Chapter Text
Steve snored. Robin could have woken him up, told him to turn over and let her sleep, but she was still protective of him, still could see his injuries, so she left him alone. She headed downstairs instead to make some tea, switching on lamps as she went.
She wasn’t the first one to have that thought, though, because Nancy already stood in the kitchen, a mug in her hands as she looked out the window over the sink.
“Anything out there?”
Nancy jumped, liquid sloshing out of her mug. “Robin! You startled me.”
“I see that.” That might not have been right, so she added, “Sorry. Why are you awake?”
“I could ask you the same question. And I was cold again, so I came down to get some tea.”
“Well, I came for tea as well.”
Maybe the lateness of the hour could explain the awkwardness Robin felt, or the way Nancy seemed to be watching her like a hawk, analyzing her as she walked over to the cupboard, pulled out a mug and a teabag, and poured in the hot water that Nancy had obviously prepared just earlier.
They watched each other from opposite sides of the kitchen, each quietly sipping on their tea. Somehow, the awkwardness that Robin had felt at first began to fade, until they were in what felt like a comfortable bubble, somehow detached from the rest of the world.
Nancy was the first to speak. “Are you sure you and Steve—you’re not—”
Again? Was Nancy trying to get back with Steve, or what? “God, no, Nancy. I’m not with Steve. I’ll never be with Steve. He’s…let’s say…fundamentally incompatible with what I…want. In a partner.”
“Fundamentally incompatible?”
God. Nancy had to know what she meant, she wasn’t stupid.
She wasn’t running.
“Well. He’s a little…male.”
“Oh, thank god.”
What?
They’d been getting closer, the whole conversation. At this point, Nancy had stepped right into Robin’s personal space. She would usually step back, maintain a more comfortable distance between herself and another person, but—
“Robin, I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Nancy leaned in, then and then—
And then they were kissing, and it was like nothing Robin had felt before.
She faltered a bit, not sure where to put her hands, how to position her body. She had no idea what she was supposed to be doing now. Nancy clearly had experience here, but Robin felt a bit like a newborn deer, not quite sure what to do with her limbs.
Nancy kept her touches chaste, though, running her hands up Robin’s arms lightly. Robin copied her, and Nancy sighed a bit before pulling away. She didn’t go far, just enough to rest their foreheads together, their breath mingling between them.
Robin should have been panicking. She should have been thinking about the million things that were bound to go wrong with this, about how surely, this would never work, about how Nancy had been, as far as she knew, straight. Until about thirty seconds ago, at least.
She wasn’t thinking about any of that. In fact, she wasn’t really thinking at all. Apparently, all it took to turn off the thoughts in her ever-busy brain was a kiss from a pretty girl. Not surprising, really, but rather inconvenient now, considering the circumstances.
“Are you okay?”
Was she okay?
Her traitorous tongue spoke without her permission. “Where did this come from?”
“I thought…I thought you wanted this too.”
Well, fuck, now she’d made Nancy uncomfortable.
“Yes! I did. I do.” She hesitated for a second, firmly commanding her brain to formulate a coherent thought. “But. I wasn’t exactly. Expecting this?”
“Robin. You were there earlier, during the movie, were you not?”
“Yes?”
“You really thought I was cold enough that I needed to share your body heat or something?”
Christ. Yes, she had thought that. Would it be embarrassing to admit that, now?
“I—yes?”
Nancy laughed a bit, but it clearly wasn’t mean-spirited. “Robin. Let me spell it out for you. I was sitting there because I wanted to touch you. I want to kiss you now. Is that okay?”
Robin was pretty sure her brain had shut off. Instead of talking too much, she was now incapable of speech. She nodded frantically instead, bumping her forehead off of Nancy’s.
Before she had a chance to worry about how awkward that was, she was being kissed again thoroughly.
She was able to think a little more this time, having had some warning, and found herself backed gently into the counter, cold marble at her back sharply contrasted with Nancy’s warmth. She didn’t feel cold anymore, despite the shivers shooting down her spine that really were more pleasant than anything.
Eventually, they curled up together on the couch. Robin marvelled at how well they fit together, like pieces of a puzzle.
“I’m a bit jealous of you and Steve, you know.”
“What?”
“You’re perfect for him. You guys…fit.”
Robin laughed a bit. “I never expected to realize that someone was…that someone could mean that much to me under a mall that was actually controlled by Russians, while we were being held captive by those Russians. You know, that really speeds up the bonding process.”
“You two definitely seem to have a strong bond, then.”
Was Nancy…actually jealous? Robin thought about how she’d given Robin little glances, been just a little more touchy around Steve.
She really shouldn’t have found that quite as hilarious as she did. Nancy was clearly feeling a little insecure, but really, the entire notion of it was ridiculous.
“Nancy. You do realize you have nothing to worry about? He’s my best friend, yes, but that’s it.”
Nancy said nothing, but Robin couldn’t tell if she was still upset, so she continued.
“I am…very gay. One hundred percent. I’ve seen Steve at the pool in the middle of summer, perfectly tanned, dripping water, and it does nothing for me. I promise, he and I would never happen. It would never work, for so many reasons. Plus, he’s…” Robin stopped, not sure if Steve had said anything about Eddie to anyone else yet.
Nancy had caught her slip. “He’s what?”
“Well. You can’t tell anyone else, alright? But he and Eddie are—or they’re going to be, I’m not sure about the timeline exactly—but they’re something. Anyway, what I’m saying is, you definitely don’t have anything to worry about between Steve and me. I can’t believe you didn’t notice. He talks about Eddie constantly.”
Nancy laughed. “Oh my god. That makes…a lot of sense, now that I think about it.”
Robin covered Nancy’s mouth with her hand. “Now, don’t say anything. They’re still figuring it out, and Steve would kill me if he knew I’d told you anything. He’s a bit embarrassed.”
Nancy licked her palm, which was just ew. Robin yanked her hand back.
“Alright, alright. I believe you, no need to manhandle me.”
Robin felt like she was no longer in control of her expressions, a grin sneaking its way onto her face despite her efforts to remain cool, collected. But as they sat quietly for longer, fear began to creep into her mind. What was this? Where did this come from?
Nancy broke the silence. “I can hear you thinking. What is it?”
“What is this?”
She hesitated for a second, then asked in reply, “What do you want it to be?”
Honesty was the best policy, right? “I want to be with you. If that’s what you want as well.”
“All I want is this. Here. You.”
“You have me, Nancy. You have me.”
There was no need to rush, not when they’d been through so much. They could take it one day at a time, because this was the place that Robin called home.