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Walking to the car, legs sore, you do a full arm wave to your friends, trying to shake off their peer pressure to meet them at the after game party.
Finally alone, you yawn, rolling out my shoulders best you can with your bulky duffle bag.
You never thought you’d be a cheerleader. But then the upperclassmen roped you in with energetic songs, taught foundational leadership by example, and drilled in hard earned work ethic. Here you are now as co-captain of the damn cheer squad. Rewarding though painstakingly exhausting. Now you’re just aching to go home.
You grimace, rolling out your shoulders as much as you can again. The stubborn popping sound is heard under your worn bomber jacket.
Am earnest voice startles you back into yourself.
“Need an extra hand?”
You look up and see Robin, halfway inbetween walking towards you and staying put. Her hand clutches the strap of her own backpack while the other fingers with the hem of her sweater. Her cheeks were slightly pink, but that was probably the chill.
Your front crumbles slowly at her prescense.
“Robin…hey,” you smile quietly. Subconsciously brushing hair out of your face.
She perks up at her name, a glimpse of hope in her eyes. “You made it,” you chuckle.
Robin shoots a look, though playful. “This was a big one. I’d be stupid to miss it.” She frees her hands from their fidgeting position and holds them out to offer taking your bag.
You hesitate until you see the coaxing look in her eye. Your hands relax before handing it over as gingerly as the weight would let you.
“It still means a lot. Bet half the crowd couldn’t tell it was a new number.”
She chuckles. “No….they’re just there for The Show,” she adds quietly.
You hum under your breath, glancing away from her as you walk side by side to your car.
‘The Show’ was a term coined by you two- both painfully aware of the entertainment factor that cheerleading was for the crowd. Especially with the new uniforms that showed more ass than covered. The change in uniform was headed by your co-captain- who was certain it would draw a bigger crowd. And it did. At the expense of you all being on display. And in perpetual wedgies after performing stunts.
Speak of the devil, you squirmed a bit, hiking the bottom hem down on both legs.
Robin gives a side glance, and quickly looks away, the tips of her eyes turning pink.
You chuckle slightly. She looks at you questioningly but you wave it off smiling.
“Sorry I couldn’t find you from my spot….the crowd was…particularly rowdy tonight,” you say, bumping her shoulder with yours. It was honestly all a blur. Most games are.
She scoffs under her breath. “And rabid.”
You raise my brow, smiling slightly. “How so?” You tug her, sleeve gently, guiding her to your car.
You pop the trunk as she place it inside. Once off her shoulder she pauses, hesitant. You both lean against my trunk, silent. She looks up at you, then glances back at your painfully short skirt.
Wind rushes through the emptying lot, bringing goosebumps up and down your legs. You grit your teeth, pressing your thighs together.
“The new uniforms have brought a real turnout is all…” Robin mumbles, her face now a little pink.
You huff, tilting your head at her, noting her blush. “Mmm…nice to see it’s still working right now..”
Robin sputters, tearing her gaze away. She’s quiet before she turns back to you, avoiding looking at your legs.
“You….you look good.”
You blink. Heat blooms in your chest and cheeks.
“And-and I don’t mean that in a predatory way! Like far from that please understand-“ Robin launches into a full ramble, her own face growing pinker.
“Robs…” you chuckle quietly. “It’s okay, I know you aren’t objectifying me”
She clams down, nodding, though still blushing.
“But maybe the uniform helped bring you to the game still…?”
“Y/N!” Robin gives a playful shove. You laugh fully now, shoving her back. She smirks at you, catching your hand with hers. Your hands interlace slowly, settling into your lap. The warmth of her hand seeps starts to eat away at the chill.
She squeezes your hand once and then it’s your turn to look down and away from her gaze.
You’d have moments like these- accidental eye contact that makes the two of you both red in the face, prolonged hugs after school that have started to become ritual, or taking any opportunity to be near each other. Like her going out to a rowdy football game to watch a new cheer routine that you’ve been complaining about to her for weeks.
She smiles at me, shaking her head. “You’re still impossible…” to which you shrug, giggling.
You sigh, leaning against her, cheek pressed to her shoulder. Your eyes drift close as you relax into her.
“…your sweater is soft..” you mumble under your breath.
Robin chuckles, though it sounds shaky. “Y-…you could borrow it sometime if you’d like.”
You smile, my eyes still closed. “Yeah?”
A beat of silence as if she was processing it.
“Yeah.” Her voice quiet.
You smile to myself, a calm falling over the both of you.
A sudden engine rev sounds and you jump, instinctively clutch harder onto Robin’s hand. Your eyes snap open to see a car full of jeering fans from the opposing team.
“Dykes!” The passenger yells, throwing a half empty soda at you. You gasp as it hits you square in the chest, splattering across your uniform and bomber jacket.
“Fuck you!!” Robin yells, jumping off the trunk to rush the car as it speeds off. You hear her spout off a bunch of other insults in the many languages she knows, the show off. You’d have to rag on her for flaunting later.
You stand up, shaking off the drips as Robin jogs back, taking in the damage. You hear her swear under her breath.
“I’m sorry, Y/N…I didn’t mean to- God, if I had know- I can’t believe—“
You tear off my jacket, shaking off the excess soda, teeth grinding.
These uniforms were not cheap, and god dammit if you were going to let some homophobic pricks make you drop another diner paycheck on a reorder.
You rifle through contents in your trunk, lunging for stray napkins to sop up the stains in your uniform. You don’t realize how hard you’re breathing until Robin stops you from scrubbing your jacket, the napkin leaving streaks of fibers in the fabric.
She pries your fingers open on their death grip of the napkin. You blink rapidly as you’re forced to slow down. “It’s, it’s not dry yet-“
“It’s very very dry,” she reassures, angling you away from your jacket. “You made sure of that, Y/N.”
You swallow hard, glancing down at your stained uniform. The brown splotches blooming across the front. Small drops fall onto the skirt creating more little stains.
“Fuck-“ You tear at your top, struggling to get it off.
Robin balks as you tug your uniform top off in the middle of the parking lot. You hear her sputtering behind you as you lay it on the floor of the trunk next to your jacket- giving it the same treatment of napkin rug burn.
You seethe, bent over into your trunk to drag at stray napkins at the stains.
A sudden warmth envelopes your shoulders and you turn to see Robin draping her sweater over your back.
“What-?”
“Y/N, as much as I wanna be feminist about it, I can’t let you be topless in the parking lot like this-“
You scoff. “I can’t afford to get this stained-“
“Is it worth flashing the entire parking lot-”
“I don’t have a backup and-“ you stop scrubbing. Remembering where your damn backup was. Robin notices, and uses this opportunity to quickly pull the sweater over your head and shoulders.
“Shit-“ You grumble, staring off into space.
You turn to face Robin but she’s focused on getting you into her sweater, feeding your arms through her sleeves.
“I need to go to the stupid party.”
“What party?” Robin frowns, fixing the sweater on your frame. As much as the dreaded party occupied your mind, the weight and warmth of the Robin’s sweater that smelled like her made you giddy.
“My uniform is….there. My extra uniform…”
“Oh..? Whose house?” Robin smiles incredulously though her jaw ticks.
“…Jared’s.” You mumble. “But it’s not what you think!”
Robin sucks her teeth, her jaw set.
“And here I thought..-“
“Robin…”
“You’re your own person, Y/N. We’re not- like-….whatever I thought-“
“Hey, listen-“
Taking a step back, she looks away. “But why does he have it?”
“He doesn’t have it, it’s just there because-“
“Because you stayed over-“
“No! Robin-“
“He is a catch, not my type, but I can see-“
“I’m gay-“ you wince, having announced it to the whole lot. You sigh rubbing your face. “If that wasn’t fucking obvious…” Because wasn’t it??
You tensed up every time your teammates tied to set you up with their boyfriend’s friends. Especially when you were cornered at your locker by an unassuming airhead who thought you were just another body to add to his count.
And with Robin…you were the opposite. Lightning up when you saw her waiting at your locker. Packing up extra dessert from the diner to bring to her the next day at school. Introducing her to your teammates when they caught the two of you walking home afterschool who, were surprisingly sweet when you stumbled over how the two of you met: the two of you competing to borrow the same book from the library. You didn’t tell them the book name.
When you look up, any anger and confusion is drained from Robin.
“Y/N…,” She swallows, guilty. It’s hard to read her expression, but there’s a hint of admiration.
You sigh.
“Chrissy was borrowing mine, smarty,” you swallow as she takes my hand in hers. “She borrowed it, went to his house, it got left there, and she’s yet to return it.”
You search her face, trying to see if she believes it.
“And it’s never been a problem because I keep up with my laundry-“
Robin cracks a smile at that, stepping closer. “So I’ve heard.”
“But now I really need it…” you huff. “So I’m going to the party…”
Robin squeezes your hand in hers.
“I’m coming too then.”
You frown, “I don’t want to force you- I already dragged you out here for the game.”
She chuckles. “What’s a little while longer?”
You hesitate, “Only if you’re sure.”
Robin smirks. “You’re wearing my sweater, and you know I don’t leave my things unattended.”
“I’m your thing?”
“NO!..” Robin sighs. “I just mean I’m down, okay?”
She leans in, and you stare at her as she puts her hand on the side of your face. You do your best to fight the blush as she wipes a stray soda drop off your cheek.
Her expression turns sour. You frown.
“God dammit, here I am forcing you to out yourself and accusing you of sleeping around when we just got called slurs-“
She pulls you into a hug, and you don’t realize how bad it was needed until your cheek presses against her. The back of your throat burns as she wraps her arms around you. You wrap your arms around her middle, closing your eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” her hand cradles the back of your head, the other on your back.
You mumble a protest, your voice failing you as the adrenaline wears off. It must show because she holds you tighter as your weight sways slightly.
“You alright? You want to sit down?”
“Mmm…,” you breathe deeply, inhaling her smell. “I’m comfy..”
She chuckles, the sound reverberating through her chest.
“I wanna check on you…”
You blink your eyes open and suddenly remember you’re in the parking lot still. You lift your head looking around the lot.
“Don’t worry, I checked..” she says lowly. She tilts her head to the side to catch your line of sight. “Hey…”
You look at her, your arms still around each other. “Hi…”
She watches you with a careful seriousness. But a small smile grows on her lips.
“You look cute in my sweater,” she mumbles, likely to herself, but you’re close enough to hear it.
You blush, smiling up at her. “You have good taste.”
She tilts her head sizing you up, then winks. “I do…” her hand gently rubs your back.
You blush harder, glancing away. “U…um...thank you for letting me borrow it.”
“Anytime,” she continues to smile, and your eyes dart to her lips.
“Can it be pre-warmed like this all the time…?” You crack a smile. “I like it toasted.”
“Oh do you..?” Robin chuckles, leaning closer, your foreheads nearly touching as you fight to stay standing.
She seems to notice and rotates you so you’re leaning against your trunk.
You mumble a thanks, peeking up at her. She smiles gently, scanning your face.
“Can the uniform wait? Like do you absolutely need it tonight?”
You glance at your uniform in the trunk. “Maybe I can get these stains out…but having it would be for my peace of mind.”
Robin nods, still rubbing your back. You look back up at her, the dip in adrenaline still leaving you dazed.
“Y/N..?”
“Mm?”
She swallows, “I’m sorry for doubting you…”
You smile slightly, ”It’s okay.”
She shakes her head, “I don’t think it is.” Her hand stills on your back, her chest leaning closer as she finds her words. “You…you’re just too good to be true.”
Your breath hitches as you search her face. “Robin…”
“I just worry that I’m making this all up, and, I thought- stupidly- that that was it. That you weren’t interested-“
“Robs..”
“Because in the social hierarchy, who am I kidding??” Her grip loosens, and you reflexively hold her tighter for fear of her leaving.
“Stop-“ your hands move from her waist to her shoulders, anchoring her in place.
“But at the same time I forget the reason why I loved you in the first place- you transcend the entire social food chain and you don’t act like any of that exists with me.”
Her voice grows tight as her breath picks up. “I couldn’t decide what was real when all I needed to do was trust you…”
You chuckle, pulling her closer to your height, pressing your forehead against hers. You swallow as she watches you with apprehension. “Trust me on this..?”
She sucks in a breath, nodding.
You reach up to cradle the side of her face, eyes drifting closed.
Your lips press against her cheek once. Soft and gentle. Testing.
Drawing back slightly, to check her reaction.
“I love you too,” you whisper, my lips brushing her cheek again.
Her face flushes as her words catch up to her. Shaking hands find their way to you waist as you bring your free one to her shoulder.
“Robin…” you smile, blushing yourself as she stares at you through her hair. You push it away from her eyes and behind her hair.
“You didn’t make it up….you made it happen…okay?”
She swallows.
“You saw me then….you see me now….not just my uniform,” you chuckle. “Though I admit…it is a plus for you to see me in it.”
Robin laughs, her breath shaky. Your chests near, and you start to worry she could feel your heart beating fast.
“And…I was always interested…” you press a kiss to her other cheek, lips lingering this time. She sucks in a breath. You giggle nervously, foreheads pressed against each other.
“God…Y/N..” she breathes, her nose brushing yours. “Can I…?”
“Hurry up, Buckley-“ you gasp slightly as she presses her lips to yours. Your senses are flooded with her.
Robin, Robin, Robin.
The kiss is clumsy and inexperienced, but it fills you with warmth that you can only think of: more.
Robin, Robin, Robin.
You hear yourself gasp again slightly as her hands find a tighter purchase on your waist.
Robin tenses at that, pulling away slightly despite your whine, “That okay, Y/N-“
She pulls back to see your flushed face, pupils dilated despite how shy.
“Yes,” you whisper. You take in her worried eyes, the hesitation mixed with the want to continue. “Come back…,” you mumble, urging her closer.
In an instant, she’s on you, your hips suddenly pressed together as you lean against the trunk. This earns her a small yelp from you that she hums back at.
Your hands snake up past her shoulders, your arms hooking around her neck to keep her close.
The parking lot melts away, the cold becomes irrelevant, and the thrown soda is long forgotten.
Another heat blooms in your chest, magnifying as she adds pressure, your lips moving against each other.
“Robin..” you pant, as you break apart. Your arms keep her locked in close, afraid she’s going to disappear. The only thing you can focus on is how close you are and how you never want that to change.
“Yeah?” Her attention is yours, her breath slightly quickened.
“We…we should leave,” you chuckle, clearly flustered. You peek over her shoulder at the lot: fortunately empty of other people though some cars remain.
Robin blinks, suddenly remembering where you both are. “Ah…that probably wasn’t the move after…soda happened.”
She looks back at you, pulling you in quickly to kiss your forehead. “Tabling that,” she says cheerfully.
You laugh, pulling her closer for a hug. She immediately responds, holding you tight. You press your cheek into the crook of her neck, sighing.
Robin hums against you. “So are we still party bound?”