles hurt and waited waited waited--

“Billy Hargrove.” Dr. Owens sounded both thrilled to hear from Billy and cautiously wary to hear from the young Alpha all at the same time. “It’s good to hear from you son, we weren't really sure what happened to you after you left Hawkins. How long has it been now?” 

“You know damn well how long it’s been.” Billy bit down hard at the inside of his cheek trying to force himself to focus. “I don’t wanna small talk, I know you don't really give a damn about me so just listen. I know I said I didn’t want anything to do with you, your fucking creepy lab or the hush money you were tryna use to keep my mouth shut about the monster but-- but things have changed.” 

He took a deep breath. “I need a favor and you owe me about a thousand favors so I’m gonna cash in on a big one.” 

“Of course.” Dr. Owens didn’t hesitate. “I would be happy to help. Just tell me what you need.” 

“There’s uh--” Billy watched Blue practically dance up to the counter and proudly hand over the correct amount of money to the attendant. “There’s this mechanic shop in Hawkins. Right across from the old motel. You know the one?"

"I haven't been in Hawkins for a long time, but I can figure out which one you're talking about, sure." Owens replied promptly. "What about it?"

"I want it." Billy gripped the phone tighter. "For me and my son. I want the business so we can-- so we can move back home. Can you make that happen?"

"I'll see what I can do." Scritch scritch. Owens scribbled something down on his end. "Are you somewhere I can call back to work out details?"

"No, this a payphone." Billy craned his neck down the street. "But I'll find a place. Call you back with a proper number."

"I'll get started on this right away." the doctor promised. "Give me a few days and we'll see about getting you back home to stay."

"...thanks."

*****

New Years Day

“Did you know old man McCorkle’s mechanic shop got bought out?” Hopper dug into his over bacon-ed hamburger and crunched through a big bite. “His grandson’s always been a prick but nobody’s ever said anything half bad about McCorkle Senior. It was too bad when he passed away, we’re losing the good ones left and right seems like. Hawkins is gonna be over run by juvenile delinquents any day now.” 

He took another big bite and chewed slowly, eyeing the quietly despondent Omega across the booth from him. “Steve. You listening?” 

“Did you know the pups call you Senor Hoppity?” Steve hadn’t eaten more than a couple bites a day in almost a week. His appetite was gone, his scent slogged with misery and when the Alpha had called him for lunch, it had taken Steve an hour to get out of bed and get dressed in the most basic of clothing. He wasn't listening, he could barely focus through the gray fog at the edge of his consciousness and Hopper's attempts at talking were barely enough to cut into his melancholy."

“I feel like me being Hoppity or not has nothing to do with the current conversation.” Hopper slanted Steve a concerned look, but covered it with a grumbled quip. “Not to mention, the pups you’re talking about have been grown for years now and are exactly the sort of miscreants I'm worried about ruining this place. Have you heard the music they listen to lately? What the hell is grunge? Who’s Alice and why is she in chains? I feel like none of that is gonna lead to good things."

“My god, you’re so old.” The sarcasm finally broke through and Steve scrubbed a hand down his face, through the three day old stubble and tried to laugh. “God. Um. Sorry. What were you saying? About the mechanic shop?” 

“It got bought out.” Hopper wanted to ask Steve how he was doing, wanted to ask if the Omega knew he stank of mate sickness. Instead the Alpha took a long drink of his soda and commented casually casually, “Right after Christmas. Craziest thing.” 

“That’s-- that’s nice.” Steve clinked the spoon against the bowl of soup and decided to just give up trying to eat. He didn’t want to eat. Night before last Billy had called from somewhere outside Springfield, but Steve had missed the call and when he’d called back, the Alpha was no longer at the motel. Billy had called again just yesterday, even left a message but Steve hadn’t known if he could handle the uncertainty of calling back and missing Billy again so he …hadn’t. 

Steve hadn’t called back. Six years ago he’d called into Billy’s hospital room and the nurse had been sympathetic and sweet ‘Mr. Hargrove isn’t here anymore, he left already.’. Two days ago Steve had called into Billy’s motel room and the front desk attendant had been sympathetic and sweet ‘Mr. Hargrove isn’t here anymore, he left already’ and the Omega had thought maybe he’d throw up. 

He couldn't do it again. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep and sure as shit couldn't keep calling useless numbers for an Alpha who was getting further and further away with every passing hour.

No.

“It is nice.” Hopper kept watching Steve closely, clocking the paleness at his skin and the tension at his eyes. “Apparently the offer was made, accepted and fully funded within twenty four hours. And of course you know.” 

The Alpha cleared his throat loudly. “It’s good to see kids coming back home. It’s all great for them to get away from Hawkins and figure what they wanna do with their lives, maybe start a family, but if everyone who got out stayed out, Hawkins would just fade away. We need young people coming back. Raising their kids here. Right?"

“A minute ago you were calling anyone under the age of fifty a juvenile delinquent. now you want them all to come--” Steve shook his head, then frowned, “Wait. Did you say kids coming back? What does that mean? Who’s coming back to Hawkins?” 

“Billy Hargrove.” Hopper but he had to hide a smile when Steve’s head jerked up in shock. “Yeah yeah Billy Hargrove of all people. Max is ecstatic, she called El yesterday just about crying for it but you know how she is right now, all the pregnancy hormones. Best I could make out was that it was real important for Blue to grow up around family so Billy bought the mechanic shop and is gonna move back home."

"Billy is-- he's gonna--"

"The whole situation smells like hush money and Hawkins National Labs." Hopper kept talking when the Omega just stammered a few times. "And don't get me wrong, I hate the thought of that tainted money having any part in our community, but at least Billy's using all that money for something. For a life and a future for his boy instead of wasting it away.” 

“Billy is.” Steve couldn’t breathe. “My Alpha-- the Alpha is-- he’s--” 

“He came by the office about an hour ago.” Casual casual casual. “Asking for a list of contractors he could use to convert the space above the garage into an apartment for him and Blue.” 

“He came by.” The Omega couldn’t breathe. “Billy’s in town right now? He's already back?"

“Apparently he got in first thing this morning.” Hopper’s heavy scent bolstered up pleased when the color rushed back into Steve’s face. “And yeah by the way, I am aware that his kid calls me Senor Hop--” 

“I gotta go.” Steve jumped to his feet and tossed a few bills down for the soup he hadn’t eaten. “Hop, I-- I gotta go.” 

The Omega went. Jumped into his car and raced his way down Main Street, maybe skidded in the gravel a little when he took a corner too fast but he couldn’t stop, he had to go, had to rush, had to see….

…the truck wasn’t parked at the mechanic shop. The big bay door was closed, no lights were on, there wasn’t any noise, Steve didn’t see or hear anything or anyone and he spun in a circle half desperate and with his heart sinking to his toes, nausea roiling in his belly had he really gone and got his hopes up for nothing...? 

But. 

“Steve!” Blue poked his head out of the top window of the space above the garage and waved frantically. “Steve! I'm up here! We're unpacking up here!"

“Oh Baby Blue.” Steve put both hands over his mouth then reached up for the pup instead, his whole soul clamoring to get Blue snatched in close to his heart. “Baby Blue!” 

“Hi!” Blue disappeared only long enough to thunder his way down the stairs, then burst out of the ground level floor and barreled towards the Omega. “Hi! We came back! We’re back home again! We put the truck in the garage cos Billy says everyone here is a Nosy Nellie and he didn't want to ask questions but I knew you'd come and see us! I knew you would!"

“You came back.” Steve caught Blue mid hug and nosed into the messy blond curls, down over the freckles and little beauty marks all over Blue’s face. “Bubba, I’m so happy to see you. I’m so happy to see you and I’m so glad you came--”

Billy stepped out of the door just then and the words dried up in Steve’s throat. The Alpha was dressed only in jeans and a black tank top, his arms on full display despite the January cold, his hair up in a messy bun showing off the line of his jaw and the size of his shoulders and he was gorgeous. Unexpected. Cleaning the grease and dirt off his hands with an old towel and staring right at Steve, blue eyes ringed in possessive red as he made his way down the short drive to meet them. 

“--back.” Steve finished in a near whisper, and set Blue back down on the ground. “Why-- why’d you come back?” 

“You know why.” Billy took one two three steps forward and clasped a hand at the back of the Omega’s neck, dragged Steve forward into a claiming kiss, groaned into the cut of Steve’s fangs at his lip and wrapped his other arm at Steve’s waist, hauled him in close with no intention of ever letting go. “Omega. You know why we came back.” 

“Tell me anyway.” Steve broke the kiss but didn’t go far. Tangled both hands in Billy’s long hair cos he couldn’t let go, needed to touch, had to see touch believe that the goodbye with his Alpha hadn’t been forever. “Say it. Tell me.” 

“Cos I called you mine.” Billy pushed their foreheads together, bumped their noses. He kept one big hand at the base of the Omega’s neck massaging purposeful over the bundle of nerves that would unlock Steve settled and twined the fingers of their other hand, bringing Steve’s hand up over his heart. “I called you mine and I’m hoping even after all this time and all our goodbyes that you still want me to be yours.” 

Steve breathed in shaky and Billy wet at his lips, flicked his tongue out further to lick at the seam of the Omega’s mouth, to dip in to draw the kiss deeper, wetter until Steve moaned soft soft and fell into him. 

“It took me a few days to work all this out, otherwise I would’a come back to you sooner.” Billy set his nose at Steve’s temple and inhaled the sugar sweet scent, lavender and sage and home. “And I’ll hafta go back to Cali next week to settle a few things but I called in a favor from Owens to make it work. To make it so we can stay.” 

And, “I didn’t ask you to come with me last time and I’m sorry.” The Alpha crooned in quiet content when Steve’s fingers tightened over his heart. “But I’m here now. Me and Blue, we’re home now. We’re gonna stay.” 

“Why?” 

“Cos six years apart hasn’t changed a damn thing for me when it comes to you.” Billy whispered hoarse. “Cos when we said goodbye you thought it was forever and I don’t want that. I don’t want that. Six years hasn’t changed anything Omega, not for me. Has it changed anything for you?” 

“Six years.” Steve brushed his fingertips at Billy’s cheek, at his jaw, down his throat to the curved collar of the tank top and the faintest lines of damage over his sternum. “Alpha, it’s been six years.” 

“Is it too late?” 

“No.” Steve’s dark eyes flickered gold when he finally looked away from the spread of scars. “No, it’s not too late. Not a damn thing has changed. My Alpha I still love--” 

“Fudge--!” Blue yelped from somewhere behind them, yelped and shouted one of their faux curses just before a box of tools clattered over and spilled on the garage floor. “Sorry! Sorry Daddy! I got it! I’ll clean it!” 

“Okay well.” Billy grinned, thrilling right down to his soul when his Omega lit up smiling right back, fangs glinting gorgeous in the sunlight. “Some things have changed. We’ll hafta work around Blue being nosy and klutzy and all in our business. But--” 

“But he’s a good change.” Steve was quick to assure him, quick to blow a kiss over to a slightly guilty looking Blue. “An amazing change. Alpha…” 

“C’mere.” Billy pulled him into a another kiss, growling rumbling claiming until Steve melted pliant against him with a thready mewl. “Omega. Mine. I’m never gonna leave--” 

“EW!” Blue broke into their moment in spectacular kid fashion, bullying up against Steve’s legs and grabbing for the Omega’s hand. “Stop doing that, it's yucky. Billy let go of him! Steve! Come see where I’m gonna sleep."

Neither Alpha nor Omega untangled fast enough for Blue's liking and he yanked at Steve's hand impatiently, "Mama Omega! Come on! Come see.” 

“Oh, I--” Steve shot a stunned look towards his Alpha as Blue dragged him away. “Wait did he just call me Mama--?” 

“Come on! Come see my new room! Come on come on come on!” 

Billy just grinned and followed his boy and a still tearfully bewildered Steve up the stairs to the messy apartment. Blue chattered almost faster than he could breathe, Steve kept sending the Alpha incredulous, adoring looks over his shoulder and Billy paused to pick up a few of the scattered tools on his way, whistled the familiar melody of an old Christmas song under his breath.

"I'll be home, for Christmas...."