Okay! This is a going to be a series of oneshots all in that same universe, that I will just slowly add to. I wanted to do a Harringrove series for so long, so here it is. There are a hundred roommate AU ones out there about them, but I fucking love them, so I'm doing one too. Haha. Please make sure you note the tags/triggers before you continue!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, or the title, which comes from the song Give In To Me by Garrett Hedlund.
Tags/Triggers: Alternate Universe - Modern Settings | Roommates | Pre-Relationship | Soft Billy Hargrove | Mentions of Mental Health Issues | Mentions of Biphobia (not between either of the main characters) | Masturbation | Future Kink/BDSM
Steve Harrington made a face as he ran his fingers through his floppy hair again and there was another spray of purple and gold glitter that went flying everywhere, sprinkling over the wooden floors and he made a face, because they were out of vacuum bags and Billy Hargrove wasn't going to be happy when he got home and there was glitter on the ground.
Again.
Steve couldn't help it.
Billy understood why it happened, he just grumbled when glitter got spread around the apartment, because then they spent the next few weeks getting it out of places that it had absolutely no right to be, before the cycle repeated itself all over again just a couple of days later when Steve ended up with glitter in his hair and over his clothes again.
Steve shrugged a shoulder to himself as he walked through the lounge and to the kitchen, opening up the fridge and looking at what was inside.
It had been a while since they had done grocery shopping—Billy had literally brought home a roll of toilet paper from work last night because they had used the last of theirs that morning, and they had been living on nothing but take-out for the past three days. It wasn't that they didn't have the money to go shopping, there was money in their flat bank account, they had both just been busy...Or, Steve had been moping, and Billy had been busy.
"Fucking hell," Steve pulled his fingers through his hair, because when he glanced around the kitchen, it was a mess, and that made him feel shit, because he always felt like shit when their apartment was messy, and given Billy worked longer hours than him and looked after their bank accounts and did all their washing and looked after his car and Steve's motorbike, it was Steve's job to keep the kitchen tidy. And he liked doing that, because he liked things tidy, but...Stacy Marin had broken up with him last week and he had been a little bitch about it ever since, he could admit that.
It wasn't even that he liked her all that much, he just liked having someone, he...Liked that.
He'd had a thing with Stacy on and off for the past seven or eight months, and even though they weren't exclusive, it was comfortable and she was nice and funny and the sex was good. Of course, she was also weird about the fact that he was bisexual, she always got this strange look on her face when it came up in conversation, and she had asked a few times when he was going to get a real job, as though what he did wasn't a real job.
He needed to snap out of it, because she really wasn't that big of a deal, and Billy had been working his ass off this week and still organizing dinner every night and not bitching too much that Steve wasn't helping, and he'd even brushed Steve's hair last night when he knew that Steve was feeling sad.
Billy always knew how to make him feel better.
Steve connected to their Bluetooth speakers and flicked through his playlists, going to one called Wake Up Happy that he listened to just a few too many times and turned the volume almost all the way up before he started moving around the kitchen. 1950 came on and Steve had to turn it up even louder because he always had to when King Princess came on, and he knew that he was probably shaking out some more glitter as he bobbed his head around as he started cleaning the kitchen, but Billy would just need to get over it.
He didn't realize that nearly two hours had passed as he was just finishing up cleaning their fridge—he had pulled out what was in there, thrown out the old takeaway boxes that were from over a week ago, and cleaned down all the shelves—and was just putting everything back in when the music began lowering in volume. It had been an Ellie Goulding song, an old one that Steve remembered Nancy Wheeler had really liked when they were in high school, and Steve had been humming along, when he lifted his head to look over the top of the fridge door to where Billy was walking through the lounge and toward the kitchen. He was wearing heavy boots and a pair of overalls that were rolled down around his waist, showing off the white tank top he was wearing, stretching over his broad shoulders.
Billy was always nice to look at.
Even when he and Steve had hated each other, Steve had to admit, he'd always liked to look at Billy.
"Hey, Stevie," Billy said softly, in a voice that Steve had only heard him use when it came to him and once with his step-sister. "It looks good in here." Steve grinned up at Billy from where he was kneeling on the kitchen floor.
"Thanks," he replied before looking back to the fridge.
"I'm just gonna go shower," Billy told him, beginning to back out of the kitchen again. "Have you showered yet?"
"Nah, I actually completely lost track of the time," Steve answered honestly as he put Billy's beers back on the bottom shelf and then start organizing the condiment bottles from tallest to smallest in one of the door shelves.
"Have a shower after me," Billy told him, his voice sounding further away as he left the lounge and went to the short hall that broke into the bathroom and their two bedrooms. "I'll dry and brush your hair afterwards." Steve felt his cheeks heat up at that, but he couldn't stop his smile, even as he bit down on his bottom lip. Sometimes Billy did that, when Steve was sick or sad or just sometimes when Steve had done something good. When he got a promotion at work, when he had deep cleaned the bathroom one Saturday as Billy had been working overtime, when he had perfectly managed to cook a turkey in their shitty little oven last year when they spent Thanksgiving together because they were working either side and couldn't go home.
Steve liked it when Billy did his hair, and when Billy brushed it, he played with it a lot, and Steve liked that as well.
Billy was pretty tactile for a guy who was raised by a man who basically only communicated with his fists. Steve was relatively certain it came from Billy's mum, but Billy didn't offer up much information about her, and Steve didn't want to pry, so he didn't know for certain.
Steve finished up in the kitchen, and then he picked up Billy's boots from where he had kicked them off in the hallway in the direction of the door. He took them to the doorway, where their cheap wooden shoe rack was, sitting them on the bottom shelf, and then went to his room and started undressing. Billy had done a load of washing a few days ago, which meant he had gone through Steve's room to pick up all his dirty laundry, but Steve had let his room get messy again since then, and just like the kitchen, he felt the urge to give the place a good clean. He refrained though, because that would probably occupy him for the next few hours, and he had plans, to get his hair dried and brushed and hopefully even stroked for a little bit afterward.
He gave his room a quick tidy, mainly dumping all of his clothes in his laundry basket for Billy tomorrow morning, and then tried to stand up the things on top of his dresser so they weren't all tipped over and muddled together in a mess. He had a floor-length mirror next to the dresser with a few pictures taped to it—all of the family that he had inherited rather than the one he was related to by blood, and his eyes skimmed over one where he was perched on Billy's knee at a barbeque at a party at Nancy and Johnathon's.
People were surprised when they had become friends, and even more surprised when they had ended up being roommates, but it had worked. It had more than worked.
Billy was fiercely loyal and he was ridiculously protective and he never made Steve feel stupid or unwanted, and in the past three years he had never forgotten Steve's birthday. Neither had any of Steve's other friends, but his parents almost always had, and Billy had been with him for every one of the past three birthdays, which was nice. It was consistent, and kind of like a routine, and it made him feel special.
"All yours, princess!" Billy shouted from outside Steve's door as he walked from the bathroom to his own room and Steve stripped out his pants and made a face when he noticed that there was a paint smear down one side. All the paint at his work was easily machine cleanable, but it was still a pain, and he folded them in on themselves so that the paint didn't get on any of his other clothes. Steve walked out of his room, opening the skinny door of their hallway cupboard and taking out a towel then going into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He turned the shower on and took off his briefs as he hung his towel over the railing and waited for the water temperature to heat up.
It didn't take long, since Billy had just been using it, and then Steve got in and let out a sigh as the warm water spilled over his hair and down his shoulders and back. The amount of body washes and hair care products in the shower probably rivaled what was in a sorority bathroom—it was definitely more than what was in Nancy's, Steve knew that for a fact. Billy had two really hard soaps and a wire-toothed brush that was practically made for ripping off skin, given the oil and grit that would sink themselves into his body at work. And then there was all the nicer body washes once he had used the harder stuff, and all the hair care stuff was Steve's, because he had a thing about his hair.
And Billy definitely used some of his stuff, even if he insisted that he didn't. Steve had smelt his citrus shampoo in Billy's blonde curls more times than he could count.
Steve wasn't sure when his hand ended up travelling down, fingers scratching at his lower stomach before loosely circling around his cock.
This shower had seen a lot of action with two young males living there—both by themselves and with other lovers—and Steve let his eyes shut as he gathered suds from his lavender body wash, making the slide of his hand easier on his cock. His eyes shut as he let his head fall back against the cool tiles. He didn't really know who he was thinking of, he pictured Stacy and her blonde head knelt between his legs. Then he weirdly got a flash of Robin Buckley, his friend from work that he really didn't want to sleep with, especially since she wasn't even into guys. But then it settled on this guy he had hooked up with about a month ago, who he'd fooled around in this very shower, jacking each other while they made out.
Just before he came, he imagined Billy stroking his fingers through his hair, which happened more often than he was willing to admit, and he quickly cleaned himself up and washed his hair. When he left the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his waist, he could hear the TV, so Billy must be all settled in for the night, and Steve quickly went to his room to change into a pair of sweatpants and a soft shirt. When he came out, Billy was sitting in one of their armchairs, rather than in the couch they usually sat in, because that was next to the wall, where the hair dryer was plugged in.
"I ordered pizza," Billy stated as Steve walked over to where Billy was sitting.
"Cool," Steve nodded as he sat down on the ground between Billy's feet. It took Steve all of two seconds to realize that it was Brooklyn Nine-Nine playing, and he felt his shoulders relax, because there was nothing like some Jake Peralta and Captain Holt after a long week. Billy paused the show on his phone and then there was a big hand resting on the back of Steve's neck and the hair dryer was turning on.
Steve was completely pliant under Billy as the blonde dried his hair, scrubbing his fingers lightly through Steve's hair, ruffling it as the warm air blew it dry. It didn't take long, but Billy always went a little longer than necessary because he knew that Steve liked the attention. Once he had finished drying it, he resumed the show and then set about brushing Steve's hair, which made the brunette begin to relax began even further. By the time Billy was finished, Steve was leaning his head against one of Billy's solid thighs, eyes drooping.
"You've got glitter in your hair," Billy said as his fingers gently tugged through Steve's hair. Steve hummed in response, tipping his head back and smiling a little at how nice the touch was. "The runts attack you again?" Billy's words sounded aggressive, but Steve knew better.
"Ginny said she misses you, and Pete is making you a macaroni picture frame for the photo of you guys at the zoo," Steve replied and for a moment, Billy froze, but then the hand in Steve's hair started moving again and Steve smiled to himself, letting his eyes close.
Steve loved his job.
Seven years ago, back in high school, he really wouldn't have thought that he would graduate high school and then study Early Childhood Education, but...That was what happened.
And now he worked at a busy kindergarten and after-school carers with some of the best co-workers and the most amazing kids who loved him as much as he loved them. Most of their parents were great as well—didn't care about his piercings or the fact he wore nail polish—it was so different how accepting California was compared to Hawkins. Most of California.
Billy wasn't exactly a regular feature at the Sunnynook Child Centre...But he still came by enough that the full-time kids knew who he was. Sometimes he would give Steve rides, when the weather was bad and he didn't want Steve to take his motorcycle, and they had career day where Steve had brought Billy along to talk about what he did with cars. Ginny Lewis was eight, she was one of their after-school kids, and Steve was pretty sure she had a little crush on Billy, which Steve and Robin thought was cute. Last month they hadn't had enough volunteers from parents to accompany the kids and teachers to the zoo, so Billy had taken the day off work and come with them. Pete Davis had rolled his ankle just after lunch, and so Billy had given him a shoulder ride for the rest of the day, making sure he was still having fun and didn't feel left out.
Steve was pretty sure if anyone from their high school could see Billy now—had seen Billy in that moment—they would not have even realized that he was the same guy—Hargrove, not Billy—that they had been in class with.
"Tell him I'll put it on the fridge," Billy said gruffly and Steve grinned again, still facing the TV, and he rested his hand on top of Billy's bare foot, gently rubbing his thumb over Billy's big toe. Billy didn't say anything, he just kept dancing Steve's hair with his fingers. Another ten minutes or so passed before there was a knock on the door, and Billy got up, bumping Steve's shoulder with his knee as he moved to pick up his wallet to go and pay for the pizza. Steve got up as well, to go and get a beer for Billy and a can of lemonade for himself before settling back down on the couch and putting the drinks down on their coffee table.
"Are you working tomorrow?" Steve asked as Billy came back and put down the two pizza boxes on the table.
"Nope," Billy replied, flipping open the lid for the first pizza, making a face when he realized it was Steve's and shoved it over to Steve and opening the second one.
"We need to do grocery shopping," Steve stated as he picked up the first slice, cheese stringy and clinging to the remaining slices until he swiped a finger through it and then sucked the cheesy off the digit. He took a big bite of pizza and then looked back over at Billy who was looking back at him, but the blonde turned back to his own pizza and took a bite.
"Yup," he said through the mouthful, which was disgusting, but Steve was used to it. "We've needed to go for fucking ages, but you've had your head stuck up your ass." Right, so nice Billy was officially gone, and asshole Billy was back. But he could deal with it.
Because Billy knew when to be an asshole.
He hadn't been for the past week, because he knew that Steve had been sad, but he seemed to be able to sense that Steve was okay now. He always did.
"Hey! I'll have you know that I really liked her!" Steve retorted, jabbing half his slice of pizza at Billy and Billy just snorted and rolled his eyes.
"No, you didn't," he replied as he snapped the lid off his beer with his teeth, which Steve had tried to tell him not to do countless times, but he never listened. "You just liked having someone who knew you to go back to when you're lonely." Steve froze, the pizza halfway to his mouth again, a cold feeling washing over him, sort of like a bucket of water had just been dumped over his head.
Because Billy was right.
And they both knew it.
But it still hurt to hear.
Steve felt Billy turn to look at him, lowering his beer, but Steve tried to recover quickly, focusing on the TV and taking a bite of his pizza and chewing.
"Steve," Billy began but Steve just shook his head. The pizza literally just felt like this weird rubber ball in his mouth, and he kind of wanted to spit it out, but he kept on chewing, eyes on the TV. Billy maybe knew better than everyone else the issues of loneliness and lack of self-worth and depression that had come from eighteen years being brought up in a household where his parents barely acknowledged his presence. That kind of just came with living with someone for years, you learn that sort of thing. Like how Steve knew that Billy hated thunder and raised voices and literally had to leave a shop if he saw a parent yelling at their child. "I didn't mean for it to come out that way," Billy mumbled and Steve shrugged a shoulder.
He dropped his almost finished slice of pizza back into the box, not hungry anymore, and tucked his feet up onto the couch underneath him. Billy kept on eating, not saying anything, which was good, because Steve didn't want to talk. Billy finished his beer and nearly all of his pizza and then glanced over at Steve and down at the pizza box on the table.
"You need to finish at least another whole slice," Billy said quietly and Steve considered arguing, but he couldn't actually remember if he had eaten that day, and it was a habit of his that he still had to keep an eye on. And when he didn't, Billy did. Steve forced himself to eat one more slice, and Billy didn't look completely happy, but he nodded and then cleared their mess, putting the boxes in the fridge. He came back with a cloth for Steve to wipe his hands on and then he settled back down on the couch. After about five minutes of sitting there, he lifted his arm and jerked his head.
"C'mere," he grunted. Steve looked over at him, at the space between them and the solid curve of Billy's body, and shuffled over to tuck himself against Billy's side. Billy dropped his arm, letting it loosely hold Steve, and Steve felt better almost instantly. They were quiet again, watching almost a full episode before Billy spoke up again. "She had weird ears."
"I know," Steve responded, because that had been one of the first things that Billy had pointed out when he had met Stacy, and then Steve hadn't been able to un-see it once it had been pointed out.
"And she said that bisexual people were confused," Billy's voice had an edge to it, and Steve remembered how angry the blonde had been when Steve had recounted the conversation when he and Stacy had first had it.
"I know," he repeated.
"You deserve better than that," Billy said decisively and Steve smiled into Billy's shirt. He knew that Billy was just saying this because he wanted to make Steve feel better and he was Steve's friend so of course he thought that, but it was nice to hear. Billy was different from him, because Steve was pretty sure Billy had never actually had a relationship before. He had a lot of hook ups—Steve had lost count of the amount of guys that had come and gone from their apartment—but he didn't remember ever seeing the same guy twice. Billy was strong and independent, and he wasn't like Steve, he didn't need people.
"What do you do when you need a cuddle?" Steve asked, looking up at Billy. Billy gave him a narrow look and then a squeeze.
"I have you," he replied, looking back at the TV. Steve blinked in surprise, still staring up at Billy, at the scruff of his jaw where he hadn't shaved for the past couple of days. Billy could obviously feel Steve's eyes on him because his lips tipped up in a smile, but he kept his eyes on the TV.
"What happens when you want a happy ending to your cuddle?" Steve pressed and Billy snorted.
"I have you, and then I go to my room and jack off," he answered easily, as though the answer was just that simple, and Steve couldn't stop his shout of laughter even though his stomach was squeezing. Billy grinned at him, his fingers curling into Steve's side, the fingers of his other hand pulling through his curls.
"You're disgusting," Steve informed him and Billy shrugged easily.
"At least I've never fucked anyone with weird ears," he replied and Steve rolled his eyes. They settled back down, going back to watching TV. Steve was comfortable and warm against Billy, and he wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but Billy was used to it, and the TV was off when he woke up to Billy's hand resting on his head and his lips against his forehead.
"Come on, princess," Billy was whispering. "Time for bed." Steve blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes with his fist and then promptly burying his face back into Billy's shoulder. Billy didn't say anything, one big hand still on Steve's head, resting there gently for a few moments before Steve finally lifted his head again.
"Are you going to give yourself a happy ending after our cuddles tonight?" Steve asked, the question leaving his lips before he had even really thought about it. Billy's eyes widened for a fraction and the hand on the back of Steve's head tightened. Steve had a very brief thought that he should take his question back, quickly cover it up, blame it on the fact that he was tired, but Billy's eyes were dark as he looked down at Steve, and he wasn't rolling his eyes and pushing Steve off, so he waited. The hand that wasn't on Steve's head came up and his thumb pressed gently against the corner of Steve's mouth. Steve couldn't help but let his lips part and Billy's thumb moved. Steve's eyes never left Billy's, but Billy's eyes had moved to Steve's mouth. Steve was pretty sure he was breathing as the pad of Billy's thumb traced his lower lip so gently before resting gently against the middle, applying only slight pressure before Steve let his lips open even more, suddenly fully prepared to suck Billy's thumb between his lips and into the warmth of his mouth.
Billy let out a shaky breath and then his eyes were meeting Steve's again, and Steve felt his whole body react to the fact that Billy's pupils were completely blown and looked a little glazed.
"Fuck yes, princess," he breathed and Steve's cock pulsed in the sweatpants he was wearing. It took all the self-control he had left not to come in his pants like a teenager at the fact that Billy looked so turned on by him and the knowledge that he was going to go back to his room and get off to the idea of him.
Steve leaned in, brushing an ever so soft kiss against Billy's cheek before getting up off the couch on shaky legs, and leaving the lounge to go to his bedroom, fire burning in the pit of his stomach as Billy watched him go.
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