Chapter Text
Steve sat on the worn kitchen stool, staring up at the ceiling like it might offer some kind of answer. The flickering lights had finally stopped, but the pattern kept repeating in his head: three short flashes, three long, three short again. S O S. The universal distress call. He wasn’t sure if it was some kind of message—or just his brain screwing with him after all the crap they’d been through.
Robin leaned against the counter, arms crossed, watching him with a look that was part amusement, part concern. “You’ve been acting weird lately, Steve. Like, ‘I just saw a ghost’ weird. What’s going on?”
Steve rubbed the back of his neck and forced a small laugh. “Yeah, well… can you blame me? Lost Eddie, fought off a goddamn monster, survived an alternate dimension. I’m not exactly top of my mental health game right now.”
Robin arched an eyebrow. “Okay, fair enough. But this? The flickering lights, the SOS? Are you sure you’re not just losing it a little?”
Steve shrugged, his usual confident smirk replaced by something more fragile. “I don’t know, Robs. Sometimes I think I’m going crazy. Shadows flickering at the edges of my vision. Hearing stuff when it’s dead silent. And that flicker—there’s no way it was random. I think someone or something’s trying to talk to me. Maybe Eddie.”
Robin shook her head but didn’t pull away. “Steve, you’ve been through a hell of a lot. But that doesn’t mean you’re imagining this stuff. The Upside Down messes with your head, sure. But it’s also real. And Eddie was real.”
Steve’s voice dropped to a quieter, rougher tone. “I just wish I could believe that. Because the alternative—losing him for good—that’s something I’m not ready to accept.”
She softened, stepping closer and resting her hand lightly on his arm. “Hey. You’re not alone in this. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it. Together.”
He looked at her, the familiar warmth of her presence steadying the storm inside him. “Thanks, Robs. That means a lot.”
They sat in silence for a moment until the lights flickered again—once, twice—then stopped.
Steve sucked in a sharp breath.
Robin’s eyes widened as she stared at the ceiling. “Okay, I don’t know what that was, but it definitely wasn’t just a faulty bulb.”
Steve chuckled nervously. “Right? So… what do you think? Am I crazy, or is there something still out there trying to reach me?”
Robin grinned and nudged him playfully. “You’re Steve Harrington—the guy who took on a Demogorgon with a baseball bat and saved Hawkins more times than I can count. I’m betting you’re not crazy. Just stubborn enough to believe in ghosts.”
Steve laughed and shook his head. “Maybe I’m just stubborn. Or maybe I’m hoping that’s true. That Eddie’s still out there somehow.”
Robin squeezed his arm. “Well, stubborn or not, you’re not facing it alone. And if you want to chase ghosts, I’m right there with you.”
Steve smiled, feeling some of the weight lift off his shoulders. “Good. Because I don’t think I could do this without you.”
Robin raised an eyebrow, smirking. “You know, this is kinda romantic. Two people sitting in a dimly lit kitchen, bonding over flickering lights and existential dread.”
Steve rolled his eyes but laughed. “Leave it to you to make ghost hunting sound like a date night.”
“Hey,” Robin said with a sly grin, “we could make it a date. You bring the popcorn, I’ll bring the skepticism.”
Steve shook his head, but his smile stayed. “Deal. Just don’t expect me to watch another black-and-white movie. I’m more of a ‘jump-scare’ kinda guy.”
Robin laughed again, the sound warm and easy between them. “You’re impossible, Harrington.”
“And you’re the best damn weirdo I know.”
They stayed like that, close in the dim kitchen, the heavy mix of loss and hope hanging between them as the night stretched on.