Chapter Text
“Robin, you can’t be serious, after what happened last night?” Steve hung up the phone and threw up his hands, absolutely shocked. “You can’t go back!”
“Steve, I literally just took like four clothing items and two random books, I had no idea what I was doing. I need school stuff and band things and…personal things and…my mug and my spoon,” Robin said innocently.
“Your…spoon,” Steve uttered in disbelief.
Nancy smiled, amused. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard about Robin’s favourite spoon?” Robin’s cheeks grew red. Steve looked absolutely bewildered.
“Okay, that’s not relevant,” he crossed his arms. “Robin, are you sure?”
“Absolutely sure,” Robin nodded, “if you guys are willing to let me hole up with you, then I need my stuff. I could share my wardrobe with Steve, in fact I already kind of do, but… I’d miss my things too much,” she said, her voice trailing off.
“Okay, let’s think of a plan,” Nancy came towards the table.
“So, Steve and I will accompany you there. There’s no way you’re going alone. And then afterwards, I take you to mine and you can spend the night,” she gave Steve, who wanted to protest, a look, and he just agreed quickly instead.
“And Dustin and I?” Max called out from the other room, “You know we can still hear you.”
Nancy stepped out, hands on her hips. “Well, you’ll stay put. We’ll let you know if anything goes wrong and you will then call the Chief, if things go to shit,” Nancy informed her. Partly to make them feel included, but also partly to make them busy enough, so that they wouldn’t run off. She definitely wasn’t planning on taking them to Robin’s house, where stuff could go wrong.
Robin was leaning against the kitchen table. “Love the idea, Nance, but I’m still not sure if-“
“Guys?” Max interrupted Robin, walking toward the living room window. “Speaking of the chief,” she said, pointing outside and then they heard the car pull in.
Everybody quickly scrambled over to the living room and sat down, Robin covering herself back up with the blanket.
Steve opened the door. “Hey, Hopper,” he greeted him with a smile, Jim giving him a little pat on the back. He walked in, taking off his hat.
“How’re you doing, kids?” He asked and then eyed Robin. Everybody involved was trying their hardest to look as innocent as they possibly could. As if nobody just mentioned a potentially dangerous plan that Hopper definitely would not approve of.
“We’re okay,” Robin answered, her voice catching in her throat a bit. “Just hanging out and resting,” she gave him a weak smile. Nancy couldn’t help but stare. Robin was a very convincing liar, despite what she claimed.
“I’m really glad to hear. I just wanted to let you know, that we’ve been working all night to try and help and I’ll let you know once everything is resolved,” he said gently and Robin squinted a bit, unsure what he meant exactly.
“But I gotta say that I’m happy to see that you’re in good company,” he pointed at the room. Nancy, Max and Steve forced a kind smile, Dustin didn’t have to force one and just smiled all innocently at Hopper.
“Robin, can I just have a moment with you, alone?” Hopper asked and looked at everyone. Robin nodded, getting up from the couch and leading Hopper out of the living room, her blanket still draped around her shoulders.
“How are you holding up?” He asked once they were alone. Robin guessed he might have expected her to give a different answer or to act differently apart from the group.
“I’m-,” she nodded her head and looked down, unsure how she actually felt, with the party or not, she felt like she was partly lying to herself as well.
“I think I’m okay, I realised a few things in the past few hours and I think I’ll be fine,” she said, her smile now a little more genuine. She didn’t have to lie to him about everything now, did she?
“I’m really happy to hear and see that you’re doing better,” Hopper gave her a genuine smile and a little shoulder pat. “Also, I wanted to ask you, since things still seem rather messy, with your dad at the minute- I’d like to ask if you could stay away for a while, just to make sure you’re safe and all,” Hopper said kindly, but his tone was serious.
“Of course,” Robin confirmed, looking all serious.
“Okay,” another little pat on the back and Hopper put on his hat again and, waving to the group, left the house.
Robin was just a few feet behind him and turned towards them, wiping at her face.
“Okay, let’s go?”
———
“I still can’t believe you haven’t mentioned your favourite spoon to me,” Steve said, faking a hurt voice while getting out of the car in front of Robin’s house.
Nancy shushed him with a wave of her hand as Robin walked towards the door, looking almost mesmerised.
Nancy and Steve squared up right behind her and Robin unlocked the door. The house seemed empty.
She creeped over to the kitchen table where a letter was ripped open. Riverside treatment centre. Robin lifted up the envelope with her fingers, her eyes scanning the top few lines.
Steve and Nancy just watched her, exchanging a look. Robin slowly walked over, trying to be quiet and listen.
“Coast is clear, looks like,” she turned to them, looking cheerful, and then jumped as she heard a voice behind her.
“Oh look, just when I hoped that I could repaint the walls,” her father said behind her. Robin winced and turned to him. Her hands immediately went to the strings on her jacket, pushing the little bead up and down.
“I’m here to pick up some things,” she declared, her voice confident.
“What’s that, dad?” She then pointed at the letter on the table. Her dad went closer to her and Robin took a step back, but he actually only just went to retrieve the letter to scoff at it again. Steve and Nancy were standing in the door, waiting to step in if necessary.
“Well, I’m not sure what you ratted out to the chief, but congrats on landing your mother in rehab,” he said, throwing the opened letter back at the table. Robin shook her head with a perplexed smile.
“Me?” She asked, feeling confident again.
“Dad, it’s not my fault that mum drank. And I can assure you, I didn’t say a single word to the Chief. I actually covered both of your asses,” she said, seeing her dad’s face getting red again.
She glanced behind her shoulder, Nancy and Steve were still there, looking less and less comfortable with a situation, their faces contorted in a concerned grimace.
“Oh, so it’s not your fault, for breaking our family apart?” he asked with an amused laugh.
“My fault?” Robin replied, mimicking his laugh. “Dad, you held me against that wall.” She pointed at the it, hearing Steve and Nancy gasp behind her. “That’s not how you treat a daughter. None of the ways you and mum treated in me in the past couple of months was how you should treat your daughter.”
“Because you’re not the daughter we raised,” he stepped closer to her, his voice dangerous, Robin now needing to crane her neck a bit to keep looking at him. She heard shuffling behind her as Nancy and Steve stepped closer, ready to pull her away if needed. Her father snickered at both of them.
“Careful there, you got yourself some big scary bodyguards didn’t you, your boyfriend and your girlfriend,” he looked back down at her, his tone filled with scorn.
The next few seconds, chaos ensued. Robin couldn’t hold herself back anymore and spat right in his face. Her father raised his hand, about to hit her. Steve swooped in while Nancy pulled out her gun, Robin ducked out of the way. Now Steve was the one who cornered Robin’s father while Nancy had her gun at the ready.
“So this is how you kids are these days? No wonder Robin’s all-“ he continued talking until he heard Nancy’s gun cocking.
Robin stood next to them with a shocked expression, everything happening a bit too fast for her.
“Go on then, get your stuff,” Nancy prompted, hoping she’d hurry. Robin gave her a confused nod and ran off into her room.
Robin’s father got more nervous now.
“I think the Chief will be very interested to see how the Harrington and Wheeler kids turned out,” he tried threatening them.
“Too bad he won’t believe you,” Nancy said, smirking. Her hands were itching to point the gun right at his head and pull the trigger, but she also knew that second degree murder was not something she wanted to explain to Hopper.
Robin emerged out of her room, holding her bag with mostly school and band stuff and comfort items and other things she would not want to leave behind.
“Gonna be coming back for more?” Her father still had enough lip to say.
Robin gave Nancy and Steve a little nod as she positioned herself at the door, ready to leave. “Fuck you, Dad,” she said, meaning it from the bottom of her heart.
With that, all three of them left, leaving him hyperventilating in the corner. Robin also swiped the letter from the table with the intention to read it properly on the drive back.
They all scrambled into the car, Nancy behind the steering wheel, Robin next to her in the passenger seat and Steve at the back with Robin’s bag and drove off. Robin suddenly had a big smile on her face.
“That actually went pretty good, didn’t it?” She said, relieved, and chuckled.
Both Nancy and Steve gave her a small nod, not questioning her judgement. Both of them were happy that nothing worse happened, because it definitely looked like it for a moment.
While driving over to Nancy’s, Robin had a read through the letter. Nancy kept glancing over to see if she was okay, but had trouble reading Robin’s face since it was completely neutral. Finally, Robin stuffed the letter back into its envelope clumsily and shoved it back in her jacket pocket.
She then glanced at both Steve and Nancy, who were hungry for answers.
“Yeah, he was right, it’s mum’s referral for the treatment centre and some bills as well, I guess,” she said, shaking her head. Her father’s words were still bouncing around. It’s your fault, nagging at her brain. No it’s not, Robin’s more rational side tried arguing.
“You didn’t even tell us that he held you up against a wall,” Steve said, leaning against Robin’s seat as they pulled over at Nancy’s house.
Robin gave him an apologetic face. “I didn’t want to mention it. Not in front of Max and Dustin, and to be honest, I just didn’t want to face it,” she said. Steve shrugged, but was able to understand her position. Robin turned around the passenger seat and gave him a big, tight hug. “I’ll see you soon, Dingus,” she smiled.
“Enjoy,” Steve grinned at her as Nancy got out of the car, earning an annoyed pat on the head from Robin.
Robin and Nancy walked in, putting Robin’s things in the hallway for now. The house was empty.
“Okay, I’ll be back in half an hour, I’ll just drop Steve at his house and then I’ll be right with you, okay? Make yourself at home in the meantime,” she said with a smile. Robin stepped closer to her and gave her a big hug as well.
“Thank you for helping me,” she mumbled into her hair and then pecked her cheek. Nancy held her tight and then they looked at each other, still embracing and then kissed. Robin then pulled away and smiled, finally feeling content.
“Okay, I’ll be back sooner then, maybe 20 minutes,” Nancy said, her smile wider, and ran her hand through Robin’s dishevelled hair. She then gave her a brief checkover. “You’ll be alright, right?”
“Yeah,” Robin said, putting her hands in her pockets and grinned, finally feeling good and safe. Nancy gave her one last kiss and then rushed out of the door.
As soon as the door closed, Robin breathed another sigh of relief. The house was so calm and she actually appreciated to have a little time alone while Nancy took Steve back to his place and updated Max and Dustin on how it went, since they were still waiting.
Robin’s stomach grumbled. She carried the bag upstairs and dumped it on the floor. She loved Nancy’s room so much. It was everything she’d always dreamed of. And it seemed like she was going to spend more time there now.
Robin then decided to venture downstairs to find something to eat. She snuck into the brightly lit kitchen, which was basking in sunlight. She was a little nervous as she felt like she wasn’t allowed to take anything from the fridge but couldn’t help but think that Nancy wouldn’t mind her. Either way, she grabbed a packet of cheese and peeled the packaging, tearing the pieces apart and eating them. Was it a nutritious snack? No, but it satisfied her needs on multiple levels. Just like the box of cheerios, that was sitting on the kitchen counter, probably leftover from the morning. Robin stuffed a few in her mouth when suddenly, the front door clicked again. It could have been five minutes, maybe? This wasn’t Nancy.
Robin jumped, nearly dropping the cheese and taking a step back and whacked her back against the kitchen counter with a painful hiss. Oh no, please, don’t be dad, she thought.
“Robin!” Karen Wheeler walked into the kitchen, carrying a huge paper bag with groceries.
Robin immediately ducked her head, her hands holding the cheese shaking.
“I’m sorry, I - um, I“ she stuttered and straightened the cheerios box in panic, terrified that she looked like she snuck into the house specifically to steal food from the fridge. She chanced a little look at Nancy’s mum and she seemed shocked, but not mad.
“N-Nancy dropped me off, we didn’t know you’d be coming so soon,” Robin rambled on, her voice shaky. She stepped back as Karen Wheeler stepped closer to take a look at her.
“Robin, are you alright?” She asked, her eyes softening.
Robin closed her mouth, finishing chewing and staring at the floor for a while and putting the cheese back on the kitchen counter.
“We can explain with Nancy later but- my parents- we’re not on good terms now so Nancy offered me to-,“ Robin couldn’t voice her thoughts properly. She was usually chatty with Nancy’s mum, but somehow, at the moment, found it incredibly hard to form a proper sentence.
Karen put down the shopping and gave Robin a gentle smile. “Of course, darling. I did offer a couple times, you’re welcome to stay. Again, are you alright, can I do anything at the moment?” She asked and Robin smiled, shaking her head.
“Okay, go on then, sit down, I’ll make you a sandwich at least,” Karen said gently, grabbing some fresh bread from the shopping bag and using the cheese that Robin got from the fridge and some butter, made her a sandwich and set it in front of her on a plate.
“Thank you,” Robin beamed as she tucked into it, admitting that this was much better than just the cheese slice alone.
“You’re very welcome,” Karen smiled, “always. When you’re finished, do you want to help me put the groceries away?”
“Me?” Robin asked, puzzled. Karen looked around with a smile, “is there someone else in the room I should know about? Of course I mean you,” she chuckled.
Robin stuff the last bit of her sandwich into her mouth and stood up, still chewing. She grabbed some jars from the bag and handed them to Karen.
“I’m sorry if I drop something, I have terrible coordination, sometimes stuff just flies out of my hands,” she laughed nervously.
“That’s okay, Robin, if you do drop something, then we just clean it up,” Karen said, keeping her voice patient and grabbed the jars from Robin and started lining them up on the shelves. Her eyes lingered on Robin’s bandaged hand, but she assumed that Robin would share why when she wanted to.
Robin helped her unpack everything and at that point, the key clicked again and Nancy came home. She found both her mum and Robin in the kitchen, reading the back of canned soup with little giggles.
“Mum!” Nancy called out, surprised. “I didn’t know you were coming this early! Are Dad and Holly here too?”
“Hi darling, no, they’re stuck at Nana’s for now, but I had to leave to go to the shop,” Karen replied and let Robin read the can.
“Everything okay?” She asked with an inquisitive look. Nancy rubbed her arm a bit.
“Yeah, I need to explain a bit. I think Robin might need to stay for a little while, she’s having a some trouble with her family at the moment,” she looked over to Robin, who looked back at her, tensing up. Nancy decided that this was all that Karen needed to know at the moment.
“I already told Robin, it’s all alright, do you want to go upstairs?” She nudged Nancy a little bit as Nancy nodded, cheeks all flushed and invited Robin to go up with her.
“Thanks,” Robin whispered, brushing past Nancy and grabbed Nancy’s hand and they both ran upstairs and to her bedroom.
Robin immediately flopped herself on top of Nancy’s bed. “So I guess you need to hole up with me now,” she said jokingly.
Nancy climbed on top of the bed next to her, cupping her face. “And do you know that I don’t mind at all?”