this prompt popped up on my dash and i couldnt resist. this shit is so fluffy i stg
"You smile more than you used to." Steve maps the crinkled corner of Billy's eye, stroking the pad of his thumb along his cheekbone. His skin is still flushed, glowing bright as the loose grin that tugs at his kiss-reddened lips. Breathless and sprawled in Steve's rumpled sheets, he's so beautiful it hurts. Makes Steve's heart ache in the best way.
Billy huffs, tilting his chin to accentuate his eye-roll. It's a transparent cover for the way his smile curls into something profoundly pleased, no matter how much he tries to purse his lips to stop it.
"Pff. I smiled plenty," Billy says, idly tracing the tips of his fingers up and down Steve's bare shoulder.
Steve hums quietly, thinking back to the way Billy used to look at him, the mask he wore over the anger and tension and desire all burning him up inside. How he kept his jaw locked and his shoulders tight. When he smiled it was sharp, brittle, all venom and teeth.
And worse, he'd seen Billy flirt with girls at their school, practiced poses and scripted lines, nothing behind his eyes. He'd watched Billy more than he wanted to admit to himself at the time.
His thumb trails down to Billy's chin, gently holding him in place while he presses a kiss to his temple.
He pulls back a few inches to study Billy's face. His expression is soft. Baby soft. New down pillow soft. The heat on his cheeks draws Steve in like a hearthfire in a snowstorm.
It's almost overwhelming, looking at him like this. Wanting to touch him, wanting to just…be near him. With him. Being allowed all these things, so many things all at once that he can't parse any of it, he just wants, so badly it squeezes his insides.
He kisses the curve of Billy's mouth, short and chaste. Because he can.
"Not like this you didn't," he laughs quietly, a tiny exhale he can feel when he's this close to Billy's skin.
"Mmn." Billy turns his face a little, lips brushing the palm of Steve's hand, still cradled under his jaw. "What, you trying to take credit for something?" His voice is threaded with amusement.
Billy exhales slowly, gently, nuzzling further into Steve's hand. There's a pause. "Maybe."
Warmth blooms in Steve's chest, a thousand buds bursting at once. "Well." He doesn't bother stifling his grin. It's out of control. He probably looks insane and he doesn't care. "Then, you're welcome."
Billy snorts. "Fuck you, Harrington."
They lie in contented silence. Steve shuffles upward and tucks Billy under his chin. He shivers a little when Billy starts trailing his thumb along his spine, fingertips rubbing circles around every notch.
Steve inhales chlorine and smoke and the sweet scent of borrowed shampoo. "You make me happy too, y'know," he says eventually, his heart in his mouth.
Billy goes still for a moment. Just a moment. A stuttered breath and a break in the pattern he's drawing on Steve's back.
He shifts a little more firmly into Steve's arms, and with a wobbly breath he whispers, "I know."
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