Chapter Text
From the moment Robin Buckley first met Will Byers, she was immediately endeared by him.
And no, barely catching a glance of him when the brats harassed Steve to let them sneak into the movies through Scoops Ahoy did not count as a first meeting. She didn’t know his name back then, in fact, she hadn’t even realized that Will had been a part of Henderson’s annoying little Starcourt gang until years later. The thought had crept up on her late at night as she laid in bed trying to sleep, grabbed her by the shoulders and shook them until her brain let out a resounding “Aha!” No, the two of them wouldn’t officially meet until 1986, when Will, Jonathan, El, and Mike returned to Hawkins.
It was in the days after everything went down with Vecna and all Hell broke loose in Hawkins, that the two were finally introduced to each other.
She and Steve had arrived at Hopper’s cabin to assist with clean up duty. Steve had been recruited by Nancy, and Robin naturally followed like the pair of bonded cats they were. The cabin itself was still standing, the structural integrity lending it some good fortune that was not extended to all of Hawkins. There was debris scattered across the lawn and in small patches throughout the surrounding woods the scent of scrap metal, damp wood, and cigarettes permeating the air.
Robin, while not particularly invested in fixing up the cabin, expressed to Steve that they should stick together.
Steve replied tiredly, “Robin, it’s okay,” He ran a hand through his hair, the strands greasy and unkempt.
“Nance said they have plenty of people helping out right now. I got this. Why don’t you just go home and get some rest, okay?”
Robin was quick to shut this down.
“I just think that we need a buddy system or something!” She put her hands on her hips as she followed Steve to his car. “Maybe I should just put a child leash on you. Who knows what you’ll get up to without me there to supervise?”
Steve shot her a nasty glare. He opened his mouth to refute her statement, but his words died down upon seeing the nervous look on Robin’s face. The girl’s eyes darted around quickly, and her grandiose hand gestures almost disguised a faint tremble. Steve stopped walking, Robin following suit soon after she realized he had ceased movement.
They looked at each other, both suddenly hit with the weight of what had happened in the past few days. The battle against Vecna. Eddie’s death. Max’s near death. Neither of them spoke. They just looked at each other, their eyes holding each other as if to say, I’m here. Tears began to well up in Robin’s eyes as she tried to stop her lips from trembling. The look on her was raw and Steve felt himself getting choked up as the girl’s grief mirroring his own.
He swallowed hard and attempted a half-hearted smirk.
“You just can’t stay away from this pretty face, can you?”
Steve’s smile was entirely unconvincing, his voice shaking too much to seem real.
Robin let out a small, watery laugh despite this. She laughed because if she didn’t, she knew they would both burst out crying. Steve’s lip quirked up, a faint trace of a real smile cracking through. They stood there in front of Steve’s car, weakly laughing. It was all they could do for a moment. Eventually, Steve spoke.
“Don’t you think you should be with your family right now? They probably wouldn’t want you gallivanting around town with everything that’s going on. I bet they’re worried sick.”
The unspoken words sat heavy in the air.
I bet they’re worried sick.
Unlike mine.
Robin cleared her throat. She met Steve’s eyes and said, “I’m with my family right now.”
Steve was struck by the earnestness of her tone. He looked at Robin, detecting nothing but total honesty from the girl. Fondness surged through his chest, so much he could drown in it. Steve was stunned, not knowing what to reply with.
Robin took pity on him and kept her voice light.
"Besides, I can’t leave you in that McMansion all by yourself,” She winked.
“You’re too stupid, you could get lost in a place like that.” Robin opened the passenger side door of the car, ducking inside to avoid the man’s gaze.
Steve broke free from his trance and raced to the driver’s seat.
“Hey!”
The two continued to play-bicker as they settled into the car. Their voices eventually trailed off as Steve drove to Hopper’s cabin, leaving a comfortable silence behind. Though he would never admit to it, Steve had to catch himself from smiling every once in a while when he looked at Robin through the corner of his eye.
Robin noticed and kept her gaze firmly on the passing scenery as she looked out the passenger window. If she had to fight down a smile of her own, she too, would never admit to it.
Steve hurried ahead as soon as they made it to the cabin.
Jesus Christ, Robin thought. Ditching me already? Maybe I really do need to put a leash on him.
Steve rushed to Nancy’s side, likely already having a few ideas of how he could bother Jonathan. Robin shook her head and huffed in annoyance.
This annoyance quickly turned into amusement, however, as she saw Jonathan lean in close to Steve, enough that their faces were nearly touching. Robin couldn’t hear their conversation from this distance, but saw Johnathan’s sharp expression. Steve shut his mouth in shock and stomped away almost embarrassedly. Robin looked to Steve, then to Jonathan. Back to Steve, then Jonathan again.
Is he..?
Blushing?
The girl mentally cackled.
Oh, he is so gonna hear about this from her later.
Robin always knew that there were other people in Hawkins who were like her, that there statistically had to be. Now, she wasn’t going to name any names, but if she had to guess who might be on that list…
With Steve elsewhere, the girl looked around, pretending to look busy. She prayed that someone would give her an actual task before she started stacking and unstacking 2x4s in an effort to seem useful.
Her prayers seemed to be answered as an annoyingly overconfident (and fortunately, familiar) voice called out to her.
“Hey Robin, get over here! I have someone I want you to meet!”
Robin, grateful for the excuse, tried not to look too eager as she speed-walked over to the voice’s owner.
Dustin stood next to the nearby dirt road, his body leaning against Steve’s car like he was its true owner. Next to him stood a boy who looked to be about the same as Dustin.
The first thing Robin noticed about him was the bowlcut. While unfashionable, Robin thought it was kind of cute. It gave the boy a, “little brother figure whose hair you always want to ruffle” vibe that she could respect. Distinctive hairstyle aside, the boy had delicate facial features, and wasn’t particularly tall or short. As Robin approached the two boys, the unknown boy’s eyes came into focus.
Oh Wow, she thought to herself.
While not even remotely attracted to boys, Robin had eyes, which meant she could appreciate beauty. And this boy’s eyes were gorgeous. They were a pretty hazel, the warm coffee and earthy green colors intermixing perfectly. They were endlessly large and lent him a welcoming softness that Robin was not used to seeing in teenage boys. She found herself getting lost in those irises until Dustin startled her with his booming voice.
“Robin, I’d like you to meet Will Byers. He’s one of my best friends, as well as the cleric of our party.” Dustin beamed, wrapping an arm around Will in a friendly side hug. The other boy rolled his eyes, looking mildly embarrassed but mostly just amused.
“Hi.”
Will smiled shyly, offering a little wave from his position at Dustin’s side.
Robin liked him immediately. He was awkwardly adorable in a way that she could never pull off (Vickie would vehemently disagree with this upon hearing about their first meeting). Robin stepped forward, sticking her arm out.
She smiled back.
“Hi. I’m Robin. Robin Buckley. Hopefully Rockin’ Robin in the future, but I’m still workshopping that one at the moment.”
Will took her hand, reciprocating the handshake.
Standing this close to Will had given the girl an opportunity to examine him closer, namely his denim jacket and the scattering of pins on the lapels. At the very top stood a hard enamel pin of a 20 sided die.
That must be some dungeons and dragons shit that Dustin told me about.
To the right sat a simple white button with dark blue text that read, “What’s a nice kid like me doing in a place like this?” Robin’s eye caught on to the jacket's innermost pin, where it was fastened adjacent to the boy’s chest. It featured a brightly colored rainbow forming an arc over a white cloud, the rainbow’s edge ending in a love heart. The text on this one was settled on the cloud. It read, “INVITE A RAINBOW INTO YOUR HEART.”
Robin’s own heart skipped a beat.
She croaked out, “I like your pins, by the way.”
Will looked at Robin, following her gaze down to the rainbow pin. His face began to look nervous
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Robin smiled encouragingly. “They’re cool. You’ll have to tell me where you got them.”
It was then that Will smiled, a real smile, not just a polite smile reserved for acquaintances. His upper lip moved just enough to reveal two front teeth that were just slightly longer than the rest.
Holy Shit. Bunny teeth.
Robin was overcome with the overwhelming urge to squeeze something. Violently. The boy may have been a couple inches taller than her, but in Robin's eyes, he may as well have been only five apples tall.
Dustin clapped Will on the back, his voice proud. “Will here also just happens to be the best artist in all of Hawkins,”
“Seriously, his work is insane. You'll have to look at it sometime.” Dustin grinned as Will blushed. Despite his embarrassment at Dustin’s bragging, Will let out a little giggle, obviously entertained by his friend's exaggerating.
Oh no. Not the giggle. Robin suddenly felt the urge to wrap him in a blanket and hand him a mug of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.
Dustin looked back at Will and the two shared a glance.
I missed you.
I missed you too.
The boys were clearly good friends with years of history. Robin watched them, finding herself both happy for them and a little envious of their relationship. Robin loved Steve (and yes, even Dustin too) but they were relatively new to her life. Robin struggled to maintain old friendships as she grew older, and building new ones was always a gamble.
She hated agonizing over whether someone would react with indifference, hatred, or acceptance at the real her. It was hard to tell sometimes how someone would react. A girl could give her kind words and reassurances, only to avoid her altogether after hearing a few rumors.
Sometimes there were signs, however.
Robin glanced at Will, taking in his welcoming face and the pins on his jacket. In that moment, she dared to hope that she might come to find a friend in Will Byers.
In the months before Vecna began targeting local teens, Robin spent most of her time with Steve, and by extension, Dustin. She didn't get it at first. It being Steve and Dustin’s…special…relationship.
Robin was an only child and it showed in her reaction to an argument between the two boys. Dustin visited Family Video what seemed like every day to harass them when he was bored. Steve had scolded the younger boy about one thing or another. Dustin told Steve he was being an asshole. Steve turned around and refused to speak while Dustin stomped out of the store.
Robin kept her comments to herself until the next morning, when Dustin returned, and the boys conversed as though nothing happened the day before.
“Why do you always hang out with him if he’s such a little shit to you?” she asked as soon as Dustin left and the door closed behind him.
“What?”
“He totally pissed you off yesterday and now you’re acting like best friends again. It’s weird.”
Steve wiped a hand on his face as he contemplated her question.
“I don’t know…I mean yeah, he can be a little asshole sometimes, but…I love the guy.”
He looked away wistfully.
“I don’t have any siblings. I always wanted a little brother though. God, I wanted one so bad. But I guess it just…never happened.”
“But then, one day, Dustin happened,” A smile took over Steve’s face.
“This little–” he paused.
“--nerd came up to me and demanded my help. He snatched the flowers I got for Nance and marched right up to my car and got in.”
The man shook his head fondly.
“My first thought was, Jesus, this kid is rude. But he needed my help. And there was no one else around to do it.”
“And then even after all the demodog stuff, he would come to me about stuff like girls, and hairstyling-”
“Hairstyling?” Robin interrupted gleefully.
“Shut up–as I was saying. The kid kept coming to me. At first it was for advice, and then it was just to talk. To hang out. And before I knew it, this rude, rude child wasn’t just rude. He was funny. And kind. And after that, I just knew…” Steve’s voice trailed off
Robin perked up, curious.
“...Knew what?”
Steve’s voice was soft in a way she’d never heard before. He shrugged weakly, his shoulders resigned but not unhappy.
“I knew I was gonna keep him.”
“What?” Robin barked out a laugh.
“Keep him? What, like some kind of dog?”
Steve grabbed the pencil on the counter in front of them and hurled it at his friend.
“Not like that, you idiot!”
“Just like, a little brother or something I guess. Sure, he gets on my nerves,”
“But I’d die for that kid.”
Robin froze.
Steve turned to look her in the eye, his own eyes steeled.
“I’d die for him.”
Steve held her gaze with an intensity that almost frightened her.
She backpedalled, trying to ease the sudden tension. “Okay. Got it. Totally. Annoying but you love him. I can see that.”
Steve coughed, realizing he got a little more serious than the conversation called for.
“Anyways. Yeah. That's why. No matter how many times he pisses me off, I'l always want him to come back. If he didn’t, I think I’d end up depressed or something.”
“Dustin really came to you for hair advice?”
Robin asked incredulously. She imagined a tiny 13 year old Dustin with a perfectly coiffed pompadour.
“More importantly, he asked you about girls? Despite your track record?”
Steve grits his teeth.
“Yes. Besides, he's always asking me about shit I suck at.”
“I think...I think he knows that I'm not always the best guy to look up to. It's more like…he asks because I'm there. I'm like, his person, or something.”
The man turned his attention towards Robin, “Maybe you outta get your own Henderson.”
“What? Why?” Robin was confused. Weren't they just talking about Steve and not her?
“It might do you some good. Help you out with that only child syndrome of yours.”
Robin gawked. “What the hell? I don't have only child syndrome, you dick.”
Steve held up his hands in defense.
“Whatever you say, Buckley. Must be nice living in denial.”
“Ugh. Whatever. You're more like a dad to Dustin than a big brother, anyway. And I am so not ready to be a single parent.”
Steve looked both offended and stunned.
“Dad? Dad?? For your information, I look waaaaay too young to be someone's dad.”
Robin scoffed, “I didn't say you looked like his dad, dipshit, just that you're like his dad.
C'mon, you give him advice about girls, you give rides everywhere, you let him borrow money after he whines even though you say won't.”
As Steve was about to disagree, the bell above the door chimed, signaling a customer. He settled for shooting Robin a pointed look before attending to the man who walked in. Robin huffed a laugh under her breath and went to straighten the tapes in the “romcom” section.
As her fingers ran over “Sixteen Candles,” Robin contemplated Steve's words.
A Henderson of my own, huh?
Robin always meant to get to know Will better after that day at the cabin, but in between Crawls and broadcasting at The Squawk, social interaction wasn't always top priority.
She and Will didn’t get to have many in-depth conversations until the final days before Vecna was killed.
She could never forget one of the first conversations they had alone, as they hurriedly stole the meds needed to sedate Derek and his family. Robin had ducked away from the door’s window to hide from Vickie, dragging Will down with her like a child tugging on a new puppy’s leash. Will had looked at her so hopefully, his voice hesitant.
“How did you know that Vickie wanted to–”
“--To make out?”
“To date?”
Oh.
Will’s eyes were cautiously optimistic, and oh so big. He broke his gaze away from Robin, blushing like he was worried about coming off as childish.
Robin couldn’t stop a fond smile from forming.
Cute.
Robin was so sure that he’d been about to ask about kissing, maybe even something more, and she was caught off guard by his shy earnestness that bordered on innocence.
Though they had previous interactions, this moment signaled the beginnings of their unique relationship.
It was a few weeks after everything to do with Vecna and the military had settled down, when Robin came to a decision about Will. They sat together in the grass of Robin's backyard, on the edge right before the woods began, sketching quietly.
While not as classically gifted at art as Will, Robin had come to enjoy it in her own time. She off-handedly mentioned wanting to get more drawing once, and Will, sweet Will, had gifted her a sketchbook the very next day.
His cheeks reddened as he held it out to her.
“Really, Robin, it’s not a big deal. I have tons of them laying around and I’ll never fill all of them up.”
Robin doubted this– she’d seen Will’s work and knew he had a million neverending ideas constantly turning in his brain.
The girl was about to reject the sketchbook but her heart melted once she got a good look at Will. His body was tense and hesitant, like he was unsure if his offering would be met kindly.
Robin’s smile became impossibly soft.
Oh, Will.
Before he could lose confidence and change his mind, Robin took the gift from his hands.
“You’ll have to give me some ideas on what to draw, little Byers. Show me what that big beautiful brain can come up with.”
Will’s spine straightened, his head perked up. He smiled brightly, the little bunny teeth making an appearance.
“Yeah! Totally. We can brainstorm together,”
His expression turned a little shy again.
“If you want to, that is. I just think it would be nice, doing it together.”
Robin pulled Will in for a hug. He stiffened, surprised by the open affection.
Robin started to pull away, fearing she was making Will uncomfortable, when he relaxed and returned the embrace. He held on to her tightly, and she felt herself squeezing him back.
Before she realized it, Robin’s hand came up to tenderly cradle the back of his head. After a moment, Robin stepped back from the hug. She smoothed Will’s hair back, not unlike how she’d seen Joyce do in the past.
“Yeah. That would be nice. We could have our own little secret art club. Just the two of us.”
They shared a warm smile, content to be in like company.
Robin kept true to her promise. Every couple of weeks when they could find time in between work and school, they got together to draw. There was no set meeting place – one week it was the library, another week the local coffee shop. Sometimes they talked as they sketched, other times they reserved space for a pleasant silence. It was nice. Will was nice. They were nice together.
It was early afternoon on a Saturday when the teenagers sat drawing in Robin's yard. Robin was sketching out a rough draft for a comic she was creating, her tongue sticking out as she erased the page once again. A few feet away, Will sat with his legs crossed, his face serene as he drew the forest scenery around them.
After minutes of comfortable silence, Will spoke.
“Hey Robin?”
Robin's concentration broke as she looked away from the sketchpad.
“What's up, buddy?”
“Can I…ask you for your opinion on something?”
“Of course, Will.”
“What do you think of my clothes?”
“Oh. Well. Your clothes are fine? I guess? Not that there's anything wrong with them, I'm just not sure what you're getting at.”
“Well...what would you think if I wanted to wear different clothes? Like, different from what I usually wear.” Will paused.
“D-do you think I'd look good in yellow?”
The boy unintentionally gave his best impression of a puppy, his eyes sparkling wetly.
Deja vu hit Robin.
“...even after all the demodog stuff, he would come to me about stuff like girls, and hairstyling-”
Oh.
Oh!
Will came to her. To Robin. For advice.
It clicked.
Oh god. Is Will my Dustin? Am I Steve? Are his clothes my hairstyling advice?
Robin began to panic internally.
Wait. I'm not fashionable. Does he think I’d have good fashion tips??
Steve’s resolute voice echoes in the back of her head, the words crawling up like a spider with annoyingly perfect hair.
“...he asks because I'm there. I'm his person, or something.”
Robin's heart skipped a beat as warmth engulfed her chest. Her ribs felt swollen and achey, like her heart grew three sizes like she was the goddamn Grinch.
“Nevermind, it was just something silly…” Will trailed off as his confidence wavered at Robin’s silence.
“--No!” Robin cried out loudly enough to startle the boy in front of her.
Will spoke, his voice confused and hesitant.
“No?”
Robin grimaced and lifted her hands in what she hoped came off as a reassuring gesture.
“Sorry. I just meant. No, as in, no, it’s not silly. I just haven’t seen you wear a whole lot of yellow before. Give me a second to imagine it.”
She closed her eyes, willing her brain to generate images of Will in yellow.
The first picture that came up was the boy donning a neon, highlighter-yellow t-shirt. The shirt would look horrible on anybody but especially on hypothetical-Will, who looked deeply uncomfortable to be wearing such an offending garment.
Ugh. definitely not.
She mentally swiped the image away to view the next one – a goldenrod and white striped dress shirt tucked into black jeans, accentuating a slim waist.
Hm. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Will looked on in amusement as Robin kept her eyes closed and seemed to be genuinely pondering his question.
A third image popped into Robin’s brain. A pale, pastel knit sweater in Crayola lemon yellow, paired with highwaisted jeans.
Oh yeah. That’s the one.
She opened her eyes.
“Okay. I’ve done the calculations.”
Will’s mouth quirked. He replied teasingly,
“Oh yeah? And what do your calculations say?”
She replied brightly, “They say that you could pull off most shades of yellow. So, yes. I think you’d look good as Hell in yellow.”
Will searched her face for any sign that she was lying to him out of pity, but all he saw was an authentic, toothy smile.
He asked hopefully, “You really think so?”
“Of course!” she replied enthusiastically.
“It’s just,” She shifted her legs.
“Why yellow specifically? Why not any other color?”
Will’s eyes grew sad once again.
He spoke quietly, “Yellow’s my favorite color…”
Robin was surprised. She ran through the usual outfits and variations that Will cycled through, but could only think of his worn out plaid button up.
Robin’s voice mellowed, “No. I didn’t know that,”
“Now that I think of it, your pencil case is yellow, isn’t it? The old tattered one you’ve had for years but you won’t throw out because it’s special to you, right?” Her eyes twinkled, “And you always eat the lemon starburst before all the other ones.”
A warm, snuggly feeling came over Will. He never realized that Robin noticed little details about him like that. A weight visibly lifted off his face and he began to explain the lack of yellow in his wardrobe.
“I’ve always liked yellow. We didn’t really have a lot of money, but sometimes Mom and I would go to the thrift store, mostly just to look. But sometimes I got to pick out a couple of things, a shirt here and there.”
Will cleared his throat, “I remember one time my mom found this crewneck sweatshirt with Tweety Bird on the front. The inside was so soft and I put it on before we even left the store,"
Robin grinned, picturing little Will so excited he could barely speak.
"We went home and I wanted to show Jonathan. I immediately went for his bedroom, but…my dad saw me…”
Robin’s heart dropped. She didn’t think she liked where this story was going.
Will continued, “He was sitting on the couch. Watching TV while drinking a beer, like he always did. I thought he wouldn’t notice me but he did,”
“He called me over to him. I didn’t want to go over there but I did. He asked me what I was wearing and–” Will’s voice choked up.
“I told him it was a new shirt. That I was just going to show Jonathan. And he– he grabbed the collar of the shirt and yanked me towards him. He told me to go change or that there’d be consequences. Sometimes I can still feel his breath on my neck," Will took a shaky breath.
"I didn’t understand why he was so upset at the time. I thought maybe he was mad that Mom had spent money on clothes we didn’t need. But I overhead him yelling to her that I looked…girly. That the shirt made me look like a girl.”
“I didn’t think I looked like a girl, and I was confused why looking like a girl would be a bad thing. But now I know.” He shook his head.
“I don’t agree with it, but now I know.”
Robin’s voice breached softly, “Will,”
“Your dad doesn’t know shit. There was nothing wrong with you or your shirt. You probably looked absolutely adorable and I’m sorry that man ruined it for you. I’m sorry that man is your father.”
Will cracked a small smile and tried to relieve some of the tension.
“You wanna know what I heard him say about the color yellow one time? Jonathan was wearing a plaid button-up, the one that I wear sometimes. Well, he told Jonathan to go change because yellow is, and I quote, “a color for broads.””
Robin wheezed,“WHAT?” Her laughter turned boisterous as she tried to catch her breath.
“Broads? BROADS? Does he think he’s Al Capone or something?? Does he call women “Toots” too?”
Will let out a genuine laugh.
“I know right? I couldn’t believe it. Jonathan just rolled his eyes and changed his shirt but I swear I saw his mouth just a little bit.”
Robin wagged a finger.
“Mark my words, Byers. Someday, when the world isn’t so shitty, and people learn to accept themselves and each other, your dad will be a caricature on SNL. The whole country’s gonna tune into national television and laugh at him. That man's a joke.”
Robin’s tone slipped into something sharp and bitter near the end, but Will found himself agreeing.
His smile, though no longer beaming, was still there.
“Yeah. He’s a joke.”
It felt good to say out loud. Will could never picture himself openly criticizing his father like that in the past, but times, and Will too, were changing. He could only hope the rest of the world would eventually follow.
“I’ll hold you to that. If they don’t make him a recurring character named Lonnie that everybody hates, I’m suing.”
Their laughter died off and after a moment, Robin asked, “Would you consider adding some yellow back into your closet? You said your dad’s never around anymore, but I know the things parents say to you can stick in your mind for years.”
Will considered it for a moment and answered, “Yeah. I think I’m ready to…explore myself a little more. Really get to know who I am, you know? I know I like yellow, but I don’t really know what kind of clothes I even like. All my life, I’ve just worn whatever was available. But things aren’t so bad anymore.”
“Let’s do it then,” Robin put her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Let’s get you some yellow clothes. We don’t even have to go to the mall over in Edinburgh. We can check out the thrift stores in town.”
“I think I can manage that,” Will admitted.
“Let’s do it.”
The two shook hands like they were forming a gentlemen’s agreement. Robin answered in kind,
“Let’s do it.”
Later that night, Robin found herself unable to forget the interaction with Will. His big, expressive eyes that went from nervous, to hopeful, to sad, then hopeful again. His smile that had the capacity to blind when fully utilized. Robin couldn’t stop herself from giggling, endeared by the boy’s mannerisms. It was then that she realized how far gone she was for the boy.
She slowly drifted into sleep, a faint smile on her lips.
I think I’m going to keep him.