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A giggling sound made the two of them jump and look in the direction it came from.
Steve laughed when he saw the baby monitor sitting on the table next to Billy.
Steve looked over at Billy, grinned, and said, “I guess they approve”.
“I'm sorry,” was all Billy said as he dashed past Steve and out the front door. The sound of the door closing heavily behind him echoed in Steve's soul.
The night wind howled in Billy's ears as he searched for a place to hide, to breathe, to disappear. “You're useless, dumb, and loving a man is wrong and you will never amount to anything and your children will hate you,” his father's voice whispered inside his head.
Inside, Steve was left alone, feeling confused and hurt. Sitting down, he took a deep breath and watched the door, wondering why he always scared off the people that meant the most to him.
When Billy hadn't come back home even after a couple of hours, he was beginning to fear the worst, so he called Joyce.
“Hey Steve, how are you darling?” Joyce asked when she answered.
“Not well. Billy took off after we kissed and now I don't know what to do. Should I call Hopper to search for him? Should I get a sitter so I can go look for him, or should I just stay put?” he asked, his voice breaking.
Before she could answer, the front door opened and Billy was in the doorway, then in front of him and then his lips were on his. He melted into Billy's kiss, allowing the phone to drop from his hand and leaving Joyce asking if he was ok. After a few minutes, to Steve's disappointment, they parted, and that's when he remembered he was on the phone.
“I’m ok, Billy came back,” he quickly texted Joyce. When he got an “I'm glad” text, he put his phone down and looked at Billy.
“Where the hell did you go? And just because I accepted your kiss, I don't forgive you for just taking off,” he said as he wrapped his arms around himself and turned his back to Billy.
“I'm sorry. I heard my father's voice in my head, but as I walked in the cold air alone, I realized something. He was old and bitter, and I am allowed to be happy in whatever form that comes in. I hope you won't give up on me,” Billy replied.
Turning around slowly, Steve said, “Your honesty makes it hard to stay mad at you. I forgive you this time. But if it happens again I’m not promising anything,” and found his space within Billy’s arms.
The next couple of months were filled with end-of-school activities and homework, along with counseling sessions with their therapist.
“I can't wait for summer so we can have time to spend with the girls and each other,” Billy said as they were putting away dishes.
“Be careful what you wish for, Hargrove. Sometimes it isn't what you think,” Steve replied and pecked him on the cheek.
When summer break finally arrived, Billy was excited. But that didn't last.
“Two weeks. That's all it's been, and the girls are driving me nuts,” Billy said as he picked up Max and moved her away from the flowerpot she was trying to climb into.
Steve laughed and quipped, “You were so excited summer break was here, and we could have the girls home all the time.”
Flipping Steve off, Billy put Max in the playpen, then pried Mary from Steve's arms, whom she hadn't let go of all day except to eat, and placed her in as well.
Going back to where Steve was seated on the floor, he wrapped his arms around Steve and kissed him. “You're mine for a few minutes,” he said as he bit the edge of Steve's ear. Looking up to check on the girls, he could swear Mary was giving him a death glare for touching Steve. “I don't think Mary wants to share you with me,” he said, laughing.
“She knows she has me wrapped around her tiny finger,” Steve said as he turned his head and kissed Billy softly.
The girls played in their playpen while Steve and Billy watched TV. A commercial came on for a vacation package to San Diego. Steve saw a longing on Billy's face and said casually, “The two of us should take a nice vacation”.
The smile that crossed Billy's face said he agreed, but he said, “I don't think I'm ready to be away from Mary and Max for that long.”
Right then and there, Steve swore to himself he would get Billy to get away and relax somehow.
It was the last week of June when they flew out to San Diego for a five-day vacation at a beachside resort.
A scared deer was the only way Steve could explain the look on Billy's face. He had finally talked Billy into taking the vacation they had talked about.
“Don't worry, you pumped enough milk for them until next June and Joyce loves the girls, so everything will be just fine. Plus, we can FaceTime them every night,” he said as he physically sat Billy down on the bed.
“And what about Jonathan and Will? What if they go off and tell everyone about the girls and… and us?” Billy asked.
Sitting down next to Billy, Steve cupped Billy's face and said, “Stop worrying so much about other people. So what if everyone in town found out? It just might mean more babysitters. And the ‘us’ part, no one is going to care. Hawkins may be a small town, but it also has a lot of really loving people. Hell, even Tommy has a soft spot for kids, and I think he already thinks we are hiding something.”
Taking a deep breath and cracking half a smile, Billy nodded and laid on his back on the bed. “I guess this isn't so bad. I can teach you how to surf and you can finally get a tan on you.”
The next day, Billy showed Steve how to stand on a surfboard and was excited when Steve survived his first wave. They had a video chat with Joyce and the girls that night.
“Hope the girls are being good,” Steve asked as the girls waved at the camera, testing Joyce's ability to hold both of them.
“They're great and I'm enjoying having girls for a while,” Joyce said with a laugh.
They said their goodbyes and headed to bed.
As the third day became the third night, Billy was sitting on the bed while Steve was in the shower when there was a knock at the door.
Billy slowly got up and went to the door and looked out the peephole. He was taken aback by the woman with blonde hair with purple streaks and piercing blue eyes, much like his own, staring back at him from the hallway.
He undid the lock, and the woman wrapped her arms around Billy. “Long time no see little brother”.
“How did you know I was here?” he asked. He heard the shower turn off. “Give me a second,” he said before she could answer and went to the bathroom, letting Steve know they had company and he would need more than the towel. When he turned around, his sister was sitting in a chair by the desk and he asked again as he sat on the bed, “How did you know I was here?”
“My friend works here, and she told me she saw you. She even gave me your room number,” his sister replied as Steve came into the room.
“What's going on, Billy?” Steve asked, sitting next to him.
“This is Crystal, my older sister,” Billy said, trying to keep his voice steady despite the anger and confusion he was feeling.
“Mom and dad have been worried sick about you ever since your disappearing act almost two years ago,” Crystal said.
“I didn't know Satan knew how to worry about others,” Billy replied, not holding back the venom in his tone.
“Grow up already, Billy. Yeah, dad was an ass at times, but he loves us and mom. His old way of thinking made life hard, but your vanishing has really been tough on him since he blames himself. Couldn’t you at least stop by and let them know you are alive,” Crystal said, her eyes locked on Billy.
“Maybe you should, Billy. I will be right there with you,” Steve said softly, placing a hand on Billy's shoulder. Billy just nodded. Both Steve and Crystal took that as a win.
Giving both Steve and Billy a hug, Crystal took her leave.
“She seems nice,” Steve said as they got comfortable in bed.
“She is a good person and a great sister,” Billy said, turning to face Steve. “Are you sure you want to be involved in my family drama?” Billy asked as he moved a piece of hair from Steve's eyes.
“Of course I do. Plus, I'm interested in meeting Satan himself,” Steve said, causing them both to laugh.
The next morning, they headed over to Billy's old house. It looked exactly the same as when Billy left, which made him even more nervous. It subsided a bit when Steve placed his hand on his. Taking a deep breath, he got out of the car and Steve followed suit. Hand in hand, they went to the front door and Billy knocked.
They heard Billy's dad grumbling as he approached the front door. When he opened it, his face went from frustrated to disbelief in seconds. “Marianne! Billy's home!” the man yelled and motioned for them both to enter.
A woman wearing a red night robe came running into the room and when she saw Billy she ran straight for him, wrapping her arms around him. “I've missed you so much, my son,” she said as the tears streamed down her face.
“I've missed you too, mom,” Billy said softly.
Once she let Billy go, she motioned for him and Steve to have a seat. When she got back with coffee for everyone, Billy introduced Steve and told them about what he had been going through the last year and a half.
When he was done, neither one of his parents said a word. Suddenly, his mom burst into tears and wrapped her arms around him again. “I'm just glad you're alive and safe,” she said over and over. Even his dad had tears threatening to fall as he tried to keep his composure. It was a side of his dad Billy had never seen.
They spent the afternoon talking about Mary and Max and Steve. As the sun started to set, Billy hugged his mom and shook hands with his dad. It was a start.
“If I could get your email, I would like to send you tickets to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. If it goes well, I will also bring you out for Christmas, but I warn you if you hurt Billy or the girls in any way, I will make sure you never see them again,” Steve said, surprising Billy's parents and making Billy grin.
“I like this one,” his dad said as he wrote his email for Steve.
When they got back in the car Steve said with a laugh, “Satan isn't that bad”.
“Yeah, I guess we can graduate to Neil,” Billy said with a smile and started up the car.
As they were heading back to the hotel, Steve asked, “Where did that come from? I'm so proud of you but the fact you were so open was a shock.”
“The reason is you,” was all Billy said.
Steve knew not to push Billy to talk, so he turned on the radio. California Girls by Katy Perry was playing. “I have my own California girl,” Steve teased, pleased, as he watched the red stain on Billy's cheeks.
That night, they cuddled together.
“You know, I'm glad you dragged me out here,” Billy said as he kissed Steve's neck.
“Me too. We both needed this break,” Steve replied as he rolled onto Billy, smiling, and reached over and flipped the light off.
The next morning, they sadly had to head to the airport. They were excited to see the girls and give them the gifts they got for them, but they would miss the alone time.
When they landed in Indianapolis, they claimed their baggage and headed out to the front of the terminal, where they found Joyce and the girls waiting for them. As they walked through the arrivals door, the most amazing thing happened. Max said, “mama” and reached for Billy while Mary said, “dada” and reached for Billy, too. Both Steve and Billy gasped, dropped their luggage, ran over and picked up the girls, hugging and kissing them and then switching babies.
“Wow, you're like an old married couple,” Joyce said with a laugh as she wiped away her own tears, making them both blush.
The girls repeated mama and dada for the next hour on the trip back to Hawkins.
A couple of days later, a blanket was spread out on the grass in the backyard. On it was a picnic basket, Steve and Billy cuddling together, and two baby girls waiting for the Independence day celebrations to begin.
When the sky faded to black, bright stripes of light rose from the Hawkins fair.
As the fireworks exploded one by one, the two girls clapped and cooed while the young me shared a deep kiss.
“You know this means that school isn't that far off,” Billy said as they cleaned up the picnic.
“I know, but hey we still have over a month, so let's make the most of it.”
They spent a lot of time in the pool, taking road trips to look at the farms surrounding Hawkins and, of course, visiting Joyce.
“Dammit, going back to school came way too fast,” Billy complained as he put together his school stuff for the next day.
Steve didn’t want to go back either. All the girls' firsts they had witnessed were a blessing, and he knew that both of them were not ready to miss anything.
Billy had spent the last week mentioning everything new the girls had done down to Max and Mary sticking their fingers in each other's noses. As the day to start classes got closer, Billy’s attitude got worse, and he complained about everything, cursing out anything that dared to get in his way.
“The nice thing is that we only have classes until noon except for Fridays when we have basketball practice,” Steve said, trying to calm the Goliath down.
Billy looked over at him, a look of fear mixed with pride on his face. He asked, “So are we still taking separate cars and shit”?
“No,” Steve answered and left the room, leaving a confused and worried Billy behind. He came back in with a small piece of paper and put it on the table where Billy could read it: ‘Hawkins High parking pass for Steve Harrington and Billy Hargrove, good for the 23/24 school year.’
“One car, one team. I also thought we could bring our friends to meet Mary and Max tomorrow morning since tomorrow is orientation and school starts on Monday,” Steve said. He tried not to laugh as Billy groaned and threw his backpack onto the floor, collapsing onto the bed. Laying on top of Billy, Steve kissed Billy’s nose. “It will all be ok, you will see,” he said and kissed him.
The next day didn’t feel alright. Mary and Max were crying because of having their first teeth coming in and nothing was soothing them. Billy and Steve finally decided that Steve would go to orientation and hopefully could pick up Billy's class list.
When Steve left, Mary screamed and made Max scream louder, too. Billy looked at the clock and hoped that the orientation wouldn’t take too long.
After an hour, some cold teething rings, and a good feeding, Mary and Max finally fell asleep in their playpen. Billy went to the couch and ended up falling asleep.
Multiple voices in the room awakened him. Keeping his eyes closed, he listened to the conversation.
“Oh my, he’s so adorable when he's sleeping,” a female voice said.
Billy recognized it as Nancy Wheeler.
“I just want to grab his ass.”
That was definitely Carol Perkins.
“He isn’t that good looking,” chided Tommy Hagan.
“Can we hold them?” asked Robin Buckley.
Jonathan Byers said, “I wouldn't wake them. They are as cranky as I suspect their father is when you wake them.”
“And right now, I’m majorly cranky,” Billy said as he sat up, making everyone in the room jump. “Why the fuck are you all here?” he asked quietly, trying not to wake the terror twins.
“I asked them to come so you could tell them about things in a more relaxed setting,” Steve answered, kissing him on the cheek and sitting next to him.
Billy relaxed and motioned for the others to take a seat. He gave them a basic rundown, leaving out most of what happened because he emotionally couldn’t go through it again right then. When he finished, he showed them the scar, at the request of Tommy.
“Damn Hargrove, guess you’re the mom, and Stevie here is head of the household,” Tommy said with a chuckle.
“I do love my sugar daddy,” Billy said as he ran a hand up Steve’s thigh, making everyone laugh because Steve was visibly turned on. And right on cue, Mary started crying loudly, and Billy said, “I’ve got competition, though.”
Steve got up and picked Mary up and she immediately stopped crying and started saying “dada”, reaching for his face.
“I would be careful Hargrove, you have a competitor, and she really does have a cuteness advantage,” Tommy said as he fell over in a laughing fit.
Jonathan went over to the playpen when Max started making a noise, as she realized Mary wasn’t there. Picking her up, Jonathan held her in his arms and started humming a soft melody, which made Max calm down.
Within ten minutes, everyone was surrounding the girls and showering them with attention. As long as girls could see Steve or Billy, they loved it.
Robin kept looking over at Billy.
“Can I help you, Robin?” he asked.
Blushing, Robin asked, “Can we watch when you feed them? I know it's weird but none of us have seen a guy feed babies and it would be educational.”
The look on Billy’s face was meme-worthy, but he actually agreed to it more out of necessity than anything else, since both girls started their lunchtime cry. Taking off his shirt, he collected Max from Jonathan and was glad when Steve brought Mary to him and set them up for their lunch.
The silence in the room was deafening, mixed with the fact that he felt like a sideshow. It was sending his anxiety through the roof. He kept his cool for the sake of the girls.
When they were done, he laid them in the playpen and rubbed their tummies until they were asleep. Replacing his shirt, he asked, “Who wants a sandwich?” as he went towards the kitchen.
When lunch was done and everyone had left, Steve watched as Billy slumped onto the couch, looking broken. “What's the matter, babe?” he asked, sitting down on Billy’s lap.
“I'm just worn out. Between the girls teething and knowing not only the loudmouth of Hawkins knows everything, but so do my parents, my head is just spinning,” Billy said, pulling Steve in close to him.
Steve wrapped his arms around Billy’s neck and said softly, “Together we will get through this” and kissed him.
“I can't believe the girls will be one in a week,” Billy said once he calmed down. He started to flip through his phone.
Steve looked over his shoulder and noticed Billy looking at party gifts and ideas. “Can I plan it?” Steve asked excitedly.
Billy looked at him and nodded because he was too exhausted to fight.
Balloons filled the living room like it was a circus. A banner hung above the fireplace that read “Happy First Birthday Mary and Max”. ‘The Party’ was there as well, along with Joyce and Hopper, and Billy’s and Steve’s friends from school.
The birthday girls were in their playpen, loving the balloons and bubbles from the bubble maker.
Steve's eyes watered when it came time to cut the cake.
“Wow Steve, you're really invested in those girls aren’t you,” Tommy said as he took his piece.
“I love them like my own,” Steve replied as he continued to hand out cake.
Billy came over and wrapped his arms around Steve and whispered, “The girls are hungry and since we plan to wean them soon, it might be nice to have a small family feeding.”
This made Steve full-out cry. Joyce thankfully took the knife from him and motioned for both of them to scamper off.
They each went and got one girl and headed up to the nursery.
Billy handed Steve Max and got comfortable in the rocking chair as he removed his shirt. Steve then handed him one kid at a time and then sat in the chair next to Billy’s, resting a hand on his arm.
When they were done, Billy put the girls on the play mat on the floor.
Nothing in the world could make this moment for either of them any better until both Max and Mary both stood up and took a couple steps before falling on their bottoms, destroying both of them emotionally in a good way.
Between on the move one-year-olds and senior-level school work, both Steve and Billy were exhausted.
Their saving grace was that all their friends wanted to help with the girls. They could go out two nights a week for a dinner date, which most of the time meant grabbing some fast food and sitting in the Camaro, just enjoying each other's company.
September slowly faded into October. As Halloween approached, Billy would’ve liked to take part in the seniors’ Halloween party, but it was on Halloween night and the girls’ first real Halloween, and that was much more important.
When the day came, Billy found out that Steve had gone out of his way to get their costumes and had made sure it was a group thing. Billy ended up in a tan dog outfit while Steve had on a blue one and the girls were each in a onesie, one blue and one tan, with matching dog ear headbands.
“I feel ridiculous in this,” Billy said as Steve got the stroller ready.
“Well, I wasn’t going to let you dress like I imagined you would’ve had,” Steve said as he placed the girls in their stroller.
“What does that mean?” Billy asked, caught off guard.
“You would probably go shirtless with tight leather pants with a bad 80s wig and go as some old rocker,” Steve said.
Honestly, Billy couldn't argue, so he gave in.
The girls were asleep by the time they got back from trick-or-treating, so they let them sleep in their costumes.
When Steve and Billy finally got out of theirs, they put the candy bags in the cupboard and then went and laid down.
“That was an amazing night. Now we have the family Thanksgiving and Christmas to deal with,” Billy said as he cuddled against Steve.
“We will get through this. I mean, how bad could it be having both of our parents in one place?” Steve said.
Both of them couldn’t help but laugh.
“Let's just hope it doesn't become a bloodbath,” Billy said as they drifted off to sleep.
November in Indiana meant snow. The girls got super excited from the first snowfall of the year.
Billy was just astonished at how much snow could really be in one place.
They spent weekends making and destroying snowmen and Steve showed the girls how to make snow angels.
Thanksgiving came faster than either of them imagined or really wanted. Billy surprised Steve by cooking dinner while Steve set the table up for their impending guests. The girls had fun practicing walking within the safety gates they had set up.
Right at 3:00 pm, the front door opened, and Billy met Mr. and Mrs. Harrington for the first time. Steve's mom had on a very elegant dress while his dad had on a sharp black suit.
“Billy, this is my mom Caroline and my father David,” Steve said and went to greet them.
Caroline gave her son a hug while David shook his hand.
Billy shyly came out of the kitchen and followed behind.
“So, you're the young man my son called in the army for. I’m glad he has someone here. We are so busy with work we don’t get to spend enough time with him,” Caroline said, giving Billy a hug. After an awkward handshake with Steve’s dad, the Harringtons went over to dote on Max and Mary.
That’s when there was a knock at the door, making Billy freeze in his tracks. Knowing he should be the one to open the door, he headed over to let his parents in.
When he opened the door, he was taken aback by how beautiful his mom’s dress was and how handsome his dad was when he was clean shaven and in a suit.
“Mom, you look absolutely beautiful,” he said as he motioned for them to come in. He hugged his mom and shook his dad's hand. “Everyone, this is my mother Maryanne and my father Neil,” he said and moved aside so they could meet Steve’s parents and the girls. He went over to where Steve was and took his hand.
Steve squeezed his hand in response. “We will get through this together,” he whispered.
Dinner went remarkably well. The girls loved the mashed potatoes and mashed yams, and the rest of them enjoyed the amazingly moist and perfectly cooked turkey.
Beaming with pride, Steve said, “Billy cooked everything.”
“Wow, Billy, you’re an amazing cook,” Caroline said.
“Thank you, Mrs. Harrington. I have my mom to thank for that. I was always watching her in the kitchen,” Billy said, smiling at his mom.
“Mrs. Hargrove, you have an amazing son. And please, everyone, can call me Caroline,” Caroline said.
“Please call me Maryanne,” Billy's mom added, ignoring the compliment Caroline gave to Billy.
After dinner, Steve showed the Hargroves to the guest bedroom. His parents called it a night and headed upstairs as well.
Billy cleaned the girls up, gave them each their bottles, and held them until they fell asleep.
When Steve reappeared, he kissed the girls goodnight and Billy laid them in the playpen until they were ready to go upstairs, still not completely trusting the other adults he barely knew not to run off with the girls. He knew it was ridiculous, but he couldn’t seem to shake it off.
The two of them cleaned the kitchen and dining room before taking the girls up to the nursery. Only then were they able to head into their room to lie down.
Cuddling up close Steve said softly, “It could’ve been worse”.
Billy nodded and said, “You're right, but they’re here for two more days. Think it will last?”
Steve closed his eyes and replied, “Hopefully. This is nice.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Billy said, kissing Steve’s cheek as the two fell asleep.
The next two days went by quickly, with no major issues. Billy showed his parents around Hawkins, and Steve took care of the girls while catching up with his parents.
When Sunday rolled around, Steve’s dad surprised everyone by inviting Neil and Maryanne to fly home with them on Harringtons’ private jet. David and Caroline had business to take care of in California before they headed back to their house in London, their home most of the time when they worked in Europe.
As they were leaving, Billy was in for another shock: his dad came over and hugged him, telling him he was proud.
His mom then came over and hugged him and told him the same thing and that he is a wonderful cook. Then she went over to Steve and said, “Thank you for taking great care of our son when we were too blind to do so. I hope we will see you at Christmas.”
“Of course. We can’t wait to see you then,” Steve replied.
Steve's dad even hugged Steve, apologizing for being away so long and saying he couldn't wait for Christmas and that he had a huge gift for him.
Steve hugged him back and then hugged his mom.
“I'm sorry, son, that we haven’t been here. We will try harder,” Caroline said as she held Steve tighter.
“I forgive you, mom. Let's move forward from here,” Steve replied, hugging her more.
As they made final moves towards the door, the girls walked over and said “Bye nana, bye papa” making eyes tear up. The four grandparents hugged Mary and Max goodbye, promising to see them at Christmas.
After the last goodbyes, the two sets of parents got into David's rented car and headed off.
“Well, I’m glad they get along,” Billy said as he pulled Steve to the couch and onto his lap, both facing the girls so they could watch them.
Steve laughed and watched as Max and Mary walked over and reached to be picked up. He picked them up and sat them on his lap.
They stayed that way until the girls fell asleep and then gently took them upstairs, placed them in their crib and then laid down themselves.
“Think things will go well this Christmas?” Billy asked as he wrapped himself around Steve.
“I think so, I’ve heard grandkids can make people change. I’m glad how my parents responded to them,” Steve said with a yawn.
Billy kissed the back of Steve’s head and they fell asleep.
One day, while Steve was out, Billy turned the house into a Christmas wonderland. The girls, with Billy's help, made paper ring garlands for the tree.
When Steve walked in, he was in awe. As he placed a small box on the table, he heard Mary say, “Paper dada paper dada,” as she pointed at the tree. Steve looked over and with tears said, “That's a beautiful garland, Mary,” picking her up and hugging her. Max walked over and said “up” and so Steve had both girls in his arms when he went over to Billy. “This is beautiful. It’s the first time in a long time the house looks like Christmas,” Steve said as he laid his head on Billy’s shoulder.
Setting the girls down, he whispered something to them, and they walked towards the table and picked up the box Steve had put down when he came in. They brought it to Steve, who went over to Billy and got down on one knee, making Billy squirm.
Billy knew what was next.
“You and the girls came into my life in the most chaotic way possible, but it’s what I needed. Billy Hargrove, will you give me the pleasure of being my partner in life?” Steve asked, opening the box.
Inside it was a beautiful engagement ring.
Billy just stared and then he heard two little voices saying, “Yes, yes, yes.” Looking directly into Steve's eyes, he nodded.
They embraced, and Steve put the ring on his finger.
Suddenly there were screams of congratulation causing Billy to jump and look around. He noticed Steve must’ve started a live chat with their friends and parents on the TV.
The girls had forgotten all about them and went to the TV and were kissing the nana and papa boxes, making Billy and Steve laugh.
“I have one more surprise, but that waits until Christmas,” Steve said with a grin.
Raising an eyebrow, Billy smiled and kissed him, which got an aww from the TV. “That's creepy,” he said. He had a smile on the outside but inside he was freaking out because he didn’t have any money to get Steve a gift that measured what he got him. At that moment, his cell phone rang, and he answered.
“Hello Billy, it's Caroline. I have never seen my son so excited. I have created a bank account for you and have placed $10k in it to give you some financial freedom. Plus, you're going to be my son-in-law and I will be here whenever you need anything. Your parents were going to surprise you with the same thing, but I thought I would step up early,” she said.
“I don’t know what to say. How did you know I was worried?” he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.
“I could see it in your face over the chat. I’m sure your parents could as well. Just say thank you and you accept and all will be good,” she replied.
“Thank you, and I accept it. I can’t wait to see everyone at Christmas,” he said. After goodbyes, he went to the kitchen and broke down, sliding down to his knees on the floor.
Suddenly he felt arms around him. Looking up, he saw Steve and tried to collect himself. “I'm ok,” he said, but knew immediately Steve didn't buy it for one minute.
“What's wrong, babe? Don’t worry, the live stream is off and the girls are safe in their playpen,” Steve said as he stood up, hands on hips, staring down at Billy.
“I'm not used to all this. My parents are supportive, people are helping me financially without repayment and now… You and the girls are literally the only things that make sense at this point,” he said.
Steve took a deep breath and said, “I’m just as lost, but we will get through this, I promise, but you have to get off the kitchen floor.”
Standing up, Billy looked at Steve and said, “I’m beyond embarrassed. You planned this wonderful proposal and I break down on the kitchen floor.”
Steve kissed his cheek and said, “We all have breakdowns,” as they went to check on the girls.
The next few weeks before Christmas break, Billy had many people offering to help with the wedding. Robin wanted to do decorations while Nancy was willing to help with catering ideas.
When Christmas arrived, their house was full of presents and grandparents, who upon arriving, sprung it on them they would stay over the New year.
Steve recorded the girls opening their gifts first so they could go down to their nap since they had been up since daybreak to make sure Santa had come.
As soon as they were down and out, the adults opened their gifts. It would be the last gift though that pulled heartstrings.
Steve handed Billy an envelope.
Billy eyed it, and then carefully opened it up. When he pulled out the documents, he couldn’t hold back his emotions.
Inside were two birth certificates, one for Mary and one for Max, and on the line for parents was Steve Hargrove-Harrington for Father and Billy Hargrove-Harrington for Father.
“They are official documents. Now all we need is that marriage license and this family is complete in the eyes of the law,” Steve said, holding back his own tears.
“I love you, Steve Harrington,” Billy said for the first time out loud in front of other people, making Steve lose it emotionally and they kissed right under some mistletoe.
“We aren’t done,” David said, handing his son his own envelope.
Steve cautiously opened it. His eyes widened as he saw the deed to the house and the card to his trust fund. It wasn’t until he saw the paperwork for a trust fund both sets of grandparents had started for each of the girls that brought him to tears. “Are you sure about this, dad?” he asked.
“This house was your grandfather’s and when I married your mother, it became mine. Now I am passing it on to you,” David said, wiping tears from his own eyes.
When everyone thought their heartstrings were safe, Maryanne stood up and went over to Billy. “Billy, I want you to have this locket. It was my grandmother’s and now it is yours. I know it’s not a house or trust fund, but it's my most valuable possession, except for you.”
Billy put the locket around his neck and held onto his mom, saying, “This is amazing, Mom. I will treasure it forever.”
By noon, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
Between playing in the snow and hanging out with friends and family, New Year's Eve came quickly.
Billy and Steve planned on spending their first New Year's Eve together as a full family, but their parents had other plans.
“We heard about the party the seniors are having and you boys are going to go. We have the grandkids,” Neil said, handing Steve and Billy jackets.
“But it’s the girl's first New Year celebration,” Steve argued. Neil quickly shut him down. “They're one. They will be asleep by the time the ball drops and if not, they can hang out with us and have some apple juice. Now, go.”
Steve and Billy looked at each other and, not wanting to cause a scene, headed to the school gym in the Camaro.
They found their little group of friends at the party and found themselves enjoying being out and socializing again.
As the clock ticked closer to midnight, the music slowed down. When the bell rang, indicating it was midnight, Steve and Billy shared a long kiss, both of them excited and scared of what the future holds.
