#BILLY IS FROM CALIFORNIA

[ickypuppi3]

billy’s mom waking him up while it’s still dark, whispering even though neil’s working the night shift. it’s a couple days before his tenth birthday and she’s telling him they’re going to have their very own adventure, just like the ones in billy’s books. she grabs an already packed suitcase from under billy’s bed and kisses him on the nose, tells him to get dressed quick. the two of them leave in an old beat up yellow bug that she managed to get for a third of the asking price and keep parked around the corner until now. they stay with friends and jump from place to place so neil can’t track them down. billy gets used to surfing couches and staying in motels.

he spends his tenth birthday in a diner, his mom gets him a big stack of pancakes and a milkshake with extra cherries. gets a candle out her pocket along with her silver lighter. sings happy birthday and pulls a face when the waitress frowns at them, just to make billy laugh. she sips at her coffee while billy tucks in. smiles when he holds some out with a “c’mon mama, share with me.”

billy thinks it’s neat. thinks it’s the best birthday he’s ever had.

they eventually end up with a place in california, a little bungalow near the coast and billy grows up with his mom. billy gets pretty shirts from the thrift store ‘cause his mama lets him do stuff like that. doesn’t call him a queer, doesn’t force a baseball bat into his hands whilst yelling at him for crying, for being a pussy. his mom lets him read and keep a journal and press flowers between the pages of the neverending story, she plays hendrix and dusty springfield and laughs when billy comes home from his friends’ house with his first piercing at thirteen. she doesn’t tear down his posters or yell when she finds him using her eyeliner.

and everything’s perfect. sort of.

they have bad days- billy’s mom has bad days. billy calls them gray days ‘cause that’s how the world looks when she’s like this. all her color gone. no singing-dancing in the kitchen or baking five different kinds of cake because she couldn’t decide which one was best, no last minute trips to the beach or sitting outside at night and telling billy about the stars. instead she’ll stay in bed, won’t go to work. she’ll stare at the wall blankly and look right through billy when he tries to talk to her. she won’t take the pills the doc gave her and billy doesn’t know what to do. never knows what to do. just chews at his lip until it bleeds, bites at his thumb until it’s red raw. he’ll get in the bed with her. lay beside her and just talk like she used to do with him when he had a nightmare. hum a song to her.

billy’s still pissed at the world just slightly less so. still has that anger and anxiousness simmering just below the surface and shows his teeth when cornered. he’s still hardened in a way that a kid shouldn’t be but. it’s different. there’s no neil. the only bloody noses he gets are at school, when he fights with the kids who call him a fag and a fairy, call his mom a basket case. he uses fists when they laugh and ask if she’s all there with a finger pointing at their heads, ask if billy will “catch the crazy.”

those are billy’s bad days. sitting in the principals office, icing his knuckles.

when he’s fifteen, billy manages to bag a job at the local auto repair by turning up every day and telling howie how good he’d be, that he knows cars and it’s all he wants to do and please please please. eyebrows pulled together, eyes puppy dog wide and hands clasped in front of him until howie grumbles, throws an oily rag at billy. says fine but billy’s gotta pay for anything he damages. someone brings in a chevy camaro and billy asks howie to let him help fix it up. does the begging again until howie laughs. says get a hold of yourself, kid, voice fond as he ruffles billy’s hair.

billy’s four months away from turning seventeen when the doorbell goes. he’s eating a sandwich and watching knight rider. he’s wearing the necklace his mom got him for his last birthday and- he answers the door. doesn’t think twice. freezes when he sees neil standing there. he looks different. hair a little shorter and more wrinkles. where billy’s gained weight, gained muscle, neil’s lost it. his eyes are a little sunken and he’s still got his wedding band on. he reeks of booze. billy has to remind himself to speak, just says “yeah?” his voice comes out small and neil smiles at him. smiles and billy feels this weird twist in his stomach ‘cause .. that’s his dad and he hasn’t seen him in years and it twists and twists and-

turns out. not much has changed. billy realises a little too late that neil will always be neil. they run again. have to leave everything behind. billy doesn’t get to say bye to his friends, to howie, to the car. they leave a lot of stuff behind and head in any direction away from neil. they both try to keep the mood light, take turns driving and play the tapes billy grabbed. they end up in indiana- hawkins. they stay at a motel until billy’s mom finds a place for dirt cheap. it has two bedrooms and a dingy bathroom, a living room slash kitchen and one hell of a damp problem. it’s dirt cheap for a reason.

it’s above a shop in town and- it’s fine. their landlord is an asshole but they’re together and they’ve got a roof over their heads. billy’s enrolled at hawkins high and his mom gets a job at the laundromat. he tells her that he doesn’t need to go to school, that he could just work and help pay the bills but his mom won’t have any of it. says that she wishes she had finished school and that billy’s too clever to waste it. that he has potential.

billy knows the reason she dropped out of school was because she had him. he just nods, rests his head on her shoulder.

it’s billy’s first day at school and his mom drives him to make sure he actually goes. he gets out the car and tries to shake the nerves off. straightens up and puts on his act. plasters a fake smile on his face and it’s working, he’s got most of the girls swooning and the boys at least seem curious. billy looks around and his eyes land on a guy leaning up against a bmw. his hair’s coiffed to high heaven and he’s wearing a polo, preppy as fuck but- pretty. it’s one of the first things billy realises about him, all doe eyes and moles dotted just about everywhere. he’s got a smirk on his face. not aimed at billy but the guy beside him.

pretty-boy walks over to him and billy raises an eyebrow, plays it cool. he introduces himself as steve and billy gets the idea that he’s top dog at hawkins high, is immediately proved right when they step into the building. king steve, freckles calls him. billy laughs- catches steve looking at him when he does and feels his face get hot. steve just smiles wider, calls billy california and tells him to sit with them at lunch. billy tries to ignore the way steve’s smile makes him feel like the rug’s been pulled out from under his feet.

he nods and steve grins. tugs at one of billy’s curls.

says “i think you’re gonna like it here, california.”

#it got away from me i fear #billy has to live somewhere else at the start and then they move to california i don’t care he needs to be there with his mom for the #majority of the time he just has to #he Is california ! what else am i supposed to do here he needs it #makes hawkins that much worse #he’s best friends with argyle but he doesn’t get to say bye ! #billy’s first kiss is with a girl but the second the one he counts is with a boy and his mama knows he’s gay also #probably argyle if we’re being real #my words #billy hargrove #billy’s mom #harringrove #cw slurs #cw mental illness #spinning in circles i just need mamas boy billy and king steve so bad #mamas boy billy & king steve

[chisfics]

the fck wrong with you ?? 😭😭

#this is johnny's vision of an ideal date #minus the sushi. daniel forced him to eat that #johnny only agreed bc daniel promised him kisses afterwards #he overdosed on coors and steroids again #he is so unhinged #average blonde white man #from california no less #gotta love this guy #old gay men <3 #johnny lawrence #daniel larusso #lawrusso #ralph macchio #billy zabka #the karate kid #zacchio #80s lawrusso #90s lawrusso #modern day lawrusso #fic ideas

[half-oz-eddie]

Steve telling Billy he can out-smoke him, until Steve claims he's hearing colors and seeing sounds and begs Billy not to move him so fast because his soul hasn't caught up with his body

#billy's from california why would you say that steve #he's so stupid #harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington

[lostlimerence]

“Munson”

A heavily ringed hand hovers over the mixing bowl. “Don’t you dare,” Billy glares as he reaches to grab another bowl from the cupboard.

“Come onnnn sunshine,” Eddie says grin spreading across his face.

“No”

“Pretty please,”

“Oh yea sure go right ahead,”

“Yes! Really?!”

“No.” Billy deadpans. Eddie sticks out his tongue, Billy rolls his eyes, pushes the sleeve of his jumper back up his forearm as he focuses on the mixture.

In his periphery another hand catches his eye, “pretty boy if you dare add anything to that bowl, I swear I will break each and every one of your Madonna tapes.”

Steve gasps, freezes still holding whatever the hell it is he wanted to add hovering over a jug. “You wouldn’t dare?!”

Billy flashes his teeth “try me,” Eddie “hmmms,” in agreement which makes Steve swing to him with exasperation “really Eds taking his side too?!”

Eddie laughs “sorry baby but sunshine’s right you can’t bake, remember the pumpkin cookies?” he pulls a face, Steve gawks as he keeps going “California’s our baker, right sunshine?”

Billy’s fumbling with his hair, re-doing his bun, some curls inevitably escaping, “yeah, and you two shitheads need to stay away from that bowl,”

“Gosh can’t you feel the love Stevie,” Eddie says dramatically pressing a hand to his chest. Steve laughs, puts his mystery ingredient down and joins Billy behind the island, he reaches up to tuck one of the stray curls behind his ear, then slides his hand down and presses small little circles into the juncture of his neck.

Billy leans into it with a little groan, Steve smiles as Billy’s eyes close in bliss for a second, it’s the perfect opportunity for Eddie to dive across the island, and shove his finger in the batter, Billy’s eyes open in time to see a finger pull out of Eddie’s mouth with a pop.

“Tasty!”

“Ughh, I’ll say it again. Shitheads.” he glances between his two idiots trying to suppress a smile.

“Oh come onnn baby it’s not even unhygienic, we do far worse things with our mouths” Eddie wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Billy huffs “out you losers,” he punctuates with a finger directing them to the living room.

“Sheeeshh, ok baby let’s go let’s go pick a movie sunshines gotta work his magic in peace,” Eddie laughs leaning over the island again, this time to press a kiss to Billy’s disgruntled forehead before grabbing Steve and pulling him towards the door.

Billy sighs shaking his head but allows himself a little fond smile as he turns back to his baking in peace.

….

Later Billy walks into the lounge, a plate full of little cartoon-like ghost cupcakes in one hand.

Eddie and Steve are lounging on the sofa, Eddie pushes onto his knees, making Steve squeak as he jolts off of him, and makes grabby hands at the plate.

Billy chuckles as he passes it over “chill out Munson.”

“But they’re just sooo good babe,” Eddie mumbles through a mouthful, “gross Eds,” Steve wrinkles his nose in disgust as he peels the wrapper off his own, he looks at Billy gives him a thousand watt grin “thanks baby!” Billy blushes a little mumbles “no worries pretty boy,” he clears his throat “what are we watching?”

Eddie swallows his last bite and reaches for another, chocolate crumbs littering his lap “Halloween,” his eyes alight, Eddie loves this month.

Billy grimaces, grumbles “fine,” and Steve flaps at Eddie says something about getting crumbs in the carpet.

Eddie laughs at Billy’s expression, ignoring Steve’s hands as they try to clean up a bit. “Don’t worry sunshine you can sit between us, Myers won’t get you with us around! Have you seen Stevie’s biceps?! You’re safe baby!” Steve throws him an unimpressed look.

“I’m not scared!” Billy flushes, has a little bit of flour dashed across his cheek, and one sleeve of his jumper is slipping back down his arm. Eddie thinks he looks adorable “of course not sweetheart, nothing scares you,” he pats the opening between himself and Steve, Billy complies shoving himself between the two.

Steve throws his legs over the both of them and lies back, Eddie prods his calf mumbles something fondly about King Steve, then wraps an arm round Billy let’s his head rest against his shoulder, a curl tickles his face as the movie begins.

Billy takes a deep breath and settles in, pressed between two of the most important people in his life, he smiles, his heart full of love for his two idiots.

#billy hargrove #steve harrington #eddie munson #harringroveson #harringrove #mungrove #stranger things #fic #fluff #writing #strangerthings #Billy is the best baker #Billy doesn’t actually like horror films #my attempt at fluff I’m sorry if it’s not great! #haloween #sunshine and california are nicknames from fic if i stare too long and the authors were just spot on with them i love it

[gabeluna]

neil hargrove buried his son, his own flesh and blood, under a basic headstone in rural indiana instead of taking him back to his heart and home in california and then left his sister and stepmother to fend for themselves, and if that doesn’t tell you all you need to know about this man...

#billy hargrove #honestly it makes me so sad #his tombstone was so basic #you couldnt even tell it apart from anyone else #as if he was just??? nobody #god i despise neil hargrove #even more after reading runaway max #he deserved to be in california :( #he should have been buried there instead :( #somewhere close to the ocean :( #i know some ppl are iffy about spreading ashes but i always imagined billy wanting his to be spread across the ocean #ahhhhh i am sad #rants

[spacecasehobbit]

I've posted about Neil Hargrove being the one to get flayed in S3 instead of Billy, but my other favorite character to imagine in Billy's place is Chrissy. There's just so much potential there!

S4 establishes what the other seasons were already making clear (one of the things that ST actually manages to be pretty consistent in showing!): that the Mind Flayer/Vecna/One chooses victims who are alone, victims who are struggling with feelings of trauma and isolation. In that way, any of Vecna's victims from S4 could have worked in Billy's place.

But!

Imagine a Chrissy who got flayed and then lived through it (maybe the Party et. al. are more motivated to save someone who looks teeny and sweet and harmless; maybe Chrissy isn't as much a fighter as Billy so she grabs El and runs for it when El finally breaks through the MF's control). A Chrissy whose first victims included her abusive mom and the oblivious boyfriend who never really saw her as her own person, and who has to deal with the conflicting mess of feelings left behind in the aftermath of being forced to feed them - along with a whole slew of other townspeople - to a mass-murdering eldritch monster from another dimension.

On the one hand, of course it's immensely traumatizing! She feels so much guilt it seems like she'll be crushed under the weight of it some days; other days she doesn't know how to do anything but cry.

On the other hand, a part of her feels relieved that her mom and Jason are gone... which means she must be a monster, too, right? Only a monster would be glad that their mom and boyfriend weren't around, when the reason they were gone was because she fed them to the monster that killed them.

This now sets her up perfectly to find herself lost, adrift; isolated from her usual peer group, distanced from her dad who is also grieving the loss of his wife, feeling stained with innocent blood no matter how many showers she takes or how many times she scrubs her skin raw, until she winds up seeking out the local drug dealing supersenior just for a few precious hours of escape from her own head.

And maybe the local drug dealer is kinda cute, and surprisingly sweet, and he makes her laugh and smile for the first time in months. And she goes to him at first for chemical escape, but the longer she interacts with him the more she starts visiting for a friend.

(And maybe that makes her feel guilty, too, because she likes Eddie. Likes Eddie, the weirdo school freak who Jason always sneered about and looked down on for his satanist aesthetic and his poverty and his Unfortunate family history.

She likes Eddie the way she was supposed to like Jason but kind of didn't anymore even before she fed him to a monster. She likes Eddie in a way she's not sure she ever liked Jason, because Eddie makes her feel good about herself without ever making her feel like she's drowning in other people's expectations for her life. Eddie makes her smile, and he makes her laugh, and he makes her feel safe.

And she's not sure she deserves any of that, but she's getting pretty damn sure that she wants it.)

So when the Upside Down comes back this time, this version of Chrissy isn't unaware of it. She's still dealing with plenty of trauma and isolation in many parts of her life, but she isn't completely alone except for the one nice boy she's barely met before she dies. Instead, she figures out that it's back so quickly, and she goes to the person she's come to trust the most these days for help and to warn him, too.

And instead of dying in horrible pain, thinking she might be going mad and with no idea what's happening to her, traumatizing a boy she barely knows in the process and setting in motion the events that will lead to his death not long later, she and Eddie are able to face the Upside Down together and get each other through this interdimensional monster's latest attempt at destroying Hawkins together.

#stranger things #chrissy cunningham #eddie munson #hellcheer #au ideas that live in my head #flayed chrissy #meanwhile in this au #i like to imagine that billy and heather had a perfectly monster-free summer working at the pool #and that billy made enough money over the summer to finally escape his dad's house #to take his camaro and his record player #some clothes and all his music and the cash he'd hidden away from his dad's greedy hands #and makes his way back to california #to be free of his own monster #queer and happy and smiling on a beach somewhere sunny and warm and far away from the Upside Down

[fanatics4l]

if you, as a child, have to practically raise another child who is in no way biologically related to you and is only around because your biological mother abandoned you, therefore resulting in the marriage between a random woman and your abusive father, you would be pissed off at everything too.

if you, as a child, have to look after some random kid who barely listens to you and constantly gets you in trouble with your harmful father, you would be an asshole too.

if you, as a child, are forced to babysit another child when you can be spending that time doing your own teenage shit, you would dislike that child too.

if you, as a vulnerable child, are raised by a terrible father and have to witness a mother being loving towards her daughter every day when you don't have that anymore (especially when said mother turns the other way while your father hits you), you would be bitter about everything too.

if you were moved miles away from your home, away from your mother and everything you love, and are tossed into some random town in the middle of nowhere with a woman you never wanted as a mother and a girl you never wanted as a sister, you would act out too.

#it's funny when people forget billy was also just a kid #he was 16/17 when they arrived in hawkins #he was younger when max and her mom entered his life #he's gonna act out like any little kid who misses their mom and has to pretend like everything is okay #sure billy shouldn't have been mean to max but it's understandable #they're both angry little kids who were taken from their happy place in california #coming from someone who had to raise younger siblings because the parents wouldn't- it absolutely sucks #i lost my temper all the time #just try putting yourself in billy's shoes #billy hargrove

[biillys]

oh ohhhhhhh ohhh wait. wait a fucking minute. listen. listen!!!!

flayed!billy and neil having an run-in a few days before The End. flayed!billy not scaring as easily, actually not scaring at all, compared to actual real!billy. turning right back on neil. except the mindflayer has a soft spot for his host becos the mindflayers fucked like that, so instead of just killing neil, the mindflayer decides to play with it's food for a bit.

real!billy doing his Thing and managing to get that one tear out. becos his dad may be a piece of shit but surely, surely, out of everyone, he would be able to figure out something's wrong. that billy's not billy. the desperation and the hope that maybe this is it, maybe this is only option, maybe making him just that little bit stronger. maybe him getting a 'dad, help, please' with a few more tears out before the mindflayer takes over again. but neil's a fucking coward at most and a piss poor excuse of a father at best, so he takes one look at billy crying, begging, and shakes off any doubt's and worry's, and treats him like he always does when billy turns to water under his weight.

he makes his voice harder, his grip tighter. his words crystal fucking clear.

and then flayed!billy is shoving him off, stronger than neil's ever felt him, and he's laughing, but not in a way neil's ever heard him laugh. and then he's turning to walk right out the door, camaro keys in hand, even though neil just grounded him for the entire fourth of july weekend, except he turns around just before he makes it outside, face completely blank and familiar, but neil's never seen this person before in his life, and says 'when billy and i have finished what we started, i'll come back for you.' and then he's gone.

and neil picks himself up from where he was crumpled against the kitchen counter, shakes himself off, and denies everything that just happened in the past 15 minutes. grips the bench to stop his hands from shaking, and promises himself that next time he sees billy, then he'll really let him have it. that just because billy thinks he's old enough to throw his own weight around, doesn't mean he's gonna get away with it under this roof.

except billy never comes home, and then it's the fourth of july, and neil and susan are trying to enjoy a nice dinner at home, a dinner that both their children were meant to be home for but aren't, but at least him and susan are having a lovely night. they enjoy it right up until the phone rings late that night, and then they're speeding to starcourt mall, and there's smoke and flashing lights and fucking military everywhere, and max is distraught, hugging susan like she's the only family she has left, and no one will tell him anything about billy except for a brief 'billy didn't make it, we're sorry for your loss.'

they won't let him identify the body. won't even release the body to be buried. won't tell him why all those people were in the mall after opening hours, what max and her friends were doing there. what started the fire. why there was fucking military clearing the scene. won't even give him a cause of death.

and every single time he closes his eyes, he hears 'when billy and i have finished what we started, i'll come back for you.'

he starts hearing it when his eyes are open, too, when he's trying to put together the funeral. when he tries to go back to normal life, back to his job, where his boss pulls him aside and gives him time off until his current family situation can stop effecting his work, back home, where there's no longer loud music shaking the doors, no car flooring it up the street, no fourth place set at the table for dinner, no shitty attitude and lousy excuses and brave backtalk.

everything's suddenly so fucking quiet.

so he fixes it. overcorrects. takes his sleepless nights and his workless days out on susan, is loud and brash and a constant immovable object. makes sure it's never quiet again. susan kicks him to the curb within a month, threatening police involvement if he doesn't leave quickly and quietly.

so, he leaves.

(then, susan and max leave for the trailer park, becos neil Left. and that's all susan will say on the matter. and then the upside down comes back with a new big bad, and max is right back in the thick of things in a way she never was before, but then suddenly billy's back. billy's alive, and he's back, and he's pulling himself with his bare fucking hands out of the upside fucking down before reaching around and helping her pull herself out and he's covered in blood and black goo and scars and injuries for days and, honestly, she probably doesn't look much better, but he's coughing and bleeding yet his heart's still fucking beating. and they somehow fucking found and saved each other.

and max is sitting by his bedside in hospital after every single surgery, and she keeps him company and puts headphones over his ears to listen to music and picks out the comic books that she knows he likes to read and she does her best to just never mention anything home related.

billy makes it a week after being back from the dead before he asks about neil.

'he left,' she says, because that's all that matters.

and billy fucking remembers. he remembers how hard he fought, how it took everything within him to overpower the mindflayer, even for those brief few seconds. how the only thing on his mind was this is it. this is my only chance. this is all i've got. and he remembers neil's eyes, wide, scared, fearful, but the second billy broke through, the moment billy shed a tear, fucking begged for help, his voice cracking over the word 'dad', neil went from speechless to loud. his eyes going from uncertain to cold. how the one time billy remembers asking his dad for help, probably the first time he's asked his dad for help since he was a kid, neil didn't even take even a moment to think about it. just took one look at him begging and crying, and steamrolled right over him, fucking sentenced him to death. all because he asked for fucking help.

billy closes his eyes and nods, doesn't think he could ever face neil again without falling apart for good.)

#idk what this is im very sorry!!!!! #anyway neil runs back to california before he even realises thats where he's heading #and ends up on billys mums doorstep #becos he always knew where she ran to when she left. he's not stupid. she never really fucking tried to hide. #and he tells her billys dead. because he may be battling his own parental demons and while she may have her own parental demons #they both loved billy in their own fucked up way. not a way he deserved but they're unreliable narrators at best #and he knows that hes the reason she left. and why she left billy too. #that of neil was a different kind of man; she would've tried to take billy too; but neil was the one with the job and the money #and she had none of that. she wouldntve stood a chance in court. #its fanfic and unrealistic so i can wholeheartedly say they end up back together becos unhealthy relationships + shitty coping mechanisms #obviously are the right choice to grieve your dead child. its the perfect midlife crisis. #anyway YEARS later when billys back in california and he someway somehow runs into them #and sees his dad who he still to this day blames for his death #and his mum who once told him that the reason his dad and her always fought was becos of him #together??? bro causes a fucking earthquake #im kidding hes just like. he was going so well and healing so good and max was so proud #and then he starts spiraling again. #okay enough from me again idk what this is im sorry #m #nqff

[sketchy-scribs-n-doods]

Bee and Argie, Billy and Argyle

Arturo Guillermo Franco Valdes.

Arturo Guillermo, and a friend that calls him Guille, Artie, Argie.

A red faced Billy that pronounces Guillermo as ‘Gah-ee-ler-moh’ before learning that ‘ll’ makes a ‘yuh’ sound in Spanish.

Artie calling him Bee-yee, and later Bee, as a joke because of it.

Billy tosses out nicknames like the affection he’s never been sure how to express. But he loves the way his friend's name rolls off his tongue, the syllables strange and clunky and a challenge that Billy readily takes up. Soon, it falls full and melodic from his lips, prettier than any song he's ever heard on the old radio his mom left him with.

Mi amigo, Arturo.

Argie tells him not to sweat it, but Billy doesn’t understand why nobody else seems to want to make the effort. Like it’s too difficult, or like Argie isn’t worth the effort. Most of the other Mexican kids at school already know how to pronounce the names that give their white teachers pause, but outside of that demographic there’s a pathetic lack of effort that incites Billy sometimes. 

“Don’t sweat it, bro. Not everyone can roll their Rs as good as you.”

“What, like it’s hard? Fuckin’ idiots.”

(Years later, when they find each other again, Billy will know why his old friend Argie goes by Argyle, because Argyle will nudge him with a serene little smile of his and say, “Long time no see, Bee. Your ol’ pal Artie Gyle-ermo missed you, amigo.”)

Once, early in their friendship, Billy asks Argie why he has so many damn names. Why does he need like half a dozen of them? And Argie says,

“Well, I dunno. I think it makes me pretty damn special, though. How many ‘Arturo Guillermo Franco Valdes’ do you know?”

“Just you, obviously. But that doesn’t mean much, I don’t know any other ‘William Hargrove’s either.”

“Maybe not. But it’s prolly a lot easier for some random Hargrove to be named Billy than for someone to line up a buncha random names to smash together and create a Franco Valdes named Arturo Guillermo.”

“That ‘random Hargrove’ is me, jackass!”

“Exactly!”

“At least my name’s not a fuckin’ mouthful!”

“Oh, so I’m a mouthful, am I?”

“Fuck you!”

A few months later, well into Billy's friendship with Argyle, the kid invites him over to his place to check out his new bike or something, Billy doesn't remember.

What he does remember is meeting Argyle's dad and paternal grandma, Nana Hermelinda.

It's getting colder, for California at least, and Nana insists on making the kids chocolate abuelita while Argyle's dad is at work. A much richer hot chocolate than Billy is used to, the smell is spicy sweet and warm in the air as it foams up in the pot Nana is using, instead of the mild chemical sweetness of the mugs Billy puts in the microwave when he can sneak a packet of Swiss Miss in the winter. Her worn, wrinkled hands make quick work of it, expertly spinning between them a wooden stick with rotating round bits at the end that goes into the frothy mix. Nana calls it a molinillo when she sees him looking at it, and rather than freeze up over being caught staring, as he normally would, Billy instead finds himself trying to pronounce the new word for the remaining five minutes the chocolate takes to finish. The air feels almost soft around him, pleasantly warm and sweet like cinnamon as Nana lets the mixture cool while she searches for mugs in the cabinet above them. When she offers him his own, a brown mug with a rounded bottom and pretty dotted flower designs on its shiny finish, Billy is shy and hesitant to take it. But the warmth as he wraps his chilly fingers around it is welcoming and its smells so good. The first sip is cautious, slow like he's still unsure about whether he's allowed something so warm and comforting.

It's incredible.

Billy's pretty blue eyes light up like Argyle has never seen before. He can feel his heart thump awkwardly in his chest as those baby blues shine bright in the soft yellow light of the kitchen.

Then Billy lowers the mug, and a little mustache of foamed milk and chocolate lines his upper lip. Argyle quickly forgets the brief stutter of his heartbeat and cackles at the sight.

Billy is too busy having a religious experience over his mug of hot chocolate to bother with telling him to shut up like he normally would, but he doesn't truly mind- he likes the sound of Argie's loud bouncing laughter.

Nana looks fondly at them over her own mug, sitting comfortably on a stool by the kitchen counter as Billy politely thanks her for the drink with what little clumsy Spanish he's learned from Argyle so far. She coos at him, putting down her mug as she answers in a kind, lilting Spanish that Argyle will later tell him roughly means, "Of course, love. Come here whenever you like. I will make you a mug anytime, son." Billy inhales the warm steam wafting up from the mug he holds tight as Nana places a gentle hand on his cheek and calls him mijo.

Years later, Billy still remembers it as one of the last times he'd felt so held and cared for.

#my mutuals were posting about billy's spice tolerance from his california years and i started having feelings about billy and argyle okay #here's an edited excerpt from my billy time loop fic bc of it #billy hargrove #argilly #billy stranger things #sketchy fics #many thanks to @ thediktatortot and @ stranger-rants for fueling my brainrot every fukin day lol #argyle #argyle stranger things #fuc k it tagging argyle bc i have SO many headcanon and idea about his family for the billy haters to come at me about it #its okay i have a permit: #'i'm mexican and i can do what i want' #like cmon you cant name a character argyle have him be mexican and then not explain how tf that came about #die hard had not come out yet so in world that cannot be the explaination #gotta do everything myself around here #also the bit about billy's eyes going big and bright after his first sip of mexican hot chocolate is based on a friend of my sister's #except it was her trying horchata for the first time #but i stg that little girl's eyes grew twice their size at the first sip lol she had like 4 cups of the stuff that night during the party

[kazzyboy]

“You only like Billy because he’s hot” I am going to eat your face off of your skull

#no it’s because I relate the his traumatized ass self #at least I get to pull the dead sister card #way to graduate from dumb fuck university motherfucker #billy hargrove #California King Chronicles

[ickypuppi3]

i wonder how billy reacted when he found out they were moving

#billy hargrove #when they were still in california #still in their old house #was he angry or did he just freeze #when he realised he’s never gonna escape neil #did he cry in front of everybody or did he just stare at the wall not saying anything #was that the first time max saw him cry #like actually cry #and how did neil tell him #because neil loves controlling billy he would’ve wanted to say it himself im so sure of it #*when* did neil tell him #i feel like he would’ve told him really close to leaving so billy didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to his friends #throwing up actually #imagine neil announcing over dinner #and everyone knows apart from billy #i’ve had enough

[wixterirox]

Au Billy pretends to be british

#that’s it #billy comes to hawkins with a fake british accent #i think max would try to copy after him #everyone is told that they are from california but they pull up using british slang #some how it gets to neil and susan and they are just disappointed #this is the funniest au to me #i dont believe in focusing on st4 rn #because this is more enjoyable #billy hargrove #max mayfield

[lostlimerence]

“It’s happened. I’m batshit.”

“No listen…”

“I’m crazy,”

“Stop..”

“Finally lost it..”

“Sunshine, please just wai…”

“Eds please stop pacing for a second.”

“Stop pacing?! I don’t know if you’ve noticed but California’s stopped working Stevie?!”

“I know, I know! I’m trying to think, your manic energy isn’t helping!”

“My manic energy?!” his voice hitches up an octave as he gasps, feigning hurt, he stops pacing and crouches down to gently wave a hand in-front of Billy’s face. The blonde clocks him, gives him a little dopey smile and whispers “ hey Eds, it’s finally happened I’ve gone insane,” Eddie smiles back at him, gives him a little pat on the head before standing back up and turning to Steve “yep, broken.”

Steve frowns, “he’s in shock Eddie, remember how you were when you first came across…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie flaps a hand, as if trying to waft away the memory. Steve walks over, giving Eddie’s arm a little squeeze as he goes to crouch in-front of Billy “hey baby,” he whispers gently “we really need you to get up,” Billy chuckles and reaches out to stroke Steve’s cheek “hey Stevie! Guess what, I’m finally in the madhouse, don’t worry though Munson’s in here with me!”

Eddie gawks “what did he say?!”

Steve laughs a little “you heard him Eds, looks like you’re an inmate too, I’m just a visitor,” he pushes back up and takes in the scene.

Billy cross-legged on the forrest floor, Eddie wide-eyed and restless glancing between their seemingly catatonic boyfriend and the lifeless demodog that lies a few feet away from them.

Eddie chews at the corner of his thumb nail, stares at Billy and says “we probably should’ve told him about this sooner…”

“I mean yeah no shit Eds, it’s not like we haven’t tried, it’s just, you know a little hard to bring up…”Steve trails off on a sigh as he strolls over to the body, looks down at its grotesque meaty flesh and grimaces “we need to get rid of this.”

Eddie hmmms his agreement as he goes to stand next to Billy, placing a protective hand atop of his golden curls. “Ugh we have no spade, no bat, no nothing, arghh we should’ve brought the beamer, it comes equipped with all the monster battling shit we need!” Steve nods, fists his hand in his hair as he thinks.

“Ok, maybe if you wait here, while I….”

“Nope, nuh-uh, not happening baby! What am I supposed to do if another one comes?! How am I supposed to protect our beautiful, but quite frankly currently useless, boy down there if another one comes?! What if they’re like wasps and this dead fucker is like emanating a stink that says avenge me avenge me! Oh gods Stevie what if this thing is….”

“Stop! Yeah, yes I get it, I get it bad idea, bad idea, we can’t just leave it here though…” Steve looks at Eddie, glances down at Billy “we’re gonna have to put it in the Camaro.”

Billy’s head snaps up “No way.”

Eddie gasps hand flying to his mouth like some offended Victorian lady “really sunshine?!! You finally come back to us and it’s for that stupid car?!?”

Billy cocks a brow, rises to his feet dusting off his jeans “it’s my baby,” he says completely serious, Eddie, if it’s possible, looks even more offended “I though WE were your babies,” he shouts frantically waving his arm between himself and Steve.

Steve presses his thumb and fore-finger to the bridge of his nose, inhales, exhales, ignores Eddie’s theatrics and turns to Billy “we’re putting it in the Camaro.”

Billy looks him dead in the eye and squares his stance “not happening pretty boy.”

….

Billy stares at the demowhatevers body in the trunk of his Camaro.

His eye twitches slightly. Eddie pats his shoulder “close her up California, it’s time to hit the road,” he flashes him a steady grin. Billy slams the trunk, climbs into the passenger seat and thinks about how calm Eddie and Steve are.

“So errr, what the fuck?” he says raising his brow glancing between Steve, who is driving and Eddie who’s leaning forwards in the middle of the backseat.

Steve catches Eddie’s eye in the rear view mirror and that’s all the musician needs before he’s off describing demogorgons, spider monsters, mindflayers, and some place called the upside down to a frankly astounded Billy.

He takes it in, tries to place it in his reality, fails to do so repeatedly, but then he remembers the stinking corpse in his trunk and he knows this isn’t Eddie’s wonderful, yet overactive, imagination. It’s real, concrete, they have the body of a demodog in the trunk of the car and they’re going to put it in a fucking freezer until they can bury it, not only that but Steve has done this once before.

He has too many questions, so he asks none of them and instead opts to zone out for the rest of the journey. Tries to let his mind process the immense amount of information he’s been given in peace, mumbles a promise to Eddie that he’s not going to ‘go catatonic’ again when the man starts voicing his concern.

….

Later he lies in bed staring at the ceiling, Eddie mumbles one last sleepy gripe in his ear, something about him loving the Camaro more than them, he just chuckles and presses a kiss to the side of the man’s head as he drifts off to sleep.

On his other side Steve, whose head is settled on his chest, whispers “you ok baby? I know, I know this is a lot to take in…” Billy takes a deep breath and mumbles softly “yeah it is, but don’t worry about it sweetheart, it’s fucked sure, but I’m an expert at fucked up situations, this is just another one, gotta roll with the punches right?” Steve snorts quietly “I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”

“It’s the only way of looking at it pretty boy,” Billy smiles up at the ceiling, feels his eyes drooping with sleep, whispers “goodnight,” hears Steve say it back.

It’s been a long-ass day and they need their sleep, besides they have a demodog to bury in the morning.

#billy hargrove #steve harrington #eddie munson #harringroveson #stilldie #stranger things #fic #writing #harringrove #mungrove #strangerthings #I feel like this is the only way Billy would believe them #au ​Billy was never flayed and this is before the vecna crap #also the way they talk about ‘being crazy’ is problematic but they’re teenagers in the 1980s so that’s why #sunshine and california are nicknames from fic if i stare too long and the authors were just spot on with them i love it

[ariesbilly]

Need snowboarder!billy art PRONTO!

#that video of dacre??? yes ma’am #max and billy snowboarding together 👉🏻👈🏻 teaching el 🥺 you understand the vision #also the hilarity of them going to the mountains (are there mountains in indiana I do not know) #but anyway billy starts boarding and Steve’s like ‘what the fuck how can you do that I thought you were from Cali’ #and billys like ‘there’s snow in California dumbass’ #and then they kiss

[pretty-emo-dad]

Guy who is so normal about the 2x08 and 3x08 parallel of Max looking at El as she drove away. The first time being when she had just met El, being confused by her initial standoffish behavior and the second time mourning not only her childhood but also her best friend and one of the people who understands her the most moving away to a place she used to call home

#stranger things #max mayfield #eleven hopper #el hopper #Jane hopper #elmax #s2 elmax #I’m so normal about El moving to California when that’s where max came from #also I do think max is bounding her brother but it’s more her mourning her childhood #because she doesn’t love billy + thinks he’s a bad person #but saw what she believes he would’ve been and loosing that is like loosing a certain version of childlike innocence #weird phrasing in this post but it makes sense to me #also sorry mr aemiron sir for stealing your meme format #it WILL happen again

[biillys]

Don't think about Billy shaking Max awake when the house is filled with snores not muffled whines. Bruises hidden in the dark but wincing as he lifts his arm, Max rolling away until she stills in realization. They leave together, breath held as the window frame in a bedroom slides up. The Camaro starts - if Billy has the key. maybe they walk the few miles to the pool, Hawkins is small and it's dark and the demodogs aren't coming back. They're making themselves safe, just by leaving for the night.

The pool beckons, familiar shadows in the poolhouse and stacked chairs higher than Max is tall. Billy pulls one down for her, a screech of metal legs over poured concrete. He doesn't wince at the sound as Max raids the lost & found for towels. Or maybe they just keep a stash of towels, a spare set of clothes in Billy's lifeguard locker. No blankets or pillows, nothing that can't be explained away even if they're always gone with the dim rays of dawn peeking through the forest. The pool glitters in those brief moments, almost peaceful even if it's not the sea that Billy misses so badly it aches.

It's not meant to be more than an occasional thing, but Billy can't bear leaving her alone in the house on Cherry Lane. It won't be permanent, he just needs a little more in his rainy day fund. A bank account that Neil can't touch, one that has his name and maybe Susan's on it.

He thinks he'll have enough money for an apartment, maybe a trailer on the other side of town with scraggly weeds and his dealer, by the end of July.

losing my mind losing my mind losing my mind please this is exactly what i wanted to hear about after writing those tags on that post i love you 🥺

#its billy sneaking into her room anc silently shaking her awake in the dead of the night!!! #its them driving to the pool!!! the camaro probably the only car on the road at that time of night #probably a rare trip with no music blasting! just the silence! #or! them walking! probably not even really saying a word to each other! just slowly making their way to their end destination! #no need to explain or fill the quiet! #'they're making themselves safe; just by leaving for the night.' luc!!!!! #its them having a familiar routine once they get to the pool! max on the chair! billy on the pools edge! #towels laid out! #'the pool glitters in those moments; almost peaceful even if its not the sea billy misses so badly it aches.' LUC!!!!!!! #i know we bang on about billy and the ocean and max and surfing and the pool and everything that there is About That #but like. genuinely fucking HEARTBREAKING that they got ripped away from the literal sea and now #have to make do with some cheap piss poor chemicalised imitation of the great big body of water that was the ocean herself #and just. be okay with that. like they just have to live with that and accept that theyre just. never gonna see the ocean again anytime soon #not gonna see it unless they make it happen themselves. #'but billy cant bear leaving her alone in the house on cherry lane' luc 🥺🥺🥺 #he just!!! needs a little more time!!!! and a little more money!!! for his rainy day fund!!! #so they can start Step One of their Get The Fuck Outta Here journey!!! #and if step one isn't california herself but instead a cheap trailer on the bad side of town #thats a start!!! thats the first step baby! #thats close to work for billy! thats close enough to hawkins high for max! thats close to (eddie! chrissy! uncle wayne!) supportive people! #god luc u fucking Get it #also u gave me permission to post this so i am 🥺💞 #luc tag <3 #billy x max fic #eddie munson #msgs <3