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The sun today is unusually bright in Hawkins.
Normally, it rises a little later than today, and the birds don’t start soaring until the hint of the light starts to peek from behind the hills, tweeting and singing as they cross the horizon. But, much like everything in Hawkins nowadays, it subdues everyone’s expectations, and shines earlier than it should.
As a result, Robin wakes with a jolt, the bright light filtering through her window much harsher than it should at seven in the morning. Thinking it’s much later than it actually is, and that she's behind on her morning routine by quite a bit, she launches from her bed and towards the bathroom, brushing her teeth in record time and finding her uniform that’s hanging from a chair. Robin rushes down the stairs and fills a bowl with whatever cereal she first lays eyes on, washing it all down with milk and a cup of orange juice.
With bits, obviously.
She slips her socks on, these white ones with pictures of cats all over them that Steve got her for her last birthday, while rummaging through the piles of clothes on the floor for her blue tie.
Just her fucking luck. Steve is going to be here any minute to pick her up for the shift, and she’s going to be late. Again.
It was just there, she swears it. She put it next to her uniform last night because the last time she misplaced it, she spent hours trying to find it, only for it to turn up in her laundry and—
Laundry.
That’s where it is—the laundry basket.
Robin almost kicks herself for not getting that; it’s literally in the same place as last time. Running all the way back downstairs, Robin digs through the laundry basket to find the tie sitting there like a stain: dark, navy blue against the light coloured clothes.
Oh, that would have been a disaster. Thank god she had work today, then.
Robin takes a moment and stops, blinking. Never did she ever think she would ever think anything like that in her life. Damn, maybe fighting monsters from some alternate fucking reality really does change a person.
She sighs, leaning her head back, glad to have found the last piece of her uniform and relieved that Steve hasn’t beeped his car horn outside yet, meaning he hadn’t arrived.
She still has time, only a little, though she wasn’t exactly sure on how much. Surely not much more than ten minutes—she did wake almost an hour later than she usually would, she thought. The sun doesn’t get bright at seven usually, so it had to be at least eight—eight fifteen, max—when she woke up.
Steve usually picks her up at quarter to nine, for their shift at nine in the morning, and she took only around fifteen minutes getting ready, so she should be just on time and—
Robin glances at the clock in the kitchen, blinking in disbelief, while a mix of anger and annoyance simmers within her.
It’s fucking seven twenty five in the morning.
She snaps her towards the window, staring at the luminous glow that bathes the town. The sun is golden and dappled through the trees, leaving swirls of grey and light on the grass. It’s kind of pretty, Robin muses.
But not right now. Not when she spent the past almost half an hour rushing around the house when she had no need to be. Robin groans, leaning against the counter in the laundry room. Just her fucking luck.
She looks out of the window again. The sun is shining very prettily today—maybe she could do with a morning walk. She can’t think of the last time she ever had time for such a thing. Not with everything that went on during the past year.
Slipping her shoes on, Robin picks up her jacket by the front door, and just as she opens it wide, there’s someone who almost knocks into her standing right there already.
“Nancy?” Robin asks, confused.
“Robin!” Nancy smiles wide, clearly unbothered by time. “Glad I could catch you.”
Nancy stands at the entrance with her bag hanging off one shoulder and her arms are crossed around her chest—she’s clutching a stack of what looks like flyers close to her.
“What do you have there?” Robin gestures to the flyers.
Nancy looks down, almost as if she’s confused with the question, but once she spies the paper, she pulls out one of the flyers, handing it over to Robin. It’s grey, with a newspaper icon in the centre and thousands of little black letters printed around it, fading as it reaches the edges. At the top, in big, bold text, there’s an announcement of a new editor in chief for The Weekly Streak.
“The papers having a little get together for the new editor in chief and i’ve been tasked with handing out the flyers.”
Robin scans the paper, searching for a name.
“Who’s the new editor in chief?”
Nancy smiles again, but this time, her cheeks flush a little at the apples. Under the bright sun, they glow a little, and Robin can only describe it as cute.
“You’re looking at her,” she says, and Robin can tell she’s proud of herself, but doesn’t want to come off as boastful.
“Damn, Wheeler. Well done.” Nancy winked at her, tilting her head to the side a little as if accepting the praise. “When’s the party?”
“It’s not a party, Robin. It’s a get-together. Party makes it sound… I don't know. Like there’s going to be booze and people falling down the stairs. It’s not a big thing, just, kind of the people I want there and that’s it.”
“Sure,” Robin nods, smirking. “Definitely not a party.”
Nancy rolls her eyes, and bites the bottom of her lip as she throws her head back as if she’s done with Robin’s jokes. It’s a small, tiny movement that barely has any impact in the fabric of time, but something about it catches Robin’s attention. She notices the way Nancy’s lip is tugged lopsidedly by her teeth, and how the gesture causes a dimple on the right side of her cheek to deepen. Robin watches the way her shoulders rise and fall dramatically with her sigh, and the way her hair sits perfectly back on them when her face lifts back to face her.
“Whatever,” Nancy whines, tucking the stack of flyers into her bag. “You’ll be there?”
Robin gives her a grin. “Yeah, sure, whatever.” Nancy frowns. “I’m kidding, Nance. Of course I'll be there.”
Nancy relaxes into herself, and Robin only then notices the way her shoulders had been tensed up before. What’s got her all nervous?
“Cool.”
There’s an awkward pause between them, where none of them quite knows what to say. Nancy looks like she’s going to say something about five times in a row, but everytime she goes to open it, she snaps it shut immediately. Robin doesn’t know what’s going through her brain, but she can’t lie and say she’s not a little concerned.
Robin decides to put her out of her misery and break the silence.
“You’re up early,” says Robin cooly, leaning against the doorframe. She hadn’t put her jacket on yet, so she had it folded over her arms in front of her as she crossed them.
Nancy looks down for a moment, almost startled at the initiation of another conversation. “Yeah, well, I've been up for two hours already. I guess I didn't realise the time, sorry.“
“You've been up since five?!”
“The paper opens at six, Robin.”
“Six?” Waking up at seven thirty was hell enough for her, so waking up at five was double hell.
Nancy giggles again, and Robin realises she’s done an awful lot of that since she first opened the door. Robin wasn’t complaining, though, no. It was a nice smile, she mused. Not that she hadn’t noticed it before—Nancy was always one for a smile, and, knowing her, it was bound to be pretty, but she hadn’t seen it this close in a while. It was nice.
“Yes, Robin. Six. In the morning.”
Robin narrows her eyes, returning the grin. “No, I thought it was the evening.”
“Are you gonna come to the party or not?” rolls eyes
“I thought it wasn’t a party?”
Nancy groans. “The get-together. the meeting. Whatever. Are you coming or not?”
Robin pretends to ponder. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Nance.”
Steve arrives to pick Robin up at the usual time, but what he hadn’t expected to find was Robin and Nancy sitting on the porch bench outside her house chatting with a mug of coffee between them.
“Hey… girls?” He turns to look at Nancy with a quizzical expression on his face. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Nance, but what are you doing here?”
In the end, Robin did end up going for a preemptive walk around the neighbourhood before Steve came to pick her up. She asked Nancy to tag along with her if she could, and Nancy accepted. They went up to the cafe not too far from the houses, bought a drink, and came back to the porch to wait for Steve. Nancy said she wanted to hand him his invite in person.
“I just came by to give Robin her invite.” Nancy digs into her bag to pull out an identical looking flyer to the one she had given Robin earlier. “They made me editor in chief.”
Steve’s eyes light up like fireworks flying behind them. It was kind of adorable how excited he got for his friends. Truly, Steve was everyone’s personal cheerleader when they needed one.
“Wow, Nance. That’s so cool, congrats. I know you were gunning for the job, so it’s awesome you got it.”
Nancy flushes a little at his remark, but it was different to how she blushed earlier when Robin had said something similar. Something was off.
“Thanks Steve.” She gives him a wink. “Bring Eddie, if you want.”
Robin watches the way Steve’s face blanches before promptly shining the brightest shade of red she has ever seen. His eyes widen, staring in alarm, and then quickly sink back into his face when the realisation washes over him.
“How, how did you—“
Nancy rolls her eyes, smiling. “Steve you can think yourself inconspicuous all you want, but you really aren’t all that subtle. It was…kind of obvious.”
Robin snorts, and Steve turns to her with a pleading look that could only be compared to a puppy dog pouting with his big, round eyes, and messy, tousled hair.
“No, yeah, I’ve known since last week. You both are so fucking obvious it’s so painful.”
Nancy laughs, and nudges Robin.
“He’s acting like we can’t see them pining and staring longingly at each other from across the room.”
Steve pouts like a petulant child. “I’m right here, you know.”
Robin grins at him. “We know, don’t worry.”
“Well, at least I can pull, but can you say the same, Robin?” Steve crosses his arms and stands a little taller. He lifts his chin and leans on his back leg to give himself this casual lean that made all the girls go crazy for him back at school. Robin could see the appeal, objectively speaking. Steve was charismatic, kind, and according to the girls gossiping in the bathroom between classes, fit as hell, but right now he was just being a right arse.
“Oh, shut up, Steve. I can pull if I want to.” He arches an eyebrow in a sort of challenge. “I just don’t want to right now, that’s all.”
Steve nods, and Robin knows he doesn’t believe a single thing she’s just said. To be fair, neither does she.
“Right, right. And I’m Einstein.”
Robin kicks him in the shin, and Steve flinches, falling from his casual pose and grabbing his leg with his hands. “Ow, what was that for?”
“I don’t know, I just felt like it.”
Steve goes as if to kick Robin back, a playful determination in his eyes, but is quickly stopped by Nancy.
“Alright, alright, you two. Don’t kill each other before lunch, please. Also, shouldn’t you be going off to work? It’s nearing nine as we speak; you’re going to be late.”
Robin flicks her watch up to check the time. Oh shit, they had to get going, and hit the gas for the journey, or else they’re going to be late. She jumped from the porch swing, running down to where Steve had parked the car.
“Bye, Nance. Congrats again on the new job,” Steve says as he starts to make his way back.
“Have fun, Chief,” Robin calls out, fixing her jacket over her.
Nancy comes down to the car with them, and stands outside as they get in.
“Need a ride?” Steve asks, and Nancy shakes her head.
“It’s alright, thank you. I should be off now, anyway. Or they’re going to start wondering if I got kidnapped handing out invites.”
“When is the party again?” Steve asks and Robin sucks in a harsh breath.
“Ooh, wrong choice of words there, Steve. It’s not a party, don’t ever utter those words in the presence of Miss Wheeler. She’ll throw a fit.”
Nancy narrows her eyes at her, but there’s something else swirling inside. Her eyes glow like shining sapphires under the hot sun, but they’re glimmering a little differently today, of all days. Robin can’t quite place her finger on what is so odd, but it is a curious thing.
Her eyes usually have this silver streak in them when she laughs, and flecks of green stretching from the perimeter when she’s being playful. There is a darkness to them when she feels upset, and they sharpen into a dangerous and harsh icy blue when she is angry. It is strange, though, how right now, there seems to be a rich warmth radiating from them, sending rays of something out into the world.
Robin doesn’t know what it means, or why, but she sure as hell is going to try and figure it out. If anything, she’s quite the detective now.
“Thank you, Robin.” Nancy utters through gritted teeth. Maybe that swirl is just her being petty, Robin muses.
“I sense there’s something I’m missing,” Steve inputs, clicking his seatbelt in place.
“Oh, there’s a lot you don’t know, Steve,” Nancy whispers under her breath, probably unknowing that Robin could hear her. What was that supposed to mean? “But it’s Friday. Seven in the evening.”
“Friday. This Friday?”
“No, the Friday next year,” Robin deadpans.
“Yes, this Friday,” Nancy replies calmly, ignoring Robin’s sarcasm. Honestly, that’s a little offensive. Her sarcasm was top notch and should be enjoyed by everyone. “Be there or be square.”
“But what if I'm a circle?” Robin jeers, batting her eyelashes and relishing oh so much in the distressed look Nancy gets. She groans in frustration, knocking her head back to sigh, just like she had earlier.
“Be careful, Buckley, or I’ll get you uninvited.”
Robin gives her her best smile. “But I was personally invited, how could you?”
“Goodbye, Robin,” Nancy finishes, stepping back as Steve hits the gas. They are definitely a little late, but not enough to cost them their jobs. They’ll be fine, just a little scolded at the end of the day.
Who cares, she’s got a party to look forward to at the end of the week.
Fucking hell who knew there were so many movies.
It was only Wednesday, two days after her encounter with Nancy, and the number of films she’s scammed in and out of the store could form a list longer than the golden gate bridge.
Usually, the store was quiet, and a little busier a little after three, when school finishes and all the kids from the high school come to rent a film. That’s the busiest, except for weekends. But, with more and more people buying TVs, and the prices of cinema tickets rising, there’s an increase in sales for renting films at home.
Fair enough, Robin thinks, it is way cheaper. But, fucking hell does it make life harder for her.
She’s tapping away on the computer, filling out the tiresome and tedious process of checking their stock, when the bell jingles at the front door, letting a new customer in.
Normally, Steve is with her at the front desk, either joining her in filling out long forms, or helping the customers with what they need. Steve is much better at interacting with strangers than Robin is, but she thinks that’s probably due to this weird magnetic hold he seems to have on them. Robin’s confident and all, and can be charming enough to make a customer or two rent a film they sure as hell don’t need, but sometimes it can all be a bit much.
She’s not shy, no, but there are times where she would much rather just stick with the computer and let Steve do the talking.
He got that, Steve. Robin never had to say anything, but she knows he understands. It’s just how they operate; two souls who can figure out exactly what the other needs with the blink of an eye. It’s so easy, their friendship, and how they can navigate it without much of an effort to dig deeper.
They just get each other. Platonic soulmates is what she likes to call them.
While Robin was manning the desk for the time being, though, Steve was in the back, shelving something or other away. He announced a little while ago that his break was coming up, too, so Robin kept a keen eye on the store floor. Considering how busy the week had been so far, there weren’t that many right now in the actual store, so she’d be alright for a little while.
Footsteps approach and she turns to catch sight of the tall man walking towards her, eyes trailing around the room as if searching for something.
Or someone.
Robin smirks. “Hey, Eddie.” She waves him over, and he follows suit, bounding like he has an excess of energy. He’s always like that, though, like one of those wound up toy cars that just jet off once you let go of them.
He smiles at her, waving back. “Hey, Robin. What’s up?” he says, but his eyes still scan the room. “Hey, you don’t happen to by any chance know where—”
“Steve’s in the back, Romeo.” Robin sees how Eddie’s eyes tense just as Steve’s had earlier. It is kind of adorable, she thinks, how much they both look like deer in headlights at being caught. They’re a good pair.
“I- How? Are you psychic?” Eddie tumbles out and Robin gives him a cheeky grin.
“I don’t know, maybe?” He stares at her like she’s something supernatural; like he’s almost eyeing her through a new, more analytical lense. “Not really Eddie.”
“Oh,” he jumps back and clears his throat, “oh, yeah. Of course. Sorry.”
“S’alright,” Robin shrugs and folds her arm over the counter. She thinks about her next step, wondering if it’s worth it, but then lands on the decision to go for it. It’s not like he would have much of a problem with it, would he? She hardly thinks Eddie is, firstly, that much of a dick, and secondly, a huge hypocrite. “Takes one to know one, is all.”
He blinks at her, stunned for a moment, and then, as the realisation hits him, his mouth falls agape as he breathes out a whispered “Ohh.”
God, they really were the same.
She chuckles, shaking her head. “Steve’s in the back, like I said.” He gives her a short, but appreciative, nod, pushing himself off the counter he was leaning on and walking with a sort of swagger that he seems to possess without even noticing. “Also,” Eddie spins round, trainers squeaking on the linoleum floor, “I think he gets off on his break in five-ish. Do with that what you will.”
She gives him a coy wink, and finds it absolutely hilarious how his face flushes an embarrassing shade of crimson. God, they’re both so equally as smitten, that it would be considered mortifying if it wasn’t awfully adorable.
He nods again, but says nothing as he walks back out to the back door. Robin chuckles under her breath as she takes back to the computer that glares up at her expectantly in massive pixels of green and blue. Ugh, why was work so…work-y.
“What’s so funny?”
Robin jumps a little, and she swears her heart skipped several beats. Who the fuck just creeps up on someone like that?
Nancy apparently.
“What the hell, dude? You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“Too bad, I should've been scarier in my approach then. Might have finished you once and for all.“
Robin scoffs, suddenly forgetting the momentary discomfort she felt from being terrified. It sort of just faded away as soon as she saw Nancy’s face, like it wiped her mind clean; a brand new slate.
“Wouldn’t mind that, if i’m being honest.” Robin slams her head down on the keyboard, groaning. It’s cold, the keys, and everytime she takes in a new breath she can feel them lift, and then press, so there was definitely some rubbish being written on the screen. She can’t find it in her to care that much. “I’m so tired.” Robin turns to press her cheek on the keys, facing Nancy.
Nancy leans over the counter, lifts Robin’s head up with two hands pressed to her cheek, and up into a normal position. She doesn’t remove her hands, but Robin almost thinks she doesn’t mind it. It’s nice, Nancy’s hands there; they’re warm, and quite comforting, but there’s something else in the mix that’s a little different. Like the swirling in Nancy’s eyes, everything just off.
“Have you been sleeping well?” Nancy asks, hands still on Robin’s face and eyes filled with concern. Robin kind of likes that, the feeling of Nancy being worried over her. Or maybe it’s just anyone being overly attentive to her. She likes attention, and she’s not ashamed to say it.
Robin gives a short nod, shrugs, and still, Nancy's hands persist on her face. “How much can you really get after fighting some weird monster in the underworld?” Nancy gives her this soft, anxious look. Robin quickly follows as to not put her in any more distress. “But it’s fine, I just keep waking up earlier than I should this week. The sun’s being a prick.“
Nancy tilts her head to the side, as if asking for more information.
“The sun?”
Robin gives a noncommittal hum of agreement. “The sun comes out at almost the same time everyday. So, it’s bright outside at certain times of the day. At peak summer, it’s a little off, and in the winter, it comes out a bit later, but now, in Spring, it shouldn’t be this…wonky.”
Nancy bites her bottom lip, as if suppressing a grin. “Wonky?”
Robin doesn’t hide it, and smiles wide. “Yes, wonky.”
“Tell me about this wonky sun.”
And so Robin does, spilling everything about her early rise on Monday, to the way it’s been rising earlier and earlier each day. “It's not meant to be that bright until at least eight every morning, so I keep waking thinking it’s way later than it actually is. By then, the shock’s gotten me up, so there’s no point in going back to bed. I woke up at quarter past five today!”
Nancy rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. When did her hands slip away from her face? Robin, hardly knowing what she’s doing, goes up to stroke her own cheek, as if to feel the ghost of Nancy’s touch there. She doesn’t know why, but she kind of misses it—that warmth she had that Robin didn’t know she would need so much if it wasn’t there. It was strange, it was all so very bizarre.
“We’ll, if you ever wake up earlier than that,” Nancy’s eyes swirl again in that same, confusing manner, but it’s a little duller under the horrid lighting of the store, “you can always walk me to work. I leave at quarter to six.”
Robin blinks. Quarter to six? She’s barely ever awake by then.
“Sure.” And she finds herself meaning it too. What is happening to her?
“Oh, hey Nance.” Robin turns around to see Steve and Eddie coming out from the back room, both sporting these blissful grins that make Robin want to vomit but it’s kind of cute, so she lets it pass.
“Hello boys,” Nancy replies, sending a wink to one of them. Robin can’t tell, but she thinks it’s probably to Steve. Nancy’s just like her in that way; pissing off Steve is just one of their many hobbies.
“Does everyone know?” Eddie asks quietly. He tries to whisper, but Robin doesn’t think she’s ever heard the man succeed in that aspect. He’s always either too hushed, or too loud, and it’s never clear and crisp like a normal whisper.
“No,” said Nancy, mimicking his awful whisper. Robin chortles and Nancy gives her a small nudge. “You both are just really shit at hiding stuff. Especially to us.”
Robin hangs onto that last sentence.
Especially to us.
What the fuck did that mean?
“Ah,” says Eddie, swinging his arms back and forth a bit like a pendulum. He scans his surroundings, leaves a small peck on Steve’s cheek, before speaking again. “The Hellfire Club starts in a bit, so I better be off.” He turns to face Nancy. “Your brother might have my head.”
Nancy scoffs. “The kid’s tiny, you could probably squish him like a bug if he starts acting way too big for his boots.”
Eddie gives her a sort of mock salute. “Duly noted.” And with that, he walks out of the door, the bell chiming behind him.
Both Nancy and Robin whip their heads round to Steve immediately. He’s not looking at either of them, though; his eyes are trailing after Eddie through the glass borders of the shop, and fixed on him until his car is out of view. Then, he returns to reality, to find two pairs of beady eyes staring at him with pure taunt in them.
Steve’s cheeks burn up so bright Robin almost thinks he’s going to burst, but she can’t help but laugh. Oh, goodness. Steve was so head over heels, it was hilarious.
“Shut up,” Steve snapped, smiling.
Robin raised her hands in innocence. “I said nothing, I don’t even know—”
“I know what you’re thinking.”
Robin gives him a grin. “What am I thinking?”
His eyes dart between Nancy and Robin, as if asking Nancy for some help out of this situation, but then returning a glare at Robin everytime he lays eyes on her. This is too fun.
“I hate you, Robin,” he finishes, storming out of the store floor and back to whatever he was shelving in the back.
“No you don’t!” she calls in response, and the sound that follows is the angry slam of the door behind Steve as he enters the back room.
Drama queen.
“I can’t believe you actually did it.”
Robin leans against the wall of the Wheeler house, turning to the side at the sound of Nancy’s voice.
“Yeah, well.” Robin runs a hand through her hair, stretching a little as she gets up. “Me neither.”
Nancy gives her a warm smile, and picks up her scarf from the coat peg just inside, and closes the door softly. She gestures for Robin to walk in front of her down the steps, and Robin follows suit.
“Well, I, for one, am glad. I could use some company.”
She had woken up not that early today, actually, but sufficiently ahead of schedule to give her just enough time to get ready and meet Nancy. Robin rushed through her morning routine, checking the clock religiously in order to be right on time, and tied her tie on the way there. She didn’t know why, she didn’t really need to meet Nancy; she wasn’t even sure if Nancy was being truthful or just polite when she offered. But, there was something in her that was determined to go.
They take the scenic route, it turns out, with trees lining the road and birds tweeting through the sky. The sun on the horizon is peeling through, a giant yellow curve coating the landscape with golden sunshine. It’s kind of super beautiful.
“Hawkins is actually really pretty,” she breathes, and she means it. Robin isn’t an artist, nor does she want to be, but if she could draw, she would transcribe the world as it is onto a million pieces of paper.
Nancy chuckles, and Robin turns to look at her, but finds that Nancy is already looking in her direction. “It really is,” she says. Something in the back of Robin’s throat lodges, and she finds it a little hard to breathe. Her stomach dips and turns, and her face grows hot.
What. Is. Happening?
She clears her throat awkwardly, and they carry on their journey.
It really is a short one, and they fill it with all sorts of nonsensical pieces of conversation.
It turns out Nancy broke up with Jonathon two weeks ago, and just hasn’t told anyone. She wasn’t even upset when it happened, she said, and felt almost relieved at it. Robin doesn’t know why, but her heart picks up at that.
Robin tells her that Eddie comes by more often than not, either to linger and bother Steve so much Robin has to do double the work, or sometimes to even rent a movie. The latter is way less common, however.
Robin discovers that Nancy loves chess, and that she’s quite good at it too. She tells her that she used to play it with Barb when they were younger and there was nothing else to do, and that the hours sort of compiled into a huge obsession for her.
“I’ll play with you.” The words leave Robin’s mouth before she even has time to think. “I mean, I’m shit at chess, but I’ll play if you need an opponent. Easy win for you, anyway.”
Nancy bites her lip, and her eyes glimmer again. Oh my god, why is Robin’s heart beating kind of super fast right now?
“I may just take you up on that, Buckley.”
They reach their destination, but there is this sort of awkward tension between the two, like neither want to leave.
“I’ll see you tonight, then?” Nancy asks, looking up at Robin with those big, blue eyes of her. They were rather pretty.
Robin smiles. “Of course, Nance.” And she watches as Nancy hesitates for a moment, giving Robin this strange look that she doesn’t quite understand, but also wants to uncover so desperately. It’s a miniscule moment, but their faces are quite close, and Robin can count the freckles on Nancy’s nose. They can join to make a constellation of sorts, trailing down her nose and across her cheeks.
She has one right by her lip, and so Robin’s eyes just kind of stray there, gazing at her mouth like it was something to behold.
There’s this idea that flickers on in her brain somewhere, out of the blue, where she could just tip her head a little forwards, and their lips would be on top of another. If she just leans forward a tiny bit, she would be kissing Nancy Wheeler, and—
Woah.
Where did all of that come from?
Robin startles back, keeping a distance between the two, and swallows. She watches Nancy for a second, and the only thing that she can call to mind is just how pretty she looks under the morning sun.
Oh. Oh.
Oh fuck fuck fuck.
“I don’t think Eddie got the memo about no booze.”
Robin nurses her cranberry juice on the sofa of the newsroom, sitting in the corner by herself. There’s not that many people around, and so she’s picked herself a quiet, almost hidden area to sit in and relax. It’s nearing nine, now, and her early morning start is starting to take a toll on her. She’s alright though—she can muster out a couple of hours more.
The seat beside her dips, and Robin turns to find Nancy there, looking at her. Robin feels her face grow hot.
“Did you tell him it wasn’t a party?” she returns, taking a sip of her drink.
Nancy tips her head to the side. “Not specifically.”
Robin shrugs and leans back on the sofa, tilting her head back and staring at the ceiling. It’s a mix between comfortable and inconvenient, because the leather on the sofa is so soft, but with her head looking up at the sky, she can’t see Nancy. And, she really wants to look at her. She bets she looks drop dead gorgeous.
It’s not like Robin hasn’t seen her already; Nancy greeted them when they arrived (she came with Eddie and Steve, third wheeling all the way). Only, as soon as she stepped foot in the place, Robin tried everything in her power to avoid Nancy. If history is anything to go by, Robin would do, say, or act in some stupid manner that would have her new crush exposed in the blink of an eye.
Revelations are a bit of an arse, to be honest.
It was awfully easy, though, avoiding Nancy like the plagues. With so many people wanting to pull her for conversations, Robin had the ability to escape contact without much even needing much effort.
Until now, it seems.
“Well that’s where you went wrong, then, Nance. You have to be specific with Eddie, you know him.”
Robin hears Nancy chuckle. “I’d kind of hoped Steve would keep him in check.”
Robin now turns to look at her, and she was so right. She is drop dead gorgeous.
Her hair is tied back into a bun, fixed with a clip, and she’s wearing this pencil skirt that makes her look like a sexy librarian.
Robin mentally groans. Sexy librarian? What was she even thinking?
“With his, like, four other kids, how is Steve going to have time to keep his boyfriend in check?”
Nancy nods. “Fair enough.” She turns to look behind Robin, where she can vaguely hear Eddie and Steve talking. Their voices are soft, and calm—the calmest she’s ever heard Eddie speak, though she leaves it down to the alcohol—and there’s an intimacy to them that she can decipher. Their actual words are indistinguishable, but she thinks it’s much better that way. It almost feels like overstepping on a moment she isn’t supposed to witness. “They’re an odd mix, aren’t they? But they just… fit.”
Robin nods, looking down at her drink. Cranberry juice is just so interesting right now.
“I’m glad Steve’s happy,” she says instead, and she really means it.
The last year has been…shit to say the least. And Steve took the brunt of it. Sometimes Robin thinks he’s a little harsh on himself. With all the weight Steve lugs around, Robin is almost terrified he’ll crumble under the pressure on his shoulders. But, and she knows this deep within her as she follows Nancy’s eyeline and faces the couple, something clicked, and fixed into place when Eddie came into the picture.
At first, Eddie was just a good distraction from all the mess going on. He was a new addition, a different perspective to throw the routine off its course, but Robin thinks that was just what needed to happen. Fate had to run its course and throw in an anomaly.
Then, and Robin doesn’t know exactly when, but Eddie soon became something more. She can’t pinpoint the moment she first noticed it, but how she recognised the change was what was important.
And it wasn’t some dramatic revelation that something was up, no. It was simple. Steve just seemed happy.
He came into work, still was his same prickish self that Robin grew to rather enjoy and feel some semblance of security in, but there was just this buzz about him. Really, Robin is more thankful to Eddie than anything.
She vaguely acknowledges the agreeable hum Nancy lets out as her mind is turning.
“Me too.” Robin feels the sofa cushions shift and she turns to look at Nancy. She’s crossed her legs now, her head cupped in her hands and squishing her cheeks up to look a little bit like a chipmunk. Honestly, that’s super fucking cute. “And everyone thought he fancied me, what a turn of events that was.”
She says it with no malice, or even a drip of bitterness, so Robin eliminates envy from her words. Rather, she says it with such a smile on her face Robin understands what she’s thinking.
“Sometimes I do want to shove a pillow or something at them, though.”
Nancy frowns, but laughs, and Robin can’t help but melt at the sound. If it could be bottled, she’d store it for a thousand years, never letting anyone else but her be able to hear the sweet sound. It’s so pure and pretty, and Robin just wants to cry at how close Nancy’s face is, how near their hands are to each other. Any other girl—she could pick a crush on any other girl—but no, it had to be her best friend’s ex-girlfriend. Great.
“Right? They’re sweet, but sometimes too sweet. How come they get to be all besotted and loved up? What about us? Why are we still stuck and single?”
Robin’s heart clenches. What about us? Isn’t that the truth, she thinks, slapping herself mentally.
Maybe it’s her exhaustion level, maybe it’s the tiny pang of loneliness mixed with jealousy when she sees Steve and Eddie, or maybe it’s the way her brain turns to jelly whenever Nancy is near, but Robin opens her mouth, speaks without her mouth consulting her brain first, and leans forward just the smallest amount that it could be considered natural.
“What’s stopping you, Nance?”
Nancy turns to look at her, and Robin sees the swirls return in her eyes. The room is a little dark, but there’s like five lamps all turned on that give off this orange hue. Robin likes it, and the way it almost sends a warm honey glow through the room. She also likes it because the way it reflects off of Nancy’s eyes sends sparkles through her chest.
Nancy replies with, “What’s stopping you?”
Robin becomes increasingly aware of how their faces are much more close together than before, their noses almost touching. She can very mildly feel Nancy's warm breath on her cheek, and the creases in her lips. She’s eye level with her freckles and the dimple that dips into the side of her cheek, and her face feels very, very hot.
Robin takes in a deep breath, swallowing, and tries to not let it hitch in her chest. They both blink in time, not saying anything—not even breathing, she thinks.
And then, in the next second, or maybe it’s minutes—she doesn’t know, it’s all such a blur—their lips meet, and their kissing. It’s slow, soft, and so new Robin can’t believe it. She’s vaguely aware of the hand Nancy puts on her arm and the tug she gives her. Robin has no choice but to follow through, jolting forward and closer. Really, it’s not her fault, she can’t help it. Nancy is just so intoxicating.
Funnily enough, though, she’s the first to break away.
“What was that for?” she asks breathlessly, kind of in this purgatory of bliss, awe, and giddiness. Goodness, she can’t stop smiling.
Nancy shrugs. “What do you think, Robin?”
“I may have some idea,” she says, her eyes darting between Nancy’s eyes, to her cheeks, to the tip of her nose that curves up in the most perfect way. She’s so gorgeous. “But either way, I’m not complaining.”
Nancy takes hold of her hands, never breaking eye contact. She threads them together, clasping them loosely and Robin might actually die and how happy she is right now.
Nancy smiles back, and the dimple crease returns. “Neither am I.”
And Robin leans back in, crashing their lips together. Nancy jumps a little, but melts as easily as Robin did the first time, and she feels like she’s on top of the world. It’s like this warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach that’s just jumping for joy, and twirling like crazy.
Maybe subdued expectations aren’t all that bad, and maybe the sun waking her when it wasn’t supposed to wasn’t the end of the world.
Because Robin’s got her own sun in her arms, and she can’t stop shining.