Chapter Text
It was pretty fair to say Robin was done with today. She had been scooping ice cream for 5 hours, 2 of which involved Erica and her little friends loitering and getting samples. She had given up fighting it now, and had forced Steve to deal with them.
Speak of the devil, he was currently hiding in the back room after a particularly bad rejection.
She couldn’t believe he went for Sophia Ritzio. Popular, pretty, and a total bitch. She didn’t even have the decency to reject him in peace, she decided to hang around with her friends and giggle and point. Even Robin thought that one was a little harsh, and she was the biggest advocate of bullying Steve.
Robin groaned as some preteen looking girl made her way up to the counter. Robin blinked slowly and put on her classic fake smile. This was way better acting practice then drama club had ever been. The girl was grinning widely and gliding effortlessly on a skateboard. Those weren’t allowed in the mall, but Robin definitely didn’t care enough. The girls hair splayed out behind her, and she practically slammed into the counter.
The girl ducked down for a second, and picked up the board. She tucked her hair behind her ear and tried to peak around Robin. Robin raised her eyebrows and decided she might as well just get this interaction over with.
“Ahoy.” Robin said, her voice monotone. The girl laughed, which was unexpected. The kid didn’t say anything, so Robin droned on. “How can I help you?”
The kid didn’t even pull any punches. “Is that little fucker here? I told him that I’d kick his dumbass if he skipped work again.” Robin was completely alarmed. She liked to think that she could handle just about any situation. But this seven year old dropping f-bombs in the first sentence at an ice cream store in the middle of butthole Indiana was a little jarring. Robin kind of just stared.
“Hello?” The girl waved her hand in front of Robins face. The girl’s expression changed from stupidly happy to exasperated and sarcastic and Robin was really fucking taken aback.
The kid had that sickening sweet look to her, big eyes, colorful clothes, friendship bracelets lining her wrists, combined with the whole “I’m an angsty skater” thing. Robin could sense a punk phase coming up, and she was ready for it. Normally she kind of tuned people out when they ordered, but she was kind of curious what was up with the kid.
She was pretty sure she had seen her with Billy Harsgrove once or twice. He was a total dick, but the fact that he seemed to despise her definitely gave this girl cool points. She didn’t exactly keep tabs on middle schoolers, so otherwise she was a mystery.
The kid was still staring at her, eyes narrowed, obviously waiting for something. If Robin wasn’t so informed on the expression of lovingly angry she would have thought that the girl was pissed at whoever she was looking for.
Besides, the kid didn’t make much sense, because whoever she was looking for was definitely not here. All she had was a Steve. The redheaded girl looked at her expectantly, and Robin didn’t really know what to say, so she just shrugged.
The girl kept going, motioning for some sort of response. “Steve? Tall, dumb hair, kind of ugly? No friends?”
Robin let out a kind of choked laugh, not really sure what to do. The kid sounded weirdly fond, which was a stark contrast to the words coming out of her mouth.
She didn’t know what part of this interaction to question first, first, who the hell was this girl? Second, what did she want with Steve? Also, there was the fact that she clearly liked him, or at least knew him enough to not immediately judge the whole King Steve thing.
She considered herself pretty good at analyzing people. The Harsgrove kid clearly wasn’t popular or even attempting to be, so she probably didn't want to hang out with him for his popularity, or would even be confident enough to try and talk to him without being friends.
Plus she doubted the kid was crushing on him, so apparently there was some weird friendship. And the girl definitely knew Steve pretty well based on just the way they were talking, and the fact that she knew where he worked and his hours. But she still had no inkling of why the girl was here or who she was.
“Yeah, Steve. Steve Harrington.” She could see the kid getting a little exasperated for real this time. “I assume he’s still here, unless he got violently murdered or something.”
Robin blinked. “Uh, yeah. He’s not dead.” She turned and yelled into the backroom “Steven?” She wasn’t sure why she called him that. She never did, but it sort of slipped out.
“Leave me alone I’m still emotionally vulnerable!” He yelled back, and before she could say anything the Harsgrove girl joined in.
“Get your sexy little ass out here Harrington!” Robin sputtered a little, and Steve audibly groaned. But the way he practically lit up at the sound of her voice told a different story. He sauntered out, which Robin made a mental note to bully him for later. As soon as he got in sight of the kid put on his annoyed face back on.
“You absolute shitface.” Steve glared at the girl, which she mirrored. “Why the hell are you here?”
“To harass you of course.” She replied, winking. Steve groaned again, and flipped her off. Robin tightened her lips to hide a smile. She wanted to interject to figure out who the hell this random girl was, but she didn't want them to remember she was there and stop talking.
“Well Max, looks like you get to be graced by my presence for a little while” He teased, and the kid (Max apparently) gave him a look equivalent of the middle finger.
“Hell no. The only reason I even considered coming here is because the boys are all busy.”
Steve grinned cheekily. “Really? Cause I know for a fact Mike is sulking in his room because E-” He cut himself off. “His girlfriend is stuck with her dad. And if your hate for him is too much to bear, I know for a fact Lucas is alone at the arcade right now. I’m picking him up after my shift. If I didn’t know any better I would think you were trying to spend time with your best friend/mentor”
“You’re more like an over glorified babysitter who pays for everything. Dustin’s your little mentee creep.” Max replied, smirking. Steve grabbed a cone and started filling it, apparently already knowing the kids order.
This was definitely getting weirder. The two of them were obviously friends which was bizarre, and she had already mentioned two other children's names, which probably meant there were more of them. Apparently they were close enough to know eachothers ice cream flavors, communicate daily, and to bitch at each other, which was odd. Plus apparently he was giving a little boy a ride home which was nice.
The Steve that she knew would never even consider associating with this child. That was the definition of lame. Plus, she had no clue how he even met these kids considering Robin was possibly the lamest kid in the school and had no idea who they were. And Steve was not a good enough person to do some mentorship program, so that was out of the question.
Before she could contemplate anymore, Max started up again. “So, I got it.” She bit her lip, and Robin could hear barely contained excitement in her voice.
Steve looked up from the scooper, mouth open. “No way.”
“Yes!” She practically shrieked, and held up the board she had skated in on. It was still shiny, and Steve reached out to touch it before Max swatted his hand away. “Stay away. She’s too beautiful to be touched by your peasant hands.”
“I paid for that board asshole!”
“Like 90% assface.” She retorted, and Robin held in a little snort of laugher. Watching the two of them banter was fascinating, and she kept waiting for Steve to say something dumb and mean to run her off. But he just handed her an overflowing ice cream cone, not even asking for money. Max brightened up and took a very large lick.
“Besides, maybe I’ll let you try it out after the movie tonight.” She relented, and Robin raised an eyebrow. The movie?
“If I die on that deathtrap then I’m suing you.” Steve really had no capability of hiding his emotions. She could see him trying to look annoyed, but his eyes were sparkling. She could practically see his brain spark when he thought of something. “Did you convince Will to come? He was our swing vote.”
“No, it’s just the two of us.” She paused to take a bite of ice cream. “I can’t believe they don’t appreciate Sixteen Candles! We need Dustin back, he totally would have come! Now I have to spend alone time with you.”
“First of all ouch.” Steve grinned a little bit at the mention of Dustin, whoever that was. She was trying to keep track of how many names he had mentioned, but there were too many. At least six. It was like Steve was a really shitty soccer coach.
“Yeah, Dustin really does love a romcom. I can’t believe how many of those things you two idiots dragged me to. That’s the only section of jeopardy where I can kick Lucas’s ass.” Steve said fondly, and Robin raised her eyebrows a little bit. There was a lot to unpack. Steve apparently watches a lot of rom coms, has many child friends, and plays jeopardy with said child friends.
“Dragged you to? You’re the one who forced us to see Heathers three times!” She accused and Steve threw his hands up.
“Heather’s is a great movie! It’s action, not romance!” He defended, and Robin actually laughed out loud.
She couldn’t even help but join in. Harassing Steve was her specialty. “We all know you’re just horny for Winona Rider.”
“Not important.” Steve interjected, and suddenly realized it was Robin speaking, not Max. The two of them both swivel their heads in slow motion, obviously having forgotten that she was even there. Robin would have felt bad for interrupting their little buddy bud moment if it wasn’t for the hilarious looks on their faces.
“Who are you?” Max asked, apparently unconcerned with social etiquette. Robin didn’t mind.
“Manners shithead!” Steve reprimanded, reaching to grab her cone from her. Max jumped back and took a huge bite from it, which was disgusting. “Don’t bite Max, lick.”
“Ew Steve!”
He seemed to realize what he said, and stumbled over his words trying to keep talking. “I- dont- no- just-” He sighed, and dejectedly put his scooper down. “Don’t eat ice cream before dinner, it’s bad for your health.”
“Okay Mom.” Max teased, and Steve threw his hat at her.
“I hate you so much.”
“You’re a terrible person.”
“Max, you know you’re the worst, right?”
“You know you have no friends, no future, and no one loves you, right?”
“You do such good things for my ego Maxine.” Steve sighed and put his hat over his heart like a lovesick revolutionary war soldier. Robin’s mouth twitched trying to hold in a grin. She could tell that they were real friends just by the way they talked to each other. It was kind of adorable in a gross way. Not that Robin would ever tell them that though. Steve having a child best friend was way too good of bullying material.
Max giggled at him, and the two of them started talking to each other about god knows what. Steve lifted up his arm and she saw a friendship bracelet on his wrist matching one of Max’s. Robin had to turn her head a little bit so that they couldn’t see her smile. That was fucking adorable. In a dumb way.
She wasn’t sure she had ever seen Steve look happy before. She thought back through years of knowing him, from sixth grade to high school, but she had never seen Steve actually look happy about something. It was kind of depressing if she thought about it. She didn’t like to think about him, because the guy was a dick. But this was a very non dickish thing he was doing right now.
The bell rang, and Robin sighed. It was totally Steve’s turn to work, but she didn’t want to break up the party. She went back to scooping mindlessly, and let the two of them chat it up. She was pretty sure the two of them were bitching about something Max’s boyfriend did this time, which Robin honestly felt bummed about. She had been getting a gay vibe from the kid, but from the way they talked about this poor boy there was totally a chance she was bi at the least.
It had become something Robin became obsessed with, trying to identify other gay people. It had pretty much been an epic fail so far, because even if she was fairly certain she had no idea how to make sure. It’s not like Max and Steve would giggle and gossip about some girl Max liked in front of her. It sucked a little bit.
“Okay, so can someone tell me who the hell this random girl is?” Max pointed over to Robin, smiling sarcastically at Steve. The kid apparently gave zero fucks about social appropriateness, which she appreciated. Being nice to strangers was overrated.
Steve smirked at Max. “You’re the random girl idiot.” He turned around and finally acknowledge her existence. “This is Robin. She hates me. You two would get along.”
Robin couldn’t help but smile at the introduction, and Max seemed to brighten up a little bit at the mention of hating Steve. She looked at Robin quizzically, like she was trying to analyze her. “Okay Robin,” She said her name like she doubted that it was even real. “Name Steve’s worst qualities.” Robin hesitated. “Go.”
She felt a little bit like a grade schooler who was given a pop quiz. For some weird reason she wanted this kids approval, and didn’t want to mess this up. Steve looked appropriately annoyed. She didn’t know whether to go the ‘he’s annoying’ route or the ‘he bullied me and my friends’ direction. She opted for the first. “He has no talents, literally can’t read, and has negative three friends.” She looked at Max’s face, trying to get a read on her response. Apparently she passed, because the girl seemed to relax a little.
“I totally have friends! I have Dustin! And Max!” Steve yelped, looking deeply offended. Max stepped away from him, putting her hands up.
“Don’t look at me dumbass. I’m just here for your money.” Steve flipped her off.
“Kid, I’m literally broke.” Robin smirked at that, because it was a bold faced lie. She didn’t get why he was even working at Scoops, the boy was filthy rich. He didn’t need this job.
“Not broke enough to save the million dollars a month you spend on hairspray.” Max grinned cheekily, and Steve swatted her.
“You know I’m saving everything that isn’t completely essential. And hairspray is completely essential.” Max raised her eyebrows. “You fuckers are breaking the bank for me. At this rate I’ll be stuck with my old man forever.”
Max looked at the ground, and unless Robin was crazy the kid looked a little ashamed. Based on their interaction so far the girl wasn’t capable of shame, just sass. “Sorry about the skateboard, I shouldn’t have asked for it. I’m going to pay you back, I swear.”
“It can be your birthday and Christmas presents for the next five years.” Max pursed her lips, clearly not believing it. “Besides, it's on me that your dear old brother broke it in the first place. I can handle hanging out with Papa Harrington a little longer if it means you have your board. I don’t need you dying attempting to ride on the duck taped death trap.” Steve rustled the kids hair a little bit, and she hit him, laughing. The two of them were like an adorable brother sister pair. Annoying, but adorable.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Max sounded really sad, like a hurt puppy. Steve pretty much melted at her expression. She would have made fun of him if it didn’t mean breaking up the moment. She was a sucker for best friendship, even though she would never admit it.
“I’m a bad bitch Max, you know that. I’m like the terminator, but hotter.” He made a ninja move, and Max giggled, a little painful, but it was still a laugh. Steve twisted his lips and attempted to get serious. “Besides, I can-”
Some kid outside the store shrieked, and Steve flinched, blinking. Max looked around, appearing to just remember that they were in public. Steve leaned in and started talking into her hair, his voice so quiet that Robin couldn’t make out anything. Max looked sad, annoyed, then laughed a little bit. Steve leaned away and the two of them locked pinkies, and shook on something. She couldn’t believe that Steve Harrington actually made a pinky promise.
“You’re Dad sucks.” Max decided and Steve laughed, nodding.
“Yeah he’s a total asshole. Your Stepdad’s a ray of sunshine though.” They both giggled, and Max jumped up onto the counter so she could sit. The two of them looked at each other with some weird comradery about parents. Steve looked a combination of sad and protective, but his eyes were twinkling a little bit. She couldn’t figure out what the expression meant, but it was clearly some private bond or something. Steve made a weird face, and the two of them started stupidly laughing again.
Max did seem to look a little happier, and started animatedly describing this new trick she was learning, with lots of hand motions and sound effects. Steve looked completely mesmerized, and she couldn’t decide if it was cute or creepy.
The entire conversation had been completely bizarre. She didn’t really know what to think of their brief money talk. Steve Harrington could literally afford a small country, and all she knew about his Dad was that he was a huge businessman. She honestly didn’t even know what he did, just that he made hella bank.
It was all very confusing. But she was really good at overanalyzing people thanks to her epic attempts to find gay people, so she had grasped at some straws.
They both had Daddy issues. Honestly, that was like half of Hawkins, so she wasn’t even that surprised. The town was comprised of drunks and people who married each other for the money. There were like three happy couples in the entire place. She would have been more surprised if their parents were happy to be honest. She was a little surprised at Steve though, his Dad was really fucking well respected. But appearances can be deceiving apparently, cause Steve’s definitely was.
She didn’t really know what to think. Steve Harrington sucked. A lot. His whole Daddy issues thing didn’t really affect her opinion of him. He had pretty much coined the word faggot in Hawkins. She hated him for that.
He had been okay this summer. Granted they had only been together for a few weeks, but they spent 10 hours a day together. And Steve had been working tons of extra shifts without her, apparently where this kid had been hanging out with him.
He was nice enough to her, the two of them bantered back and forth and he never said anything mean, which was good. But not being a total asshole wasn’t exactly a huge compliment. He bullied her and her friends for years. He had pretty much disappeared in the last year, but that didn’t really mean much to her. He was probably just drunk somewhere.
Or hanging out with kids. That was what was getting to her. This little girl. Robin hated kids, they were annoying and manipulative and just totally immature. She never wanted children, and would never spend time with them voluntarily. Of all people she figured Steve would be in the same boat on that.
But he was acting like she was his baby sister. The kid obviously looked up to him, and he was completely under her thumb.
He bought her a skateboard. Robin didn’t get the story behind it, why it was broken and all of that, but she knew damn well that the Steve she knew wouldn’t have even considered buying her something knew, even if he did it personally, Hell, Steve wouldn’t even replace a pencil that he broke.
She didn’t know what to think, or what to say. She was finding it too hard to hate Steve, and it was taking way more energy then she was willing to give.
She looked over, and the Max girl was hitting Steve with his own hat. It was really cute. She worked, and just let the two of them hang out. She had always wanted siblings, and she couldn’t find it in her to disrupt them. But she was totally taking the tips for the day.
The girl finally ran off, promising to be at his car in time so he didn’t have to wait. Robin looked over at him smirking, and Steve just glared. “Don’t say a word.” He threatened, and adjusted his hat. Robin raised her eyebrows at him suggestively.
“Say a word about what Harrington?” She smirked. “So how does it feel to be a mother?” Steve glared at her.
“She’s just a kid I babysit.” Robin almost laughed out loud. He was so obviously trying to look cool, and it wasn’t working.
“So I assume you’re being paid for the viewing of Sixteen Candles tonight?”
“Shut the fuck up.” Steve polished his scooper, and Robin grinned at him.
“Nothing wrong with it. I’m glad you made your first friend.” She mocked, and Steve flipped her off.
“Don’t fucking talk to me.” They made eye contact and burst out laughing.
“I fucking hate you.”
“Hate you too.” She winked, and Steve groaned. This summer wouldn't suck so much.