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English
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Published:
2025-09-24
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674
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1/1
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Wish Your Past Wasn't So Painful

Summary:

El and Dustin talk about her 011 tattoo while waiting on the rest of the party. A quick moment that grows surprisingly tender.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
Kiss Roulette - 33: A kiss to a scar, birthmark, injury or other marking

Notes:

Henderhop being soft together is my Roman Empire. This made me want to write more fics about Dustin kissing El's tattoo.
Originally posted on Tumblr!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

El and Dustin were the first to arrive. They were sitting at the picnic table in the woods, waiting for the others. They were alternated - while El had her legs under the table like normal, Dustin sat at her right side, with his back turned to the table, leaning back on his elbows supported by the flat surface.

A question broke the short silence between them. "Can I check your arm?" El turned to Dustin, face confused. "You know, the one with the tattoo," he clarified. El gently pushed back from the table and extended her right arm towards him.

Dustin held her arm close to his face, inspecting the number on the inside of her arm. He rubs a thumb over the design, with just a bit of pressure. El jerks her arm, on instinct, but doesn't try to get away from the touch. Dustin apologizes instantly, but doesn't let go, either.

"Does it hurt?" He tries to confirm, in a soft voice, his eyes trained on El's face. She shakes her head.

"It did, when Papa wrote it," she supplies, feeling her face become somber at the memory. "A lot of us cried because of it back then."

"How old were you, do you know?" Dustin asked, a soft frown under his curly bangs, still cradling her arm. El shook her head again. She liked the movement - she could feel her grown hair twisting around with it, and it was a good feeling. A reminder that she wasn't at the lab anymore.

"No, but I know I was very little - probably 7 or 8, if I had to guess. It was a long time ago."

Dustin turned his attention to the tattoo again, bringing a knee to his chest to rest his elbow without dropping El's arm. His thumb was more soft over it now, moving slowly back and forth - soothing, El thought.

"You know, Eddie said that tattoos that are thinner, like this, tend to disappear over time," Dustin commented. "He said the ink sits too high on the skin, and when our body replaces our cells, the layers get stripped faster." El listened, in silence, letting herself be touched and soothed.

"Ever since he told me that, I've been wanting this to show any signs that it was vanishing." His eyes dart to El for a moment, a feeble smile trying to show up on his lips, then back at the tattoo. "Like... like if this was gone, somehow the pain and the memories could be gone, too, you know?"

El's breath catches, and she presses her lips in a thin line, nodding when Dustin's eyes meet hers again. They were very blue, even under the cap and the bangs, even in the soft light of the afternoon. And they looked sad for her.

"I don't know, I just wish... there was a way for you to be here with us without having to go through all this," he says, holding her arm a little more vertical for emphasis, looking at her. Something about the way he said it combined with the gesture amuses El. She smiles at him through pressed lips. "Just..." He trails off, looking at her tattoo once again.

And then he kisses the tattoo - eyes closed oh so briefly, lips pressing on her skin, covering the number completely from where she's looking. It's over quickly, but El's heart still accelerates in her throat, the sudden contact eliciting a shallow gasp out of her. She can't look away, even after it's over.

Dustin looks back at El, and for a second, with their eyes locked on each other, anything could happen.

And then Dustin blinks once, twice, and the moment is undone.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me," he offers, laying her arm back beside her and looking in front of him.

"It's okay," El says in a small voice, holding her right arm over her midsection and gently rubbing her own thumb against the tattoo, much like Dustin was doing before. "It was nice."

Notes:

El didn't stop thinking about that kiss for at least a week, I can assure you
Thank you for reading! <3