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The phone rang agonizingly slowly, the sound almost completely drowned out by the steadily worsening patter of rain, that Robin wasn’t sure it was still dialing. Impatiently, she rounded the phone cord around her free hand, letting it bounce loose, and then rounding it up again. “Come on, come on Steve, pick up you asshole,” Robin muttered through clenched teeth. There was no truth to her insult, Robin tended to curse anything and everything when she was in pain, so the universe might as well just let her have this. Anything to distract her from the pain shooting through her, well her whole body felt like shit, but particularly her knee which had taken the brunt of her fall. The light drizzle that had accompanied her when Robin first set out had quickly worsened, leaving her drenched and miserable in a phone booth.
Another ring with no answer and Robin began to panic. She’d gotten her initial “aw fuck that hurts” crying out of the way earlier, but now she felt tears gathering again. What if Steve had plans on a Tuesday evening like a normal person?
When the line finally picked up, after what couldn’t have been more than a few seconds but felt much longer, Robin exhaled in relief. Interrupting whatever greeting Steve was going to open with, Robin exclaimed, “Steve, thank fuck! Thought I was gonna bleed and or freeze to death before you picked up. Can you come rescue my ass I’m-”
“Robin?” Came a voice that was definitely not Steve’s.
“You’re not Steve.” Robin hissed out a little meaner than intended. Just great. As if today couldn’t get any worse, Nancy was over at Steve’s at about a half past 8 if she had to guess by the darkened skies outside the phone booth. Which means she’d probably interrupted Steve’s get-back-with-his-ex or whatever he was up to, Robin did not want to know no thank you. It wasn’t like she wasn’t happy for her friend or didn’t like Nancy, quite the opposite in fact, but she and Nancy weren’t exactly friends like she and Steve were. And talking to people was not among Robin’s ever-increasing list of things she’s better than Steve at.
Nancy made a noise that could have been amusement or annoyance, Robin wasn’t sure. “I’m not.” She answered.
Robin sighed, backtracking quickly. “Listen, I'm sorry for interrupting, I’ll go and-” she shifted unconsciously, accidentally letting weight on her injured leg and wincing in pain, inhaling sharply.
“Robin, are you okay?!” Nancy’s voice was laced with concern and Robin immediately felt guilty for causing her worry.
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine” Robin lied.
“Did someone hurt you?” Robin was taken aback by the intensity in her voice, swallowing nervously. Nancy could be intimidating when she wants to, and hearing that directed at whatever she believed had hurt Robin did funny things to her stomach. In this case, it was a pothole she’d missed. The mental image of Nancy threatening a pothole got a laugh out of her.
Robin chuckled, “No, just hit a pothole.”
Nancy exhaled, “Where are you?”
“No it’s fine I can call-” Robin drew a blank. Her contact list of people available to rescue her ass on a Tuesday night began and ended with Steve Harrington.
“I was just leaving anyway.” Nancy assured, “Where are you?” She asked again, or rather demanded, and Robin relented, giving her the address to the diner on the edge of town she’d practically crawled to. Luckily it was closed, saving her the embarrassment of having anyone else see her.
“Sit tight, I’m on my way,” Nancy said and hung up. Just great. Robin scowled, returning the phone to its place. She wasn’t ungrateful for the help, she wasn’t exactly in a state to be walking home right now. But she couldn’t ignore the familiar prickling of guilt that came with asking for anything, even if Nancy hadn’t quite given her a choice in the matter.
Sighing, Robin leaned back against the cold glass of the phone booth, listening to the rain. Idly, she ran her fingers on the glass where it’s clouded, doodling. Nothing, in particular, just little wavy lines. Her other hand was occupied holding her knee, which she’s pretty sure is still bleeding but doesn't want to check.
Robin’s occupied going through a mental list of where she keeps her first aid supplies when the sound of tires on gravel and shine of headlights alert her to Nancy’s arrival. Not waiting for Nancy to fetch her, Robin rises and staggers out of the booth. Leaning on its side for support, Robin glances uncertainly at the uneven ground of the stretch of the diner parking lot between her and Nancy’s car. Nancy shuts off the engine, leaves the lights on, and exits the car. She pulls her coat tighter and hurries over.
“Oh my god, Robin are you okay?” Nancy asked.
“Just peachy.” Robin, someone who can’t stand on their own right now, replies through gritted teeth. Nancy huffs, not believing her. Walking to Robin’s side, Nancy guides one of Robin’s arms over her shoulder and wraps an arm around Robin’s waist. Taking most of her weight, Nancy leads Robin to the passenger side. Robin desperately hopes she can't see how her face heats up.
Robin lets out a sigh as she sinks into the seat, letting her head fall back and closing her eyes momentarily. Nancy closes her door and hops in the driver’s seat.
“Why were you biking in this weather?” Nancy asks, restarting the car and buckling her seatbelt.
“Wasn’t planning on crashing.” Robin jokes.
Nancy smiles at her but doesn't laugh, her face still wrinkled with worry. Robin looks away. “Where’d you leave your bike?”
“‘Is fine, stashed it in some bushes. I'll get it later.” Not like anyone would steal it anyways.
“Alright, put on your seatbelt,” Nancy says as she pulls out of the parking lot onto the road. Robin grumbles out a complaint but does so anyway.
“Keep going straight ‘till you get to Cedar, then turn left.” Robin directs.
“Are your parents home?” Nancy asks.
“Nah, they’re out of town for the week.” She replies, leaning back into her seat. The warmth of Nancy’s car is welcomed after the cold of the phone booth, she’ll be glad to be home soon and take a hot shower.
Nancy hmms in acknowledgment. They fall into silence, Robin fidgets with the zipper on her coat. Unlike Steve, Nancy doesn’t play music to fill the silence when she’s run out of things to say. Robin can’t stand it, feeling like she’s making a less-than-ideal car ride worse.
“So, you and Steve huh?” Robin says because it’s the first thing that comes to mind and immediately regrets it. She doesn’t want to talk about Nancy-and-Steve right now. She’ll hear all about it when she sees Steve next. She’s totally not jealous whatsoever.
“It’s not like that, I was helping him with college applications.”
“At what, 8pm?” Robin raises a brow, unconvinced.
“We hung out afterward. It was, what is it you say, Platonic with a capital P?” Nancy shoots her a quick glance before returning her eyes to the road. Robin nods.
“He’s a good friend. I’m glad we can still be friends after..” Nancy continued, trailing off. Robin lets out a hum of agreement. Steve is a good friend, he’s her best friend in fact. She can fill in the blanks of their breakup from what Steve’s told her. She tries not to feel too happy that they’re just friends again.
The car comes to a stop and Robin looks around, unable to recognize her surroundings. “This isn’t my house.” She says stupidly. Duh.
“It's not, I’m not just going to drop you off home alone to deal with this.” Nancy gestures to Robin. She knows she looks like shit, soaked from the rain and scraped from her crash, but hey! If she wasn’t panicking Robin would have come up with a snarky comeback. But she was because Nancy is exiting the car and she has to follow, Robin’s already taken up her time giving her a ride. She can’t make Nancy drive her home now.
When Nancy opens her door, Robin realizes the mess she’d made in Nancy’s car. Her tennis shoes were soaked, leaving muddy footprints all over the floor.
“Shit sorry about that.” Robin apologizes.
“It’s okay.” Nancy reassures, “Come on, let's get you somewhere warm and dry.”
“But your parents-”
“-arent home, they won’t care.” Nancy finishes.
Robin doesn’t protest, having run out of excuses, and lets Nancy wrap a gentle arm around her and guide her inside, trying her best to scrape the mud off her shoes on the welcome mat as they pass. Pausing at the entryway to close the door behind them, Nancy leaves Robin to lean against a wall. Robin tries not to stare, instead, she lets her gaze wander around the house. She’d think after hanging with Steve long enough she’d be used to the size and feel less out of place in wealthy people’s houses, but nope. Robin shifts, uncomfortably aware that she’s dripping water on their nice carpet like a soggy cat.
If Nancy was bothered by it, however, she didn't say anything. Instead, she shrugs off her coat and extends an arm to take Robin’s, hanging them in the closet. They leave their muddied shoes there as well.
“Alright, let’s get this bandaged up.” Nancy gestures to her knee that’s been radiating waves of pain that Robin has been trying very hard to ignore. She doesn’t want to look at it, so she follows Nancy’s gaze to the stairs.
“Nancy, I don't think I can climb stairs right now.”
Nancy hmms, looking at her thoughtfully for a moment. Robin can’t help notice how her face scrunches up in thought. “Okay, I’ll carry you.” She says like it's the most casual thing ever and doesn't immediately cause Robin’s poor little gay heart to race.
“Wait, what? You can’t do that! Ack!” Robin chokes out as she’s scooped up into Nancy’s arms.
“See? Easy.” Nancy smirks and Robin can't tell if she’s intentionally teasing her or not. She feels her face heating up and buries it in Nancy’s shirt, clinging on for dear life as Nancy climbs the stairs. She hopes Nancy can’t feel her rapid heartbeat.
Robin only lets go when she feels herself carefully being maneuvered into a sitting position. She opens her eyes to find herself sitting on the countertop in Nancy’s bathroom. Nancy shoots her an amused smile before turning and rummaging through a cabinet beneath the sink and setting a first aid kit on the countertop. She frowns at Robin’s blood and mud-soaked ripped jeans, turning and leaving the bathroom. Robin just sits there, unsure of what to do with herself.
Nancy returns shortly after with a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. “Here you can change into these, I’ll be right back with a washcloth.” And with that, she leaves Robin alone again.
Robin changes into Nancy’s clothes and deposits her dirty ones in a hamper to the side (like who has a hamper in their bathroom?). Here, in the soft glow of Nancy’s bathroom, Robin’s finally able to examine the damage. Her knee has it the worst, she had to peel her bloody jeans from it, it was gross. It’ll leave a wicked cool scar though. There’s a pretty bad scrape on her hip, some minor cuts scattered along her legs, and the palms of her hands are scraped as well. She runs her hands under the tap to clean them, shaking them dry because she can’t figure out which towel is for drying and which is for decor.
Nancy returns shortly after and smiles at Robin, running the tap to warm and soaking the washcloth. Robin expects to be handed the washcloth to clean her own wound, but Nancy simply kneels down and begins wiping the blood away herself, so very carefully. She works in silence, but this time it's more comfortable than awkward. Robin hums a tune she’s heard on the radio a dozen times in the video store, but can't recall the name of. Setting the bloody rag to the side, Nancy retrieves a clean one and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. She shoots Robin an apologetic look as she pours some on the rag, before pressing it to her knee.
Wincing, Robin digs her blunt nails into her thighs when it stings. As quick as it began, it was over and Nancy was rolling out gauze. She gingerly wrapped it around Robin’s leg, glancing up to meet Robin’s eyes before tying it.
“Good?” Nancy’s voice is quiet.
“Good.” Robin murmurs, afraid to speak any louder and break whatever this is.
“Anywhere else?” Nancy asks, setting the gauze back onto the counter. Robin nods, lifting her, well Nancy’s, shirt a little to expose the scrape on her hip. Nancy turns quickly to retrieve the warm washcloth. She returns, stepping way closer than strictly necessary. Robin’s breath catches and she hopes Nancy doesn’t notice. She’s trying to play it cool and ignore the fluttering in her stomach but Nancy is not making it easy being so gentle with her, and Robin is definitely staring now. Nancy must have felt Robin watching her every move because she lifts her gaze to meet Robin’s. And Robin can’t look away, Nancy’s gaze is so intense yet soft in a way no one’s ever looked at her before.
Oh fuck
As if Robin wasn’t totally head over heels for her before, Nancy had to go and look at her like that.
She’s aware she’s staring now and should have looked away moments ago but can’t bring herself to break away.
“Wow.” She breathes.
Nancy actually blushes and looks away as if she’s embarrassed and not Robin who just said the stupidest shit ever.
“Sorry I mean uh- I-“ Robin rambles, her face heating up.
Nancy laughs. “Robin,” she places her hand atop Robin’s, “it’s okay.”
“Can I kiss you?” Robin blurts out.
Nancy nods eagerly, leaning in and kissing her before Robin can move. She can’t bring herself to be annoyed because holy shit she’s kissing Nancy Wheeler and it’s wonderful.
Nancy brings her hands up to cup Robin’s jaw and tilts her head. Robin threads her hand through Nancy’s hair like she’s always wanted to, and pulls her closer. She feels Nancy smile as she pulls away.
“Wow.” Nancy breathes.
Robin grins at her, nodding stupidly. feeling much lighter now that she doesn’t have to hide her feelings for Nancy, heart bursting with almost overwhelming happiness.
“Robin-“
“Nancy.” Robin mimics, teasing.
Nancy rolls her eyes, amused. She leans back in and bumps their foreheads together. “Shut up.”
Robin opens her mouth to retort but her exhaustion finally catches up with her and she yawns instead. Nancy chuckles, pulling back.
“Come on, you look like you’re going to pass out.” Nancy lifts Robin into her arms even though they’re both aware Robin could make the walk to her room a few feet down the hallway. Robin thinks Nancy just likes showing off that she can, and it’s not like Robin’s complaining. She curls in closer, making a noise of protest when Nancy sets her down. Holy shit Robin thinks, watching Nancy cross the room to turn off all but one nightlight, I just kissed Nancy and now we’re sharing a bed.
Rolling into her space as soon as Nancy has settled into bed, Robin cuddles into Nancy’s side. She responds with a pleased hum and wraps an arm around Robin, pulling her closer. Despite her exhaustion, Robin struggles to fall asleep, too giddy with excitement to sleep, her thoughts racing too hard. Here, in Nancy’s embrace, so safe and loved, she never wants to let go.
“Thank you.” Robin murmurs, even though she’s sure Nancy’s asleep. She’ll tell her again in the morning, she’s got a lot to tell Nancy, but for now she’s content to drift into sleep.