TalesOfRuby01
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Name: Dustin Henderson
Date: 02/19/88
In this unit we are reading Little Women, a book in which a major theme is family. The story tells us about four sisters, all who are very different yet very close. Before reading, reflect on what having siblings means to you, and if you have no siblings, how would your life be different?
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The boys reflect on what it means to have a sibling. They are both only children. But now they have each other
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But right now, as Dustin stands alone in the bathroom- eyes red, body lingering with black and blue- he's just so tired. He's so, so tired.
Tired of being angry. Tired of missing Eddie. Tired of pushing people away and being unhappy. Tired of being terrified of what's coming next, who he's going to lose next. Tired of seeing the people he loves more than anybody in the world and knowing that they probably wouldn't miss him if he died. Because Dustin made it that way. Because at this point, they've probably realized that Dustin's half the reason everyone is still stuck in this shit in the first place.
So, if Dustin downed the sleeping pills his mother has sitting on the bathroom counter, would anybody even notice if he did?
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Dustin Henderson is tired. He just wants it to stop. He doesn't realize his mistake until it might be too late.
So he calls Steve. -
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He clutches at his chest, taking big, gasping breaths that only make him thirst for more, but it doesn't seem like he can. Because his best friend is dead and he can't breathe without him, not when it was his fault.
Everything is swirling around him, like that one painting by Van Gough Nancy showed him years ago. He can somewhat make out a figure, talking to him, clutching at his shoulders. But Steve is drowning, Steve is drowning and nothing else matters besides his baby brother is dead, and it's Steve's fault because if Steve was faster, if Steve had tried harder, he could've stopped it. It could've been him, it should've been him.
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Sometimes Steve needs help too.
Dustin’s more then happy to be there for him.
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“Talk to me.”
Dustin takes a shaky deep breath, hoping that Steve didn’t notice the way his hands shook, the way his eyes burned, the way his throat seemed to be closing in on itself.
“You know my sleeping medication I’ve been taking?”
And it’s like Steve knows what he’s about to say, because he straightens in his seat, his eyes going wide ever so slightly. The shimmer of fear glistening.
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Short exploration of Dustin’s suicidal tendencies cause the Duffers refused to touch on it.
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Till You Came Into My Life (Gave Me Something To Lose) by TalesOfRuby01
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
14 Jan 2026
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“We can use force, y’know.”
Steve refused to look up at the soldier, continuing his silent protest.
The soldier inches forward, sneering. “We won’t get in trouble. Our goal is to make you talk. That means we can use whatever method we want.”
Steve’s heart flipped. Whatever method. That could include hurting Dustin.
He was sitting in a dimly lit room, the soldier in front of him attempting to conduct an interrogation. But Steve wasn’t going to answer questions. Not until he saw Dustin.
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The military needs information from the party after the events of the final battle. They question Steve and Dustin separately.
That does not work out great.
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Recent series
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We Can Be Heroes (Just For One Day)- Post finale Steve & Dustin by TalesOfRuby01
Fandom Stranger Things (TV 2016)
19 Feb 2026
- Words:
- 30,117
- Works:
- 9
- Bookmarks:
- 29
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Steve thinks he has it under control. It’s just an unstable staircase and a bit of a climb— a calculated risk to get the job done.
But when the concrete begins to melt and Dustin screams, Steve realises they aren't looking at the same thing. Steve sees a mission; Dustin sees another person leaving him behind.
In the wreckage of a collapsed ladder, Steve has to face the one thing he didn't factor into his plan: the boy who refuses to watch him die.
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Set during the stairwell scene in Season 5, Episode 6.
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"I'm tired of feeling so angry, all the time, I mean, sometimes it feels like it'll never go away. Like that's all there is now, is just anger, and I'm not even scared anymore, which scares me a little, but I guess I know how you feel because I want to throw myself at something until it hurts-" He hears the slight intake of breath that Steve takes when he says that.
"Dustin-"
"And I'm sorry," his voice breaks, just slightly on that word, sorry, with how loaded it is.
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Dustin realizes with certainty, at the end of the world, that if Steve dies, it'll still be his fault, because no matter how much he pushes Steve away, it'll never be far enough to protect him.
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Eddie’s trying to plan the evening’s soundtrack in his head when he catches sight of Dustin Henderson.
The kid is on his own, sitting on the ground outside the school building. His back leaning against the school’s phone box, like he was hoping someone might ring. He looks completely pathetic, crumpled up and small. He’s basically the only person left in the parking lot; even the teachers have long fucked off home.
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Or: Eddie, Dustin, and Steve meet in the Hawkins High parking lot.
Bookmarked by TalesOfRuby01
16 Feb 2026
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Panic surges in Steve’s chest, and he’s fighting against the tide of the crowd—yelling frantically like he did in The Upside Down, in Nancy’s living room, “Dustin, Dustin!”
Except now he can’t hear Dustin, he can’t hear him, and Robin’s face flashes into view, eyes wide and wet, and all Steve can say desperately is, “I can’t leave him, I can’t leave him.”
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For the first time in years, as Dustin watched him jump off the boat and into the lake, he thought about the older brother he longed for as a kid and realized that if Steve didn’t come back up he would be losing something vital.