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The wedding is perfect. She honestly didn’t think they could pull it off (-“no, Jonathan, orange and green would not be a good color scheme”-) but here she is, watching Steve tie his tie in the mirror, absolutely on the verge of tears.
“How do I look?” Steve asks, turning to face her. His hair is done up all stupid and perfect, like how he used to do it in high school. Robin rolls her eyes to try and hide the tears that are bubbling at the corners of her eyes.
“Like a dingus,” she laughs. “But… really handsome. You look great.”
Steve’s eyes light up and he breaks into a big, cheesy grin. “Wow, I must really be doing something right if you called me handsome,” he teases.
She shakes her head and pokes her finger into the center of his forehead. “Don’t make me mess up your hair,” she threatens. “I’m only being nice to you and Jonathan for one day. And I can’t even promise that I’ll be nice to Jonathan.” She bites the inside of her cheek to try and keep herself together. Her best friend is getting married, and she’s never seen him happier. “Let’s go and get ‘em, tiger,” she says, holding out her arm. He links his arm with hers and they lock their hands together.
She’s opted to hold the bouquet, because if she doesn’t, there isn’t going to be a bouquet. Steve’s made it abundantly clear that he thinks his and Jonathan’s corsages are more than enough flowers, but Robin insisted on carrying a bouquet of daisies and violets to match the ones pinned to the guys’ tuxedos.
“You’ve got this,” she says to him before the doors open. His hand is getting sweaty - or maybe it’s hers, she can’t really tell at this point. “Deep breaths.”
“I think you’re more nervous about this than I am,” he whispers. “I’m completely calm.” He beams a smile at her and straightens his posture. “I’ve never felt more sure of anything in my life.”
The music starts, and the wedding party starts down the aisle first. Robin thanks her lucky stars that Steve decided on a white and purple color palette (but maybe that’s just because Nancy looks really good in purple). Robin tears up a little already at seeing Nancy and Dustin go down the aisle arm-in-arm, then Mike and Holly, then Lucas and Max, then Will and El. At the end of the aisle stands Jonathan, and in Robin’s mind, he actually looks good for once.
The music changes, and Robin feels her heart drop through her stomach. “This is it,” she whispers to Steve. She squeezes his hand and he squeezes it right back. Slowly, they walk down the aisle together, passing by familiar faces. Joyce and Hopper are sitting at the front, and the Wheelers are sitting across the aisle from them, in lieu of where Steve’s parents would have been. They didn’t get an invitation; Robin remembers that conversation far too well. No matter. They don’t deserve to see Steve this happy anyways.
Finally, they reach Jonathan and the officiate. Robin takes a deep breath and has to force herself to let go of Steve’s hand. “Do not fuck this up,” she whispers to Jonathan. He only gives her a stupid smirk in return and nods silently.
She wipes the sweat from her hand off on her dress and walks over to stand behind El, the bouquet in her hands trembling. She never thought she could like Jonathan Byers in the slightest, especially not after the countless arguments they’d get into in her eleventh grade English class, but here she is, watching him marry her best friend in the entire world. Because he’s the one who makes Steve happier than anything. She doesn’t even realize she’s crying until Nancy looks back at her and touches the corner of her eye. She quickly raises her hand to dab away her tears, internally scolding herself for losing it this early into the ceremony.
As Steve and Jonathan exchange their vows, Robin sees every memory she’s ever made with Steve flashing before her eyes. Obsessively hating him in Mrs. Click’s class. Watching him act like a cocky asshole when he won prom king. Seeing him fumble on the stage at graduation. Grimacing when she learned he’d be working with her at Scoops. Grimacing even harder when she realized he wasn’t all that bad. Fighting off Russian soldiers and getting drugged. Coming out to him in the bathroom of Starcourt, and three years later, him coming out to her in her basement after smoking way too much. Sharing beds when they had nightmares and couldn’t go back to sleep until the other one drove across town to come hang out. Cheering him on and wearing his jersey at all his basketball games. Steve’s absolute bewilderment when Robin came home holding Nancy’s hand and announced that she was dating his ex. And, of course, her making fun of him relentlessly when he finally admitted his years-long crush on Jonathan Byers.
Funny, the way things work out.
She feels all the oxygen leave her body as Steve looks to Jonathan and utters the words “I do,” sliding the silver band onto Jonathan’s ring finger. And when Jonathan does the same to Steve, Robin finds herself shaking to hold back what could be a very loud sob. They’re pronounced husband and husband. Her best friend is married.
Steve and Jonathan kiss for a full ten seconds, which is a full ten seconds longer than Robin normally likes to see - she’s kidding every time she tells them it grosses her out, but the joke is too funny to give up - and, like that, it’s done. Mr. and Mr. Jonathan and Steve Byers. She can’t hold herself back now. The waterworks start to pour and she wraps her arms around herself as she smiles at them. Steve meets her eyes and smiles right back, giving her a dorky little thumbs up. She laughs, tears still streaming, and returns the gesture. Steve tugs Jonathan by the hand down the aisle and out of the venue towards their limousine, destined to take them to the reception. Robin feels Nancy’s arm snake around her waist and she leans into her.
“I’m sorry, I’m a mess,” she groans.
Nancy smiles and shakes her head as she wipes away Robin’s tears. “At least you borrowed my waterproof mascara,” she hums. Robin giggles and kisses the back of Nancy’s hand. “C’mon, R. We’ve still got a whole reception to get through.”
-
Robin’s so very grateful for Nancy at the reception. She’s always grateful for her, but having the comfort of Nancy holding her hand under the table keeps her from totally losing her mind. They sit around the table, everyone anxiously waiting for the newlyweds to make their entrance. Robin looks to the two empty seats to her right, and Nancy again squeezes her hand to try and prevent her from crying before anything’s even happened yet. Next to the empty seat where Jon’s meant to sit, Joyce sits with her hands folded in her lap, obviously going through the very same struggle as Robin. She flashes her a little smile and Robin returns it, her heart pounding.
Finally, the doors along the far wall open wide, and Steve and Jonathan run in together, holding each other’s hand up in the air. El and Mike instantly start clapping, and everyone else soon joins in. Steve races up to the microphone, essentially dragging Jonathan along with him. “Let them eat cake!” he announces, eliciting a few chuckles from the room. Robin rolls her eyes at him and shakes her head to herself. “Dingus,” she whispers under her breath.
They take their seats, and Robin finally lets out a breath she didn’t realize she’s been holding. Steve leans over to her and kisses her on the cheek, rubbing her shoulder a bit. “Someone’s been crying…” he teases in a sing-song voice. She swats at him and laughs softly.
The food is much better than she was prepared to give Jonathan credit for. He must have found some really great wedding planner, because there’s no way he found this caterer on his own. “Thank god for our last minute wedding planner,” he says out loud right as Robin has the thought, making her choke on her bread. She laughs into her napkin and tries her best not to smear her lipstick off completely.
When the music changes from upbeat and pop-heavy to the beginning of a slow ballad, Robin’s stomach churns. This is it. The song she’s been practicing her steps to for months now.
“You know what this means,” Steve says, rising from the table. He grabs Robin by the hand and leads her over to the dancefloor as the DJ announces Steve’s first dance with his best friend. They hold hands and Robin rests her hand on his shoulder as his hand falls to her waist. They teeter around the dancefloor slowly, like their feet are shifting through sand. As the first chorus hits, Robin leans her head against Steve’s shoulder and starts crying again. She feels Steve’s chest move a bit and she scowls.
“Don’t laugh at me,” she pouts. She lifts her head and sees tears running down his face, though, and she stops. “Holy shit. You’re crying.”
“Shut up,” he says, his breath hiccuping a bit. “You’re crying too. Gay.”
“You literally just married a man,” she laughs. She kisses his cheek and presses their foreheads together. “If I get makeup on your white tux, I’m not sorry. You made me like this.”
Steve just shakes his head and kisses her forehead. “You’re the best best friend I could ask for,” he sighs. “I love you.”
That’s what really sends her. “Fuck, Harrington,” she whimpers, sniffling hard. “I love you too.”
“It’s Byers now,” he corrects her. He sniffles too, letting out a loud, elated laugh.
She’s never seen him so happy.
They hold hands as they return to their seats, and she can’t help but let herself smile as Jonathan kisses Steve when he sits back down. Her heart feels like it’s about to burst, and she can’t hold back anymore. She stays standing and picks up her champagne flute, tapping her spoon against the side. “Um, attention? Everyone, attention please?”
The room quiets down and the DJ turns down the music. She suddenly feels very anxious, which isn’t like her. She was a goddamn theater kid, and yet here she is, unable to stand in front of a room full of people she recognizes to give a small speech. Maybe it’s because in theater, she was never so vulnerable to talking about herself.
“I, uh. I was going to wait until later, but… I figure if I’m already a crying mess now, I might as well.” She sets the glass and spoon down, then reaches into a pocket on the side of her dress (because she’s that lesbian) and retrieves a crumbled-up piece of paper. She unfolds it and coughs slightly, hands shaking.
“Ten things I hate about you,” she reads aloud. “Otherwise known as my best woman speech directed at Jonathan Byers. Let’s go.” She clears her throat once more.
“I hate the way you talk to me, and your whole pretentious air. I hate the way you take your pictures, I hate your greasy hair. I hate your new wave film collection, and the way you waste my time. I hate you so much it makes me sick, like seeing you with Steve is a crime. I hate the way you analyze books, I hate it when you smile. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry.” Tears are falling down her cheeks now, and they’re showing no sign of stopping. “I hate the fact you love my friend, and how talking to you is like a brick wall. But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you, not even a little bit, not even at all.” She takes a deep breath and tries to compose herself. “I know four languages fluently and have been trying to learn a fifth and sixth for years now, and still, I don’t have the words to express how absolutely grateful I am for you, Jonathan Byers. I hated you in high school. Almost as much as I hated Steve.” She looks down at him and lets out a small laugh. “Steve. You are the best friend I ever could have asked for. I’m forever going to be grateful that we got hired at the same dying ice cream shop at the same time. You will never understand how much love I have in my heart for you. Sometimes it feels like there’s so much, I’m going to just fall over and die from it all. God, you’re the best worst wingman in the world. Seriously, none of the girls you ever tried to set me up with were even gay.” She laughs louder this time, wiping away her tears as fast as she can. “But you weren’t even mad when I started dating your ex. Even though it’s still kind of weird that all three of us have dated her.” Jonathan and Nancy giggle along with each other across the table. “I love you, you absolute dingus. You and your stupid hair, and how you still get bagel crumbs all over the floor and always ask the stupidest questions. I am so glad that Jonathan makes you happy. And I’ll never be able to repay him for that.” She wipes her nose on the back of her hand and uses her other hand to lift up her glass. “To Steve and Jonathan, everyone.”
She sits down and instantly buries her face in Nancy’s shoulder. Steve reaches over and taps her on the shoulder. “Thank you,” he says softly when she looks to him. “I love you.”
She nods and gives him a knowing look. “I know, dingus. I love you, too.”