Full Of Yesterdays

“‘tevie?” A mumbled groan comes from his left, and Steve realizes he’s still holding tightly to Billy’s wrist. Billy’s waking up.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” He whispers, and lets go, running careful fingers where he was squeezing before. Billy’s skin is sleep-warm and soft, delicate on the inside of the wrist. Steve presses a kiss there. “Didn’t mean to wake you up. Go back to sleep.”

Billy’s pushing himself up on his elbows from where he was lying on his belly, hair rumpled and curls thrown everywhere over his face, eyes squinting at Steve like a cat.

“Why’re you up?”

“It’s nothing.”

Billy squints harder. “You had a nightmare.”

Steve doesn’t answer, and Billy’s already turning over, sitting halfway up.

“I’m up. I’m up,” He runs a broad hand down his face, rubs his eyes. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing, seriously—” Steve tries to say, but Billy shoots him a look. “It’s the same shit as always,” he sighs.

“The running?” Billy asks. He doesn’t need to be more specific than that. Steve dreams about that often enough.

When Steve wakes up the feeling lingers. Twitching feet and bouncing knees, nervous energy directed nowhere in a comfortable bed with cozy blankets with a cozy boyfriend, when a blink ago he was being chased to exhaustion. He can’t go back to sleep when he’s supposed to be running.

“Yeah,” Steve says, not looking at Billy. He does hate that he woke him up. “I feel like I’m gonna vibrate out of my skin.”

Billy’s fingers find his on top of the blanket, threading them together. “C’mere,” he pulls on them gently, “c’mon.”

Billy tugs and pulls, rearranging both of them on the bed until Steve’s tucked into Billy’s chest, feeling his weight warm his back and anchor him down. Steve lets the air out of his lungs with a steady, deliberate breath, sinking into it with his eyes closed, like one sinks into a warm bath.

That’s one thing that Billy is, always. The ground under his feet. Steady. Present.

There’s a thick bicep under his head, an arm around his waist, kisses pressed into his shoulder over his shirt until they cross the barrier of the collar and reach the skin of his neck. A big toe strokes the outside of his calf, scratching at his leg hair, making his skin tingle.

“Feels good,” Steve mumbles, face mashed into Billy’s arm, and he presses his lips to the skin there. Billy smells clean, a little like the citrus soap he likes, a little like his deodorant, and like their bed, like their sheets.

With his eyes closed, Steve can hear every breath Billy puffs against his ear, ever smack of his lips against his skin, feels the tingle that travels up his neck and down his spine. Billy’s feet find Steve’s, and he rubs his soles along the top of them, toes making grabby motions at Steve’s toes that he playfully dodges from, until they’re caught and pleasantly cracked.

It gives Steve something else to focus on, something else to twitch towards, makes the shivers that feel like they come from inside his bones fade into the pleasant scratch of nails on his skin. It makes him huff a laugh at three in the morning where once he would’ve relocated to the couch and stared at the tv without seeing it.

And Billy just knows. Knows he’s awake, knows he had a nightmare, knows how to make it better. Knows Steve.

“I love you,” Steve’s voice is rough, both from being relaxed and from emotion, and he twists his head back, searching.

Billy’s right there, nose to nose, lips on his cheek then meeting his mouth. A simple press of lips that grows, languid and sweet, until Steve’s turned around in Billy’s arms and they’re lying face to face.

“I love you,” Steve says again, stroking Billy’s cheek with a thumb.

Billy’s looking at him with half-lidded eyes and a little smile, his private, sleepy one that’s a little smooshed on one cheek.

Steve can’t understand it sometimes, how he got here. How he got Billy.

“Love you too,” Billy says, and Steve’s heart skips a beat. Still. Always. “You feel any better?”

Steve sighs, stretches, wiggles in place. He feels more settled now, body heavy and sinking into the bed, into Billy’s chest.

“A lot,” Steve says, with a lazy smile. “You always make it better.”

Billy hides his face in the pillow, but his lips are twitching. He mumbles a half-hearted shut up that goes ignored.

“I always feel safe with you," Steve says, thumb traveling down Billy's cheek to his chin. Billy won't meet his eyes, and his cheeks are turning pink. "Feel grounded. Feel good."

Billy's hand finds its way under his tshirt, spreads over the width of his lower back, and he scratches his nails lightly over Steve's side. His eyes finally meet Steve's. "Don't get used to it," He grumbles, voice barely above a croak.

Steve huffs a laugh, kisses him on the nose, on the mouth, and settles his head beside Billy's on the pillow so they can stare at each other like two idiots.

"I'm already used to it, dumbass," He says. He makes sure Billy's eyes are still on his. He needs Billy to hear it, to understand. "You're an amazing boyfriend, you know. I'm lucky to have you."

And Billy's giving him that wide-eyed, mouth parted look, the one he gets when he's been knocked over the head with a good thing he didn't expect. Steve can only lean over and kiss it off his face, hope his lips can seal the sentiment in his brain and he'll take it in once and for all. Steve loves him. Has for a long time, now.

The first thing 011 sees is Robin.

She's standing behind the counter at Scoops Ahoy and frowning at Billy through bored, half-lidded eyes.

"Steeeeeve!" She calls over her shoulder, "your arch nemesis is here!"

The window behind the counter slides open and Steve peaks his head through, glaring. "Ugh. You again?" he asks with disgust.

"Yup," Billy smirks, licking his teeth. "Time for my double scoop on a waffle cone. And this time don't fuck it up Harrington, or no tip."

Robin rolls her eyes. "You never tip, anyways." She walks through the door to the back and as soon as she's out of sight, Steve's glare falls and he shoots a wide playful smile at Billy

"Come on, then," Billy urges. His voice is low, teasing, and... Something else that 011 can't really describe. 

Steve looks Billy up and down very quickly, then slides the window shut.

When he does, it disappears into smoke. Water suddenly laps at 011's feet fast and harsh. It crashes into her then pulls back, even higher this time. It takes Billy with it, turning him into smoke as well. It crashes against her again and it's too much.

She topples over as it swoops over her head. When it retreats, she finds herself on a beach. She rushes out of the water before it can overtake her again and she passes a little blonde boy running out of the water excitedly.

"El!" A voice calls to her from outside of her head, the real world. "Can you see him? Where are you?"

"A beach."

She watches the boy as he runs up to his mother. She sees the joy on his face as he eagerly tells her about the seven foot wave.

It's Billy. A memory of California. His face is so open and unguarded, exuding happiness like sunshine. Unrecognizable compared to the lifeless cold stare of the Billy that brought her there. Or the agonizing fear of the Billy who cried as he begged Max's forgiveness in the sauna.

This was the real Billy, unsullied by the darkness of a difficult life or the poison of the Mind Flayer.

She spots a giant stormcloud, looming in the distance and sparking with the red light of the Upside Down. That is where she needs to go.

The closer she gets, the more memories she passes through. Some are good, but mostly they are getting progressively worse.

Neil Hargrove is a common feature and the more she sees of the man the more angry she gets. He was bad. He is hurting Billy. Hurting Billy's mom.

He is like Papa, but worse because Billy never gets away. There is no Mike or Hopper to help him. Offer him compassion and a safe place to stay. The more he suffers at the hands of Neil, the more trapped he becomes.

So he lashes out too. He copies his father's awful words and actions, becoming more and more like him, turning him to poison.

It makes 011 furious. She wishes she could reach into the memories and pull Neil away. She walks close to his form as he straddles Billy, punching him back and forth with both hands. She grits her teeth at him shouting and wishing she could tear him apart. But it is just a memory and she can't change it.

The storm grows stronger, a thick fog muddying her vision and winds becoming powerful enough to nearly knock her down.

The memory shifts so now it’s Billy on top, punching back and forth. First, he was a child, punching a boy 011 had never seen before. Then he is much more like his current self, punching Steve.

It makes her heart ache. It’s Steve. The same Steve Billy was just smiling at in Scoops Ahoy.

She can't bear to look any longer and she still has further to go, so she leaves that memory behind as well, forging deeper into the storm. She sees Billy's mother break a plate over Neil's head and in a flash of red light the image becomes Billy breaking the plate over Steve’s.

She passes them and next sees Billy in the parking lot of the high school, approaching Steve who is waiting against his car.

Steve punches Billy in the face as soon as he gets close enough and Billy just lets him. He licks the blood from his teeth, then throws his arms out in surrender.

"I'm trying to apologize, asshole!" Billy shouts at him.

"I don't want your apologies!"

"Fine! I don't give a fuck! But you're gonna tell me what you were doing with my stepsister in that house or I'm telling the police you're a pedophile!"

"What?" Steve is so shocked by the accusation that it's like he forgets to be angry. "What are you talking about?"

"What were you doing in that house with my stepsister?! She won't tell me, so you are!"

They devolve into an argument as 011 continues walking past. The clouds have gotten so thick she can barely see, but the memories are getting stronger, more recent, so she must be going the right way.

Steve is dragging Billy through a large double door. Billy is limping, his face is bloody and he's clutching his side. Most noticeable of all is that he's soaking wet. There's snow dusting both his and Steve's hair, but Steve is dry.

Steve drops him on an upholstered bench near the door and immediately goes to work stripping Billy's clothes off. Billy tries to fight him off weakly and Steve smacks his hands out of the way.

"Shut up, asshole! Let me help you before you freeze to death!" Steve rushes to peel off Billy's socks and shoes, letting them hit the ground with a plop. He helps Billy to shimmy out of his jeans then runs into the clouds. He comes back a moment later with a giant blanket that looks softer than anything 011's ever seen.

He wraps it around Billy, not bothering to leave room for his head, then goes to work rubbing his arms and legs through the blanket to try and warm him faster. "I can't believe he did this to you and then just left you out there. What kind of person can just treat another human being like this?" Steve mutters to himself.

"N-n-n-noth-th-thing I don't d-d-deserve," Billy stutters through the fabric.

Steve grabs the blanket and rearranges it so that Billy's face is sticking out. He looks Billy in the eyes with a fierceness that 011 had never gotten the chance to see from him before. "No one deserves to be treated like that." The way he says it, it almost sounds like a threat.

Billy doesn't say anything back, just looks back at Steve in confused wonder as he reaches into the blanket to grab Billy's hands, going back to work at warming him up.

011 leaves them at the bench and the clouds are so thick she can taste the acrid Upside Down water on her tongue. She had to be so close now. She has to be almost there.

She passes an older memory of Billy with a very young Max. They're being introduced and neither of them seems happy about it. They get left alone, staring at each other awkwardly. Billy has no idea what to do or say, so he scratches the back of his head and stiffly asks, "You uh... You like to... skateboard?"

Max's head pops up and she smiles at him with big wide eyes. "Yes!" she chirps excitedly. At that age, she has to be lying because most skateboards are probably bigger than her. But she's excited and she looks happy.

The memory fades and 011 continues on through the storm. The wind is blowing so hard that she has a tough time staying upright. The clouds are oppressive and thick enough that she feels like she's trying to walk through a wall.

Red lightning cracks above her and suddenly she's in a room.

It's a large room with plaid walls. There's a pair of windows to her left, through them the sky is dark with streaks of red lightning flashing intermittently. It's the Upside Down.

Before her, is a bed. Steve and Billy are tangled in the sheets with Billy's back pressed closely into Steve's stomach and Steve's nose buried in Billy's hair. This is an intimate moment.

She turns her head to the right and sees a door. Beneath it she can see the shadow of the clouds swirling around. She goes to leave but, before she can reach the handle, Steve calls out quietly, "Don't leave."

She turns back to the bed and sees that Billy has tugged the blanket back as if to climb out. He pulls it back up, then turns around so that they're face to face, inches apart.

"Don't say that," Billy whispers back. Steve frowns.

"Why not?"

"Because you don't mean it."

"What?"

"You don't mean it. But you look at me with those big brown eyes and I can't help but believe you. You look at me like you want me. You like you love me or something. But you can't. You don't want me. No one does. I'm broken. I'm a monster. No one wants a monster. You'll eventually leave me too. So don't say that. Just let me go."

"Billy..."

A moment passes and 011 can see that they're both crying.

"You're not a monster. I've seen monsters and you're not one of them."

"I'm broken..." Billy breathes a protest between quiet gasps.

"So what?" Steve strokes his hair. "I still want you. I want every broken piece of you. Every sharp corner and jagged edge. I want you Billy. I know who you are and I want you. I look at you like I love you because I do."

"You love me?" Billy looks shocked. Like he can't believe what Steve is saying.

Steve kisses him, tender and heartbreakingly gentle. "Of course I do. I love you, Billy Hargrove. Please don't leave."

Billy wraps an arm and a leg around Steve, pulling him into a tight embrace. "I love you too, Steve." Steve sighs contentedly, settling into place.

011 can see Billy's face poking out from under Steve's chin. He's smiling gently. His face is so open and unguarded, exuding happiness like sunshine.

This was the real Billy, unsullied by the darkness of a difficult life or the poison of the mind flayer.

She has to save him.

She turns back to the door, opening it and stepping through to the storm. But when she gets to the other side, there is no storm. The clouds have opened up and everything is bathed in Upside Down Red. She's made it to the eye of the storm.

She sees a large building with Billy's car crashed outside of it. This place looks familiar. “Brimborn Steel Works” She reads the name of the building aloud to the others in the real world and that's when she remembers it. She heard Hopper say the name last Thursday.

They had been watching a Miami Vice rerun after Mike had gone home. When the phone rang. It was Steve. He needed a ride home from somewhere. She remembered Hopper saying the name twice in disbelief because he didn't know why Steve was out there. He was at a payphone just down the street.

Jane asked to come along for the ride. She remembered it was awkward because Steve was obviously upset, but he was trying to pretend not to be. He wouldn't say what happened, just that his ride had left him after they got into a fight.

Hopper had grumbled about not being a taxi service but was grateful Steve didn't walk home in the dark.

Jane didn't think anything of it at the time, just glad for a chance to be out of the house for a little while. If that was where the Mind Flayer was, then Billy must have taken him there.

But did Steve get flayed? Or did they get into the fight before the Mind Flayer had the chance?

011 retreats from her mind to share her epiphany with the others, but when she comes back, the cabin is empty.

She's instead greeted by the Mind Flayer who is wearing Billy's face and it enrages her. He is hurting Billy, and now he's threatening to hurt her friends and destroy the world. She wants to tear him apart.

Unfortunately, she gets her chance to do so, all too soon. It's satisfying to see the two sides of the monster's face swinging in opposite directions, but as their group makes their escape, she knows it is not dead and will return for her again.

Later that night, once their group has been reunited, and then separated all over again, she finds herself face to face with the Flayed Bily.

He follows 011, Max, and Mike down one of the back corridors in the mall and into a room with a freight elevator. Mike mashes on the up button while she rests against the wall. They hear a door open down the hall and Max steps away to check. 011 reaches an arm out to stop her. They have to stay together.

Flayed Billy stalks into the doorway, limping on one knee. He looks terrifying with the black veins webbing up his arms and face. The little boy at the beach flashes through 011's mind very briefly and she knows she has to save him.

"Billy!" Max cries frantically. "Your name is Billy Hargrove!" Max tries to get through to him, but Flayed Billy continues toward them undeterred. 011 grabs both Max and Mike by their arms and pulls them backward away from Flayed Billy, but they eventually hit a wall. Mike and Max close ranks in front of her.

"You live on 4819 Cherry Lane! I'm Max! I'm your sister!"

Flayed Billy has them cornered and he reaches an arm back to strike Max down and silence her, but 011 get's another flash of Billy in her mind and has an idea.

"Steve!" 011 shouts. "Steve!" Flayed Billy freezes mid-punch, whole body jolting as if shocked.

"What?" Mike gasps. Neither he nor Max understands the reaction, but 011 keeps talking, knowing she's on the right track.

"Steve! He- he looks at you like he loves you. Because he does, Billy. He does love you."

Flayed Billy takes a step back and a hint of focus returns to his eyes.

"What is she talk-" Max shushes Mike, swatting his arm and gesturing toward the elevator. It dings behind Flayed Billy.

"He saved you from the snow, do you remember?" 011 continues. She tries smiling at Billy but it's watery and her voice trembles because she's on the verge of tears. "He wrapped you up in a big blanket and it was so soft."

Flayed Billy takes another step back and the black veins on his face begin to retreat a little. It's working.

Mike and Max waste no time, they both grab 011 and tug her toward the elevator door while Flayed Billy is distracted and leaving room.

She keeps talking. He's got his eyes locked on her but he's just watching with a bewildered look on his face as Billy fights to return to the surface.

"You would visit him at work," 011 continues. "You would tease him about the ice cream you got. Do you remember?"

"Double scoop on a waffle cone..." Billy mumbles. The black veins have almost completely retreated and tears start rolling from his eyes. His entire posture shifts as Flayed Billy loses control.

"Exactly." 011 heaves a sigh of relief. She doesn't know for how long, but they're safe now. "He would pretend to hate it, but then you'd share secret smiles."

Billy forces a smile just then. It's a bittersweet one that only lasts for a second before it dissolves into his tear-stained expression. "Steve," he sobs.

Mike and Max had gotten the elevator doors open and they pull 011 into it, slowly closing the doors back so Billy can't get follow. 011 stops them from closing all the way. She doesn't want to leave him. He looks so forlorn and lost. She's afraid the Mind Flayer will take over again and he'll be alone.

"Where is he?" Billy asks.

"Safe," Max tells him. 011 hopes it isn't a lie.

Billy nods. "Max, I'm so sorry."

"I know, Billy. I know."

"I hurt all those people..."

"No, you didn't. He did."

"Who is he?" Billy slumps against the wall wearily and Mike reaches to push the button for the 2nd floor.

"The Mind Flayer," Max explains. "We're going to stop him. We have a plan, but do you know anything that can help us? Do you know where he is? How we can defeat him?"

Billy nods again, head sliding against the wall. "Yes, he-"

In the distance, an explosion can be heard. At the same time Billy grunts in pain and falls to the ground, clutching his side. There's another explosion and he shouts again, sobbing as he curls into a protective ball.

011 can't stand to see him hurting like that, so she leaps out of the elevator and rushes to his side. "Billy! It's okay! Billy!" she cries.

The elevator doors are closing quickly and Max jumps out behind 011.

"El! No! Max!" Mike tries to go after them, but the doors swing shut on him and he jerks back to avoid being smashed. The elevator lurches upward and takes him to the second floor.

More explosions ring out and Billy continues to scream. "Please!" he sobs, begging the pain to stop. "Help me!"

"We're gonna help!" Max promises. "We're gonna help!"

"We have to get the Mind Flayer out of him!" 011 says.

"How? There isn't a sauna here. And it didn't work anyways. Where are we going to find that much heat?"

On the second floor, the elevator doors open up and Mike is immediately greeted by the sound of shouting and more explosions. They're much louder here and he can clearly tell that they're fireworks. This means Nancy and his friends have come back for them. Thank god!

He runs out of the elevator and takes off down the hall, toward their voices. He slams through a pair of doors that lead to another hall with a restroom and some payphones. This hall empties into the main walking area of the mall, where he can see Will and Lucas pitching fireworks over the balcony at the Mind Flayer. He’s so happy to see them he almost wants to throw up. Or maybe it’s all the running.

He runs right up to Will and hugs him. It makes Will scream and smack him in the face. It actually really hurts, but Mike’s not even mad about it. He didn't mean to scare Will—hadn’t even meant to hug him really—but he did just come up and grab him from behind, so he supposes that’s fair.

Will sighs in relief once he realizes he isn't being attacked. "There you are! Wait, where's El and Max?"

Mike lets Will go, remembering that he’s on a mission. "I don't have time to explain!” he rushes. “Where's Steve? Please tell me Steve came back too!"

Will points over Mike's shoulder. "He's over there, by the escalator, but what do you need-"

Mike doesn't have time to explain. He spins around and bolts in the direction Will pointed.

Will lights the firework in his hand and tosses it at the Mind Flayer, making another loud boom and bathing the area in purple light before the same happens on Nancy and Jonathan's side, but in orange.

As soon as he lets it go, he takes off after Mike, leaving a shouting Lucas behind him.

Mike rounds a corner and there Steve is. He goes right up to him, snatches the lit firework out of his hand, and throws it over the balcony. He gives no explanation before grabbing Steve's wrist and dragging him toward the elevator.

"What the hell?" Robin screams, but she makes no attempts to stop them, now working double time to throw the fireworks.

Will catches up to Mike and Steve just in time for Steve to snatch his hand away. "What are you doing?" Steve asks.

Mike scoffs. He doesn’t have time to explain!!! He goes to grab Steve again but he dodges it. "We need to get downstairs!” Mike snaps “It's Billy!" Mike grabs him by the shirt instead and tries again to tug him toward the elevator, but the mention of Billy catches Steve’s attention.

"This way's faster!" Steve gestures for Mike and Will to follow him as he runs toward the escalator. The idiot! It isn't even on! How will that be faster?

Steve climbs onto the platform between the two of them and sits down before kicking off. It’s smooth, so he goes down it like a slide. Oh! That is clever! Will goes right behind Steve, then Mike takes up the rear. They reach the bottom floor in seconds.

It immediately feels less clever when they land near the Mind Flayer's legs as it stomps and thrashes about in pain. They have to duck and dodge around them to avoid being trampled.

Mike starts to lead the way toward Scoops Ahoy so they can get back into the maintenance hallway where he'd left the girls and Billy, but they aren't there anymore.

Something must have happened while Mike was gone because now they are standing in front of the store. Billy has El in a chokehold, raising her up as if in sacrifice to the Mind Flayer while she kicks her legs, and Max is tugging futilely at Billy’s other arm.

He’s too strong. El couldn’t stop him with her powers in the sauna before, there’s no way they can stop him now that she’s drained them too low.

Mike runs to help, and he can feel Will behind him.

"Billy!" Steve shouts frantically. He’s sprinting toward them and quickly outpaces Mike and Will.

When Billy hears his name, he freezes, just like he had when he heard El say Steve earlier. The spider veins on his face retreat almost instantly and he turns to Steve. A moment later, he lets El go.

Three things happen at once.

A millisecond before Billy lets go of El, Max kicks him in the bad knee, making his entire leg buckle and sending him to the ground. El hits the floor before Billy does and Max is there to tug her out of the way in an instant. Mike goes straight to El’s side.

One of the Mind Flayer's tentacles had reached out to stab El where she had been suspended in the air. But Billy had let her go and he'd fallen, so by the time it reaches her, she is no longer there and the clawed tentacle keeps going, barreling toward Billy's head and neck.

Steve reaches Billy, and he jumps in the way.

The tentacle pierces through Steve's back on the right side before withdrawing. The Mind Flayer screeches above them, thrashing around wildly for a moment before finally stopping and collapsing to the ground.

The gate must have closed! If only it could have been a moment sooner.

Steve falls onto Billy, knocking them both flat onto the ground and Billy clutches Steve. He’s sobbing and gasping Steve’s name.

“No,” El whimpers. Mike helps her sit up and she tries to crawl closer to where Billy is sitting up and pulling Steve to cradle him in his lap. Mike and Max help El up to bring her closer.

“Steve… No..” Billy sniffs quietly.

There are no more explosions or flashes of light, but Mike can hear the crackling of fire and he can feel his lungs growing tighter as the mall fills with smoke. They are going to need to get out soon.

“Nancy!” Mike calls. She must still be upstairs. “Nancy! Help!” There has to be something she can do.

Billy holds Steve to his chest, burying his face in Steve’s hair as he sobs. In turn, Steve is gripping him hard. His knuckles are white where they’re wrapped around Billy’s tank top and his fingers are digging into his arm, leaving little half-crescent marks.

“B-B-il-lly…” Steve forces out, weakly. Blood spills from the corners of his mouth as he talks and his stupid blue sailor uniform is far more red than anything else.

Jesus Christ! Are they about to watch Steve die? “Nancy!”

Billy pulls his head back and looks Steve in the face. “Why would you do that? Huh?” He asks, quiet voice broken by tears. “I’m not worth it. I’m not worth it.”

“Y-y-yes. You. Ar-re.” Steve is staring at Billy, eye contact unbroken. There’s an intensity in his gaze that Mike has never seen before. He’s never found Steve to be particularly threatening, but he imagines he’d flinch if Steve ever looked at him like that. He hopes he lives long enough to get the chance.

Where the hell is Nancy?

“I don’t understand,” Will mumbles from very close behind him. His voice is trembling and Mike can see that he’s crying too. He suddenly wants to reach out to him, but he’s holding El up and he doesn’t want to drop her. “I thought they hated each other.”

“I guess not,” Mike offers.

He hears a gun cock to his left and Nancy appears in his peripheral vision. She marches right up to where Billy and Steve are sitting, gun pointed directly at Billy’s head.

“What’d you do?” Nancy shouts viciously. “Let go of him!”

Mike almost drops El as Max rushes out to block Billy from Nancy. “No don’t shoot!” she cries.

“Please don’t!” El adds. “He’s okay. He’s not flayed anymore!” Will steps in to take Max’s place, and Mike reaches his hand out to grab Will’s arm. It’s silly because he’s standing right there and he’s been fine this whole time, but he just needs to touch him to know he’s okay. It doesn’t make sense, but he does it.

“The Mind Flayer did this!” Max explains. “He was going to kill El, and Steve helped break the Mind Flayer’s hold. Then he was going to kill Billy and Steve jumped in the way.”

“Steve jumped in the way?” Lucas asks, incredulous. He and the others had come behind Nancy, but were steering clear of the pathway of her gun. “On his own? I don’t believe it!”

Jonathan cut in, the voice of reason. “Unless we’re just going to watch him bleed out on the floor, we don’t have time to debate about it. We need to get out of here.”

“Also,” Robin adds. “This place is actually on fire. I mean like… literally on fire. Which is slightly less directly threatening than the giant-monster-” she gestures toward the Mind Flayer’s corpse “-thing! But is definitely life-threatening. So I suggest we relocate and quickly.”

Robin is rambling again, but they both have a point.

Nancy doesn’t look like she’s convinced that Billy isn’t going to try and kill them again, but she puts her gun down anyways and stows it in the band of her pants.

She searches for something to tie around Steve’s waist to put pressure on his wound, but no one really has anything that would fit. She winds up using Jonathan’s shirt, leaving him in just a tank top, then she gestures for him to come and help her lift Steve.

The entire time, Steve is maintaining eye contact with Billy and his grip hasn’t loosened. Even when Nancy and Jonathan try to lift him, he doesn’t let Billy go.

“Come on, Steve,” Nancy tries to reason with him. “You gotta let go.” She plucks his hand off Billy’s arm, and only then does he look away. He closes his eyes and starts to cry

“B-b-illy,” he whines, reaching for him again.

“I’ll do it,” Billy croaks, throat raw and voice cracking.

“Billy, your leg-” Nancy tries to discourage him, but he wraps Steve’s arms around his neck and puts him in a bridal position before getting his legs beneath him and standing up.

He lets out a pained groan as he stands. His leg does not look good. Max’s kick didn’t do him any favors. But he gets to both feet with Steve in his arms and he manages to limp his way to the nearest exit.

“I don’t get it,” Nancy says to herself, hanging back beside Mike as everyone else sticks close to Billy and Steve.

“Me either,” Mike agrees. “But they’re like… in love.”

“In love?” Will asks shakily. “But… they’re both…” He doesn’t finish his sentence, but Mike knows what he’s getting at. It’s weird, right? They’re not supposed to do that? He grips will a little harder where he was already holding his arm.

“They can’t be.” Nancy states plainly.

“They are.” El’s voice is small and tired, but she states it as if she were stating that the sky is blue or that the mall won’t be open tomorrow. “I saw it when I went inside Billy’s head. Steve loves him and Billy loves Steve. It’s real love. I don’t think I knew what love was until I saw how much they love each other.”

Something on the second floor above them falls and lands noisily near the Mind Flayer’s body, spreading more flames around them. With that as their cue, they head outside too.

Something about El’s statement makes Mike’s chest flutter. He doesn’t know what it is, but he thinks about it again as he helps El to the door.

He doesn’t really have the energy to focus on it. There’s just too much going on. Right now, he needs to worry about getting out of that damn mall in one piece and making sure that self-sacrificial idiot is still alive.