Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington |
| Alternative name(s): | Harringrove |
| Gender category: | Slash |
| Fandom: | Stranger Things |
| Canonical?: | No |
| Prevalence: | Common |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington (platonic) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, also known as Harringrove, is the slash pairing of Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington in Stranger Things fandom.
Canon
Billy Hargrove is introduced at the start of Season 2, as a classmate of Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers. Steve and Billy are often seen together in scenes at the high school.
Billy is narratively cast as an antagonist and the relationship between the two characters is difficult from the start. Tommy H introduces Billy to Steve at a Halloween party, and Billy learns that Steve has stepped down from his role as most popular boy in school. Billy takes the role for himself, although Steve doesn't seem to care. Billy then pesters Steve during basketball practise and then again in the showers, with Tommy initially also present. Once Tommy leaves, Billy tells Steve (in response to Steve and Nancy breaking up), “Don’t take it too hard, man. Pretty boy like you has got nothing to worry about. Plenty of bitches in the sea.”
After Neil Hargrove finds that Max is not home and admonishes her, he goes looking for her. After visiting Mrs Wheeler he drives up to the Byers residence and finds Steve stepping out of the door. Billy asks, “Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?” to which Steve replies, “Yeah it’s me, don’t cream your pants.” Steve repeatedly tells Billy that Max is not at the Byers residence, upon which Billy sees her peer through the window and rushes inside.
Next follows the cumulative fight between the characters, prompted by Billy attempting to assault Lucas Sinclair. Steve pulls him away and Billy quickly overpowers him, continuing to punch him until Steve is unconscious. At this point, Max steps in and injects Billy with a sedative before threatening him with Steve’s spiked baseball bat. While the kids take Steve with them in Steve’s BMW, it is unclear what happens to Billy from here as the next time we see him in Season 2 it is after the time jump to just before the Snow Ball. Max is having her hair done by her mother and Billy walks past. Max and Billy look at each other, briefly, and then Billy walks away.
Near the end of Season 3, Steve intentionally T-bones a Flayed Billy in a car in order to save the kids. Beyond this, Billy and Steve have no notable on-screen interactions in Season 3; some fans speculated that this was due to the widespread fan interest in the pairing in Season 2, which the showrunners did not intend.
Fandom
Common Tropes in Fanworks
- Hurt/Comfort: Billy cares for Steve after they fight or Steve cares for Billy after abuse from his father
- Abuse/PTSD: Steve tries to help Billy overcome his past, and current, abuse at the hands of his father
- Futurefic: Where they are older and in an established relationship
- Princess Steve: A fandom nickname that has sparked a genre of fics containing the feminisation of Steve and/or Billy doting on him
- Genderswap: Steve and/or Billy genderswapped. Usually becomes Femslash fiction. The common genderswapped names are Stephanie or Stevie for Steve Harrington, and Billie for Billy Hargrove.
In 2018 Harringrove was ranked 69th on Tumblr's Top 100 Ships of 2018[1] In Fandometrics 2019’s Top 100 Ships, Archived version, Harringrove was listed as #38.
Fandom Events
- Harringrove for Australia to raise money for donations to relief organizations for the Australia Bushfires of early 2020
Fanworks
Fan Art
- I ship these two so hard, Archived version by artistcoolpony
- fluffy Harringrove by billyandsteve
- Moodboard, Archived version by valeryhiddleston
- Untitled, Archived version by pastenaga
- 156. hands. by wrecked-fuse
- fem!harringrove + billie’s iconic denim jacket by sparkleeye
- i want to feel your heartbeat, Archived version by hokanm
Fanfiction
- Don't Tell Me There's No Hope At All/ Together We Stand, Divided We Fall by Straight_Outta_Hobbiton
- Knight Rider and Greyskull by amidtheflowers
- Broken Pieces by cerulaine
- Billy Hargrove Sucks by flippyspoon
- John Bender Loves Steve Harrington by flippyspoon
- in waves by lymricks
- Steve's Hair (is full of secrets) by elysiumwaits
Fan Vids
- Attention by RobertaJully
- Tell me we weren't just friends by Tatsu - chan
- Requiem for Blue Jeans by Jus MC
Fanmixes
- Stay a Harringrove mix, playlist by daughtersofthanos
- Harringrove Playlists Masterpost by thenervousduck
- Harringrove Valentine's by gothyringwald
Meta
- Of shower stalls and power plays by bevetm
Zines
Archives and Links
General
- Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington tag at Archive of Our Own
- Billy + Steve at FanFiction.net
- Tumblr Tags: Steve x Billy, Billy x Steve, Harringrove
Recs
- Steve/Billy Recs rec blog
Events
- Harringrove Holiday Exchange winter gift exchange fest run in 2018, 2019
- Harringrove Big Bang
- Harringrove Week of Love Valentine's themed event run in 2019, 2020
- Harringrove Week event run in 2022
References
- ^ "2018's Top Ships". Archived from the original on 2019-01-15.
| Stranger Things | |
| Master Lists | Stranger Things Category • Characters • Ships • Zines |
| Crossover Ships | Will Byers/Richie Tozier • Bill Denbrough/Mike Wheeler • Eddie Kaspbrak/Mike Wheeler • Will Byers & Eddie Kaspbrak • Richie Tozier & Mike Wheeler |
| Part of the Fanlore Project on Stranger Things! Join us, say hello on the talk page, or join our Discord! | |