Chapter Text
Robin crosses back to Nancy
"I hope you'll eventually share your secret."
"Secret?" Nancy responded in confusion
"Your secret to getting everyone to fall in love with you." And with that, Robin strides off. A bewildered Nancy chases after her.
"Wait, what is that supposed to mean?! Robin? Robin!" And she hurries after Robin
###
Nancy Wheeler woke up in a cold sweat. Ever since defeating Vecna, the Mindflayer and blowing up the Upside-Down, Nancy’s dreams had shifted. She no longer has terrifying, ultra realistic nightmares –Barb at the bottom of Steve’s pool covered in black creepy vines… or losing Mike, Holly or her mom to a demogorgon, demodog or Vecna himself. Her dreams had been more peaceful, sometimes still weird or upside-down-ish, but no longer ultra realistic. Except sometimes. Sometimes her dreams have a new main character, Rockin’ Robin Buckley.
The break up with Jonathan had been good for Nancy. She still loved him very much, but all their shared trauma had definitely gotten in the way of their romantic relationship. They mutually decided it would be a lot healthier for the both of them to continue their relationship platonically. Not having to worry about a boyfriend had helped Nancy process everything that happened. She had been able to be there for her little brother when he had to learn to live without his girlfriend being there, and most importantly she had been dealing with all of her own trauma.
Nancy has been more at peace than she ever had been the last couple of years. This caused her to notice something new in her life. Or like, realize something that had been there for a while.
When she first met Robin, Nancy hadn’t been that impressed by Steve’s Scoops Ahoy coworker. But once the brown haired girl had gotten more and more involved in the battles the teens had to conquer whilst learning about and fighting Vecna, Nancy had grown fond of her. The constant rambling, sarcastic comments and pure honesty of those deep blue eyes surrounded by summer freckles made Nancy’s heart flutter more than either Steve or Jonathan had ever achieved.
Nancy rolled over in her bed and shook remnants of the dream out of her head before getting up. When she glanced at her alarm she realized it was still the middle of the night. Her alarm was set at 7 AM so she could get to her job at the Hawkins Post in time, and she still had four hours of sleep left until the clock would start beeping. She tossed and turned but couldn’t stop the image of Robin Buckley getting in her head. Nancy decided to get a glass of water before trying to get a little more sleep.
She took a glass out of the cupboard in the kitchen downstairs and filled it with water. Still a bit sleepy, she turned to the family calendar to check which day it was. Thursday. Her heart skipped a beat. After peace returned to Hawkins, Steve, Jonathan, Robin and Nancy gathered in the basement of the Squawk to enjoy some drinks, games, chats, and to act like normal young adults. These nights steadily became the highlight of Nancy’s week. Getting back to the real world and real life after fighting Vecna for the final time had been extremely nice, but also very tiring. Together with the group of four, they could all just be themselves, not having to hide or keep quiet about what they’ve all been through. Nancy took one last sip of the water and wandered back upstairs, crawling back into her bed. Remembering she only had one workday left before meeting up again with her friends calmed her mind, and she quickly drifted back to sleep.
~~~
“Gooood morning Hawkins! It is 6.30 AM this beautiful morning in our military-free regular old town! This is you DJ Rockin’ Robin speaking, and you’re listening to WSQK The Squawk!” Robin gestured to her partner in crime Steve Harrington, and Steve played a rooster crowing sound right on cue. “Today is Thursday January 14th 1988, and this is Learning to Fly, by Pink Floyd!” The DJ starts playing the song and turns away from her broadcasting microphone, towards her beloved coworker.
Steve lets out a yawn, “I know we do the Morning Squawk, but the early mornings still hit like a nail-bat.”
Robin giggles, “Ya know, Steve, might be a bit better if you don’t spend all night with… wait let me think… Heidi?”
“Gigi, Robin! Gigi! Heidi moved out of Hawkins weeks ago, do you listen to me at all?!” He pouted like an annoyed little boy.
“Dude, they sound the same, weren’t they also both blondes? It’s not my fault you move so quickly, don’t blame me for not keeping up!” She shoved him playfully and a grin reappeared on Steve’s face.
“I’m not moving that quickly, Hawkins is still a small town and I really want to find the one, not just sleep my way around. Oh and didn’t you also spend the night at Vick’s? How are you not tempted to sleep through the job?”
Robin stands up from her chair to get the next record ready to play, “Nah, she had to swap her nightshift, so I spend the night all alone in my own empty bed.” Now it was her time to pout.
Steve’s eyes lit up, “So she’s free tonight? Why don’t you invite her over for Squawk night? I’m sure Nance and Jonathan are fine with her joining, she’s a fun girl!” Robin showed some reluctance. “C’mon Rob, you like her, you like us, what’s stopping you?”
“Steve…” Robin sighed, “You know what’s stopping me. I don’t want Vick to join as a fifth friend in our little group,” Steve tried to interrupt her, “Not because I don’t like her enough, or because I don’t like you guys enough. It’s just… I like her a lot, you know?” She skillfully swapped to the next song to play on the radio, “I don’t want to introduce her as only a friend, and I don’t think I’m there yet to tell the truth.”
Now it was Steve’s turn to sigh, “Rob, you know you can tell them right? Vickie really likes it when we hang out with the three of us, because you don’t have to hide anything. I’m sure Jonathan and Nance won’t treat you differently if you tell them how it really is. You remember them being totally supportive of Will right?”
“I know, Steve.” Robin began fidgeting with her rings, “It’s just, scary, you know? Like, they probably will be fine with it and they know Vick already and they all seem to get along. But to actually stand up and tell them, it’s just different.”
“You told me you like girls when I wasn’t even sure we were friends yet!”
“I told you when we were both real fucking high on Russian truth serum, remember, dingus?”
Steve tried to come up with another argument to convince his friend to tell her truth. “You told Will! You told him about your crush on Tammy and you even told him how you figured out Vickie liked you back!”
“Yeah, because I saw him struggling with his own feelings. And because I literally caught him catching me and Vick making out.”
“So that’s the plan!” Steve exclaimed, “You will invite Vick over tonight, because you like her and us, and what would be better than your friend and your girlfriend hanging out with you at the same time? And then we just make sure Jon and Nance catch you when you will eventually make out after I feed you both drunk!”
Robin laughed at him, “Alright alright Stevie, I will call her and ask her what she’s doing tonight.” Steve looked her way hopeful, “But!” His smile dropped a little bit, “No feeding us drunk! We will just hangout with the five of us, and I will tell them once the time is right.” Steve’s smile returned on his face.
“Deal!”
Robin turned a new record on again and Steve played a short saxophone soundbite as she shortly introduced the next song by David Torn.
~~~
Nancy pulled up to the parking spot next to the WSQK building. She decided to stay a bit late at work to finish a piece she had been working on this week. As she arrived, she saw both Jonathan’s and Steve’s cars already parked in their usual spots. Along with another tiny car she didn’t immediately recognize.
Wondering who could be the unknown visitor, Nancy headed inside the building with a bottle of booze and a deck of cards in her bag. A note greeting her in the entrance hallway in Steve’s messy handwriting.
“We already started catching up downstairs Nancy! Please lock the door as soon as you’re here! -S”
The note read. She smiled to herself at the idea they finally could just leave doors open and leave notes like this. No more secrets, no more being super careful, just some friends hanging out. Nancy locked the door behind her and headed towards the basement.
“Party people!” she walked into the room where they once made all their plans to defeat all evil encapturing Hawkins. After this was no longer needed, Robin and Steve moved some thrifted couches into the room and patched up an old coffee table to create a nice and cozy vibe perfect for their little hangout spot.
“Wheeler in the house!” Steve met Nancy’s greeting, lifting his red cup in the air. “Finally off work, ey?”
She nodded, quickly scanning the room. Steve was standing at the improvised bar near the entrance of the room, probably mixing some hellish drinks for his friends. Jonathan was perched on the lounge chair, skimming through one of the radio station’s boxes to probably find a nice record to start their evening with. Across Jonathan on one of the old couches, she spotted Robin, her hair looking shorter than the last time she saw her, with the unexpected guest sitting next to her. Nancy immediately recognized Vickie. Her red hair and bright colourful clothes being a nice contrast to the cozy but dim and moody basement. Vickie waved and smiled excitedly.
“Nance, finally!” Robin jumped up from the couch, gesturing to Nancy to come in for a hug, “I thought you got locked up at that post office.”
Nancy walked into Robin's warm and welcoming hug without any thought. She sat down on the coffee table opposing the other two girls, as Robin got back in her seat.
“Rob and I thought it would be fun to invite Vickie as well!” Steve said, joining them around the coffee table as he saw Nancy eyeing the redhead. “You know? To hang out and get to know each other some more after the whole…” He gestured into the air.
Robin added to her friend’s explanation. “Yeah, Vick and I are… good friends, and sometimes Steve hangs out with us as well, so ehm, we thought it could be fun to add some fresh blood to the hangout nights.”
Nancy couldn’t help but smile at Robin’s unnecessary rambling. Of course it was fine to bring a friend, and Vickie seems fun. Especially as she isn’t a total stranger to what the rest of them had been through.
“The more the merrier!” Jonathan cheered as he got up to play the record he picked out.
Steve handed out the drinks he mixed to his friends. “Bottoms up!”
Robin choked on hers, “You dingus, this is way too strong! What did I tell you this morning?” Steve didn’t manage to get away fast enough to avoid a playful slap on the head. He rubbed the spot she hit while winking.
Nancy couldn’t resist but mention Robin’s haircut, as the short bob framed her face perfectly. She made s snipping gesture towards her own hair, “Robin, did you–?”
Vickie interrupted her, “Yeah! She finally let me cut it over the weekend! Looks so much better this short again huh?” She twirled the wavy hair close to Robin’s neck, who started blushing a little.
“It so does Robin, can’t believe I actually missed your bobcut.”
Robin started blushing even more, “I, I, I, I just didn’t really know if I wanted to grow my hair out, but you know, it started to annoy me so much that it was touching my shoulders so much once we were done fighting evil.” She shared a look with Vickie, “And like, I kept doubting until Vick convinced me to just let her cut it again.” She now twirled a strand of her hair herself, “Glad you like it, Nance.”
~~~
After Robin finished her – way too strong – drink, she decided to mix her own at the little bar. As soon as Steve saw her moving towards the corner of the room, he joined his friend.
“So, Rob, wasn’t a bad idea right? Bringing Vick with you?” He and Robin both looked over at Vickie who was in a passionate conversation with Nancy and Jonathan about Three Men and a Baby, which they apparently all watched separately at The Hawk Theater.
“Hmm.” She nodded, “It’s annoying to admit you might have been right.”
Steve shoves her with his elbow, “You don’t have to say it, the look on your face says enough.”
Robin can’t help herself smiling at the thought of her girlfriend and her – albeit trauma-bonded – friend group getting along. Absent-mindedly, she starts twisting and turning her rings again. She grabbed her cup before Steve could throw any more Scotch in it, and mixed her own drink, accidentally pouring more vodka in it than she planned to.
Nancy and Vickie were laughing over something, their knees brushing together. Them getting along seemed easy, as if it was just the two of them together. Nancy leaned in to Vickie as the redheaded girl seemed to make another joke, quietly and unguardedly mirroring each other's motions. Robin felt warm inside seeing the two important girls in her life getting along – but it was different than the way she felt when Steve and Vickie started building their friendship. It was a softer, unfamiliar feeling.
She couldn’t look away from the girls.
“Huh.” she let out softly.
“Boy and girls! Who wants to play a game?” Steve grabbed the deck of cards out of Nancy’s bag and brought a bottle of booze with him as he joined the group around the coffee table.
Robin followed him towards the group, drink in her hand, unable to shake the feeling out of her chest.