Chapter Text
Best friends. Will thought as he climbed the tower, grateful for the closure Mike offered him. It would remove one problem preventing his sleep the last few nights, knowing the friend he held closest to his heart said they could be best friends again. It was silly to think, really, that he was stressed about his friend still liking him when the world was about to be destroyed, but then again he promised himself he would never let his sexuality be silly to him ever again. So then that was that, he wasn’t embarrassed, he was happy, and as he reached the top of the tower he smiled at Mike. Friendly smile, of course. Platonic, of course.
“Mother of God,” Dustin said, drawing Will’s attention to sky. There it was- the Abyss. Slowly approaching the Upside Down below them. Murray had a short conversation with Hopper through the radio, and then the group fell silent. They held their breathes as they watched what certainly would be their demise.
No, not demise. They had a plan. Will trusted the plan. He had too. Because then he would be free, and Vecna would finally, finally be gone.
Until Lucas brought a flaw, the needle wasn’t lining up. Everyone erupted to panic, Will glanced at Mike, who shared a gaze back. “It’s fine,” he said to the group, “El will stop it. I know she will.”
Will nodded, receiving a smile in return. It seemed he was the only one who was comforted, though, as Dustin screamed into his Walkie.
Then, the needle met the Abyss, someone swore and everyone grabbed the railing as pebbles and dust came crashing down on the group. The tower was shaking uncontrollably, the needle curving; if El was going to strike she had to do it now. Will held onto the railing, both hands turning white from pressure. A sudden jolt made him glad for the pain, because without it he certainly would’ve went flying.
Someone behind him shrieked, either “shit” or “Steve”, and he wasted no time figuring out which it was, turning and looking through a layer of sweat.
He wish he hadn’t.
“Henderson, LET GO!” Steve’s voice cracked, and in any other scenario, he would cringe. Any other. But now his ego didn’t matter, all that mattered was Dustin let go. One hand held the tower, and the other Steve’s wrist.
“No! Steve- you die I die!” Dustin’s grip on the tower was slipping, it was obvious, and the tower still shook. Everyone was occupied with not falling they didn’t notice the two. No one was coming to help. “I can’t lose you too, I can’t, I can’t.”
Dustin was many things, but strong wasn’t one. So why did he have an iron grip on Steve’s wrist, and why couldn’t Steve break the grasp?
“Dustin, please, I-“ Steve started, going to say how he didn’t deserve the sacrifice. He had nothing going for him.
“No!” Dustin interrupted, “You and me! You and me until the end!”
And just like that, the tower had a particularly hard jolt, and Dustin’s grip on the tower fell. Someone screamed, Will he thought, but it didn’t matter.
No words were exchanged. Steve hugged Dustin on their descent, and Dustin curled into his chest.
As they fell, for the first time in Steve Harringtons life, he hoped there was a God. Not for himself, because he knew he would certainly be condemned to damnation, but for his best friend. For Dustin, little, smart, loving Dustin to finally find peace. To find peace with his friend that never had yelled at him, never would’ve had the guts to tell him that his best friend wasn’t a hero, and could solve a rubix cube in 30 seconds flat.
That would be nice.
He hugged Dustin a little tighter, a little tighter to make up for the countless times he would never be able to.
“I hate you, man. I really hate you.” He whispered into Dustin’s curls.
“I hate you too,” Dustin said, a sob in his voice.
Steve’s heart dropped, and a sob began swelling in his throat. He never got to release it, though, and everything went black.
Steve Harrington found peace for the first time in four years.
Dustin Hendrickson smiled as he let himself rest. He didn’t let another friend die alone.