He could see the glow before he stepped onto the platform, and initially he had the idea that Dustin had the idea to decorate it so they could hang out and have their own little two-person party. Coming up to find it all set up like a small version of the Snow Ball complete with food and drink, and Dustin dressed in a suit similar to the one he remembered the other wearing back then, he can't help the slightly chagrined little laugh.
"You could have told me I should dress up," he points out, even though he spends a large amount of his time in a suit and that's come to mean that it's time for him to go to work. As it is, he's still wearing his jeans and hand-me-down button-up from the day, under a jacket very similar to his brother's. He shrugs the latter off and hangs it on the hooks they'd nailed to the wall.
He closes the distance between them and drapes his arms over Dustin's shoulders, leaning against him with head bowed. "Is this what you were doing when you said you were busy?" He'd pinged Dustin earlier that day when everyone else was getting ready to go, after he'd finished helping El pick out a dress that he was sure would be Max Approved, and had heard that Dustin was up to something that he seemingly didn't really have the time to explain. So he'd just hung out at home and sketched instead until Dustin had reached out again.
"Yup, also El left one of your suits here if you wanna change. I wanted it to be a surprise." Dustin grinned, hands coming to rest around Will's waist.
"Max helped pick out the music that she says it the right sort of stuff to play at a prom, and don't worry they were the only two who knew about my plans. I was not about to tell Mike or Lucas."
"You guys were plotting to make sure I could do this with you," he concludes. He doesn't move away from Dustin even though he knows he should change into the suit that had been left up here for him, preferring instead to stay here, just talking with Dustin in close quarters. "Thanks for not telling the guys about this. Lucas probably would have decided to make it a regular party and Mike would've sulked about not going to the actual prom."
There's a bashful sort of laugh and smile as Dustin shrugged. Sure he'd been forced to be a little sneaky about things but he wanted it to be a real surprise.
"Of course, I wanted it to be just us." He nodded as he continued. Sure they were their friends but he knew it was weird for some of them, namely the two guys in question, knowing that Dustin and Will were more than just friends. Sure El and Max had no problem with it and had been all too happy to help, but that wasn't always the case for the others.
Will dips down to steal a brief kiss, then straightens up to actually go and change. Dustin hasn't actually been present before for him getting ready for work before now, so he gets to watch the process of Will changing out of his day clothes and haphazardly folding them to leave where he'd be able to change back later, and a layer at a time pulling on the clean white button-up and slacks, then tie, vest, and finally the jacket. He doesn't keep any hair products up here or he might have styled it back the way that Mr Blackwood had suggested. It looks natural on him even against the backdrop of the fort, tailored specifically to his body and taking him from long and skinny to tall and even svelte.
And then he grins and ruins the effect because look at them, they actually look like they could attend a prom together.
"What if we ask Jonathan to bring up his camera? I know how to set up a timer on it so he doesn't have to stick around."
It's true that Dustin had never seen the other get changed into his suit, and it's definitely something he doesn't mind seeing. He had put his own suit on sure, but his wasn't tailored like Will's was. Not to mention he didn't have the vest, not nearly as fancy.
"I mean I wouldn't say no, pretty sure our moms would have demanded it if they knew. I might have forgot to mention that I was gonna do something like this to either of them...my mom thinks we're just hanging out and eating pizza up here. Lamenting that we couldn't go to prom because of bigots." Shrugging as he turned the radio on, playing a cassette that Max had given him but keeping it down for now.
"I love your mom. We should make her brownies or something," he suggests, pulling his sleeves straight then coming back to try and inspect the tape. He can't help but laugh a little, realizing that it had probably been put together to sound like what they would have been listening to if they'd been able to actually be there with the rest of their friends. It gets turned up after a moment just to shake his head at it, and Will holds a hand out to offer to dance, mimicking the way he'd seen Dustin going around doing the same thing at the Snow Ball.
"We should, she'd probably appreciate getting a treat for once instead of always making stuff for others." Nodding Dustin lets Will mess with the tape a bit, smiling at the others reaction. He really had worked hard to make sure things would be perfect. He didn't want them to have to miss out on something that was supposed to be so pivotal for people their age just because they didn't meet up to what was 'normal'.
When Will mimics an all too familiar motion Dustin can't help the small amount he cringes even as he smiles and laughs. It's not at Will, more at himself. Remembering Snow Ball and how he had been so sure of himself only to be turned down by every girl, some even before he asked. It was okay though because none of them had really been for him and now he had Will. Will who was way better than any girl at any dance.
He takes Will's hand and let's the other decide if he wants to lead or follow. No he hadn't asked Eddie and Steve to help him learn to dance. That would be humiliating...and totally not what he did.
Only it was and it had sent Eddie into a peel of giggles while Steve just beamed at him. God he hated them sometimes.
He has to make fun; Dustin going up to each of the girls that looked at him and giving that same fake smug look and that flat palm that he's sure was advised by Steve Harrington, he had to know even then that that just wasn't him, and it certainly wasn't going to be how you get people to like you. But Dustin has always been sweet and weird and not really what people traditionally look for but he's sure that if he hadn't been so completely stuck on Mike, he might have been inclined to ask Dustin to dance back then just as friends instead of Nancy having to step in. It was incredibly kind of her to do at least, so it wasn't all bad.
But that was then and this is now, and Joyce had taught him how to lead in a dance, asserting that it was what was expected because he was a boy and he'd hit his growth spurt one day so he'd be taller than she was. It translates into him resting a curled hand in the small of Dustin's back, holding his hand in a loose grip and trying to pretend he didn't feel a little weird about dancing in the tree fort.
"I mean a little but...no. Not this time." Dustin laughed quietly, letting one hand drape over Will's shoulder as he let the other lead. "And I'm not sure I want to tell you who did...I'm already never going to hear the end of it from one of them."
Sure he'd tell Will if he really asked, but there is definitely some color in his ears and traveling down the back of his neck thinking about how he had thought it was smart to ask Eddie Munson of all people. To be fair he had meant to just ask Steve but...Eddie was there as always. It was nice the two had become friends but sometimes he wished they weren't. It just meant twice the teasing for him.
"Did you go to Steve again?" Because who else would Dustin trust besides his mother and someone that he'd already danced with? "You know he's full of bad advice, especially about girls."
Rolling his eyes, Will settled into a simple rocking rhythm, his weight shifting from one foot to the other and directing them in slow turns as they moved around their little makeshift dance floor.
"Or, y'know. If he was the one that came up with this, maybe it's not all bad..."
"First off, yes I went to Steve but it wasn't just him and I sort of wish it was, and secondly...excuse you this is a Dustin Henderson Original idea thank you." He held the feigned hurt look for a moment before laughing, leaning into the other as they rocked in place with the music. Between the warm glow of the lights, the music, and being close to Will...so far the night had been way better than expected. And without any hiccups.
So far.
He could only hope that the girls could keep their mouths shut and not give the other guys the idea to crash their little private prom.
"Eddie is never going to let me live it down but it was a worthy sacrifice so, no worries."
Will releases the hand he's holding and lets it rest there at his shoulder instead, and wraps his now free arm around Dustin's middle to turn the dance posture into more of an embrace.
"Maybe we should save some pictures for them too if they're so invested." Which is maybe a little weird but hey, Steve put in time and effort and cared about them a lot so he'd at least want to know it went well, right? "We could also just hang out up here for the rest of the night. Eat the pizza before it can get colder, make a sheet tent and sleep up here..."
"Sounds like a fun night to me, though I really don't know if we need to save any pictures for Steve and Eddie." He rolled his eyes a bit before leaning up to catch Will's lips in a quick kiss.
"Pizza's probably gonna be cold no matter what, hopefully it'll still be good though. Mom got the good stuff too."
"Good thing that cold pizza's great." Pizza is good in any and all configurations and eating it while it's cold and they're sitting in bed and don't have to worry about doing anything for the rest of the weekend feels like the best possible pizza-related thing they could do.
Will smiles into the kiss then nudges his nose against Dustin's and lets their foreheads rest together. In the soft light that comes from the fairy lights strung up around the fort, he can pick out the little details in the other's eyes, as if he hadn't taken in every detail a hundred times before. He could draw Dustin from memory at the drop of a hat, not that he's shown any of those sketches to anyone. Can't let them know he's got it that bad, after all, even though it's obvious any time they have a quiet moment together and aren't on their regular shit-stirring agenda.
"Hey...thanks for doing this. I know we're never gonna get the chance to go to a dance together, so this is perfect."
"Probably one of the best things to eat cold, that isn't necessarily supposed to be cold." Dustin easily and readily leans into the affection, relaxed and happy just as they are. He's not an artist like Will, but he has it just as bad and it shows. Knowing that he can do things like this for the other and make him happy makes Dustin just that much happier.
"Yeah well, maybe one day when we're older. Who knows. But for now I kinda like getting to have our own private things like this. I'm glad you like it, was almost worried it'd be too much when Max was insisting on the balloons and stuff." Who is he kidding, he got the balloons and lights on his own. The streamers might have been Max though.
"You did kinda cram a lot up here. How long did this even take?" He looks around them again for the first time since he'd gotten here and gotten changed, pulling an amused sort of face at everything. He'd just count himself lucky that they decided against putting a bunch of holographic paper everywhere.
"I mean...I had to work on it before El and Max got ready and finish it alone after they left because apparently it takes girls forever to get ready." Shrugging Dustin just grinned. "But it was nothing I won't do again. I like being able to do something that makes you smile."
Even if it meant spending way too much time getting balloons and stuff set up, getting a new suit, styling his hair, getting food and dance lessons and then biking all the way back to the fort in said suit.
Will's hands move against Dustin's back as he gestures with his reply. "I probably would have been out here a lot sooner but I had to help El pick out a dress and even then she had to pull out every one she has just to make sure we were really sure about it! Then she wanted help with her makeup but didn't think that I could do it but mom still wanted a second opinion when she finished and it was this whole process... She started becoming a normal girl so fast when she started being friends with Max." Not that he necessarily feels that it's a bad thing, it's just weird to him how quickly she changed.
He slouches against Dustin again, though he reaches for the little snack table that his boyfriend set up just to make it feel as much like the prom as possible.
"I like this better anyway. We can just hang out and talk. Nobody else can butt in without us letting them."
"It's kinda weird, sometimes it feels like just yesterday she was some weird bald girl that we were so sure was like...escaped from Pennhurst or something. And now she's practically your sister and on her way to a completely normal person. Well...as normal as any of us can be I guess." Laughing as he moved with Will, shifting to guide him closer to the table.
"You know, you can just let go and get something to eat or drink if you want. Not like we're in any rush."
"Or I can stay right here like this and still have pizza because I have two hands," he argues, though he knows he'll have to be careful about sauce and grease and avoid wiping his hand on Dustin's suit jacket.
"Everything is happening so fast basically all the time, though. And, it probably doesn't help that there's some blank spots in my memory. Owens said that that's part of the brain blocking out everything that happened so I don't go nuts or something." He rolls his eyes, though they both know that that was a very real fear of his. Maybe he hadn't said it to Dustin, but it wasn't exactly a secret either. "Maybe it'll all calm down now though."
There's a laugh and a quiet 'you're impossible' muttered against Will as he reached for the food, still Dustin doesn't stop him and it's obvious it doesn't actually bother him. He just happily sways a bit, moving to counter Will's motions and stay out of the way.
"Yeah? I mean that makes sense. I know I've blocked some stuff out. Like I remember some things because people have talked about it but it's almost like...like I wasn't really there?" The most pivotal one for Dustin is when they thought Eddie was dead, he didn't remember Steve coming up and finding them, didn't remember holding Eddie's child body in his arms. But Steve can recount in detail how distraught Dustin had been and how adamant he was not too leave the other only to have Eddie dragged out of his arms when Steve realized he still had a pulse.
They didn't talk about it much but Steve and him had moments during sleep overs at the Harrington house while everyone else was asleep, curled up on the couch in the dark hiding from nightmares or in the kitchen with a soda and just talking. Mostly because Dustin didn't like forgetting and Steve was willing to talk to him about it, even if Dustin was sure he didn't tell the younger guy everything.
Still, his brain wouldn't let him remember what it was like so he had to settle for the second hand recollection.
Will nods. Maybe it wasn't as literal for Dustin as it had been for him in the past, but trauma definitely does that to you even without the additional problem of something else trying to pilot your body. It's a heavy topic, one that they only talk about a little at a time, but Will feels better being able to talk about it at all. It was why he tried not to stop himself when his friends asked after him. Even if he didn't tell his mother everything, he at least told them.
Draping himself over Dustin, Will stops trying just now to reach for the food, instead standing still and just letting the two of them rest together easily.
"I love you. And, if you ever feel like you need to talk about this stuff, I'm right here."
Dustin hadn't meant for things to get heavy but they do, and then he has his arms full off tall lanky boyfriend and he can't help smiling against Will's shoulder.
"I love you too." He sighs, happy to just exist in the others arms for a moment where they are both secure and know that they can talk to one another. "Promise if I need to I'll come to you, but the same goes for you. Even if it's just for an ear to listen and someone to curl up with, you know I'll always be there for you."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2023-01-31 03:44 am (UTC)"You could have told me I should dress up," he points out, even though he spends a large amount of his time in a suit and that's come to mean that it's time for him to go to work. As it is, he's still wearing his jeans and hand-me-down button-up from the day, under a jacket very similar to his brother's. He shrugs the latter off and hangs it on the hooks they'd nailed to the wall.
He closes the distance between them and drapes his arms over Dustin's shoulders, leaning against him with head bowed. "Is this what you were doing when you said you were busy?" He'd pinged Dustin earlier that day when everyone else was getting ready to go, after he'd finished helping El pick out a dress that he was sure would be Max Approved, and had heard that Dustin was up to something that he seemingly didn't really have the time to explain. So he'd just hung out at home and sketched instead until Dustin had reached out again.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 03:54 am (UTC)"Max helped pick out the music that she says it the right sort of stuff to play at a prom, and don't worry they were the only two who knew about my plans. I was not about to tell Mike or Lucas."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 04:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 05:05 am (UTC)"Of course, I wanted it to be just us." He nodded as he continued. Sure they were their friends but he knew it was weird for some of them, namely the two guys in question, knowing that Dustin and Will were more than just friends. Sure El and Max had no problem with it and had been all too happy to help, but that wasn't always the case for the others.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 05:26 am (UTC)And then he grins and ruins the effect because look at them, they actually look like they could attend a prom together.
"What if we ask Jonathan to bring up his camera? I know how to set up a timer on it so he doesn't have to stick around."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 06:00 am (UTC)"I mean I wouldn't say no, pretty sure our moms would have demanded it if they knew. I might have forgot to mention that I was gonna do something like this to either of them...my mom thinks we're just hanging out and eating pizza up here. Lamenting that we couldn't go to prom because of bigots." Shrugging as he turned the radio on, playing a cassette that Max had given him but keeping it down for now.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 06:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 06:56 am (UTC)When Will mimics an all too familiar motion Dustin can't help the small amount he cringes even as he smiles and laughs. It's not at Will, more at himself. Remembering Snow Ball and how he had been so sure of himself only to be turned down by every girl, some even before he asked. It was okay though because none of them had really been for him and now he had Will. Will who was way better than any girl at any dance.
He takes Will's hand and let's the other decide if he wants to lead or follow. No he hadn't asked Eddie and Steve to help him learn to dance. That would be humiliating...and totally not what he did.
Only it was and it had sent Eddie into a peel of giggles while Steve just beamed at him. God he hated them sometimes.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 07:32 am (UTC)But that was then and this is now, and Joyce had taught him how to lead in a dance, asserting that it was what was expected because he was a boy and he'd hit his growth spurt one day so he'd be taller than she was. It translates into him resting a curled hand in the small of Dustin's back, holding his hand in a loose grip and trying to pretend he didn't feel a little weird about dancing in the tree fort.
"Nancy didn't teach you how to dance, huh?"
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 07:40 am (UTC)Sure he'd tell Will if he really asked, but there is definitely some color in his ears and traveling down the back of his neck thinking about how he had thought it was smart to ask Eddie Munson of all people. To be fair he had meant to just ask Steve but...Eddie was there as always. It was nice the two had become friends but sometimes he wished they weren't. It just meant twice the teasing for him.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 07:57 am (UTC)Rolling his eyes, Will settled into a simple rocking rhythm, his weight shifting from one foot to the other and directing them in slow turns as they moved around their little makeshift dance floor.
"Or, y'know. If he was the one that came up with this, maybe it's not all bad..."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 08:08 am (UTC)So far.
He could only hope that the girls could keep their mouths shut and not give the other guys the idea to crash their little private prom.
"Eddie is never going to let me live it down but it was a worthy sacrifice so, no worries."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 09:00 am (UTC)"Maybe we should save some pictures for them too if they're so invested." Which is maybe a little weird but hey, Steve put in time and effort and cared about them a lot so he'd at least want to know it went well, right? "We could also just hang out up here for the rest of the night. Eat the pizza before it can get colder, make a sheet tent and sleep up here..."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 09:18 am (UTC)"Pizza's probably gonna be cold no matter what, hopefully it'll still be good though. Mom got the good stuff too."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 09:51 am (UTC)Will smiles into the kiss then nudges his nose against Dustin's and lets their foreheads rest together. In the soft light that comes from the fairy lights strung up around the fort, he can pick out the little details in the other's eyes, as if he hadn't taken in every detail a hundred times before. He could draw Dustin from memory at the drop of a hat, not that he's shown any of those sketches to anyone. Can't let them know he's got it that bad, after all, even though it's obvious any time they have a quiet moment together and aren't on their regular shit-stirring agenda.
"Hey...thanks for doing this. I know we're never gonna get the chance to go to a dance together, so this is perfect."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 10:03 am (UTC)"Yeah well, maybe one day when we're older. Who knows. But for now I kinda like getting to have our own private things like this. I'm glad you like it, was almost worried it'd be too much when Max was insisting on the balloons and stuff." Who is he kidding, he got the balloons and lights on his own. The streamers might have been Max though.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 10:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 10:40 am (UTC)Even if it meant spending way too much time getting balloons and stuff set up, getting a new suit, styling his hair, getting food and dance lessons and then biking all the way back to the fort in said suit.
Still, it was totally worth it.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 11:05 am (UTC)He slouches against Dustin again, though he reaches for the little snack table that his boyfriend set up just to make it feel as much like the prom as possible.
"I like this better anyway. We can just hang out and talk. Nobody else can butt in without us letting them."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 11:11 am (UTC)"You know, you can just let go and get something to eat or drink if you want. Not like we're in any rush."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 11:21 am (UTC)"Everything is happening so fast basically all the time, though. And, it probably doesn't help that there's some blank spots in my memory. Owens said that that's part of the brain blocking out everything that happened so I don't go nuts or something." He rolls his eyes, though they both know that that was a very real fear of his. Maybe he hadn't said it to Dustin, but it wasn't exactly a secret either. "Maybe it'll all calm down now though."
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 11:37 am (UTC)"Yeah? I mean that makes sense. I know I've blocked some stuff out. Like I remember some things because people have talked about it but it's almost like...like I wasn't really there?" The most pivotal one for Dustin is when they thought Eddie was dead, he didn't remember Steve coming up and finding them, didn't remember holding Eddie's child body in his arms. But Steve can recount in detail how distraught Dustin had been and how adamant he was not too leave the other only to have Eddie dragged out of his arms when Steve realized he still had a pulse.
They didn't talk about it much but Steve and him had moments during sleep overs at the Harrington house while everyone else was asleep, curled up on the couch in the dark hiding from nightmares or in the kitchen with a soda and just talking. Mostly because Dustin didn't like forgetting and Steve was willing to talk to him about it, even if Dustin was sure he didn't tell the younger guy everything.
Still, his brain wouldn't let him remember what it was like so he had to settle for the second hand recollection.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-31 12:40 pm (UTC)Draping himself over Dustin, Will stops trying just now to reach for the food, instead standing still and just letting the two of them rest together easily.
"I love you. And, if you ever feel like you need to talk about this stuff, I'm right here."
no subject
Date: 2023-02-01 11:35 am (UTC)"I love you too." He sighs, happy to just exist in the others arms for a moment where they are both secure and know that they can talk to one another. "Promise if I need to I'll come to you, but the same goes for you. Even if it's just for an ear to listen and someone to curl up with, you know I'll always be there for you."