Work Text:
Hawkins, Indiana was in a dazed state after the "earthquake", and no one quite seemed sure of what to do. There were volunteers to help the recently homeless working constantly, and as one of them, Robin was busy all day. By the end, she was usually covered in peanut butter, jelly and sweat from the crowded room.
Since Robin got out of the Upside Down, her life was so different than it had ever been. She quickly found out that her house was one of the many completely swallowed up by the alternate universe, and while her dad showed up at the city hall a few days later, her mom was nowhere to be found. As much as her mom was a big part of her insecurities, she was still her mom and spent every day hoping that she would show up.
Her dad found a place to stay at his friend's house, and he wanted Robin to actually stay with someone, rather than on the cold floor with the other displaced people and families where she could barely get any sleep. Steve was easily the person she was closest to, but her dad wasn't okay with her spending the night with a boy. As if she would do anything with him.
Robin was pretty awkward, and because of that she didn't really have any other friends. She was kind of starting to be closer to Vickie, which she was very happy about, but they weren't on that kind of friendship level yet. But Robin was generally okay with that; while she still had feelings for Vickie, they had faded a little after quickly getting feelings for another girl.
Which makes it really awkward when Nancy, the woman who had Robin swooning as she shot Vecna nearly to death, invited her to stay at her house.
Robin was no stranger to falling for straight girls, the only girl she had even been able to consider to be like her was Vickie, then it kind of fell apart when she saw her with her boyfriend. Or ex-boyfriend, technically. For a quick moment, Robin let herself think that it was possible that Vickie liked boys and girls, something Robin hadn't heard about much but had heard about, but Robin's heart had plans for a different girl. And Nancy was 100%, definitely heterosexual.
But, Robin really had no other choice and ended up spending the night at the Wheelers.
She showed up late, after she finished her volunteering job, and Mrs. Wheeler was the one who answered the door. After a very awkward exchange because Mrs. Wheeler had no idea who this girl who was claiming she was going to stay at her house was, she finally waved her upstairs where Nancy was.
It was so stupid, but even the sound of her name released butterflies through Robin. She made her way up the stairs, in awe of all the rich people stuff they had. With how long Robin was taking, Will slipped past her and she watched him go down, assuming he was staying as well. Wait, if Will was staying at the Wheelers, why wasn't Jonathan, Nancy's boyfriend? At least Robin hoped he wasn't staying here; she would not be able to be the third wheel/the hopeless lesbian in the edge of a love triangle all night (not that Nancy would ever choose Robin, but still).
Robin eventually found Nancy's room, and her door was wide open. The corner of Robin's mouth just barely turned up at the sight of Nancy leaned over her nightstand, only half sitting on her bed as she scribbled away on a paper. Robin stared at the way Nancy's bottom lip was in between her teeth, a habit she had while writing her articles, Robin realized. Despite Nancy only barely moving, her hair bounced and looked so soft, and Robin itched to run her fingers through it, and kiss-
Robin cut her thoughts off, taking in a sharp breath and Nancy looked up at her.
"Oh, hey! I didn't realize you got here." Nancy's voice, which had originally sounded annoying and bratty to Robin, had become soothing to Robin, the way her voice was crisp and clear, with her eyebrows and mouth expressing her emotions.
"Yeah, I uh, just showed up. I finished the volunteer stuff and came over here and your mom let me in. I also ran into Will, is he staying here? Why isn't Jonathan?" Go ahead and tell her everything, why don't you, Robin?
Nancy laughed and glanced at the floor. But this kind of laugh didn't seem like she was mocking her, it seemed more like she was amused, and in a good way. Or maybe Robin was just a hopeless romantic.
"Do you have any bags? I can take them, or…?"
Robin handed her the backpack she had with the few clothes she had gotten from a very kind Mrs. Harrington and the donations bin. "This is all I have."
Nancy gently placed it in the closet, and turned back to Robin. "Do you need some privacy to get changed into pajamas? There's a bathroom down the hall or I can go out for a second."
"Oh, I don't…" Robin, for the first time that evening, glanced away from Nancy. "I don't have any, I've just been sleeping in my clothes."
Nancy shook her head, and eventually Robin was in some pink, ruffled fancy pajamas from Nancy's drawer that she insisted on Robin wearing. Nancy came into the bedroom, in similar pajamas only a baby blue rather than pink.
"Do you have a sleeping bag or anything? I don't have one." Nancy knows that, obviously you don't have a sleeping bag in that tiny backpack.
Nancy rolled her eyes and hopped on her bed. "Don't be ridiculous, there's plenty of room up here, you don't need to sleep on the floor."
"Oh-Okay." Robin's voice was light, and her head felt the same. She shouldn't be feeling this nervous about sharing a bed with Nancy, that was stupid. It didn't mean anything, Nancy was just too nice to let her sleep on the hard floor. Robin gingerly got on the opposite side of the bed, and Nancy got under the covers before turning off the lamp beside her.
After a moment of Robin trying to calm herself, she got under the covers as well.
As much as Robin wanted to face Nancy, she faced away, and Robin wasn't completely sure why. Maybe she just couldn't handle having her crush so close and knowing that she could never have that, maybe it was that Robin didn't want to seem like a creep, maybe it was a mix of the two plus a little bit of just regular old anxiety.
Robin was wide awake, despite having been sleep deprived all day and honestly she was kinda frustrated by that. But no matter what she did, she couldn't even close her eyes, she was so wide awake, lost in her thoughts. Thoughts about fighting Vecna, how according to Will he wasn't dead yet, how the end of the world was literally right around the corner, how all Robin's mind seemed to care about was crushing on girls.
Nancy, just for some reason, was the perfect girl. At first, Robin thought it was annoying how perfect she was because Robin was so un-perfect that she was almost angry at Nancy for being perfect. But then it switched to an attractive type of perfect. Sure, when they first worked together, Nancy seemed to hate her, and Robin wasn't crazy for her at all, but the more they worked together, the more she ended up liking her. Liking how smart she was. Liking how determined she was. Liking how hot she looked with a gun, fighting monsters from the Upside Down.
Robin hadn't quite liked enough girls to know what her type was, but Nancy was definitely different than Tammy and Vickie. She reminded her more of Carrie Fisher in Star Wars, and although you couldn't catch her dead admitting it, Carrie shooting a gun was so. Hot. True, she hadn't seen Tammy or Vickie shoot a gun, but neither of them seemed to be the kind of person to do so. Nancy was the last person she had expected to be able to fight with a gun and yet here Robin was, crushing on her because of it.
Robin, completely lost in her embarrassing thoughts about Nancy, barely heard her name whispered behind her. Nancy, a bit louder, called her and Robin turned to face her.
"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Even though it was dark, Robin could see Nancy's nose and eyebrows scrunch in the most adorable way.
"No, I was already up, just thinking about the whole Vecna situation and how the end of the world is so, so close." Robin took in a breath to continue, but decided against it and pressed her lips together.
Nancy nodded, pursing her lips and letting her gaze fall downward.
After a hesitant pause, Robin decided to speak up. Or rather, Robin couldn't handle the awkward silence and she just opened her mouth without really thinking. "Did you have something you wanted to say?"
"No, no. Um…" Nancy sighed and glanced around the room, but never at Robin. "I broke up with Jonathan."
"Why?"
"I…" Nancy met Robin's eyes, and her heart fluttered. "I don't love him anymore. I think I like someone else."
"Steve?" Robin asked with a sigh, having been able to sense their chemistry even before Robin began crushing on Nancy.
Nancy's eyebrows furrowed. "What? No. It's someone else."
"Who?" Robin didn't mean to pry, but her mouth moved before she realized, and then she found herself waiting for the answer, suddenly dying to know who Robin was interested in, even though she knew it wasn't her.
Nancy giggled, although it was laced with sadness. "You'll never guess. I couldn't even believe it at first." Nancy let out a somber puff of air, and her mouth twisted into a frown. "It doesn't matter though, I can never be with them."
"Eddie?"
"What? No! I mean, he's great, a lot better than I had given him credit for, but definitely not. He is so not my type." Nancy shook her head, trying to get even the idea of it out of her head. Robin felt embarrassed, sure that her face was pinkening.
"I get it."
Nancy glanced up at her. "Huh?"
"I mean, I know how you feel. To like someone that you can't be with, but despite you knowing that for sure, it still doesn't matter because your heart plays by its own rules and nothing you say or hear from other people about how it's wrong will change that and every time you think of h-that person, it hurts while all at the same time feeling like you are soaring because that how sh-they make you feel." Robin covered her mouth before she outed herself without thinking, and Nancy's jaw hung open.
"Yeah. Exactly like that…" Nancy's voice sounded really off, as if she had somehow figured out who Robin was talking about, and fear began to spread through Robin. "Robin, I-" Nancy took in a shaky breath. "I want to tell you something, but I'm not sure how to say it."
"What?" Robin felt like she had skipped a chapter, what was Nancy talking about again? Had Robin zoned out?
"Can you keep a secret?"
Robin chuckled, thinking about the secret she managed to keep for a total of about 17 years. "Yeah."
"I like a girl."
Everything in Robin stopped, and she couldn't breathe. "You-you what?" Robin breathlessly asked, her heart pounding.
Nancy cussed under her breath, and started rambling about how she shouldn't have said that, how she should've just kept it to herself and Robin was barely able to process it.
Nancy "Perfect Princess" Wheeler was like her, like Robin. Robin could barely wrap her head around it, but she couldn't let Nancy think that she wouldn't accept her.
Robin put her arm on Nancy's shoulder and she stopped suddenly, and started at her arm. "Nancy, hey, it's okay. I like a girl too."
Nancy's eyes went wide and she focused just below Robin's eyes, and she swallowed hard before looking back up at her. "Who?" Nancy barely whispered, and Robin strained her ears to hear.
"Carrie Fisher."
Nancy snorted and Robin smirked at her. Still, despite the relief in Nancy's composure, there was a twinge of sadness in her eyes.
"Who do you like?" Robin suddenly had to know the girl Nancy had her awakening for, and Nancy shook her head.
"I can't tell you." Her voice sounded wet, as if she were on the verge of tears.
"Why not?"
Nancy met her eyes again, before shaking her head and looking down. "I just can't."
Robin somehow let herself get it in her head that Nancy was talking about Robin, and her impulsive brain leaned her head forward slightly, and gently touched Nancy's lips with her own.
Immediately, Robin fell back to her spot on the bed, and cursed herself for doing that.
But rather than recoiling back or saying something hateful, Nancy followed her back. She pressed against Robin's lips, and sparks flew all throughout Robin's body from her chest, and she let her eyes fall closed.
Nancy gently kissed against her mouth over and over, and Robin's hand found its way to Nancy's perm, finally her fingers wrapped around her curly locks. Nancy rested a hand against Robin's cheek and Robin smiled underneath Nancy's lips.
After a very exhilarating moment, Robin pulled away for a second. "Oh, I also like you, I forgot to mention."
Nancy laughed, throwing her head back before bringing Robin's close again for another peck on the lips. Robin scooted close to Nancy, sliding down to rest her face against her neck, and closing her eyes, suddenly very tired. Nancy wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close the whole night.