Work Text:
after defeating vecna, nancy didn’t really think her and robin would get close. but they do. they get so close, in fact, robin now knows all of nancy’s favorite songs, and favorite movies. nancy also learns quite a bit about robin. including the shorthaired girls favorite band (guns n roses), what makes her laugh, what her favorite candy is (milk duds). nancy is quite surprised to realize she enjoys spending time with robin. it’s no wonder steve is so helplessly in love with the younger girl.
one night, robin, nancy, and steve are spending the night in the wheeler’s basement, watching movies with the kids. it was midnight, and everyone was either asleep or dozing off. mike and will were camped out with pillows and blankets on the floor, while eleven and max were on one of the beanbags curled up beside each other. dustin and lucas were on the other couch, passed out sitting up, facing the screen. and steve was passed out with his head on robin’s shoulder.
the taller girl makes a face of disgust. “if he drools on my shoulder, i’m kicking his ass.” robin concludes, and nancy can’t help but chuckle as she looks at steve and robin. the sight is adorable, but nancy can’t figure out why it makes her stomach burn in an uncomfortable way. she doesn’t want robin to be with steve, and nancy can’t figure out why. she‘s aware steve has changed immensely since high school, but for some reason, the thought of him and robin together made nancy’s skin churn.
“you know, it’s hard to believe you two are platonic, when he admits every day that he’d date you in a heartbeat.” nancy announces, and robin rolls her eyes. “steve would date anything with a heartbeat.” robin corrects, and nancy actually finds herself laughing at this. “yeah, i suppose so. but he just looks at you differently. that’s all.” nancy says, and the way she says it with the slightest discomfort, causes robin to frown. “hey, you know i’d never actually date steve, right? i meant it when i said we’re platonic with a capital “p”.” the younger girl says seriously.
nancy turns her head to lock eyes with robin, “but why...? you know, when we were trying to defeat vecna, you kept trying to be steve’s wingwoman so we’d get back together. you kept going on about how you wanted your friends to be happy. but what about your happiness? are you happy? are you dating someone else? do you have your eyes on another guy? is that why you don’t like steve in that way?” nancy begins asking all these questions, and robin panics. “uh— woah nance, that’s a lot— it’s just— uh, steve isn’t really my type...” robin says in a quiet tone, and nancy arches a brow. “then what is your type?” nancy asks, practically staring into robin’s soul. robin feels a wave of defeat wash over her; for some reason she just can’t bring herself to lie to nancy anymore.
“girls.” robin answers lowly, prying her eyes away from nancy’s gaze. nancy sits there for a good second, and it’s like everything in her head is clicking into place. that’s why robin has zero interest in steve. that’s why steve kept saying “i’m not robin’s type”, like it was some sort of an inside joke. nancy’s head is reeling, and robin’s eyes slowly meet hers, like an ashamed puppy. “please don’t tell anyone.” robin pleads, brining nancy back to reality. that’s when the older girl sees the look of pure fear and nervousness in robin’s expression. she’s visibly terrified, and nancy just now realizes how much guts it probably took to admit that to nancy of all people.
“i won’t. i’m sorry i was so persistent about you and steve. it makes sense now.” nancy says in a sincere tone, and robin eyes the shorter girl a bit suspiciously. “you’re... you’re not mad about me being gay?” robin asks, and although the word sounds so foreign to nancy, she shakes her head. “why would i be? you were gay when i met you. you’re not suddenly a different robin just because of who you like.” nancy says honestly, and robin’s shocked expression morphs into a wide smile. the smile alone causes something in nancy’s chest to flutter . “wow, you were surprisingly more chill than steve was when he found out.” robin admits, and nancy’s expression changes.
“steve knows?” she asks, trying not to sound as shocked as she is. robin nods, “i told him last year while we were working at scoops ahoy. we got drugged by some russians, and we were puking in the bathroom for hours. he admitted he had a thing for me, and i... i admitted i have a thing for girls.” robin explains, and nancy looks over at steve who’s still asleep, then at robin who’s staring at her with that usual soft gaze. “wow, i didn’t expect steve to be okay with it. he’s... he was never the most tolerant person when we were together.” nancy confesses, and robin nods in agreement. “yeah, he surprised me too. he’s not bad, nance. he’s really a good guy, and i think you two could make it work again if you both tried.” robin says earnestly, and nancy doesn’t know when this went from robin coming out, to her trying to set nancy up with steve again.
“robin, i’m not in love with steve anymore.” nancy says seriously, and robin grins, “do you really gotta be in love with someone to go on one date with them?” robin asks innocently, and nancy rolls her eyes. “when the person is your ex, yes.” nancy states in a “matter of fact” sort of way. robin giggles, and nancy feels as if her breath gets lodged in her windpipe. “you didn’t answer my other question.” nancy pipes up, and robin’s brows furrow together in confusion. “what question?” she asks curiously.
“why are you so focused on steve and your friends happiness, and not your own?” nancy asks, and robin stares at the dark haired brunette for a moment, before shaking her head dismissively. “as long as i’m in hawkins, i don’t think i’ll find anyone who’s like me.” robin blurts out, and nancy eyes her uncertainly. “that’s basically a sugarcoated way of saying “as long as i’m in hawkins, i’m not going to be happy”.” nancy points out, and robin laughs carelessly. “wheeler, you make it sound like i’m depressed. i’m happy in a lot of aspects. i have friends now. i have you, and steve, and the kids... i’m happy in so many ways. does it really matter if i’m happy romantically or not?” the younger girl asks, and nancy scowls. yes , nancy thinks, it does matter. your happiness matters to me.
nancy’s own thoughts cause her to tense up. robin can see what she said didn’t satisfy the older girl in the slightest, and she sighs in defeat. “look, when i save up enough for college, i promise i’ll email you all about how i’m making out with different girls from university? okay?” robin promises, and nancy shifts in her seat. she doesn’t know why the thought of robin being away from hawkins and kissing other girls rubs her the wrong way. it’s the same feeling she got when she thought about robin and steve getting together.
“good.” nancy lies, as she reaches for robin’s hand, and holds it in hers. robin’s face burns, and if nancy weren’t too busy going through her whirlwind of thoughts, she would have noticed those flushed, freckled cheeks. robin falls asleep after the next movie, but nancy’s thoughts keep her up for hours. she continuously looks over at robin, and she thinks about some other girl kissing robin’s lips. or counting the younger girls freckles. would this girl be taller than robin, or shorter? would she be sweet, or rude? the thought of someone else receiving that soft expression and sweet smile of robin’s, makes nancy’s blood boil in a peculiarly angry way.
nancy falls asleep upset, and she can’t for the life of her figure out why (or maybe she can, she just refuses to acknowledge it). she wakes up to the smell of waffles, and the kids loud voices. nancy stretches before stumbling off the uncomfortable couch she fell asleep on. the dark haired brunette makes her way up the stairs, and she spots max and lucas blabbering in the living room. when she gets into the kitchen, nancy gets a look at robin’s bed head, and her cute star wars pajama pants. oh god, robin turns around and looks at nancy, and her lips twitch into a smile that makes nancy’s stomach knot up.
“morning, wheeler. did you know steve could make waffles?” robin asks, and steve rolls his eyes as he sets a plate of waffles in the center of the table. “you say that like it’s a surprise! i’m good at stuff!” steve argues, making nancy roll her eyes. “he poured pancake mix into the waffle maker, didn’t he?” nancy asks, and steve’s cheeks turn red as robin throws her head back and laughs loudly. the sound is so lovely, nancy can’t bring herself to focus on anything else so she takes a seat beside robin.
“nice bed head.” nancy comments, as she eyes robin, and robin’s cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “well, not all of us can wake up looking as perfect as you, wheeler.” robin retorts, and nancy feels an inevitable smile tugging on her lips. robin seems to focus on her plate of waffles, but steve can see the way nancy is staring at robin; with those dazed eyes. steve recognizes that look clear as day. he stares at his ex-girlfriend uncertainly, and he notices the way her gaze is soft while syrup dribbles off of robin’s lips.
steve’s eyes widen, as his face morphs into a look of realization. nancy is crushing on robin, hard ! steve suddenly has a shit-eating grin on his face, and robin looks up, frowning. “what are you smiling like that for, dingus?” robin asks sardonically, and nancy looks up to see steve grinning. she furrows her eyebrows, as his eyes glint with pure glee, “nothing, just noticed how chummy you two have been lately. trying to steal my best friend, nance?” steve asks, and nancy raises both of her eyebrows. “i’m sure, she likes me more anyways, steven , solely because i can make actual waffles.” nancy hisses, and robin cackles loudly at the dumbfounded expression on steve’s face. “steven?!” she asks, throwing her head back and laughing again. “oh my god.” robin adds, unable to contain her laughter.
steve scowls at robin, “what’s so funny about the name my parents gave me?! you’re named after a bird!” he declares defensively, and robin snorts. “at least robin’s are cute. steven’s aren’t.” the shorthaired girl informs, and nancy can’t help but laugh at the childlike response. “wow, you know what? since you two are so friendly, nancy can drive you home instead!” steve declares, pretending to be insulted as he snatches the plate of waffles out of robin’s hands, and walks away into the living room where the kids are.
“oh come on, steven ! we were joking!” robin tries, but the way she uses steve’s full name shows nancy she is indeed not sorry at all. robin smirks at nancy, who is trying her hardest (but failing) not to smile. “the waffles weren’t half bad, though...” robin admits sheepishly, and nancy rolls her eyes. “yeah, you haven’t had proper waffles. next time, i’m making breakfast.” nancy declares, and robin’s lips twitch into a smirk. “i’m gonna hold you to that, wheeler.”
nancy dances over her feelings for two weeks. two whole weeks of thinking about robin nonstop; going weak in the knees every time the taller girl smiles her way; two weeks of making eyes at robin from across the video store (nancy’s gone in for a different movie ever day). every time robin sees nancy walk into the store, her eyes light up in the cutest way, and nancy is certain she’s screwed. nancy may not know if she’s gay or not, but she does know what it feels like to fall for someone... and she was most definitely falling for robin buckley. it wouldn’t be such a problem, if nancy weren’t so scared to actually make a move.
nancy wheeler has never made the first move, let alone the first move on a girl. a gorgeous girl who listens to guns n’ roses, and was willing to jump into another dimension for nancy, but is still terrified of zombies. nancy wouldn’t even know how to ask robin out if she tried. but she has to try. if she goes another night being unable to sleep due to those cute freckles, nancy is certain she’ll go crazy. that’s how she winds up in her car, parked outside of family video. its nearly seven, and she knows robin will be walking out of the store soon, ending her shift.
by the time robin stumbles out of the store, she’s fidgeting with her cassette player, and she nearly trips on a pebble. nancy giggles to herself, before doing a u-turn and driving up to robin slowly, “hey, buckley, need a ride?” nancy asks, and robin turns her head to flash nancy an amused expression. “were you waiting for me?” robin asks, and nancy feels her cheeks burn. “n-no, i was just driving in this direction.” nancy insists, and robin’s smirk only deepens. “is that why you’ve been sitting over there for like an hour?” robin asks, gesturing to the spot across the street where nancy had just been parked at. nancy’s cheeks feel like they’re on fire, and she scowls.
robin only grins as she gets in, “next time, come in and say hi. steve and i were concerned .” robin half jokes, and nancy rolls her eyes. “this is the last time i take the time out of my day to drive you home.” nancy murmurs as she looks over at robin who’s now sitting in her passenger side. “put your seatbelt on.” nancy commands, and robin grins sheepishly, her cheeks reddening slightly as she pulls the seatbelt on. “you came just to drive me home?” robin asks, her voice sounding a bit surprised. nancy shrugs as she starts driving in the direction of robin’s house. she’s memorized it from all the times she joined steve on picking the younger girl up.
“that’s oddly sweet of you, wheeler... you sure you’re not driving me somewhere secluded to murder me?” robin cracks a joke. “shut up. a simple thank you will suffice.” nancy informs sardonically, and robin laughs in that mesmerizing way that causes nancy’s heart to flutter against her chest. the cure is playing on the radio, and robin is humming along. nancy is gripping the steering wheel as she tries to figure out how the hell she’s supposed to do this. “thank you.” robin says after a few seconds, and she sounds so sincere it makes nancy’s heart race even faster.
“no problem, robin.” nancy says, and the taller girl can’t ignore the way her heart skips two beats when her name leaves nancy’s lips. robin stares at nancy as she drives, and she can see clear as day that something is bothering the shorter girl. “you okay, nance? hard day at the office?” robin asks half jokingly, but nancy can hear the genuine concern laced throughout the younger girls tone. “work is frustrating. working in an office full of men, who have to approve anything i type up... and i barely get a say in any of my work!” nancy almost rants, and robin nods in understanding. “well, you have tits, wheeler. as long as you got those, and a vagina, there’s always gonna be someone who has to approve something you do.” robin points out, and nancy can’t help but laugh. “yeah, that’s true. but it doesn’t make it any less infuriating.” nancy says, and robin waves her hand dismissively. “one day, you’re gonna be a big ole’ journalist in some bigger city, and no ones even gonna care about what those men think. they’re gonna be too busy caring about what you think.” robin says certainly, and nancy’s face is flushing under robin’s gaze.
“now who’s being oddly sweet?” nancy asks, and now it’s robin’s turn to blush. the taller girl rolls her eyes, “i’m not saying anything that you don’t already know.” robin simplifies, and nancy wants to tell the younger girl how much her words mean to her, because nancy doubts herself on a daily. but she doesn’t say anything. instead, nancy sits there, “just like heaven” by the cure is playing, and nancy is glad the music is loud enough for robin not to hear the sound of her heart thumping against her chest.
“robin, have you ever had a girlfriend?” nancy asks randomly, and she mentally facepalms because that’s not at all what she wanted to say, but it seems her mouth has a mind of its own today. robin looks a bit taken back by the question, and she blushes, as she thinks about the way she used to make out with tammy thompson under the bleachers. it was never serious, and it was obvious to robin that tammy was not at all ready to come out as anything. that ended a year ago; when robin graduated. “er— no, technically no.” robin responds, and nancy looks genuinely shocked by the revelation.
“so you’ve never dated anybody?” nancy asks, and robin shakes her head. “it’s hard enough that i’m gay, but add awkward and terrible at social cues to the mix, and you get disaster.” robin admits looking shamefaced, and nancy frowns. “i thought that was just something you said to be charming.” nancy reveals, and robin looks at her as if the older girl just grew an extra head. “what part about that is charming?” robin asks, laughing in a carefree way that makes nancy swallow thickly. “anyways, why are you so interested in my nonexistent romantic life?” robin asks curiously, and nancy pauses, “ because i wanna be in it. ”
“it’s just... you deserve to be happy, robin.” nancy admits, her tone abnormally frail, and robin’s brows knit together in confusion. “i am—“ robin tries, but nancy cuts her off. “and you deserve to be loved properly.” nancy adds, as she pulls up to robin’s house. “i believe i could love you properly.” nancy declares, as the car comes to a stop. robin’s eyes nearly bug out of her head as she stares at nancy with a gaping expression. for the first time in her blabbering life, robin is rendered speechless. “wait a minute you— you want me ?” robin asks, her voice full of nothing but pure shock.
nancy nods, “you are annoyingly the only thing i’ve been able to think about for months. i couldn’t figure out why the thought of you with steve made me so angry. i thought it was because i was jealous of you... but then you told me you like girls, and i started thinking. thinking about why i was so jealous when i clearly don’t have any feelings for steve anymore... i realized, it’s you. i have feelings for you.” nancy reveals, and robin is staring at her with this unrecognizable expression nancy has never seen before. “you better not be messing with me, wheeler, i will kick your little ass—“ robin warns but nancy rolls her eyes, cutting her off with a frustrated huff as she reaches out to cup robin’s cheeks, pulling her in for a rough, heated kiss. robin gladly kisses back after recovering from the momentary shock.
the hummingbirds in nancy’s stomach are fluttering like crazy, as she deepens the kiss that will be engraved in her head for as long as she lives. nancy pulls away too quickly for robin’s liking, but as soon as their eyes meet, robin forgets how to breathe. nobody’s ever looked at her with such emotion. to think nancy wheeler was staring at her with an expression of such need, causes robin’s heart to nearly come to a full stop. “i’m convinced i’m in another a dimension right now. is vecna back?” robin asks, her voice much more breathless than she anticipated.
“robin?” nancy asks, and robin stares at her questioningly, but before she can respond, nancy is answering her voiceless question. “shut the hell up.” nancy commands, before leaning in and kissing her again.