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Steve: …we can do that!

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Some season 2 Billy and Steve <3

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Steve could think of a lot of things to call Billy Hargrove. Bully. Asshole. Arrogant. Gross. Unfortunately, the only thing Steve was allowed to call him was —

“Captain.”

Delivered through gritted teeth, mostly, or yelled across the court. Said in a drawl with an eye roll for added effect.

It wasn’t fucking fair. Billy had been a year under Steve in high school. And yet he’d managed to get to uni first, so now Steve was stuck calling Billy what Billy used to call him.

“Ass in gear, Harrington!”

At least some things never changed.

Billy was smart, apparently. Like — really smart. He’d bounced out of high school and immediately fucked off to uni, full ride and everything. Steve had to take two whole years to get himself in order, and even then his parents were paying for the degree. Steve was a whole year older than Billy and a whole year behind.

It fucking sucked.

Especially because no one here knew Billy in high school. It was just Steve who remembered what he used to be like. He hadn’t changed that much, but it was clear leaving Hawkins had a huge effect on the guy. Here in California, he was so much less angry.

He still yelled at the team plenty, but more to motivate than to abuse. Was still rough, but out of play, not violence. Still gross. Still hot. Still charmed the pants off any girl he wanted, still gave Steve that horrid smirk any time Billy got one up on him.

And after three years, Steve wasn’t really frustrated about Billy being a grade up, being better. Steve knew Billy would end up captain for his senior year. Now what Steve was frustrated about was how Billy had suddenly gotten worse. And no one else seemed to notice.

Maybe he just picked on Steve in particular. But it fucking sucked. The rest of the team worshipped Captain Hargrove, and Billy hated Steve.

Basketball was the only thing Steve knew he was good at. He wanted to be captain next year. So badly. But there was no way in hell Billy would hand the reigns to him, and he’d made that increasingly clear in the past few months.

Graduation was fast approaching. Finals were screwing everyone. Steve was high strung with the stress of it all, and Billy’s bullshit wasn’t helping.

Knocking him down just to pick him up and do it all over again. Passing to Steve just to yell at him for a ‘bad play’. Putting Steve on the opposite team and guarding him on purpose.

Steve was pissed off and he’d had enough.

“Alright, Captain,” he’d hissed the moment the gym doors had closed behind Billy, shoving the stockier boy up against the wall by the water fountain. “You really gonna hold a high school grudge all the way until graduation or what?”

Billy, asshole that he was, just grinned at him. “Why so touchy, Harrington? If this is about that girl at the party last well, it’s not your fault she wanted a younger guy.” He wiggled his brows.

“No — what?” Steve grimaced. Billy never stopped being gross. “Fuck off, dude. You know what I’m talking about. Everyone knows you target me like hell.”

Billy glanced away, all shifty, but when he looked back the grin was plastered into place. “Dunno what you’re talking about, Harrington. Look, I know you’re used to the princess treatment — ”

“Don’t give me that,” Steve snapped, pushing Billy’s shoulder, shoved harshly into the wall again, feeling only a tiny bit bad when Billy winced. “You treat me like shit. I know you wouldn’t give it to me to save your life but let’s face it your next best option is fucking Daniel and he’s not exactly a team player.”

Billy squinted at him. “You think next best is Daniel? Shit, maybe I should reconsider this whole thing.”

Steve gaped a little. “What whole — you weren’t gonna give it to him?”

“No, asshole,” Billy drawled, like Steve was slow. “I was gonna give it to you, but fuckin Daniel is such a shit take that maybe I gotta rethink my plan, you get what I’m sayin? Can’t have you picking shit new players.”

Steve stared at him.

Tried to find the lie, the joke, the taunt in Billy’s blazing eyes but Billy wasn’t a liar, never had been, not like Steve was.

Billy’s lips twitched. “The fuck you lookin at?”

Steve blinked, and stumbled back from Billy, releasing him. “You were gonna make me captain?”

“Well shit, not yet,” Billy replied. Asshole. “Still got another month left in me.”

“Jesus Christ, you know what I mean. Why were you being such a dick, then, Hargrove?”

Billy’s eyebrows climbed. “Try that again, Harrington.”

Steve narrowed his eyes at Billy, who just looked back at him expectantly.

Gritting his teeth, Steve replied in his flattest tone, “Why were you being such a dick, Captain.”

A flash of pearly whites for his trouble, and a pat to the shoulder. “Couldn’t let you have my team before I knew you could handle it, now could I?”

“So what, all of this was just some sort of fucked up test?”

“Sure, if it helps you sleep at night.”

“You’re — I hate you.”

“No you don’t.” Billy grinned at him again. Wolfish, just like it had been in high school, ready to close around Steve’s throat. “You want me to like you so bad.”

“Yeah because I want to be Captain, you ass—”

Those teeth that were designed to destroy Steve’s windpipe were suddenly digging into Steve’s bottom lip, which made it rather difficult to speak. It also fucking hurt. And was incredibly surprising. So if Steve made a completely undignified yelping sort of sound, it had nothing to do with Billy kissing him and everything to do with shock and pain.

Kissing back wasn’t quite so easily explained.

Honestly, Steve didn’t know why he did it. Billy really did piss him off. Maybe it was just the thrill of knowing it wasn’t all for nothing, the high of knowing he’d be captain next year. Maybe it was knowing Billy approved of him — not that Steve gave a shit about that. Maybe it was just that Billy was hot and Steve hadn’t slept with that girl at last week’s party because Billy had been better. Maybe Steve had wanted him since high school and just buried it under a thick layer of what an ass.

And truly, what an ass, as Billy tried to make Steve’s mouth bleed or something with how agressive he was being, and god finally getting to sink his fingers into the dense meat of Billy was beyond satisfying. There was something to be said for his gym rat behavior, since Steve’s hands could wrap and squeeze and dig into Billy’s biceps and ass and thighs like he could him right open.

Steve had just wrapped his hand up in Billy’s stupid hair and Billy had just dragged his tongue between Steve’s teeth when a door slammed somewhere in the gym.

Steve startled and jerked away, suddenly incredibly aware of their easily accessible location, not to mention the burning feeling in his face, the sting of his bitten mouth, the fingers that gone numb from wrapping Billy’s hair too tight around them. The aching straining tightening coiling way too fucking obvious in his basketball shorts, the matching mouthwatering visual in Billy’s and goddamn, Steve hated the idea of getting on his knees for someone like Billy Hargrove but he might just be able to do it for Billy Hargrove himself.

Billy was grinning again. Panting between his teeth.

“Well? Captain.”

And — that made Steve feel.

Something.

��Shut up,” Steve managed. Not sure what else to say.

Billy’s grin cracked impossibly wider. “What, you want me to tell you to make me? Cause even I’m not that cliche, Harrington, and – ”

And Jesus Christ, Steve just wanted him to stop fucking talking, so he grabbed him by the face and crushed their mouths back together. The quickest way to shut Billy Hargrove up, as it turned out, was to stick one’s tongue down his throat.

Their teeth clicked together, which was painful, as most things with Billy were. Billy hissed and shoved back a little, and they stumbled grasping and yanking into the shower room.

Steve gave a breathless sort of laugh when they finally bumped to a stop, Billy shoved up against him and his back to a wall. Billy might as well have been feral, prowling up on Steve as he was, clawing his shirt off and gnawing on him, cornering and hunting him.

“Like to — fuck — play with your food, Captain?”

Billy groaned in response, shoving Steve harder against the wall, making him wince as his now-bare shoulders scraped against the shitty paint. “Forgot how to mouth off, Harrington?”

Steve laughed again, that same hysterical breathless definitely-not-a-giggle kind of laugh. “Gonna fuck some respect into me or what?”

“Jesus Christ, Harrington,” Billy replied, a low grating syrupy quality to his voice that went straight through Steve’s bloodstream like a hit. “If telling you you’re gonna be captain is all it took, I shoulda told you sooner.”

Steve huffed a little. “Yeah, right.”

“No, serious.” Billy pushed his shoulder again. Rough. Playful. “Already had it in my head it was gonna be you. Knew it months ago. Had to put on a good show, you know, really make sure so no one could say I was just playin old high school favorites. And maybe I liked pushin you around a little. But I’m serious. It’s been you, Harrington.”

And that made something uncomfortably warm swirl in Steve’s chest. Warmth wasn’t a feeling Steve wanted to associate with Billy Hargrove. Burning heat was good, scalding, melting flesh off bone. But something warm, cozy, blanket around his shoulders coffee in the rain — Steve couldn’t take that.

“Yeah, right,” he said again, quieter this time. Not defiant, just soft. Acceptance. Having Billy’s gorgeous blue eyes boring into his own made it hard to disagree. “Right.”

Billy must have felt it too, then — this warm curling thing between them — because he plastered the sharp grin back on, slicing through whatever fragile just slipped through the cracks. “Where were we?”

A slow smile crept back across Steve’s mouth in return.

“Wherever you want, Captain.”

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this is fred, the dot.

fred wants to grow into a beautiful tree, but sadly has no branches

reblog to give fred a branch

i will post fred status updates as he grows

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Steamy Harringrove sketch

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Must I have career goals? Can I not simply read fanfiction?

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Photos of Joe Keery you’ve never seen because I took them tonight

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happy birthday to this sweetie pie 💫🎈💐🎉❤️

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boyfriend boyfriend boyfriend

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Billy Hargrove 1986 VENICE BEACH CALIFORNIA Photo ref

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as suggested by @azrielgreen🐚🐚💕 Patre0n | Bsky

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Birth of Demo!Steve

[Patre0n] [instagram] [Twitter] [BluSky] [AO3]

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From a chat on discord. Billy has no time for bullshit.

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oh, you have got to be kidding me.

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I CAN SHARE THIS NOW FINALLY

My piece for The Stranger Things Fanzine! @strangerthingszine

Extras of the zine are being sold at strangerthingszine.bigcartel.com/ so be sure to go pick yourself up a copy if you havent already!

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One merit of fanfic that I don’t think gets mentioned enough is that while you are starting off without having to create new characters and worlds, you are also uniquely constrained by the characters and worlds that you choose to write about, because the audience has expectations for them that you must match.

In that sense, it’s essentially a writing challenge in consistency with a specific style, in a particular range of voices that aren’t always your own.

What’s the worst thing a fanfic can be, in my opinion? Out of character. If you’ve come to a fic to read about a specific character, with a distinct personality, style of speech, and set of morals, and the author of the fic hasn’t done their job properly, you won’t feel like you’re actually reading about that character, and you will have a hard time reading the fic.

There is so much that goes into creating a unique character that is easy to not think about until you have the extreme constraint of writing the actions and speech of a character you did not originate, where you have to match the thought process, ideas, and syntax of someone else, essentially trying to insert yourself into the mind of the professional writer who originated the character, and extrapolate how they would make their creation react to the situation you’ve put them in, what words they would put in that person’s mouth, etc.

So fanfic is an excellent exercise in making sure your characters have distinct personalities, and making sure those personalities are consistent. Because if they’re not, your audience will be able to pick up on it immediately.