#loved!!!!!

You’re such an absolute sweetheart, goodness gracious!!! ♥ thank you so much dear. i’m so sorry this took so long to get to, but i’m here now! And this idea is sO DAMN CUTE!!!

I’m just imagining Billy going out w/o planning it bc he really has to psych himself up about it, y’know?? Like… he’s been thinking about this for a long time. He had the thought about a month into living w/ Hop when he woke up late and trudged over to the table to find a plate w/ a couple of pieces of toast and his favorite raspberry jam along with a hot cup of coffee that looked a lot more like creamer.

“Have a good day, kid.” Hop had said with a pat on Billy’s head before he left for work.

It was just… small. Simple. Really nothing if he were to tell anyone. But… it made Billy feel so at home. Sitting across from El who was finishing off an Eggo silently before looking up at Billy and smiling at him. It made Billy realize he really did have a home. He had found it. And it was this.

And the day that he got adopted was kind of stressful. He was terrified that Neil was going to come after him for some sick reason. So fucking scared that he was going to catch him outside of the court house and hurt him. Nervous that he was putting a target on his back for doing this. He had refused Hop’s name because he didn’t wanna give Neil another reason to be pissed at him.

It was just such a difficult situation. So intensely worrying that Billy tried to shy away from it as much as he could. But...

But it was the day his new life started. And thinking about it always feels so dramatic and stupid to him but he can’t think of anything else but that, sometimes. He went from being scared every damn day of his life to being able to smile and laugh and joke around. Getting and receiving hugs almost every day. Making dinner with a man he’s able to call dad without feeling something sick in his throat over it.

It’s just… that day changed everything. It clicked him into the right place.

And now it’s been a year and Billy hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it. He’s known for so long that he wanted to get this done but could never get himself to get up and do it. It always felt like the wrong time, or like he didn’t have any kind of valid reasoning or some bullshit. But he was up almost all night thinking about it and now it’s been a whole year since he was adopted and he just feels it. He needs to, he knows he does.

So Billy wakes up that morning, goes about his breakfast routine, and then gets in his car and drives. Goes out to the same tattoo parlor that he got his skull tattoo at bc the guy was cool and gave him a discount bc he liked his mullet and his car. It’s a few towns over bc Hawkins is a good, small town w/ no seedy places like a tattoo shop.

So Billy asks for the tattoo. Gets it on his forearm and gets a little dizzy with how sentimental it feels. The tattoo guy asks about the significance as Billy’s paying, but Billy can’t bring himself to say anything so he just kind of… grunts. The tattoo guy gives a disarming smile along with a chuckle that makes Billy walk out of the store as soon as he can. He gives a nod to the artist so he doesn’t look like a complete asshole.

And once Billy is in his car again, he’s breathing hard. The tattoo feels like it’s burning his skin, like it’s made of fire, just because it’s so sentimental. it‘s so significant and it’s there on his body forever and he just paid to make that happen bc he’s sentimental. Bc he can’t think of another date that means more to him (maybe the day he first kissed Steve… hell maybe the day he first looked at Steve… but that’s a different story)

His heart is racing and his leg is bouncing and his arm is shaking the whole drive home. It’s been a year. A whole year. The best damn year of his life and now he has something permanent so he can honor it. He’s overjoyed.

But once he gets back to the cabin, Hop doesn’t seem to feel the same.

“Where have you been?”

His arms are crossed, eyebrows low over narrowed eyes. It doesn’t strike the same kind of fear in Billy that it used to, but it does make him feel some sort of regret. He doesn’t even know what he should feel sorry for, but he kind of absolutely hates making Hop look at him like this.

“Out. I had something I wanted to do.”

“Right. Well El and I were looking forward to going out to lunch with you today.”

Billy’s heart drops. He feels a desperate need to go up in arms about it, to combat the hurt in his chest.

“Well no one told me that.”

“Yeah well… we didn’t really think you’d go running out like that today. It’s kind of… kind of a big day.”

Billy nods, doing his damned best not to fidget. His tattoo is burning with sentiment. Billy thinks Hop might be able to see how tense he is, bc Hop gives him a caring look. He’s always giving him caring looks. Like he’s his son that just tripped over the front steps.

“Don’t stress over it though, son. We were thinking of going to ice cream later once she gets back from hanging out with her friends.”

Billy nods and Hop watches Billy walk over to the kitchen. He’s leaning on the back of the sofa with his arms still crossed.

“So.” Hop starts. “You got a tattoo?”

Billy freezes for a second before continuing to reach for a clean glass in the cabinet.

“How do you know that?”

“Officer Powell told me he saw you headed that way.”

“Damn, do you pigs ever not gossip with each other? Holy shit.” Billy cusses with a slam of the orange juice carton onto the counter.

Hop gives him a look. “He was visiting some family out there. What’d you get a tattoo of?”

Billy’s heart is racing. “Nothing important.” He mumbles to try to counteract the gnawing on his arm.

“Really? You paid someone to put something that’s not important onto your body permanently?”

Billy growls at how much of a smartass Hop is being. He’s always being a smartass. It’s fun when Billy’s not totally nervous about being so mushy. He can feel it all start to bubble out. He’s so damn nervous.

“Yup.” He pops the last sound out of his mouth, but his whole act is so unconvincing Billy can almost feel it sliding off of him.

“Seriously, kid, what’d you get?”

“I just-”

“Because you know how I feel about tattoos.”

“It’s not that important-”

“Just trying to figure out if it’s something as weird as that skull on your arm.”

“It’s not weird-”

“Alright it’s a little cooler than weird, but still. What’d you get that’s not important-?”

“It’s today’s date.” It bubbles out of Billy before he can put a stop to it. Before he can hold the words down. He looks up from his orange juice to see Hop’s eyes get wider.

“I… seriously?”

Billy rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, don’t get too sappy about it.” Billy says like his heart isn’t in his throat right now.

“You got today’s date… because?”

Billy twists his mouth up. “Don’t make me say it.”

Hop lets out a little chuckle. It sounds involuntary.

“No no, I wanna hear why you’d get a date that ‘not that important’ on your arm.” He’s chuckling even more now. Billy’s fingers are tapping on the counter w/ nervous agitation.

“Because… because… you know why!”

Hop shakes his head with an annoying smile. “Nope, don’t think I do. I’m at a loss.”

“Because this was the best damn day of my life, alright? You know that.” Billy feels it all heave out of his throat like vomit, but just like vomit once it’s out, he feels so much better. all that pressure gone. He feels like now that he’s admitted it, he should fear it’ll slip away from him, but he doesn’t feel that way. It feels like now that he’s admitted it, now that it’s written on his skin, it’s solidified. No one can take it away from him. Even if things turn to shit, he still has the memory of this past year there on his arm and he’s just... he’s comfortable. Yes, he’s a sentimental sap, and he’ll knock the lights out of anyone who calls him that, probably, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t one. He’s glad he can be a sentimental sap now without fear.

He looks into Hop’s eyes and sees a wide smile.

Billy rolls his eyes again, mumbling a “shut up” for good measure, even though Hop hasn’t said anything.

Billy tries to get past Hop, pretending he needs to grab something when really he just doesn’t wanna see Hop’s face anymore, but the man catches him in a hug before he can get past.

It’s warm and encompassing and Billy is so immediately comfortable that it still fascinates him.

“I love you son.” Hop mumbles, chest rumbling with the words. Billy feels it in his heart.