Crush

“Robin would you fucking knock it off, please?” Steve begs dragging her back a little with him letting Nancy and Eddie take the lead.

“Am I laying it on too thick? I felt like I was laying it on too thick but you know how I get where I start talking and then I can’t stop talk—“ Steve covers her mouth and she just points at her mouth and nods as she keeps talking until the mumbled sentence ends.

“There is nothing to lay.” Steve stresses, catching Robin by the elbow and getting her to start walking with him again before Eddie and Nancy can decide to turn around for them or wait for them to catch up. Eddie already keeps lagging behind Nancy to peer at them every few minutes. 

“Come on, you can’t say you don’t want Nancy back, it's so obvious.” Steve is pretty sure he has done nothing to encourage that thought. “Why wouldn’t you want to get back with her? She’s so pretty and confident and she really knows how to take charge and she has guns? I mean I’m not really into guns but given the situations we keep finding ourselves in I definitely count that as some added points.” She says all in one breath, hands moving about for emphasis. 

Steve just stares at her, this has never happened before, him knowing what is going on with her, with him, with anything or anyone before Robin. “Wow.”

“Right, she is wow—“ Robin starts and he knows she is winding up for another long spiel about how great Nancy is and he quickly covers her mouth again. How does she not see that she is the one clearly with unresolved feelings, crushing like a gushing grade schooler in denial about liking someone. If she starts pulling at Nancy’s metaphorical pigtails Steve is going to lose it. 

“No, not what I mean. Wow, I think this is the first time I get something before you. How does it feel to be the dingus for once?” He asks probably a little more gleeful than necessary but it is so rare that he is ahead of anyone else he cannot help it. They are in a shitty situation, he is allowed to celebrate the small joys. 

“You’re still a dingus.” Robin proclaims with a frown as she pushes his hand away from her face. “Now what the fuck are you talking about.”

“I got over my crush on Nancy ages ago.” Steve comes to a stop just so he can level Robin with a serious look he hopes she understands. “I don’t want to get back with her. Even if she wanted me, that isn’t what I want. I haven’t wanted that for a long time.” Steve stresses but he is pretty sure it has fallen short before Robin even opens her mouth with the epic eye roll.

“Riight. What, have you suddenly gone blind she’s gorgeous.” Steve sighs trying to figure out when exactly this massive crush of Robin’s started developing. Recently obviously but was it before or after they went to the psych ward, did it start in the library? Or has it always been there and only recently bloomed with some one on one time. “She jumped into a lake and swam through an inter dimensional portal to this shit show for you. Like you could do any better than that.”

“You and Eddy also came after me.” Steve points out, he wants to deny he needed help but the painful bruising on his neck and the wounds on his torso definitely would mark that as a lie.

Robin snorts “I only came because Nancy did, I don’t know why Eddy decided to risk it. I’m beginning to regret coming to help save your ass.” Well that is rude.

“First of all no you’re not you would be very sad if you didn’t have me around and you’d have to deal with Keith all on your own.” She can barely tolerate shifts at Family Video with Steve around as if she could deal with Keith all on her own without him there as a buffer. “So you just do whatever Nancy says now?” Steve asks, hoping she finally gets what is obviously happening here.

“She didn’t tell me what to do.” Robin scoffs and this time it is Steve rolling his eyes because maybe she did not tell her what to do but he has no doubt she would have listened if she had.  “She jumped in and I followed after. I couldn’t let her fight monsters by herself. What sort of friend would that make me?”

“You said you only jumped in because she did, so you were perfectly fine with letting me fight monsters on my own.” Steve glares at her offended at the prospect.

“You’re a big strong man, you can handle yourself.” Steve wants to agree but instead of lying he makes a face and waves a hand at his torso, blood starting to peek through the makeshift bandage Nancy made for him out of part of her shirt.  “No, no, don’t say anything I heard it and obviously you need all the help you can get.” Steve just gives her a bland look as she pats his shoulder harder than necessary.

“But gun wielding, badass Nancy couldn't handle herself?” Steve counters, knocking her hand off his shoulder with a pointed look.

“She didn’t have a gun when she came in after you genius .” Robin says like she has won despite the fact that she still has not gotten it and Steve just rolls his eyes.

“That’s, that is actually a fair point.” Steve gives a heavy sigh, this is giving him a headache, or maybe the blood loss is starting to get to him. “But not the one I’m trying to make here, Robin.”

“Okay what is the point you’re trying to make her dingus.” Robin asks more dismissive than interested as Nancy and Eddie look back at them again and she takes a step forward Steve following her lead.

He waits until Nancy and Eddie are facing forward again before continuing their conversation. “I’m not the one with a crush on Nancy.” Voice going a little too loud and drawing Eddie and Nancy’s eyes back to them. Steve waves them off and despite their suspicious looks they go back to watching where they are stepping as they move making their way toward Nancy’s house in the distance.

“You think Eddie has a crush on Nancy? I guess he might. I wasn’t really getting that vibe but I totally get it.” Robin’s eyes fall to Eddie, hands waving about as he talks to Nancy in front of them far enough away that they can barely make out every few words.

Steve grabs her arm and stops her, waving his arm to encompass her, a little annoyed. How is she still not getting this? She just stares at him like he is stupid and he finally just decides to rip the band aid off. “You’re the one with the crush on Nancy!” 

Robin opens her mouth to deny, judging from the sneer with something mean about Steve but it shifts eyes widening with something like dawning horror.  “Wait, oh no, no. You think? No I couldn't. I don't have a crush on Nancy Wheeler. I have a crush on Vickie. Remember her, next to me in band, pretty redhead. I can’t have a crush on Nancy.”

“People can have crushes on more than one person, Robin.” Steve says with a snort.

“This cannot be happening.” Robin shakes her head in denial. She looks like she might be panicking a little as she turns her eyes off of Steve to stare at Nancy’s back slowly getting further away.

“It’s not so bad you’ve had worse crushes. Tammy Thompson still can’t sing to save her life, like if she was our only hope against Vecna I think we’d all just die.” Steve jokes breaking Robin out of her temporary panic and though she might agree Tammy sounds like a muppet she still comes to her defense, old habits die hard. 

“You shouldn’t joke about that.” She snorts. “Tammy’s not … I mean, I’m sure someone likes her voice.” Robin tries to reason, face scrunching up with it.

“Sure, Brenda thought she was good.” Brenda had a lot of opinions and questions and Steve has no intention of ever calling her again.

“That's why it didn’t work out, you’re so shallow.” Robin tries to deflect but Steve knows exactly what she is doing.

“Don’t try and change the subject to my doomed love life.” Steve waggles his finger at her as if that is going to make his point. “You like Nancy, just admit it.” Steve waves his hands around as he speaks, accidentally brushing against his own injuries and wincing. 

“She’s straight.” That is the weakest excuse he has ever heard and he regularly has to deal with minors trying to rent from the top shelf.

“There is more than just straight and gay Robin besides even if Nance is straight that has no impact on a crush.”

“What would you know about that sort of thing dingus?” Robin scoffs, Steve gives an awkward shrug and she narrows his eyes at him, great she is not going to leave this alone.

Luckily before she can dig in and start asking him questions he does not want to answer because just thinking about it sucks. There really is nothing but sadness when you realize too late you have a crush on someone who is already gone. Nancy comes stomping back toward them, Eddie hot on her tail.

“What the hell are you two doing? We’re exposed out here.” Nancy practically hisses like a cat and Steve cannot help but notice the appreciative look Robin is giving her before she seems to realize what she is doing and tears her eyes away as she flushes. 

“Steve needed a minute.” Steve screws his face up when Nancy turns that hard look on him, after a moment she softens as he eyes flick down to his torso.

“You should have said something.” Nancy says in a scolding tone, he hates that tone.

“Sorry, thought it would only be a minute, I’m good now.” Steve lies, in actuality he could use a rest but that can wait until they get to some cover.

Nancy eyes him like she is not sure he is good to go but she does not argue, turning with a sigh. “Alright let’s get going.” 

“Maybe Robin should take the lead with you, if I need a hand Eddie can help me out.” Steve snickers and grins as Robin drags a finger across her throat.

“Robin, are you coming or what?” Nancy calls, back still to them when Robin does not follow right away. She makes one last threatening gesture at Steve before scrambling to follow her, flipping him off when he makes a whip cracking noise. 

He is still laughing softly to himself when he turns to find Eddie staring at him. “What was that about?”

“Nothing.” He really hopes Eddie will drop it but like most things in Steve’s life it does not go the way he wants. Eddie tosses an arm over his shoulders and tries to needle the info out of him. Steve ignores it as best he can as he watches Robin and Nancy ahead of them, their body language sure looks flirty. Maybe Robin is not the only one with a crush.

- End