Robin always knew that she was different. However, it took her a long time to understand why. The other girls her age were obsessed with the idea of having a boyfriend, while she saw all the boys at school as strange and boring beings who were incapable of having fun in a healthy way.
At first she didn't pay attention to her thoughts because she assumed she was just too young to fall in love and she supposed that she would eventually become interested in a boy.
It changed when she saw Tammy Thompson for the first time. Robin thinks that her homosexuality would have remained buried if she had avoided looking at her when she walked into Miss Click's class on the first day of Sophomore year.
Accepting that you’re homosexual isn’t easy, but Robin is really proud.
It’s true that she feels uncomfortable when her friends start talking about their romantic relationships and when guys she isn’t interested in at all ask her out, but despite these difficulties, she accepts herself as she is.
There aren't any openly lesbian girls Robin's age in Hawkins, so it was really difficult for her to find a partner. She had her first kiss at eighteen, with Vickie. It was a sweet moment and the girls decided to start dating after it, but Robin's happiness didn't last long. They realized that there was no chemistry between them.
Vickie caught Robin's attention because she felt identified with her due to having similar personality traits and common interests. However, there was no spark between them.
It was hard for Robin to accept that Vickie wasn't the one for her. Hell, it was her first relationship and she didn't know when a woman would reciprocate her again.
But being single was better than dating someone who didn't make her feel complete. She wanted to feel the typical butterflies in her stomach and the blush on her cheeks, she wanted to truly fall in love and feel reciprocated.
She freaked out when she started falling for Nancy Wheeler of all people.
It had to stop, she couldn't fall in love with a straight girl again.
Besides, it would be breaking the code of ethics between friends. Not long time ago, she had dated Steve, Robin's best friend, which means that Nancy is untouchable to her.
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
Nancy had been in the hospital since she was left in a coma after being attacked by Vecna weeks before and there hasn't been a day that Robin hadn’t gone to visit her.
She listened intently as Karen, Mike, Jonathan, Steve, and Dustin told stories they lived with Nancy.
Robin had already realized that her friend had impressive leadership skills. Nancy was the beacon that shines her friends in the dark and the spark that ignites a great group force.
But now Robin had learned many more situations in which Nancy acted as the most optimistic, hard-working, intelligent and courageous person in the world and she felt increasingly curious to know her in depth.
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
Karen Wheeler didn’t know Robin. She had seen her a couple of times with her kids’ other friends, but she didn't really know her. Instead, she realized that she was the only person who was visiting Nancy on a daily basis. Day after day, this girl sat in a chair next to her daughter's bed.
"Was Nancy your friend?" Karen asked.
"Yes.” Robin replied. “We became friends recently, I wish we had met each other sooner.”
"I'm sure she's going to wake up soon." Karen looked down and smiled. “I feel it."
"I hope so." Robin said, and Karen nodded.
"I have to go home soon, I have a lot of things to do tomorrow." Karen looked at Robin, she wanted to ask her for a favor. “Could you stay here with Nancy tonight?”
The question took Robin by surprise. She thought that Karen would tell her to leave to let her spend time alone with her daughter. But far from it, she asked her to stay by Nancy's side all night.
“Of course, Mrs. Wheeler. I will stay with her.”
After Karen left, Robin kept looking at Nancy.
“I don't know if you can hear me, Nancy, but I would like you to know that I won’t give up, I’ll be by your side until you get up.”
Nancy remained still and apparently unaware of Robin's words.
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
It became a custom for Robin to stay by Nancy's side at night.
She would talk to her, tell her how her day had gone and how the rest of their loved ones were doing.
She hadn't gotten any answer at the moment, but she sensed that she would get answers soon.
“Your mother couldn't come today, and she feels bad about it. She really cares about you, she’s doing everything she can. And also does your brother, he comes almost every day. I know you guys weren't the closest, but when you wake up, you can work on your bond. You’re really similar, although I know none of you would admit it. I think you could have a closer relationship with him from now… and also with me. We didn't have time to get to know each other in depth. I learned more things about you in these months in which you were absent than when I actually had you by my side. We had only started to get along because of our mutual friendships and the desire to kill Vecna, but I hope that when it’s all over, we’ll become inseparable.”
Robin had a hard time looking at people in the face while speaking, even if now it was with someone who was in a coma, so she gave her speech while staring at the wall, and when she finished and decided to turn her eyes back to Nancy, she was surprised to see that the girl was smiling slightly.
At first Robin thought she was imagining it, but no, Nancy had a small smile on her relaxed facial expression.
It was the first time Nancy had responded to Robin's words and the first time she had made a move since she fell into a coma.
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
Robin and Karen were alone in Nancy's hospital room.
“Yesterday she smiled at me.”
"What?" Karen was confused.
“I said a few words to Nancy last night, and she smiled at me.”
Karen's eyes glazed over. “That means she’s aware of our conversations to some degree.”
"Yeah, I think she can hear us and that's amazing."
Karen looks at Robin with a half smile.
“Do you like Nancy?” Karen asked, much to Robin's surprise.
Robin's heart started to pound.
It was the moment when Karen would tell her to leave and she would never be able to see Nancy again.
Anxiety washed over Robin and she was unable to respond.
Karen laughed. “Don't worry, I understand why you like her. My daughter is amazing.”
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
Now that Robin knew that Nancy could hear her, she was more excited than ever to keep talking to her.
She spent hours telling Nancy her dilemmas day after day, and most of the time Nancy reacted with a smile, but it never went any further until one Friday at 10 pm, what Robin had been waiting for months happened, the girl opened her eyes .
Robin was perplexed, she wanted to speak to Nancy but words wouldn’t come out of her mouth.
Nancy stared at the blonde girl, confused.
"Barb, is that you?" Karen and Ted Wheeler's eldest daughter asked with difficulty.
"Nancy.” Robin whispered.
"I'm so sorry, I should have stayed with you that night." Nancy's eyes filled with tears as she talked.
"Don't worry.” Robin managed to say.
“You're my life-long best friend, Barb.”
Robin tried to shake her friend's hand, but Nancy wasn’t able to hold Robin’s.
“Barb, I know there's no going back, but I hope you can forgive me.”
"Nothing that happened was your fault. You weren't to blame for anything.” Robin said breathlessly as she patted Nancy's arm.
Nancy closed her eyes again.
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
Nancy had already started to open her eyes, to speak and to understand what was happening around her.
She was delirious many times, but she already had some real conversations, being aware of what she was saying.
"Don't you get tired of always sleeping in the chair?" Nancy asked Robin.
"I don't get tired, I'm fine. I like to keep you company.”
"But you'd rather sleep in a bed, right?"
"Yes.” Robin opened up. “But there's only one bed here and you’re the one who needs to use it the most.”
"You can sleep with me if you want."
Robin lay down next to Nancy nervously.
Nancy brushed her body against Robin's, making her skin crawl.
"Thank you.” Nancy said.
“Why are you thankful?"
"I’m thankful for everything you've been doing for me these past months." Robin smiled while listening to her friend. “Even before what happened. You were by my side from when my world started to fall apart when Vecna cursed me until it completely collapsed when I fell into a coma.”
"Don't say that, your world didn't collapse. You're going to recover.” Robin lowered her head, wanting to say something else, but her insecurity was preventing her to do it. “And... and I'm going to be by your side through the process.”
"Oh, I know.” Nancy smiled. “Every day you make it clearer to me.”
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
Robin had spent the night with Nancy at the hospital on the last Saturday of December.
They had been sharing a bed for several days, but Robin still shuddered from the contact between them.
They haven't been apart for a single day since Nancy woke up.
Nancy had already gotten used to Robin telling her things about her life, but now the roles changed and it was Nancy who expressed her thoughts and feelings in front of the blonde girl all the time. She told her everything. Or well, almost everything.
"We've been close friends for months and we never talked about love, nor did you tell me why you're single.” Robin dared to say, making Nancy surprised. Perhaps the way in which she posed the question wasn’t the most appropriate. “I mean... do you not have feelings for Jonathan or Steve anymore?”
"There's someone else.” Nancy clarified.
Robin felt a pang of jealousy and she immediately regretted it.
She didn't want to feel that way, Nancy was her friend above anything, and if she had found a boy who treated her as she deserved and who made her happy, Robin was no one to want to stop it.
"Yes?" Robin faked a smile. "Is he good for you?" She was forced to ask that question to hide her jealousy and behave like a supportive friend, but obviously she was also interested in making sure that Nancy's new boyfriend was up to her.
"I think she is."
Robin's heart skipped a beat, her pulse quickened and a tremor appeared in her hands.
Had she heard the pronoun correctly?
“Is she a girl?” Robin asked hopefully, and Nancy nodded. “Do I know her?” Robin thought that her nerves were about to kill her. Not that she wanted to get her hopes up, but she doesn’t think Nancy has spent time with any other girl their age during these months.
"It's you.” Nancy confessed softly. “I like you, Robin.” Nancy's words caused an insatiable happiness in Robin.
"You're serious, aren't you?" Robin wanted to make sure, and Nancy nodded, closing her eyes.
"I'm surprised you didn't find out. Even my mom thought it was obvious, and she isn’t the best at guessing people's feelings, I swear.” Robin is glad that Nancy has a mom who accepts her sexuality, she wishes she did too. “Oh, for the love of God, even Steve realized.”
Steve... Robin had forgotten about him. Would he be okay with his best friend dating his ex-girlfriend? “Oh... and what does he think about it?”
“He's totally ok with it.”
“That makes me feel relieved. I like you too, if you had any doubts. You can't imagine how much it hurt me to just be your friend and not be able to tell you what I really wanted.”
"You can tell me now.” Nancy winked at Robin and the desire to kiss each other moved them both.
Robin approached Robin, getting closer and closer.
Nancy touched Robin's cheeks lovingly, a short and gentle act.
Robin kissed Nancy.
It wasn't long, it wasn't wild and it wasn't close to the ideal kiss. Their lips didn't fit and their sweat was profuse. Definitely, they would never see two main characters in a film experiencing a similar moment. Yet it felt a spark, a magnificent feeling that made this moment memorable.