dusteve

Steve smiled at him across the table, trying not to preen too much under the compliment from his husband. "It's our year anniversary." Steve explained to the sommelier, who seemed entirely uninterested. "I was born in 66, so-"

Upon catching a glimpse of Dustin's face, Steve stared. "... You were talking about me, weren't you? Your husband and best friend. Right?"

"Of course!" Dustin said with far too much gusto and a voice crack that gave away the lie. "Obviously I'm talking about you, my beloved husband and partner in all things, what else-"

"I believe Star Trek premiered in 1966, sir." The sommelier said easily, and Dustin looked panicked.

"I definitely wasn't talking about that- I think we're done actually, you can go. Actually, you're fired. I mean, not really, we'll tip, but-" Dustin stumbled over his words until the sommelier got the picture and stepped away.

"... Seriously, Henderson? Star Trek? You'll be lucky if we have a second anniversary." Steve asked flatly, and Dustin sunk down in his chair.

I think I haven't expressed myself enough about this: Dustin being the only one who manages to calm Eddie. This sequence makes it quite clear that Eddie trusts Dustin and viceversa.

FIRST, DUSTIN BEING THE ONLY ONE THAT EDDIE LISTENS TO, WHY DOES HE DO IT? BECAUSE HE TRUSTS HIM, THERE IS NOTHING MORE. THE WAY DUSTIN PUTS HIS HAND BETWEEN THEM AND THE OTHERS TO KEEP THEM FROM INTERVENING IS ANYTHING BUT SUBTLE, HE IS SAYING: I GOT THIS, I'LL FIX IT, HE IS NOT AFRAID, BUT HAS A FIERY DESIRE FOR EDDIE TO BE CERTAIN THAT HE BELIEVES HIM AND WANTS TO HELP HIM.

AND SECONDLY, STEVE'S LOOK, IN THE BACKGROUND, ANALYZING THE WHOLE SITUATION, AND THAT'S WHEN HE DEFINITELY UNDERSTANDS HOW MUCH EDDIE MEANS TO DUSTIN AND VICE VERSA.

I LOVE THAT THERE WERE SEVERAL SHOTS WHERE STEVE SEES THEM FROM AFAR AND THAT HELPS MY HC THAT HE BECOMES JEALOUS MORE THAN EVER BECAUSE OF THAT INTIMACY IN THE FRIENDSHIP THAT DUSTIN AND EDDIE HAVE.

(ignore the chinese subtitles—couldn't find a screenshot to save my life)

And then he was fully ready to lose his teeth so Mike wouldn't jump off a damn cliff? And Mike did anyway?

And then he said THIS in S2, unprompted?

And then in S3 he came home from camp and no one responded to his radio, and his mom said maybe they forgot and he started to believe her?

And then it turned out it wasn't actually a lapse of memory, they were just lying to give him a surprise welcome party? But then they ditched him anyway at the end of the day, because they thought he was lying about his camp girlfriend? A thought implanted by MAX, Lucas's girlfriend that Dustin said Lucas wanted to replace him in the Party, and that everyone went along with. Mike wasn't even there because he was too busy focusing on spending time with El.

And how Will asked Mike where Dustin was, and Mike couldn't answer? And Will said "See? You don't know, and you don't even care, and obviously he doesn't either and I don't blame him"?

Dustin is always willing to believe that he is the least important friend to his friends. Always the one people will miss the least, care the least. And sometimes the show even proved him right.

I think you can easily cross off the idea that Steve bought it himself, and the idea it was a gift is far more likely. I'd wonder if it was a sweet sixteen kind of gift, or even not his car at all, maybe his father's secondary car (though I don't find that likely, seems to be very much Steve's car.)

If someone had told sixteen-year-old Steve that he’d be attending the wedding of Jonathan Byers’ younger brother and one of the freshman benchwarmers on the basketball team, Steve would have told them they were insane. If that person had gone on to say that he’d be attending said wedding with one of the best friends of Jonathan Byers’ younger brother as his boyfriend, he would have called the police to tell them a patient had escaped from Pennhurst. 

And yet, that is exactly what Steve is doing. He’s currently squirming in a rickety chair on the sweeping lawn of a fancy summer villa for the wedding of Will Byers and Chance Lawson. Sweat trickles down his back under his suit from the hot afternoon sun watching the wedding party stand and melt as they wait for the grooms to come down the aisle. Mike and Lucas are standing opposite two basketball players Steve had never been that close with while Andy fucking Harper is currently either glaring or making eyes at Dustin. 

Steve has never thought murder sounded as compelling as it did right now. 

It’s his own fault too, Steve muses as he watches Dustin lean over and whisper something in Lucas’ ear, making him snicker behind his hand. Steve could have been up there, but he’d turned down Chance’s bizarre invitation to be one of his groomsmen despite barely having one conversation together off the court. He’d done so in a fit of loyalty to Dustin, refusing to be seen standing up with the basketball team that had made Dustin’s life a living hell in high school. 

And now, that inspired bit of loyalty is coming back to bite him in his ass. His sweaty, sweaty ass that is slowly going numb on this shit chair. Steve tries to recall the happy memory of Dustin’s eyes widening and then growing dark, completely turned on at the idea that Steve felt so strongly about rejecting his high school basketball team. Dustin had spent all afternoon showing Steve just how grateful he was for that little display.

Steve suddenly catches an elbow in the ribs.

“Hey, lighten up would you? You look like you’re at a funeral right now.” Robin hisses at him.

“Oh, sorry I’m not looking delighted that Dustin’s high school bully is looking at him like a piece of meat, Robin! It’s not exactly my idea of a good time!” Steve hisses back.

“Oh please, Dustin can handle himself. Cool it on the macho cave-man protective bullshit.”

“I haven’t even done anything!” Steve insists in a hysterical whisper, ignoring the way he’d been fantasizing about knocking that expression off Andy’s stupid face a second earlier.

Robin snorts in disbelief, but doesn’t have a chance to retort because the quartet starts playing “Pomp and Circumstance” and everyone rises and turns to the back of the house where the grooms are going to emerge to walk down the aisle. Chance walks down first, hair coiffed even higher than Steve’s. Well…that made sense, Steve grumpily tries to reason to himself. He had been out sweating in the humidity for almost two hours at this point. Steve had taken some amusement in watching Dustin’s own hair fight the constraints of his shellacked styling, curls growing wilder and wilder with every passing minute. 

It’s Will’s turn to walk down the aisle, arm in arm with Joyce and Jonathan. He’s already crying. Good grief, Steve thinks ungenerously. Crying over Chance? Really? The guy had been nice enough as a freshman, though he was as dull as dishwater. But Steve had long since abandoned any goodwill toward him after Dustin told him he’d been part of the group that had jumped him at Eddie’s grave right before their final crawl. 

Steve looks back up to the front. He can just make out from this distance the ugly scars on Andy’s face, somewhat faded in the intervening years, but still visible. Evidence of Dustin’s prismatic spray attack. Steve smiles grimly to himself. 

The smile slides off his face when Andy bite his lip as he rakes his eyes up and down Dustin’s form, lip curling lecherously. The hair on the back of Steve’s neck stands up. He remembers something similar in the way that Billy Hargrove used to look at Steve like that in the locker room showers. 

Sunshine siblings ☀️

For my people and especially @backwardsfrontwardscaps 💛

I like to think they’d keep a copy each of this portrait forever.

and I like how Tales is handling that, because he's diving into the HIC the same way he dives right into trying to crack a secret Russian code in s3. it's adventure. it's a brain puzzle. it's a curiosity voyage.

it's something that makes him special and unique and gives him a chance to show off how smart he is so he doesn't have to go back to "being a regular kid again."

Welcome to the First Annual Summer Break Dusteve Prompt Fest!

After watching our favorite idiots to lovers couple canonically riding off into the sunset together in a second hand camper, the Dusteve community is inviting you to celebrate the romance between Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson with a prompt fest to generate new fanworks!

Starting Monday, April 20, 2026, we'll be collecting prompts both here and at our AO3 Collection Page for claiming by anyone who wants to join in and create a fic, podfic, art, or other fanwork for our little ship that could!

Read on for information about schedule, how to submit a prompt, how to claim, rules, and answers to any other questions you may have!

And follow us here for featured prompts, and ways to connect with the wider Dusteve community! <3

Steve grimaced, rolling over onto his back away from him. "It's weird. You were a kid, I don't want to think about it. That's a hard no, Henderson."

Dustin rolled his eyes and just scooted closer, until he could prop his chin up on Steve's shoulder. He knew Steve's hard no's were actually squishy when he used puppy dog eyes on him. "Please? I know you didn't think about me like that back then, and it's not like I'm kid now. It's just...kind of a fantasy for me. Plus, I was 14, not that young. I'd watched plenty of porn by then, Steve. I'm pretty sure you were actually having sex by that age too."

Steve's face twisted, like me couldn't deny it but really, really wanted to. "But-"

"I'm not asking for you to picture me at the age your were when you worked there, I'm just asking you to...put out the outfit." Dustin suggested, walking his fingers across Steve's chest. "Please? It's so hot, Steve. I need to see you in the scoops uniform again."

Steve looked like he was starting to waver, which was all the encouragement Dustin needed to keep poking and proding.

"Come on, please, baby?" Dustin pressed a kiss to his skin. "Feed me something creamy and sweet?"

for the Dusteve fandom's viewing pleasure, who requested this scene without the audio covering it up lol (this is the best I could do)