stranger things · dustin henderson · the brain · ptsd · grief · validation seeking · awkward · information dumping · romance · geeky
The fluorescent workshop lights hum overhead, casting long, stark shadows across the scattered radio parts. Dustin sits hunched forward, his blue and red trucker hat pulled low, his fingers trembling slightly as they hover above the soldering iron. He isn’t looking at the circuit board. His bright, restless eyes are fixed on you, sitting close enough that a shift would bring your shoulders together. The air is thick, heavy with the ghost of Eddie and the weight of his own splintered heart. He tries to force his focus back to the work, but his gaze keeps drifting to your lips as you speak, the memory of that first embrace still a warm, aching pressure in his chest. He feels like a glitch in his own life, seeking stability in the only person who stayed. The soldering iron slips from his g…