Chapter Text
June 1991
It’s always busy on nights like this, with nothing but joy gliding through the air, and it’s one of her favorite nights to work. It helps that the manager always schedules Steve to work with her on karaoke nights. In a bout of returning the favor, her best friend talked the manager into hiring both of them about 3 years ago.
After working together for years, they get each other in ways that most other people wouldn’t. They almost are always in sync and not much can really stop that. And the two of them working together is really good for business. Of course they equally benefit from it with plenty of people to flirt with, although neither of them have quite hit it off with anyone for more than just a one night thing.
The bar is decorated in very vibrant colors and mostly flamboyant designs, which really took a lot of getting used to at first. She hadn’t historically been comfortable telling everyone she was a lesbian before she started, but Steve had steadfastly told her that she was being ridiculous. Eventually, she had no choice to agree. Besides, nearly everyone who visited the bar was is like her. As far as she knows, Steve is the only straight person here.
On the typical busy night, they made $50 but on karaoke night it was almost double. It definitely made it worth their while, especially once she was convinced to give it a shot for herself. Robin had been extremely nervous at first but has since become very comfortable even hosting the night while still tending bar.
She usually spends all week trying to settle on a sing, almost the highlight of her week. Especially since after she usually gets more interactions with very pretty girls. Even though she’s still nervous and talks way too much, she normally has Steve there to shut her up and it’s also getting much easier. Considering the women she flirts with really won’t end up in her being the town pariah.
Tonight, she’s chosen to sing Heaven Is A Place On Earth . It’s been in her Walkman the most lately, and she has every single note engraved in her brain. She even finds herself humming it while working.
She takes a good look around trying to see if she can get anymore drink orders right now. There’s a few people a little further down the bar top, waving at Steve. His hair is longer but still manageable. It usually stays in place much nicer than when they used to fight demons.
After a few minutes, Steve bumps her shoulder and says, “You’re on deck.”
Sucking in a deep breath, Robin takes another look around the bar. It’s a little slower now, mostly everyone with a drink and a chair. Her eyes land on someone familiar, someone that, for a moment, she knew she could have easily loved her if she had ever believed the other woman would love her back.
She swallows thickly, wondering what a woman like her would be doing in a place like this. Her gaze lingers for a moment too long, noticing the way the brunette doesn’t even seem a little bit uncomfortable. She’s still unbelievably beautiful, so much so that Robin can barely wrap her mind around it. She gives Steve a sideways glance before heading up to the stage.
At this point, most of the people here are regulars so they part like the Red Sea for her to make her way to her destination. They smile at her and even wink at her. When she ascends the stage, the lights are bright, as usual, and she has to squint.
She grabs the microphone and looks across the bar at Steve then over the crowd; she says, “This is for you, Nancy”
Immediately, she curses herself, wondering why she has to be so freaking stupid . The music starts up and she sings, voice the regular amount of raspy with a perfected control. It took years of band and listening to music to get that control, but she’s learned how to harness it.
As she sings, she looks over the crowd. Most of the eyes are on her, not that she’s bothered by the ones that aren’t, including Nancy’s. When she looks at Steve, she can tell that he, too, is confused by her appearance. She no longer has the perm and her hair is straight to just below her shoulders, and her style is still on point. Her arms are still strong and her eyes still speak volumes. Volumes that Robin can barely hear through the bright light skewing her gaze.
The song comes to a close and the crowd of queers erupt into a very extravagant applause that definitely makes her blush. She returns the microphone to the stand and makes her way off stage to go back to work, to let the next participant have their turn. As she makes her way, she gives a few smiles in return. She picks up a few empty glasses from tables as the next song starts up, making her way into the middle of the room.
Truthfully, she’s doing something that she’d never had the courage to do, not until circumstances threw them together. She’s approaching a woman that she remembers in her mind, one whose hand held hers and her voice comforted her through the scariest experience she’s ever had. A woman her lit her heart on fire as she time and time again stepped up when she needed someone the most.
She clears her throat from just a few centimeters away and she doesn’t know if she’s intentionally trying to get her attention or if she’s honestly just trying to clear her throat. She steps between Nancy and a woman beside her, reaching out that long arm to clear off a few empty glasses. Her heart thumps hard and her brain tells her that this is a terrible idea.
Nancy feels her presence immediately, her reflexes were always sharp, and turns to face her. Robin can see her out of her peripheral vision, just enough to tell that the brunette is staring at her with her lips parted. They’re so close that she can feel the heat coming off of Nancy’s skin.
“Sorry,” she says, stomach brushing against the brunette’s thigh.
“Robin?” Nancy says her name, soft and full of surprise, “Is that you?”
“Yeah,” she replies, voice feeling hollow, “And Steve’s here too.”
“I should say hi,” Nancy says, smile so wide that it makes Robin’s stomach do flips.
Robin can’t help smiling back, stepping back to give the other woman some space. All of her thoughts are on the tip of her tongue but she’s able to tamp them down, keep them from spilling out in the space between them. Nancy follows her so slowly that she can still feel her in the space behind her, inching on her heels and almost making her drop all of the dirty glasses in her hands.
“Nancy!” Steve yells really loudly, rushing around the bar to give her a hug.
She repeats his name too, an excitement that really just makes her shudder with each breath. All of those unresolved feelings inside of her rise to the top the moment she saw the other woman. It is a reminder of the way she could count on her, expect someone to have her back. Vickie never did that. And neither has anyone since Nancy Wheeler. (Save for maybe Steve but that’s different.)
Before she can even place the glasses down, Steve is telling the brunette that he has to get back to work and leaves her standing there. Heart leaping in her chest, Robin takes a step towards the other woman, gaze settling on hers. They’re over to the side, out of the way and she gives the shorter woman a smile.
Bravely, she reaches out and touches Nancy’s elbow to say, “How are you?”
Nancy beams and, maybe even a little nervously, tucks her hair behind her ear. Robin can’t help looking at her and remembering the way she was always surprised by this woman. Something about saving the world (or at least Hawkins) together that will always make them familiar with each other, probably.
The brunette nods and says, “I’m good. I’ve been good.”
“And how was Boston?” Robin asks, definitely ignoring at least 3 women that are looking at her.
“It was really great. I loved it there,” Nancy says. Her pause is prolonged and Robin can’t help noticing the way that her eyes are bright and her mouth twitches in the interim. She smiles and it makes her melt just a little bit. That’s when she realizes that stupid little crush she developed spring break of senior year, it was just on pause. “Have you ever been?”
“To Boston?” Robin asks, brain slowly computing what the other woman is saying. She shakes her head but the words catch in her throat. Nancy’s smile is only kind and understanding. “The last time I left this town was…you know.”
“Yeah,” she says, smile faltering.
Robin can’t blame her. She wishes she could forget it every day - the vines squeezing her throat, watching Nancy and Steve nearly die with her. That’s why when she found it Nancy was going to Boston for college, she didn’t try to give her a reason to stay in this cursed town. She didn’t even try to maintain contact.
“Have you-“
“Rob,” Steve interrupts, “A little help?”
She glances over her shoulder to see an influx of people gathered at the bar, waving at her best friend to be serviced. It truly is bell to only have 2 servers on one of their busiest nights, but they save the extra help for Friday and Saturday night. They would drown with only 2 people.
“Sorry,” she finds herself saying again, “Did you want a drink?”
“Uh, yeah,” Nancy says, glancing away. Robin can’t help turning on her heel, looking in the same direction to notice everyone waiting for a drink. She shrugs at no one, very much not caring if she gives the other woman preferential treatment. “Are you sure?”
Nodding, she reaches for two shots glasses and places them on the counter. She grabs a bottle of tequila and turns it over the glasses. It pours out very quickly and they’re filled to the brim. She hands one to Nancy and takes the other, tapping them together before throwing it back.
She’s used to it by now, even though she doesn’t usually drink too much while working. Despite there being plenty of offers to buy her a shot or some other kind of alcoholic beverage. She usually pours herself a water and charges them for both.
Nancy, however, pulls a face that definitely indicates it burns going down. She’s seen the look many times before and it never gets old. The other woman coughs and hands over the glass.
“Are you ok?” She asks, grinning despite her concern. The brunette nods her head, eyes tilting up through her lashes with a certain glassy appearance to them. “Let me get you some water.”
She pours out a water and hands it over, quickly returning to the bar to help Steve clear out all of the people waiting to order. She gives Nancy another glance and a wave as the brunette returns to her table. She bumps into Steve’s shoulder as they reach for the same bottle and he shakes his head at her.
“Were you flirting with my ex-girlfriend?” He asks, a teasing lilt to his voice.
She scoffs in response, not really sure what to say.
She doesn’t think she was flirting, although it is almost second nature now. She was just catching up since the last time they saw each other. Only briefly 2 years ago when Dustin and Mike (and Lucas) graduated. From high school. They didn’t really hang out. She had to go back to Boston the following day, an internship starting bright and early Monday morning. After they all celebrated, they went to their respective houses.
Robin had easily remembered that crush she had pushed down then too.
“I was not,” she says incredulously.
“Really?” He asks sarcastically, “Cause I’ve seen you flirt and it looks an awful lot like that.”
Her cheeks feel warm but she easily pretends she isn’t blushing, handing over the drink to the person across the bar and telling them how much the drink is. They hand over a $10 bill and tell her to keep the change, a nearly $8 tip being made. She gives them a smile but doesn’t linger, quickly moving on to the next person.
It stays steady like this every Thursday night until 11:01 , every single week. Then the crowds begin to clear out and the last handful of karaoke sign ups get their turn. This night isn’t any different. A few stragglers hang out, refusing to admit it’s time for them to go home.
By half an hour later, there’s only a few people still in the bar. With it slowing down, she’s finally able to take a look at the remaining customers. Nancy is still there with her friends, laughing while looking over at her and Steve.
She pretends not to notice. It’s probably for the best considering Nancy is actually Steve’s ex. She can’t do that to her best friend. She would be a shitty friend to actually develop a crush on the brunette.
There are a few tables with drinks littered on them so she goes to pick them up. She knows this room by now like the back of her hand, working here for nearly 3 years now when her and Steve both realized they couldn’t really survive on a Family Video salary. And they know each other better than they know anyone else.
Yeah, she definitely has to tamp down this stupid thriving crush on his ex.
Which definitely only works for about 2 seconds when she notices the very pretty brunette sit at the bar in front of her best friend. Her entire body because heavier and she swallows down a lump. She’s never been jealous of Steve Harrington before.
The glass in her hand is too heavy too and it slips out of her hand, falling so fucking slow that she almost thinks she can catch it. Despite her trying to make a play for it, it hits the wooden floor with a very loud shattering noise. It makes her heart stop as she stares at it the entire time it fell to earth, wishing that she were anywhere else.
She can’t quite lift her eyes, very aware that every single person in the room must be looking at her now. Including Steve. And also Nancy. This is probably the worst day of her entire life. Finally, she looks up and Steve is furrowing his eyebrows which is not surprising, but Nancy is definitely giving her a very sympathetic look that nearly makes her melt right under the gaze.
She gathers what other glasses she can and steps forward, the glass crunching beneath her very decorated Converse. She sets the glasses on the bar top for Steve to take and goes to the back to look for a broom and dustpan, not even chancing a glance at Nancy.
Steve steps around her and says, “I’ll clean it up.”
He doesn’t give her a chance to protest and moves around her, grabbing the supplies on his way. With a sigh, she leans against the counter and stares at the wood. She’s hopeless, a useless lesbian with a dumb crush.
“You’re still clumsy,” Nancy says from her left.
She laughs while tapping the bar, slowly turning her head to look at the other woman. Her beautiful gaze offers a teasing glint, something that steals her breath away. She’s smiling too, practically killing her if it’s doing anything to her.
And, no, this doesn’t happen with every girl who flirts with her at the bar. Not that Nancy was flirting with her. Because she was certainly not flirting with Nancy.
“Part of my charm,” she replies. They stare at each other, some kind of intense whirlwind starting inside of her that pulls and pulls and pulls until she’s sliding down to stand in front of her. Finally, she asks, “Where’d your friends go?”
“Home,” Nancy tells her with a shrug.
She’s smirking now, looking like she knows the power she has over her. It’s unfair, really, when a pretty girl knows that she’s pretty. She tilts her chin up, looking at her through her lashes and curling the little diaphragm inside of her torso.
Robin leans in, unable to really stop herself. She’s practiced this game too much over the years, but now they’re like some combined version of her at 18 but also at 23. Is she 21 again?
“They don’t sound like very good friends,” Robin comments, cocking an eyebrow on her forehead. But, to this, Nancy arches an eyebrow in return and very much threatens a smile. “They brought you to a gay bar then left you?”
Nancy leans in too, lips pursed, and says, “Who said it wasn’t my idea?”
The voices in her head tell her that Nancy is just toying with her, making her think that the brunette would choose to come to a place like this. Not Nancy with the boyfriends and the perfect grades. But maybe Nancy with the guns and the holding her hand and the knowing smile.
Instead of saying any of that, she laughs. It’s a honest to god kind of thing that requires her entire body to move with it. Not that she totally understands why. But she can feel Nancy’s looking at her which really just stills her. So she looks back down, leaning heavily on the counter.
“So say it was your idea,” Robin says, crouching lower until they’re eye level, “Why would you want to come to a place like this?”
Nancy arches an eyebrow at her and slightly tilts her head. She can barely see her reach for her drink, but with her hand wrapped around it, she lifts it into the space between them. The brunette takes a sip of it, setting it back down with a little sound.
“You know why,” she says, voice calm and collected.
She breathes a little heavier, much more shallow.
“For the karaoke?” Robin asks.
Nancy smiles, and shakes her head. Robin gulps, blinking slowly. The brunette says, “Not for the karaoke.”
Steve comes up behind her then. His presence reminds her that this used to be his girlfriend, the only girl he had ever loved. She stands up straight, back stretching as she does so. He’s shoulder to shoulder with her, his body heat extremely familiar. It’s kind of gross.
“I’ll close up,” he says, “If you want to go home.”
“But you’re my ride,” she points out.
She gives him a pointed look, waiting for him to respond when Nancy says, “I can take you home.”
Before she can say anything, Steve has already agreed on her behalf. She looks over at Nancy who seems a little sheepish which really does nothing to make the little flutters in her chest flutter on out of there. Conceding, she reaches for Nancy’s glass and downs the rest of the contents.
“Ok then,” she murmurs.
As she moves around the bar, a wide-eyed Nancy follows. It isn’t really abnormal for her to leave with a woman who had been flirting with her, she just didn’t think it would be Nancy. Not in a million years. Robin waves goodbye to her best friend and roommate, suddenly feeling so much more nervous after stepping out of her element.
She follows Nancy to her car and gets into the passenger side. It’s the same old station wagon just a little more worn. The passenger seat is still comfortable and the seatbelt works, she notices as she puts it on. Unfortunately for her, her stomach grumbles way too loudly after the other woman starts the car.
“Are you hungry?” Nancy asks.
The radio is turned down so quietly that she can barely hear it. She certainly can’t make out any of the words. She definitely blushes, a little embarrassed thag her body is being so obnoxious. At least Nancy isn’t a mind reader.
“Uh,” she starts, pressing her palms against her thighs and rubbing them, “Yeah, a little.”
She swallows as Nancy puts the car into drive. She doesn’t know why she’s suddenly so nervous without the bar or her best friend to give her confidence. It isn’t like she normally feels nervous when she takes girls home, when she’s alone with them.
But this isn’t any girl. It’s the girl who saw her for who she was, who understood her without words. Not even Vickie could do that and she was Robin’s longest relationship (a whopping 8 months but still, they tried to make it work). She quickly reminds herself that this is her friend. Nancy Wheeler is her friend. Nothing more. Despite the fact that, perhaps, Nancy had been flirting with her back in the bar. Or maybe she started it…
She can’t even tell when she’s doing it anymore.
“I’m hungry too,” Nancy says.
“Do you want to eat with me?” Robin asks, voice thick even for her.
Nodding, the brunette asks, “Is there anywhere near your place that would be open?”
“Uh, yeah,” she says, clearing her throat, “There’s a twenty-four hour place on the corner a few blocks from the apartment. They have the best omelettes ever. Especially after you’ve been drinking.”
“Do you want to park at the diner or your apartment?” Nancy asks.
For a moment, she thinks Nancy is asking to see their apartment. Which is definitely a ridiculous thought, one that really only results in her believing this is about her best friend. The last time they were all together, he was confessing his undying love for the other woman. Maybe the brunette, even though flirting with her, is really more interested in Steve. After all, they had been talking to each other.
None of this is making sense. Last she heard, the brunette was dating Jonathan. It’s possible they broke up. It has been such a long time since they’ve even seen each other. But Nancy and Steve are so very over.
She shrugs and says, “Whichever.”
She sucks in a deep breath and decides to just push down that crush all over again and just let things happen however they happen. This is a woman she was so comfortable around, they can be again. Besides, things between them now feel the same as they always have.
“It’s just a few blocks?” Nancy asks for confirmation.
“Yeah, like two blocks,” she says.
Nancy chooses to park at the apartment and Robin proceeds to direct her there. During the car ride, she fidgets with everything from the air vents to the window handle and Nancy doesn’t bother to call her out on it. When they finding a parking spot on the street in front of the apartment building, they get out of the car.
“How long have you been working at the bar?” Nancy asks as they step onto the sidewalk.
“A few years, it’s a really nice place. The people are really nice. The customers are really nice,” Robin answers, “I usually don’t drink very much though. We have a bottle filled with water that we use.”
“Did you pour yourself a water and me tequila?” Nancy asks, voice so teasing that it presses against Robin’s skin.
“What?” She laughs, it stuck in her throat, and adds, “No! I would never do that to you.”
“You didn’t even flinch,” Nancy says, deadpanned.
“Ok, so I drink enough that I’m used to it,” she replies. She glances at the other woman, looking down at her and noting the light from the street lamp highlighting the color against her skin. Her eyeshadow is a light blue, her cheeks are a dusting of pink, and her mouth is a light red. “But we profit so much when we do it that way! Plus, I could not get plastered and be useful. I’m totally hopeless.”
“You’ve never been hopeless,” Nancy gently argues.
They walk around the corner and see the diner sign lit up which honestly makes her feel a bit better. For some reason, it scares her being alone with Nancy. She holds the door open for the other woman and makes sure to let her go first. Then she remembers that she can’t do this with the brunette, can’t be charming or polite. She really can’t go into that feeling again.
They’re seated at a booth near the classic jukebox. She slides into the booth across from the other woman, immediately noticing how much shorter she is on the cushion. When standing, she can almost tell the difference. They order quickly, like neither of them needs a menu. She puts both elbows on the table and leans forward, truthfully unable to leave too much distance between them.
God, she hates herself.
“How long are you here for?” Robin asks, fingers tapping the table. Nancy’s face falters and her gaze drops to the table. It makes her feel bad that she caused some kind of sadness to bubble in the other woman. She swallows, looking away also almost too afraid to continue asking questions. “Forget I asked that.”
“No,” Nancy protests, eyes snapping upwards to meet hers, “It’s just, it’s a man’s world.”
“That sucks, Nance,” she says, the old nickname easily falling off of her tongue, “I’m sorry.”
She shrugs in response like she’s minimizing her feelings. Robin definitely doesn’t want her to do that for her sake. She’s had lots of women definitely over share some things she really never wanted to know. And that wasn’t even someone she crossed into an alternate dimension with.
“I’m glad you’re back,” Robin adds, definitely filling the silence, “If that means anything.”
“It does!” Nancy says too loudly. Her hands slide across the table and cover one of hers, making her own gaze snap to their hands. Her fingers twitch beneath the touch and she definitely pushes the heat out of her chest. The brunette smiles a beautiful, nervous looking thing. “Of course it does.”
“It’s just,” she starts and lets it hang in the air. She doesn’t really want to make old wounds bleed. She tucks her bottom lip into her mouth, debating whether she should keep going, but Nancy’s eyes are pleading with her to just say the rest. “We didn’t exactly stay in touch.”
“Yeah,” Nancy says, “But we always just pick things up where we left off.”
“Right,” Robin admits, knowing that is truer than she wishes. If only she weren’t going to fall asleep tonight (and the next 9 months) thinking about Nancy Wheeler smiling at her. Her hands burn beneath the other woman’s. Nancy must notice it too because she moves them back to her side of the table. “How’s Jonathan?”
“We, um, we broke up like two years ago,” Nancy says, “Are you seeing anyone?”
“Are you?” Robin counters.
Nancy’s eyebrow arches on her forehead, head tilting to the side. Gaze dropping to her lips, Robin sees the way that they’re pursing. They have a hint of a smile, but she shakes it off.
Nancy says, “I shouldn’t have asked.”
She gulps, immediately kicking herself. She doesn’t know why it’s so hard to be honest about this, so hard to tell her that sometimes she goes home with someone or takes someone home, but nothing ever means anything. She never wants it to. Maybe it’s because the thing with Vickie burned, or maybe it’s because no one has ever been the right girl.
“I’m not really,” Robin says, taking herself through about a million different emotions, “I don’t know why I didn’t just say that.”
“I don’t know why I asked,” Nancy replies, tucking a loose strand of her behind her ear. The locks are just past her shoulders, a lovely color that undoubtedly turns heads. She looks different and yet still the same. “Why did you dedicate your song to me?”
And she lies with her whole chest when she says, “I don’t know that either.”
“You sounded great,” Nancy says, “I hope I get to hear you sing again.”
“Every Thursday night,” Robin says with a smile.
Before they can keep going in this back and forth, their food comes to the table and is set in front of them. She forgot how hungry she was for a few minutes, with Nancy distracting her. She picks up her fork and begins eating, finally able to fill the empty void that is in her stomach.
Every thought that runs through her head is about how Nancy is Steve’s ex-girlfriend. Or about Nancy’s hand in hers. Or about the way her mouth takes shape with every bite.
“Who were your friends at the bar anyway?” Robin asks, food filled form halfway to her mouth.
“From Emerson,” Nancy answers, “They were helping me move my stuff back. They’re staying at a motel.”
“You didn’t want to introduce us?” Robin teases, “I’m wounded.”
“Shut up,” Nancy says, laughing softly, “I guess I just didn’t know how to combine those two worlds, high school and college.”
“Come on, Nance. We’re worth more than that,” Robin continues teasing, “We saved the world together.”
“You can meet them tomorrow,” Nancy says, “We’re going to breakfast before they head back to Boston.”
“So does this mean we’re friends again?” Robin asks.
“Duh,” Nancy retorts.
They finish their food and Robin leaves her $10 tip on the table to pay for both of them. As they walk back to her apartment, she shoves her hands in her pockets. Her elbow brushes against the other woman’s every few steps, but neither of them actually breathe existence of it into the space between them. When the other woman climbs into her car and drives away, Robin knows that she is in deep trouble.