Archive of Our Own ^beta

Saying that Steve and Billy held hands in 1999 for the first time would be wrong and right at the same time. It's complicated, and at the same time, it's not.

If we want to be literal, there were many occasions where they held hands.

The first time was in the autumn of 1973. It would be the first time that Billy would experience a real fall and a white Christmas, him being so used to tropical weather he didn't have the proper wardrobe for those months. From time to time you could see him shivering, blowing his breath into his hands trying to warm himself up.

Every time Steve asked him if he wanted a pair of mitts, he would say NO , so he stopped asking seeing how stubborn Billy was about being helped.

When returning from playing in the forest, Steve would stop for a bit and hold Billy's hands between his and rub them for a couple of seconds before trying to warm them up with his breath.

For some reason, Billy's hands would get cold easily, and of course, he would take advantage of this and be a dick about it, slipping his hands under Steve’s shirt or touching his nape and his cheeks just to startle him.  

Back then he didn't know how lucky he was for hearing Billy's laugh so often.

When Hannah was downstairs making them lunch, they would be in the bathtub scrubbing all the mud from their skin and hair, splashing at each other.

Under the water, they would hold their breath to see who would last longer. The third time the competition was tossed aside for a tug of war, wet palms, interlocked fingers, using all the strength their thin arms could conceive.

Back then either of them could win, only a couple of years later Billy would become the undefeated winner of any scuffle they would have in the future.

There were these brief moments after Steve found out he was an omega, and in between his King Steve phase and the fall out of their friendship, where they would hang out in Steve's house, only the two of them.

In those times Steve could be himself, be softer. Be the version of him that he was nervous about showing others, afraid that people would make a big deal of it and give him shit about it, or worse not doing it right and fail as an omega.

They could stay up watching TV until late at night, improvise a meal or stay in bed smoking some weed and talking about anything or nothing.

Playing with Billy’s fingers was something he liked to do, he did it without thinking, it was automatic.  Billy’s hands were the total opposite of his, large, not bigger but wider. He could think of different adjectives to describe Billy's hands: sturdy, calloused, strong, manly and gentle; just the mere touch between them would be enough to spread heat all over his body.

In the early days of that phase, it would be enough for him to only play with Billy's hair and his fingers and laying next to him,  enjoying the warmth of his skin like he was a cat and Billy was his sun.

Months later that would change, then Steve would hold Billy’s hand during their study sessions in the privacy his bedroom.

The last time they held hands was at prom. Outside to one side of the gym's auditorium, only the two of them, away from prying eyes,  dancing to the rhythm of the last song of the night, swaying slowly and being closer to each other than they’d been for two years.

Now seven years later on their first date, they were holding hands again, it came naturally, like the time between them didn't exist. Maybe they were meant to be, or maybe...some things were just hard to forget.