Chapter Text
Steve wakes up to the phone ringing. He groans and wraps his pillow around his head, trying to shield his eyes from the incessant ringing. It stops for a moment, and he thinks he's free to go back to sleep, letting go of his pillow and snuggling back into his covers. But then he flings his eyes open as it starts again. He groans and flips the covers back, stepping onto the harsh, cold of the floor. He stomps into the hallway, taking note that the sun is only just starting to peek through the curtains. Who could possibly be calling at this time?
He grabs the phone harshly off the wall and barks into it, “Who the hell is–”
“Steve!”
Steve pauses. “Dustin?”
“About time you woke up.”
This little– “What do you want, Henderson?”
“Oh, yeah, are you working today?”
“No, it's my day off.”
His lifeguard duties are slowly no longer being needed as the seasons change and no one wants to go to the pool anymore.
“Um, could I stay the night?”
That's weird. Dustin never wants to spend the night. He always avoids it by demanding Steve drive him home, no matter how late it gets. And y'know, Steve gets it. He wouldn't want to be stuck in a big empty house with some older teen in either. But what changed?
“Where's Mrs. Henderson?”
“She has to work all night.”
“And she wants me to babysit?”
“No! Just, like, make sure I don't get kidnapped or anything.”
Steve hums. He's not like he minds, but Dustin clearly doesn't like it. Thinks he's too cool to be watched over, that little shit.
“I–sure, I can. Do you want me to go over to yours?”
“Mom says to go to yours cause ours is messy.”
He hears a distant voice over the phone yell, “Dusty!”
“I'm just telling him what you said!” Dustin yells back. Steve winces and moves the receiver away from him.
The two continue to converse, and Steve tries to not overhear.
“Mom said she'll drop me off at 7.”
“Oh, no, I can pick you up, dude,” he protests.
“Mom said she'll drop me off on her way to work. She'll bring cookies.”
Steve sighs. He doesn't want to make more work for Mrs. Henderson, but she's a stubborn woman. He's tried to argue with her before to no avail.
“Okay, I'll be waiting.”
“Cool, can you buy some snacks too? Thanks.”
“Hey, who said–” the little shit hangs up. “Asshole,” he murmurs, already knowing he's going to be heading to the store soon.
—
Dustin arrives at 7:04, and Steve does not know that because he was definitely not watching the clock for the past ten minutes.
Okay, he was, but he's just–not excited exactly, but they haven't hung out in a while. Sure, Steve will drive him and the other kids to the arcade, but it hasn't been Dustin and him one-on-one in a while. So, maybe it's a little weird to be missing a middle-schooler, but he does. Sue him.
He opens the door at the first knock and is greeted with the sight of Dustin looking already grouchy and Mrs. Henderson standing behind him.
“Steve!” She says in the sweet, honey voice of hers.
He smiles. “Hi, Mrs. Henderson.”
“I've told you it's Claudia,” she tells him, for what seems to be the millionth time. His parents haven't taught him a lot, but one lesson he'll never forget is manners.
“And I've told you I'm not calling you that,” he says, politely.
She tsks and then shoves a container into his arms. He looks down and opens the lid. Instantly, he's met with this delicious smell of freshly baked cookies.
“There you go, dear, I just made them.”
“Oh, Mrs. Henderson, you didn't have to do that.”
“Only the best for the young man taking care of my Dustybun.”
“Mom!” Dustin protests, his cheeks flaming red. Steve tries not to laugh.
Mrs. Henderson ignores him and instead addresses Steve. “Call the hospital if anything happens, okay? They'll let me know. Oh, and make sure he's in bed by at least 10.”
“Mom, I don't need a—”
She cuts him with a kiss on the head and, in one swift movement, is already bumbling back to her car.
“I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart! Have fun with Steve,” she yells with a wave.
“Have a good shift, Mrs. Henderson,” Steve yells back.
They both watch as she pulls out of the driveway, and then Dustin turns to Steve.
“You're not actually giving me a bedtime, right?”
He pretends to think about it. “Hmm, I think I should listen to what your mom says.”
“Steve, c’mon, I'm not a little kid!” The kid whines, and it's frankly adorable. He understands why Mrs. Henderson is always kissing his cheeks.
“I'm kidding, man, but you can't stay up all night.”
Dustin scoffs and shoves past Steve, heading into the kitchen.
“Asshole,” Steve mutters.
He closes the door and follows Dustin toward the kitchen.
“Man, c’mon, take off your shoes. I don't think your mom raised you to be such an animal.”
Dustin rolls his eyes and gets on his tiptoes to start looking through the cabinets.
“Relax, it's not like your parents are around to see it.”
“Okay, but I am, and you know I'm the one that's gotta clean it up, right?”
At that, Dustin looks at least a little apologetic and reaches down to take his shoes off. Steve watches as he heads back to the front door to deposit them and then turns to the cabinets. He's already got a bunch of chip bags and candy on the counter by the time Dustin gets back a few seconds later.
“Whoa, man, is this all for me?” He asks, delighted. He reaches for a pack of Skittles.
“Who else would it be for?”
Dustin smiles that goofy, gummy smile, and it makes Steve's heart melt. But don't tell the kid that.
“Thanks, Steve.” He shoves a handful of Smarties into his mouth, and what he says next comes out muffled. “Yu'r th’ b’st.”
“What was that? I didn't quite get that.”
Dustin glares at him now. He ignores it and grabs Dustin's shoulders, spinning him around and starting to walk him towards the living room.
“I got a bunch of movies that seemed nerdy, so you should have at least one you like.”
Dustin looks skeptical but sits down on the couch to start sorting through the tapes Steve left on the coffee table earlier. Steve stands by him, fidgeting.
“Oh, no way, you got Raiders of the Lost Ark?!”
“It looked like something you might like, and the guy looked cool.”
“Cool?”
“Like, he's played by Harrison Ford, right? The guy is handsome.”
Dustin looks at him for a moment, then says, “I guess he is.”
Steve nods, suddenly feeling weird. He can find a guy objectively handsome, can't he? It's not a crime.
“Well, I'll bring the snacks out. You get the movie started, okay?”
When he comes back, Dustin has already made himself at home with his feet up on the coffee table.
“Dude, that's nasty,” Steve says with a wrinkle of the nose. He dumps the snacks on the table, far away from his feet.
Dustin just smirks and doesn't bother to move them. Steve sighs and just sits down. He remembers Tommy H. and some guys on the basketball team doing just that, putting their nasty, sweaty feet up on his table and acting like it was perfectly fine. It bugged him to no end.
As the movie starts, he turns to Dustin and starts to speak, “So, how does–”
Dustin shushes him. “Shhh, no questions.”
“But–”’
“Shhh.” The kid isn't even looking at him when he does that.
Steve grumbles and settles in to watch.
When the movie finally ends, Steve thinks it wasn’t half bad. Indiana Jones was definitely the highlight of the movie, though.
He looks over at Dustin on the other side of the couch and sees that he's halfway asleep. Steve debates just carrying the kid to bed, but knows if Dustin woke up during, he would throw a massive fit and get all embarrassed.
So, he elbows the kid gently instead.
“Movies over, man. Time to head to bed.*
Dustin shoots upright. “Uh, what?” He mumbles, his brain apparently still asleep.
“Time for bed, dude. Unless you want to sleep on the couch instead of on one of my huge, fancy beds…”
Dustin glares. “They're not that fancy.”
“Oh, my parents would be so heartbroken to hear that,” he says somewhat sarcastically. Then he adds, “They paid like 100 dollars just for the sheets.”
“What, really?”
“No.”
“Dude, you're so not funny.”
“I don't know, I think I am.”
Dustin huffs and gets up. “Which room am I sleeping in?”
“Uh, you can just pick one.”
Steve had cleaned and dusted specifically the one closest to his, but he doesn't want Dustin to feel pressured. The kid already doesn't want to be here.
Dustin yawns. “Okay,” he replies, heading up the stairs.
“You want me to tuck you in?” Steve yells at him.
“No!” Dustin yells back, all indignant.
Steve chuckles and shakes his head, moving to put up all the snacks that Dustin conveniently left.
When Steve finally makes his way upstairs, he's delighted to see that the door across from him is closed. Seeing the light is off, he decides not to check in on Dustin and heads to his own bed. Settling in under the covers, he thinks it's been a pretty good night. Maybe he should, and Dustin should do these more often.
—
Steve is awoken to the sound of his bedroom door creaking. Before he even makes sense of what's happening, his hand has already reached down to grab the handle of his bat. He sits up, raising the bat to strike as the door slowly creeps open, the light from the hallway filtering in.
It's Dustin.
The bat falls from his hand, hitting the ground with a thud. The kid is sticking his head in from the door, looking uncertain.
“Henderson? What's wrong?”
Dustin fully enters now, standing there in his pajamas, fidgeting.
“I–” he trails off.
Steve starts to reach for the bat again. “Is something wrong? Is there–Is there a monster?”
“No!” Dustin shouts adamantly. “It’s–it’s not that.”
That makes Steve breathe a sigh of relief, but the kid still looks uncertain.
“Okay, well,” Steve starts, “Did you need something?”
“No…”
Steve is at a loss here. He loves Dustin and the other kids, but he doesn't actually know how to treat kids. And he doesn't think he can go off his own experience right now. He can guarantee he never wandered into his parents' room in the middle of the night. Mostly because they weren't there. He's not really sure what's going on in Dustin's head right now.
“What's wrong, buddy?” He asks in what he hopes is a soothing and gentle voice.
Dustin avoids eye contact, his gaze on the floor as he answers. “I had a nightmare.”
“Oh.” It's not the best thing to say, as evidenced by the next thing Dustin says.
“I'm sorry, it's stupid. I can go back to–”
“No, hey, hey,” he says in a rush. “Come here, it's okay.”
Dustin slowly shuffles over. Once he's standing beside the bed, Steve lifts himself up and moves over to the other side.
He lifts the covers and says, “Climb in.”
“Are you–are you sure?”
“Yeah, c’mon, dude, it's okay.”
Dustin hops in, and Steve moves the blankets to cover the kid up.
“Lay down and get comfy, dude.”
He watches as Dustin shuffles down into the cover, and he hopes the kid is a little calmer. Steve lies back down, too.
They sit in silence for a moment. Steve ends up breaking the silence by asking, “What was the nightmare about?”
“It's stupid,” Dustin mumbles.
“It's not stupid if it scared you.”
Dustin still seems unsure and doesn't answer.
“I have nightmares too,” Steve confesses. “The other night I dreamt that the demon thing got into my house while you guys were over.”
“Oh,” Dustin mutters and then, like the smart-ass he is, says, “It's called the Demogorgon.”
Steve chuckles.
“Well, I got really scared. I had to go and lock all the doors, and I stayed up till it was light out.”
“I'm sorry.”
“You don't have to be, dude, it's not your fault. I'm just telling you so you know it's normal. Considering everything, it's completely fine if you have nightmares about it. I bet your friends do too.”
“Mike tries to act like he doesn't during our sleepovers.”
“Yeah, that sounds like him.”
There's another moment of silence, and then Dustin says, “A demo got in while my mom was home and I was trapped in my room and I just–had to listen to her scream through the door and I–I couldn't do anything.”
He looks close to tears now. Steve reaches over and pulls him for a hug, holding Dustin’s head to his neck.
“It's okay, your mom's okay. She's working right now, and she's going to pick you up in the morning and do that thing she does.”
“You mean when she pinches my cheeks and pulls me in to kiss me on the forehead?”
“Yeah, it's adorable.”
Dustin grumbles. “No, it's not.”
“Kinda is.”
“Ughh, you're so lame.”
Steve just smiles and lets the kid's head go. He moves back to look him in the eye. “You ready to sleep?”
Dustin nods after a moment, and he starts to pull back the covers.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Dustin stops his movements. “Going to bed…?”
Steve is suddenly unsure. Dustin probably would find it weird and embarrassing to share a bed.
But still, he says, “I–Well, I thought you could sleep here if you wanted.”
Dustin looks at him in surprise. “Really, you don't care?”
“‘Course not.”
Dustin slips the covers back on and lies down. It's awkward for a few moments. They're both stiff and tense, lying on their sides. Then Steve gently moves his arm around Dustin, giving him time to pull away. And then they're basically spooning with Steve, holding him close to his chest.
“Go to sleep, buddy.”
Dustin doesn't answer, and soon enough, Steve hears his breaths even out.
It's weird. He's not really shared a bed before. Well, platonically. He's shared with girls after some hookups. They were never really the type to cuddle, though. He realizes he kind of likes it. He likes the closeness and knowing the other is safe. He can feel Dustin's heartbeat underneath his hand, and it's reassuring.
But, he sighs, it's a one-time thing. Dustin will wake up in the morning and think he's too cool for it. Oh, the joys of being friends with a middle-schooler.
He slowly starts to feel himself fall asleep, and his last thought is that he wishes they could do this again.
—
When he wakes up, he's delighted to see that Dustin is still next to him, sleeping soundly. As carefully as he can manage, Steve climbs out of bed. He breathes a sigh of relief when Dustin continues to sleep. He checks the clock and sees that it's almost 10. Mrs. Henderson will be here any minute. He looks at Dustin and debates whether it's worth waking him.
No, Mrs. Henderson will understand letting him sleep in. She's a good mom.
He softly walks out of the room, closing the door gently behind him. He tries not to make any noise while he's going down the stairs, even going as far as avoiding the creaky step.
He's just started the coffee when he hears a knock on the door.
“Come in,” he yells.
He hears the door click open and then Mrs. Henderson’s sweet voice. “Hello, Steve, dear.”
He turns to smile at her. She looks tired, and she's still in her scrub,s but she looks as nice as ever.
“Hey, Mrs. Henderson. I just started a pot if you want some coffee.”
“No, that's alright. Is Dusty awake?”
“He's still asleep. He had a…bad night. Do you want me to wake him up?”
“No, no.” She looks concerned now. “What do you mean by bad night?”
He's not sure Dustin would like it if he told, but…it's his mom. And she would know how to help better than he does.
“He had a nightmare. It was…pretty bad.”
She nods. “He's been having a lot lately. Do you know what this one was about?”
“I don't wanna like–betray his trust. But he said you got hurt and he was really worried.”
“Oh, dear.” Her face is screwed up in worry, and she glances towards the stairs. “And he went to sleep okay after that?”
“Um, yeah. I, uh, invited him to sleep in my bed,” he says, unsure. He doesn't want to make her…angry or uncomfortable. He wouldn't want his kid sharing a bed with a glorified babysitter.
But all she says is, “He's always slept better with someone.”
He just nods, relieved.
“Did you two have fun besides that?”
“Yeah, we watched a movie and ate snacks. I think he had fun.”
“I bet he did. You're a good friend, Steve.”
He blushes. “Uh, thanks.”
She's about to say something else when there's the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Dustin rounds the corner in a second. He has wild bed head and a red line across his face from where it was mashed against the pillow.
He looks frankly adorable.
But Steve doesn't say that. Instead, he says, “About time you get up, Henderson.”
Dustin just groans like a zombie and walks over towards them. Mrs. Henderson reaches forward and pinches his cheek. As she pulls him in to kiss him on the forehead, Steve sends Dustin a look that reads, ‘I told you so.’
Dustin just rolls his eyes and sits there as his mom starts to fuss over his hair. Maybe he should find this funny and be reveling in Dustin's embarrassment. But Steve just thinks it's sweet. He might also be a little bit jealous. His mom never fixed his hair unless they were having guests over and she felt he didn’t look presentable. ‘Oh, Steve, you look ridiculous,’ she would say.
Mrs. Henderson turns to address him, leaving her hands resting on Dustin's shoulder. “Well, we should probably be going. Dustin has some chores to do.”
She raises an eyebrow at Dustin, who just scowls. Steve smirks fondly.
“You sure, Mrs. Henderson? You guys can stay longer if you want.”
“It's alright, Steve. We've already imposed too much.”
Just as he's about to protest that, Dustin beats him to it.
“Steve doesn't care, Mom. He lets us stay over all the time.”
“Hey, I do not!”
“Dude, you let us in while you were at work to use the pool.”
“That was a one-time thing, dipshit.”
Dustin gasps dramatically. “Wow, calling me that in front of my Mom? What kind of babysitter are you?”
Steve narrows his eyes. “You little–”
“Alright!” Mrs. Henderson interrupts. “I swear you two bicker like brothers sometimes.”
Steve is too distracted by that sentence to register Mrs. Henderson walking Dustin out of the door. She was just making a joke. A silly joke. Dustin doesn’t actually see him as a brother. That would be ridiculous.
He comes back to himself enough to yell, “Have a good day. I’ll see you on Monday, Henderson!”
She waves at him as she enters the driver's side, reminiscent of last night. Dustin gives a half-hearted wave as he gets in the backseat.
Kids these days have no appreciation for their elders, Steve thinks jokingly. He watches them pull out, and when he can no longer see them, he slams the door shut and collapses against it. He’s unsure of what to do now. His schedule isn’t exactly full ever since his so-called downfall. He guesses he could watch one of the movies he bought. It’s better than nothing, he reasons. He walks to the living room to do just that.