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The house they stop in front of looks normal enough at first glance, and Robin could almost convince herself that she’s just stopping in to visit a friend, especially when Chrissy exits the car and walks to her side to open the door. But the beating of her heart in her throat tells her otherwise. Part of her expects to be bound or knocked out or something as she stands from the passenger seat, shivering as the cool air outside hits her still damp clothes.
All that happens is Chrissy wrapping dainty fingers around Robin’s upper arm, leading her towards the door with that delightful smile still on her face. If she really wanted to, Robin knows she could get away, but she just keeps walking forward and through the threshold.
The inside of the house is just as normal as the outside, right down to a man sitting at the kitchen table, sipping from a steaming mug as he reads a book. Hearing them enter, he looks up and the blood freezes in Robin’s veins. “You!” she cries at him, struggling against Chrissy’s hold on her so she can lunge at the man.
Looking unbothered by Robin’s display, the man who Robin knows as Eddie, turns his attention to Chrissy as he takes another sip of his drink. “A little warning would have been nice,” he points out. “Maintain the surprise just a little longer.”
“Yes, yes, I’ve ruined all of your fun again,” Chrissy agrees with a giggle. “I didn’t exactly plan ahead, did I?”
Eddie rolls his eyes but returns to his book, putting an end to the conversation. “Always ruining my fun” he mutters just loud enough for the girls to hear. “At least Steve’ll be happy about it.”
The longer they stand there, the more Robin can feel her blood thawing into a boil, rage taking the place of uncertainty and fear. Sitting in front of her is an answer she’s been searching for, even if she hates how she came to know it. “Why take him?” she asks just as Chrissy gives her arm a tug. “Why Steve? Why me?”
Looking back up with a smirk, Eddie shrugs. “You because we have Steve,” he explains. “Steve because…” He sighs audibly. “I fear that would be telling. Why don’t you ask him?”
Robin definitely plans to, just as soon as she’s out of this room. Another tug from Chrissy on her arm gets her feet moving towards a door at the back of the kitchen. The door is opened with a loud creak and the hand on Robin’s arm vanishes.
“Down you go,” Chrissy tells her with a sweeping gesture.
Standing at the top of the basement steps by herself, Robin is aware it’s her last chance to escape, to turn back and try something else if she can make it back to town alive. She doesn’t take it, instead choosing to descend the steps. They creak as she goes, barely illuminated by a bare bulb at the bottom. By the time she reaches the bottom, her whole body is shaking.
Then she sees him and a sob rips itself free from her throat before Robin even gets a chance to think about stopping it. Her poor balance threatens to topple her onto the concrete floor as she all but throws herself across the space, barreling into Steve at full speed. “ Steve!”
“Robin?!” Steve’s voice is loud in her ear, full of confusion and fear, but it’s Steve’s voice. It’s something she hasn’t heard in so many days, and it makes Robin sob all over again until she’s dripping tears and snot onto his already dirty shirt.
“Steve, Steve, oh my god, Steve,” she rambles on as she clings to him.
Gently, Steve pries himself free, holding Robin out to look her over, hands heavy and comforting on her shoulders as she looks at him through her tears. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he demands with a frown. “You shouldn’t be here. You’re not supposed to be here.”
And Robin was definitely right about him not being happy to see her. He’s not angry like she expected, but he’s not happy either. He’s somewhere in the middle, stuck in a spiral of disbelief and fear and confusion. It makes her want to squeeze him tight and never let go.
“I was looking for you,” she explains. “No one else was looking hard enough, but it was all I could focus on, think about, dream about. They said after the first two days that you were probably dead and just a body to find, but you’re not just a body. You’re here! You’re here, and I’m here, and we can figure this out together, right?”
Her chest heaves with breaths she forgot to take as she looks at him. At first it looks like Steve might start crying too, but in the end he just nods and pulls her close again. It’s only been four days but it’s also already been four days. Even covered in basement dust and dirt and whatever else, it’s still Steve under it all and that’s all Robin needs to feel safe.
“Yeah, we’ll figure it out.”
Without a further word spoken, the two of them check in on each other, always touching in some way as they look for reassurances that the other is fine. It’s not ideal by any stretch of the word, but Robin feels oddly at peace for the first time in days and for now that’s enough. And given that Steve looks to be in decent enough shape, no bumps or bruises or cuts or anything that might suggest he’s been hurt, she isn’t worried that the two upstairs are going to do anything to them other than keep them captive. At least for right now.
There’s always a chance things could change later, but that's a problem for future Robin. Present Robin is just happy to have her best friend back.