Chapter Text
It has been a very long 12 hours.
Everything picked up in the Abyss. The weird hand? Not a hand at all. It was actually another physical appearance of the Mind Flayer. Dustin almost wanted to be disappointed as it began to move. There is no giant army. No final dramatic unknown twist. Just the Mind Flayer.
The Mind Flayer alone in an empty desert.
Still, a giant monster was a giant monster that would crush them faster than it could pull off a regular attack. The party ran the moment it began making its way towards them. Dustin had been lagging towards the back of the group, having started at the Mind Flayer for too long before he started to run. Clouds of dust kick up around them, making everything hard to see. At least there weren’t many holes to worry about tripping in.
It was one of those scenes in a movie or show where time slows down right before the bad thing happens. Dustin felt like he was barely moving. Time dragged onaround him. He can imagine an epic theme playing over the clip of him running, the audience able to see what he could not:
The Giant Mind Flayer’s leg was coming down on the ground right next to it.
By the time it entered the edge of his vision, it was too late to react. The impact on the ground alone sent Dustin flying. The ground cracked under his feet. Windrushed past his ears. His feet left the ground as he flipped before his back crashed into the ground, making the ache in his ribs worsen. It was hard to breathe when all the oxygen was brutally forced from your lungs.
Dustn was left defenseless as the leg moved to strike again. He couldn’t pull himself up or roll away. All he could do was scream and cover his face, apologizing for failing everyone--
Someone stood over him, and then they both rolled out of danger at the last second. Strong arms tried to hold on but were knocked loose as the leg struck the ground again. His savior was sent further away as bits of ground and dust covered Dustin’s face, leading to him coughing.
His blood pounded in his ear. The world shifted around him. He felt dizzy and unsteady. Still, he had enough adrenaline now to avoid his pain, even if it wasmomentarily, and could start to stand. Lucas, supporting him and pulling Dustin up to his feet, definitely helped. His best friend’s hands shook against his body as they started to run again. Dustin can’t tell if ts because they were still in danger, Dustin almost died, or a combination of both.
The little boost of relief doesn’t last for long. The whole party was surrounded by the Mind Flayer. Its limbs kept them in a circle. Lucas shoved him behind him again. Everyone stared openly at the giant mouth as it roared in their face. He tried to catch his breath and think. They won’t die here. It is too simple, which is nothing involving anything Upside or Abyss related ever is.
As Dustin had that thought, a boulder smashed into the side of the Mind Falyer’s face, knocking it off course. It falls back as it screams in pain. ‘See, it is just one thing after another.’
“Go, go, go, go!” Jonathan screamed as Mike echoed behind him with, “Run, run, run!”
The Mind Flayer turned to face the new challenger as they all bolted away. All of Dustin’s body burns. If they were not in a life-or-death situation, he would have collapsed. Even still, he almost cried from the pain. It’s a broken leg as he tries to save Eddie all over again. Not to say that he wishes the pain on anyone else in the party, just maybe he wants to be cut some slack, too. No one else had more than a few scratches.
Eleven started to fight the beast across from them. Dustin angled his spear, sharp end to the ground, and leaned against it as a crutch. The teen attempted to catch his breath as the rest of the group watched their personal superhero fight for everyone’s lives. He felt so proud of her; if only he could breathe enough to clear the fog in his mind.
Strong arms wrapped around Dustin, taking most of his weight off his own body for a brief moment. The relief was so strong for his aching bones that he let out a loud cry. The arms only held firmer after the noise. He could feel his body keeping him up, shaking. Dustin let his head rest against their chest without looking up. He didn’tneed to see to know who this was.
“Crap, Dustin. Don’t you dare do that again.” Steve grumbled in his ear. The party’s cheers for Jane were background noise to their conversation. “I couldn’t even—if Lucas hadn’t--”
“Steve.” Dustin wished that in that moment, he had the strength or energy to hug his best friend back. Anything to stop the worried rambles.
“Like, I know, I just scared you, but did you really have to pay me back so soon. You were so far away. Please don’t do it again.” There was a hint of an accent in Steve’s voice. It is one thing Dustin can never place and only comes out when he is really emotional.
“I was trying to get away.” He mumbled into his best friend’s shirt, unsure if the man could even hear him.
“I know that wasn’t your fault.” Okay, maybe he could not hear, but at least they were on the same page. “Of course, it wasn’t. Just sorry, I’m still processing that you are okay and fine and we are both alive.”
“Define fine.” Dustin could finally angle his chin on Steve’s chest to tease him. He knew his message was heard, too, because Steve glanced down at him, letting out a sound that was a mix between a sigh and a huff of laughter.
“Not currently bleeding out. Breathing. Coherent enough to make fun of my vocabulary.” Steve shot back. His hold was easing, which Dustin hoped for, but the disappointment on his face as that occurred wasn’t clear enough. He knew he failed because Steve made an apologetic face back.
“Oh. Then sure, Stephen. I am, by your definition, fine.” It took Steve’s hand on his arm to find his footing again as the pain returned. “At least fine enough to keep going for a while.”
“I’ll take it.” Instead of moving away, Steve stepped closer. “I’m attached to your hip now, though. And you aren’t getting rid of me for at least a few days when we get home.”
“I won’t expect anything less.” Dustin shook his head with a small laugh that quickly transformed into a painful laugh. Steve’s hand landed on his back to support him through it. “If we make it out.”
“When we make it out.” Steve’s smile was brighter than it should be, but it had the added effect of reassuring Dustin.
It reassured Dustin at the moment. Because everything became crazy again after. Nancy became bait. They were climbing cliffs. Will used his superpowers again, which, by the way, Dustin still is not entirely convinced will just go away now that the Abyss won’t meet Earth again, and Vecna is dead. Speaking of Joyce had beheaded the jerk in a move he would really only expect of her and maybe Nancy. And most importantly, all the kids were safe.
But just when he thought everything was going to be okay, he had started to believe Steve’s ‘when’ and not his own ‘if,’ the worst-case scenario happened:
The truck had just reached the gate. He could tell because of the wide turn Steve had made. Dustin wanted to fall asleep. He could have, especially with Steve driving the van. The only thing that was holding him back was all the kids in the truck with them. Years of always having to be on edge ruin your ability to sleep around strangers.
So, he let himself laugh with Lucas. The other teen had been almost as clingy as Steve. Though that was kinda of to be expected. Lucas was their original protector. He always lingered when anyone in the hurt was hurt or if any of their bullies had been especially cruel that day. Dustin, normally taking the brunt of harassment due to his condition and the overall nature of his personality, was used to being coddled by the big softie.
He let his head lean against Lucas’s shoulder. His best friend lowered his voice when he noticed and tried to relax his body. Having sat down, all that pain that his body had been holding back began to hit at once. If Dustin hadn’t been tired before, he would have been now.
That’s what made the truck swerving out of control even worse.
He should have expected the door on the back of the truck to swing open. The military was screaming, but it went in one ear and out the other. Dustin relied on the blurry images of people around him moving. He held his hands up by his head and made his way down, only to be grabbed. Whatever officer had been put in charge of him must have seen some haziness in his eyes. While his friends around him were shoved and pushed back, Dustn was simply led to his spot.
Small mercies are still small mercies.
The instant fresh air also started to clear his mind. It did nothing to dull the pain, but again Dustin would get whatever he could. He let himself focus on the cold metal under his beat-up hands, drowning out the shouts around them. Dustin didn’t process any other noise until Mike’s voice was in his ear.
“El? El? Have you seen El?” He could understand why Mike sounded so frantic. First, it was Vecna, and now it's the government. A horrible mix for their superpowered friend. He joined him in looking around at what little he could turn his head, only for Dustin also to come up short.
“She must have escaped.” Dustin watched Mike sigh and fought the urge to do the same. ‘We really needed that win.’ The relief was so strong; he even allowed himself to smile.
There’s a chance that anyone you talk to who has met Dustin Henderson will tell you he’s smart. They may even use the word "genius. None of those people will ever understand why Dustin hates those words. He’s not smart but hyperaware. There’s an inkling in his mind in situations that he tries to stomp down, but it never works. And when he is right, it always, always leads to the bad outcome.
Dustin thought Jane getting away was too easy. He looked for foot tracks around him and Mike and saw nothing. There should have been an empty space between them, but there was not. It was almost like she never existed in the truck before. Had she even left with them? She was, without question, not here now.
Mike glanced away. His smile fell; breath caught in the back of his throat. It was all the prompting Dustin needed to know he was right and turn around. There was no victory or celebration as his eyes caught the real El. Just a deep-seated dread.
“Oh, God.” He should become a praying man. Dustin had been there. Just a long repeated prayer of ‘please not her too.’
“Mike!” Dustin moved when Mike moved. He reached for his best friend as he pushed off the truck. It may have worked, too, as their eyes met for the briefest of moments.
And then Dustin hit the ground, hard.
One moment, he was up on his feet, calling after Mike. He blinked, and the ground was too close for comfort. The officer who had been watching him jumped down to the ground, and his arms were the only thing that kept Dustin from smacking into the pavement. Still, the action jostled everything in just the wrong way that he let out a harsh cry; one thankfully ignored by everyone else.
Still, he fought the arms holding him as the military man settled them on the ground. He cried for the girl who had changed his life. “Eleven!” Sadly, it didn’t work. Dustin watched another best friend die. Another fracture grew in his heart.
Then, they were blasted by an extreme light.
He turned in the officer’s arms to shield his eyes as the man shielded them both. Honestly, why were all these men holding back the party? What harm comes to them if one of us only makes it in time to barely pull her out? It’s not like they would have any luck trying.
Dustin fell out of the officer’s arms to the ground. He held himself up enough to see everyone’s faces fall. Tears streamed down his own face as he stared at the closed gate. A solid wall of rock. He tried to crawl forward and stand back up, but the world started swaying again.
That cursed stone wall was the last thing Dustin saw before his vision went dark.
For the first time since, Dustin stirs. He isn’t sure what he expects now. Maybe to wake up still next to the truck, his body aching. They could have gone home, and he would wake up in his bed just to find out this had all been a dream. Maybe he would be on Steve’s couch, having slept over after a movie night.
There is nothing to prepare Dustin for waking up alone on a hospital bed. IV line protrudes from his elbow. The sheets underneath bring back that familiar itch on his skin. It’s cold in the room, and being alone only makes Dustin shiver more. His hands shift on the sheet over his body as he keeps still, allowing his senses to start working again.
Sight is easy. The room is too bright at first, but a few quick blinks fix it. His head aches, but otherwise, he can see just fine. What takes the longest is his hearing. Well, not the action of hearing but processing what he is hearing. It all sounds like loud background static when he first wakes up. The longer he lies there, allowing his body to reboot. The more Dustin starts to understand.
Someone outside his room is yelling.
“It’s not like I am going to go anywhere without him! You can chain me to the chair in there if you want!” His doorknob shakes. Dustin tenses in bed.
The response is too quiet to hear, but his door opens before that becomes a serious concern. Steve’s head peeks around the open door. He’s leaning his entire weight on the wood, making it groan in protest. His eyes are red, and his hand shakes as it grips the metal. It takes a little too long for his eyes to meet Dustin’s. When they do, a loud sob emits from him. His best friend wastes no time in rushing to his bedside to look him over.
“How are you feeling? Are you okay? Scratch that. I know you aren’t okay. But you’re awake, and honestly, I don’t really care about much else right now.” Steve rambles before hugging Dustin as close and as tight as he dares to without hurting Dustin or messing with anything connected to him.
“How-- how long has it been?” He chokes out, frowning at the pain it causes.
Steve leans back. The older boy helps him drink a bit of water as he responds. “Twelve hours. I know that sounds like a lot, but—actually, what do you remember?”
“We made it out. Or we started to and then--” As Dustin tries to recall what happened, it all comes back. ‘The truck. Being held against the cold metal. Eleven...’
‘El...’
“Jane is gone.” It sounds quiet even to his ears, but Steve is close enough that he still hears it. Any smile he had at seeing Dustin awake fades to that sad knowing smile Dustin has seen directed at him for 18 months now. He really needs Steve to go back to not doing this again.
“Yeah, Dust.” Steve sounds quiet, too. It makes sense why his eyes are red.
Dustin immediately feels guilty. It wasn’t just Dustin affected this time. They all loved El, Jane, including Steve, especially Steve, if the extra boxes of Eggo waffles and the soft blankets all around his house are anything to go by. Steve had even bought her the girl’s second stuffed animal and then needed to explain what its uses were. It is a soft gray bear that would now be alone in the Byers’ home alone.
Dustin makes a mental note to find out if Steve ever had stuffed animals and then buy him one anyway. They would all need comfort items after everything they have been through.
“I’m sorry.” Steve pulls his attention back to his best friend as he sits on the edge of Dustin’s bed. He brushes some of Dustin’s hair off his face absentmindedly before turning away. “I didn’t want to lose anyone else.”
“This wasn’t your fault.” He doesn’t hesitate to stop that train of thought. Steve still turns in surprise. “El was and will always be our hero.”
“Sometimes heroes have to make hard sacrifices.” Steve almost smiles, and Dustin matches him. They let the silence sit between them, sharing the same thought.
‘She had earned the chance to have a life for herself. If any one of us had to make that sacrifice, it shouldn’t have been her.’
It takes a while to work up the energy to speak again. His voice sounds weak when Dustin finally manages it. “How long until we go home? Where’s mom?”
“I called her. They tried to, but Claudia would only talk if it was to one of us.” Steve’s cheeks turn pink in the way they always do when talking about his mom. It makes Dustin laugh in a sad way that he is still not used to a parent figure caring about his well-being, too. At least Dustin and Claudia were determined to fix that. “They need to question you some now that you are awake, and the doctors need to check you out again.”
“Are we being arrested?” That is his main concern, even though Dustin won’t be caught off guard at all if Steve says yes.
“No.” Steve sounds as shocked as Dustin feels. “I will be honest. I didn’t get it all, and Lucas or Will can probably explain it to you better. But at least the four of us have done nothing to warrant anyone other than a few tickets. As for Nancy, Hop, and the others ‘adults,’” Steve does air quote adults and this time Dustin can’t help but laugh. It makes Steve smile at him. “They don’t want to have to explain why the government was tracking down so many kids.”
“So, we protect their secrets, and we don’t have to be held captive?” That sounds downright stupid. But, he won’t complain about being let go.
“Along with putting up with questioning and monitoring for a few months to see if any of us have any effects from so much exposure to the Upside Down.” Steve shrugs.
Dustin nods along. The more he thinks about it, though, the more anxious he gets. “Can you—are you--” He cuts himself off, frustrated at being unable to express what he needs. The words are all caught in his chest.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Steve glances back at the door. “I mean, I need to get up to let them know they can come in and then stand out of the doctor’s way. But, otherwise, I’m staying right here with you.”
Dustin feels both relaxed and tearful again. This time, he has more success in holding them back. He offers Steve a small nod. His best friend squeezes his hand before standing and alerting the staff that Dustin was awake. A fact they probably already knew, but at least they had given him time to wake up before rushing in.
Two more hours pass of tests and questioning before Steve can even begin discharge paperwork. Dustin gets changed into some fresh, basic sweats as he signs everything and takes the medical notes to give to Claudia, even though Dustin knows Steve will want to help, too. His best friend has his own stack of instructions from a checkup he had while Dustin was still out. They are both tired and drained.
Everyone else had been picked up by their parents or dropped off by Jonathan, leaving just Dustin with Steve. They make it all the way outside before Dustin remembers that Steve has no car. He almost worries when a familiar Volvo pulls up to the front of the base. He turns to Steve, humming.
“I couldn’t tell her everything over the phone, but I did remember my missing car.” Steve offers their mom a small wave as she parks. “She laughed at the thought of me driving us either way.”
Dustin doesn’t have the time to respond. Claudia Henderson throws the car in park and her hazards on before jumping out of the car. She all but dashes to them, tugging both of them straight into her arms. Dustin feels some of his tension leave his body, and the need to cry returns full force.
“Hi, Mom.” He chokes out, face hidden against her shoulder.
“Hey, Claudia.” Steve sounds in a similar position. One arm wraps around her, and the other keeps Dustin close.
“None of that, Stevie.” It was a habit she had since Dustin first started bringing Steve over; they were her boys: Dusty and Stevie.
“Sorry, mom.” Normally, the trio would laugh over it whenever Steve got flustered over such a small gesture. Now, though, he feels her hold on them both tighten.
“It’s okay. I’m just glad my boys are okay.” A soft kiss falls on both of their heads before she pulls away to open the backseat car doors for them. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Steve takes the seat furthest away, behind the driver’s seat, after helping Dustin in. He waits for the older boy to settle before shifting over to the middle seat to lean against Steve. His best friend’s arm immediatelywraps around his shoulder when they both buckle in.
Mom doesn’t speak until she gets back on the road. Then, she meets Steve’s eyes in the review mirror. “I don’t expect the whole story tonight. We are going to focus on getting you both some real food, a hot shower, and then to sleep.”
“Over breakfast tomorrow?” Steve offers as Dustin lays his head on his shoulder.
“I’ll make pancakes.” Their mom agrees with a nod.
They continue to talk softly over Dustin’s head, but he misses it all as he drifts back off to sleep. It’s easier this time, feeling the love and safety radiating around the car. Steve never let's go of him, either, just stays there holding him.
Steve sleeps on an air mattress in Dustin’s room that night. In the next few days, the guest bedroom officially become his. That next morning, they eat chocolate chip pancakes as Steve and Dustin tell Claudia everything. None of their faces stay dry for the majority of the conversation. Dustin starts, filling in both of them on details they hadn’t been there for when Eleven first arrived. After that, Steve and Dustin take turns telling the story of her bravery.
“I wish I had more time to get to know Eddie and Eleven,” is the first thing Claudia says when they finish. Both of her boys are silently crying over their long, empty plates. She takes both their hands in hers. “I think I would have liked them.”
“You would have loved them, Mom.” Dustin sniffs as he nods.
“They were the best,” Steve adds quietly. Dustin stares at Steve in surprise, but for once the other doesn’t meet his eyes. “You totally would have tried to adopt them, too. Well, at least Eddie, Mrs. Byers already claimed Jane.”
“Then I guess I have three kids, and we have a grave to clean.” She squeezes their hands.
Dustin looks between them and sobs more. Steve gets up from his chair to move closer, and they share another group hug at the dining table as Dustin wonders if they will ever be okay again. But maybe grief won’t be so bad this time. Afterall, it’s an old friend.