Chapter Text
Dustin clutches the radio in his hands. His eyes lock onto the red sky as it moves rapidly closer to them.Tension keeps his body locked in place as if already coming up with some attempt at surviving this thing if the tower does go down. And with the way it becomes more and more obvious what will happen as the sky falls more, the more that future looks like a reality. The gate they need to get through is just enough off the tower.‘Oh, this of all things is not allowed to be the way we go out.’
All we can think about is the way he is so glad to be standing near two of his favorite people. Lucas is on his right, just next to Dustin. Steve stands just beyond Lucas. Dustin lets his eyes flash over to Steve, reminding himself that they are all right here. For at least 30 seconds, they are all still right here.
Now it is more like 15 seconds.
“Chef, talk to me. What’s going on in there?” Steve steadies himself on the railing. Dustin can hear the shifting and crunching of rocks now.
“I don’t know. I can’t talk to her. I gave her the signal.” Crackling static follows Hopper’s voice. It only unsettles Dustin more.
“Well, nothing is happening over here,” Everyone around him now looks up as Dustin glares at his radio. He clutches it so tight now that part of him fears it will break. Lucas moves to stand just behind him as ifacting as support. “And we’re about to be squashed by a moving planet. So, give it again!” Later, he may feel bad for yelling at the chief, but right now he is desperate.
Every hand finds a part of the railing. He knows they are all picturing the same thing. He doesn’t want to calculate how many hundreds of miles they will fall. If Dustin lets the thought in, the math will haunt him. He’ll see bent bodies and maybe even guess how quickly they will die. He already feels sick.
The Abyss keeps moving down. The tower’s needle glows red one last time before tapping the moving slab of rocks. For just a second, it feels like those scenes in movies. Everything slows down. He can hear Lucas breathing heavily behind him. The metal groans under Mike’s hold, a few people away. Then, everything picks up again at double speed.
Metal snapping and rock cracking will be burned into Dustin’s nightmares for the rest of his life. It’s worse than the screeching of bats. Or the sound of a man being electrocuted. He’s convinced for a whole minute he will never hear anything as bad.
Everyone scrambles to find a stable piece to hold onto. The whole platform trembles under the stress of metal meeting pure rock. It sounds like the loudest drum set he has ever, the perfect soundtrack of death herself.
With no hold, Dustin falls down onto his back. His breath is forced from his body as his hand now make a desparate hold for the bottom of the platform. If he could breathe, he would scream from the ache in his body as he uses his grip to pull himself up just enough to be braced in the corner of the railing. He holds tightly to the steel bars only to be rewarded with the best viewpoint to watch as the needle of the tower crunches like a soda can. One hand grips his radio and the other the railing. His hold is so tight, his hands go numb.
Debris rain down on the group. Lucas falls to the ground next to him, body keeping Dustin bracketed against the railing and pushing against his barely day-old bruises unknowingly. Pointed shards of rock and metal threaten to cut his skin. Dustin uses the arm with his radio to cover his face while biting his bottom lip to keep from making sounds of pain.
One more violent shake occurs, and Dustin must drop his face, forced to watch the needle grow worse. He has stared monsters in the face and somehow never felt like he was looking for death in the face, like he does now. His whole body is tense and cold. Dread makes his vision momentarily blurry. ‘We can’t die before even attempting to save anyone. Worse, Steve will spend his last moments thinking he condemned us to death.’
‘Steve!’
“Guys, look out! Look out! Look out!” Steve yells as the needle comes down, almost as if Dustin’s thoughts had spurred him into action.
Dustin pulls himself from the top of the railing to stand. His body protests, but he has to move. The broken mast of the needle sways as if unsure of which way it wants to fall. Electricity flashes and cracks as it finally snaps in half.
It heads towards Steve and Jonathan on the opposite side of the platform.
He looks back down to make eye contact with Steve. His best friend pushes Jonathan out of the way. He then bolts across the platform to reach Dustin. Behind, the metal piece crashes into a fourth of the railing. It takes that part of the railing down with it, but thankfully misses any party members.
Steve’s hand outstretches to grasp the top of the railing over him as Dustin ducks down to protect his head. Helplessly, he watches as the whole platform shakes as the needle hits it, causing the worst and biggest vibration yet.
And then, Dustin is almost immediately proven wrong in his earlier statement about hearing and seeing the worst thing possible.
Dustin is helpless to watch his worst nightmare become a reality as Steve is knocked off balance.
Robin turns next to Dustin. She anchors herself to the railing and then offers a hand to Steve. But Steve is already tumbling out of reach. Dustin rushes the process of pushing himself back up to his feet. Steve’s shield clangs against the platform as he flips over the broken edge. He barely manages to cutch one hand on the maybe half an inch lip of the floor of the platform.
The ominous red of the radio tower washes over his face. Dustin wishes it were not the perfect color of blood washing over Steve. He does not even recognize his own voice when he screams out, “Steve!” It sounds like a stranger to his ears, but then again, everything else is muffled to him.
All his focus and senses are locked onto his best friend. Time slows again. The platform groans with the grip Steve has on it. They all watch as his fingers slip.
His heartbeat stops as Steve falls. All Dustin can hear is his blood rushing in his ears. The wind stops moving. Everything stops because there is no world for him without Steve Harrington.
Often in his recent nightmares, Dustin’s mind had imagined this happening. Eddie gets killed by the demo-bats. Billy stabs Steve. Dustin does not make it to Steve and Robin soon enough to save them from the Russians. Vecna takes Eddie. Dustin stares at Steve’s body on a hospital bed as his own bat bites take him.
In every single one of these and other scenarios, Dustin’s mind flashes between Eddie and Steve like it can’t decide what will break Dustin more. He expected to see the same thing here: to watch Steve fall and his mind make the picture flash between Steve’s face covered in a scary balance of fear and acceptance, and Eddie’s terrified screams.
No. ‘It’s just Steve. Because it’s always just Steve.’ Eddie’s death felt like the scariest thing Dustin had ever been through. Eddie is his biggest failure. As Steve falls, Dustin feels like he is right there with him. He might as well have fallen off the tower, too.
It’s the ladder all over again. Only this time, Dustin can’t just pull Steve away. There is no yelling or screaming because he was not even being reckless this time. He was trying to reach out to Robin and Dustin. Steve had been actively doing his best to avoid death. But now, that stupid ladder just feels like a twist tool of foreshadowing what was to come.
The world goes black. He cannot hear. He cannot see. Dustin can’t feel. There is nothing but a void.
Jonathan grunts. Steve stops screaming. The world slams back into existence. Dustin catches himself. He ignores Lucas’s growing, visible worry.
“Just hold on! I got you. Just hold on!” The Upside Down goes quiet. Everything holds its breath. They all lean forward, ignoring the danger of the broken needle, to watch if both boys make it. The party huddles together, desperate to rush over and help, but wanting to keep their weight equally distributed.
Jonathan becomes Superman. He not only caught Steve, but he pulls him up to safety.
Robin’s hand is over her chest as she starts to sob the moment Steve’s feet are back on the platform. Nancy is in shock. The rest of the Party has wide smiles on their face. Dustin pushes past them all, unable to stay still. Nothing matters but getting some physical hold on Steve to prove that actually happened, that Steve is alive.
Steve knows. Maybe he needs it too. His face is full of wonder as his attention shifts from Jonathan to Dustin. Their eyes meet again, and his arms are already falling open to expect the hug they both know is coming. The duo slams into each other. Dustin’s arms wrap around Steve’s neck. Air fills his lungs, and his vision clears when he feels Steve’s chest moving.
Steve laughs in his ear. His own arms wrap safely and tightly around Dustin. ‘Thank you, God. Thank you, Jonathan. Thank you. Thank you. Please live, Steve.’ This mantra plays in Dustin’s head as they cling to each other. Even after his own almost death, even in the Upside Down, Dustin feels safer and better already.
Steve steps forward, keeping him in his arms. His hand pats Dustin’s back before holding him closer. He lifts his head to look behind them. Dustin guesses it's aimed at Robin. He doesn’t care to pull away to look. Especially when Steve’s head immediately drops back to rest against Dustin's shoulder.
“We’re alive! We’re alive,” sounds far away when Mike says it behind them. The Party laughs and cheers behind them.
“You die, I die,” leaves Steve’s mouth into Dustin’s ear.
The words make Dustin pull away for just a moment to see Steve grinning at him. He shakes his head and dives back into his arms. This time, Steve makes no move to pull away. One hand grips Dustin’s shoulder, and the other holds his side. It feels like he is being held together.
“I thought you were toast.” Dustin knows it's not creative and it's not his go to reponse. But it’s the only thought on his mind when he finally pulls away to stare at Steve’s face. Hands still on the elder's shoulders.
A real smile breaks out on Steve’s face. It melts away all the dread. Dustin finds himself unironically laughing at the absurdity of everything that just happened. Of course, Steve “the hero” Harrington won’t go out in such a simple way. Steve joins him in laughing, and somehow that is what makes Dustin realize that they weren’t shaking anymore.
“And the Abyss isn’t coming closer.’
Before he can call Hopper, Lucas beats him to the punch. “The Abyss stopped! El got him! I repeat, El got the bastard!” Dustin’s laughter only grows as his other best friend cheers into the radio. He even jumps around on the platform that they all almost fell off of a minute ago. “Yes! Wow! Come on!”
Steve ruffles his hair through his hat before they join the rest of the group.
“Any volunteers?” Mike has taken Dustin’s old spot next to Lucas, staring up at the rift now in reach.
They all gather around the railing parallel to where Steve had just fallen. Joyce and Will hold back, deciding to go last. It is an easy decision to throw Steve out of the running, too. Everyone else opens their mouths as if to start debating why they should take one for the team.
“I will. After Watergate, I would rather go first. Plus, if anyone is waiting to surprise us, I can defend myself quickly.” Nancy taps her gun before she swings her gun to rest against her back as if it were a guitar and not a weapon.
Mike is the one to stand in front of her. Dustin has never seen him look so shaken. He holds her shoulders and forces their eyes to meet. Nancy looks as surprised as the rest of them feel. “You aren’t talking me out of this, Michael. I--”
“You can handle yourself. I know!” His chest quickly rises and falls. “It’s not that. Just be careful, please. I can’t--”
“You won’t.” Nancy leans forward. The Wheeler siblings rest their foreheads together for the moment, but it feels heavy. She smiles at him before pushing him back in the middle of the little half-circle they all accidentally formed. That was the most affection Dustin has seen them share since being ruined after California. “And you know?”
“I know.” He nods, smiling through his concern.
“I’ll call when it is safe to come up.” They share a nod before Lucas and Steve help step onto the railing.
Lucas keeps her steady while Steve offers her a boost. It takes a few tries before her hand breaches the rift. Dustin feels his nose scrunch at the tearing, slimy sound it makes. He feels himself flexing his fingers in and out of fists as they watch her pull herself into the Abyss.
He flashes back to the hug they shared earlier when Dustin thought she and Jonathan had died. It somehow feels a little less stressful. ‘Maybe it’s because she has more control of the situation now.’ Dustin, like Mike and everyone else, knows firsthand how well Nancy Wheeler can protect herself. Afterall, there is a reason she gets a gun while the rest of them have more unconventional weapons. Still, the little boy who had a crush on the oldest Wheeler and the slightly older Dustin, who danced with her at the Snowball, worries for his friend’s safety.
In classic Walk ‘em Down Wheeler fashion, ‘a name I still personally love,’ They all barely have time to talk about who is going next before Nancy calls down, “All Clear!”
Before anyone else can volunteer, Dustin slides his shield onto his spear. “Hold this.” He passes it over to Mike, who still looks a little out of it but takes the offered weapons.
Dustin reaches out for the railing. He feels the old rush of excitement and adrenaline that used to come from solving Upside Down-related mysteries and tracking Russians. Ironically, this is the most Dustin has felt like himself in months. Maybe that’s why he wanted to go next, why he rushed into climbing the railing and not waiting for Lucas or Steve to come help.
He can feel the heat on his back as the group circles around him. Out of the corner of his eyes, Steve and Lucas move closer. He finds his footing on one of the steel bars and starts to push himself up. Dustin felt sturdy, but something must have looked off because everyone rushed to him. He had been surprised that no one was saying anything about him wanting to go next.
“Hey!” Lucas reaches him first. His hand rests on Dustin’s back to steady him.
“Whoa, whoa,” Jonathan panics behind him. His hand lands on the top of Dustin’s back.
“Hey.” Steve leans in front of him, forcing himself into Dustin’s line of sight. “Easy!” Steve grasps his shoulder, forcing Dustin to step back down and look at him.
Steve offers Dustin his hand. Lucas’s hand moves to grip his jacket. Mike’s footsteps step closer.
‘I wonder if that’s how I look every time Steve throws himself into danger.’ His eyebrows are pinched. A frown covers his face. His eyes are wide and widly looking Dustin over as if he is crazy. ‘Well, actually, that part is normal.’
It hits Dustin quickly that, as shaken up as he guesses Steve is about almost falling, maybe rushing into a position where he could easily do the same thing would make the other anxious. His hold on the railing loosens a touch. ‘That has to be it. That’s why he’s so nervous now. I just proved how easy it is to fall.’ And where Dustin stood, it would be harder to catch him if he lost his balance than it was for Jonathan to get Steve.
“You ready?” Dustin asks Steve. ‘I am sorry. You tell me when.’ He watches as Steve takes a deep breath, then gives him a small nod.
Dustin turns then to his childhood best friend. More guilt eats at him when he sees Steve’s reaction almost perfectly mirrored on Lucas’s face. He has a bad habit of clenching his teeth when stressed. Right now, his whole face looks like Dustin just told him his character was at critical health. He tries to smile a little at him now to get Lucas to relax.
“Ready?” Lucas steps closer.
“Yeah,” He responds after hesitating.
Lucas braces Dustin in a similar way to Nancy. Dustin finds his footing. He pushes himself up to stand on the second bar. He then reaches out for Steve’s hand as he climbs to his feet.
“Okay, easy.” Steve’s death grips his hand, moving closer to mirror Lucas and help push Dustin up. He must have wobbled again. “Easy. I got you, man.” Steve nods to Lucas, leading him to take Dustin’s other hand and keep him balanced as he stands on the railing.
“All right, here goes nothing.” The rush is back as he looks over all of the Upside Down and then up at the rift.
He can feel Steve and Lucas's hands support has legs now as Dustin rips his hand through the rift. The feeling is like breaking through stringy jelly. He gets one hand through, and then the next. He ignores the pull of his aching ribs and arms as he pulls himself up and through the red portal into the Abyss to join Nancy.
‘Please let Steve falling be the worst thing I see.’