#somehow I'd make it steddie but its mostly robin and steve bestieness you know how it is

[findafight]

Physically restraining myself from writing an au in which Steve decides, in the summer of '82, that he wants to swim at the 1984 Olympics. He trains at the outdoor pool and his own, and when the school year rolls in he talks to the swim team coach about it. She decides he can probably make it even if he is a bit younger than other swimmers, but he'll have to work hard. Steve goes all in on this in some mix of misguided desire for his father's love (how could a father of an Olympian be disappointed!) and genuine love of the sport. (His events are 100/200 butterfly, 1500 free, and maybe 200 IM?)

Robin needs gym credits. Desperately. The gym teacher talks to the swim coach and agrees that in order to prevent young Robin from accidentally braining herself on the ground, she could be the timekeeper for that Harrington kid trying to first get into the Pan Am games and then the Olympics the next year.

So little baby grade 9 Robin gets paired with newly determined to prove himself as something outside of highschool grade 10 Steve. She immediately starts the "you rule/you suck" board for when he makes/doesn't the PanAm (and later Olympic as I'm preeeety sure they're adjusted yearly?) qualifying times for his events.

Anyways all this to say is that she comes out to him in May of '83 Because he planned on bringing her to Caracas for the games, and she actually really likes him, likes fooling around with him in Mrs. Click's classes and gossiping as they drive to or from practices, but she doesn't think she can pretend around him for very much longer...

Anyways it's fine and they are chaotic besties and Steve places fourth in 100fly, silver in 200, and bronze in 1500fr. Amazing. I'm so proud of my boy.

There's an after party with the younger athletes and Robin, fifteen and out to someone for the first time ever, somehow flirts her way into making out with a girl on the Brazilian gymnastics team who gets her number and she is relentlessly teased by Steve about when he hears they had a little phone date and the Brazilian Gymnast said she can't wait for LA. He talks about this loudly in the school hallway, only saying "Brazilian Gymnast" and when asked why not use his name Steve's like "plausible deniability".

Because of this Robin somehow gets elevated up the social ladder despite being in drama and marching band and arguably being Steve's sidekick. Like really. A student at your small ass school went to Venezuela over the summer, won a silver medal, and his best friend who he brought along made out with a world-class gymnast?? Rumour mill runs wild. Robin is suddenly seen as someone with game instead of someone who is part baby giraffe.

All this to say is that fall of '83 goes two ways:

1) Robin comes to school frazzled on Wednesday morning, completely missing band practice. She asks the swim team if they've seen Steve. They haven't.

Wednesday's are their off day. Robin has band and Steve crosstrains with basketball boys with weightlifting. She bikes to his house and he drives them both to school. That morning, she arrived on time, but Steve didn't answer the door. His car was in the drive and the living room light was on. Robin got her key out and walked through the house. Trying to convince herself she was catastrophizing. She got to the backyard and found the pool cover half on and panics for a half second that Steve fell in and got trapped and drowned by the heavy plastic, but she doesn't see him. Nothing.

She bikes to school. No one's seen him. His parents aren't meant to be back for another week.

At lunch she peddles her way to the police station and demands to file a missing person report.

Jonathan Byers' has a very disturbing picture to develop.

2) a few days after poor little Will Byers goes missing, Steve is driving Robin home after they practiced (Robin finally getting in the pool and doing laps of her own), when they drive by the Byers' house. The lights are flickering and flashing and something is clearly wrong. He slows down, looks over at Robin, and they both get out of the car.

When they ring on the door bell, calling in to see if they need help, what's wrong, they both get Nancy Wheeler pointing a gun in their face.

#platonic stobin #stranger things #steve harrington #robin Buckley #finda's rambles #swimmer steve au #somehow I'd make it steddie but its mostly robin and steve bestieness you know how it is #robin about to be on a war path to find steve (dw hes alive and helping will in the upside down)