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His hands shake as he tries to tie the strings together around his neck. The thread keeps slipping out of his fingers.
“Hey.”
Dustin turns to see Steve walk into the room. His friend is now all dressed up, donning his red bandana and leather jacket. The backwards cap on his head gives Dustin a pause. He remembers what he’d told Steve days ago when they were still fighting and the asshole commented on his incessant need to wear hats.
——
“It serves a purpose, jackass. I don’t know if you realized, but we’re kind of dealing with apocalypse-sized big bads, here. I don’t need my hair blocking my vision.”
——
It means a lot that Steve actually listens to him and remembers these things. Even though they were both being dicks at the time, the point remains valid.
“Here, let me.” Steve approaches him, gently taking the ghillie suit’s ties out of Dustin’s hands and pulling them together. He ties them tightly in a bow and squeezes Dustin’s shoulder, “There.”
Dustin nods his thanks and then picks up his spear from where he’d left it propped up against the wall.
He turns to look in the mirror and his heart skips a beat.
It’s so much to take in. He hasn’t put on the ghillie suit since they went to the Upside Down the last time. He is hit with a wave of grief for the innocent kid he was when he first went through that portal in the ceiling. And he’s hit with a wave of guilt and sorrow for Eddie, who he suddenly realizes they both look so much like. The hair, the spear. Steve’s bandana and jacket. Dread swirls deep in his gut. This is exactly where they started the last time.
“Is it just me or are you getting déjà vu?” His voice is soft, a little sad. He feels the tears brimming in his eyes.
Steve looks over at him, jaw set and determined.
“You remember what you said to me back at the Russian base in Starcourt? It might’ve been a joke then but I’m serious now, alright?” Steve’s tone is in fact dead serious, “You die, I die.”
Dustin’s heart starts racing faster, throat beginning to swell. He takes a deep breath. There’s so much meaning behind those words, it almost weighs him down.
I love you. I need you. I have your back. I’m not leaving you and you’re not leaving me. If we go down, we’re going down together.
Dustin looks to Steve and repeats the words easily, though the emotions strain his tone, “You die, I die.”
I love you too. I need you too. I have your back too. You’re not leaving me and I’m not leaving you. If we go down, we’re going down together.
Steve gives him a subtle but firm nod and holds his gaze with fierce determination.
And there’s meaning in that, too.
When we make it out of this, we make it out together. When we survive, we both survive together.
Dustin must be showing his apprehension and fear because Steve reaches out with a hand and gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“What do you say, Henderson?” He asks after a moment, “Ready for one more ride?”
Dustin looks back at the mirror and remembers Eddie’s dying moments. He didn’t run, he went out a hero.
Dustin lets the grief and admiration for his lost friend settle into his bones. He clenches his jaw and straightens his posture.
“Let’s make it metal.”
Steve smiles and drops a hand on Dustin’s head, gives it a loving shake.