I Don’t Understand

Steve had expected some resistance, or at least a smart ass remark. The fact that neither occurred set his teeth on edge, because it told him this was even more alarming than Max made it seem.

Sure enough, the moment Billy had his shirt off, Steve found himself frozen in the doorway as it hit him how extremely unprepared he had been for what he'd signed up for. He understood that Billy's dad hurt him - he hadn't expected it to be like this, even with how scared Max had sounded on the walkie.

Swallowing thickly, he grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink and a cloth while he was at it, opting to wet that down and start by cleaning up the mess that had been made of Billy's back as carefully as he could. He was quiet, unsure if it was his place to say anything - but the longer he worked the sicker he felt.

"You know - " He halted, but then pushed on, "If you wanted to press charges, my godfather's a lawyer. He'd take this for free." Not only as a favor for Steve, but because there was no way Klaus would charge a teenager for a case against his own dad, not like this.

Recognizing he might be kicking an explosive here, he added quietly, "There's enough shit going on without you and Max having to go home to something like this." If something like this could even be called a home.

Not like he doesn’t know he deserves it. Why else would he have given up trying to report him after the first time when Neil’s friend in force told him it was his own fault? Why else would he grin and bear it, trying to work through the pain every day without drawing attention? And telling Max to keep her mouth shut since she found out.

“And where do you suggest I go while I happily tear my family apart, huh? We don’t all have Daddy’s fat wallet to rely on.” He tried to convey anger but he’s just.. tired. There’s a rawness to his words but the fire inside is dim from just how much he doesn’t have the option. “If I press charges and they’re not immediately disregarded because it’s just my dad’s form of discipline, then I’m risking uprooting Max’s life again.”

[]Make a deal with God.... Indie Selective Maxine Mayfield from Netflix's Stranger Things Bee est. 2022

I saw a post about Billy Hargrove's blackened veins resembling cracked porcelain, and my immediate reaction was

kintsugi that young man!

Basically:

WIPs and info under cut:

@puppetoffthehook “Who did this?” (Insert angry big brother here)

Send “Who did this?” for your muse to discover my muse with a black eye or a busted lip

Mayson's hand went to the black eye that, honestly, he had forgotten about. It didn't hurt anymore unless you touched it. "Don't be mad, Billy. It was an accident, if that's what you're worried about." He shrugged.

Normally he wouldn’t have bothered with the car because as fast as she is, he can still catch up to her eventually. But something tells him they’re going to need it. Especially when he finally gets ahold of her and holds his sister to his chest and she fully breaks down. He can understand why. Things are worse at home now than they’ve ever been before. She’s seen how both of their parents really are and it’s not like it’s easy to ignore.

Similar to how he’s always tried to hide his tears around Max, he’s only ever seen her close to tears a few times. Like when they were kids and she was learning to skate. Having to teach the twerp how to clean and bandage the wound because she was about eight or nine and usually had her mom to help. She tried so hard to be tough then. Has been since they first became family. Billy hugged her a little tighter.

Max felt her breathing starting to even out a little, even as her throat continued to burn in that awful way it did every time she found herself close to tears ( or worse, actually crying. ) He wasn't fighting her, and that combined with the sense of reassurance she felt as he held on did make her feel a little less like she was flying apart at the seams.

Forcing herself to take a long, deep breath, Max held it before letting it out slowly. Hearing Billy say he hated them too - it helped. It made her feel less dramatic, and stupid, for trying to get away at all. It wasn't like she didn't know she had to go back - she was a minor, it wasn't like she could just get a job or something - but it was vindicating, to know she wasn't alone in seeing their parents for what they were.

Even though Billy got the worst of it by far, Max sometimes wondered if he thought it was fucking normal or something. She hadn't been able to fathom why he still seemed to care about his dad - but after what her mother had done, and all she hadn't - Max wondered why she still cared about her, and understood at least a little.

She took another breath and let it out, then, "Okay." It was quiet, and a little rough, but it was surrender in its own way. "Let's go somewhere." Lifting her arm, she wiped her face of tears, then, "Anywhere's better than here, anyway."

Max knew she would go back, and without complaint, after this. She just hoped they didn't go back too soon.

And he knows it’s confusing that he just takes what his dad dishes out. Plenty of people would look at that situation and call child services. It’s what he’s known since he was a kid and now he’s old enough that the system wouldn’t help. All he can do is wait it out til he can afford an apartment or something.

It was a risk, saying it so soon in this weird new space they were in. He’s been trying to bury these feelings for years, though, and he can’t keep doing it anymore. Not when he’s scared of how much his mind might not be his own. Not when he’s held together by pain and scar tissue. The fucked up nerves in his scarred hands caused his fingers to twitch like they always did when he was starting to get nervous.

“Never really hated you.” He spoke quietly, like his old boisterousness would destroy this fragile moment for good. “I hated that my dad took me from the ocean and brought me here because he wanted this conservative small town to make me straight. I hated that instead of that working, I saw you in the parking lot on my first day and thought my heart was gonna punch through my ribs.”

His grip shifts slightly, thumb brushing once against the back of Billy’s hand, grounding more than anything else. “Not pretend the past didn’t happen,” he adds, meeting his eyes. “Not ignore it. But not let it be the only thing that decides what happens next either.” A small breath leaves him, something nervous threading under the certainty.

“I just want to make sure you never feel unappreciated again. You’re kinda one of two reasons I’m even still around so I owe a lot to you.”

Steve smiled and stroked his hand over Billy's head lightly, his eyes on his boyfriend. He kissed the top of Billy's head as he rest it on his chest. "You don't make me feel unappreciated. I promise." He said softly. "And you owe me nothing Billy. This relationship is not about owing anyone anything, we are equals in this relationship." He smiled.

He then laughed "Glad I realised, or glad you finally gave up trying to get me to like you by beating the crap out of me?" He teased lightly and wrapped both his arms around Billy, kissing his head again and smiling.