heyyy, for the ask game 🎨 & 🎂!!
🎨 — Do you think he has any talents not mentioned on the show? Does he draw? Play a musical instrument?
answered here :)
🎂 — Does he celebrate his birthday? How, with who?
I think when he moves out into his first apartment, the first couple of years he would only celebrate his birthday with some friends, which naturally involves heavy drinking and a bad hangover, and the drinker's remorse the next morning. Susan and Max might drop by and bring him a cake and sing 'happy birthday to you' to him awkwardly while Billy thinks his head is gonna split in two and he can't eat anything because he's gonna throw up if he does.
But after that, I think he doesn't want to celebrate his birthdays at all because the last few he could barely remember due to heavy drinking, and the birthdays before that were dull and meaningless because Neil had to play nice to him and it was so fucking pretentious that Billy wanted to hurl anyway.
Max would remember his birthdays, however. They're still not on the best terms with one another, but they're getting along better than they used to. And she knows that he's lonely - he's ditched most of his old high school 'friends' because they only wanted him around when he was all fun and games - because Billy got tired of constant drinking and hangovers and hanging around with fake people. So now he's pretty much left alone to look after himself - working or working out.
So I think Max would drop by his apartment around his next birthday (wouldn't it be neat if she already had her driver's license), simply tells him 'come', grabbing his hand and pulling him along, not answering any of his questions or acknowledging his bitching when he's begrudgingly sitting in her car and grumbling about being busy with other things, Maxine.
Which he totally isn't. And Max would drive them someplace nice, to a place with a nice view or close to water (Lover's Lake perhaps) and they would sit there for a while, not talking to each other. And then Max would finally turn to Billy, hand him his gift in a small box (it's a gold earring/necklace/bracelet) and some chocolate chip cookies (Billy's favorite) in a wrapper, and then tell him:
"Happy Birthday, Billy."
And Billy's heart swells a little and the corners of his mouth turn upwards. Maybe he's crying a little bit, too, when shifts closer to Max and puts his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.
"Thank you, Max."
And maybe Max cries a little, too, when she realizes that Billy's really hugging her. For the first time in many years. And he isn't being mean, he's being nice and gentle. Like a real brother.
And it's the best birthday they've ever had together.
—
billy hargrove headcanon ask game
