Work Text:
“Robin, you’re staring again.” Steve says, coming up behind her.
“I know, but… just look at her.”
Steve sighs, wrapping his arm around his best friend's shoulder as he follows her line of sight. it’s you, again. you’re working a table, talking to children and giving them toys volunteers have brought in after Hawkins suffered a terrible “earthquake.”
“Why don’t you go and talk to her, huh? help her out a bit. She seems sweet.”
“I can't, steve. you know me,” robin starts, voice kicking up in pitch and speed as she begins to ramble. “I suck at talking to girls, especially the pretty ones. I panic and lose control of my mouth and I want to stop talking but I can't and I make myself look stupid, well even more stupid than usual, and I'm doing it again aren’t I?”
Steve gives her a sympathetic look and nods. He could understand her worry with Vickie, neither of them knew how she would react to Robin's less than friendly feelings. Hell, Robin is lucky Vickie is a decent human being and didn’t run off telling everyone Robin was gay after she failed to reciprocate those feelings.
But with you? Steve knew you. Everyone did. You babysat the kids for years. You were best friends with Nancy and Barb. You almost got drug into the upside down with Barb the night of the party. After Steve showed up at Jonathan's house when you three were trying to catch the demogorgon, you and him got close. Close enough to trust Steve to accept you when you came out.
During movie nights, Robin is always the first to crash and you and Steve are always the last. It has become a tradition of sorts to rant on and on about how you feel about Robin. Steve hadn't told you Robin is gay, that’s not his secret to tell, but it’s killing him to watch you both pine over each other when you don’t have to.
“How about we go help her out together?” he asks, smiling when he gets a nod in return.
The two make their way over to your table, catching the tail end of your conversation with a little girl who’s clutching a banged up stuffed bunny in her hands.
“-Guess what I can do for you and Mr. Stuffles?”
“What?” she asks, her big blue eyes never leaving your own.
“I can take him to my best friend right over there,” you say, nodding your head towards Nancy who is making her rounds, talking to some of the injured residents laying and sitting on their cots. “And she can fix him right up. In less than 5 minutes.”
“Really? She can fix him?”
“She absolutely can, Princess. No doubt about it.”
“You promise to keep him safe and give him back?”
“Oh absolutely. For what is a Princess without her fluffy, loyal companion?” Your voice takes a dramatic tone and you clutch your chest, acting overly indignant. Your show brings a smile to the mother’s face as well as the child's. The girl hands you her bunny with no sign of apprehension before walking off to the food tables with her mother.
You smile and wave at Steve and Robin once you notice them. “Hey guys!” you greet with a smile, getting two bright ones in return.
The three of you fall into an easy conversation, talking to children and parents alike, doing what you can to keep spirits lifted. Robin excuses herself to the restroom and you take advantage of her absence.
“Steve, I can’t take this anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you seen her? The way she's talking to everyone and letting loose, being herself! The way she looks! I can’t handle it. My heart is in a puddle on the ground and oh my god I want her so bad.”
Steve smirks and shakes his head. The two of you are so clueless it's insane. “Just go for it. What's the worst that could happen?”
“Uhh… she says no and tells everyone I'm gay and then our friendship is ruined and I have to move to another country.” Seeing Robin come back troubles Steve. He knows he should stop you, but if he lets you continue and Robin overhears then the two of you can be happy together.
Robin gets sidetracked on her way back to the table, engaging in a short conversation with an older woman, so Steve tunes back into what you're saying, not realizing that Robin is coming up behind you.
“Being gay in Hawkins is a death sentence, Steve. One wrong move, one confession to the wrong person, and my life here is over. You're the only one who knows for a reason. Nobody needs to know I like her. It's not a big deal, I can hide it and continue being her best friend. I'd rather be friend zoned than lose her. She's everything to me.”
You notice half way through your rant that Steve's eyes were now focused behind you and you tense. Sparing a glance behind you, you notice the black suspenders clamped onto high waisted jeans. Robin… shit.
When you finally turn around, her expression is blank, giving nothing away as to what exactly is going on in her head. Robin takes a minute to process. She knows you were talking about her. You don't have very many girl bestfriends, what with your life being plagued by the Upside Down and all. There’s only one or two people it could be and the fact that you waited until Robin left and the way Steve is looking at her suggests that her assumption was right. You’re talking about her.
That means you like her. Her crush likes her back and she's just standing here like a homophobic idiot who's about to ruin her life and their friendship. Crap.
“Can we talk?” Yeah, great start Rob. You’re doing so great. Sometimes she hates her inability to communicate correctly.
“Uh, yeah. Of course.” You drop your head to your chest, cursing the way you fumbled through four words like an idiot. This is already going so well. Great.
You and Robin walk off, leaving Steve to man the table while the two of you find a more private place to speak. The two of you decide on the bathroom in the basement. Nobody goes down there and hardly anyone knows it has a bathroom.
For a while it's quiet, neither of you speak, but the silence quickly becomes suffocating and you throw yourself feet first into the impending disaster that is your friendship with Robin Buckley.
“Look, I know you probably think it's disgusting and wrong and I know it probably makes you feel uncomfortable, but I want you to know that I won't be upset with you for saying as much. I know there's probably something wrong with me and it's wrong to feel this way about your best friend who is also a girl, but if you give me a chance I can prove to you that this doesn't have to change anything. I can fix it, ignore my feelings and keep being your best friend if you will let me.”
She’s not looking at you, eyes locked onto a string stretched out on the ground. This isn't good. You drop to your knees in front of her with tears in your eyes. “Robin, please say something.” your hands reach out for her, but you stop yourself before they land.
She looks down at you, teary blue eyes meeting yours. “There's nothing wrong with you. With us . There's nothing wrong with how you feel and you're not disgusting or wrong. I'm not, Will’s not, Steve’s not. None of us are wrong or disgusting. We just have a lot of love to give and that is not held back by gender.”
“So.. you're?”
Robin nods and slides down to the ground alongside you, leaning against the wall and taking your hand in hers. For the first time since the gates opened and all hell broke loose, you feel calm. You feel loved.
Maybe Steve was right, you should've just gone for it.