#c;hazel

Thankfully, Dustin had only received minor injuries from the storm, but he made sure to text Hazel, seeing as she was his ICE. As soon as he received something allowing him to know she had been a little worse for wear and hospitalized, though, he knew that he had to get to the hospital as soon as possible to see her. She was his platonic soulmate, after all, and he wasn’t going to allow her to be in the hospital without his company after she had dedicated so much time to remaining by his side while he had been in the hospital not long ago. She had spent hours and hours there beside him, waiting for him to wake up, keeping him company, and everything else to top it off and he felt like he should return the favor- not just out of obligation but out of genuinely wanting to. She was his friend and he was worried for her. Jesus, a fire. Dustin couldn’t even imagine that. As he finally entered the hospital, feeling like he needed to change his socks just from how wet it was outside, he ruffled his hair and only succeeded in mussing it up more, his glasses abandoned somewhere at home in his apartment he hoped Teddy was taking care of the farm, he felt as if he must look like he hadn’t showered in a multitude of days. Once he asked the receptionist for where Hazel was located and made sure that it was alright to go see her, he made his way to her and smiled when he saw her immediately, although the concerned expression remained on his face. They must both look like a hot mess, which he supposed made for a matching set, waving a little as he approached, saying gently, “Hey... You okay? I’ve been worried.” Finding a place to sit beside her, he offered her his hand, smiling at her. “I’ll take you home when you can go home, if you want? I think I’ll be hanging around here for a while, so... Hopefully Permanent Record isn’t banged up too much. If it is... you can crash at mine? You know... Safety first.”

“Knock knock!” Roxie’s voice chirped in its typical natural loud, shrill volume as she entered the upstairs loft above Permanent Record. She had promised to come over and help Hazel with getting ready, already in her dress for the evening. She would have preferred to wear a skirt and a top more than she would have a formal dress; unfortunately, the event was formal and she had no other choice than to do so. Having already let Hazel know that she was on her way, she just took to letting herself in rather than knocking. After all, she should probably get there early to observe the people that were coming into the ball, rather than so many of them already being there and her struggling to do so after the crowd had already entered the building. With so many masks and people, it would be too hard. Of course, they were still going to have some fun too, but right now she needed to do her job, the reason she had moved here to begin with. Her six-inch stilettos clicking across the floor as she walked through and into her bedroom, peeping in, her curled hair- now bleached back to blonde- around her shoulders, she offered her girlfriend a friendly smile and a little wave. “Can I help ya with anythin’ so we can get out the door? I don’t wanna rush ya either, I’ve got some time to spare before we gotta be down there.” Not too much time, just enough that if something came up and they had to focus their energy on problem-solving as Roxie wouldn’t put past any incidents of someone getting their hair stuck in a brush, for example, it wouldn’t be a big deal. “Have ya had anythin’ to eat? I think there’s gonna be food there, just checkin’.”

ROXIE: Hey! Ya okay? That storm was pretty fuckin' bad.

Roxie didn’t change, to put it lightly. Even now, she would still be the pencil-pusher that could get a slight impatient, although the texts she sent were moreover playful. Leaning against the wall and debating on lighting herself a cigarette, she decided against it. There would be plenty of time to have a cigarette at the end of the night. Waiting for Hazel to appear, she checked her nails before she was able to pick up on the sounds of her drawing closer. With the nature of her job, she had to learn how to pick up on the little sounds that people often ignored or brushed over. It was necessary, sometimes for her own survival. Waving at her when she saw her, anticipating it, she offered a friendly, warm smile this time and straightened, her heels clicking on the concrete and clasping her hands in front of her, stepping forward and pressing a kiss to her cheek. It seemed polite. “Hey. Ya ready to go? I’m starvin’.”

DUSTY: i difdn't wanna just drop in uninvitjed so.

DUSTY: Small world. How was your evening?

ROXIE: What I'm tryin' to say is I'd really like to take ya out for coffee or fix ya dinner or catch up, maybe. Whenever you're free... Ya know. Like old times an' shit. But better this time. I dunno. See where it goes.

Dustin had spent the night in. While a masquerade ball would have been perfect for the kind of style he wore, it didn’t feel right to go to it. Not only had he not felt up to it, he didn’t have a date to take with him and his boyfriend hadn’t asked him. Teddy had gone on ahead and he was fine with that, settling to stay in and keep the animal farm company while he lazed around with a Star Wars marathon and a bowl of popcorn he had cooked on the stove himself. Typically, he would have spent his Saturday working and then going home and doing homework. However, with not returning to work quite yet, he was instead already finished with his homework and left with nothing to do other than to laze around. For once, the workaholic didn’t have anything going on and he felt he was adequately caught up with his studies. Going back to university post-psychotic break was mildly overwhelming at first, and he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to keep up with his typical course load. However, the kinks were beginning to work themselves out and he was feeling pretty alright about it. Changed out of his day clothes by the late evening in favor of his Star Wars pajamas and halfway through The Last Jedi after a few late-night texts with his dad yes, he had been skipping around, the timeline isn’t in order anyway, he looked up when he heard a knock at the door, causing Muppet to wake up from his snoozing spot and start barking. “Shh, I’m going, I’m going! Eat your pinecone,” Dustin complained, pausing the movie and getting up from the couch, setting the bowl down and ambling to the door, swinging it open after he had unlocked it, finding Hazel there. “I guess I didn’t have to kiss a frog for this princess,” he commented after a heartbeat, eyeing her dress and grinning like an idiot, “Can I invite you in or do I have to fight a dragon in your honor?”