Billy woke up groaning, the sun shining through his window being too much light for his eyes to handle as he rubbed them, whining slightly when he realised he had lost his pacifier in the sheets.
Flipping them around until he heard the plastic piece fall on the ground, he got out of bed to pick it up, sighing as he realised he had an accident in his sleep again. It didn't matter too much since he wore diapers at night even if he wasn't little to avoid exactly that, but waking up to a wet diaper when your mind is 18 years old wasn't exactly the boy's favourite feeling in the whole world.
He quickly took off the protective gear, tossing it into the trash and putting on clean boxers after wiping himself down.
After that, he got out of his room, making his way to the bathroom to take a shower and brush his teeth.
Billy had work today, so he had to hurry up to get to the pool for his shift.
Though the other lifeguards weren't necessarily strict on the shifts, he promised Max he would drive her and the group to the pool today so they could be the first to swim there before the other parents and kids arrived.
When Billy was done getting ready, he threw on some shorts and a shirt he had laying around, since he would change at the pool anyway it didn't really matter.
Just as he got done, there was a knock on the door and Max's head appeared after he hummed to signalise her to come in.
„Morning Bills, how'd you sleep?" she smiled, eyes going around his room as if she was looking for something.
„Alright I guess. Is something the matter?" Billy asked in return, and the redhead quickly shook her head no.
„Just checking, your paci is on the bed still."
Billy quickly put the pacifier back into his littlespace box, pushing it back under the bed and turning around.
„Ready to pick up your monsters?"
„Don't call them that!" Max laughed, but she nodded and left the room, Billy close behind her.
Max grabbed a bag she must had packed the day before and headed outside.
They got to the car, and Billy lit a cigarette as he rolled the windows down, starting the car and putting on some music.
„So, how long do you guys want to stay?" he asked while manoeuvring the car out of the driveway and pushed down on the gas pedal.
„We were thinking until your shift ends, and then you can maybe drive us over to Steve's? The guys are hosting a D&D campaign there and El and I want to hang out with them. You can come too if you want? I'm sure Steve would love to see you again" Max replied, ignoring Billy's eye roll at the last part. He hadn't spoken to the other guy since he had been over at their house when he was small, simply because there hadn't been a chance for him to do so. Billy was busy at the pool, and Steve worked at Starcourt, so naturally they didn't see each other a whole lot.
But Max was right, it would be nice to see him again, he'd still have to thank the other for taking care of him that weekend.
„Sure, I can tag along I guess" he agreed, pulling up at the Wheelers house, which was their first stop.
Will and Mike were already waiting outside, and got in the car in no time, greeting Max energetically, and waving to Billy shyly.
His sister laughed, turning around to face the boys while Billy focused on the road.
„He's not going to bite you, morons!"
The guys quickly apologised and approached another attempt.
„Hey Billy, thanks for driving us" Will said, and Mike nodded.
Said blond looked at them through the mirror, before chuckling slightly.
„No worries, Max would've killed me if I didn't."
Just like they did with the two boys, they picked up El from the cabin, meeting Lucas and Dustin at their destination as they lived closest and there only fitted so many people inside the car.
When arriving at the pool, Billy parked the car on the staff only parking space, turning around to the group.
„Behave, or I'm throwing you out" he warned, laughing as he saw the boys nervous faces.
Max shoved him playfully and got out, the others close behind her.
Billy greeted Heather, who was there already as she always came to work too early.
Billy took his time to change, and then sat down behind the counter at the pool entrance as his first part of the shift he'd have to play cashier.
The blond watched her sister and the others laugh and play as they pushed each other into the water and splashed around, having most of the pool to themselves.
Two hours went by quickly for them, but slowly for Billy, and when Heather finally came to switch places, he grabbed a coke from the fridge and went over to the lifeguards stool.
Max waved up to him, shielding her face with the other hand. He gave her a small smile and waved back, watching them play as the pool filled up with more people by the minute.
When Billy's eyes shot over to the clock he realised his shift was over in about ten minutes, so he got off the stool and waved another guy from the counter over so they could switch.
After the blond had changed, he walked over to Max and Eleven, who were laying in the sun while the boys were playing some game in the water.
„So, how long do you guys want to stay still?" he asked, sitting down next to the girls.
„We were thinking maybe another twenty minutes, maybe less" Max responded, sitting up and grabbing her towel to dry off her hair. Billy nodded, watching the boys being told off by his co worker because they had been running over to them.
When four drooping wet teenagers fell down next to the group and started shaking the water out of their hair, Billy shrieked and jumped up.
Mike was the first to start laughing, and the blond pouted slightly when the others, and even Max, joined in.
„It's not gonna be so funny when you have a life long ban from the pool" he growled, and Max giggled, throwing herself onto him, which was commented with another shriek.
„Don't be mean Billy-boy, that's no fun" she grinned, and the blond muttered some not so nice things while waiting on the kids to get ready to leave.
Lucas and Dustin would take the bikes once again, and Billy drove the rest of the group over to Steve's.
The brunette immediately opened the door when they knocked, as if he had been waiting, watching through the window to see if the party was coming.
When he spotted Billy, a slight smile formed on his lips, and while the teens went to the living room to set up the D&D campaign, Steve waved Billy to follow him into the kitchen, where he opened up two cans of beer, passing one to the blond.
„So, how are you doing?" Billy asked, trying to make smalltalk, and Steve shrugged.
„Doing good, and you?" he replied.
Billy just hummed, looking around the kitchen.
„I've never been to your place before, Tommy said you used to host parties?"
„Yeah, but not anymore, only if my friends want to come over...but most of them are teenagers so there isn't a lot of beer" Steve laughed, walking out of the kitchen while Billy followed him.
They somehow ended up in Steve's room, after the brunette had shown him around.
„So...I thought a bit, since I was at your place, you know. Do you think I could be something like your babysitter? I mean, I know Max is taking care of you and stuff, but when she's not able to I'd like to...you know" Steve muttered, looking away as Billy looked at him with wide eyes.
„U-uhm yeah, I'd absolutely love that" he admitted, and Steve let out a breath the blond didn't even realise he was holding.
„That's great! Really, thanks" he grinned, and Billy blushed a little at Steve's excitement over babysitting him. He didn't understand why the other was so eager to see this other side of him, but having someone when Max wasn't there could probably be nice.
„No problem Harrington" he smiled, gasping playfully when Steve hit him lightly.
„Call me Steve, for gods sake. You did it while you were little too, no big deal"
Billy blushed slightly, nodding after thinking about it for a second. „Fine...Steve."
The brunette grinned at the small gesture of trust, sitting down on his bed.
„You up to chill here for a bit? I don't get the whole D&D thing" he admitted. Billy nodded and went to sit down next to the other, but Steve pulled him on his lap, earning a surprised yelp from the blond.
„Steve, I'm not little right now-!" Billy exclaimed, though the familiar fuzzy feeling already took over his brain just from sitting on the others lap.
„Well, would you like to be?" the brunette asked, waiting for Billy to nod slightly before pulling him in for a hug.
„Well then, how about you tell me what you like to do when you're little?" he asked, curious to learn more about his friends headspace.
The blond was still blushing deeply, but he started talking regardless, about how Max and him played cars most of the time and how he sometimes watched cartoons.
„An' I got a color book da day you were ove'" he giggled, kicking his legs a little.
„Awh, did you slip from telling me about your little self, cupcake?" Steve cooed, and Billy nodded shyly.
„That's okay, we can stay up here and I can tell you a story" he grinned, and Billy nodded again, excitement glowing in his eyes now.
„Okay- So, once upon a time, there was a tiny little prince" the brunette began, noticing how Billy slipped his thumb into his mouth, looking up at him with big blue eyes.
„That prince was loved by all the people in town, he was very friendly and always looked out for them. Now, the little prince also had an older sister. She was going to be the next queen, and her wedding with prince Lucas from another kingdom was coming up!" Steve continued, and Billy peaked up at the sound of Lucas' name.
„What's da name of da p'incess dada?" he squealed, bouncing on the brunettes lap.
„It's Max, of course! So, prince Billy was helping his sister pick out a very pretty dress-"
The blond giggled, pulling on the sleeve of Steve's sweater.
„Can I wea' a dress too?" he asked, hopefully looking up at the other.
„Of course silly! What colour would your dress be, hm?" Steve cooed, realising he wouldn't have to finish the story with all the questions Billy was asking.
„I wan' a red dress! With pretty flowers all over it!" the boy giggled, and Steve nodded very seriously.
„That's an excellent choice, cupcake. I can get pens and we can draw your dress, does that sound cool?" he chuckled, and Billy immediately got up from Steve's lap and pushed him a little to stand up.
„Yes! Please dada I wanna draw!" he exclaimed, and the brunette was quick to pull out an empty notebook and his pencil case from his school bag, giving both over to the little.
Billy started messily pulling out pencils and scribbling over a page, while Steve watched, praising him whenever the blond looked over.
When he was done, Billy proudly held up the picture, practically shoving it into Steve's face.
„Wow, that's such a pretty dress love, you're an artist!" he grinned, pulling Billy into a big hug, which the little happily returned, wrapping his arms around Steve's waist.
„T'ank you dada...Do you think we can show Maxy later?" he asked, and Steve nodded while playing with the blond locks of the boy.
„Of course we can, cupcake. I'll make sure she sees it once the boys are gone, yeah?"
„Yeah..." Billy agreed, cuddling up closer to Steve and sighing in content at the affection he was getting. The boy slid his thumb back into his mouth, eyes falling shut every few seconds.
„Are you tired, love?" Steve cooed, and Billy nodded slightly, stifling a yawn.
„Well then let's get you in some comfy clothes and you can take a nap" he said, standing up and picking Billy up before the little could even sit up or complain about the loss of contact.
Steve pulled out a sweatshirt from his closet, struggling a bit with the boy in his arms, but luckily Billy clung to him so he didn't have to worry about dropping him without too much support.
„Okay kiddo, let's get you changed and then it's nap time" Steve said, helping the tired little to take off his jeans and change into the shirt.
He tugged Billy in, and closed the blinds before turning on a small nightlight he had bought after being afraid of the dark since his first encounter with a demogorgon.
„Do you want me to stay here until you're asleep, cupcake?" Steve asked, sitting down on the bed as Billy nodded.
The brunette began to hum Dream a little, dream of me until he heard slight snoring come from the blond.
He carefully got up, and left the room, closing the door behind himself before going downstairs where the teens were still playing D&D.
He sat next to Max, who looked at him confused.
„Where's Billy?" she asked, looking around as if her brother would come through the door any minute.
„Upstairs, taking a nap in my room" Steve whispered, and Max nodded as she understood.
„Well then you'll have about two hours of peace, usually he's cranky after waking up" the girl chuckled, leaning back on the sofa while watching Will dramatically tell something about some villain in the game.
Steve watched them for a bit as well, before getting up to check the time, as the kids had a curfew for 9pm sharp.
„Okay guys, finish up, yeah? It's almost nine and I have to drive half of you home" he said, ignoring the groans coming from the boys.
They still packed up their stuff, and Steve pulled Max aside for a second.
„You guys can stay here alone for a bit, yeah? It'll only be twenty minutes" he said, and the redhead nodded, already on her way to check up on Billy.
The little was still sleeping, so she went back to the living room and went for the Hawkins post that was laying on the table, until Steve came back.
„Is he up yet?" the boy asked, and Max shook her head no.
„He's still out, I think being a lifeguard is tiring him out more than he'd want to admit" she said, putting down the paper as Steve sat next to her.
„So...he calls you sissy when he's small, right?" the brunette asked, and Max nodded.
„Sissy or Maxy, but mostly sissy. Why?" the redhead replied, raising an eyebrow.
Steve scratched the back of his head a bit, before answering.
„Well, he called me dada a few times, and I don't really know what to do with that? Like- what does that mean?" he asked, genuinely confused. When Max started to laugh, he crossed his arms.
„What's so funny?" he muttered, and the girl caught her breath.
„It means you're his daddy now, he makes the rules" she giggled, and Steve smiled a little.
„So I'm officially his caregiver now? With you, of course?"
„Yep, that's right" Max smiled, and Steve nodded.
„That's nice."
„Oh, by the way, now that it's official I got to tell you his rules. Bedtime for him is 9pm when he's little, no sweets after seven and when he's bratty he gets no candy at all until he's apologised. When he's had an accident, you help him clean up and when he's too little, you help him change too. You've already done that, so it's no big deal" she explained, and Steve nodded, trying to remember all of it.
„Hey! Don't tell him all that!" Billy's voice filled the room, and both of their heads shot up to face the living room door.
Billy stood in the doorway, pouting slightly as he looked at them.
„But Billyyy, if he's your daddy now, he's got to know" Max chuckled, watching her brother blush deeply.
Billy came over to them, still pouting and sat down next to Steve.
„Yeah but he doesn't have to know the rules! I could've gotten candy before bed!"
Steve laughed, pulling the other into a hug.
„Well now, I wouldn't have allowed that no matter what, big boy."
Billy blushed even deeper, cuddling up to the brunettes side.
„Mean" he muttered.
Max laughed, watching their small encounter happily.
She was glad Billy finally had found someone besides her to be himself around, all clingy and affection seeking.
They settled down for a movie, Billy at one point ending up asleep on Steve's lap again, while the other played with his hair.