Berkeley Sanctuary, six months later...

"To your left."

The elder werewolf gestured sarcastically with his hand and Billy followed his directions down the hall. He could feel his eyes following him, could feel the resentment in the air. He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably and hunched his shoulders beneath his new leather jacket.

The hallway opened out into a balcony overlooking the first floor. He stopped short of the dusty railing and looked out over the edge. Below, in the center of the room, two people sat at a small round table covered in papers. Steam wafted from the mugs between them. They looked peaceful, happy even. He didn't need to ruin that.

"I have to go-"

"Don't be a puppy," the elder werewolf jabbed a finger in his chest. "I've studied your lineage for years, boy. Your mother was Alisson Hargrove, right?" The elder wolf sucked his teeth as he looked Billy up and down. "Would she be ashamed of what you've become?"

Billy stared at him for a moment in disgust and then flinched away. He turned away from the elder and began the slow, laborious descent down the staircase. The sound of his crutch hitting the thin metal slats made the two people at the table turn their heads and stare at him.

It was the longest descent of his life.

He stopped, breathing heavily, and stood awkwardly before them.

"You look good," he finally said.

"Wish I could say the same for you." Steve said back.

Billy nodded and shifted his eyes. He didn't want to see Steve's bruised eye and stitched lip. It made him feel guilty, reminded him of why they were all there. Hopper sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"You sure you wanna do this, kid?" He said to Steve.

"What am I, 19 years old? Come on, give me a break, Jim."

" Hopper. "

" Hopper, alright."

Hopper sighed and lifted himself out of the chair, with all the weight of a man who had seen too much and lived a thousand lives over. He passed Billy and it was the first time that they had seen each other in months. The look that he gave him was unfriendly but not completely unwelcoming. Which was a look that Billy was used to. Hopper began to walk, stopped as if he wanted to say something, and then shook his head. He let his hand fall on Billy's shoulder and then retreated down the hall, whistling to himself.

And then, it was just him and Steve and the yawning silence of the sanctuary.

Billy shrugged forward and lowered himself into the chair before Steve gingerly. His leg still hurt but it was admittedly getting better with Susan's mandated physical therapy. He leaned back and surveyed Steve openly, if not a little guardly and Steve surveyed him right back.

"Alright, spit it out. What are you here for?"

Billy looked up and around at the sanctuary's interior. Because he did not like the sudden wave of emotion that overtook him then. He had long since convinced himself that he didn't really care for Steve, but…

"How much longer you in this shit hole for?"

Steve shrugged and poked out his bottom lip. "Who knows?" Billy watched as Steve attempted to lift his mug with one hand. The other lay limp on the table, his elbow hidden beneath a sling. Someone had taken a blue Sharpie and clumsily written 'if you're reading this, give the man a beer' along the edge. "They're doing this little thing called, uh , deliberation. Trying to figure out if what I did was in self defense."

"Hm." Billy tossed his chin and bit the inside of his lip. He wanted to smoke.

"You know I told them what I had to. Not...everything. But just enough to make them think we're not the bad guys. Just...collateral damage in a confusing world. You know, emotions running high and all." Steve traced circles along the table, twisted his face, scratched his nose. And, watching him, Billy knew that he still felt something for him. It was the smallest things: the crescent of his fingernail, the slight part in his full lips, the lowered eyes, the way that he sat like he owned the chair that he was in. "What about you, what'd you tell your folks?"

"Told them it was a wild animal attack, per big man's orders." Billy tossed his head in the direction that Jim had left. "Speaking of ol' fat ass, how'd he know where we were that night?"

"Old man's got intuition. He knew I was freaking out the night before. So he followed me up to the usual place. Saw us fighting and then..." Steve cocked a finger gun at his bandaged arm and pretended to fire a round. "Here I am."

"Here you are." Billy rolled his tongue along his lip and lowered his gaze because Steve was watching him with something akin to a smile on his face. There was an utter and strange mystery about Steve, something that could only be broken once and then hidden away. He folded his hands and set them on the table between them.

"Just say it, you hate me."

Steve leaned in to him. "Is that what you came here for? To hear me tell you something you already know?" Ouch, Billy thought. He hadn't expected him to be so blunt about it. "I hate you," Steve said, leaning back again. "You know, I really can't stand seeing your ugly mug right now. But I also loved you...at a certain point. And, I don't know, I feel like that counts for something."

Steve

"Well I guess you can say that we're even now, huh, pretty boy? I bit you first time we met, and now here we are. You bit me, almost took out my entire leg."

Billy leaned back and smiled. He was comfortable now, Steve could tell. It must have been something that he said. Oh, how Steve had come to adore and loath those perfect, snow-white teeth when Billy flashed then. He caught himself smiling despite himself and quickly took a sip from his mug to hide it.

"So were you really crying for your mom when Hopper found us?"

"No." Billy said, as if the possibility was too unfathomable to even joke about. "Were you really gonna kill me if Jim hadn't stopped you?"

"No." Steve said, as if that was too unfathomable to even think about.

"Huh. Okay. So here's what I'm thinking, Harrington. The boys and I are packing up and shipping out to San Francisco. Gonna get a little place out by the water, roam around a bit. If that sounds like something you'd be into…" he nodded at the space surrounding them, "when you get out, come find me."

They both stood up and clasped hands over the table. They lingered for a moment, hands held together and eyes locked in an unfamiliar mold.

You wanna kiss me ? Steve's eyes said.

Right here, right now . Was Billy's response.

But instead Billy pursed his lips, leaned back, and picked up his crutch.

"See y'around, Harrington." He called over his shoulder as he limped away. It was as good as an apology that Steve would ever get.

"Yeah...see ya."

The door to the sanctuary shut and Steve was enveloped in silence. A few minutes passed, then he could hear Hopper's whistling growing louder above him.

"Hey, Hop," he called out, suddenly remembering something. "What's the status on Henderson's lineage?"

"Henderson, Henderson…." Hopper mumbled as he rifled through the pages of an old binder. "Nope, he's not one of us. Why?"

"Just...curious," he said quickly. He wondered how he'd be able to untangle himself from that mess.

Billy

Once outside, Billy reached in his pocket and pulled out a cigarette with a shaking hand. He tried to light it but his fingers were too sweaty and he kept missing the catch.

"Stupid piece of shit!" He cursed and flung the lighter away from him.

"Ooh, so angry." A female voice said from behind him. He spun around and saw a woman leaning against the wall, lit cigarette in hand. "I like it. The world could use more angry werewolves like you."

She was his mother's age and pretty in slinky, no-good sort of way. He'd always liked them older and he especially liked her as she sidled up to him and cupped his cigarette beneath her palm.

"Name's Danny. I heard so much about you." She said as she lit his cigarette. The reflection from the tiny flame lit up her eyes and she smiled. "We should talk."