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#robin x barb
goonflower · 7 months
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the nancy wheeler love triangle i want (but i'm gay)
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okay ik its not really canon but in my defense:
in rebel robin, we learn that robin and barb used to be friends pre-canon. like one lesbian and one lesbian coded character being childhood besties?? and rebel robin lowkey holding a grudge against nancy for 'stealing' barb away. hmm... gay, me thinks.
stranger thing s1 presented us with the homoerotic friendship of nancy and barb. like i'm sorry how did barb know nancy was wearing a new bra? then barb's death permently changes the trajectory of nancy's life. (insert that post about how having a dead best friend is gay... bc it kinda is....)
then ofc we have ronance. the library scene?? gay staring tension off the charts. robin wearing nancys clothes? and her bra too apparently ig??? also also nancy choosing to bring robin over steve to pankhurst even tho he's literally BEGGING to come ummmm?? stancys i got some bad news :/ nancy blushing when robin affirms they're friends, in the same conversation where nancy brings up her relationship struggles?????????????????? robin getting on her knees for nancy and nancy holding her hands up to catch robin in case she falls??? s4 nancy really was homosexual gay gay homosexual vibes
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findafight · 2 years
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Ok I have a million things to do and write but. Stranger things time travel fic where, after things go right to shit in season 5, Steve, Robin, and Eddie wake in the middle of the school hallway during the first week of school in Fall of 1983.
It takes a hot second for them to realize that the others are back but Robin locks eyes with Steve and proceeds to shriek and launch herself bodily at him, and Steve, who is used to Robin jumping on him just hugs her back and spins her around before worriedly checking her over, which clues Eddie into the fact he is not alone in some twisted afterlife that's just his first go round of senior year.
He is immediately embraced into the group hug when he approaches. There is babbling on all sides. This, of course, is absolutely absurd to the layfolk in the halls of Hawkins High, and the trio realize oh shit! They need a cover story! Cue a very bad lie about an almost-bear-attack in the woods. Because Steves house backs onto them, Robin "reeaaally interested in...uh. moss! Fungi! So much in the woods. Yep" and Eddie just wanted a walk (most believable)
Nancy (who Steve suddenly stopped flirting with when he clutched at his stomach and chest before hugging Robin Buckley of all people like he hadn't seen her in years) is very sceptical. Tommy and Carol are Unimpressed. Barb is gripping her sides and staring at him like he's a ghost.
And Steve, with the knowledge of the past three and a half years in a physical brain that has at least half the brain damage, is like huh. Jason seems to be a Normal Jerk right now, so it must not be everyone who died (thank god)... Eddie died in the upsidedown. Robin and I did too...... oh Shit. Oh no. Because guess who else died in the upside down...
He then proceeds to drag his time travel compatriots towards Nancy's locker, ignores Nancy, and goes "hey Barb! Do you remember trying to shotgun a beer at my house?"
She nods, starting to shake. He very calmly puts his hands on her shoulders. "Okay. So we can explain everything, but not here, okay?"
Cue Steve and Robin trying to explain everything to Barb and Eddie being like "I mean I believe them I just didn't know about anything other than the guy framing me for murder. The Russians are a surprise" and the four of them trying to fix things with the advantages of hindsight and Henry probably(?) Not knowing they know he's behind it, and also maybe falling in love with their dead time travel buddies.
All while Nancy tries to investigate what the fuck happened to bring her best friend closer to the guy who's been flirting with her, a band geek, and the weirdo who runs the DND club and probably sells weed.
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kaspurrcat · 6 months
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It's finally here! This is the first of four big bang fics that I've partnered with.
I had the lovely pleasure of working with theeblackplague on her murder mystery fic alongside marie.melancia (IG) and @house-of-chant for @steddiebang
I'm Shy and Shameless (Nocturnal & Nameless) is now posting on ao3!
Summary:
Bodies are washing up in the Chicago River and the newspapers say that there’s a serial killer on the loose. Steve Harrington is new in town and in his dump of an apartment, he’s found a box of tapes under the floorboards. They appear to be the video diary of the previous tenant, some guy named Eddie Munson.
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strngerpairs · 7 months
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Welcome to STRANGERPAIRS, a source blog dedicated to the rarepairs of the Stranger Things fandom.
A rarepair is any pairing that doesn't get a lot of love within the fandom. This could be because the characters don't interact in canon, or their pairing involve two characters that have very popular ships separate from each other. This blog is to show our love and creativity involving lesser known pairings.
Please visit this link to view a full list of things we won't reblog here. If it's not on this list, it's safe to assume we'll reblog it if tagged!
We're currently accepting members and affiliates! Please submit your relevant applications here.
-> PARTICIPATE IN OUR 2023 CELEBRATION
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dorotheafromthesea · 1 year
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No thoughts just Nancy visiting Barb’s grave for the first time since her funeral and instead of finding an abandoned desolate looking grave it’s neatly trimmed with pink carnations and crown-daisies planted all over the place. She knows it can’t be the Hollands who have done this, they left Hawkins after Barb’s dead was officially confirmed by the government. But it must be someone who knew Barb well enough to choose her favorite flowers. After the first time she begins to visit Barb’s grave regularly to tell her about her life, her plans after school and also because she wants to know who brings fresh flowers there every week. When she sees Steve’s car parked at the cemetery one day and finds Robin at Barb’s grave, she doesn’t understand anything.
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epiclazershark · 5 months
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aimmyarrowshigh · 1 year
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Femslash February 2023
050. Asexual - Robin Buckley/Barb Holland - archiveofourown.org/works/45100996
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cyrathedragon · 2 years
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Just give that bitch a harem already. She's on her way. Nancy, Vickie, and don't think i ain't seen you out here with Chrissy.
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highsteddie · 7 months
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Hypothetical ship I don't think I've seen much mention of: Robin and Barb
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sweepy-stringbean · 7 months
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2:30am ronance s4 time skip
Twitter X || Instagram || Ko-fi || Redbubble
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findafight · 1 year
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Kinda want to write a one-sided ronance post S4 au (within a fix it obvs) where the older teens start actually hanging out and Stobin (eventually + Vickie)confuse literally everyone. They greet each other with cheek kisses, call each other babe (or "Stevie Baby". Listen. Robin calls him bud or buddy or bub or bubba or babe and it's like why so many B's?? Argyle is vibing with it though and joins the bud train) and one time at two in the morning had a coordinated ramble about the names of the cats they will eventually get. (Sassafras, moonshine, and Garborator)
Nancy and Steve haven't really talked about anything, other than Steve saying "hey. I'm sorry if whatever I said weirded you out. I was definitely a bit delirious and Robin and Eddie AND Dustin were all making comments about winning you back or whatever which is stupid, you made it clear where you stood with me. Which wasn't with me. That's fine. and like. Okay yeah when we were together I'd daydream about you being beside me in the motorhome but thats-- it was a daydream. I was sort of thinking I was gonna die and. I wanted to share a little dream that made me happy. And then got everything confused in my head and made it weird and I'm sorry. what I'm trying to say is I'm sorry for being weird and making things uncomfortable. I'm over you. I loved you then, and you were my first real love, and maybe if things were different I could love you like that again but. But neither of us want that or the same things out of life. And we'd crash and burn again. Plus you and Jonathan are together which is a non-starter. Cannot believe I forgot that when it was happening. Jesus. So. Yeah. Sorry for being not a great friend and hitting on you in the Upside Down." And Nancy had nodded and told him not to worry about it. He had been sort of bleeding out and planning on going back into the upside down. They could both be normal about it.
Sometimes Nancy and Robin try to have "girl time" at Nancy's suggestion because they're the only girls in the older group (sometimes. But Robin is not going to let that slip out) but it's awkward without a buffer. Robin is too nervous and rambles and Nancy is too annoyed by it. But they do get on well in group settings, and Steve and Argyle are actually the keenest to smooth over any awkwardness.
Robin laughs more with the group, and grins at Steve and smirks at Eddie and has a sharp tongue Nancy can admire. She's more comfortable with Steve around, insisting he sit beside her or on the ground in front of her so she can play with his hair. (And Nancy is shocked the first time she sees it, because Steve was notoriously protective of his "best feature", but she'd asked and he'd hummed quietly as she takes her fingers through his hair and put tiny, lopsided braids in it.) It's nice to see Robin less jumpy, and wonders what it would take to see more of the side of her Nancy only sees when Steve's around. She just wants to get closer to Robin. Wants a friend.
And somehow, beyond Nancy's notice, Steve and Robin's friend Vickie slowly joins the group. She wasn't involved at all in the spring, but has been hanging around Family Video and a movie night or two often enough that when she settles more permanently in the group it isn't a very big surprise. Eddie and Argyle welcome her in with open arms, Jonathan is only his normal amount of weary of new people, and obviously Robin and Steve are excited for their friends to be friends.
But it just doesn't sit right with Nancy. She can't pinpoint why, it just doesn't. When she sees Robin and Vickie giggling together, or having some back and forth banter that seems to feed into both of them smiling, or Steve throwing his arm over her shoulder, or Vickie leaning into Robin's space as they talk. She always sits beside Robin, Steve on the other, with Eddie beside him. It's usually a tight fit for whatever couch they're on, but the four seem happy as clams to not have any personal space. Once Argyle decided to lay across all their laps, and they just...let him. Finangled themselves so everyone was mostly comfortable.
Nancy figures she is uncomfortable with it because she hasn't ever had a close friend since Barb, and was possibly hoping she could be close to Robin along those lines. So seeing her so close with the others and mildly uncomfortable around her hurt, and seeing her and Steve incorporate someone unversed in the Upside Down into their little trauma club also hurt. Because what did Vickie have that Nancy didn't? That made Steve and Robin and now Eddie stick to her like glue? That made them want her there when she didn't know anything about what they'd been through and could probably never understand?
What made Vickie Summers so special that she's taken what should have been Nancy's place beside her friends? Because that's what really bothered her. It wasn't that Vickie didn't know, it's that Nancy felt she took her place. That Nancy wanted to be where Vickie was, and she didn't know how to ask for it. Asking, trying to talk about how Steve and Robin had bonded so well after Starcourt while she ignored them and then how they bonded with and absorbed Eddie halfway into their bizarre dynamic after vecna, would feel too much like begging or admitting that she isn't quite sure how to make friends.
Nancy is jealous. Jealous that she isn't friends like Vickie and Eddie and Steve and Robin are. That she isn't the one making Robin smile and giggle so cutely. So. She tries harder. Tries to be the friend that Robin and Eddie and even Steve deserve. She tries not to be annoyed by Robin rambling (it really isn't that bad, just. Not relevant. She likes heading Robin's voice, but thinks she could really work on having a filter.), or the way Steve always asks clarifying questions when he should really have known better, or Eddie talking half in different character voices. She thinks it's getting better, her relationship with them. But, still, Vickie is always there, glued to Robin's side almost as much as Steve is, and that always annoys Nancy. Niggles at her brain, that she doesn't deserve to be there because she didn't know what Robin had lived through and fought. Nancy did.
Eventually, Nancy figures out that she wants more from Robin. Doesn't want to be a friend she smiles at occasionally, wants to be the reason she smiles all the time. And that's terrifying. Because Nancy had never considered liking girls, never thought liking girls was a thing she could do. It was something other women did, not Nancy. She liked boys and always had, but. But maybe she always liked girls...too. maybe it wasn't something she that was one or the other. Being different in a town like Hawkins puts a target on your back, being queer in a town like Hawkins even moreso.
She's leaving Hawkins in the fall. But she thinks she wants someone to come home to. She wants Robin to come home to. Robin and Steve seem to be okay with it, from what she can glean of some veiled comments they've made that she's only caught now she's looking for them. They've made some remarks around the kids that make it seem like they'd be safe to come to, no matter what. And sometimes, some of the comments Robin makes about actresses seem a little...well. admiring.
They probably, hopefully, wouldn't hate her for this. And now Nancy and Robin have a friendship, she thinks she can. It's early July, and Nancy is going to ask Robin out.
She gets her alone, bites her lip, and asks Robin in no uncertain terms to go out on a date with her. Robin stares, mouth agape.
"oh," she says.
Nancy smiles, a little. "Yeah. So. What do you say?"
Robin blinks, and takes a shuddering breath. "Oh my god. I. Nancy I'm really flattered but I'm no-i dont- uhg. I'm dating someone." she groans, rubbing her hands over her face.
And oh. Nancy read the situation wrong "oh. Steve. It's fine! You don't like girls, thats--thats totally fine! Id just, um. That is,-"
Robin waves her hands. "No, no! I'm not dating Steve! You clocked me correctly. Definitely gay! Don't worry about that! Hah."
Something in Nancy twists. "Oh?"
"yeah. Yep. Not only am I a lesbian in a small town, I'm a lesbian in a small town that somehow also has a girlfriend." Robin says the word dreamily. Like she still can't believe it. Nancy's brain fills with static. She was too late. Too caught up with how she missed so many chances in the past, that she missed her chance now.
But Robin keeps talking. "And, like. Even if I didn't, I don't think it would have worked between us anyways. Too different, y'know?"
"what?"
Robin gestures with her hands between them. "Well, like. I like being your friend. But, I mean, I wouldn't date you?"
"why not?"
Blinking, Robin tilts her head. "Because of Steve?"
Something bubbles hot in Nancy. "What the fuck does Steve have to do with wether or not we would date?"
"Nancy. Steve's my best friend." As though that explains anything.
"yes? And?"
Robin looks uncomfortable, shifting sideways. "listen, Nancy. You're a good friend. And I've just rejected you. Maybe we should just. Ah. Leave this? I'm really sorry. I'll give you some space, just find me when you're ready?"
"no. What do you mean that we couldn't date because Steve is your best friend? Why would that have any effect on how you date?"
"it doesn't! Not really! Just. Nancy, you broke his heart. His soft, squishy heart! You kinda sorta cheated on him-details very unclear-and then just. Moved on. Pretended like nothing happened. I couldn't do that to Steve. Dating a friend's ex is a bad move. Dating an ex that broke a friend's heart is just cruel." She sighs. Looks sad. As though she isn't the one rejecting Nancy and tearing her apart for how a relationship ended almost two years ago. What did that matter, now? "You're my friend, Nancy. I like you! But even if Steve has moved on, forgiven and forgotten, and if things were a bit different given his full support for us dating if that's what I wanted, I think I'll always remember how he-- how much it hurt him."
"oh"
"I'm. Nancy I'm really sorry. I know how scary it is to put yourself out there, especially like this. It's not fair. I'm just sorry. But. It was true. Steve's the most important person to me. I couldn't ever hurt him. Not like that. Not even if he said he was fine with it."
Nancy stands and walks away. She doesn't cry until she locks her bedroom door.
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dwobbitfromtheshire · 1 month
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Steve Harrington wouldn't have gone to dinner with Nancy at Barb's parents for months. Yes, it was months! If he didn't understand that Nancy was upset by Barb's death or didn't sympathize with her, he wouldn't have gone. He understood, and by going with her, that's how he was there for her. His fear about going after the lab was breaking the NDA for everyone involved, which is fair, considering they murdered Benny and how quickly they faked Will's death. He was scared, but that doesn't mean he was heartless about Barb's death. He just didn't know how to handle it, and Nancy didn't either. She thought that going after the lab was the best way to try and deal with it, but it wasn't. Nancy and Steve were both scared, distraught kids who did their best to handle their trauma. I hate when people say Steve wasn't there for Nancy because he was. He wasn't a shitty boyfriend.
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mixsethaddams · 9 months
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Robin and Nancy? Robin and Nancy.
“It was never about Steve, just so we’re clear,”
Robin paused, mouth full of soda while she processed what Nancy was trying to say.
“What…uh…Steve?” Robin stuttered, trying to catch up.
“Why I didn’t like you, at the beginning,” explained Nancy, short curls bouncing around her face while she spoke. “It was never about him. And I wanted you to know that,”
Robin carefully set her glass down on the table. The diner was quiet, tuesday nights were never busy in any part of Hawkins. Nancy toyed with the edge of a napkin, throwing a quick glance around to see if their waitress was coming back with their food any time soon.
“Ok…thank you?” ventured Robin.
“I just…” Nancy cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders, still looking down at the table between them. “Since we’re…doing this now, this, us… I need to get it out there,”
Robin’s stomach leapt at the mention of them being an us despite only a handful of unofficial dates as she leaned slightly over the table, raising her eyebrows to encourage Nancy to keep talking.
“Barb Holland was my best friend,” said Nancy quickly. “She meant a lot to me,”
Robin practically felt the floor fall out from under her.
“When she went missing you…” Nancy steeled herself again. “I heard you saying things about her that were cruel and mean and… You said a lot of things,”
Robin was frozen. She got the impression this had been rehearsed in the mirror.
“So I need to know why you did that,” finished Nancy with a sharp nod. “Why you said all that,”
Nancy’s gaze finally lifted from the table and locked onto Robin’s. Robin opened her mouth but nothing came out. She thought about Barb every day, but there were some things that not even Steve knew. There were some things that were too painful to remember.
“Well?” asked Nancy, her face like stone.
Robin took in a trembling breath and leaned back into her seat.
She didn’t know what do to, what to say. Barely knew how to say it. Never mind after being put so firmly on the spot like that. Robin’s mind raced. How would Nancy react if she knew the truth? Had Barb told her anything? Obviously not, if this was the conversation they were having.
The longer Robin stayed uncharacteristically silent, contemplating her next move, the harder Nancy’s face got.
Hell, Robin didn’t even know what that next move was going to be.
Robin thought of us. Whatever came next, it had to be to protect us.
“Truth is, Nance…” Robin started, folding her arms on the table. “I thought she stood me up, and I wanted to get back at her,”
Robin hated herself for finally admitting it. Hated admitting that the reason she spent two days backbiting and badmouthing Barb, her Barb, was for something so shallow. She’d heard the cheerleaders talk before a game. She’d picked up a few things on how to make someone feel guilty. All the little one-liners to make someone stomach clench and their mood plummet. Those girls were masters of ruining someone’s day and Robin used every piece of overheard ammo she could. Robin wanted to hurt Barb like she’d hurt her. Or at least, the way Robin had thought she’d been hurt.
“You and…” Nancy’s eyes grew wide. “Oh,”
“Yeah, oh” said Robin with a sarcastic laugh. “We were supposed to go out the day after Steve’s party. Right after school we were going to catch a bus to Jackson and spent the whole night just… walking around somewhere new, I guess? We had tickets to a movie and everything, my dad drove me out the day before so I could buy them,”
“Oh… Oh Robin,” sighed Nancy, putting a hand on Robin’s arm.
“She wasn’t in school that day, and I thought well maybe she skipped?” said Robin, her voice wobbling. “She never skipped but I didn’t want to think she was sick because then that would mean cancelling, you know?”
Robin quickly swiped a tear from under her eye with the edge of her sleeve.
“But then she wasn’t at the bus station either,” said Robin softly. “I didn’t even think about going by her house, her parents didn’t know about…me… I just went home instead. I think… I think if I had have gone there, that maybe I would have found out something was wrong sooner and not said the things I did,”
Nancy’s face had softened entirely. She was looking at Robin with wet eyes, trying to keep her bottom lip from pouting out.
“You didn’t know,” whispered Nancy. “It’s ok,”
“I swear, I swear I didn’t know,” said Robin.
“I know,” promised Nancy, squeezing Robin’s arm.
Their waitress appeared and dropped their plates between them. Nancy shuffled out of her side of the booth and pushed in beside Robin, grabbing her hand under the table to subtly lace their fingers together.
“I didn’t know about the two of you,” said Nancy quietly. “She never told me,”
“We never told anyone,” answered Robin. “I wish we did. If someone knew then I wouldn’t have been able to get away with trying to… bully her when she was already…”
“Gone,” said Nancy, finishing where Robin trailed off.
“I hate myself for it every day,” said Robin, clinging to Nancy’s hand. “Every single day I think I’d do anything if it meant I could take it back, and tell people how amazing she was instead,”
“She really was pretty amazing,” agreed Nancy.
Robin took a shaky breath.
“I… I don’t know if I can say this, you know, considering this, and all,” Robin squeezed Nancy’s hand for emphasis. “But… I really miss her, Nance. I think about her a lot,”
Nancy nodded.
“I do too,” she said. “And that’s ok,”
“It is?” asked Robin tentatively. “Some days it feels like I’m under water with how bad it feels,”
“It is,” said Nancy. “I get that way too sometimes. Thinking about how I could have stopped it,”
“You couldn’t-“
“You don’t need to do that,” said Nancy gently. “Thank you, but, you don’t,”
Robin nodded solemnly.
“We have each other now,” said Nancy. “We can be there for each other when it gets too much. I’ll keep your head above water if you do the same for me,”
“That sounds like a plan,” said Robin, feeling a small sense of relief.
“Good,” said Nancy. “Come on, don’t let your food go cold,”
Robin ate one-handed, the other still hanging on to Nancy’s. Thinking about Barb still made her world turn on it’s axis, but at least now Nancy Wheeler was there to keep her steady. She suddenly wasn’t alone with it anymore. They would face it together whenever they needed to.
They had each other.
Us.
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loveinhawkins · 1 year
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Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 ao3
They end up watching Casablanca thanks to Robin bringing the VHS over. For the majority of the movie, it’s not a serious watch at all; they’re all happily talking over scenes, slapping each other’s hands away whenever one of them gets too close to another’s pizza order.
It’s comfortable, like they’ve known each other for years and years: instinctively able to tell whenever someone’s wrapped up in the movie and falling quiet accordingly, before launching back into chatter again when the moment’s passed.
Eddie silently entertains himself with imagining how he would react to all of this only a few months ago—not the whole alternate dimension related horrors, just the fact that he’s having a ‘Casablanca impressions contest’ in Steve Harrington’s living room, in which Robin Buckley is beating him soundly.
“Steve,” she says, still in Rick Blaine’s drawl, “I gotta ask you something.”
It seems like Steve can’t hear her, but Eddie knows it’s an act when he briefly presses his tongue against the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.
“Oh, sorry,” Steve says, exaggeratedly turning from the T.V to Robin, “it’s like he’s in the room with us.”
Robin throws a cushion at his face. Dropping the voice, she says, “I forgot I didn’t bring anything to sleep in.”
This time Steve doesn’t try and conceal his smile, though he does turn to Eddie, mouths bullshit.
Eddie hides his laugh with a well-timed bite of pizza; Steve keeps smiling like he saw it anyway.
“Sure, go ahead.” Steve gestures upstairs with a nod of the head, sighing like it’s a chore. “It’s not like you do this every damn time.”
Robin jumps up in triumph. “Steve,” she says, the drawl returning, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
Steve throws the cushion back at her; she dodges it with an uncoordinated leap before bounding upstairs.
“She thinks I don’t notice whenever I’m missing a shirt,” Steve mutters. He rolls his eyes as he says it, but the fondness is obvious, and he must catch something of Eddie’s thoughts on his face, because he says, “What?”
“Nothing,” Eddie says—thinks once again about how natural Robin and Steve are with each other, like siblings; that such a closeness is never a guarantee, but it’s a choice they’ve made, one they keep on making, rather than being born into it. “Just noticed that you didn’t put your hat in the ring for impressions.”
Steve laughs. “That’s cause I knew Robin would win.”
“Well, guess we’ll never know…”
Steve shrugs. “Guess not.”
Eddie scoffs, mimes casting a fishing line. “You’re meant to take the bait, Harrington.”
Steve opens his mouth presumably to retort, but the sound of the phone ringing interrupts him; Robin calls from upstairs, “I’ve got it!”, and he shouts back, “Sure, thanks!”
“That’s what she did with our phone call,” he adds to Eddie, “probably sneaking around in my room so she could find a shirt she wanted.”
It’s said with affection, like he knew that’s what she would have been doing all along.
The phone call must be a short one, because Robin’s back downstairs in less than five minutes, dressed in a royal blue shirt that’s faded with age. Steve softens when he sees it, and as Robin gets closer, Eddie makes out yellow letters across the front: Free Concert Central Park.
Steve catches Eddie’s eye, smiles like they’re sharing a secret.
Then Robin makes for the couch they’re both on: Steve at one end, Eddie at the other. She flops in the space between them, tips over so she’s upside down, feet dangling over the top of the couch, head lolling down halfway towards the seat.
Eddie gently prods her foot; she’s got one threadbare sock on, a hole at the big toe. “What’s up, Buckley?”
“It was Nancy,” she says. Her head tilts in Steve’s direction when she adds, “She asked if she could come over tomorrow, like, late afternoon? And if it’d be okay if she brought Holly.”
“Yeah, ‘course it’s okay,” Steve says. “She didn’t need to ask.”
“Yeah, I told her you’d say that.” Robin sighs, long and heavy. “She was… quiet. I… I hope I helped—”
“Rob,” Steve interrupts, not unkindly, “you will have, don’t—”
“It’s just—” Robin breaks off with another sigh, hands flexing like she’s grappling for the words. “Sometimes I worry that—okay. Do you ever get the feeling… kinda like stage fright? But more… I remember in middle school, a girl in my class phoned asking for my help with homework, and all I could think was oh, now it’s my job to be the Homework Girl, I’ve gotta my lines right. You know?”
Steve frowns, says, “I mean—” at the exact same time that Eddie says, “Yeah.”
Robin rises at Eddie’s agreement, moving until she’s perched upright on the top of the couch.
“It’s like… it’s like I can sense so badly that she needs… I don’t know! A friend, or just someone to tell her…” Another sigh. “See, that’s the thing, I don’t even know what. I’m, like, so focused on the fact that she needs something, that whatever I say, I can’t mess it up, and then whatever I do say is… useless.”
Eddie’s eyes dart between the two of them—Robin’s uncertainty, how Steve’s frown makes him seem… conflicted.
“Robin, I get it, but it—it won’t be useless. Promise.”
“At least she phoned,” Robin goes on, pensive.
“Yeah,” Steve says. He looks off to the side, and he goes somewhere—Eddie doesn’t know where, but he can tell somehow that it’s not about the night he saw the clock, or at least not entirely.
Robin must sense it, too, because she goes still on the couch. “Steve?”
Steve breathes out, rubs a hand over his mouth. “There’s… there’s some stuff I wanna say,” he says hesitantly, “but it’s… complicated. It’s—it’s not mine to—it’s hers, but…”
His eyes drift again, this time over to the windows; the only thing to see outside is the pool, the water covered with tarp and a thick layer of leaves from last fall. When he turns back, he takes another big breath like he’s steeling himself.
“Look, this is… in, like, confidence, all right? It’s… I don’t think she’ll ever talk about it herself. And obviously I know you won’t, um, bring it up to her, but I think—if she’s… it’s something you might need to know.”
There’s something about the way he phrases it, like he’s walking a tightrope. It makes Eddie think of a morning in 6th grade where a kid’s mom had died the night before, but she was going into class anyway, and the homeroom teacher had warned them in advance before she’d come in late. That the instruction to be extra kind to her, to only talk about the whole thing if she brought it up felt woefully inadequate, but also all they could do.
“You kinda got an… abridged version of everything,” Steve says, eyes on Eddie. “So, back when… um, with Will, and… Barb. Barb Holland died. And she—she—”
“It wasn’t a chemical leak,” Robin says. There’s a tone to her voice, Eddie thinks, like these are suspicions she’s already had; but the way she’s looking at Steve with wide eyes suggests it’s never been talked about, not really.
“Right,” Steve says softly. “Nance, she—she got this journalist to, like, expose Hawkins Lab because… Barb’s parents, they still had hope, y’know? Nance wanted to go further than the cover-up story, but she had to fight even for that, so…”
Eddie recalls Murray’s voice down the phone: “Got enough leverage to take a story, water it down until it’s just ripples in the pond, softly softly, yeah?”
Understanding sinks heavily into his stomach, like rocks hitting the bottom of a creek.
“Barb… she died here, in the pool.”
The rocks in Eddie’s stomach turn to ice.
He sucks in a sharp, horrified breath; as Robin, if possible, becomes even more still, Steve keeps talking.
“Not—it wasn’t… Shit, sorry. We didn’t see what… but eventually, we. We knew. And it—it wasn’t like how it was with Chrissy, or… There wasn’t a Gate. There wasn’t anything.” Steve looks outside again, says quietly, “Trust me, I checked.”
“Jesus,” Eddie whispers.
“But Nance, she… It was after Barb’s funeral in ‘84. Before… I know it was before Christmas, but I don’t… Anyway, I came home from school, and the front mat was lifted up, and the spare key was gone, and… It was Nance. She was in the pool.” Steve swallows. “She’d turned off the heating. And she—it’s like she couldn’t hear me. She just kept diving down to the bottom, kept feeling every damn tile. Her hands, they—I had to jump in and pull her out.”
Eddie glances at the pool, and it doesn’t matter that the cover and leaves obscure it in reality; in his mind’s eye he can still see the ghostly glow of the water. Can see Nancy repeatedly trying to dive, Steve desperately calling her name—both of them shaking from the cold.
He thinks of Steve insisting that he’d make the dive at Lover’s Lake. “It’s gotta be me.”
“God, it was awful,” Steve says. “She just… she just went silent, most she talked was fucking apologising for using some towels to get dry. Then she left and—that was it. Never brought it up again.”
There’s a heavy pause.
“You know how we were during Starcourt?” Robin says, fragile. “Like, when everything was… spilling out.”
Steve’s face screws up a bit. “In more ways than one.”
Yeah, Eddie thinks, really hate how all that’s a casual reference point for you two.
“I think Nancy might be… the opposite,” Robin says slowly. “If there was a drug that made you just… go quiet. And I think she’d—” Robin exhales. “She’d put the needle in herself.”
It looks like the sheer weight of that hits Steve all at once. He closes his eyes. “Shit,” he breathes.
Eddie wants to hold him through it. Desperately wants to make it better. Knows that he can’t—that the only thing that would fix it would be Nancy and Steve never needing to dive into a freezing pool.
The movie keeps playing through the long silence. It’s almost over.
“But I’ve got a job to do, too,” urges Rick Blaine. “Where I’m going you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do you can’t be any part of.”
Eddie looks away from the screen, tries not to think of Steve staring out into the road. Fails.
They’re almost too far away to touch. But Steve manages to press his foot against Eddie’s.
I’m here.
Eddie feels Robin shift along the couch, feels her hand gently squeeze his shoulder. For a moment, it’s like they’re all connected through one touch.
And they breathe.
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cubicle-eyes · 2 years
Text
How I think the characters on my write list (+a few) would react to you falling asleep on them! (HCs)
This post is a semi-filler. I'm taking a break from my Eddie fic to work on this because my motivation is going DOWN. Rest assured at least two new fics ( not including this one) are coming very soon!
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Steve Harrington
- He is stiff as a board.
- He does everything in his power to gently lay you down (if possible) without waking you up.
- He has so many photos of you when you're in deep sleep
- even one where he put yourfinger up your nose
- Dustin liked that one.
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Billy Hargrove
- He is also very still.
- He quite likes it, actually
- You're like a weighted blanket to him
- He's not to worried about waking you up
- but he's always sad when you do because he loves you lying on him.
- He has a photo of you asleep in your dinner. Deffo.
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Jason Carver
- shoves you to the floor.
- jkjk
- no, he does slide you away though
- it makes him uncomfortable when someone is sleeping on him, so dont be upset if you wake up to him sneaking away
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Eddie Munson
- He is also probably asleep
- you not awake = boring
- so, his solution is to sleep too.
- on the rare occasion he isn't sleeping, he often is holding your back/waist
- If he starts getting sore he pinches the end of your nose to wake you up, and always apologizes for doing so but never stops.
- He has a video recording of you sleepwalking and singing to "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" while you sweep the couch. You woke up because of how hard he was laughing.
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Chrissy Cunningham
- She's always suprised, though it happens quite often
- Usually she sleeps on you, so it's nice
- Her shoulders are a little bony though, so usually you end up cuddled up in the crook of her neck <3
- she holds you very tightly, but not enough to wake you. Shes honestly worried you'll fall off of her!
- (she puts a variety of hats on your head, if she manages to get up without waking you)
- She has a poloraoid wall, and most of them are you and her together, or you sleeping with a bunch of hats stacked on your head
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Jim Hopper
- hahshshaha
- He's the best cuddler EVER
- hes so STRONG and holds you in PLACE!
- he has his arms around you and you'd die if you moved
- he loves affection okay he's just mean about it sometimes
- if he has a coat/flannel/OUTERWEAR he takes it off and lays it on you instead of a blanket
- it's nice because it's warm and smells like him, which is sweet
- Will murder if someone wakes you up. There is no joke here. Eleven was grounded for three days.
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Joyce Byers
- MAMA
- MAMA ILY HOLD ME TOO PLS 🥺🥺🥺
- Mama bear! MAMA BEAR!
- She is the best cuddler on this LIST!!
- She has three kids, she has EXPERIENCE in CUDDLES!
- Massages your scalp while your sleeping and if she pulls away you wake up, which leads to hilarious interactions between her and Will when she needs something.
- " Stop laughing Will. Just hand me the remote."
- "It's literally beside you!"
- "Shhh! Hand the remote to your poor old mom!"
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Dustin Henderson
- hahassddjshs
- when you fall asleep on him he cries.
- not really but he's killed by the pure trust and kind of wants too
- gives you kithes 🥺
- mostly on the top of your head, but the forehead and your cheeks (depending on the way your head is laying) are hotspots too
- its way to quiet when you're asleep so he falls asleep too
- Which leads to the both of you waking up with a huge bright camera flash as his mom cooes at the both of you
- (bottom left drawer of his dresser, there's a collection of photogrpahs where he's put makeup on your face in your sleep. Also includes you sleeping in his hat, you sleeping cuddled up with him, and you literally sleeping face-down on his bed.)
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Mike Wheeler
- Sorry people but you never sleep on him.
- Have you seen him? He's a stick and bony and lanky and ADORABLE but not to sleep on
- to sleep with, however, when you're the first asleep...
- He just likes to rub your arms through your shirt (or not, if you arent wearing one, duh)
- Sleeping together like this is a really intimate thing to him, so he finds it very special to watch you sleep
- his hands are naturally freezing, so he finds clever ways to sneakily twine your fingers together to warm them up
- His most creative way to do so is to put his hands behind your neck.
- you always wake up, laughing and gasping for him to move them, but he keeps them there till they're warm, and then you're both asleep again with your foreheads touching <3
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Nancy Wheeler
- notice me senp-
- Now in my honest opinion..
- She has never had someone fall asleep on her until you
- Always unprepared and silently freaking out as she sits stiff as a board, hands in her lap twitching slightly as she stares at the wall or TV
- usually when you move around she takes the oppurtunity as well, making sure you're both comfy before settling
- Awkward! With! Her! HANDS!!
- Always everywhere! They're constantly moving
- Her feet do it too as she's also a restless sleeper and very fidgety
- always feels bad if it wakes you up
- sometimes its nice, one hand petting your head and the other rubbing your back..
- but sometimes her feet kick your ankles and sometimes it hurts, okay.
- also she sleeps with socks on. Didn't know how to fit this in. But she does.
- ( in preperation for you falling asleep on her on the couch, she has a basket of blankets next to the cushions, and theres water bottles and a secret stash of chips hidden under them >:} )
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Will Byers
- usually doesn't know you're asleep until you stop answering his questions
- and then which he adjusts to hold you and continues talki g to himself.
- sometimes you'll mutter sleepy 'mmm's when he's said something interesting enough, but he shushes you because you're supposed to be asleep
- very good cuddler, but can never fall asleep
- when he gets tired he passes out, yes, but to get tired he'd have to run around the world four times
- well, he'd have to be mentally tired to fall asleep. No matter how sleepy his body is, he can't fall asleep without talking about anything aad everything until the words turn into whispers and then quiet nonsense.
- he has a photobook, and theres a picture of you sleeping so weirdly that it always gets a laugh (peter griffin fall 💀)
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Jonathan Byers
- probably high
- so he just keeps on doing what he's doing.
- he probably asks you stupid questions, regardles  of if you answer or not.
- "would you still love me if i was a worm?"
- "..cutests fuckin... mm.. worm.. "
- "*sobbing*"
- "woah holy shit, jon, you okay-"
- "Im a CuTe WoRm! *more sobbing*"
- honestly I love him so much idk how to write abt him zhshahah
- if he's asleep too he's probably resting his head on yours, arms lazily wrapped around tour neck as you bury your face in his neck and chest, holding his torso.
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Eleven Byers-Hopper
- freaking out verbally
- "Do not laugh at me, Will. They are not dead, right?"
- probably shaking bc sjes so scared that if she accidentally wakes you up you'll be upset with her
- eventually she relaxes, and moves your head (which has undoubtedly fallen to her shoulder) to her lap
- very gentle and sweet
- once she gets even more comfortable, she probably pets your head and baby-talks to you in a one-sided, lovey-dovey conversation.
- "Whos the most adowable S/O? Y/N is. Yeah he is. The best sleeper in the west."
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Max Mayfeild
- literally just wakes you up.
- if you DONT wake up she tries to literally "push your buttons"
- squeeze ur cheeks, poke ur nose, poke ur forehead
- She doesn't want to be trapped all day!
- (she really does though. If you don't get up soon she cuddles right up to fall asleep. Pretend to be asleep long enough and you get to hear Max snore. Loudly.)
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Robin Buckley (f.reader)
- " :0 omg ive been chosen"
- treats you like a cat, puts you where you need to be so youre both comfy
- couch sleeping >>>>
- lies with her back against the couch and your back pressed against her chest, holding you in place so you don't fall and kissing the back of your neck gently and ajdvrkdvej
- Robin's head > Pillow
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Argyle
- bro argyle >>> hottest person alive
- who am I kididng theyre the same person
- anyways (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)
- this man doesnt let you sleep whatre you even talking about???? U joking??? hes high you're comin' down with him.
- "...What color is a mirror..?" "Why is pizza round... cut into triangles... and served in a square box?" "Why is it nail polish and not nail paint?" etc etc
- he always falls asleep very quickly. But he also cries really easily when high off his balls. Over everything. He cried yesterday about the color of his shirt. It wasn't yellow enough. He told me himself
- hes the best pillow. Lay on his chest, kiss his face, let him hold ya
- hes very soft and gentle with you at all times, and since most of the time the both of you are high as skyscrapers, it's a bit more wacky but a lot more sentimental.
- lots of "was drunk and fell asleep like this 😤" pictures in the back of the van
- the funniest being the one of argyle standing on the roof of the van with you and attempting to push you onto the hood "long live the king"style, but you were held on tight
- usually jonathan doesn't quite get as high so he taks a lot of pictures
- got off track but oh well lol
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Fred Benson
- He probably has prepared for this moment and lured you into a trap :)
- he had music on softly in the background and blankets and everything all planned out
- once he just gains enough actual courage to ask for cuddles it'll be less odd when he asks you to watch the most boring show on the planet with him
- he kithes your head a lot bc he really loves you, but doesn't voice it a whole lot
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Peter Ballars
- he moves you, despite how much he wants to stay and make sure you sleep well
- he doesn't move you very far. Usually you fall asleep in the rainbow room, so he just puts you in your own room to rest
- he always sneaks and checks on you, though, because you're still as graceful as a dying baby bird and vunreable all alone
- 4/10 not a good rainbow room cuddle buddy
- (alone, however, he's very sweet, apologizing for dumping you in your room all alone. Kisses all around, gives you a shoulder rub, you know, usual guilty boyfriend tendancies. Will always cuddle before he has to go back to his own room. He may be a lil' evil but you're his sweetheart <3 )
EXTRA/BONUS: OBSCUREISH CHARACTERS
Dr. Brenner/Papa (child reader, around 5-6)
-  he isn't quite sure how you ended up so close to him in the rainbow room as he sat and observed the other children, but when he felt the pressure on his upper arm from you, he couldn't help but grinned
- he woke you up gently, offering you a quick nap in your assigned room, and you accepted by yawning and rubbing your eyes, nodding.
- he walked you to your room with an orderly, and tucked you into bed.
- totally down to tell you a story tbh. Just ask.
- the orderly is assigned to wake you up in exactly two hours, so you better get to sleep quick.
- but no matter. Papa is sure to lend you an extra hour if you need it.
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Ted Wheeler 👹 (Holly's fraternal twin)
- he's asleep. He fell asleep first. You were just to scared to change the TV channel and fell asleep too on top of him with your sister.
- (he wakes up first too, and puts you both in bed, making sure you're covered and comfy before heading back to his chair. If you wake up in that time, he'lm tell you both some sort of a story, though it's a "tired dad" version. Usually you're the cool dragon, while Holly's the princess in fantasy stories.
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Karen Wheeler 👹 (also Holly's twin)
- she was suprised, of course, when you appeared across from her on the couch and shoved your way into her lap, cuddling close and instantly falling asleep.
- she lets you sit there for awhile, patting your back, before she brings you to her room to let you nap up there. When Holly gets tired she'll join you, but for now you get the big bed!)
Barb Holland
- havfuubeakdvehx
- Hi barb *waves fingers like an idiot*
- she loves cuddles. There's never a time you ever "accidentally" fall asleep on her. Oh no. Youre her hostage now.
- Smooches. Smoochy poochy bwa bwbajettiwvd
- Push her glasses up her nose while you're barely awake, and then proceed to pass out. She will cry of cuteness. No jokes.
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hope you enjoyed! Also I need to add Barb to my write list 👹
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resident-gay-bitch · 8 months
Text
(romantic)
please reblog for a bigger sample size <3
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