#stobinmonth2024

Robin doesn’t even glance at what she’s wearing, shooting Steve with a confused look without a second of hesitation. “Uh, yeah? This is what I always wear on our drives.”

She’s not wrong. They do have a habit of piling into the Beamer in their worn pajamas just to drive around and get some much-needed fresh air. They’ll roll down the windows, let the music blast, and fantasize about where they’d go if they actually got the courage to up and leave Hawkins. It’s a habit that started to beat the nightmares after Starcourt and one they’ve kept up in the years since.

But that’s not what Steve has planned for today.

“But this isn’t a drive drive.”

Robin looks at him with raised eyebrows and that look she always gets when he’s saying words but she doesn’t know what they mean. A look that’s rare these days considering they can practically read each other’s mind. As if on cue, Robin’s expression changes as realization dawns on her.

She gasps before thrusting an accusatory finger in Steve’s direction. “This is a birthday thing, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s a birthday thing.”

“Steve!” Robin huffs, throwing her entire body back until her head thunks against the headrest an alarming rate. It’s a good thing she doesn’t have a history of concussions. “I told you I don’t want to do anything! You know I think birthdays are stupid.”

“And yet, you’ve dragged me out for every one of mine. M’just returning the favor.”

“That’s different!”

“It’s really not.” Shutting the ignition off, Steve twists in the driver’s seat until he’s facing Robin. She’s staring at him with half amusement and half seething rage. He can work with that. “Just trust me, okay? It’s nothing major but it does require you to not be in your pajamas.”

Robin studies him for a moment, appraising him from head to toe. If Steve knows her like he thinks he does, he knows she’s taking note of his own outfit to figure out what she needs to wear.

“Jeans and a nice shirt will be fine, Robs,” Steve reassures her.

Robin swallows and slowly nods her head. She grumbles something under her breath, too quiet for Steve to hear, before she reaches for the handle to let herself out.

“Oh, Robs!” Steve calls from the open window as she sulks her way to her house. “Please run a brush through your hair while you’re at it!”

Robin throws her middle finger up but it loses all its heat when she bursts into laughter. “I hate you!”

“You’ll thank me later!”

🥳 🥳 🥳

Robin starts to get antsy an hour into their drive, fiddling with the buttons on Steve’s radio at far too fast a speed for his old Beamer to keep up with. Without looking away from the road — Robin hates it when he’s not 100% paying attention — he swats her hand away and reaches behind her seat, hoisting a plastic bag onto the center console.

“What’s that?”

“Provisions.”

“Provisions?” Robin snorts. “I think you’ve been hanging out with Dustin and Eddie too much.”

Steve’s grumbling is drowned out by the sound of Robin ruffling with the plastic bag. Each new snack she pulls out is met with an elated squeal — chocolates, chips, the weird peanut butter truffle thing that some candy store two towns oversell. He’s pulled out all the stops.

“You really do listen to me,” Robin marvels, holding up the truffle.

“Kind of hard not to. You do a lot of talking,” Steve teases.

🥳 🥳 🥳

Another hour passes before Steve finally merges off the highway and onto the streets of Indianapolis.

The roads are crowded, full of Sunday drivers milling about, enjoying the rare warm evening winter weather, or running errands before the stress of the week starts. Steve doesn’t mind though, if anything he’s grateful for the slower traffic since it keeps him from being honked at for not knowing exactly where he’s going.

Eddie had helped him map out the directions, scribbling them down on the back of an envelope from the water company. He pulls out the folded envelope from his pocket and glances at it while they’re waiting at a red light.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Robin asks, studying him as he squints at the paper.

“Yes,” Steve says, glancing at the directions again. “Maybe.”

“Better make myself comfortable,” Robin sighs. She tries to kick her feet up on the dash, but Steve’s quicker, throwing her legs down before her shoes even make contact. “Rude way to treat the birthday girl.”

“Oh please,” Steve snorts. “You’d be pissed if I gave you special treatment.”

Robin tips her head in agreement just as the light turns green. Steve takes a second to stash the envelope back in his pocket before he eases the car back into motion.

They drive for another few minutes before Steve makes the final turn, pulling onto a secluded street on the outskirts of the downtown area. He steals a quick glance at Robin, watching as her face goes through a range of emotions.

“Is this…” Robin trails off, practically smashing her face against the glass of the window. Steve doesn’t scold her for the marks she’s no doubt leaving, smiling instead as she marvels at the neon sign hanging above the cafe/club hybrid. The same sign they saw in one of the zines she smuggled from her aunt’s house a few months back.

“Yep.”

“Steve!” She gasps, turning slowly to look at him. Her eyes are brimming with tears, her lips slightly parted as she tries to keep her emotions at bay. “I can’t believe you do this. I could— I could kiss you right now.”

Steve snorts, breaking whatever moment they are about to have. “I don’t think the crowd inside there would appreciate that and neither would I.”

“Ew, gross!” She laughs, wrinkling her nose as she playfully slaps him. “I didn’t mean it literally obviously!”

“Hey, I had to keep those tears away somehow!” Steve teases. “Your face gets all red when you cry and you’d mess up your eyeliner. I don’t think you want to look like a wet raccoon on your first appearance at this place.

“That’s rich coming from the man who finds the wet raccoon look attractive.”

“Hey,” Steve says, finally turning the car off. “You leave Eddie out of this!”

“You said it, not me!” She throws her hands up in surrender for a moment before she glances back out the window toward their destination. She hesitates to reach for the door’s handle, letting her hands drop to her lap instead.

“Hey,” Steve calls, letting his hand rest on her shoulder. He gives her a reassuring squeeze before yanking her closer to him. “It’s going to be great okay. Let’s just go inside, check the place out. You don’t even have to talk to someone if you don’t want to! No pressure, right?”

“Right,” she breathes, running her hands over her face. She takes a deep breath. “I can do this.”

“That’s the spirit,” he says, clapping her back. “Besides you’ve faced off against Vecna. Lesbians can’t be scarier than that.”

“You’re a dingus,” Robin laughs.

Steve laughs too, feeling the tension deflate. He gives her another moment to soak in the moment before gently nudging her out of the car.

🥳 🥳 🥳

“I know I said I hate my birthday,” Robin says later when they’re back in the Beamer heading home. “But, uh, maybe we could make this a new tradition?”

Steve snorts, stealing a glance at his best friend. Her hair is a mess, her skin slightly dewy from all the dancing or rather flailing around she was doing, her lips slightly swollen, and she’s got the reminiscence of someone else’s red lipstick peppered across her face.

While the girls start to play fight, Steve turns his attention to Eddie, who cracks open his own can of Dr Pepper. Noticing Eddie has nothing else in his hands he decides it’s the perfect time to start a little argument of his own. “Wait wait wait. So let me get this straight– Don’t even.” He says shutting down whatever little remark his boyfriend was about to fire at him. “You and Nancy go inside, leaving Robin and I to die in the heat and then you don’t even bring us anything? Wow you know Robs I thought I’ve seen it all but this might be the cruelest betrayal in human history.” Steve crosses his arms ignoring the fake guilty pout Eddie’s trying to distract him with.

The biggest puppy eyes block Steve’s view of literally anything else, “Stevie, light of my life, my eternal flame, the future mother of my children, God’s greatest work, world’s most gifted cocksu–”

“We get it.” Nancy and Robin said in creepy unison. Steve tries to cover his cackle as a cough.

“We intended to bring you and Bucks a popsicle but unfortunately I think your secret stash was raided last time the kids came over. Sorry lover boy.” Eddie said as he shoved Steve over to make room for his bony ass. 

Robin and Steve both groan, they have one of their trademarked SteveandRobin silent conversations, before Steve sighs, “I’ll get me keys, let’s rock and roll Robby.”

Nancy boos him, Eddie just rolls his eyes and mutters something about being in love with a dorky dad. 

Robin shoots them obnoxious finger guns in lame solidarity with Steve. “Leave him alone for he does not know what he’s doing, or something like that. I don’t know, I didn't pay any attention at church camp.”

“Uh huh you were too busy paying attention to Counselor Gabby.” Eddie retorts.

Nancy brows furrowed, “You guys went to church camp? The two gayest people in Indiana?”

“Gay and poor thank you very much, it was basically free daycare for the summer if your family made under a certain amount. Plus I think Wayne thought it would give me an outlet, when that didn’t work he got me my guitar.” He gives them all a smirk. 

Steve and Robin leave Eddie and Nancy to their weird sibling like bickering, and make their way to the garage. “I know your parents are objectively garbage, demon people–”

“Pretty sure that’s offensive to Demons.”

“Mhm right well you’ve clearly been spending too much time with your satanic boytoy. But my point was. My point was… Actually it’s too hot to remember. Consider yourself lucky Harrington.”

Steve reaches over to thoroughly mess up Robin’s hair, which she valiantly tries to fight off. “Awe everyday with you makes me lucky.” He punctuates his statement with a swift poke to her ribs.

With the assurance that the Upside Down was sealed off for good, to never return again, there’s been this heavy weight lifted off of everyone’s shoulders. Yes, they still had all the heavy trauma, the nightmares, insomnia, you name it and they all had it. The kids, the adults, even the adult adults had their own hosts of issues. But this was the first summer in five years they’ve been able to take a breath and have stupid fun together.

Most of their summer has been spent showing Eleven a bunch of normal kid stuff that was stolen from her by the stupid fucking lab. Steve and Robin had been in charge of El’s self expression. Which sounds ridiculous but after being told who she’s supposed to be her whole life, Steve had the experience of letting those notions go. He was able to figure out who he was with the help of Robin, so together they had a million conversations with El about preferences, they watched movies, listened to every kind of music, just trying to figure out what things spoke to their own little superhero. Suffice to say, it’s been the most rewarding summer of either of their lives. 

But this is still Hawkins obviously life couldn’t keep being that easy. They hadn’t even made it downtown before the beemer was sent rolling because some asshole ran a red light. Two arms reach out to provide safety for the other, instead they cling together and all they can hope is that they can make it out on the other side one more time. 

***

“No, I get what you’re saying. Trust me we know this hospital’s policy inside and out, but they’re a special case. They will freak out when they wake up and can’t find each other, it will be bad for everyone. We’re just asking if we could move them to the same room, please.” Nancy’s eyes were wet and she was pleading to the charge nurse.

“I understand your frustration Miss Wheeler, but unfortunately at this time I cannot make special accommodations.”

“Please, please reconsider, they both have bad experiences with… hospitals. They need each other,” Eddie is doing everything he can to hold himself together and not freak out on this woman. That was Nancy’s lane anyway. 

They both kept pleading with whoever would listen to them. It was killing both of them to be anywhere but their partners’ sides, but they were the last thing either of them needed right now. They needed each other, and Wayne. Wayne was one of the few people who were able to bring both Robin and Steve out of their own minds quickly and safely. 

In the end it didn’t matter.

“Robin! ROBIN!” Steve was screaming. There was a clatter of noise, a rush of faculty heading towards Steve’s room.

“Nance call Hopper, and Wayne! Hey HEY don’t touch him, don’t fucking touch him!” Eddie took off at full speed towards Steve’s room.

Nancy takes a steadying breath as her tears start to fall freely now. She’s able to get ahold of both Hopper and Wayne explaining their situation. They needed Wayne to help Steve calm down and remember where he was, and Hopper was the right amount of authority to have strings pulled in the hospital. 

She hangs up the phone with shaking hands and goes to talk to Robin’s parents about what the doctors have been saying. There’s still a lot of yelling coming from Steve’s room, she winces when she hears a broken sob coming from a scared and worried Steve.

Soon enough both Hopper and Wayne come thundering down the hallway. Hopper is already yelling, asking to speak to whoever is in charge. Wayne is quietly walking into Steve’s room and almost immediately after the staff trying to sedate him vacate with the heads hung a little lower. Wayne follows them out, has a brief chat with Hopper who in turn has a chat with the Chief of Medicine. A few moments later Steve’s bed is being moved right next to Robin’s.

***

Visiting hours eventually end, Wayne and Hopper have to essentially drag Nancy and Eddie out of the hospital. Jon and Argyle thankfully have been keeping the kids at the Wheeler’s house to avoid any more unnecessary antics as the not so helpful nurse described their situation.

Soon it’s just a barely awake Steve softly tapping his fingers on Robin’s knuckles. After what feels like hours (time is still pretty fuzzy) Robin slowly blinks awake. “Eve ‘s going on?” Steve lets out a sob he didn’t even think he had enough left in him to do that. “Whas wrong? Why so sad babes?” Robin continues asking questions, becoming a little more together between each one. “Oh my god. We’re in the hospital? What the fuck?” She’s giggling and Steve is pretty sure she’s certifiably insane. 

“Jesus Christ Robs we literally almost died. How are you laughing?” Which is bold considering he’s not even trying to hide his smile.

“Pretty sure we’ve almost died like twenty times by now Dingus. What’s one more?” Robin’s still laughing until she lets out a wince and puts a hand to her head. “My head hurts.” She pouts.

Steve chuckles but it’s heavy with emotion, “Yeah that’d be the concussion at work. You okay? Should I call a nurse?”

“A concussion? I’m pretty sure that’s your territory,” Giving him a mock glare.

“I thought so too, and let's keep it that way from now on. Gotta promise to stay outta my lane Robby.”

An offended squawk, “That is enough of that, your pretty head can’t take anymore damage, doctor’s orders.” 

“I just hate seeing you like this, especially since I was driving and–”

“Nope! We are not doing this Steve. To be fair I’m still a little foggy on the details but I know for a fact what happened was not your fault.” She doesn’t have a ton of energy left and she really wants him to understand this part. “Hey look at me Steve.” He doesn’t. “Stephifer.” She lightly teases until they catch eyes. “You don’t always have to be the one getting hurt. Which is crazy I have to say because you’re literally in a hospital bed hurt.”

Steve scoffs, “Not nearly as bad bud. You took all the hits this time.” He pushes her bangs away from her eyes.

“Maybe. Well at least you know how it feels this time round.”

Steve’s eyebrows knit together, head cocked like a confused puppy, “What’dya mean?”

Robin stifles a groan, if she had the strength she’d shake him by his shoulders. “Steve, how do you think I felt after Starcourt, or after Spring Break? You literally took on Evil Russians for me, even before we knew we were cosmically destined to be best friends. So… I’m going to take this concussion for the team. I’d rather be benched for a little while than you not ever play again.”

With the most disgusting, snotty, wet half laugh Steve says, “I can’t believe you just cheered me up with a goddamned sports metaphor.”

“I think it was an analogy actually,” Robin muses.

“Oh my god, shut up.” A beat. “I love you Robin Buckley.

“I love you Steve Harrington.”