Work Text:
The yellow and red leaves crunch under Dustin’s shoes. It’s a cold Sunday in October and definitely not how he had planned to spend it. He had experiments and calculations to do. He worked on a statistic, but then Dart slipped out of the door when Dustin was busy munching a slice of pumpkin pie and not sharing , thank you very much.
Who knows if Dart can even stomach pie? Are there pumpkins in the Upside Down?
Dart left a little trail behind at first, because he’s started to spill some weird black goo Dustin scooped into a few vials and now Dustin saw his little tail a few times between the bushes and hey, it would be a great opportunity to study Dart’s trail if Dustin wasn’t so annoyed.
Now he hasn’t seen a sign of Dart in twenty minutes. He’s probably lost him and now there’s a tiny Demodog loose in Hawkins’ Woods - but to be honest chances are high it might not be the first or last one, because Dustin’s hometown is more monster den than city at this point. Not that the public knows about it. It’s astonishing how much people miss when they cling to normalcy. So all the scratches and maimed pets are due to a wolf plague - as if they all don’t know that the last wolf in that area was killed by some hunters fifty years ago.
Dustin kicks away a pine cone that’s in his way. What a disaster. He should go home and call Steve. Steve who is supposed to be his best friend but recently started hanging out with Billy Hargrove of all people. Steve who’s suddenly busy all the time. Steve who used to be cool now, not a bully anymore and didn’t like people like Billy a bit.
Dustin just doesn’t get it. What does Billy Hargrove have to offer to Steve? Except for hairspray, cigarettes and tight jeans that scream self esteem issues?
“Henderson.” Speaking of the devil. Maybe these woods are cursed.
Apparently Dustin’s day is about to get worse. Billy Hargrove sits on a bench, smoking a cigarette. He looks oddly out of place in the middle of the woods, wearing a shit ton of denim which is way too cold for the weather.
“Whatcha doin’ here?” he drawls, like the woods are his private property and Dustin’s a shady trespasser. As if the only one looking like a criminal isn’t Billy himself, blowing smoke into the fresh air.
Dustin rolls his eyes. “I’m looking for my… dog.”
It’s not a lie. Dart’s a dog - just a tiny Demodog with a growing appetite and several rows of teeth that seem to grow back whenever he loses one. Dart is a miracle.
Billy perks up in his seat and looks around like he’s expecting to see a golden retriever to jump around the corner. For a second Dustin thinks he might look excited. Then the resting bitch face is back.
“You should’ve kept it on a leash,” he tells Dustin.
Of course. What an asshole. Like Dustin can’t take care of his made up dog.
“I mean, it’s dangerous. They said in the papers there’s wolves and shit.” He sucks on his cigarette as if he’s a wise man and Dustin’s a kid not knowing anything.
“It’s not my fault he ran away.” Dustin purses his lips.
Billy shrugs. “Maybe he’ll get eaten.”
Which is very assuring.
“Oh, what if he’s hurt?” Dustin thinks loudly. God, he’s worried now. Not about wolves, because there aren’t any here. What if there’s a bigger Demodog and it ate Dart? He knows some animals kill their young. “What if he’s all alone?”
Dustin knows loneliness. He doesn’t want Dart to experience it, either. It’s stupid, because he might be an alien with a preference for meatballs, but that doesn’t mean he has to be by himself.
Billy sighs. He gets up, shoving a little book Dustin didn’t notice before, in the back pocket of his jeans.
Dustin frowns at him. Is he really offering to look for Dart?
“I like dogs,” Billy says, blowing cigarette smoke into Dustin’s direction. Asshole. Like that’s any explanation. Like he doesn’t glare at Dustin as if it’s his fault he’s even doing that. As if he’s offended on the behalf of Dustin’s dog he hasn’t met. “Let’s find the fucker.”
Billy Hargrove helping him is certainly the weirdest shit happening to Dustin and he met a girl that’s got telekinesis.
Still - “Hey, that’s my dog you’re talking about! He’s got a name!”
“What is it then?” Billy makes a sour face like he’s regretting his decision already, taking a long drag from his cigarette. Jesus, it’s not like Dustin’s forcing him, after all. He doesn’t get how Steve can like this guy. How Steve can hang out with him every weekend.
“Dart. Short for D'Artagnan.” He tries to look for black goo or Dart’s trail, but he only sees colorful leaves, a few acorns. Damn, he should have brought some meat or so to lure him back. Or a snack for himself, he thinks, rubbing his stomach a little.
“So, you’re two musketeers or what?” The corner of Billy’s lips twist. Dustin’s impressed Billy even knows that - not that he’s going to tell Billy that. He thought guys like Billy only care about cars and girls. (According to Steve Billy really loves his car. A Camaro. He works on it himself when something is broken. Jeez, what a guy - if he only weren't such an asshole).
“Who’s the third one? Harrington? Maxine?” Billy snickers, probably proud of himself for knowing a classic.
He flicks his cigarette to the ground, right next to a tree with a giant claw print on it. He doesn’t even stomp on the cigarette butt, staring at the split bark.
“This is a fire hazard,” Dustin tuts, ignoring the other’s quip. Great, now they’re going to die in a forest fire before whatever monster - possibly Freddy Krueger - that left behind those scratches in the tree finds them.
“It’s too humid for that.” As if Billy’s got any idea. He’s probably grown up in San Francisco or whatever (Steve probably told Dustin in one of his endless phone calls). He hangs out in the forrest in all denim, for fuck’s sake.
Dustin tells him so. Billy’s hands twitch. Maybe he thinks about strangling him. Oh God. Dustin’s about to get killed in the woods. Neither him nor Dart are getting meatballs for dinner.
“Is Dart a big dog?” Billy asks, teeth grinding, because dumping Dustin’s corpse in the forest is probably too much of a hassle for him, still eyeing the tree.
“No, rather small. Like this?” Dustin holds out his hands to demonstrate Dart’s size. “He’s still young.”
Billy glares at him again as if Dustin’s the worst pet owner in the world. Like he’s lost a puppy - oh. It does sound like that, does it? If they find Dart, Dustin’ll have to find some explanation. Maybe some freak accident like in a superhero movie?
They walk in silence, Billy actually seeming to look for a dog. Dustin catches himself thinking that that’s rather nice of him. He didn’t expect Billy to do anything nice like that.
He doesn’t see any trace of Dart. Above them the sky slowly turns into a swirl of orange and pink, a few stars already twinkling even though the night’s just lurking at the horizon hidden behind gray and blue clouds.
After an hour they pass the tree again that looks like Freddy Krueger’s claws tore it apart. Which is not a calming thought, because if they fall asleep, they might die. Not necessarily by Freddy, but some hungry Demodog looking for a midnight snack.
Dustin swallows hard. He should have brought a map. He’s wildly unprepared, just ran after Dart hoping to catch him before he even made it to the road and now he’s here lost in the forest with Billy Hargrove and without any plan or snacks.
“I think we’ve been here before,” he groans. This totally is the tree they passed already.
“Bullshit,” Billy scoffs. Of course that dick doesn’t believe him.
“I’m telling you!” Dustin picks up the cigarette butt that Billy flicked there himself. “There.”
Ugh, he’s holding something Billy had in his mouth. He drops it like a hot potato.
“Fuck.” Billy rubs his face. In the soft light of the dusk shining through the trees his blond mullet looks a little ginger. For a second Dustin could really imagine him being Max’s brother. They make the same grimaces after all.
Something’s rustling in a bush nearby. There’s a meek growl - it has to be Dart!
“Dart!” Dustin runs after the noise, ignoring Billy shouting after him. Suddenly the world goes sideways, his foot stuck between a root and small hole in the ground. He manages to catch his falls with his forearms, stopping himself from face planting into the ground. The air gets pressed out of his chest and it hurts.
He wipes a leaf out of his face. Dart’s nowhere to be seen. Great .
“Jesus, Henderson.” Billy’s looming over him, frowning.
“Thank you for your concern,” Dustin grumbles. He slowly sits up. There are scratches on his arms, burning a little. His right ankle throbs hard. It feels swollen and he can feel his own pulse there.
“My ankle.” He tries not to whine, but it really hurts.
Dustin tries to stand on it, but pain flares up in his leg and he stumbles again. There’s tears in his eyes, not only from the ache. He feels like crying. He’s lost, Dart’s gone and it’s getting dark and now he can’t walk.
“Shit.”
He expects Billy to laugh at him, but instead he’s met with a face full of resignation and a sigh as old as the world.
He holds out his hand to Dustin. Dustin stares at it.
“I’ll carry you,” Billy says slowly like he can’t believe what he’s about to do. He hauls Dustin up and Dustin halfway expects Billy to just stabilize his side, but he ends up on Billy’s back, clinging to him for his dear life.
What the fuck? He’s piggybacking. Billy’s carrying him. This is the weirdest day ever. Maybe Billy’s sick or something.
“If you tell anybody about this, I’m gonna fuck you up,” Hargrove growls - okay, he might be fine. Dustin bites his tongue because up close Billy smells like he’s been swimming in cologne and hairspray.
“Promise,” Dustin mumbles. His stomach grumbles and he’s secretly glad he’s close to Billy, because it’s getting cold and dark. Billy must be freezing too, only in his denim jacket. “We should try to head north.”
“You got a compass, nerd?” It’s lacking the usual bite. Maybe Billy’s getting hungry and tired, too.
“No,” Dustin admits. He thinks hard, because they need to get out of here or otherwise the Demodogs will eat them for dinner. He’ll continue to look for Dart tomorrow - with snacks, bait and a map.
“Moss grows on the north facing sides of the trees,” Billy says, somewhat unsure. “Let’s try that.”
Dustin read about this. He’s not sore that Billy remembered that before him, he isn’t. “I heard that, too.”
There’s moss everywhere, but thicker on one side of the trees. It’ll have to do.
The woods are silent. They’re running out of daylight. Billy starts walking, not complaining about how heavy Dustin is. Not that Dustin’s forgiving him for taking up so much of Steve’s time, but he must admit, he’s glad he’s not alone right now.
“My mom’s gonna get worried.” The thought has been circling in his head for a while now. He can see Claudia standing in the kitchen, pots bubbling, holding Mews and calling all of his friends to check if anybody heard from her Dusty.
“She wanted to make spaghetti with meatballs for dinner. She makes the best meatballs in the world.” He’s just rambling now, but otherwise he might cry. He can hear it in his own voice, way too shaky.
“It’s a wonder she hasn’t grown sick of it. After my dad left, it’s the only thing I ate for weeks.” He isn’t sure where that came from. He never told anybody this and now he’s telling Billy Hargrove.
Billy doesn’t answer. His jaw’s working.
“Sorry about your dad,” he finally says. Like he gets it. It's odd. Silence stretches between them. It’s so dark now they can barely see the trees, so Billy’s walking slower, more careful.
“It sucks.” His dad just walked out the door one day and never returned. He used to wait for him to come back.
“Dad’s suck,” Billy agrees and there’s a bitterness in his voice Dustin can’t place. It’s the same tone Max has when she tells them she’s grounded and that her step father is a pain in the ass sometimes.
“My mom left, too.”
It’s more a whisper and for a second Dustin’s not sure he heard correctly. Something inside Dustin’s chest clenches. Max never talks about home and only occasionally bitches about Billy. Dustin never thought about Billy’s family. Or mother - that he even had one and lost her.
He thinks of Claudia’s warm hugs and how cold the world would be without them. Without her.
“I’m sorry.” Dustin never imagined wanting to hug Billy, but he squeezes his shoulder a little.
Billy doesn’t say anything, but he sniffs a little. Dustin isn’t sure he can handle Billy Hargrove crying. He doesn’t know what to say, because he can't imagine a life without his mom. He's sad for Billy, because even assholes deserve mothers.
He settles for: “This isn’t how I expected my day to go.”
“Yeah. Was supposed to go on a date today,” Billy mumbles, a hint of gratefulness in his voice. Or Dustin's starting to hear things. “Instead I’ve been looking for some loser’s dog.”
There he is again. That asshole that’s way easier to deal with, sour about not getting it on with some girl-
Wait.
Dustin doesn’t scream or anything... it’s more a yelp and a sound of realization in once.
Because…
Steve’s meeting Billy today. He told Dustin. Because that’s all he talks about. Billy this, Billy that! It all makes sense now. Steve sees Billy through heart shaped glasses. That’s why he won’t shut up about him.
“With Steve ?” he blurts out. Oh my God, Steve’s got such a bad taste in men. This is way worse than them being friends.
Billy stops. He doesn’t drop Dustin, but he’s dangerously silent.
Maybe that’s how Dustin’s gonna die. Damn, and Dart’s all alone in the dark and Billy’s gonna go to prison and Steve’s going to be moping and nobody’s getting meatballs.
“‘m not a faggot,” Billy says. A defense that sounds more than a threat.
Dustin had been called that, even though it isn’t true. Had been knocked around by guys way older and bigger than him, guys like Billy. Or so, he thought.
“I’m not telling anyone.” Dustin promises. He’s good at keeping secrets. And he’s not only keeping Billy safe, but Steve as well. Steve who has been dating Billy.
Billy raises a brow. He doesn’t look like a trusting person.
“You’re good for him.” Dustin can’t believe he’s saying that and he finds it is true. “He smiles more, but you’re keeping him from me. I rarely see him anymore. It’s not fair.”
“Maybe I’m more fun than a bunch of dorks,” Billy tells him. He still sounds like a bitch, but it’s different from his groveling and threatening - he’s… he’s teasing.
Dustin wonders if he might have ended up in the Upside Down after all or in a parallel universe where Billy Hargrove is a half decent person.
“We should make a schedule. We can share him, because you can’t have him all the time!”
“You can get him on Mondays,” Billy offers with fake generosity. Dustin can hear his grin.
“What?” Dustin leans closer towards Billy’s ear to scream a little, to annoy him. “I’ve known him longer than you!”
“Wednesday mornings,” Billy says kindly.
“I’ve got school then. You asshole, I’m his best friend!” Dustin yells.
Billy laughs. “But you’re not sucki-”
“Jesus! Don’t finish that sentence, Billy” A light shines onto them. “I thought you were killing each other!”
“Steve!!” Dustin waves at Steve, still clinging to Billy’s back.
Steve stands with a backpack and a torchlight in his hands, glaring at them and looking so pissed . Oh, right. He thought he was being stood up by his date. His date is Billy Hargrove.
“Billy, I’ve been waiting for you for two hours,” Steve complains. He’s wearing his best coat and his hair looks fluffier than usual. “Going to Skull Rock was your idea.”
Oh. Yeah. Steve’s classical makeout spot is just around the corner. That if you don’t get lost halfway.
Billy’s neck turns a little pink. Fascinating. Dustin’s fingers itch for his notebook so that he can write down his observations. As much as he enjoys seeing Billy suffer, Dustin’s a scientist and always one for the truth.
“It’s not his fault! I lost Dart and Billy helped me…and then we got lost and I twisted my ankle…” Dustin moves his leg a little. The pain’s still there, duller than before, but he’d kill for an Advil.
Steve’s eyes dart from Dustin’s feet to Billy’s face. His gaze softens. “Thank you, Billy.”
“It’s nothin’,” Billy grumbles and turns his head as if to hide away from Steve’s affection.
Dustin, on the other hand, is getting Steve’s imitation of a dad’s glare after he found out you haven’t been doing your homework. He puts his hands in his hips and shakes his head in disappointment.
“You lost Dart,” he says, taking in a deep breath to start one of his endless rants when he thinks that Dustin has done something that either endangers himself or the general public. “Dustin, he’s dangerous and you shouldn’t let him out of the cage-”
A bark interrupts them. Too frail to come from a full grown Demodog, too alien to come from a real dog.
“Dart!” Dustin struggles and tugs at Billy’s hair so that he’s being let down with a huff. He tries not to put weight on the ankle, standing on his left leg.
Dart runs up to him, tail wagging. Relief floods through Dustin. Dart is safe .
“That’s your… dog,” Billy says flatly, obviously realizing that Dart isn’t a dog or any other common pet.
Shit.
Dart shrieks, opening his mouth, the deadly flower showing off its teeth. He grew a new row, Dustin realizes, feeling oddly proud of his little monster.
“It’s fucking ugly.” Billy crouches down in front of Dart, carefully raising his hand, so Dart can sniff it. Dart’s tongue licks across Billy’s skin.
“Good boy,” Billy tells him.
Dustin releases the breath he didn’t know he held. This really is the weirdest day he has ever had.
“Billy, you can’t touch it-” Steve’s wrong about that. Dart likes to get his back scratched like any other soul on this planet, it’s not his fault that Steve always says he’s too slimy .
Dart makes a sound Dustin can only classify as happy when Billy’s hand comes to lie on his back and begins to pet him. He’s more gentle than Dustin would have expected, but somehow clumsy like he isn’t used to it.
Billy grins at Steve. “But he’s so adorable.”
“Steve thinks Dart is disgusting,” Dustin informs him. If he sees an opportunity, he takes it.
Billy waggles his eyebrows at Steve. “I thought you liked disgusting.”
Ugh. Steve’s face turns so red Dustin can see it even in the dim light of his torch.
“We need to talk about your taste in men,” Dustin says, because why did it have to be Billy Hargrove? Of all the people in Hawkins? Indiana? The world?
“You told him?” Steve gapes at them. All the red drains out of him, leaving him pale as a ghost. “Dustin, I -”
Steve looks scared. Dustin didn’t think Steve could ever look like that. He’s selfless, throws himself into the front of monsters with only a baseball bat - oh. He’s not scared for himself, he’s scared for Billy.
Dustin never thought of Billy as someone that does need protection. Which is stupid, because everybody does. Even little Demodogs running around the forest.
“You’re ditching me to hang out with Billy,” Dustin sighs. “I don’t care that you’re boyfriends, I don’t ever see you anymore. I miss you!”
“Boyfriends,” Billy repeats like that’s news to him. It sounds more like a question.
Oh my God. He’s surrounded by idiots.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t actually talked about this?” Dustin groans. Seriously, those two are supposed to be older than him? More mature? Steve had been hanging out - or hooking up Lord have mercy - with Billy for weeks, ditching Dustin and they don’t even know they’re totally suckers for each other?
“For whatever reason,” he continues, “You like each other so much you spend every second with each other. You’re boyfriends! Get over it!”
Dart howls approvingly. Billy absently pats his back, eyes wide and focused only on Steve who is staring back at him with a similar dazed expression. If they were in a comic they’d probably both have heart eyes.
Dustin can’t stand it anymore.
“Let’s go, mom’s probably made enough meatballs for all of us.” Whenever his mom is upset, she bakes and cooks like she’s got to feed an army. Or hungry teenagers, Dustin has seen how much Steve’s able to eat. She’ll be delighted that Dustin’s home safe and brought two additional mouths to feed - even if one of them belongs to Billy Hargrove.
Billy stands up, helping Dustin to Steve’s car, grumbling something about weak nerds and how he can show Dustin how to work out which is only half insulting, because he sounds like he cares .
“I fell,” Dustin tells him. Billy watched him fall for fuck's sake. “It’s not my fault .”
“Don’t fight!” Steve says, standing a few inches away from Dart like he’s about to bite him.
“Not my fault your boyfriend’s a bitch!” Dustin shouts.
“Don’t talk about my boyfriend that way. He carried your ass through the woods,” Steve reminds him.
Billy looks like a cat that just ate a canary.
“He likes me better,” he hisses in Dustin’s ear. Oh, it really is a competition. Dustin realizes to his own horror that he’s having fun.
“We’ll see about that after the honeymoon phase. Get my dog,” he commands.
When Billy turns to grab the demodog, Steve makes a face. “Not on my seats.”
Dustin puffs his cheeks. Dart is coming with them. They got lost in the forest to find him.
“If he doesn’t flirt with my mom, Billy’s getting all your meatballs,” Dustin decides. Surely a win win.
“Yeah, got all your balls, Harrington.” Billy sounds awfully delighted, smiling boyish and crooked.
Dustin makes a belching sound. He thought he could like Billy for a second, but he has been wrong.
He sits on the backseat and Billy carefully hands Dart over to him like he really is more of a Chihuahua than a monster from another dimension - not that Billy knows that. He probably thinks that Dart’s an alien or whatever, but he doesn’t ask. It’s been a long day for all of them.
Billy sits on the passenger seat, reaching for the seatbelt when Steve clicks his tongue.
“Don’t touch anything before you wash your hands,” Steve says, but leans over to fasten his seatbelt and give Billy a kiss on the cheek. It’s sweeter than it should be, Dustin thinks.
Billy grins and makes grabby hands at Steve. They’re covered in black monster goo. Steve slaps them away.
Billy laughs again, cheeks dimpling. He looks younger around Steve. More carefree, without any tension. Steve’s probably good for him.
Maybe Billy could use some friends. Not that he’d admit it - or Dustin’s offering. It’s just theoretical.