Chapter Text
They're on their way with the last things to move to Eddie and Wayne's house in Canada. Robin's singing to Stevie Nicks, head thrown back, smile wide, when Steve finally sees the sign to the waterfalls and the trail leading towards it that he researched before they left. Steve feels like he can't contain his excitement, but tries his best to calm down to not make Robin suspicious. He's planned this for so long — too long to let it fuck up now. He hopes more than anything that Robin goes along with it. This moment…it's supposed to be really special.
Robin deserves special.
Steve points at the sign. "Rob, please can we go? Remember the visit to the waterfall in Illinois 3 years ago?"
"Ugh, don't remind me." Robin groans and rolls her head across the headrest. "We hiked for hours, Steve."
"Could've been less if you'd worn fitting shoes.. Also, you loved it in the end and said it was totally worth it." He emphasizes the last bit, smiles broadly at her. He tries to stay positive and motivated because he knows she'll love this.
Robin slouches a bit in her seat. "Okay, well, I don't have fitting shoes."
Steve's eyes sparkle. "I brought your boots. And mosquito spray."
She rolls her eyes, but smiles at him. "Fine. You win."
Steve tries to suppress the anxious excitement bubbling in his chest as he takes the turn toward the waterfall.
Boots securely on Robin's feet, Steve puts on his backpack, checks his pockets, and starts walking towards the trail. They're barely 10 minutes into the hike when Robin groans. "Are we there yet?"
"Robin, I swear to Dolly Parton, sometimes you're worse than Dustin's kids."
"You don't mean that." Robin gasps. "That's the rudest thing you've ever said to me!'
"You love them." Steve laughs.
"When they're quiet, yes. Which is, like, 5% of the time."
"Okay, fair." He stops on the trail, leans against a tree as he wipes the sweat from his face. "Anyway, it's still like half an hour, You want something to drink?"
"God, yes." Robin thankfully takes the bottle of water Steve offers her from his backpack.
"I hope it's not too bad... the hike, I mean." He rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet. Anxiety races through his bloodstream, the impending realization of what waits at the end of the trail weighing heavily on his shoulders.
"It's fine." Robin sighs as she slips the bottle into her bag. "Kinda nice, actually."
Steve checks his watch. "Can we, uh, get a move on? I want to be back at the car before it's dark."
He checks his pockets again.
Still there.
Good.
Robin squints at him. "Something's up with you."
Shit.
"With me? Nothing's up with me. I'm cool. Fine. Groovy."
"Uh-huh." Her brows raise as she looks him over. "You've been fidgeting for the whole hike so far and can't even look me in the eye."
"It's nothing. I, uh, I'm just, uh," he snaps his fingers and points at her. "Excited to see Eddie again. Yeah."
"Alright then, keep your secrets." Robin squints at him again.
"Nerd."
"I don't know if you're the bigger nerd here or not for recognising that line. You're spending too much time with Eddie. He's rubbing off on you."
Steve grins. "Oh, he's rubbing off on me alright."
"Ewwwwww. Shut up!" Robin squeaks and holds her hands against her ears.
"You know, that one night he - "
"Lalalalala, I can't hear you anymore!" Robin speeds up to put some distance in between them.
Steve just shakes his head and speeds up after her so he doesn't lose sight of her. He does not want to spend the evening searching for her. He already had to do that once last year, and it traumatised him for the rest of his life.
Why did he choose hiking for this again?
Waterfall. Focus on the waterfall, he tells himself.
As he gets closer, he pokes her and says, "Don't act as if you don't want to know all the gory details." Which just sends her into another dash up the trail.
They'e almost there. Steve can already hear the rush of the waterfall. Robin's been talking non-stop for the last 10 minutes about what they want to do when they get to Eddie's. "And don't you dare hole up with your stupid boyfriend."
"He's not stupid. He's the one that agreed to moving in with his boyfriend of 5 years and his boyfriend's platonic best friend."
Steve smiles to himself as he remembers the bonfire all those years ago. He actually kissed Eddie that morning after the bonfire. Or, rather, Eddie kissed him. Tomato-tomato.
Robin shrugs. "Yeah, alright. We should actually thank him, I guess. Because, who does that? Who's actually this chill about us?"
"Well," Steve laughs a bit bitterly. "Not Kaylee, that's for sure."
Ugh, Kaylee. Every time he thinks of her, he gets angry. Though, the sting of it has eased over the years, much of it softened by Eddie's calm and easy acceptance of the relationship Steve and Robin have. Eddie doesn't ever bat an eye at the closeness they share, and Steve loves him all the more for it.
"Ugh, do not remind me of her. We do not speak her name."
"Seriously, fuck her. I still don’t know what I saw in her.” Steve shudders.
"She was the worst." Robin agrees. "And so was Tanya."
"Well," Steve bumps her shoulder. "We don't ever have to worry about that shit again."
"Damn right." Robin smiles. Then, she takes his hand and pulls him forward, closer to the sound of rushing water. "Oh my god, look!"
There are surprisingly no other people around, which is actually perfect. Exactly what he wants. Steve drops his backpack next to Robin's at one of the benches, then follows her to the edge of the lake.
The waterfalls are as wonderful as he saw in the brochure. Even more so when they reflect the evening light softly off the waves. The rush of the watter pouring down and cascading out in the lake makes him feel alive and content.
He puts his left hand in his pocket to feel for the little box - still there. Steve takes a deep breath and looks at Robin. Her back is turned to him as she looks out over the water, but he can feel the pure joy and wonder radiating from her. Small specks of sunlight freckle across her skin, while a soft breeze brushes the short hair on her head.
God.
He loves her so fucking much. Steve grabs the box out of his pocket, takes the ring out, and takes a deep breath. It's a gold band with intricate details of little flowers, the top of it adorned with two small birds instead of a diamond or whatever Tiffany would've wanted.
Alright. Now or never.
Steve kneels down on one knee and waits with a pounding heart. It doesn't even take 5 seconds for Robin to turn around and immediately choke on her spit when she sees him knelt before her. She coughs a bit to catch her breath before speaking.
"I knew something was up with you! Holy shit.” She stares at him for a few seconds before dropping to her knees right in front of him. “What are you doing, Dingus?”
"It's been 17 years, Robbie. We've been doing this, us—" he gestures with his empty hand. "For 17 insane years now and I love you so fucking much. I don't want to ever be parted from you. No matter what."
Robin opens her mouth to say something, but Steve barrells on.
"When we scooped ice cream together, I already had a feeling that you were the one. I just didn't know that you weren't it for me in the way I thought you would be. And thank god for that. We wouldn’t have survived a year."
Robin laughs wetly. Her bright blue eyes glisten, and Steve instantly reaches up to wipe a stray tear from her eye.
"I don't know if I would've survived without you. The Russians and everything that followed after. You're the light when everything around me seems to be pushed into darkness. You're the sunshine in every thunderstorm. You're the shelter in the pelting rain." Steve laughs, feels his own eyes stinging with tears. "Growing up, I didn't have many real friends, I wasn't raised with affection, like you were. I knew nothing about love that wasn't transactional , like you said to me once. That there were different kinds of love.”
At this, Robin takes his free hand between hers. She sniffles, but a smile stays etched beneath the tears.
“So, Robin Buckley. Robbie," Robin makes a face at that. But Steve takes a deep breath and holds up the ring. "Will you let me love you forever?”
Her face morphs into a smile. “Yes, of course, Dingus! With you? Always. Fuck."
Robin holds her shaking left hand out in front of him. Tears still stream down her face, but she giggles when Steve pushes the ring over her ring finger. It slides on like it was always meant to be there, a completely perfect fit, and he smiles wetly at her.
Steve mouths "I love you," and she throws herself at him. He holds her tight to his chest, his hand cradling the back of her head. Robin buries her face in the space between his neck and shoulder. She scrunches his shirt in her hands as if she's afraid that he'll vanish suddenly.
“Wait.” Robin sits back a bit. “What about Eddie? Holy shit, if he –“
Steve puts his hand on her mouth, and she scowls slightly.
“Eddie is fine with it. He actually came up with the idea.”
Robin's face went slack, her voice muffled behind his hand. “You’re kidding me.”
“Okay, he didn’t come up with the idea of marrying you. But he proposed, heh, that I do it now. Before we finally move to Canada.” Steve smiles and shrugs. “I mean, Eddie and I couldn’t get married anyway, so....”
“That’s not the point. But...”
“No buts. Rob, I’ve been wanting to marry you for years now. Even before Eddie came into the picture. I’m tired of not getting notified as next of kin when something happens. I want to make sure that we’re always right next to each other. I want everyone to know that we belong together. I'm so proud to call you my best friend. My soulmate.” Steve takes her face into his hands gently and kisses her forehead.
“I’m not marrying you out of convenience or to hide that I’m dating Eddie. I’m marrying you for you, babe. For us. We're better together anyway. You’re the one who's made me feel safe for almost two decades now. You’re the one who went through several crises with me. Who accidentally bleached my hair once and then spent 2 weeks laughing at me because it looked ridiculous. You’re the one who lets me be myself. Who showed me what family was supposed to look like. And I know, you’re going to say 'but Eddie also does all this for you' and yes, he does. But, he’s not you. And he knows this and supports this 150%. He even threatened to break up with me if you didn’t come home with a ring on your finger. So, I’m definitely not risking that." Steve laughs softly and Robin joins in.
"You're sure?" Robin whispers.
"Of course I want to marry you.” Steve smiles. "You're it for me, Bobbins."
And then, by some twist of fate, Robin reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small box where a dark ring with a golden band in the middle sits. She smiles up at Steve, who just looks back at her, completely awestruck.
“Guess you beat me to it, Dingus."
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