I know this sounds insane but some Dustin Henderson x reader angst would be really good
like maybe his girlfriend and Steveâs sister dies during the Crawl and Hopper has to come back with her dead body and Dustin canât look at Steve at all anymore because not only does he see his dead best friend but now his dead girlfriend too
bro I started tearing up writing this imagine how Iâll feel reading a fic like this đ
you obviously donât have to, feel free to ignore this request too
I promise
Harrington!reader x Dustin Henderson
Warnings! Angst, death, grief. A/n IM SO MAD I HAD AN AMAZING THING WRITTEN FOR THIS BUT IT ALL GOT DELETED so this isnât rlly that goodđ
It was just meant to be a crawl, hopefully a successful one at that, this time it wasnât successful not at all.
Y/n was going to be joining hopper in the upside down the reasoning for this was because After the military locked down the MAC-Z, they realize something important, Radio signals inside the Upside Down degrade fast and unpredictably.
Dustin can reach Hopper â but only barely â and certain sectors are total dead zones.
They need someone inside the Upside Down whose entire job is to physically extend and stabilize communication.
Y/n was given this job because Sheâs smaller, faster, quieter than Hopper, and she can slip into tighter sectors that hopper physically canât fit through.
Dustin steps closer, carefully clipping the radio to the front of your jacket. His fingers linger for a second longer than they need to, adjusting the strap like heâs afraid that if he lets go, something might slip away.
âYou stay behind Hopper,â he says quietly, eyes flicking up to yours. âDonât try to be brave. Just⌠listen to him. Promise me.â
You give him a small smile, even though your stomach is twisting.
âIâm related to Steveâ you say lightly. âItâs genetic. Bravery, bad decisions â all of it.â
Steve lets out a low groan from beside you.
âJesus y/n. Thatâs really not reassuring, you know that, right?â
You laugh softly, then turn back to Dustin. Your hand slips into his, squeezing gently.
âIâll be careful,â you promise. âIâll come back. I always do.â
He swallows, nodding, even though his grip tightens around your fingers.
You lean forward and press a quick kiss to his cheek â warm, familiar, grounding.
âFor luck,â you whisper.
And for just a second, everything feels like it might be okay.
âAlright,â Hopper said sharply, already moving toward the equipment crates. He clapped his hands once, the sound echoing through the room. âWeâre rolling. Windowâs open, and we donât have much time.â
Everyone shifted at once â radios being clipped on, weapons checked, flashlights snapping to life. The air felt heavier, tighter, like the room itself was holding its breath.
Hopper slung his gear over his shoulder and glanced back at the group.
âNo hesitation. We go in, we get what we need, and we get out. Stay on your channels and donât wander.â
As youâre about to go and follow hopper Steve walks up to you his hands settle on your shoulders, steady and warm.
âHey. If anything feels off â even a little â you turn around and you get out. I donât care whatâs happening behind you,â he says quietly. âYou hear me? You come back in one piece.â
âYes I promise, Iâll come backâ you say with a reassuring grin
You fall into step behind Hopper.
Truthfully, youâre terrified â even though everyone had agreed to this plan, and you agreed too, convinced you could handle it.
Now that itâs really happening, youâre not so sure youâre going to come back in one piece.
But death didnât cross your mind once.
The air changes the second you step through.
Itâs colder â not just cold, but damp, like the inside of a cave that hasnât seen sunlight in years. Every breath tastes metallic, sharp against your tongue. The floor squelches faintly under your boots, a wet, rubbery sound that makes your stomach twist.
You tighten your grip on your flashlight.
âDustin, Iâm in,â you murmur.
Your voice echoes strangely, stretched and warped by the empty space around you.
âCopy,â Dustinâs voice comes through your headset, fuzzy but steady. âYour signalâs holding strong.â
The beam of your light cuts through thick strands of vine-like growth clinging to the walls. They twitch slightly as you brush past, like they can feel you.
You swallow.
âEverything here is⌠alive. I really hate that.â
Dustin lets out a quiet breathy laugh.
âYeah. Pretty sure that means youâre doing it right.â
Hopper moves behind you, quiet and solid, his boots careful on the slick ground.
âSlow and steady,â he mutters. âWe donât rush this.â
You nod, even though he canât see it.
âSignal check,â you whisper.
âStill clean,â Dustin replies. âYouâre doing great.â
Your chest tightens â just a little. You take another step forward.
And somewhere deeper in the tunnel, something shifts.
glance back at Hopper. His silhouette is steady, like a rock, but you can feel the weight of the moment pressing down on both of you. Every step makes the floor groan. Every twitch of the walls makes your nerves fire.
âAlmost at the junction,â Hopper whispers. His voice is low, cautious. âWeâre slow here.â
You nod and crouch slightly, flashlight sweeping over the ground. The wet, sticky substance coating the floor glistens in your beam. It smells⌠wrong. Something organic, something alive.
âDustin⌠itâs worse than I thought,â you whisper into the radio, your voice shaking just a little.
âYouâre fine. Youâre okay,â Dustin says, but you hear the edge in his tone, the tiny tremor heâs trying to hide.
You take a deep breath, trying to steady yourself. You brush past a tendril of the vine-like growth, and it twitches at your touch. Your stomach flips.
Hopper kneels briefly, examining the next section of tunnel. âThis is narrow. I canât get through there. Youâre gonna have to go first.â
Your heart stutters. You glance at him. âMe? Alone?â
He nods once, his face tight. âIâll follow. Slow, careful. Youâre small enough to check the next junction and make sure itâs safe.â
Your hands tighten around the radio. âOkay⌠okay. I can do this.â It sounds more like your saying it to yourself.
Dustinâs voice comes through, soft but firm. âYou got this. Just⌠come back to me, okay?â
You feel the warmth in your chest despite the icy air surrounding you. âI will,â you whisper, almost more to yourself than to him.
Another step forward.
And the walls groan. Something shifts ahead â low, wet, deliberate. You freeze, flashlight shaking slightly.
âHopper⌠somethingâs moving,â you whisper.
He doesnât answer right away. You hear his slow, careful breath.
âStay calm,â he finally says. âKeep moving⌠slowly. Donât let it know youâre scared.â
You swallow hard, the dread pressing down harder with every step. You can hear the faintest scraping in the distance â something alive, watching, waiting.
And in that moment, you realize how fragile everything really is. One wrong step. One mistake. And you might not make it back at all.
You reach the junction with a shaky breath.
The tunnel splits in two â one path slants upward, the other disappears into a tight, suffocating drop. Thick vines web the corners like veins, pulsing faintly beneath your fingers as you secure the repeater pack into place.
âDustin,â you whisper, âIâm at the junction.â
Static pops â then his voice comes through clearer than it has all night.
âWhoa â yeah, I see you. Your signal just spiked. You did it.â
Your chest loosens.
A quiet, relieved laugh slips out.
âOkay⌠good.â
Hopper nods behind you. âThatâs our anchor,â he murmurs. âNice work.â
You tighten the last strap and glance down at the blinking green light. âItâs holding,â you say softly. âSignalâs strong.â
âYouâre doing amazing,â Dustin says. âSeriously.â For one tiny second⌠it feels like everythingâs going to be okay.
Thenâ
A wet breath exhales somewhere behind you.
Not Hopper.
Your spine goes cold.
The vines beside your hand curl inward, twitching slowly.
ââŚDustin?â you whisper.
âYeah?â
âI donât think weâre alone.â
Hopper straightens.
âBack up,â he says quietly. âSlow.â
You turnâ
And the Demogorgon steps into your flashlight beam.
Tall.
Split-faced.
Breathing.
Your scream punches through the radio.
âRUN!â Hopper roars.
You stumble back, but the tunnel is too tight, your boots slipping on the wet floorâ
The Demogorgon lunges.
Its claws rake across your side.
You cry out, pain exploding through your ribs as you slam into the wall.
âDUSTINââ you scream into the mic.
Hopper fires â the gunshot echoes violently through the tunnel â
But the creature is already on you.
Your radio crackles with static as youâre dragged out of sight.
Your scream cuts off.
And thenâ
Nothing.
Dead air.
The world doesnât go black right away.
Thatâs the strange part.
It goes⌠quiet.
Your body feels heavy, like youâre sinking into warm water. The tunnel blurs, the sounds stretching thin and far away â Hopper shouting, Dustin yelling your name through the radio, the creatureâs footsteps â all of it melting into a low, distant hum.
Your fingers are still curled around the mic.
You can hear your own breathing, but it sounds like it belongs to someone else.
Slow.
Shaky.
Fading.
And then your mind starts to wander.
Youâre twelve again
Youâre sitting on the hood of Steveâs car, legs swinging, stealing fries from his bag while he pretends not to notice. You remember the sun on your face. The way the sky looked endless and blue.
Youâre laughing.
It feels warm there.
Youâre at the arcade. Dustin is holding the joystick, tongue poking out, seriously concentrating. Youâre leaning on him, laughing at the way heâs yelling at the game, totally immersed.
âYouâre cheating!â you shout.
âI am not!â he argues, grin wide. âYou just suck!â You punch his shoulder lightly, and he catches your hand, holding it just a second too long. You laugh, heart warm.
Youâre at the mall with Max and Eleven, racing from store to store. Max drags you along, laughing, while Eleven grabs your hand to keep up.
At the food court, you share fries and sodas, trying not to laugh when Eleven struggles with her straw.
Youâre sitting close, shoulders brushing. Dustin keeps glancing at you, suddenly quiet.
âWhat?â you tease.
He shrugs, cheeks pink â and then he leans in, clumsy and nervous. Your noses bump, you both laugh softly⌠and then his lips meet yours, warm and gentle.
Your heart races.
When he pulls back, smiling shyly, you squeeze his hand.
His gaze softens. âYou know I love you,â he says gently. âRight?â
You tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. âI know,â you whisper, âand I love you more than you think.â
Your chest tightens gently. Not pain â just pressure.
Like someone is laying a blanket over you. You think of the last thing you said to him.
Iâll be back. I promise.
Your lips part, but no sound comes out. Inside your mind, you whisper it anyway.
Iâm still here.
The memories blur at the edges, colors softening, sounds fading into quiet echoes. It feels like drifting toward sleep â heavy, warm, peaceful.
The last thing you see isnât the tunnel. Itâs Dustinâs smile. And the feeling of his hand in yours.
Then everything goes still.
And quiet. And safe.
Hopper emerges from the Upside Down, carrying her in his arms.
The tunnel air outside smells clean, normal, almost unreal compared to the horrors inside. But her body⌠her body is limp. Pale. Silent.
Hopper kneels carefully on the ground, setting her down gently. He doesnât let anyone else touch her. He just sits there, breathing hard, staring at her face.
Dustin bursts forward, radio still in hand, eyes wide. âY/N?â His voice cracks. âNo⌠no, no, no, noââ
He drops to his knees beside her, shaking her shoulder lightly, searching desperately for any sign of life.
âDustin,â Hopper says softly, hand on his shoulder. âShe⌠sheâs gone.â
Dustinâs hands fall limply to his sides. He canât look at Hopper. Every thought, every scream he heard in the radio, every memory of her alive and laughing â it all hits him at once.
Steve steps forward slowly, face pale, eyes fixed on her. Dustin freezes mid-breath. He cannot look at Steve. Because Steve is her face, her eyes, her smile â every little thing about her that Dustin loved.
âNo,â Dustin whispers, voice breaking. âShe⌠she was just talking to me. She⌠I heard her⌠she was fineâŚâ
Hopper kneels beside him, placing a steady hand on his back. âI did what I could-â
Dustin shakes his head violently. âNo. No. Sheâsâsheâs here, and I can hear her in my head. She said sheâd come back⌠she promised!â
Steve swallows hard, stepping back. He wants to say something, anything to comfort Dustin, but he knows he canât. His face, his presence, itâs too much. Every time Dustin looks at him, all he sees is her.
Dustin curls into himself beside her, rocking slightly, whispering all the things he wishes he could tell her one last time:
âI love you. I love you. Come back. Please⌠come backâŚâ
Hopper sits beside him quietly, silent and solid. He doesnât try to fix it, doesnât try to explain it. He just lets him feel the grief, because thereâs nothing else he can do.
And there she lies. Lifeless. The girl who ran through the tunnels, who laughed with Max, who raced bikes with Dustin, who stole his cap, who made the world light up with just her presence.
And now sheâs gone.
Dustin refuses to look at Steve. Every step, every word from him reminds him of her, and he canât bear it. So he stays there, pressed close to her, letting Hopper hold him up as the reality sets in.
The world feels too loud, too bright, and too empty â because the one person who made it feel safe is no longer in it.
Steve grieves quietly
The house feels wrong without you.
Steve notices it first in the smallest things â your shoes still by the door, your jacket draped over the back of a chair, the empty space beside him on the couch where you always curled up with your feet tucked under you. He reaches for his keys out of habit, ready to drive you somewhere, ready to complain about your music â and then remembers thereâs no one left to argue with.
He doesnât say your name out loud.
He canât.
He cleans instead. Wipes counters that are already clean. Folds blankets that still smell faintly like your shampoo. Itâs the only way he knows how to keep from falling apart.
Sometimes he catches himself smiling at something dumb â a commercial you wouldâve laughed at, a joke you wouldâve made â and it knocks the breath out of him all over again.
He was supposed to keep you safe.
Dustin grieves louder.
At night, he keeps your radio on his nightstand, fingers tracing the worn buttons like muscle memory. He presses it to his chest, listening to static like it might turn into your voice if he just waits long enough.
He talks to you when no oneâs listening â about school, about stupid arcade games, about everything he never got to tell you.
Some nights he cries so hard his throat aches.
âYou were still talking to me,â he whispers into the dark. âYou were still aliveâŚâ
He canât bring himself to look at Steve without his chest tightening â because Steveâs eyes, his smile, the way he moves â it all looks too much like you.
And neither of them knows how to be okay in a world that kept going without you.











