We can all have a little harringrove mermay ficlet, as a treat.
Ever since the move to Indiana, Billy kept away from the water. There were no oceans to surf in the middle of butt-fuck, nowhere, so there really wasn't a point. Not only that, but with his father watching his every move and all the small town gossip, there weren't any opportunities to sneak off with the cute boys on the swim team after practice, so there was no point there, either.
So until the summertime, he didn't go anywhere near the water. He only did it again because his father demanded he get a job, and he figured that with the humid Indiana heat, a job without a strict dress code would be perfect. Plus, there was the added bonus of fewer physical injuries if pretty much the whole of his body was going to be on display. So getting a job as a lifeguard at Hawkins Community Pool was the clear choice.
It was an easy job. Keep his eyes open, blow his whistle a few times, make sure all the floats and shit were returned by closing, it wasn't rocket science. And showing up an hour early every Friday and Saturday to teach little kids to swim wasn't hard, either. Dealing with their mothers was worse, but thankfully, it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. As long as he flirted back and stroked their egos but cut things off before they got too out of hand, it was fine.
It got worse when Max started showing up at the pool with all her little friends. No matter how many times he blew his whistle and shouted at them to stop running, stop dunking each other, stop bringing food and drinks with them into the water, stop pushing each other in without warning, stop splashing the people who didn't want to be splashed, etc., etc., etc.... it all just seemed to go in one ear and out the other. And pretty soon, Billy was pulling Max aside and threatening to ban the group of them from the pool if they didn't get a parent or some other adult to keep an eye on them while they were there.
"I can either manage the pool or I can manage your asses, but I can't do both, so if you're here and someone else drowns because I'm too worried about yelling at you brats, it's gonna be your fault. Get a parent or some other adult to keep an eye on you, or don't bother coming back, cuz I won't let you in, understand?" He said to her and the rest of them, glaring with more heat in his eyes than the sun at noon.
It shouldn't have surprised him that within a day, they had found a loophole.
The day after he had threatened to ban them, they showed up again, dragging Steve Harrington along behind them. Like, actually dragging him. He didn't even have swim trunks on, he clearly did not want to be there, but once they had gotten him through the gates, there was no turning back. He sighed and resigned himself to a lounge chair, pulling out a book and some sunscreen, and slathered the cream on his pale skin before putting on a pair of reading glasses and starting to get comfortable. Billy barely had time to think about how cute the glasses looked on him when the kids started up their antics, and by the time he'd scolded them, made Henderson take a ten-minute time out, and looked back up at Steve, the other boy was out cold.
Somehow, even with the terrible heat, the constant shrieks of kids, and the loud cracks of thunder that started approaching, Steve stayed asleep for the rest of the day. Finally, after he blew his whistle a few times and told everyone to get out of the pool because of the storm, Billy got down off his chair and approached Max again, almost tempted to grab her by the scruff of her neck like a misbehaving kitten, and glared at her again, leading her and the rest of the brats over to where Steve was still peacefully napping. He shook the other boy awake and turned his glare onto him, if only a little softer.
"Wakey wakey, Harrington," Billy said, standing straight and crossing his arms again.
"What time is it?" Steve asked as he sat up, yawning and rubbing his eyes, knocking his glasses askew.
"Time to take your little hellions home. Pool's closing," Billy replied, trying not to get absorbed in the other boys pretty brown eyes. They had flecks of gold in them, and it was taking everything in Billy not to stare.
"Shit, did I really sleep all day?" Steve mumbled as he and the kids started packing up their things to leave. Steve handed the keys to his car off to little Byers and the kids went to put their things in the car and wait for Steve.
"Yeah, but to be fair, you were only out for about three hours. We're closing early because of the storm coming in," Billy shrugged, and as if it were waiting for a cue, it began to drizzle.
"Shit, uh, fuck, I gotta go," Steve said as the rain began, his face going white and his body stiffening up, "I, uh, I'm a little hydrophobic. Rain, um, bothers me if it gets on me, so I have to go. Bye, Billy."
Billy was about to ask if he wanted an umbrella, but Steve never gave him the chance. He tossed the rest of his stuff into his bag, tossed it over his shoulder, and booked it to his car, making it inside just moments before the sky opened up and it began to downpour.
Billy put it out of his mind. At least it explained why he showed up to the pool in jeans and a polo. But the fact that Harrington ran out so fast yesterday annoyed him. He'd wanted to ask him to either stay awake next time to keep an eye on the kids or get them to come with another adult who could, but he was never able to. Maybe if it was still raining tomorrow he could go over and have a talk with him about it.
The next day, his manager at the pool called Billy an hour before the pool was to open and told him not to come in. It was still thundering and pouring down rain, so he figured it would be closed, and now that it was confirmed, he started to make his plans for the day. Since his dad had already left for work, he ate some breakfast with Max and helped Susan with the dishes, then went to his room to get some clothes before taking a shower. It only took him ten minutes, and by the time he got back to his room, toweling off his hair, the sun was out, bright and shiny, not a cloud in sight.
Billy hardly had time to laugh about it when the phone rang again, and again it was his manager. He told Billy that he was opening the pool now, but that he didn't need to come in, the other lifeguards had it covered. Billy thanked him and was told to enjoy his day off, and he was planning on doing just that after he stopped by Harrington's place and talked to him about the situation with the kids.
He pulled up to the giant house just before lunch time, after dropping Max off at the arcade for the day and grabbing a bite to eat. He went up to the door and rang the bell, but was growing impatient as he stood and waited for it to open. Steve's car was parked in the driveway, so he knew he was home, but he couldn't hear any noise from the inside or see any people behind the curtains. He could, however, see the sunlight streaming onto the living room carpet from what looked like a back door, so he figured that now that the rain was over, maybe Harrington was just outside enjoying the sunshine and couldn't hear the bell. So he walked around the side of the house, fixed his hair one last time in a window's reflection, hopped the fence, and strutted onto the back patio like he owned the place.
And what he saw nearly made his heart stop in his chest.
First off, the Harringtons had a pool. A big one with lights and temperature controls and everything. Secondly, Harrington himself was in said pool, relaxing on an inflatable lounger. Thirdly, and probably most importantly, was that Harrington was completely different. He had a long, golden-yellow tail in place of his strong, slender legs, and the scales of the tail shimmered like pirate treasure in the bright sun. His brown hair was wet and wavy, and it tangled up with the little fins stretching up from behind his ears. His skin was more tan than usual, and it looked as though he'd been dipped in bronzer with the way it glimmered. There were thee deep looking gashes on each side of his neck, though they weren't jagged or bloody like fresh wounds would be. They seemed to flutter a little as he breathed, and Steve didn't seem at all bothered by them. His fingernails had grown into sharp claws that looked as though they had been painted to achieve the buttery golden color that they were, and his fingers were all connected by some kind of extra skin, like the webbing of a frog's feet.
Billy could do nothing but stare at the other boy, confusion and intrigue battling for dominance inside his brain. He knew that Hawkins was an ass-backwards town, but this was something else entirely. He genuinely had no idea how to wrap his head around this, other than the idea that maybe the eggs Susan served him earlier were laced with some kind of hallucinogenic drugs and he was just seeing things. But other than that, he could come up with no plausible explanation for why Steve was in his pool after he told Billy he was afraid of water and turned into some kind of... mer-creature.
"Holy shit!!" He heard Steve shout, followed by a loud splash, and that was what finally drew him out of his own head. He was still gaping as Harrington poked just his head out of the water, fear in his eyes as the sunglasses he'd been wearing drifted and sank to the bottom of the pool. Billy was startled as he saw those eyes, they weren't the same as they usually were. They were no longer brown with flecks of gold, they were entirely gold, the color of warm honey and tropical flowers. Billy was so focused on them that he almost didn't realize it when Steve started speaking again.
"Y-you shouldn’t be... what are you d-doing here?" He asked, still refusing to make any part of himself other than his head visible above the wall of the pool.
"I-I, uh, I came to talk to you about the kids since I didn't get to yesterday," Billy said, moving closer to the edge of the pool to try and get a better look at the other boy, "but now I just kinda want to know what the hell is going on here. What... what happened to you?"
"Um, would you believe me if I told you that I was cursed?" Steve asked, finally letting himself drift away from the wall and expose his upper body. Billy did his best not to stare, lest his awe and amazement be misconstrued as digust or scorn.
"That depends on the story you tell me after to explain it," Billy replied, finally starting to get his wits about him.
"It's kinda complicated," Steve said, swimming over to the ledge again and hoisting himself up to sit on it, his long tail still dangling in the water. "But here goes, I guess. You know about all the freaky shit with the upside down, right?"
"Yeah," Billy said, though he didn't know the full extent of it. He knew that there was a weird dimension that was just like their own, and he knew that there were fucked up monsters that escaped from it sometimes, but that was about it.
"Well, it was just after all that started. I didn't know anything about it, just that some of my friends were in trouble and I had to help protect them. So I went into the upside down to try and do that, but something happened to me. It was like a bomb went off, I had thrown my lighter at some creature because they hate fire, but then it exploded and I must've gotten knocked out. I woke up a few minutes later covered in monster goop and once everyone was safe, we all came back home and started to try and patch up wounds and clean up. Only, when I finally got home and turned on my shower, as soon as I was under the water, I started to change. My legs fused together and I fell, but even with a face full of water, I wasn't coughing or splattering, I was just breathing like normal. I looked down and saw the tail and I freaked out, but I guess once I was able to flop my way out of the bathroom and dry off and I found I could change back, I was okay. Still freaked out, but okay. And I figured out that any time I come into contact with water, whatever part of me that it touches transforms. The only time it's different is if it has something in it that changes it. Since this is still just water, even with the chlorine, it works, but if I were to drink a water bottle with kool-aid mixed in, that doesn't count. Drinking plain water doesn't affect my whole body, either, just my mouth, it turns my tongue green and it goes forked. But other than that, I'm usually fine unless I get hit with a lot of water. That's why I freaked when it started raining yesterday. And why I quit the swim team and never swim with the kids. And I don't want to make anyone else freak out either, so you're actually the only person who knows other than me."
Billy was flabbergasted. That spooky place apparently could change people? With magic?! It was like he was living in a goddamn fairy tale in reverse, and he didn't know if he liked that, since fairy tales typically didn't end well, especially when they centered around humans and mermaids.
"So, is there like... any way to get you back to normal for good?" Billy asked, slipping off his sandals and going to sit next to Steve on the edge of the pool, dangling his feet in the water.
"If there is, I haven't found it. I know what it says in the fairy tales, the 'true love's kiss' and all that, but I doubt the upside down follows the same rules as the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen. So until I cam find somebody or something to figure this out, I guess I'm stuck like this." Steve replied, examining his abnormally long nails and frowning. It made Billy’s heart sink.
"Can't that psychic girl try and help? She has some kinda link to that place, right? And I doubt she would freak out. Every little girl dreams of meeting a mermaid in real life, she'd probably think it's the coolest thing ever." Billy suggested, shrugging and nudging Steve's shoulder with his own. His scaly skin was cold, but on a hot day like today, it felt nice.
"She might be able to help, but I don't want her to. Sometimes it hurts her to use her powers, and it can be hard for her to figure out what to do if she's never done it before, so it could end up worse than it started. I don't want to put that kind of pressure onto her, especially since she'd blame herself if something went wrong. She's already been through so much, I don't need to traumatized her more. Besides, I've been hiding it pretty well so far, so I can keep hiding it until I can find someone else. And it's not like it's that bad a situation. As long as I keep out of the rain and away from pools, I should be fine." Steve said, shrugging himself and making their shoulders brush again. It felt warmer this time, though it may have just been Billy's imagination, because everything felt warmer to him when he was around Steve, mermaid or not.
"Well, if it means anything, I'll be here to help you while you're like this. And I'll keep your secret," Billy said, his mouth turning up into a tiny smile.
"Thanks," Steve smiled too, and his face turned from tan to bright, shining gold. He must've been blushing. "It does mean something. A lot, actually. There aren't many people who'd be willing to do that."
As he said it, Steve did something that Billy didn't expect. He took his webbed, golden, scaly hand and reached for Billy's, intertwining them as best he could. It didn't work that well, but the sentiment was there, and as Billy looked from their hands back up to Steve's face, he saw him grinning brightly.
And he wasn't sure if it was some kind of mermaid magic or what, but all of a sudden, he couldn't control himself. He leaned forward, close enough that he could feel Steve's breath on his cheeks, and once he saw the tiniest nod of the other boy’s head, he kissed him.
And to his genuine surprise (and pleasure), Steve kissed back.
He sealed their mouths together and while Billy couldn't exactly say the taste was pleasant (like chlorine and sunscreen and something slightly fishy), the way their lips slotted together, as if they'd been made to, absolutely was. Kissing Steve was addicting already, even though he'd only done it once, and he never wanted to stop. He wanted to hold Steve forever and keep him safe and protect him from everything and help him figure out a way out of this mess he was in. He never wanted anything bad to happen to him, and he wished he had the power to make all his problems go away. He didn't have that power, but if he couldn't fix things, he was damn sure he wouldn't let Steve struggle on his own.
"Wow," Steve said as the kiss ended, his eyes big and dreamy and his lips turned up into a bright smile. "You're really good at that."
And Billy couldn't help the giggle that escaped him when he heard how amazed Steve seemed to be, nor could he help it when he leaned forward and kissed him again. By now, Steve was drying off, and his upper body was slowly going back to normal, so Billy was able to properly lace their fingers together and the fishy taste was gone from Steve's mouth. Now it just tasted like sunshine, like Steve.
"You're not so bad yourself," he replied once he pulled back enough to speak, though he remained close to the other boy. It was Steve's turn to giggle as he nudged his nose into Billy's, just wanting to keep him close.
"And I promise," Billy continued, suddenly serious, "as beautiful as you are like this, I'm not gonna stop trying to find a way to fix this for you, okay? I'm gonna help you, no matter what."
"I know you will," Steve said, leaning his forehead to Billy's and closing his eyes with a tiny smile. Billy did the same, and as his feet remained dangled in the water, he felt a soft, scaly tail wrap around his ankles and a few soft fins tickling his toes. His grip on Steve's hand tightened, and for the first time since moving to Indiana, Billy felt completely at peace in the water.
