Stranger Things - Imagines

Billy Hargrove X Reader - Eastside

A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song Eastside by benny blanco, Halsey and Khalid. Billy and Reader are both in their 20s for this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. 

"Jesus Christ, Billy," you bit out, shaking your head as you looked at the bouquet of flowers he was holding out in your direction. 

"Are you mad at me?" he uttered, brows furrowing as your attention kept straying between him and the flowers, frustration clear on your face. 

"I'm not mad-"

"You look mad," he interrupted, letting out a soft sigh. "I wanted to do something nice for you-"

The disgruntled sigh that slipped out of you was enough to silence him, and your eyes finally settled on his. "Bill, it's a lovely gesture, it really is, but we can't afford to waste money like that," you muttered, pinching the bridge of your nose. "We could barely make rent last month," you reminded him. 

"We made rent just fine-"

"No," you bit, silencing him before he could argue with you. "No, we didn't. We scraped by. After rent, electricity and water bills, and food, we had like $20 left between us. What if something happens and one of us can't work? What if the car breaks down and needs fixing? Billy, we need to start saving money."

He sighed, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip. "I'll try and pick up extra hours next week."

"I'm not saying you need to work more-"

"Don't give me that crap," he muttered. "You're my wife and I'm supposed to be supporting you. I'll ask Terry to throw me whatever extra hours he has-"

You shook your head. "You aren't listening to me," you told him. "I don't want you working yourself to death, we just need to be a little more careful with the money we do have."

He paused for a moment. "But I like buying you stuff."

A small scoff slipped out of you. "I would rather have my husband around and miss out on the flowers than never see you because you're always working," you muttered. When Billy didn't say anything else, you shook your head again. "I'm going to bed."

"Baby-"

"I'm tired, Bill," you pressed on. 

He nodded, swallowing around the lump forming in his throat as you made your way over to the bedroom, leaving him alone in the living room. 

You'd crawled into bed, dog-tired, and just settled there for a minute, staring at the wall in silence. The wallpaper was peeling at the edges, a job that should probably go to your asshole landlord, but that would more likely end up falling on your shoulders. It was stupid. You'd been so eager to move out of home with Billy that you had sort of forgotten just how expensive life could be. The bills added up far quicker than you would've thought. Things needed fixing or replacing so frequently that it felt like maybe you were being punished by some higher force. And you'd been working the same shitty job since you were 18, making way less than you needed to live the way you wanted. Billy made a little more at the mechanics down the street, but he worked way harder than he should have to. And still, you were barely making ends meet. 

The door creaked open, and you heard Billy moving into the room, shedding his dirty clothes and dumping them into the wash basket. And then the bed was dipping, and he was shuffling up behind you, his arm draping over your waist as he kissed your shoulder. You reached down, linking your fingers through his, squeezing them lightly. 

Yep, living out as an adult was hard, but there really wasn't anyone else you would've wanted to do it with. Even during the hardest days, there wasn't a doubt in your mind that Billy was your soulmate. He was the one person who understood you, even when you were being a little mean or difficult. And he stuck around, even when people had told you he wouldn't.

"Do you remember when we first started dating?" Billy murmured, his warm breath fanning over your shoulder lightly. "Your dad hated me because he thought I wouldn't be able to take care of you. He was right about that, huh?"

"You do look after me," you uttered, leaning back into his warmth, your grip on his hand tightening. 

"You said it yourself, Baby. We're barely making rent."

You hesitated for a moment, drawing your joined hands up to your mouth and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. "And I'm still happy anyway," you hummed, your lips still brushing his skin. "I'm as happy now as I was when I used to sneak out of my bedroom window in the middle of the night to come and make out in the back seat of the Camaro," you pressed on. You turned over in his hold, nudging your nose against his and drawing a small snort of laughter out of him. "We just need to be a little more careful. Save up what we can. We'll be fine," you told him, brushing your lips against his ever so lightly. 

"You think so?" he murmured, reaching up to brush your hair back out of your face, his fingers brushing your cheek. 

"I know so," you confirmed quietly. "Because it's you and me, right? 

A small smile pulled at his lips, his thumb dragging over your bottom lip. "Right," he told you softly.

"Then we're fine." Your eyes lingered on his face for a moment, your heart clenching at how much faith he had in you. Sure, you didn't know what the future held, but he trusted you enough to know that when you told him you were going to make it work, you would. You lifted your hand, cupping his cheek in your palm as you smiled softly at him. "Thank you for the flowers," you murmured, your smile growing when he turned his head to the side to press a kiss to your palm. 

"You're welcome, Baby," he hummed.

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