Chapter Text
Robin is immediately aware of three things as she comes to:
1. Her head is pounding.
2. She’s in a room that she does not recognize.
3. Steve Harrington is in the bed next to her reading a book.
She doesn’t really have enough time to put all those thoughts together into an explanation when Steve notices that she’s awake. “Hey Rob. Welcome back.” He says, smiling at her. Rob? She’s mind blown by the fact that Steve even knows her name and now he’s calling her Rob? “How are you feeling?”
“Where am I?” She asks, still feeling a little disoriented, her head feels like its been split open and even the light from the lamp beside Steve feels like too much.
“You’re at my place.” He explains gently. “The doctors didn’t want you to be alone, just in case, remember?”
“The doctors?” Steve eyebrows pinch in concern at her question. He shifts closer to her and asks, “Robin what’s the last thing you remember?”
“Um…” She wracks her brain but comes up short. Her mind feels foggy and she momentarily has the horrifying thought that Steve drugged her before she remembers that he mentioned doctors. But why would the doctors send her home with Steve Harrington of all people? Maybe she hit her head and Steve just happened to be there, swooping to the rescue like the golden boy he thinks he is. “What are you doing here Steve?”
“I told you,” He starts, frown on his face. “The doctors-”
“I know but why?” She interrupts him, managing to pull herself into a sitting position. “It’s not like we’re friends.” She takes a better look around the room and realizes that its a lot shabbier looking than how she imagined Steve Harrington’s room to be. Not that his room was something she typically imagined, she just figured he was rich so it must be nice. But instead it's surprisingly small and fairly empty. The only furniture is the bed they’re currently laying on, two night stands, and a worn looking dresser with several picture frames on it - in the semi darkness of the room she can’t really make out exactly what the pictures are of. She finishes her assessment of the room and realizes that Steve has gone quiet next to her. She turns back to face him and finds that he looks absolutely devastated. “What’s wrong?”
“Are you mad at me?” He asks and god he sounds just as devastated as he looks.
“Um I mean for something specific?” Robin questions, feeling confused. “Not really. For just like being a general asshole? I guess? I mean I’m not sure mad is the word I would use but-” She cuts off her rambling when she realizes that now suddenly Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington has tears welling in his eyes. What the fuck?
“Robin are you serious?” He says. He seems to see something on her face that says she is because he says, “You’re scaring me.”
“I’m scaring you?” She asks in disbelief. “You’re not the one who woke up in strange boy’s bed with a pounding headache and absolutely no memory of how she got there. How do I know that you didn’t like drug me and take advantage of me?” She doesn’t really think that he did, but still she feels it’s a valid point so she says it anyway.
“Robin I- what?” He asks, and now he looks both devastated and completely shocked. “You know that I would never do that.”
“Do I?” She asks. “I mean, I don’t really know you at all.” At this Steve looks at her very carefully and then shakes his head, rubbing at his eyes. His face changes instantly and he looks mad, and maybe a little scared. “Okay Vecna.” He calls out. “You got me! I know it’s you so you might as well just come on out.”
“Steve what the hell are you talking about? Who’s Vecna?” Robin asks him.
“Henry? One? Whatever the hell you want to be called.” He honestly sounds crazy and Robin finds herself scooting out of the bed away from him.
“Steve you’re scaring me.” She tells him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” This stops him for a second, and before he can say anything the door bursts open and a red headed girl Robin doesn’t recognize is running into the room.
“Steve? Is everything okay?” She asks, face looking panicked. “I heard you yelling, about Vecna, and I-”
“What the hell is going on here?” Robin interrupts and the girl’s eyes snap to where she’s standing beside the bed, hands out in defense, certainly looking absolutely terrified and then back to Steve who’s looking confused again. Steve ignores her question and addresses the girl. “Robin is acting really strange. I thought for a second that maybe Vecna was making me see things. I know he’s like gone but it was just the only explanation I could think of.”
“Strange how?” The girl asks.
“I’m acting strange?” Robin asks, voice an octave higher than usual. “I don’t know what kind of prank this is but it’s not funny. I’m sure it was all, let’s freak out the weird girl it’ll be so hilarious but like seriously you’re being really fucking creepy and if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m calling the cops.” Steve waves a hand towards her and looks at the girl in a way that says, ‘see? I told you?’
“Robin, what year is it?” The girl asks, like that’s a completely normal question. Robin answers it anyway, “1984.” Steve and the girl share a look before Steve turns back to her. “No Rob, it’s 1986.”
“Ha ha very funny.”
“I’m not joking.” Steve says, and Robin has to admit that he doesn’t sound like he’s lying. But he must be, right? “You fell off your bike yesterday and hit your head. The doctors said it was possible you might experience some memory loss and I just assumed that meant you would forget like yesterday, not the last two years.”
“Prove it me.” Robin demands and the girl leaves the room, returning a moment later with a newspaper that displays today’s date as ‘September 18, 1986’. Robin glances back at Steve and does have to admit that he looks a little older than she remembered him. That still didn’t really explain why she's with Steve Harrington of all people and so Robin tells him as much.
“We’re friends.” He tells her, standing from the bed and walking over to the dresser. He picks up one of the picture frames and hands it to her. “Best friends.” Robin looks down at the picture and is surprised to see her own face staring back at her. She’s dressed in a ridiculous sailor costume, her arm thrown around Steve, who’s wearing a similar get up. But honestly the most shocking thing about the picture is the smile on her face, she looks so happy, happier than she think she’s ever felt. She looks up at Steve and finds that he is looking at her with so much love and fondness that she instantly believes him. “In the summer of 85 we worked at Scoops Ahoy, an ice cream shop, together and we became really close.”
“We’re not like dating, are we?” She finds herself blurting out before she can really help it. The strange girl snorts in laughter beside her but Steve just smiles and shakes his head.
“No Robin. We’re not dating.”
“He did have a crush on you though.” The girl pipes up and Steve shoots her a glare.
“Isn’t it past your bedtime?”
“You woke me up!” She cries, putting her hands up in defense.
“Alright fair enough.” He relents, smiling at her before glancing at his watch. “Why don’t you go back to bed? Will you be alright here if I take Robin to the hospital or do you want me to call Eddie?”
“I can’t come with you?”
“You’ve got school tomorrow.” Steve explains and then amends, “Well technically today.”
“Fine.” She grumbles. Then her face reddens a bit as she looks at Steve. “Can you call Eddie?”
“Sure thing kid.” Then Steve is giving her a hug and kissing the top of her head like he’s her fucking dad. The girl protests a bit but her face gives way that she’s pleased with the attention. She bids goodnight to Robin and then disappears, presumably back to her room. Robin realizes she never even caught her name.
“I didn’t know you had a sister.” She says to Steve, because honestly that’s the only plausible explanation to the scene she just witnessed.
“Who Max? She’s not my sister. I mean not biologically or anything.” Steve shakes his head. “Her mom passed, in March, and she didn’t have any other family so I took her in.”
“Okay so Steve Harrington is a dad and my best friend.” Robin summarizes, sitting back on the edge of the bed. “Any other shocking news you want to drop on me?”
“Maybe that should wait.” Steve chews his lip, sitting beside her. “I want to have you checked out by a doctor first.”
“So there's more shocking news?” She asks and Steve averts his eyes. “Shocking good or shocking bad?”
“Both I guess.” He shrugs. He reaches for the phone on the nightstand, “Let me just call Eddie to come stay with Max and then we can go to the doctor.”
“Who’s Eddie?”
“Uh Eddie Munson? Do you know him?”
“Eddie Munson?” Robin parrots back. She knows Eddie Munson in the way that all the outcasts kind of know each other. They’re not friends or anything but she smiles at him when she passes him the hall. “Are you just like collecting weirdos now?” Steve snorts out a laugh and informs her that he’s going to tell Eddie she said that before he’s dialing the number. A glance at the clock tells Robin that is nearing 3 am so she’s a little surprised when Eddie picks up on only the second ring. “Hey Eds. It’s Steve.” A pause. “Um sort of. Everyone is physically okay but Robin is having some memory loss so I’m going to take her to the doctor. Can you come stay with Max?” Another pause. “Thanks Eddie.” Pause, and then, “I love you too.” Robin tries not to look too shocked as Steve hangs up the phone but she must be failing because Steve turns to her a little sheepishly, ears tinged red. Then he drops the biggest fucking bomb of the night, “Eddie is my boyfriend.”