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After the gates cracked open across Hawkins, the whole town had been in chaos. Military curfews, a quarantine, and crawls. Robin tried to go on as normal, but the watchful eye of the government and potentially even Vecna had her on edge constantly. Vickie and her family had left town just before the lockdown, meaning any chance of something between them was gone. Robin had headed over to Nancy's that night in tears. The first girl she ever had a chance with was out of her life forever, and she was still stuck in this hell. Nancy held and comforted her all night, telling her how she'd never leave her and they always had each other, no matter what. When Nancy broke things off with Jonathan, Robin did the same, and their relationship only grew closer.
Robin's house had become unbearable for her. Her mother constantly trying to police everything she did. So despite how crammed the Wheeler house already was, Robin would wind up staying there often, some weeks almost every day. Sometimes, they'd both just share the space, doing their own thing. Nancy working on her articles, though there wasn't much to work on with the military censoring and monitoring everything. And Robin would sit planning her script and set list for the radio, playing the music to fill the room lightly. But other times, they'd just sit together, talking until the sun went down. Then on bad nights, where their nightmares and fears enveloped them, they would lay in Nancy's bed, holding each other close. Despite the chaos of the Wheeler house, to Robin, it was home.
They hardly ever left each other's side. Every crawl mission was planned and executed together. Robin trusted Nancy's planning skills more than anyone, and Nancy could count on Robin to back up her plans. They both worked perfectly together.
When a Demogorgon had attacked Nancy's home, Robin stuck by her side through all of it. The sight of Karen's bloodied body would haunt them both forever, but at least Nancy didn't have to deal with it alone. When they'd gotten to the hospital, they both headed to separate bathrooms to wash the blood off. But Robin knew Nancy. She'd be in that bathroom blaming herself, and she couldn't let that happen. Not before the shame and guilt festered.
The door was locked so Robin lightly knocked in her usual pattern, letting Nancy know who was outside the door. A few minutes past and the door hadn't budged. She could hear the tap still running from inside. Robin knew she had to say something, anything.
"Nance," her tone soft, "I'm here. Please let me in. I promise there's no one else around," Robin knew that last line might just convince Nancy enough. She was the only person she trusted enough. She knew she didn't have to be strong all the time around Robin.
The door lock slowly clicked open and there she stood, blood still coating her clothes. Her face was red with tears and before Robin could say anything more, Nancy grabbed her hand carefully and pulled her inside. She guided her towards the sink but then they both just stood for a moment. Robin looked down towards Nancy's hands and saw the blood still stained on them. She gently grabbed both of them and began to clean them under the warm water, being as careful as she could.
"This isn't your fault Nance. I know you tend to blame yourself for stuff like this but promise me you won't. Not this time. We did everything we could, you did everything you could. Your mom and dad will be okay and we'll find Holly, together."
She had finished washing Nancy's hands clean and dried them. As soon as she had, Nancy threw herself into Robin's chest, burying her head and crying more. They stayed like that for a while, not saying anything, just holding each other so the world didn't swallow them whole.
A while had passed and Nancy was set up in the Turnbow estate, attempting to lure the Demogorgon out. Phase by phase the plan had gone flawlessly but just as the Demo clawed its way back into the Upside Down, Steve, Nancy, Jonathan and Dustin got into the Beamer and tracked it across town.
The Demogorgon, honing in on Derek, had found where they had hidden him. It bashed its way through the barn doors and Will collapsed to the floor. Joyce ran to his side while Robin grabbed hold of the axe nearby to fend off the creature.
Then, she felt it. Its sharp claws tearing through her abdomen. Pain stung through her body and she collapsed to the ground. As it went in for the kill, Steve hit it with his car, knocking the creature down. Before anyone could react, it got itself back up, albeit injured, and grabbed hold of Robin, smelling the blood soaking out of her. It turned tail and dragged her into the Upside Down with it.
"Steve. Drive," Nancy said, almost calm in her tone.
He froze for a moment, in shock at what he had just seen.
"STEVE! DRIVE AFTER HER!" Nancy screamed at him now.
He put his foot fully down and they squeezed their way through the gate, crashing into a wall on the other side. They quickly gathered themselves, getting out of the car to look for Robin. They didn't need to search far, as they found her curled up just outside a nearby church. The Demogorgon must've dropped her in its injured state.
Nancy dropped her gun and rushed up to her, "I'm here Robin. Oh my God, I'm here," tears began to come into her eyes.
"Hey, Nance, didn't think I'd see you here," she let out a slight smile as she said it.
Nancy examined Robin's wound. Luckily, it wasn't as deep as she'd worried, "A few stitches on this and you'll be okay. You'll have some kick ass scars though."
"Hey! Don't make me laugh, it hurts," Robin chuckled.
She took her jacket off and wrapped it around Robin's wound to stop the bleeding. They all went inside the church to discuss their next course of action. Nancy keeping Robin close, making sure she was alright. They all sat for a while, before Dustin came up with a plan. They had a way to find out the cause of all of this once and for all, and end it.
The group set off across the infested Hawkins towards the lab, Nancy supporting Robin's walking the whole way, although she could probably walk on her own. The lab had become quite familiar to all of them over the years, so it was easy to find. Once they entered, they made their way through its corridors until they reached a stairway. The plan was simple, find the "energy shield" as Dustin had called it, and destroy it.
"If we split up we'll cover more ground," Nancy said.
Steve pleaded with her to change the teams up. Him, Dustin and Jonathan had been arguing non stop the whole way.
"We don't have time for this! And Robin doesn't need to hear anymore of you three arguing. We'll go to the roof, you guys stick together. End of discussion."
Nancy helped Robin up the stairs, tuning out the pleas and whines of the others. At least they both didn't have to listen to anymore bickering. Then, when they reached the roof, they saw it. A giant orb, twisting and contorting with some kind of energy. Nancy remembered Dustin's plan. Destroy it.
She raised her shotgun towards it. Robin placed her hand on Nancy's shoulder but didn't say anything. She trusted her completely. She aimed her shot just right, and…
BANG!
The next thing Nancy knew, she'd fallen into some kind of office room that was quickly beginning to melt into a pure white liquid. She hastily examined the room for Robin and found her almost completely submerged in the goo.
"Robin, wake up!" Nancy pleaded.
The liquid around Robin was tainted a pinkish red. Shit, she was bleeding.
Robin awoke and was quickly helped to her feet by Nancy, the wound on her sending pain across her body as she moved. Nancy tried to find a way out of the room but to no avail. Anything she did had no effect. They were trapped.
"Nance," Robin said, but Nancy didn't turn, instead bashing even harder on the walls, "Nancy!"
She turned to face Robin, who had placed herself atop the table in the centre of the room. Nancy dashed across the room to climb upon the table herself before the liquid devoured her legs. She tightened up her jacket around Robin's wound to counteract the bleeding that had started again. They both then screamed for help to no avail. No one was coming.
Nancy kept screaming until she heard the faint sound of someone crying. She glanced down to see Robin's head held low, and inklings of tears falling to her knees.
"We're getting out of here, I promise," Nancy assured her. But it didn't console Robin.
"Hey, look at me," she asked, and Robin did look, "We are getting out of here. I won't let anything more happen to you. Not ever again."
As she said that, she grabbed hold of Robin's hands, rubbing circles into her knuckles to comfort her.
"Can I ask you something?" Nancy said, trying to cut the tension of the situation. "Why'd you spend so much time at my house? I mean it's chaos there," she laughed.
Robin chuckled, her tears beginning to slow now, "It's because of my mom. I mean she'd berate me for anything I did. I'd always talk too much, or say the wrong thing. I was always 'too much' for her. But your family. You. Never judged me for any of that. Your house became the home I never had."
"I'm so sorry Robbie," the nickname slipping out of Nancy's mouth like it was the most natural thing in the world. They sat there in silence for a few moments longer until Robin spoke up.
"But that's not the only reason I stayed so much," she hesitated to say, "I don't know when it happened, but being around you made me feel things I'd never felt before. Not even with Vickie. You just make me happy and like I don't have to pretend to be anyone I'm not. But I never said anything because I knew you'd never feel that way about me. Seeing as we're about to die anyway, I just want you to know, I love you, Nancy Wheeler." Tears had begun to creep back into Robin's eyes now.
Nancy sat there stunned and Robin tried to pull away, ashamed of what she had just said. But Nancy pulled her closer than before. Their hands still held together and their knees now touching.
"I think I should tell you something then too," Nancy eventually replied.
Robin glanced up at her, confusion settling on her face. Nancy dropped her gaze towards Robin's hands, continuing to rub circles into them.
"I didn't just break up with Jonathan because things weren't going well between us. That was a big reason. Just not the whole one. That spring, I'd found someone else, someone who just got me you know? With her, it's like I didn't have to explain myself or doubt myself because she believed in me, more than anyone has before."
Nancy's grip on Robin's hands began to tighten ever so slightly, "Then when the world went to hell, she stuck by me. And I found myself never wanting to be away from this girl. With her, I just felt whole."
She looked back up at Robin now, meeting her eyes, "So of course I feel that way about you. I love you, Robin Buckley."
Tears fell from both their eyes but not of sadness anymore. No, they were tears of joy, of their hearts finally being lifted. They smiled at each other, pressing their foreheads together as the room around them continued to melt.
"I wish we had more time," Robin quietly pleaded.
"Me too. But let's make the most of what we have."
With that, their lips connected. It was a tender kiss, yet filled with passion. The passion of two people who had loved each other for longer than either had realised. While the world collapsed around them, all they could do was embrace each other. Because for this one moment, they were together, how they'd both wished for what felt like eternity. And then-
BANG!
They both jumped as the wall behind them was punched through. In the heat of the moment, neither of them had seen that the goo had solidified around them.
Steve called through the opening in the wall, "Are you guys alright in there? We heard you screaming."
All they could do was laugh. Relief washed over them as they both realised they weren't going to die, and they'd have the time they'd both wished for. They hugged each other tightly, though Nancy was cautious not to aggravate Robin's wound, and then, just before they had to go back out and face the world again, they kissed one last time.
"Let's get you out of here Robbie. Bandaged up and resting. In my bed though," Nancy grinned at her.
"I wouldn't have it any other way Nance," Robin replied, tucking a strand of hair behind Nancy's ear before they headed out.