Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1:

Nancy sighed, irritation boiling under her skin as her research was once again interrupted. The tap, tap, tap of nails on a desk, no matter how rhythmic and catchy, was making her eye twitch. She swept her eyes across the page again. God, she must have read the same line eight times now.

Tap, ta-tap, tap! She gritted her teeth and glanced up. She should have known who would be there. Only one person could get on her nerves like this. And sure enough, there she was… Robin, bobbing her head and tapping out a beat with her fingers as she studied.

Nancy narrowed her eyes. Of fucking course it would be Robin. As if she wasn’t subjected to her company enough. She rolled her eyes. Why Barb and Steve decided that they needed another friend, no, why it had to be Robin, was beyond her.

Robin was… eccentric, Nancy decided on. She was loud. She rambled about things that Nancy just didn’t care to listen to. She was messy. When Nancy had dropped by Steve’s place that he shares with Robin, she had noticed many of Robin’s things lying around the house.

Nancy had felt overwhelmed just from the two minutes she had spent in the house.

She watched as Robin tapped out a quick beat and glared at the other girl. As if sensing her gaze, Robin looked up, grinning as her blue-gray eyes met Nancy’s own hazel. She reached up and plucked an ear bud from her ear and Nancy couldn’t help but notice a new tattoo on the inside of Robin’s wrist. It looked like some sort of connect the dot heart shape with a sword behind it.

“Hey, Nance.” Robin’s husky voice floated through the space between them. “Like my drum solo?”

Nancy pursed her lips. “Not particularly.”

Robin grinned at her, running a hand through her shaggy dirty blonde hair. With the amount of rings on her fingers, Nancy was surprised that they didn’t get snagged on her hair. “Well, jazz isn’t for everyone.” She shrugged.

“It’s distracting.” Nancy retorted, that irritation rising again. “Some of us are trying to study.”

“Well, duh.” Robin said, fiddling with the silver ring on her thumb. “This is the library. That’s what I’m doing.” She held up the book she was reading, a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. “Studying.”

Nancy grit her teeth. “Well, try to do it more quietly, please.”

Robin opened her mouth to say more, but before she could, a familiar head of hair appeared around the corner.

Steve was the kind of effortless cool that most people wished they could be. He was tall, still had an athletes figure even though he hadn’t played basketball since high school, and the hair. What Nancy wouldn’t give to have that kind of volume.

He had an easy grin on his face as he took them in. “Hey. There are my girls.” He draped his arms around Robin from behind, hugging her to him.

Robin’s grin widened as she looked up at him. It was odd. Nancy knew that Robin was gay. Everyone did. She didn’t try to hide it. But there was an intimacy to Steve and Robin’s relationship that sometimes felt like she was intruding on a special moment.

“Time for a study break.” Steve announced. “Barb and Eddie are meeting us at McRoy’s.”

“Steve,” Nancy sighed. “I have so much work to do still.”

She heard the scraping of a chair against the floor and looked up to see that Robin was already packing her things in her canvas bag.

Good. Perhaps now, she could actually get some research done.

“Come on, Nance.” Steve said. “We haven’t seen you in a couple of days. Let’s go eat and then I promise, we’ll let you come back here and bury your nose in your research.”

“Yeah.” Robin piped up. “Why so serious?” She dropped her voice as she said it. If anyone else had done the impression, it probably would have made her laugh, but Nancy just stared at Robin, an eyebrow lifted, unimpressed. “Geez. Tough crowd. Okay, well, I know for a fact that you haven’t eaten anything since you got here,” she checked the time on her phone, “five hours ago. And I bet you were in such a rush to get here, you didn’t eat breakfast either.”

Nancy stared at Robin. How did she know that?

“I’ve been here the whole time.” Robin said, as if it were completely obvious.

Nancy furrowed her brows. She had arrived to the library at eight in the morning. She didn’t remember seeing Robin there when she had entered. And the tapping had only started in the last thirty minutes or so.

She was about to protest again when her stomach made a small gurgling noise. Sighing, she put away her things and followed Steve and Robin, the latter already chattering a mile a minute.

Nancy would never admit it out loud, but she was glad that Steve had made her take a break. It turned out that she was incredibly hungry, and McRoy’s had the best burger in all of Boston.

They had discovered McRoy’s accidentally the first week they had been in the city. Steve had insisted they needed to explore the city, which ultimately led them to getting lost. Nancy had almost cried when they spotted the sign, an old glass, neon Coca-Cola sign, out front.

Stepping through the door had been like stepping through a time machine. The interior was like a malt shop from the 50’s, one of the ones her grandparents would have gone to in high school. And the food, the food was amazing. It took exactly one bite for Nancy to fall in love.

She ate as Eddie regaled them with the latest tale of how he had tortured his poor D&D group, his grin wide as he explained different monsters he’d had them fight and plot points he’d like to hit in future sessions. Nancy had never been into Dungeons and Dragons, though she knew far too much about it since her little brother Mike had been playing since Middle School.

Robin nodded along with the story, her hand reaching over and grabbing a fry from Nancy’s plate. Nancy narrowed her eyes as Robin brought it absentmindedly to her lips and ate it, as if she hadn’t just stolen it from Nancy’s plate… right in front of Nancy.

“And then Robin totally whiffed the roll. I’m talking a nat one.”

“Yeah, Darrel totally screwed me over on that one.” Robin said even as an easy grin made its way to her full lips. She met Nancy’s eyes, apparently seeing the question in them. “Darrel is my D20.”

“You named your dice?” Nancy asked dubiously.

“Only Darrel. He’s kind of shitty. He either rolls really well or, like, really terribly.”

“Your dice is a he?”

“Yeah. You know, cause men are super shitty.” She joked and knocked her shoulder against Steve’s as if to soften the blow.

“Oh. Okay. I’ll remember that the next time you need a ride, Buckley.”

“Nooo.” Robin looked up at him with a pout, blue eyes going wide in an expression that gave Nancy the impression of a puppy. “What will I do without my chauffeur?”

Steve put his hand to his chest, expression aghast even as a smile threatened to take over his face. “Is that all I am to you? And here I thought we had something truly special.” He wiped an imaginary tear from his eyes.

Robin threw her head back, laughing loud and long.

“Speaking of something special,” Eddie smirked at Robin. “How’d things go with that girl? Vickie, right?”

Nancy startled. She hadn’t known that Robin was seeing anyone. Surely Robin would have said something. The girl never seemed to stop talking.

“Oh. We’re not going to see each other anymore.” Robin smiled a little self deprecatingly. “She’s still hung on her ex. She talked about him throughout the whole evening. I barely got a word in. It’s just not a good fit.”

Nancy stared at Robin for a moment. Robin fiddled with one of the rings on her finger as she stared at the tabletop.

“Well, that’s just ridiculous.” She heard herself saying. “And really rude.”

“Yeah.” Barb spoke up. “Who even does that? Like, she agreed to go on a date with you and then just talks about some guy the whole time. You’re way better off.”

Robin looked up and their eyes met, a soft look in her eyes as she smiled slowly. “Thanks, guys.” She turned her head to meet Barb’s gaze. Her posture loosened little by little as the conversation shifted, Barb taking over with a funny story about one of the students she tutored.

Nancy felt eyes on her and looked up to see Robin watching her softly. She mouthed a quick ‘Thank you,’ before her gaze shifted back to Barb, fully immersing herself in the conversation again.

Nancy stared at Robin a moment longer. She hadn’t done anything special, just spoke the truth. It was rude to go on a date with someone and spend the entire night talking about an ex. And, if Nancy were being honest. She didn’t quite understand. Because, sure, sometimes Nancy found Robin infuriatingly annoying, but she could admit that Robin was pretty, and funny when she wanted to be, and she knew that she was a good friend to Barb and Steve. So, it wasn’t like other people wouldn’t find her appealing.

“So, is everyone coming Friday?” Steve asked, interrupting her train of thought.

“Hell yeah!” Eddie said.

“Duh, dingus. I live there.”

“Yep.” Barb said simply.

“Nancy?” Steve turned to her. “You coming?”

Damn it. She had forgotten that Steve was throwing a party. “I don’t know, Steve. I have so much studying to do. And I still have to write that piece for the paper. It’s due Monday.”

“Come on, Nance. That’s what Saturday and Sunday are for.” Eddie said, leaning forward. “Live a little.”

“You need a break. And I need you to come to my party.” Steve grinned at her; all charm and enthusiasm.

“Yeah. You can think of it as an assignment. Going undercover. Getting the scoop. And writing the best article ever. The Secret Lives of the American College Students by Nancy Wheeler, future Pulitzer winner. You can take notes on frat guys and how stupid they act when they think they’re going to get laid.” Robin jumped in.

Nancy twisted her mouth to the side, trying not to smile. Because that was actually kind of funny, and a little sweet.

She sighed, “Fine.” Everyone except Barb whooped in excitement. “But don’t get mad if I leave super early.”

“Yesssss!!” Steve let out. “It’s going to be great! I’ve invited so many people.”

Nancy rubbed at her temples. She was already starting to regret this.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2:

Yep. Nancy officially regretted attending this party. Steve hadn’t lied when he’d said he invited a lot of people. The house was currently packed with a ton of college students, from freshman to seniors and maybe even some graduate students.

She rolled her eyes. Once a popular kid, always a popular kid. Nancy really didn’t understand how Steve did it. He just had this aura about him. People were drawn to him, and he just charmed them so naturally. Nancy wasn’t even sure that he knew he was doing it.

She swept her eyes around the room. Barb was blushing as a guy chatted her up. Nancy smirked, happy for her friend. Barb had been so shy in high school, but college was being good to her. It turns out that not all guys were as shallow as the boys back in Hawkins.

Eddie and Chrissy Cunningham were making out in the corner of the room. That had been a big shock. Eddie Munson, the rebel metal head, geek without a cause and sweet, ex-cheerleader, top student Chrissy Cunningham hooking up would not have ever been on her bingo card. But, she had to admit, they were so sweet together. She wrinkled her nose. When they weren’t shoving their tongues down each other’s throats.

“Jealous?” Nancy jerked in surprise, turning to see a tall man standing just behind her.

“What?” She asked.

Her nodded at Eddie and Chrissy. “You were staring at them. You jealous that you don’t have someone to make out with?” He gave her a look that she was sure was supposed to be smoldering. It really just made him look like he had gas pains. “Cause I don’t mind you using me, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, no.” Nancy stuttered. “They’re just my friends.”

“Oh, yeah?” He took a step closer, leaning toward her and stumbling a bit. “So, you’re not jealous, but I’m still willing. You’re, like, really fucking sexy.”

Nancy’s eyes darted around. Where was Steve? Fuck, she suddenly regretted that she had sequestered herself in a corner at the beginning of the night.

She glanced around the party. Everyone seemed to be preoccupied with their own groups. Eddie and Chrissy had disappeared. Barb had her back turned to her. And she couldn’t see Steve at all.

“No, thank you.” Nancy decided to go for the polite approach. Perhaps he would lose interest and go bother someone else, or better yet. Maybe he’d leave.

“Come on, babe. You’re so hot. And I bet behind that sexy librarian thing you got going on, you’re just a freak in the bed.” He slurred out, stepping so close that Nancy could feel his body heat and smell the stink of alcohol on his breath.

Nancy flushed with anger as she glared up at him. How dare he? Who the fuck did he think he was? Who even says that to a complete stranger?

“Babe! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Someone grabbed her arm and Nancy found herself looking up into blue-gray eyes, her heart stuttering in her chest at the touch. “Hey, man, thanks for keeping my girlfriend company.”

Robin dragged her hand down Nancy’s arm until she was entwining their fingers and leaning forward to kiss Nancy on the cheek.

Nancy stiffened, a blush dusting her cheeks, because what…?

The man looked between them, before he grinned lecherously. “Hot. I knew it.”

“Knew what?” Robin grinned at him, her grip tightening on Nancy’s hand minutely.

“That she’d be a freak in the bed. I bet all that pent up energy just goes nuts, huh?”

Robin straightened, her sharp jaw clenching as she stared at him. Nancy knew, logically, that Robin was tall. She was around 5’8” or 5’9”. But somehow, Robin liked to make herself smaller. She was always hunching over or slouching. Now, she stood at her full height, her eyes resembling steel as she stared the guy down. “That’s a pretty fucked up thing to say, don’t you think?”

The guy scrunched up his face. “Come on. It’s a compliment.” He gestured to them, like that was explanation enough.

“I don’t find it very flattering, and I don’t think my girlfriend finds it very flattering either.” Robin pulled Nancy further into her. “Now, move, so I can take my girlfriend to my room and fuck the memory of this encounter right out of her pretty little head.”

And… what the fuck? That was… why was Nancy blushing so much?

Robin pulled her away from the guy, whose mouth had gaped open as he watched them leave. Nancy let herself be dragged through the party. Her eyes were on Robin’s back. She could probably pull her hand away now. She was sure that the creep got the message, but her heart was pounding in her chest, and her body seemed to be working on autopilot. She glanced around one more time and met Steve’s eyes. His brows were raised so high that they almost disappeared into his hair before a grin bloomed across his face and her raised his hand, giving her a thumbs up.

She tried to shake her head at him. Tell him this isn’t what it looks like, but Robin was walking too fast. Suddenly they were in Robin’s room, the door shutting behind them. Robin immediately spun, her eyes searching Nancy’s face. “Are you okay?” She breathed, still holding her hand. “What an asshole! Who even says stuff like that? Like, seriously, just, what the fuck?!”

Nancy stared at Robin for a moment. “Seriously, Nance. Are you okay? He didn’t touch you or anything, did he?” Robin stepped forward, her other hand coming up to rest on Nancy’s shoulder, her thumb rubbing gently. And, oh, Robin was warm.

“No… he—what the fuck, Robin?” Nancy jerked her hand from Robin’s grasp. She began to pace, kicking a shirt that was in her way to clear the floor. “Why was that the first thing that popped into your head?”

Robin gazed at her for a moment, nonplused. “I was just trying to help.”

“By—By telling that guy that you were my girlfriend?” She threw her hands up, spinning to face Robin, again. “That you were going to,” she dropped her voice to a hiss, “to fuck me?”

Robin winced, before she spoke again. “I just wanted him to leave you alone! I didn’t really think.” Robin toyed with the silver ring on her thumb and bit her bottom lip, her face doing that puppy dog thing that Nancy had noticed it did.

“That’s the problem, Robin! You didn’t think.” Nancy pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Hey, at least it worked?” Robin chuckled, though it was halfhearted and strained, her smile becoming tight. Her shoulders slouched.

Nancy sighed, shaking her head. She willed her heart to slow its racing. “Robin, I appreciate that you wanted to help me. I really do, but maybe next time you decide to play hero, think before you step in.”

Nancy turned to leave. It was time to go home, her head was starting to pound, and suddenly all she wanted was to crawl into her bed and go to sleep.

“Wait,” Robin said, “At least, stay and calm down before you go. You’re literally shaking.” She grabbed Nancy’s hand again. Nancy almost pulled away. This was a lot of handholding. And led Nancy to her bed. As she sat, Robin’s leg brushed against her knees, briefly. “I’m going to go get you a glass of water. Please just relax.”

Nancy sat on the bed. It was softer than it looked. She glanced around. Robin’s room, despite the mess, was actually pretty charming. It wasn’t that big, but it was filled to the brim. There were posters on the walls of various bands and shows she’d heard Robin talk about before.  

She scooted back on the bed so that her back was against the wall. Her eyes began to droop, and she swept them around the room. There was a bookshelf, stacked with piles upon piles of books.

The last thing she thought before sleep took her was that Robin’s hand was really soft and warm, and it had felt… nice. But, that didn’t mean anything, right? Yeah, Nancy decided. It definitely did not mean anything. Nancy sighed, her eyes landing on a guitar, scuffed and well used, and then there was nothing but darkness as sleep finally took her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3:

In all her years of coming to McRoy’s with the gang, Nancy had never felt this uncomfortable. She had woken up in Robin’s bed, disoriented and confused about where she was. Bit by bit, the night had come back to her, and she had jerked up in Robin’s bed, a blanket pooling around her waist, scratchy against the bare skin of her arms but unexpectedly warm. Robin must have put it on her, she realized, refusing to acknowledge the warmth that had bloomed in her chest.

She had stepped over Robin. Oh my God, she had slept on the floor so that Nancy could have the bed to herself. And opened the door, softly, trying her hardest not to wake Robin. She turned and jolted, stifling a scream when she nearly collided with Steve. Only then did the smell of coffee reach her.

Steve stood at the island in the kitchen, holding a steaming mug as he watched her, smirk firmly in place. “Hey there.”

“Hey…” Nancy said. She tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace.

“Sleep well?” he asked, grin spreading as if he already knew the answer.

“Um, fine?” She replied.

He smiled, lifting his mug as if congratulating her on something. Her brow furrowed, then her face flushed scarlet.

“Wait, what?” Nancy startled, shaking her head emphatically. “No! That’s not— It wasn’t—”

The sound of a door opening interrupted her. She heard the shuffle of footsteps and then Robin was rounding into view. She had a pair of men’s boxers and a tank top that she must have changed into last night. Nancy tried not to notice the way Robin’s tank clung to her, but her eyes lingered anyway. Heat flared in her chest before she forced herself to look away. Fuck, what was happening? This was Robin, her… well, not quite friend. Friend-adjacent, maybe. And she could absolutely not check her out.

Nancy forced her eyes away from Robin’s breasts just as Robin turned to give her a sleepy smile. “Good morning.” Robin’s husky morning voice curled around Nancy like a caress, and she shuddered. She told herself it was just the cold, but she didn’t know if she believed it.

After that, she’s not quite sure how she got roped into going to McRoy’s. Before she knew it, she was in Robin’s room pulling on borrowed clothes, then being herded into an Uber. Steve and Robin had made easy conversation the whole ride, while Nancy died a little inside, trying to put space between herself and Robin, to no avail.

Okay, so clearly, Steve thought something had happened last night. It was fine, she would just tell him that nothing happened, and that would be that.

Except, as she sat in a booth, Steve and Eddie on one side of the booth, and Robin pressed against her side on the other side of the booth, she still hadn’t gotten the chance. It wasn’t like Nancy could just blurt out, “Robin and I didn’t have sex!” in the middle of the diner.

Aside from some smirks from her friends, nothing had been said so far. Robin sipped her coffee slowly, every now and then, she would reach over and steal a fry from Nancy’s plate. Nancy stared at her side profile. Robin didn’t seem fazed, almost like she hadn’t noticed the tension at all.

Robin stood, announcing that she needed the toilet, before she practically skipped away. Why was she so happy and energetic?

“So, how long have you and Robin been a thing?” Came Eddie’s teasing tone.

“What?” Nancy’s head snapped from where she had been watching Robin. “We’re not—”

“Come on.” Eddie’s smirk softened into something more genuine. “You know we love you both. And we’ll support you.”

Her throat tightened, though she couldn’t tell if it was panic or something softer.

“All we’re saying,” Steve interjected, “is, I’m really happy for you, and for her. I know I probably don’t have to tell you this, but Robin hasn’t always had the best go of it. It’s nice to see her so… content.”

Nancy was silent for a moment, absorbing that information. What did he mean by Robin not having “the best go of it?”

“I appreciate that, Steve. I really do. But, there’s nothing going on between me and Robin.”

Steve cocked his head, giving her a deadpan stare as he bluntly stated what Nancy had been trying to avoid admitting to herself this whole time. “Nancy, you’ve been checking her out all morning, and you literally just went all goo-goo in the eyes watching her.”

Nancy blushed again. Thankfully, this one was more subtle than the last few. Robin reappeared by her side, and for the first time ever, Nancy breathed a sigh of relief at her presence.

The rest of their meal continued with very little fanfare, and when they parted ways, Nancy barely looked back.

Barb was already home when she arrived. She smiled at Nancy as she walked into their shared living room.

“Hey.” Nancy crossed to sit on the couch, kicking her feet up and sighing, the tension already leaking out of her as she melted into the couch.

“Hey, how was your night?” Nancy looked up, but Barb wasn’t looking at her like Steve and Eddie did earlier. The look on her face was one of genuine curiosity.

“It was okay.” Nancy smiled softly. “How was your night? I saw you talking to that guy.” Nancy leaned forward, her smile turning teasing for a moment.

“Oh,” Barb reached up, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, that’s Ethan.”

“And…?” Nancy bounced, excited for her friend. She sat up straight, turning to fully face Barb.

“And he’s cute, and smart, and funny. And he seems to like me.” Barb had a soft look on her face as she talked, and Nancy’s heart clenched.

“I’m so happy for you.” She smiled softly at her friend, her smile softening as she saw the dreamy look that consumed Barb’s features.

“Yeah. We had a class together in freshman year. I always thought he was cute.” Barb blushed, looking down with a serene smile. “And apparently he thought the same, but we were both too shy.”

“But you guys talked last night?” Nancy questioned, leaning forward.

“Yeah, we talked.” She looked up, her cheeks painted a pretty pink. “And kissed a little.”

“Oh, my god!” Nancy’s cheeks hurt from how wide her smile had gotten. “Well, don’t leave me hanging! Did he ask you out?” Nancy gasped, clapping her hands together. “Did you ask him out?”

“We kind of mutually agreed to go on a date?” Barb smiled wide and honest.

“Barb, I’m so happy for you.” Nancy leaned forward and pulled Barb into a hug.

They sat like that for a while, before Barb pulled away, her smile dimming slightly. She hesitated a moment before she took a deep breath and blurted, “Can I ask you a question, though?”

“Anything.” Nancy said immediately.

“Why didn’t you tell me about you and Robin?” Barb said. It wasn’t accusatory. There was an edge to her voice. Hurt? Disbelief.

Nancy sighed, her chest constricting. It couldn’t be guilt. There was nothing to be guilty about. But, still, that shitty feeling rose up in her, making her feel like there was something rising in the back of her throat. “You know that I would have no problem with it, right?” Barb continued, her voice soft. Nancy grabbed one of the throw pillows from the couch and hugged it to her chest. “I love you and I love Robin. And none of us have a problem with her or you being gay. If that’s what you’re worried about.”

“No! Of course not.” Nancy’s voice came out loud and panicked. Of course, she knew that Barb and her friends weren’t like that. She reached out, grabbing Barb’s hand, squeezing it.

“Because, I know that Robin’s experiences haven’t been great, and I didn’t know if that was why you didn’t tell us about you.” Barb spoke softly, squeezing Nancy’s hand softly in response.

“What do you mean? Robin’s experiences?” Nancy cocked her head.

“You know, with her parents? It’s terrible, what they did to her when they found out she’s gay.”

“Oh.” That was all Nancy could say. Robin had never told her about her parents. Why would she, Nancy thought, suddenly very bitter with herself. It wasn’t as if Nancy had given her the chance.

“We’ll support you, no matter what.”

“I appreciate that,” Nancy said. “But, really, there’s nothing to tell you.”

Nancy’s smile was brittle as Barb studied her. She wasn’t lying, but, fuck if it felt like she was.