Robin kept telling her it'd be okay - her and Dusty immediately clicked on a level Stevie never really had before with anyone else. Sure, she made friends with Robin, eventually, but it wasn't the same kind of bond.
And in the back of her mind, all she could hear was the things Tommy had called her, what Billy had called her, what it felt like the whole town called her - and none of it was as horrible as her parents saying she was a disappointment.
She didn't want to disappoint Dusty.
"Hey, um. Can we talk?" Stevie asked, over their dinner. Dusty invited her over, for the first time since they started dating.
Dusty blinked up at her, cheeks stuffed full of homemade Mac and Cheese, which was high romance food to the both of them. She bobbed her head, before swallowing so hard it looked like it may have been painful. "Yeah? Is something wrong? Please don't tell me you want to break up, I was all ready to marry you."
Stevie snorted, which took a little bit of her stress away - they'd only been dating for a month or so now.
"No...I... I have something to tell you, and I'm afraid you'll want to break up with me." Stevie said, folding her hands into her lap, eyes focused on the fork on her plate. "I'm... how do I say this? I...used to be a boy. I mean, I was raised as a boy, but that's not how I ever saw myself. But, when I was 17, I realized I didn't want to die with everyone thinking... that's who I was." Stevie said, not fully believing those words had left her mouth. It didn't feel real to say them to Dusty like this.
"Oh," Dusty said, blinking again. "Is that all? I knew that already. I'm the same, though I guess I still don't always feel like a girl. Or a guy. It's hard to explain."
Stevie jerked her head up, brown eyes wide in shock. "What do you mean you knew? Wait- I... What?"
Dusty looked highly amused, lips curling up. "I'm from Hawkins, Stevie. I'm friends with Mike Wheeler. I think you saw me a few times, when you dated Nancy?"
Stevie stared, before realization hit like a truck. She did remember a little nerdy curly haired kid rambling about board games. That was Dusty? There were so few people like her, especially in a town like Hawkins, it was why she moved to the city, so she'd just never expected anyone from home to know her.
"Oh," Stevie said slowly, somehow more and less stressed all at the same time. "You..."
Dusty nodded. "Don't care and I'm in the same boat as you."
Stevie nodded her head a few times, exhaling.
"...You want to go to the bedroom?" Stevie suggested, and Dusty shoved away from the table.
Steve and Robin murmur quietly together, still looking out into the dark of the evening. They don't seem to have noticed that they've been joined by anyone else.
"Steve," Dustin says, trying to get his attention. His voice is caught in the back of his throat and it comes out more quietly than he means to. He clears his throat and tries again. "Steve."
Robin and Steve stop talking and turn, and the suave confidence that Dustin has tried to project falters when he sees Steve's face. He looks nervous, head tipped down like he's almost reluctant to look Dustin directly in the eyes.
Dustin clears his throat again and extends his hand. "Shall we?"
That's when Steve looks up properly, surprise and hesitation and what Dustin thinks might be hope warring on his face. He looks at Robin, who deftly plucks the drink Steve's clutching out of his hands. She slips back into the reception with a wink to Dustin.
The music pulses faintly through the glass doors, though the late-night choir of insect song fills the air more fully. Dustin reaches out and takes Steve's empty hand, tugging him forward gently, and Steve follows.
"Here," Dustin says, taking Steve's other hand and placing it on the slope of his shoulder. When Steve doesn't pull away, Dustin slides his own hand around Steve's waist to the small of his back, and without any other words, they start to move together. Their dress shoes click on the slate stones of the patio as they step and turn slowly, not following precise dance movements, but just the rhythm of their own bodies.
They know each other, how to accommodate the different lengths of their strides, when to follow and when to lead. It's somehow more natural than Dustin expects, and exactly what he knew it would be like.
"So you finally got your head out of your ass," Steve says, breaking the silence.
"Wow, you're such a romantic," Dustin responds sarcastically, though without any real heat. "You steal all the ladies' hearts with lines like that?"
Steve smiles wryly. "It's working, isn't it? Not like you were responding to all my other attempts," Steve spins them so he's walking Dustin backward, starting to take the lead.
"Oh, is that what that was? I think you're going to need to try harder than that, Steve," Dustin says, the rhythm of their banter picking up.
"It's not my fault you have no observational skills," Steve retorts. "What's a guy gotta do these days anyway?"
"You called me a mopey bastard and then stormed off. Am I supposed to be impressed by that?" Dustin says, grinning up at Steve, taking the lead back and dancing them toward a more remote part of the patio.
"You're not?" Steve asks, bringing his face closer to Dustin's. He can see the glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Dustin knows Steve loves their bickering just as much as Dustin does. "You're right here, aren't you? I think I'm plenty romantic."
"Well, now that you've got my full attention, why don't you give me your best line?"
They've all but stopped moving at this point, swaying back and forth at the edge of the patio, the dark lawn sweeping out before them while stars glitter overhead.
"Can I do something that will make sure you don't feel like you're in middle school anymore?" Steve says suggestively, voice a low, deep rumble. His eyes drop to Dustin's lips.
"Dude," Dustin says. "That's your best line? That sucks!"
Steve pulls back, affronted. "Oh, like you could do any better? Show me your moves, then, Romeo!"
Dustin rolls his eyes, wraps his fingers around Steve's tie and pulls him down for a kiss, feeling Steve melt against him.
"You drive me nuts, Henderson," Steve huffs a laugh against his lips, before running his fingers through Dustin's curls to kiss him again.
"Oh, I know," Dustin says, smiling so widely he can barely kiss back.
The end.
@pingou7 @u40tapedeck @vvasilisssk @beekeeper85 for your happy ending reading pleasure
Robin stops them from another jump just in time. They both, she and Steve, freeze and stare at the door with panic, holding their breath. With a little creak the door is opening and there… a woman. Still that's not enough to calm them down. This woman is still a Russian, in a Russian soldier's uniform, with something looking like a metal tray in her hands with a towel on top. Robin can’t resist fear and thinks about what can be inside this tray. Some sharp, dangerous tools, created to cause pain and hurt. Robin knows that she must stay calm, at least try, but it is hard when you are tied and can’t do nothing to protect yourself. With wide-opened eyes Robin watches the woman approach, but not to her, but to Steve, and it makes Robin's insides become cold.
Steve, just like her, watches the woman in silence, but Robin somehow feels that he isn’t freaked out like her. Perhaps it was because he was injured. Robin assumes that he probably can’t see clearly, his face still covered with blood. His head must be throbbing with pain and messing up all his thoughts. She is scared even more, because that woman wants something exactly from Steve, but he is in an even more vulnerable state than Robin is. So Robin shoots, with a crack in her voice, trying to bring attention to herself “What do you want?”
Steve sees that woman's face frown a little. Her face does not look angry or evil. She is just confused. “Oh,” Steve inhales, “she doesn't understand. Robin, she doesn’t know English.”
“So what should we do?” Robin now can’t see the woman completely — she is standing right in front of Steve.
“I don’t know” with a lower Steve answered, because the woman is so close. She is watching him attentively and then without looking away she goes down on her knees.
“Я не понимаю” she says. Steve doesn't understand but her voice is soft and high, like she is really young, and even Russian still sounds rough and unfriendly, words that she speaks doesn’t sound like a threat “но я хочу помочь.” She takes a towel from her tray and slowly reaches it to Steve’s face. He flinches and tries to pull away but it isn’t really helping. Robin felt his movements and panicked “Steve? What is she doing?!”
Steve is silent and now is watching the woman as attentively as she does. He feels strangely warm in his aching chest, because this woman reminds him of Dustin. She has a similar round face with big cheeks, her eyes are the same shape like Dustin’s and even as light as his is. Except Dustin’s eyes are grey with blue and hers are grey with green. She has the same soft and messy curls all around her face. Steve desperately wants to trust her. He is hurt and tired, he wants so badly that someone will take care of him. The towel in the woman's hand seems clean and smells clean, with no scent trace of medicine. She is hesitating, saying again unknown words “я только хочу помочь.” Steve doesn't give her a real nod but he ducks his head a little. The woman carefully touches his face with the towel. It is breezy and damp. She starts to wipe the blood from Steve’s face.
“Steve?” Robin can’t help herself “What’s going on? What’s she doing? Steve!”
“She wipes my face” Steve managed to answer her. Along with this the woman continues to clean him. She starts from above, from his eye, and with small, careful and gentle touch goes down, around his nose and then ends up wiping his lips and chin.
Even if it isn't a real treatment Steve feels himself a little bit but better. The woman looks into his eyes a little from below, her face with unclear expression. The both silently are watching each other without any movements so Robin began to worry. “Steve?” she calls tensely. When Robin calls him the woman looks at the back of her head then shifts her gaze right in his chest where still pins a badge with his name. And again she looks into Steve’s eyes thoughtfully. “Стив?” she says uncertainly. It sounds very familiar at this time, Steve recognises his own name. Robin too. She panicked “Don’t tell her your name!”
“I am not telling it! Actually you are the one who is!” Steve cuts her and even cuts himself because the woman starts to smile. A small, tentative smile, but only on her lips but with that some warm sparks into her eyes. “Стив” she repeats more sure now “тебя так зовут?” The second part of her word still says nothing to Steve. But the woman lightly, like she is not doing it at all, touches his chest and says “Стив” and then touches her own chest “Василиса”. Steve stares at her. She nods a little like she tries to convince Steve in something and repeat all movements and words. “Steve, that is really suspicious! Don’t talk with her!” Robin can’t see the woman's facial expression so she still feels scared. But Steve doesn’t listen to her. He finally understands what the woman tries to tell him. “Va…” he is not sure how to pronounce it correctly but he tries his best “Vasilisa?”
“Да! Так меня зовут” she smiling brightly. She says again even trying to copy Robin’s pronunciation so this time it sounds just right “Steve. Приятно познакомиться.”
He doesn't know Russian. He doesn't know this woman. He was captured and tortured. But still he looks into her eyes and can’t help but say sincerely “Nice to meet you.” Somehow Steve is sure that she really wants to help them.
“What?!” Robin yelps “She is an enemy!”
“I know her name now. She doesn’t look like an enemy” Steve can’t resist himself and says the last word lower, almost like prayer “She looks like Dustin.” He wants to see him right now so much.
“She doesn't! She just curly! And you just have a type!”
Steve just huffs and ignores Robin. It is not the right time for this. Besides the woman, Vasilisa, looks at Robin but Steve sees that she really doesn’t understand English. She left aside a bloody towel and took something from her tray, only one little thing that was inside. She shows it to Steve on her opened palm — it is a single white pill. “Это обезболивающие” she says soft and sad “это все, что я могу сделать.” She is offering Steve the pill but he hesitates. He is not insane. But like, can things be worse than that? If she wants to poison him — to hurt him — she could do it already. But she gives him a choice and so Steve makes a decision. He gives this time a confident nod. Somehow Robin understands what is going on.
“No!” she screams like Steve’s about to be killed “Steve! Don’t! Steve!”
He doesn't have a choice about how to take this pill. He opens his mouth and leans forward. Vasilisa brings her hand right to his face and Steve licks the pill from her palm. He wants to swallow it dry but the woman with fast movement takes a flask from her belt. She opens it, takes herself a quick sip first, as to prove to him again that she is not trying to poison him, and only after that she holds out it to him. “Просто вода” she says. Steve nods one more time and she helps him to drink. She holds his chin with one hand, guiding him in a more comfortable way. With the first sip with which he swallows the pill Steve understands how thirsty he is. Even if it is not just water he understood Erica’s point by now. If that green lickvid didn't burn the floor he at least would have tried to drink it. He takes another couple of sips and then pulls away.
“My friend” he is nodding to Robin as best as he could “Give her water too. Please” he begged even if that woman didn't understand him. She gave him a small smile and quickly went to Robin.
“Maybe she is looking kinda similar to Dustin,” Robin says unsure, inspecting the woman and the flask in her hands. In the end she inhales and nods. Vasilisa helps her to drink too. Robin is thirsty as much as Steve is and now with that single kind gesture she changes her mind.
“Thank you,” Robin says, smiling at her. And the woman smiles back, but this smile is sad. This is sorry, that is so clear.
“Мне жаль” she says and take a step back “Это все, что я могу сделать.” She looks at them again, stays at Steve a little longer. “Steve” sounds like she likes to articulate his name “береги себя.” And she slips through the door and shoots it close.
Steve and Robin stare at the door a couple moments in silence. Only now they both start to think more about the situation and understand that they don’t get it at all. Robin starts first with a wandering tone “Somehow, even in this state, you, Steve the damn hair Harrington, seduce the woman! How?!”
Steve gasps with offense and words fall from his mouth before he thinks.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Steve Harrington/Dustin Henderson, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley & Dustin Henderson
Characters: Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, Robin Buckley, The Party (Stranger Things), Eddie Munson
Additional Tags: Canon Compliant, Good Friend Robin Buckley, Queen (Band) References, The Author Regrets Nothing, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, POV Robin Buckley, Mentioned Freddie Mercury, Banter, Robin Buckley is a Sweetheart
Summary:
Robin Buckley refuses to accept that the universe handed her front-row seats to the slow-burn, emotionally devastating phenomenon that is Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson—and did not expect her to document it.
This is the annotated record of two survivors and their favorite band, assembled and weaponized by the only person in Hawkins with the musical literacy, emotional range, and sheer stubbornness to do it properly.
She’s unstoppable, she has Freddie Mercury on her side.
(Take that, Nancy Wheeler, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, terrifyingly competent shot, and woman who still corrects Robin's comma usage in Christmas cards.)
You do realize Dustin is 13 when Steve met him and he was like 18.
Yes, I’m aware. I can do the math just fine without an anonymous message. Sometimes I ship them romantically, sometimes I don’t, it depends. 🤷🏻♀️
On a larger level:
The concept of friendship to love over the years exists, even between people who have a few years or more between them.
My grandparents were five years apart and they met when the youngest was 11 or so, were married 30 years and together much longer than that. The other never remarried BTW because they felt the teen they’d had met then was the one.
If the point of your message is to express that you’re perhaps uncomfortable with my latest Dusteve kiss drawing: you don’t have to ship any fictional characters you don’t wish to.
You are responsible for curating your own fandom experience and tumblr makes it so easy. Just feel free to block the Dusteve tag if you want to simply see them as brothers. Royalbard or any other ship tag might be more to your taste.
Steve Harrington went to the Jim Kirk school of being a romantic at heart, manwhore in action, and also he's a bottom bi bitch in the eyes of millions.
tagging my dustevie friends who were yapping about this on the discord! this is a communal AU to be clear 🫶 @allsunshin3 @eviecraveschaos @vvasilisssk @crashoutqueenstevie @pingou7
Where we start…
Stephanie aka Stevie Harrington – a preppy popular eleventh grade girl who plays all the varsity sports available to girls at Hawkins High: volleyball in the fall, basketball in the winter, and softball in the spring, as well as the swim team. Her mom disapproves of how boyish her hobbies are but Stevie just could not enjoy doing cheer squad. She compensates for her more masculine interests by wearing lots of makeup and dressing very femme and preppy. When we first get to know her in Season 1, she speaks in a higher register with a lot of vocal fry and uptalk.
Stevie hangs around mean girl Tammy Hagan, who she’s been friends with since middle school, and Tammy’s boyfriend Carl. Tammy has had a crush on Stevie since forever, and is very jealous of anyone who tries to get close to her. They practiced kissing together when they were younger, and Tammy sometimes pressures Stevie into making out with her at parties “to turn all the guys on, duh!” They are very physical with each other and Tammy is always gossiping and whispering mean shit about others to get Stevie to laugh. Tammy drags her meathead boyfriend Carl everywhere and they’re always making out with Stevie around, which Stevie just rolls her eyes about and doesn’t mind (she doesn’t realize Tammy is not so subtly trying to get them to have a threesome).
Though Stevie has a reputation, correct or not, for being “easy” and having lots of boyfriends, she surprises everyone when she starts dating goody-two-shoes Ned Wheeler. Ned is an honors student who is different from her usual type– he doesn’t play sports and doesn’t seem very concerned about popularity. Ned has a shy, nerdy friend named Bob who has a not so secret crush on him that Ned politely ignores. Ned dating someone as popular, pretty, and affluent as Stevie makes his parents very proud of him– which chafes at Ned, since he doesn’t actually want to end up like his dad.
The Party are all nerdy weird girls – Dusty Henderson, Michelle Wheeler, Lu Sinclair, and Willa Byers. Michelle is a huge disappointment to her mom because she’s so bad at performing femininity– all Michelle wants to do is play DnD and do A/V club stuff. Unlike Ned, who is the golden child of the family, Michelle can do no right. Willa is very quiet and shy, and she looks up to her sister, Joanie, who is an alt loner with a love for Sylvia Plath and Audre Lord, and considers herself a feminist. (No matter how feminist Joanie is though, she can’t help but despise the popular girls who parade about in the chains of femininity the way Stevie Harrington does, always sleeping around and “giving their power to men”– girls like that set the movement backward in her opinion!) Lu Sinclair is very loyal and headstrong– she is the oldest daughter and used to taking on more responsibility– especially with her kid brother Eric, who is such a handful– so she sometimes gets annoyed with Willa, Michelle, and Dusty when they are acting immature.
Seventh grade Dusty Henderson is a brainiac teacher’s pet who gets easily frustrated by the way everyone in society doesn’t expect girls to be good at science and math. On the contrary, like her favorite teacher Ms. Clarke, she is FASCINATED by scientific discovery! Ms. Clarke happily shepherds the all-girls’ A/V club. Dusty is by far the smartest student in her grade but constantly gets sidelined by people for being a girl, which makes her easily annoyed and eager to prove herself– she gets a reputation for being a loud mouth know-it-all, and the mean girls at school mock her mercilessly. Worth noting that due to sexism, Dusty knowing that she's right about things is seen as less charming than a boy doing the same. So she's even more acerbic/prickly and her friendship with the lovable and easygoing Stevie takes people even MORE by surprise when they hit it off in season 2...
(to be continued with season 2 thoughts on another post-- will be updating this)
(i was looking up vintage basketball photos and this girl is the stevie vibe imo!! i know both photos are blonde hair, i mostly am thinking of the energy they're bringing...)
and she probably still dresses very preppy otherwise-- clean cut and femme to compensate for the perceived dykishness of being a girl athlete.
i tried to look up some nerdy girl vibes for Dusty but honestly it was difficult (bc of stereotypes and misogyny) and tbh I think Dusty dresses very similarly to how Dustin dresses in s1 bc she doesn't care about being particularly fashionable or femme-- probably just has longer and even more unruly hair! but if i had to choose an inspo photo i would say dusty could perhaps have some similar styling and vibes to Suzie, though i'm partial to jeans/overalls and t-shirt girl Dusty...
IT'S HERE! The Summer Break Dusteve Prompt Fest is LIVE! 106 prompts, 24 fics, 2 languages, tags ranging from first kiss to time travel to slow burn to dream sex and everything in between!
Go give them some love!
Thank you to everyone who participated, out writers and betas, artists and cheerleaders, and thank you to the best co-mod anyone could have asked for, @cherrypie-55, without whom this fest literally would not have happened.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 23/?
Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage Sex
Relationships: Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & The Party, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington/Dustin Henderson, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Jonathan Byers & Steve Harrington & Nancy Wheeler, Dustin Henderson & Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley & Dustin Henderson
Characters: Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, Robin Buckley, Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Eleven | Jane Hopper, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Claudia Henderson, Sam Owens (Stranger Things), Susan Hargrove, Sue Sinclair, Joyce Byers, Karen Wheeler
Additional Tags: Steve Harrington-centric, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Eleven | Jane Hopper Lives, Demisexual Steve Harrington, Pack Dynamics, Slow Burn, Hurt Steve Harrington, Drug Abuse, Past Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Self-Esteem Issues, Steve Harrington Has PTSD, Dustin Henderson Has PTSD, Platonic Soulmates Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Blind Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Worldbuilding, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Sex, Period Typical Bigotry, Nancy Wheeler is Bad at Feelings, Mike Wheeler Loves Will Byers, Mike Wheeler Loves Eleven | Jane Hopper, Protective Party (Stranger Things), Billy Hargrove Being an Asshole, Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart, Everyone Needs a Hug, Stranger Things 5 Vol. 2 Rewrite, Scent Kink, Panic Attacks, Found Family, Good Friend Robin Buckley, Past Abuse, Crack Treated Seriously, Protective Robin Buckley, Dyslexic Steve Harrington
Summary:
What happens when an Alpha decides it’s safer to erase himself than risk being wrong?
Steve Harrington had spent years on suppressants, convinced he was a failed Alpha after Nancy left him for Omega Jonathan Byers. Dustin Henderson—a Latent who hadn't presented yet past sixteen—realized Steve was self-destructing when he discovered his best friend in Alpha drop.
This is the story where they discover that being each other's person has nothing to do with designation stereotypes and everything to do with choice.
(Title taken from the song: Owner Of A Lonely Heart by Yes.)
TW : A/B/O dynamics, addiction and self-worth issues, period‑typical homophobia and disability (Max is blind). Some themes are heavy and take time to unfold.
This is ultimately a happily‑ever‑after story, and consensual, age‑appropriate porn with feelings appears later.
steve is so relaxed around dustin that he basically falls asleep any time they start watching a movie or spend any down time together on the couch. dustin has mild insomnia and stays up late, so it's only on rare days when he's exhausted enough that he'll join steve in his naps. but dustin really enjoys holding and softly petting steve's hair as he sleeps, so it's a win-win (unless steve falls asleep during a movie dustin really wanted him to watch).
Usually, when Steve takes a nap and they don’t watch a movie, Dustin is reading. Fiction or scientific works. Sometimes Steve asks Dustin to read aloud even if he doesn't understand anything Dustin read about. Most of the time Steve falls asleep really fast but Dustin continues to read aloud. He knows that his voice doesn’t wake him up, and that Steve needs it because hearing Dustin’s voice always calms him. He really likes to listen to him, sleep or awake.
They watch a lot of movies but the older they become, the more they prefer this favorite, old movies. Especially their most loved trilogy, Star Wars (which became more than a trilogy, six parts now), Lord of the Rings (which became older with them) and Back to the Future. Despite Steve watching them with Dustin so many times already, Dustin insists that Steve have to watch them really intently. Steve complains but actually, if he didn’t like these movies he wouldn't have watched them so many times before.
