steve harrington x billy hargrove police academy!au (based on the film free fall)
steve has it all together: well paid job as a cop with prospects for promotion. great friends. nice apartment. but then he meets billy at a training course. during their joint running training, steve experiences a new feeling of lightness - and what it means to develop feelings for a man. torn between the world he knows and the thrill of new experiences, his life is rapidly spiraling out of control.
read part one here!
cw: drug use (weed), breaking into a building
wc: 1.1k
Steve took a deep breath as he lit a cigarette. It was already dark, and the academy grounds were deserted and lonely.
Fortunately, the conversation wasn't as bad as he had imagined. There was the usual blah-blah from his superior—he should pull himself together, this mustn't happen again, if he had another outburst he would be fired and could kiss his promotion goodbye. He endured it all and was now glad to be able to go to bed soon.
As he left his supervisor's office, he ran into Billy, who was also there for a meeting. He gave Steve his usual smug grin and then disappeared into the room.
As he took another deep drag on his cigarette, he noticed a shadow behind him leaving the dimly lit building. Billy. His meeting was much shorter than his own – but why was he surprised? After all, he was the one who had pushed Billy to the ground and caused the whole thing.
Billy was rolling a cigarette and approached Steve, who responded with a deep breath. He really wasn't in the mood to talk to Billy right now – not after the never-ending lecture from his boss, which he had just managed to escape.
“Well?” asked Billy, his gaze fixed on his hands, with which he was rolling his cigarette with surprising dexterity, as Steve noted.
“Well what?” replied Steve hesitantly. He couldn't figure Billy out. He was incredibly difficult to read.
“So, what did he say to you?”
“Well, what could he have said? If I keep standing out in such a positive way, I can shove the exam up my ass.”
Steve really didn't want to sound so angry, and even though he really couldn't stand Billy, Billy didn't deserve to have Steve take out his pent-up anger on him.
Billy, on the other hand, just grinned at Steve's choice of words and turned his gaze to the window, which offered a view of the academy's dimly lit swimming pool.
“Yeah, right. He's a real poet, that man,” Billy said with a grin, and Steve couldn't help but laugh along with him. Billy was right. During their 15-minute conversation, their supervisor had hurled all kinds of creative threats and insults at Steve.
Somehow, Billy didn't seem as unpleasant to him as before. Apparently, it was true that shared dislike was the strongest bond.
“Lighter?” Billy asked after a moment of silence, and Steve handed him his blue lighter, which Billy used to light his cigarette with a concentrated look.
“Sorry about earlier,” Steve said before he even realized what was coming out of his mouth. It was true—he was actually sorry for his outburst that morning. But he didn't really want to give Billy the satisfaction of an apology. He didn't like him that much.
Billy just grunted in response and handed the lighter back before taking a drag on his cigarette—and Steve realized it wasn't a cigarette at all, but a joint.
He looked around in panic. They were literally standing in the middle of an academy full of police officers, in front of the office of their superior, who had warned them both less than ten minutes ago that they could forget about their desired promotion if they did anything wrong again.
And Billy seriously thought it was a good idea to smoke weed here. Suddenly, what little sympathy Steve had felt for Billy vanished.
“Are you crazy?” Steve asked, stunned, but Billy was visibly unimpressed and totally calm. Instead of realizing what a brainless thing he was doing, he actually held out his joint to him—a clear invitation to take a drag.
“No, definitely not,” Steve replied, unable to suppress a laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Billy must have been completely out of his mind.
Billy just responded with that aloof yet somehow charming grin – and Steve must have lost his mind, because he actually accepted the joint.
⋆⭒˚.⋆
Steve didn't know how much time had passed since they had been dismissed from their supervisor's office. Somehow, the two of them had managed to break into the swimming pool, and now he was sitting at the edge of the pool, dangling his feet into the water, trying to get one last drag out of the now rather small joint.
“It's dead,” Billy said with that know-it-all tone in his voice, somewhere behind Steve.
“Dead as a doornail,” he muttered and put the joint aside.
Steve hadn't even noticed, the weed made him feel so good, but he was jolted out of his thoughts by a loud splash.
Billy had taken off his clothes—except for his pants—and jumped into the pool. As if breaking into this building wasn't already conspicuous and rule-breaking enough. Now it was only a matter of time before someone noticed the two of them and they were kicked out for good.
“Are you crazy? If they catch us here!” Steve hissed at him. Smoking weed was one thing, but jumping loudly into a swimming pool in the middle of the night, which they had gained illegal access to, was really stupid. Besides, all their colleagues were also police officers, they even knew how to investigate!
“Coward!” Billy shouted at him. Again with that damn grin on his face. Steve was slowly getting really fed up with it.
“Coward, huh?” Steve replied, rolling his eyes. “I'll show you a coward!”
And before he could think about what he was doing and what the consequences would be, he got up, took a short run-up, and jumped into the pool, heading straight for Billy so that he would get a good splash of water.
He swam toward Billy, who promptly pushed him underwater, laughing loudly, which Steve could only respond to, resulting in a full-blown water fight.
After all, this was a better way to let out all his pent-up negative feelings toward Billy than to beat him up in front of their boss.
“Shit,” Steve said after a while, shaking the water out of his hair. “Come on, let's get out of here.”
He swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out with difficulty. His wet clothes, which now clung disgustingly to his body, didn't help – on the contrary.
When he finally had dry ground under his feet again, he gathered up his shoes and the joint stub before turning back to Billy, who was still grinning in the pool and looking up at Steve.
“Come on!” Steve repeated, because somehow he couldn't bring himself to just leave and leave Billy alone. In some way, he was actually worried that he would be kicked out of the training program – even though he absolutely deserved it.
Billy, however, just leaned back and floated in the water. Steve just rolled his eyes, shook his head and walked out.
steve harrington x billy hargrove police academy!au (based on the film free fall)
steve has it all together: well paid job as a cop with prospects for promotion. great friends. nice apartment. but then he meets billy at a training course. during their joint running training, steve experiences a new feeling of lightness - and what it means to develop feelings for a man. torn between the world he knows and the thrill of new experiences, his life is rapidly spiraling out of control.
foreword: this story is gonna be multiple chapters (but not really slowburn). it's HEAVILY based on the german film free fall so big recommendation! this is also uploaded to ao3.
cw: lowkey none for this chapter
wc: 1.3k
Breathe in through your nose. Breathe out through your mouth. Ignore the stinging in your sides. Continue walking. Don’t lose touch.
Breathe in through your nose. Breathe out through your mouth. Inhale. Exhale. Don’t fall behind.
Don’t let the cop in front of you get away. Not him, of all people.
Billy Hargrove. With his blonde curls and the smug grin he always wears on his lips. And the lettering on his T-shirt – „Police“. Steve was wearing the same shirt, as were the cops behind him.
Steve stares intently at the back of his head as they run. Anything to distract himself from the pain. Because he didn’t want to give Billy the satisfaction of being better than him. Under no circumstances.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
He felt sweat running down his neck and from there down his back. Why the hell had he decided to wear these long sweatpants again? They were too hot and he felt more and more like he was suffocating.
The pain in his sides was also spreading. It had already reached his lungs, and with every breath he took, it felt like his tissue was tearing. Every step was pure torture. Every breath was a struggle. He felt like he was running through hell.
Inhale. Exhale.
How many laps had they run around this goddamn sports field now? Nine? Ten? Or was it only eight? After the fifth lap, the side sting started. After the seventh, it was the only thing he could concentrate on. That and the golden curls of the guy in front of him. The guy he had to share a room with.
His other collegues jogged behind him. All in step. Exhausted and breathing heavily, but not on the verge of suffocation – unlike him. He really couldn’t go on, btstopping now would be far too embarrassing. After all, they were just jogging. It wasn’t an unusual exercise. Pure endurance. And yet it was the thing he was least capable of.
He cursed his past self for not overcoming his inner couch potato more often and hitting the treadmill at the gym or jogging a few laps in his neighborhood park. Instead, he had preferred to spend his time on the couch, binge-watching Netflix series for hours on end. Or hang out at the pub with his friends. At least he had always ordered a Coke Zero—but that didn't help him now.
Steve pulled himself together. He bit his lower lip, hoping the pain would drown out the stinging in his lungs. No such luck. He picked up speed, wanting to overtake Billy. He just couldn't let this arrogant, defiant guy be better than him. He could already see the disparaging grin Billy would give him after his shower. He couldn't let that happen.
But no chance. As soon as he picked up speed, he regretted his decision. The pain was now unbearable, ringing in his ears, and he simply had to slow down. It was no longer a decision, but a physical reaction. At first, he tried to just slow down a little, but he couldn't even do that. He could only walk slowly, gasping for air, while his teammates and the coach jogged past him.
He didn't even really hear his coach's “Come on!” anymore; it felt more like a shout from another dimension, far away from him.
Steve had to stop – he couldn't catch his breath any other way. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Damn it. He wanted to sink into the ground. He had embarrassed himself not only in front of his teammates and his coach, but also in front of Billy Hargrove. And that was probably the worst part.
⋆⭒˚.⋆
New day, new luck. Today's agenda: training in dealing with demonstrators. And he was much better at that than running.
Steve had already showered, styled his brown hair, and gotten dressed. He crept quietly through the room with the two bunk beds and the table in the middle to gather his things. Protective vest and helmet. He was extra careful not to wake Billy, who was still asleep in his bunk bed. He seriously wondered how he was going to make it to the training ground on time—but honestly, he didn't care. Let him embarrass himself. And he preferred not to have to deal with his smart comments and nasty grin so early in the morning. He already had his hand on the doorknob when-
“The early bird catches the worm, huh?” came a voice from the bed next to the window. So Billy was already awake after all.
Steve couldn't help but grin and left the room, shaking his head. He always had some stupid saying on his lips.
⋆⭒˚.⋆
The exercise was going well. Steve wore his protective vest and helmet—he was a police officer—while Billy and a few others took on the role of protesters. He was wearing that black T-shirt with “Police” written on it again, which showed off his muscles so well-
Steve wasn't even sure if he was wearing a fresh shirt or if it was the same one from yesterday. Had Billy even showered? He probably didn't have time for that, and his perfect curls were dry too. Disgusting.
Lost in thought, he let all these negative feelings get the better of him and pushed Billy to the ground. Even as he did it, he regretted it. Yes, Billy was annoying and arrogant and conceited, but to be fair, he had never done anything bad to him. And Steve had never really been violent before – he didn't know what had come over him.
The coach's whistle snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked down at Billy, who was still lying on the ground and getting back up. Anger written all over his face.
“Hey, are you crazy? Jerk!” he snapped at Steve and slapped him on the cheek. Not hard, it didn't hurt, but it finally snapped him out of his trance.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? This is an exercise!” Billy hissed. Yes, Steve wondered that too. Looking back, he had disliked Billy from the start. As he said, conceited and arrogant, but the others liked him because he was somehow attentive, charming, and nice.
So what was his problem with him? Maybe he could see through the facade—if it was a facade at all... maybe all the arrogance was the real mask. At least that much he had learned from his psychology classes during his training.
Maybe Billy reminded him too much of his own long-gone high school days, when he was the popular one. Back then, he could get any girl he wanted, and everyone wanted to spend time with him. But those days were long gone.
Once again, Steve was torn from his thoughts by the coach.
“Is there a problem?”
The two stared at him briefly, then Billy turned his gaze back to Steve—studying every fiber of his face. They had never stood so close together before; Steve could smell the minty scent of his toothpaste. At least he had had enough time to brush his teeth. Thankfully.
Was he imagining it, or did Billy stare at his lips for a second too long and then grin? This guy really had a screw loose.
“No, no problem,” Billy said slowly.
The coach sighed and rolled his eyes. Steve felt like he was in kindergarten—as if Billy had stolen his favorite toy and they were fighting over it. But they were grown men, damn it. And police officers at that. He couldn't freak out over such trivial matters; just imagine if that had happened on duty.
“In my office, both of you.”
Billy looked Steve up and down once more before turning around with that goddamn grin on his lips and joining the rest of his colleagues.
“Shit...” Steve muttered, running his fingers through his auburn hair. This couldn't be happening. It was only his third day at this academy, where he had hoped to quickly and easily complete the course so he could finally get promoted, and he was already in trouble.
Things could only get better from here.
read part two here!
author's note: this is not only my first time writing again after two (!!) years but also my first time ever posting a fanfiction to tumblr. i'm lowkey excited and very grateful for tips and likes and just anything <3
being a history girly in the christmas time means watching joyeux noel, reading articles about the christmas truce, listening to "stille nacht heilge nacht" and most importantly, absolutely bawling your eyes out
looking up pictures of lembruch after relistening to a podcast with albrecht schuch where he says he wanted kat to be from there just made me sob. imagine kat before the war, walking to the lake with his wife and his son, his life is great. he works as a shoemaker, has a few chicken and maybe a cow. his wife cooks for him and he is happy
and then the war came and he never say this town again
currently crying over the "paul was in love with kat, but kat loved paul" thingy. because i can see it so well - paul was actually in love with him, wanted to be his lover and feel his touch while kat saw paul like a son, wanted to keep him safe
some headcanons i came up with for kat's wife while writing a fanfiction
she is the only one who is allowed to call him stanislaus because i see kat as his front name. when she calls him that for the first time again, he freezes because he forgot how it feels like
she swears a lot. like a lot and also very typical swear words/sentences from northwest germany. even though she is a woman and should always look out for her language
she has a dialect - just like kat
she's not too good for anything. she will clean out the cow shed or scrub the kitchen floor on her knees without complaining once
her clothes are always a bit dirty from all the work she does
she doesn't really care about her looks because she thinks other values are more important
she doesn't use perfume (because that doesn't fit in their lifestyle and is also too expensive) but she never smells bad. to kat, she always smells like home
while kat is not proud of being a shoemaker, his wife is. she always encourages him and shows off her new shoes to the whole town
she is a GREAT cook. even though they don't have a lot of money, she always manages to cook food that feels like a festive meal. and she shows kat how to cook because he really wants to learn (that's why he knows how to cook a goose)
even when she's hurt or ill, she never stays in bed and she never lets kat take care of her
she always reads when she can (which is not that often tbh) and she reads stuff aloud for kat. he often falls asleep to it because it's so soothing to her the comforting voice of her wife
when kat comes back home after/during the war, she doesn't cry. of course she's happy, but she doesn't cry. except in the night when they both lie in bed and can't sleep and she strokes kat's face, not believing he's actually back (he also cries)
she desperately wants children and she is like a mother figure to all the kids in her town, always giving them homebaked cookies
she doesn't really tell kat she loves him and neither does he. but they still both know they do
thought i'd share my ao3 account here, i'm writing fanfiction about napola and all quiet on the western front, so if you're into that stuff, i'd appreciate it a lot if you'd take a look <3
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Where can i watch funeral for a dog, I’m in the states so it’s unavailable every app I go :(
i'm so sorry for only answering now, i haven't been active on tumblr for ages.
anyway, i watched it on cineb.net but i just realized this is also not available anymore :(
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