Work Text:
Eddie's keeping a safe distance from where Robin is currently wielding a knife, cutting up limes for another round of Mojitos. It's not like he's afraid of her or anything, but the tone in which she'd told him to follow her to the kitchen left him feeling slightly unsettled.
She hasn't said a word since, and it's making him nervous. He knows he can get on people's nerves sometimes but no matter how hard he tries, he just can't figure out why she'd be mad at him.
Once she's done, Robin turns around to face him, knife still in hand, and Eddie waits with bated breath.
"Polar Express? Really?" she huffs out and, yeah, she's definitely mad but Eddie still has no clue what she's on about.
"W-what?"
She takes a step towards him but then stops to finally put down the potential weapon.
"Polar Express. You chose that movie over The Gremlins? Who are you and what have you done to my Doofus?"
Eddie tries his best to follow but none of it makes sense. They're at Steve's for movie night, and when it was one vote against the other, he went with Steve's choice. That's all he did.
"I know what you're playing here, mister," she continues, "And I sure hope your intentions are pure and honest or I'll kick your ass so hard you'll feel it for weeks."
Robin closes the remaining distance and stops right before him, jabbing her index finger unnecessarily hard against his sternum.
"You might think your clever but I see you, Eddie. You better not toy with him. He deserves better."
Eddie's mind is reeling. What the hell is going on?
"Robs, I- don't understand. What are you talking about?"
Robin sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, but when she looks back up, her expression softens.
"Steve. I'm talking about Steve, Eddie. You're not as good at hiding it as you think. Choosing a movie we both know you hate, just because he likes it? Couldn't be more obvious."
Eddie swallows roughly as her words sink in. This isn't about the movie at all. It's about him being ridiculous around Steve. Always trying to please him because he wants to see him happy, even if that sometimes means to tell a little lie or pretend to like something he normally wouldn't. Of course Robin would pick up on it; she knows him too well.
"What I want to know, is if you're being serious or if this is just a game to you. Because I can only tolerate one of both options."
Robin's standing there with both hands on her hips, just like Steve does when he's trying to act authoritarian, only with her, it actually works. Makes Eddie crumble like a house of cards in the wind.
"I'm in love with him," he blurts out without thinking, and it's the first time he hears himself say it out loud. "I, I mean-"
For months he's been trying to suppress his feelings, obviously to no avail. Robin knows; there's no point in taking it back, not from her.
"I know it's stupid, okay? But it's not something I can just turn off. I wish I could, but I can't. I love him, Robs. This isn't a game. This is- nothing. We're friends and that's the end of it."
Robin's eyes are piercing, searching, flitting between his own that are becoming a little blurry. He refuses to cry but it did take some weight off his heart to finally confess to someone.
"Eddie, I don't know if you've noticed, but-"
She bites her bottom lip, like she's contemplating whether to keep going or not.
"Remember last weekend?"
Eddie nods, he does remember. They were hanging out at his place, ordering take-out and playing games. But he doesn't understand what that has to do with anything.
"Remember our little fight? What did Steve do?"
Eddie's mind wanders back to the moment, remembers how him and Robin were having a friendly but energetic discussion about what music to listen to.
And he remembers Steve, a little pink around the nose and with an unusually shy smile on his lips, taking Eddie's side when he specifically asked to put on 'that Dio guy', because apparently, he liked 'that one song' Eddie keeps playing on guitar.
It hadn't struck him back then but it hits even harder now.
"So you're telling me Steve is, um, that he is-"
"It's not up to me to say anything. But I really think you should talk to him. Spell it out. Like, literally. You know how oblivious that guy can be. He didn't even believe me when I told him you have a crush on him. Told me I was being stupid, can you believe it? After having to suffer through you doing your stupid dance for months? Anyway,"
Robin turns back to the counter to grab one of the three glasses. "How about you guys take your conversation to the bedroom? But please, please don't do anything that'll scar poor old me for life, okay? I'll be watching The Gremlins, but remember I have good hearing and I am prone to violence if I have to."
That last part is a joke, hopefully, but Eddie thinks it won't hurt to take her threat serious.
When he comes back to the living room, following just seconds behind Robin, Steve's already standing, his face bright red, hands buried deep in his jean pockets.
"Can we talk?" Eddie asks him and Steve smiles, hopeful and sweet in a way that makes Eddie's heart flutter violently.
They close the door behind them and before Eddie can open his mouth, his back hits the wall, Steve pressed against him, breath hot on his face.
"Sorry, I eavesdropped," Steve confesses and then he kisses him. Hard and needy like he’d been waiting to do this for a long time.
Robin is probably going to kill them both but it'll be so damn worth it.