Stranger Things - Imagines (Book 2)

Billy Hargrove X Reader - But Daddy I Love Him

A/N - So, The Torture Poets Department was released today, and I, of course, fell in love with this song quicker than a rat up a drain pipe, so please enjoy this chapter inspired by the song Daddy I Love Him by Taylor Swift.

You had been pretty quiet since you'd gotten into Billy's car this morning, still shielded by the darkness before the sun had risen, and it had been making him go crazy in the driver's seat, waiting as patiently as he was physically capable of for you to say anything. Of course, he knew that this was always going to be tougher on you than it ever would be on him. He didn't have a single thing worth staying in Hawkins for, other than you, but you had a family that you loved, friends you had known since you were in pre-school, you'd lived there your entire life. 

"Baby," he hummed softly, reaching out to brush his thumb over your knee, watching as you blinked, as if you had forgotten where you were for a moment, your gaze finally falling on him, brow furrowed, waiting for him to continue. "You alright, Sweetheart?"

You nodded slightly. "Yeah," you confirmed quietly, reaching down to rest your hand on top of his, a small smile pulling at your lips when he turned his hand over to link his fingers through yours. "I'm with you," you pressed on, watching as he nodded, not looking convinced. "What?"

"You had such a good life at home," he breathed softly, his eyes straying from the road to look at you for just a second before returning to their original focus. "I can't give you that-"

"Billy?" you hummed softly, interrupting his train of thought. "I love you, and you love me, right?"

His brow furrowed slightly. "You're kidding, right? Of course, I love you," he grumbled.

"Well, then I'd rather burn my entire life to the ground than sit and listen to even one more of those judgemental do-gooders bitchin' and moanin' about how you aren't good for me when we know they're wrong, alright?"

He swallowed down the lump in his throat, nodding slightly. "Alright, Princess."

"And," you pressed on, watching as his smile spread slightly, adoration clear in his gaze when he turned it on you for just a second. "They don't get to tell me I'm disgracing my family name when they don't even know me. They know the little girl who went to church on Sundays and didn't know how to lie, and who was so terrified of getting in trouble that she used to cry when she had a mean thought, let alone when she actually did something wrong. That little girl stopped existing before you even came to Hawkins-"

"I know, Sweetheart," he hummed out, grinning as he pulled up to a red stop light, reaching up to catch your chin and drawing you into a deep kiss. "I love you, Baby."

"I love you too, Billy," you breathed, gently nudging his nose with yours until you heard someone honk their horn behind you, glancing out of the car to see the lights had turned green again. 

*Time Skip*

Hawkins hadn't changed in the last 3 years. In fact, it was sort of startling that it was so perfectly identical to how it had been when you'd left. There wasn't a thing out of place, even when part of you had assumed that the whole world would have shifted on its axis when you'd gotten in Billy's car and headed out of town. 

"What time are we supposed to be there?" Billy hummed softly, brow furrowed with the worry that had been sitting heavy in his chest ever since your mom had gotten in contact a few weeks back. Sure, they'd invited you both to come and stay, but that didn't mean that your parents had actually changed their mind about anything. Hell, if they'd been a little more accepting of him, you never would've left town. If they had been capable of accepting that you and Billy were in love with each other and that he wasn't the monster their church friends had made him out to be, you would've stayed in Hawkins forever.

"We've got a half hour," you told him, your grip on his thigh tightening slightly, offering up a small bubble of comfort, lifting some of that weight from his chest whilst you had the chance. "We could swing by the arcade, like old times," you added, smiling softly at him. 

"If I get you into that arcade I'll never get you out in time, we'll be late," he teased his smile growing when you snorted with laughter. "We've not got plans for tomorrow thought, right? We can go then; I'll even win you something cute to take home."

You hummed out your agreement, squeezing his leg again as he drove towards your parents' house by sheer muscle memory alone. Hell, he'd spent years driving this route to come and pick you up when you snuck out after your curfew to spend time with him, he knew it by heart by now, even if he hadn't needed to do it in quite some time. 

The two of you sat in the car for a little while after you'd pulled up outside your childhood home, just quietly bracing yourself for whatever was coming. And when you finally knocked on the front door, you were greeted by your beaming mother, practically vibrating with how excited she was to see you. 

When she had released you from her tight embrace, she'd quickly turned to Billy, hesitating for just a moment before pulling him to her, hugging him just as tightly as she had hugged you, letting his entire body relax. 

"You two have been taking care of each other, haven't you?" she had started, her smile never fading as you told her all about the apartment you had rented and the jobs you'd managed to get. 

"Is that my little girl?" a voice interrupted, and Billy had tensed again, swallowing down the lump in his throat. 

"Not a little girl anymore," you chuckled awkwardly as your father wrapped his arms around you. 

"No, a young woman," he agreed quietly, leaning back to look at your face. "But you'll always be my little girl, even when you're old and grey and I'm long gone." He released you, turning to look at Billy and holding out his hand. "Billy," he hummed, waiting for him to take his hand before pulling him into an awkward half-hug. "You still got that old Camaro?"

"Yes Sir-"

"No need to be so formal, Kid," your dad pressed on, letting out a short burst of laughter. "You're family," he added. 

Billy's eyes had met yours over your father's shoulder, finding you grinning from ear to ear. 

"We actually have something to tell you guys," you started, slipping past your father to link your fingers through Billy's. "Billy asked me to marry him last month," you pressed on. "I said yes," you added, lifting your hand to display the ring sitting pretty on your finger. 

"Oh my goodness," your mother cried, rushing to your side to look at the ring. "How did I miss that rock sitting on your finger?"

"We know we handled things wrong before," your father started, his hand moving to rest on Billy's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "We overreacted and we pushed you both away and we'll never forgive ourselves for the years of your lives that we missed out on-" 

"But," your mother interjected, her hand still holding yours, even though her focus had completely left your engagement ring now, flitting between you and Billy. "We want to be in your lives. We want to know you, both of you. And if you would have us, we would like to be at the wedding." 

You glanced at Billy, your fingers squeezing him to draw his attention to you. When his eyes had met yours, he could see the relief behind them. Of course, you had eagerly said yes when he'd asked you to marry him, but you had made mention of walking down the aisle to him on your own, of not being given away by your father, and he had known that it had been paining you, and yet, here you were, checking in with him before allowing yourself the one thing that would immediately take away that pain. 

"We'd love you to come to the wedding," Billy started softly. "You're family."

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