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withacapitalp · 1 year

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Hidden Gem Friday

We're back on Hidden Gem Friday lads! How is it Friday again :OOOOO As always I'm still taking recs for these! You can even send them anonymously if you like (That's how I got one o them today!!)

Someone's a Cuddler by not_a_smooth_man recced to me by the author on anon! 6.7k words (COMPLETE) Steddie- Eddie Centric

Summary:

That morning, though, Eddie came to following what was truly a deep, dreamless sleep. He was cocooned by a warmth that was lulling him into a wakeful state. As he regained consciousness, he began to realize that his left arm was numb, trapped under something warm and heavy. He also noticed that his head was perched on said heavy thing, rising and falling gently. That was the moment Eddie finally realized that he was cuddling Steve’s chest. And oh, not just Steve’s chest, but his bare chest. He had wrapped his arms entirely around him, their legs tangling under the thick comforter. Steve’s body must have responded in their sleep because his arms were draped over Eddie’s form. And because it was just his luck, it seemed that Steve was waking up too. “Mmh,” grunted Steve. He yawned. “Morning,” he said, muffled by Eddie’s hair. “Um.” Eddie said intelligently. Eddie felt Steve chuckle, his chest vibrating with the sound. “Someone’s a cuddler,” Steve said, a hint of teasing in his voice, still heavy with sleep. - Or, Eddie Munson is in love with Steve and accidentally cuddles with him.

My Thoughts:

Okay I really enjoyed this one! It has so much sentiment in it but it isn't saccharine? And I feel like this could have very easily gotten very cheesy but not in the good way. I love cheese, but some cheese is a no. I'm digressing but yes this just felt very nice when you're reading it. It's a trope I've seen used a lot, but I'm never disappointed to read it again, and this is a super cute version of it. I love that you sent it to me dear author!!! Techhhhnically it's not exactly a Hidden Gem because it was only published a few days ago, BUT the author asked me if I could tell people about their fic, so since it's under 2k I thought I would put it in here

A Life For Every Year (And One For After) by Kedreeva recced by me but initially shown to me by @horsegirleddiemunson! 4.7k words (Complete) Generic with Steve & Jonathan at core

Summary:

Steve meets her when he is nine years old. She is skin and bones, and fits in the cup of his hands like a tiny, furry tennis ball and her purr rattles against the skin of his palms. ---- Or, the one where baby Steve adopts the same stray kitten as baby Jonathan.

My Thoughts:

Ough THIS FIC. Okay first off I'll just say I LOVE when people take advantage of canon location settings and the fact that Steve and Jonathan lived in the same woods (and probably ran into those woods to escape from their terrible houses a lot if Castle Byers is any indication) is soooooooo yes The way this is written is so. It just feels good. Like so much of it is heartbreaking (the dog, the moment with Steve explaining why he got Daisy spayed, the Max and Daisy) but it's so heartwarming too. I just really enjoyed reading it, and I loved the reread. It has less than 500 hits and that's simply incomprehensible to me

This Is Why I Need You by beestlesandstars recced by me 3k words (Complete) Stobin Platonic Background Steddie

Summary:

It’s three AM and Robin is trying to remember how Steve liked his coffee.

My Thoughts:

Okay so I have not read this elusive glasses fic that apparently everyone has based fics off of, but I have read this one and it hurt me sm. I've written about one of the duo dying but Robin and not Steve, so seeing it flipped is OUCH. It just gives you that weird hollow chest feeling right before tears? Augh anyway painful but I love it . V V V Good and a super short read because you just flow with it

It's a Date by FeatherForARose aka @steddiealltheway also recced by me 2.7k (Complete)- Steddie w some side Stobin

Summary:

Everyone knows that Eddie is into Steve. It's common knowledge like saying the sky is blue. Only Steve is hesitant to believe it, but when he finally makes a move, it does not go as planned.

My Thoughts:

Omg I read this on Tumblr so long ago and then I found it on ao3 and died reading it all over again. I love common tropes, but I ADORE when writers subvert them. Eddie who didn't know he was gay? Eddie who saw his QPR in Chrissy and didn't realize it wasn't just a crush like Steve didn't realize? ITS SO Augh the recreation of the failed first attempt? Steve using anger as a shield for being upset? Okay I'm just saying plot points but seriously this fic is just such an enjoyable experience from start to finish. Also great characterization of everyone involved :DDD

does it get any easier? by vissers recced by me 5.7k (Complete) Get Dustin and Will w some Dustin and Mike and Dustin and Max

Summary:

“It’s nothing special, just—“ Will began, fighting against the smile that was brewing on his face. He paused, biting down on his lip and squeezing his eyes shut for just a second. “God, this is really embarrassing. We’ve been talking about this dumb crush I have. Among other things, obviously, but… yeah.” If the world hadn’t already been rocked by that giant fucking ‘earthquake’, the prospect of Will Byers having a crush would have had the same effect. Dustin was sure of it. --- Dustin and Will talk D&D, PTSD, and unfortunate crushes. (part two of will coming out to the party)

My Thoughts:

Oh my goddddddd. YOU GUYS KNOW I love my boys but damn if party centric fics don't just get me right in my heart. This one is so well done with the characters. They feel like themselves, they joke, they get annoyed, and this is a really good Dustin Centric. It deals with his PTSD about Eddie, and there's all these little details thrown in that are clearly put there with such care but only make the story more intricate. It's so well written, and I love Will here and I just. Yeah read this read it nowwww

#hidden gem friday #fic rec #steddie fic recs #steddie fic #stranger things fic rec #Steve harrington #Eddie munson #steddie #Lucas sinclair #Jonathan byers #Robin Buckley #Stobin fic rec #platonic stobin #platonic Steve and robin #Dustin Henderson #Will byers #Liam speaks up

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qprstobin · 9 months

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Stobin Different First Meeting AU where they go to prom together. This was meant to be an au post and turned into a mini fic oops (written completely within a tumblr post so sorry for the poor quality)

(edit: realized I should link the fic I was inspired by for those who don't follow me and so didn't see me reblog it earlier)

Steve doesn't necessarily want to go to prom, right? Like yeah, he'd been imagining it for a while, but now that he was very, very single it just didn't have the same shine that it used to. And he really wasn't ready to start dating yet. However, he didn't want to just, not go to prom, and also knew it would seem really weird (and pretty fucking sad) if he didn't go.

Which leaves him in a conundrum.

He thought for a while that maybe he would go with one of the junior cheerleaders. While he didn't have any close friends anymore, he was still friendly with plenty of people. There were girls that wouldn't be going to prom unless they had a senior boyfriend - some he had even gone on dates with in the past who wouldn't think a single prom date meant that he wanted a new girlfriend.

However, he is pretty sure most of those girls would have... other expectations for the night. And honestly? He isn't quite sure that he was ready to get back on that horse either.

... Not that he thought women were horses.

He's pretty sure men are normally the ones called horses in riding metaphors.

Anyway.

That left him stuck. He couldn't just not go to prom, but also didn't want to wind up trapped on an actual date with someone. So who could he ask?

His solution ended up coming from an odd place.

Robin Buckley was... quite honestly, kind of a weirdo.

She was cute, in an alternative sort of way. She never took any of his shit (he wasn't completely sure she even liked him) but also reluctantly laughed at the snarky shit he said under his breath during their Film History class. And not in the fake giggly way girls did when they were flirting, but didn't actually care about what he was saying, just the way he said it. She actually seemed to think he was funny. Even if that revelation seemed to piss her off.

The only reason he was even in Film History that semester - and therefore, knew who she was - was for the easy A. He got to watch movies in class, and watch movies for homework. He was willing to plow through a couple of shitty essays in exchange for a class that he didn't feel like a complete idiot in.

(Well, he was pretty sure Robin thought he was an idiot about movies, but just because he had trouble remembering the names and shit of characters, didn't mean he couldn't analyze the themes, fuck you very much, Buckley.)

They had gotten assigned a project together early on, and it hadn't been completely terrible. She had quickly taken over doing most of the writing portions, but hadn't thought all of his ideas were terrible. By the end of the project he thought they were even sort of having fun together.

He'd always been one to try his luck, take a little more than he was given. So, after that assignment was over, he started sitting next to her in class, not wanting that easy, if sharp, camaraderie to end. Robin rolled her eyes at him and asked him what he thought he was doing the first time he did it, but she never sent him away.

They ended up chatting more and more during down times, passing notes to each other and sharing sly comments under their breaths during the movies. Steve often had trouble paying attention at school, his mind easily wandering away, and it was almost as bad during most movies, but Robin helped keep him on track.

The class turned into one that was done for the easy grade, a last ditch effort to improve his already hopeless GPA, and became one he actually enjoyed.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of going to prom with Robin. It made the night seem a little less unbearable.

He thought about making a big deal out of asking her, because he knows that's what girls (and even Nancy) had enjoyed for past dances. He quickly scrapped that idea, however, because not only did he not want to put pressure on her like that, but also she seemed to hate public spectacles like that.

Or at least when aimed at her, they both enjoyed watching drama unfold in the halls a bit too much to say she hated it completely.

So Steve waits until the end of the day, their film class being their last, to pull her into an empty classroom. She follows him without question in a show of trust he didn't realize she had in him. The notion warms him, and for some reason makes it more difficult to get the question out.

"Why do I feel like you're about to try to sell me drugs or something?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He squints at her in offense.

"Why is that your first assumption?!"

"I don't know! Why else are you pulling me out of the hallway all secretive like, making sure no one followed us, into an abandoned classroom," she asks, throwing her arms into the air.

"The classroom isn't abandoned, it's the end of the day! Also, who does drug deals on campus, that's just stupid?" He asks rhetorically, before waving one hand through the air, as if trying to erase the current thread of conversation. "That doesn't matter, you're distracting me."

"Well then, get on with it! Some of us have practice we need to get to."

"It's like talking to the kids," he mutters to himself, "Whatever. I wanted to ask - will you go to prom with me?"

That stops Robin up short. There's panic in her eyes now, though Steve isn't sure what exactly put it there. Was his reputation that bad that even band geeks are terrified of getting asked out by him?

"You want to go on a date? With me?" she asks slowly, disbelief coloring her voice, though it doesn't hide her unease.

"No, I want to go to prom with you," he scoffs, "Not go on a date with you."

"That is a date, dingus! The person you go to prom with is literally called your date!"

"Okay, sure, maybe, but I don't actually want to date you," he said, rolling his eyes at her.

Like, okay, he understood his reputation for being... what did she call him last week? A 'huge effing rake'? But that didn't mean that he was trying to date any girl that looked in his direction. A lot of girls looked in his direction. That was too many women, even for him.

Robin relaxes a little at that.

"Then why are you asking me to prom instead of someone you actually want to date?"

"Because!" he says, resisting the urge to flail his hands back at her. "I don't want to date anyone right now. Most people I ask are going to expect all these things from me - they're going to want dinner, and at the very least a kiss at the end of the night if not more, or another date the very next day. Because Steve Harrington is supposed to want those things!" He takes a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair to calm himself. "But right now? I really don't."

"Well then, what does Steve the Hair Harrington actually want?" She had relaxed fully at this point, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"I want to go to prom with someone I consider a friend, someone who makes me laugh," he says after a moment of silence. "I want to dance badly to really corny pop music and drink just enough spiked punch that I don't remember how much I hate wearing any sort of tie. Then I want to go get milkshakes or go see a really trashy midnight horror flick, just because I'm having so much fun I don't want the night to end."

That small smile has grown into a reluctant grin on Robin's face. It makes her eyes shine and her freckles pop. Steve thought that if he was in a better place, if they had met at a different time, he could have fallen in love with her.

But they had met now instead, in some shitty public school elective course, and she was the closest thing he had to a friend that wasn't a snotty middle schooler.

"That sounds... like a lot of fun, actually," she says, mischief sparking on her face. "Who would've known the hidden depths hidden behind all that hair."

"Hey!" he protests half-heartedly, unable to keep a grin of his own off his face. "So what do you say? Wanna go to prom with me?"

"I guess," she sighs, acting like it was such a trial to go to prom with him. Him! But her next words make up for it. "Since we're friends, and all. However, I still expect you to buy me dinner, though you can keep the kiss goodnight to yourself."

Steve can't help the giddy laugh from spilling out of him. For the first time in weeks, he is actually looking forward to prom.

#stobin #platonic stobin #st fic rec #mini fic #steve #robin #my writing #writing tag #this was got out of hand #all of the stuff about prom is pulled loosely from my own experiences with prom #both from it being seniors only (juniors at my school had their own dance) to what people did after prom #(i went to two proms and one group went and saw a bad horror movie after prom and i went to a diner with the other group)#also this is barely editted so there is some weird tense switches in here im sorry!#this wasnt meant to be an actual fic i had just meant to throw out the idea of steve asking robin to his prom #and steves voice got away from me quick #this was inspired by the fic i reblogged earlier today about steve taking robin to her prom

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steddieunderdogfics · 11 days

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Am I the Asshole? by formosus_iniquis

@formosusiniquis

Rating: Teen and Up

6,052 words, 1/1 chapters

Archive Warning: Chose Not to Use

Tags: Stobin Month (Stranger Things), Stobin Month 2024 (Stranger Things), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Reddit AU, Some AITA typical terrible people, All relationships outside of Stobin are minor, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Are Best Friends, Platonic Soulmates Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Queerplatonic Robin Buckley/Steve Harrington, Nonbinary Steve Harrington, Nonbinary Robin Buckley

Summary:

r/AmITheAssshole u/HufflepuffHero94 9yrs ago AITA for being concerned about my girlfriends living situation? Even if nothing is going on I'm just worried that living in this kind of environment isn't safe for her. I mean this guy is probably just pretending to be her friend to get in her pants, I think the fact that they're from the same small town means she can't see that. I really think she would be better off if she moved into the dorms with me aita? --- aka the stobin AITA au

This is a MOD rec as a part of our Fic Fridays.

Know a fic that deserves extra love? Submit through our asks or the submission box!

#steddie #steddie fic recs #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #stranger things #steddieunderdogfics #fic friday #mod stars rec #teens and up #robin buckley #platonic stobin #stobin #outside pov #teen and up

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steddilyfallingdeeper · 3 months

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I thought about writing this myself, but don’t think I could do it justice.

Steddie fic. Based on ‘All The Pretty Girls’ by Fun. I just feel like there’s so much potential for the usual Eddie fare of “but Steve could date all these beautiful women” and Steve being fully “fuck off, I want you” ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS CANT MEASURE TO YOU dumbass

Steve’s realisation that he keeps striking out, because he talks about Eddie so fucking much, and none of the women he tries it on with are good enough, maybe even a “if only Eddie were a woman, I’d jump his bones, it’s not like he’s even unattractive as a guy, he’s fucking gorgeous, and I just want to spend every minute with him, I really wish I wasn’t straight… oh” Robin just nodding slowly as he works it out.

Anyway, if anyone’s looking for something to write. Please.

#steddie #steve x eddie #steveddie #eddie munson #eddie stranger things #steve harrington #harrigson #stranger things #steve and robin #steddie fic recs #platonic stobin #gay eddie munson #confirmed bisexual steve harrington #idiots in love #Spotify

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bipunkharrington · 1 year

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I need stories where Steve accidentally outs himself because he's unable to resist the opportunity to make a terrible bi joke please

#i realise this was less likely to happen in the 80s as it is in the (20)20s #but i still need it for reasons #fic recs please #steve harrington #bi steve harrington #steddie #platonic stobin

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forestmossling · 6 days

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so, uhm, yeah. well. i mean- uh. so, anyway-

this is sooooo amazing and cool and stunning and wonderful. the characterization, the narrative, the plot line, the relationships, the spirit, the EVERYTHING. i just love this a lot.

i was initially kinda bummed about eddie not being an actual seer or whatever, because i get all hot and bothered over supernatural aus like a freak, but then i read the author’s note which basically says that eddie may or may not be an actual seer, so i thought okay, if eddie was an actual seer he would’ve probably started suspecting that in any way or there would be at least some kind of intention behind his prophecies and his gift would have occurred later on in other situations. so now i’m just rolling with the idea that fate or destiny or whatever other higher power ships steddie and just forced all of eddie’s predictions to come true so these two idiots would finally get together.

but even without anything actually supernatural going on, the sheer ✨vibes✨had me blown away. oh how i wish to be a blade of grass on the field before eddie’s tent when steve comes to him in the king costume with robin playing an actual fanfare (holY SHIT that was legendary) and dustin being all dorky with his scroll. the way i giggled all the way through this, oh my god, and THIS

had me CACKLING. i just love love love love love everything about this au and this fic.

also, the miscommunication almost killed me (oh my god how i hate people just not fucking talking to each other properly, i’m too autistic for this shit), but the sweet sweet pain of relatively easily solvable angst brought me back. i was eating that shit up.

in conclusion, absolutely magical. @just-my-latest-hyperfixation, thank you so so much for this treasure, i’m gonna go read all of your fics i haven’t read yet. 789257929092784510/10, am recommending

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #robin buckley #platonic stobin #robin buckley being a legend as usual #dustin henderson #steddie au #get steve harrington to be loved and appreciated agenda #steddie fic rec #stranger things fic #ao3

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judasofsuburbia · 8 months

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whatcha readin?

a list of some absolutely wonderful fics i've read lately!!

Young, Scrappy, & Hungry by @fragilecapric0rnn (ronance, rated M): YALL GET ON THIS!!!! open this tab RN!!!! ronance political rivals to lovers LIKEEEE the tension is so juicy and soooo hot and they're both just written so well and it's making me actually insane!!! every update makes me more coocoo crazy!!!

andante, andante by @yournowheregirl (ronance, rated E): HI FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HELLO ronance in greece, strangers to lovers, vacation meet cute like PURE mamma mia energy and the image of nancy in just robin's button up with a glass of wine.......PHEW!! pls pls read this you will not regret it<3

The Hawk by @fastcardotmp3 (multi, rated T): UMMMM the bear au of my motherfucking DREAMS!!! i still cannot understand how dot so successfully put the heart and the stress of the bear into this series but pls know i am OH SO GRATEFUL!! chomping at the bit for every update. the characterization is so, so stunning. also chef nancy...spare hand in marriage??

the firmament in you by @stobinesque (platonic stobin, rated T): okay so read is actually the CEO of writing stobin so jot that down. DUDE!!! this fic is so, so effortlessly beautiful. the way these two are trying to work through their shit while also finding comfort in one another is just done so well and warmed my heart very very much. give this one a go!!

such a heavenly way to die by @ghostevie (steddie, rated E): END OF THE WORLD SEX MY BELOVED!!! no but seriously this is an eddie's first time fic that is just so caring and so vulnerable and so HOT and so beautifully crafted. i am clutching my chest!!! i am aching alongside them!! i am oh so soft after this one!!

if you end up giving any of these a try, please leave the author some love!!<3

#fic recs #steddie #ronance #stobin #stranger things #steddie fics #ronance fics #stobin fics #emily screams into the void

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goodolefashionedloverboi · 2 months

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Do you like Corpse Bride? Do you like Steddie? Well I've got just the thing for you!

I just finished reading With This Ring by Undreaming, (@undreaming-fanfiction) it was amazing. It's got pianist Steve, it's got background Ronance, and its got a talking cat!! You'll enjoy yourself :). It's T and up, so pretty much anyone can enjoy this, too!

It's the first time I do something like this, and I don't know if anyone will see this, but I do know that sharing is caring! Buh-Bye <3

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #platonic stobin #fan fiction #fic rec #corpse bride #corpse bride au #ao3

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nancywheelersgirlfriend · 1 year

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could u write a fic where nancy fully finds out what happened to robin and steve under starcourt

here u go, beloved anon. thank u for waiting so long and so patiently <3

so much braver (than i credit u for) (2,029 words)

T.W. implications of sexual assault, canon violence

The wear and tear were hardly visible in the summer sunlight - that's where Steve thrived, with his tan skin and admittedly nice chest and excellent swimming skill - but now, sat in front of his parents’ campfire with his head against his fist, he looked decades older than he really was. Nancy held her roasting stick tentatively, the marshmallow threatening to collapse into the fiery pit below as she distracted herself in tracing the shadows that fell underneath his eyes. In the harsh light he looked almost in a constant state of grief, with heavy eye bags and lines along his forehead, lips pressed in a thin line and hair limp from the heat.

Robin sat beside Nancy, the two having commandeered the foldout loveseat upon arriving in his backyard. She was expertly placing two roasted marshmallows onto their respective graham crackers - one burnt to all hell and one barely cooked. She passed one to Steve, who had his hand open and waiting as if second nature to accept food from Robin. He liked his barely cooked, apparently.

Eddie was nearly passed out in the lawn chair across the fire from them, a few purposeful feet from Steve after a day spent trying and failing to get a summer job. Surprisingly, nobody wanted to hire the assumed leader of a deadly cult. Robin suggested using it as a resume builder. Nancy suggested changing his name and trying out the next town over. He had his arms folded across his chest, a bit of marshmallow stuck to a long curled strand that Nancy didn’t have the heart to bother him about picking off.

Steve seemed to be contemplating shoving the entire smore in his mouth in one go.

“You alright?” Nancy asked, immediately wincing at both the lack of tact and impersonality of her question - they’d known each other long enough to forgo conversation starters like that. “You look, um.”

“You look like shit,” Robin helpfully interrupted, sucking off a bit of marshmallow from her finger and generally being the bane of Nancy’s existence. Steve looked up from the smore as if he’d forgotten they were there completely, a little look of shock on his face.

“I’m fine,” He said, but his tone of voice was anything besides reassuring. “I’m, uh, just not getting much sleep lately.” Nancy nodded, fully prepared to drop the whole awkward thing anyway. Clearly, Steve didn’t want to talk about himself or his well-being - he hardly ever did.

“Me neither,” Robin agreed. She took a bite of her burnt-as-hell smore, wordlessly taking Nancy’s stick from out of her loose grip and holding it patiently over the fire for her.

“Thank you,” Nancy whispered to her side. Robin knocked their feet together in acknowledgment.

“I haven’t slept since 1983, honestly,” Steve added, and while he was laughing as he said it Nancy didn’t take it as a joke.

“I have trouble sleeping too,” Nancy admitted to the both of them, hoping to coax them out into the open. Steve and Robin were a bit like frightened animals - make them talk about their feelings too much and they’d scurry away. Deer in headlights type. She had to be gentle. “I dream about - Barb. And Fred.” Just saying their names still made her choked up. Nancy ducked her head into her sweater, prepared to blame her watery eyes on the heavy smoke from the campfire. As she sniffled into the fabric, Steve hummed in neutral agreement.

“I dream about the mall,” Steve said. Beside her, Nancy felt Robin move her whole body to nod.

“You saved my life,” Nancy said, smiling wetly as she remembered both t-boning Billy’s precious sports car seconds before he flattened Nancy into the concrete. “With Toddfather.”

“That was, actually, a highlight of the night,” Steve said, laughing a little in reply as he bit into his smore. “Perfect, Rob.”

“Did you expect anything less?” She asked, pulling back Nancy’s stick just as it was beginning to catch fire. If smore-making could be a job, Robin would be making six figures, no doubt. It was little things like that that made Nancy love her so heartbreakingly. Even watching her do something as simple as making her a smore with the correct amount of chocolate and graham made her heart try to pull itself out of her chest.

“In most of my dreams,” Steve said, face grounding itself as he tapped a careful thumb against the top of his smore. “I’m - um. I’m back in that room.” Nancy frowned in confusion, taking Robin’s offered smore robotically as she looked at him.

“That room?” She asked. “What room?”

“We never told you?” Robin replied, a little surprised and a little cautious - Nancy’s heart began a steady descent down to her sneakers. What the hell had they not told her?

It was hard to check in on everybody, especially after that night. She and Jon had been so in the dark about everything else - and the hospital, god. She hadn’t allowed space in her brain for anything else, which she could admit now was a little selfish. Still, Nancy had never asked. And Robin had never said. Certainly, Steve hadn’t. She hardly knew a thing about his childhood, despite dating him for two years and being one of his closest friends for another.

“I know you guys got messed up by some Russians,” Nancy said quietly, surveying both Steve's and Robin’s faces. In the firelight, they looked eerily similar - almost haunted. “But I don’t know the details. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Robin reassured her, hand coming to pull her waist in close and squeeze the outer pocket of her jacket. “We forgot to tell you. I guess it never came up.”

“Who wants to talk about it, anyway?” Steve said, mostly to himself. He took another bite of his smore as uneasy silence fell on the group. Nancy felt terrible to push, but her journalist curiosity got the better of her.

“So - what did happen?” She asked. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s fine,” Robin replied. Nancy watched her make eye contact with Steve, and they proceeded to have a conversation with only slight twitches on their faces. It was the innate ability that came with being best friends the way they were. “You know about the elevator, right?” Nancy racked her brain, then: yes, a hazy recollection of Erica explaining how they’d ended up in the underground base in the first place.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Well, after they set off the alarms and figured out we’d broken in, we all rushed into a backroom,” Robin began, eyes firmly set on the fire. As if she were embarrassed to tell Nancy - or nervous to see her reaction. “Dustin and Erica managed to get themselves into the vent system, to try to get out - but Steve and I had to hold the door to give them enough time. We were grabbed by a bunch of Russian guards and spilt up for interrogation. They kept us there for hours.”

“They beat me so bad I nearly died,” Steve cut in, teeth gritting against each other as if the words were forcing themselves out. Nancy noticed his empty hand, the one not holding his smore, was balling into a tight fist against his leg. “They didn’t believe me when I said I wasn’t working for anybody - they just kept hitting me over and over and over again. I couldn’t breathe, it hurt so bad.” That’s why his face was messed up so badly. Nancy couldn’t help her mouth from dropping open.

“When they brought us back together, I thought he-” Robin cut herself off, gasping as she suddenly realized she was crying. “Jesus, I. I’m sorry. I thought Steve was dead.” The last three words were mere whispers as if saying them to the air made it all more real. Nancy took her hand. Steve’s fist immediately unfurled to take her other, stretched beside the fire to grip with a fury she had never seen before. Robin continued to stare into the fire, unseeing.

“Did they beat you up, too?” Nancy asked. Robin let out a little breath through her nose in careful excess at the question.

“No,” She said quietly. “Well - they did. But not as bad as Steve. It was only in reaction to - when they dragged me in there, I was wearing my Scoops uniform. You know, it’s a pretty shitty outfit for espionage, yeah? And - my skirt - I thought they were going to - so kicked one of the guards in the face, and that’s when they beat me up. But they mostly left me alone.”

It was difficult to pin down exactly what Nancy felt at that exact moment. At first, it was cold horror at the steady, small implication of what Robin was saying; what those guards would’ve done to her, had she not been as ready to fight back or them not as lenient in letting her alone. But horror gave way quickly to a tidal wave of fierce, untamable anger. One that roared in Nancy’s chest and took over her whole being, face reddening with intensity and hand gripping Robin’s with white knuckles.

“Nance,” Robin chided. She looked away from the fire finally to make eye contact with Nancy. “It’s okay. I’m okay. You don’t need to break my hand.”

“Sorry,” Nancy choked out, releasing her grip only slightly. She was worried if she let go, Robin would float away - or worse, be dragged back down to the depths of the mall.

Steve’s face, in comparison, was a steady, heated anger - just as angry as Nancy, but none of the surprise. He’d known about this. Perhaps the entire time. Nancy desperately wished he’d said something, but on the same thought acknowledged it was all within Robin’s jurisdiction. At least she was telling her now.

“And then they drugged us,” Steve said. “And almost took off one of my fingers as a torture tactic.”

“Luckily Dustin and Erica came in then,” Robin finished, shaking her head and smiling despite the tears in her eyes. “The fucking idiots. I could’ve killed them if I had been able to stand up.”

“Horse tranquilizers,” Steve told Nancy, a similar smile on his face. The silence returned for a second or two before Steve was all but collapsing into Robin, pulling her into a tight hug that she returned whole cloth. Nancy stayed on the loveseat as the two best friends stood up for a better angle, gripping each other as if holding each other together. She rested a careful hand on Robin’s back and let her girlfriend fall against her shoulder, emotionally and physically exhausted, when the hug finally broke.

“I’m sorry,” Nancy said, because there was nothing else to say. Steve finished the rest of his smore and looked back into the fire. It seemed some of the shadows, while not entirely going away, had gotten a little lighter. As if the words they had spoken were floating off in the smoke. Robin looked about ready to fall asleep. “I wish I had been there.”

“I am so fucking glad you weren’t,” Robin said, voice muffled. She tucked her head against Nancy’s shoulder and shut her eyes. When Nancy managed to stop looking at the beauty that was her girlfriend in the firelight, she looked back at Steve.

“You can fall asleep, too,” Nancy offered. “I’ll keep watch.” Steve gave her a wiry grin and suddenly he was sixteen again, and the butterflies in her stomach awakened just enough for her to give him one in return.

“Thanks, Nance,” He finally decided, leaning back into his chair and tucking his hands into his jacket pockets. “It’s over, yeah? Like Rob said, it’s okay. We’re okay.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Nancy admitted, carding a careful hand through Robin’s choppy bangs. Steve’s smile grew as the fire winked.

“You’re already doing something,” He said, gesturing to Robin and her prone position against Nancy’s shoulder. “You’re something, Nance. That’s enough. That’s more than enough.”

Nancy, once again, blamed her tears on the fire. Steve didn’t say a word about it.

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