A/N: Prompt from manomynousworld on tumblr: Locker room and Shower after basket ball
There's a line drawn horizontally across Billy's back that Steve's not sure he knows is there. It's spread out just above his shoulder blades in a deep, dark shade of purple that draws Steve's eye to it every time he has to chase Billy down the court to fight for ball control. He's sure that if Billy knew it was there, he probably would have been playing with his shirt on. It's apparent he doesn't know the bruise is there, and nobody tells him about it until after they finish their scrimmage.
"Damn Billy, you got bitches desperate enough for your cock they manhandling you for it now?"
It's Tommy who mentions it first, slapping a hand to his shoulder in congratulations as they finally file into the locker room after practice. Billy looks confused at first, but plays it cool as he changes out of his shorts, draping a towel around his waist. "You know how sluts are, man. Never can get enough."
Steve notices the way his face falls after Tommy walks away, lumbering towards the showers to brag about Billy's conquests for him. Once he's gone, he watches as Billy cranes his neck over his shoulder, trying to see what Tommy was referring to. No matter how he twists his body though, the bruise remains just outside of his line of sight.
"It's just above your shoulders," Steve says at last as he pulls his sweat-soaked shirt over his head. "The bruise, I mean."
Billy stiffens at the sound of his voice and stops trying to twist his head around his neck like some sort of Exorcist parody. He makes eye contact with Steve and shoots him an angry look, as though Steve been the one to leave the mark upon him.
The rest of their teammates are already in the shower, leaving the two of them alone in the changing area. Steve's half-expecting a fight as Billy steps up into his personal space, his eyebrows drawn in tightly together as he flicks his tongue out and drags them across his teeth.
"Show me," he says, and turns so that his back is exposed to Steve. "Trace it out for me, Harrington."
Steve's too surprised to move for a moment.
"Uh, alright," he says quietly, setting his shirt aside on a nearby bench.
Staring at the broad expanse of Billy's back, Steve can see a much fainter bruise in the same shape and size a little lower down, marking his lower-back as well. It looks like Billy's been shoved into some shelves or something, and as he hesitantly presses a finger to his shoulder, he wonders who in the world could possibly posses that sort of power over him.
He begins to drag his finger across his skin lightly, dragging it along the line the bruise makes slowly. "It starts here, and goes all the way over to here," he mutters, keeping his voice low as he makes a trail through the sweat that's accumulated between his shoulder blades, mapping out the bruise.
Steve doesn't miss the way Billy shudders at the contact and can't help the way his heart-rate begins to pick up.
Billy's about to step away when Steve grips his shoulder tightly, keeping him in place.
"What the fuck Harrington-" Billy begins to say testily, his voice rumbling out of his chest menacingly.
"There's another one," Steve says quickly before Billy can confront him. "Lower down."
"Fuck," Billy mumbles. He stays still, shoulders slumping a bit as Steve trails his palm down the crevice of his back, resting it over where the second bruise lies.
"This one's really faint," he explains, tracing it out with his thumb, stepping in close so that their bodies are almost touching.
Billy's skin is smooth under his touch, unblemished by any skin condition typical of teenagers their age. There are no moles or freckles; the only things tarnishing his skin being the bruises he's somehow acquired. He's staring now, he knows, as his eyes dip down to where the towel he's wearing hides the swell of his ass.
Steve wants to spread both of his hands out all across him, fingers twitching at the skin under his palms before the voices from the other boys in the shower come back to reach him. He abruptly steps back and pulls his hands away, staring forlornly at the body he can only touch in his mind.
He finishes undressing hurriedly, leaving Billy alone to catch a shower before anyone from their team notices that the two of them are missing simultaneously. Billy watches him go, a dark expression of longing crossing his features momentarily before he decides to follows after him, wondering when he'd given Steve the power to make him feel better about the bruises Neil gives him.