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Nancy finds herself drawn to Will's heartfelt confession and, for a moment, feels a sliver of her own vulnerability at his speech.
So, instead, she focuses on Robin's oddly stiff figure right next to her, with only her hands fidgeting around in anxiousness for Will.
Huh.
Will is surrounded by the entire party as they make their way out the station. Nancy pretends to not notice Mike's expression as his eyes are trained on Will protectively, as if there are a million questions he'd like to ask.
She realizes that it's been like this for a while now. Mike looking at Will like nobody else exists besides him, then looking away before Will can notice.
Will thinking his feelings for Mike are entirely one-sided when, in reality, Nancy has personally witnessed that it most definitely may not be.
And this exchange keeps going on between the two, even until now when Will seemingly has enough of waiting for Mike.
She feels a little sorry for Mike and nearly forgets the entire purpose of why she's there, until she notices everyone leaving to follow Will except for a select few.
This leaves just her, Robin, Vickie, and Steve in the room while everything eventually settles quietly.
Steve makes a move first, hand still on Robin's shoulder. His eyes lock onto Robin's as they share a look, as if asking for permission.
At Robin's nod, he hugs her tight and leaves. Not before flitting his eyes to the three girls hesitantly and stepping out.
Nancy wants to talk to Robin, wants to ask all of these questions filling her head, but —
"Robin," Vickie called to her before Nancy got a chance to do so.
Her jaw clenches tightly.
Robin turns to Vickie, wiping her eyes quickly before humming in acknowledgement.
"I.." But, before she could talk, she suddenly became aware of Nancy Wheeler's presence in the room. "Let's talk later, just you and I. Is that okay?"
Robin nods and hugs Vickie tightly. "Yeah, – yeah. Let's.. talk."
At a closer look, she sees similar tears drying rapidly on Vickie's cheeks, a hesitant expression clinging to her face.
Nancy doesn't budge, simply covering herself with her arms. She tries not to let her impatience and emotions show.
Robin being Robin, however, notices and tells Vickie to "Go without me. I'll catch up," with a faint smile and squeezes Vickie's hand for a moment, actions soft as if shes handling something fragile.
Vickie lets out a wet laugh at nothing Robin did in particular, and something akin to irritation spikes in Nancy's body.
The ginger eventually leaves, thankfully, and Robin purses her lips as she watched Vickie walk away, expression unreadable, which was something unexpected coming from Robin who was usually quite easy to read.
Not that Nancy is paying too much attention, no, she'd even like to say she's paying a normal amount of attention to Robin.
She startles when Robin clears her throat suddenly in front of her, a curious smile playing on her lips.
"Hey, stranger."
Nancy immediately grins despite the heavy atmosphere from earlier confession still weighing on the two of them, emotions feeling way lighter with Robin around.
"Hey yourself,"
Robin tilts her head, keeping her smile as she asked, "I'm assuming you're not just planning on staying in this room forever with me, are you?"
Nancy rolls her eyes playfully. "Well, if I had to choose from this room compared to going back out there and having to save the world a fifth time, then I guess I have my answer. Besides, you aren't exactly terrible company to have, so.."
Robin snorts lightly, and Nancy feels a sense of accomplishment at making the girl lighten up.
"Well, you clearly aren't here just to joke with me, so why are you here, Nancy Wheeler?"
Ah. Nancy doesn't know why she's surprised Robin caught on so quick, especially having known of the other girl's impressive feats, but here she is in the end.
"To.. talk."
"Talk?" Robin echoed, "Huh, 'seems like everyone suddenly wants me to do that nowadays. I wish my mom were here to hear this." She joked wryly.
Nancy hesitates upon hearing the joke, but continues on either way. "During graduation day when Jonathan looked at you, he saw something I couldn't see."
"Geez, Wheeler, straight to the point as usual I see," Robin quipped, amusement in her voice as she waits for Nancy to continue.
And Nancy does, in a rapid fire way like always. "And at first, I hated it. I hated not knowing what was happening, and I hated even more that I didn't understand what he saw that I didn't with you." She bit her lip, turning her head to the floor. "But.. In the hospital. Vickie looked at you."
An encroaching feeling climbs up Robin's spine. All of the sudden, she's hyperaware of just what Nancy is talking about.
"Looked at me like.. what?"
Nancy paused, eyes finally looking into Robin's.
"Like.." Like the way you looked at me down there when you held my hand and told me it was going to be alright. Like the way you stared into my eyes when you asked me how I could make everyone fall in love with me so easily. Like the way I wish you still did with me. Not her.
Robin waits patiently, present, and she finds herself at a lost for words.
"Like the way Steve used to look at me." She states, using Steve as a placeholder for Robin herself. "And then suddenly I was reminded of when you told me how you and Steve could never be together. Platonic with a capital P. How Steve told me in the Upside-down that he would date you, but.."
"But what, Nance?" Robin asks in a small tone.
Nancy shrugs, then places her hand over herself protectively as she hunches, her figure shrinking. "He never told me. He.. didn't have to." Her eyes close shut. "Not.. not anymore."
Robin steps closer to her, curious. And, when Nancy opens her eyes, Robin is right in front of her, searching.
She swears that they pull slowly together, but —
Robin halts. Then takes a small step back, almost regretfully. Almost like she's trying to remind herself of something, and why it's causing her to not just kiss Nancy now.
Nancy wishes she could take Robin's worries away so she could just do what she was going to before she stopped it.
Wishes Robin gave in even though it would've had no good benefits aside from Nancy getting to kiss her.
Quiet looms over them.
Not because of their lack of words, no, something.. other.
Like Nancy's hesitance on deciding if she should say what shes thinking of or not.
"How long have you.. known?" Robin breaks the silence.
"Known that you were..?" At Robin's nod, she continued. "I think all the way back to when we were at the hospital. I just never really had a confirmation until.."
"Now," Robin finished for her. Nancy nods.
"Yeah," She admits, a little breathless. "Yeah."
Robin, too, lets out a shaky breath. She lets out a trembling sigh mixed with a slight laugh, but her treacherous eyes are back to watering, causing her to pull her hands up to cover her face.
"I don't think of you a- any differently, if you're worried about that." Nancy speaks up after seeing Robin's behavior.
Surprisingly, Robin laughs again, resolute. "Yeah, I - I expected that much. It's just.. It's crazy, right? This.." Robin struggles, "This is crazy."
Nancy scoffs sarcastically. "This entire thing is crazy. But, if you really expected me to not accept you.. I think that's crazier."
"How so?" Robin huffed out, tears running down her face unashamedly this time.
"I've dealt with monsters from possibly literal hell, Robin. With or without that, I still could never hate you.. You're- you're you. That's already something I can never, ever despise or think differently of."
"Just me?" Robin joked.
Nancy feels tears coming, too. "No, no.. of course not, but you, Buckley, are.. special." To me.
It almost scares her how real that thought sounded.
"..Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Robin practically jumps on top of her at that, and hugs her tight. She can't find herself minding it all too much.
Through her light sniffles, Robin laughs wetly.
"I can't believe Jonathan also knows. You and your boyfriend, I swear.. You two are a packaged deal."
Nancy stiffens in Robin's embrace, barely noticeably, but Robin feels it.
Of course she does. After all, she's Robin.
Nancy hates (loves) how easily Robin reads her. Understands her. How she just gets her better than anyone Nancy knows.
"Nance? What's wrong?"
She bites her tongue to prevent herself from sobbing. So, instead, she heaves.
"Nancy, talk to me." Robin's voice is resolute, pulling back to take a closer look.
"No, no, this isn't about me, it wasn't supposed to be like this - I'm sorry, I am, I —"
Robin's eyebrows furrow.
"Nancy.. It's alright. It's just me. Just us. Talk to me, it'll be alright. You can fall on me, I swear."
Then she breaks.
"Jonathan and I — we're not together anymore."
Robin's eyes widen. "Wh - what?"
"When we were in the Upside-down, we thought we were going to die. He.. "un-proposed" to me, and it made me realize that we're just.. not right together. Not.. not anymore."
Robin froze.
Continuing, Nancy poured like a waterfall, "We - we broke up, Robin, and he brought up Steve and it just made me realize,"
Daring to ask, Robin goes; "Realize..?"
Nancy looks up at her, eyes devastated.
Then she breaks.
"With Steve.. he knows what he wants. I thought I did, too, but in the end.." She let go of Robin, staring at her hands. "I'm scared of what I want, Robs, I'm terrified of what I really want and what can happen to me because of it, but it feels.. right. Safe. It shouldn't be like this, I shouldn't be like this, but maybe - just maybe.."
Robin's eyes stare deep into hers, not leaving them for a moment. They're trained on her own eyes, stormy blue analyzing, waiting.
"Maybe if I keep waiting for this.. I'll prove myself wrong."
"For what, Nancy?" Robin asks tenderly. "You're safe here. You can tell me."
She bites her lip before explaining.
Opening her mouth then closing it a few times, she struggles, chewing on the inside of her mouth before settling on an answer. Through it all, Robin remained patient, waiting for her to respond.
"I think I found out when I realized that you and Vickie were together." Robin took a sharp inhale when she heard the part about Vickie.
And, sure, she already knew that Nancy knew about her and Vickie, but having the girl say it out loud.. It was a little rattling, is all.
"Then, with Will coming out, it just solidified it even more." Nancy trailed off, before lightly saying, "I'm proud of him, by the way. I don't know why, but based on your interaction with him there, I have a feeling you had something to do with him being comfortable enough to come out. I'm glad he had.. you."
"Yeah, me too." She sighed. "I'm sure younger Robin would've liked someone to guide her like I did with Will." She shut her eyes, longing for a time where she didn't have to go through it alone.
Nancy smiled bittersweet before.. "I wish I did, too." This causes Robin to pause.
And, sure, she already had a hint of what Nancy was going with when she started talking about her break up with Jonathan, but getting a clear sign is a wildly different feeling from just getting hints of it.
She watches Nancy take a deep breath, and..
"I like girls. And - and guys. Both. I like both, Robin," She sobs, chest heaving in and out as she breaks, breathing unevenly.
Robin shushes her, but not for the purpose of shutting her up. Instead, Robin tells her that it's okay, that nothing has to change, and tries to lighten it up by saying that Nancy even has options, which causes Nancy to laugh through her tears.
The moment lingers, but after the exchange, Robin wraps Nancy in her arms as she places a hand on her head, and for once in her life..
Nancy feels safe. Like nobody is looking at her and expecting Nancy "Badass" Wheeler.
Just.. Nancy Wheeler and everything that binds her.
She slinks, melting into Robin's hold.
If only she could stay like this forever.
Later, when they're back with the party and no longer look like they were rained on, they share a discreet look just between the two of them.
It makes Nancy want to risk it all and long for something she can't have.
And, as dangerous as that is, she can't find herself caring.
Because Robin Buckley is her safe space. Her secret to keep, even if the girl isn't hers.
Yet.