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“And then he goes waaay into the future and…hello? Steve. STEVE!”
Steve zones back with a “Huh wha?” He has to remember where he is and what he was doing. He looks over at Robin, her face holding a mix of concerned eyes and disappointed frown. “Sorry, was I boring you? YOU asked about the movie dingus, maybe you’re finally on drugs…sad to see the youth corrupted so easily.” Robin mocks.
Steve shakes his head and reassures his closest friend. “I’m sorry, guess I zoned out a bit. I probably did ask. Sorry again. Been a shitstain of a week and there’s a lot on my mind right now.” Been on my mind for more than a week but whatever. Steve thinks to himself. His barely lifted smile falling again.
Robin catches that and walks over to Steve, putting up one of her usual routines. “So what’s gotchya thinkin’? That this job sucks, that we shoulda died like 14 times, maybe you finally realized I’m the coolest person you’ve ever met?”
It doesn’t take much, Steve rolls his eyes. “Yeah something like that. And at LEAST one of those things is true.” he says with his first real smile all week. His expression darkens again, causing Robin to drop the bits. She walks over to Steve and asks, “For real man. You alright? I can cover if you want to go or whatever. Something happen or going to happen? You don’t have to tell me but you can y’know I don’t know if I can help but-”. Steve cuts her off before the spiral gets worse. “I… I don’t think you can. Well sort of maybe. But I can’t ask that of you.”
This just causes more questions for Robin, quickly rebutting with, “Is it you want to tell me, but can’t? Would you be killed for it, DID YOU KILL SOMEONE… No, that's not your style. IS SOMEONE PREGNANT, DID YOU GET NANCY PREGNANT? ‘Cause if you’re a dad and you never let me meet the mom I’m gonna be pretty hurt.” Steve yells “WHAT HELL NO!” Steve takes notice of the one customer the store has and looks back at Robin. “Nobody is pregnant, christ Buckley. I…I want to tell you but…it’s a lot. And I don’t think…” Steve looks on the verge of tears.
Robin quickly takes Steve's hand. “Hey hey I’m-I’m sorry I didn’t… If you don’t want to tell, you don’t have to. Just. If you need something I’m there. Okay.” Robin smiles at Steve as a few tears fall. He holds it back, and goes to the back to calm himself. A few minutes later, he comes back out. He walks over to Robin and quietly tells her, “After work. I’ll….Just gimme a bit. Yeah?”
Robin nods and smirks. Her stomach turns in a mix of fear and worry. It’s “The Hair”, how bad can it be? Robin debates to herself. Hours drag on and Steve keeps the worried, going to pass out at any moment, look on him. Eventually the duo locks up Family Video, and they hop into Steve’s car.
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The drive is unusually quiet for these two. No music, no planning, no talking about bodacious babes. Just tense, dead air. Steve takes a different turn than usual, turning the car off when he reaches an empty park. Steve exits the car and Robin follows. They sit at a picnic bench and Steve opens his mouth….Only for nothing to come out. The silence never left as a thousand thoughts raced Steve’s mind. Robin waits with a smile.
Steven finally lets out a sigh. “I. Look I… eughhhhh. Please be cool. So I think I’ve always kinda known. Wish I didn’t but. Anyway I…” Steve takes and holds a deep breath. “Sorry. I just need to rip off the band-aid. Robs. I was young when I thought about it, but just kinda assumed it was only for sci-fi and shit y’know? But recently I was with Henderson, don’t even remember what brought it up ha. But uh, he was talking about animals or some shit. I can never keep up.”
His nervous smile fades and that look of nausea comes back. Robin’s eyes go wide and she stutters, “Steve if you’re gay or whatever I’m the last to care, come ON man.” Steve looks like a deer in highlights and responds to her with, “No no not….well maybe? But it’s something more. Dustin was talking about some fish or whatever and mentioned…..mentioned that it could…” Steve starts panicking. Just tell her you’re right there, just say it. “A guy fish can become a girl fish.” Steve waits to see Robin's reaction, which shows she’s mostly worried about her friend. Steve continues “So I asked if humans could do that and he said kinda? Robin I… I want to be a girl, and it’s not impossible…I think?”
Steve’s in full tears at this point. Robin wastes no time in bringing her friend into a hug. “Steve, oh my god, I don’t care about that, wait no not like. I’m not worried about WHAT you want to do. Just do it.” She consoles. “Oh maybe not Steve, you got a new name, and I can’t really help with makeup, and you’ve always been better at clothes and… sorry. Does..does anyone else know?”
Steve sighs and lets go of Robin. “I don’t know, Henderson's smart and it was probably weird to ask outta nowhere. Only one I’ve told is you. I guess Max is good at picking these things up, so she wouldn’t surprise me. And I guess El could know. She could know anything about any of us ‘cause she’s a psychicpath or whatever.” Robin stops everything in a stun.
“Huh? I don’t think that’s the word Hair.”
“Psychicpath, she reads minds and throws people and shit.”
“I’m telling you, you CANNOT call her that. To her face or in your…brain thinking… zone.. thing.”
Robin laughs, finally cutting the tension. Steve’s exhausted and rests her head on Robin's shoulder. “I’m sorry that was such a mess. I was worried you…wouldn’t stick around. I guess this is weird. And it’d be ‘ever before I got anything done. But apparently, I can get it done. And really, what can I do without the wingwoman?” Robin rests her head atop Steves. “You’re right. You need me to accomplish most things. Or that portable orphanage of yours. But yknow… I wouldn’t be here without you, my wing…woman?”
Robin looks at Steve for confirmation, and gets it from the light in her eyes. “Understood. Reminds me of the mall bathroom. You know that meant everything to me? Obviously I’m gonna pay it back. And it’s not ‘weird’. Like we ARE weird, but not for that. We telling anyone else?” Steve pauses for a moment. “I gotta ask Dustin anyway, but he’ll be it for a while. And no, no name yet. Everything's cool for now. Don’t need prying eyes and ears. Well more of them. Does feel good though.”
Robin’s dying to ask, “You said you knew for a while. Can I ask when it clicked for you?” Steve’s eyes dim, and she looks away. “Maybe one day. I don’t want to think about shitty parents right now. I DO however want to go think about girls and explosions. My place, I buy pizza, we fall asleep to a hundred movies, we forget that lots of people want us dead for multiple reasons?” Robin’s impressed.
“You got a hundred movies?”
“No. But we have the keys to a hundred movies.”
“You might actually be a genius.”
The pair finally get in the car and are right back to the usual gab. It wasn’t a lot but Steve, or whoever she’ll be, felt a deep safety she might not have ever felt. Well as safe as one could feel in this cursed town. She flashes Robin another smile as they drive back to the workplace.