[ UGHghhHghhghh. For all that he fucking hates this trip down memory lane, Billy is positively flushed from the sun, a brighter gleam to his eye. He's ditched the leather pants, his layers, the thick warm sweater Oksana gave him weeks ago in favor of a linen shirt that's practically open.
Where half the town is still suffering from weather shock, Billy bounced back in hours. He relishes the sweat on his brow. ]
You know how to ride one of these? [ Tuzik is freshly borrowed from Orest, chestnut coat gleaming and the morning deliveries already in his past. The glassblowers are still hiding from the sun and their furnaces. ]
[She’s turned a shift into a sundress, sleeves ripped off, buttons undone as decently possible. Someone has graciously braided her hair away from her neck.
The horse, is, hm. Yes. She’s chewing her thumb, trying to hide a grin. ] No. But, for the record, I don’t think you’ve ever been hotter than you are right now.
[ He can't stop looking at her. The way her skin's flushed, the way the dress cuts off. The boarding house is right there, he could fuck her in his room, her room, in the woodshed, but— swimming.
And he grins. Preens a little. That's what makes Tuzik chewing on his shirt collars bearable. ]
Come on, babe, I'll help you up.
[ Big words from a city boy who learned to ride by necessity a month ago. Tuzik's velvety nose nudges toward Jem before Billy can help her up. When he noses at Billy's arm, teeth bumping against his skin for a nibble, he says, "Knock it the fuck off." Not something Tuzik wants to do, but, Billy slides on the saddle in front of Jem, hand finding one of hers and wrapping it around him. ] Hold on.
[ Horse riding is bumpy. Luckily, on horseback, it doesn't take long at all to get out toward the lake. ]
[She squeezes around his middle, pressing her cheek into his back while she grins like a giggling maiden. For the first time, somehow, she feels properly medieval. Feels like some girl she might have seen in a painting, galloping off with some scoundrel or stable boy, bumpy ride or not.
It may not be a long ride, but Jem makes the most of it. Enjoys the heat of Billy's back, the slightly damp sweat that clings to her cheek, soaked through his shirt. She thinks about kissing it when the shirt is gone, maybe in the cooler depths of the lake.
When Tuzik comes to a stop, she peels herself reluctantly from Billy's back. Isn't quite sure how to get down gracefully, really. ]
[ He slides down first, turns, smiling coyly up at her. She looks hot, he thinks, even though horses didn't really do anything for him back home. Maybe because he'd never really thought about them after he turned eight and stopped playing cowboys on the playground. She looks wild, like something unreal, her braid loose, her shift sticking to her skin shiny with sweat. ]
I'm not gonna start with the m'lady shit, [ he promises. ] You'd have to go to Munson for that.
[ Still a sore spot. But maybe not so sore. Uncertain. But the quip comes easy, maybe from the sun and the warmth and how fucking good he feels getting his hand in hers, the other on her hip as he helps her slide down. Then he's tugging her toward the water. Off goes his shirt, boots too, and he's undoing his buckle with a jangle when he leers at her. ] Race you.
[There's a delighted little flush to her cheeks when she's helped down, mouth split wide when he strips, shuffles out of his shoes - she stops to step out of her own, bare feet in the dirt.
There's a glint in her eye - devious, competitive, when she says: ] It'll hardly be a race, [and then tugs her arm back, side knocks him and bolts towards the water, cackling as she goes.]
[ Yelled, but gleeful as he charges after her, and she might meet the water first, her feet splashing in first, but Billy thunders in behind her, arms scooping around her middle, pulling her tight to his chest when he spins her around and then—
drops them both into the water down under their heads. It's so hot, but the water is a brisk shock when his head breaks the water laughing. There's probably still ice melting in it toward the middle, the heatwave still scorching through everything. ]
[She screeches with laughter when he grabs her and takes her down. It's so fucking cold, and when she comes back up for air she's chattering even as she laughs, reaching to grab his shoulders and push him back down.
Her shift is soaked; white gone entire transparent against her skin, hair clinging to her face and shoulders as she pushes back to the surface to take it off before she becomes too weighed down. ] You dick, this is so heavy - [and it is. But it's also clinging to her thighs, her hips, her tits, half-pink with the skin shining through. ]
you ever forget where a thread was going.... zooms forward...
Oops. My bad, baby. Whatever are you gonna dooo? [ Cooed, happy and pleased, bright and brilliant like nothing's gonna go wrong. He ducks to kiss her, to press his hands against her wet hips, the sticking fabric, drag his hand against her inner thigh. ] I'll help you get it off, don't worry.
[ Tuzik grazes, and Billy is light and airy even though his chest feels too full, too heavy. They swim, their hands wander, and later, when they're laying on the bank baking with the sun on their naked bodies, Billy turns and sees her expression, waiting, expectant.
He groans. ] You've got to be kidding me.
[ She won't drop it. He knows this. His head tips back up toward the sun, eyelids closed. He sees the warm glow of the back of his eyelids and pretends he's at the beach. Not Rubilykskoye. Not Hawkins. Him and Jem on a beach somewhere. ]
It wasn't like that. I don't even know if he leaned queer. He didn't look in the showers.
[ But there's no denying: ] He was pretty though. I thought about it. Then I beat his face until it looked ground, and we didn't talk after that. Then he hit me with a Cadillac. [ Steve's face, battered and red, set to turn blue is a stark memory. More quietly he says: ] I went too far.
We talked about him, right? In that closet. Like I knew he was - pretty, or whatever, without seeing him.
[She'd made Billy jealous, egged him on, used Steve Harrington's name without really knowing a thing about him. She leans over him, strokes the hair from his face, thumbs away the lingering water droplets on his cheeks and nose. ]
You wanna talk about it? Going too far?
stranger things lore dump..... damn... cw: refs to for assault, threatening behavior and drugging
[ She leans over him, blocks out the sun for a moment, and he squints up at her, eyes crinkling at the corner even though he hates talking about this shit. He looks at her ear, then past that at the blue, blue, so fucking blue sky. If she moves, he'll have the sun in his eyes, but he doesn't mind. ]
It's stupid. Now I know they were... I don't know. Monster hunting? Munson wasn't there so he doesn't know, but, I guess that's what the fucking deal was. We were still really new to town, and Max snuck out. My dad got after me about it, made it my fucking deal, so I had to go hunt her down.
[ That all comes out casual. Got after me about it masks a whole heap of bullshit. ] I found her at this shithole of a house, four boys from the middle school and Steve goddamn Harrington. Who didn't live there.
It was fucking weird okay? I get it, that I went too far, but he fucking lied about her being there. At the end of the day, she just didn't trust me to know about the bullshit— which fair, I wouldn't have trusted me either.
But I went after her little boyfriend, really got in his face, shoved him around, and tried to scare him off, and when Harrington threw himself into it, I just... lost it. He hit me, and it was the funniest thing in the fucking world, you know? Like I'd had a date. I wanted to be on a fucking date. Listening to music, probably getting pussy, and instead, I'm in some shitheap getting clocked by a prom king who's got my sister hostage.
It was so fucking funny I... cracked this plate on his head and wouldn't let up. My knuckles were bruised the next day, all of em purple. Hurt too. But his face was... it was really fucked up. I think I would've kept going too. When I get like that, it's like I can't fucking stop. Like I woulda pushed his nose into skull, really fucked him up or killed him if Max hadn't... stuck me with something. I don't know. I woke up hours later, worst drug come-up of my life.
[ He's not looking at the blue-blue sky anymore, he's looking at the tree line, eyes tilted back to look at the sparce pines and the empty skeletal deciduous trees. ]
[All she can do is listen. He paints a strange, horror-movie-like picture; enough detail for Jem to understand why someone might lash out, ask questions later. There's other details there, the vague brushing over of his father, then the candid honesty of how badly he hurt Steve Harrington, prom king.
She says: ] You found your kid sister in a stranger house with four boys and a kid your age. It sounds sketchy as fuck. It must have looked worse.
[She hasn't pulled away. When I get like that, it's like I can't fucking stop. She understands this most of all, she thinks. That visceral anger; that innate desire to hurt when you're hurting. ] D'you regret it?
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Oh! King Steve! You talked about him at prom, right?
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Yeah. His suit was a fucking joke.
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[ ... ]
We had a thing. I caved his face in and he hit me with a car.
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It wasn't like that and he wasn't like that.
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You can have the details. They're not exciting.
You ready?
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Wait outside.
[ UGHghhHghhghh. For all that he fucking hates this trip down memory lane, Billy is positively flushed from the sun, a brighter gleam to his eye. He's ditched the leather pants, his layers, the thick warm sweater Oksana gave him weeks ago in favor of a linen shirt that's practically open.
Where half the town is still suffering from weather shock, Billy bounced back in hours. He relishes the sweat on his brow. ]
You know how to ride one of these? [ Tuzik is freshly borrowed from Orest, chestnut coat gleaming and the morning deliveries already in his past. The glassblowers are still hiding from the sun and their furnaces. ]
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The horse, is, hm. Yes. She’s chewing her thumb, trying to hide a grin. ] No. But, for the record, I don’t think you’ve ever been hotter than you are right now.
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And he grins. Preens a little. That's what makes Tuzik chewing on his shirt collars bearable. ]
Come on, babe, I'll help you up.
[ Big words from a city boy who learned to ride by necessity a month ago. Tuzik's velvety nose nudges toward Jem before Billy can help her up. When he noses at Billy's arm, teeth bumping against his skin for a nibble, he says, "Knock it the fuck off." Not something Tuzik wants to do, but, Billy slides on the saddle in front of Jem, hand finding one of hers and wrapping it around him. ] Hold on.
[ Horse riding is bumpy. Luckily, on horseback, it doesn't take long at all to get out toward the lake. ]
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It may not be a long ride, but Jem makes the most of it. Enjoys the heat of Billy's back, the slightly damp sweat that clings to her cheek, soaked through his shirt. She thinks about kissing it when the shirt is gone, maybe in the cooler depths of the lake.
When Tuzik comes to a stop, she peels herself reluctantly from Billy's back. Isn't quite sure how to get down gracefully, really. ]
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I'm not gonna start with the m'lady shit, [ he promises. ] You'd have to go to Munson for that.
[ Still a sore spot. But maybe not so sore. Uncertain. But the quip comes easy, maybe from the sun and the warmth and how fucking good he feels getting his hand in hers, the other on her hip as he helps her slide down. Then he's tugging her toward the water. Off goes his shirt, boots too, and he's undoing his buckle with a jangle when he leers at her. ] Race you.
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There's a glint in her eye - devious, competitive, when she says: ] It'll hardly be a race, [and then tugs her arm back, side knocks him and bolts towards the water, cackling as she goes.]
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[ Yelled, but gleeful as he charges after her, and she might meet the water first, her feet splashing in first, but Billy thunders in behind her, arms scooping around her middle, pulling her tight to his chest when he spins her around and then—
drops them both into the water down under their heads. It's so hot, but the water is a brisk shock when his head breaks the water laughing. There's probably still ice melting in it toward the middle, the heatwave still scorching through everything. ]
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Her shift is soaked; white gone entire transparent against her skin, hair clinging to her face and shoulders as she pushes back to the surface to take it off before she becomes too weighed down. ] You dick, this is so heavy - [and it is. But it's also clinging to her thighs, her hips, her tits, half-pink with the skin shining through. ]
you ever forget where a thread was going.... zooms forward...
[ Tuzik grazes, and Billy is light and airy even though his chest feels too full, too heavy. They swim, their hands wander, and later, when they're laying on the bank baking with the sun on their naked bodies, Billy turns and sees her expression, waiting, expectant.
He groans. ] You've got to be kidding me.
[ She won't drop it. He knows this. His head tips back up toward the sun, eyelids closed. He sees the warm glow of the back of his eyelids and pretends he's at the beach. Not Rubilykskoye. Not Hawkins. Him and Jem on a beach somewhere. ]
It wasn't like that. I don't even know if he leaned queer. He didn't look in the showers.
[ But there's no denying: ] He was pretty though. I thought about it. Then I beat his face until it looked ground, and we didn't talk after that. Then he hit me with a Cadillac. [ Steve's face, battered and red, set to turn blue is a stark memory. More quietly he says: ] I went too far.
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[She'd made Billy jealous, egged him on, used Steve Harrington's name without really knowing a thing about him. She leans over him, strokes the hair from his face, thumbs away the lingering water droplets on his cheeks and nose. ]
You wanna talk about it? Going too far?
stranger things lore dump..... damn... cw: refs to for assault, threatening behavior and drugging
It's stupid. Now I know they were... I don't know. Monster hunting? Munson wasn't there so he doesn't know, but, I guess that's what the fucking deal was. We were still really new to town, and Max snuck out. My dad got after me about it, made it my fucking deal, so I had to go hunt her down.
[ That all comes out casual. Got after me about it masks a whole heap of bullshit. ] I found her at this shithole of a house, four boys from the middle school and Steve goddamn Harrington. Who didn't live there.
It was fucking weird okay? I get it, that I went too far, but he fucking lied about her being there. At the end of the day, she just didn't trust me to know about the bullshit— which fair, I wouldn't have trusted me either.
But I went after her little boyfriend, really got in his face, shoved him around, and tried to scare him off, and when Harrington threw himself into it, I just... lost it. He hit me, and it was the funniest thing in the fucking world, you know? Like I'd had a date. I wanted to be on a fucking date. Listening to music, probably getting pussy, and instead, I'm in some shitheap getting clocked by a prom king who's got my sister hostage.
It was so fucking funny I... cracked this plate on his head and wouldn't let up. My knuckles were bruised the next day, all of em purple. Hurt too. But his face was... it was really fucked up. I think I would've kept going too. When I get like that, it's like I can't fucking stop. Like I woulda pushed his nose into skull, really fucked him up or killed him if Max hadn't... stuck me with something. I don't know. I woke up hours later, worst drug come-up of my life.
[ He's not looking at the blue-blue sky anymore, he's looking at the tree line, eyes tilted back to look at the sparce pines and the empty skeletal deciduous trees. ]
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She says: ] You found your kid sister in a stranger house with four boys and a kid your age. It sounds sketchy as fuck. It must have looked worse.
[She hasn't pulled away. When I get like that, it's like I can't fucking stop. She understands this most of all, she thinks. That visceral anger; that innate desire to hurt when you're hurting. ] D'you regret it?
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ref to life with an abusive parent, and racism
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