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"Okay, what's wrong, Dusty Bun?"
Dustin snaps out of his trance-like state, blinking a few times before tilting his head at his girlfriend.
"What do you mean?"
It was a clear night at the Bingham household, and Dustin was staying over a few days. Of course, there were complications; complications meaning Suzie's nosy family, but they made it work. It was a nice, free day away from Hawkins and the familiarity of it, meant to be a sort-of vacation. And it is!
Except, Dustin seemed out of it. Eyes focusing and unfocusing, staring off into space. While he was insanely, absolutely, indefinitely giddy that he has half-a-week with his girlfriend- everyone could tell, and it always made Suzie's cheeks a tad more red- something else was troubling him. Weighing down his mind, dragging him back when all he wanted to do was run forward.
So, yeah, even though Suzie has gotten good at reading her boyfriend, she isn't quite sure what's going on with him. She tried to figure it out on her own- maybe it was her overbearing family, hell, even she gets overwhelmed by them, and she's been stuck with them for fourteen whole years- but, of course, it led to nowhere.
And of course, she couldn't just leave him like this, all sad and miserable! He is her boyfriend, her Dusty Bun, and although he's a bit ignorant and maybe a bit dense at times, she still harbours infinite feelings for him!
Suzie rolls her eyes, plopping down right in front of him, crossing her legs. "Come on, you know what I'm talking about." When he raises an eyebrow, she sighs.
"Your mood, Dusty Bun! You've been mopey and miserable all day, and I want to know why."
Dustin freezes, eyes widening like a deer in the headlights, apparently not expecting to be caught. But, alas, his girlfriend's a genius. It was precisely why he fell in love with her in the first place. He swallows, shifting, "Um, I don't know what you're talking about, Suzie Poo…"
She stares at him, unimpressed. He gulps once again, steeled in place by her look.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're grievously terrible at lying?"
"Has anyone ever told you that you look really pretty in those glasses?" Dustin rebuttals, ignoring her remark.
"Yes. And don't try flattering yourself out of this, Dusty Bun."
He deflates, sighing defeatedly. Suzie's eyes immediately soften as she crawls over to sit by his side.
"You know you can tell me anything. If you couldn't, you would still have a D- in Latin," She jokes, opting to lighten up the mood. It works, as a weak laugh exits his mouth. "So, does the boy have anything to confess? Any bullies? Because you know I'll stick up for you when you stand up to them."
Dustin was shaking his head before she even stopped speaking. "No, no bullies. Steve made sure of that."
"Then what's wrong?"
He breathes.
"It's my friends. Mike, Will, Lucas- them," Dustin confesses in one breath, hands gripping the end of his shirt.
"Did they hurt you?"
When he looks over to her, she's glaring at something from across the room. Following her gaze, he sees his walkie-talkies, laying innocently atop a pillow on her bed. He objects- of course they wouldn't!
(Not on purpose, anyway.)
"They just… I dunno, I just feel…"
Dustin breaks out into a groan.
A hand suddenly grasps his, interlacing their fingers. "Take your time."
He smiles.
God, his girlfriend is a gift from the heavens.
Taking a deep breath, he opts to restart. "I just feel a bit… lonely. Like, we don't hang out as often anymore, and I get that they have new interests, like Lucas with basketball and Mike with El. I get that. It's just…" He squeezes her hand, gaining a bit more confidence when she returns the gesture, "I feel left out, you know? I saw them earlier this week at the mall. Mike, Will, Lucas, El- hell, even Max was there!"
Dustin sniffs.
"And I didn't get invited. Not a single peep from the walkie-talkie, or someone knocking at my doorstep asking me if I wanted to come. Nothing."
A beat passed, then-
"What is their fucking problem?"
He blinks, reprocessing her response, then snaps his head towards her. "Did you just- "
"Dusty Bun, please, not the time. But really, what's their problem? What- did they just forget you existed?!"
"Suzie Poo, I'm sure they just, I dunno, didn't bother!"
"Didn't bother?! That's worse, Dusty Bun!"
He winces. "Okay, maybe it was-"
Suzie places her hands on his shoulders, turning him to face her. "Dusty Bun, I want you to listen to me very carefully, because I know sometimes you get lost in your own stupidity," Dustin opens his mouth to argue, but shuts it when she fixes him with a look.
"Right. Okay, yep, I hear you loud and clear!"
She sighs.
"I don't know what you think about yourself, because I feel like that's an entirely new topic to talk about someday," Her grip on his shoulders becomes more firm, as if to magnify her words, "You're worth every single second that passes by on his planet. If someone's being mean to you for absolutely no clear reason, you turn that around, and repay it tenfold. No one has a reason to be cruel to a person as sweet and caring as Dustin Henderson, no matter what anyone else says. Do you hear me?"
A few seconds pass in silence. Suzie becomes more embarrassed as they go by- maybe she was too harsh about something that was really a misunderstanding?- until he reaches up to wipe his eyes. She's a second away from panicking- maybe she really did overstep??
A smile he couldn't bite back grows on his face, and all the tension leaks out of her body.
"I hear you. Thank you- thank you, Suzie.."
She grins.
"Just doing my job as the significant other of an idiot!"
They laugh, holding hands. Maybe things aren't that well back at Hawkins, but maybe they will be. Soon.
"You guys are gross."
They both pause, then look at the doorway. There, standing in all her glory, is Eden Bingham, holding a laundry basket and a look of disgust.
Suzie's face promptly turns red in embarrassment, picking up the closest object and throwing it at her older sister. "Get out, Eden!" cries Suzie, as the older one easily catches the thrown object, placing down the laundry basket beside the door.
She laughs in her face. To her credit, Eden actually steps out the doorway. "Whatever four-eyes, enjoy making out with your boyfriend, or whatever."
And then she exits, leaving the door a smidge ajar. As siblings do, because why not?
Suzie groans into her palms, Dustin chuckles bashfully.
"Older siblings, huh?"
She peeks through the space between her fingers to stare at him again.
"You're an only child, Dusty Bun."
"...Oh yeah."