Parallel (Ever Missing the Mark)

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/39270786.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: Gen
Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Relationship: Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, past Steve Harrington/Nancy
Wheeler (mentioned)
Character: Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington
Additional Tags: Season/Series 04 Spoilers, Episode: s04e06 The Dive, Not Nancy
Wheeler Friendly, Not Stancy Friendly, Probably not Jancy Friendly
Either, you want to get to Steve? you need to go through Robin first,
Protective Robin Buckley, Fix-It of Sorts
Stats: Published: 2022-05-28 Words: 925

Parallel (Ever Missing the Mark)

by aktura

Summary

Robin knows bullshit when she sees it.

Notes

I was hoping that season 4 would inspire me, but this is not what I had in mind.

It is now 7 AM, I finished season 4 one hour ago, I finished this fic ten minutes ago, and I
have been awake for 24 hours and counting. Set your expectations accordingly. ♥

See the end of the work for more notes

//

Skull Rock is an awful name for a make-out spot, in Robin’s opinion. It really says something
about Steve, that she’s not even surprised that he’s trying to take credit for putting it on the map.

The thing is, that despite this, Nancy keeps looking at him. Has been, ever since they ran into her
standing over that guy’s body in the middle of the road.

She looked at Robin too, at first – curious, guarded glances that seemed to grow sharper whenever
Robin happened to exist anywhere close to Steve – and even after Robin went out of her way to
emphasize the platonic part of their very platonic friendship, Nancy still looks.
What's worse, Steve’s looking back.

//

“If I’m permitted to see a silver living in any of this end-of-the-world doom and gloom,” Robin
says, “it would be the rekindling of some old flames that frankly never should’ve been snuffed
out.”

The part about rekindling of old flames is from a book she once read. It hadn’t been a very good
book, and the heroine hadn’t been very likable either. Still, when Nancy turns to level a look at
Robin, there’s a spark of interest in her eyes.

“I didn’t mean that as a hint or anything,” Robin says, hinting.

//

See, the thing is, she and Nancy might be friends now. As in, officially.

But Steve got there first.

//

Dustin takes charge, compass in hand, and the rest of them follow as they set out to look for the
gate.

Steve’s bringing up the rear, and Robin falls back to join him, looping her arm through his.
Walking shoulder to shoulder makes it difficult to duck out of the way of low hanging branches,
but it’s pretty effective when it comes to ensuring that Steve doesn’t run off once Robin starts
talking.

“What the hell are you doing?” she asks.

“Huh?” Steve says. His eyes are on Nancy; the delicate brush of her curls against her shoulders, the
gentle sway of her hips as she walks, the elegant placing of her feet in the rough terrain – and
Robin can appreciate all of that, she really can, but—

“Steve,” she says. “Real talk time, okay?”

Steve shoots her a glance. “Uh, sure.”

“Right,” she says, “you know how I’m always telling you that you don’t know what you want?”

Something about that makes Steve snort in a fairly unattractive manner, which Robin chooses to
take as an affirmative.

“Well, you should know that you don’t want this,” she says. “At all. You really, really don’t.”

Steve turns to look at her. By now the light is fading fast, but Robin can still make out the way he’s
knitting his brows, like he sometimes does when he’s confused but not quite ready to admit it yet.

“I talked to her before,” Robin says, “and she said they’re fine. She said some other stuff too, but
the gist is that they’re doing okay. Her and Jonathan.”

The muscles in Steve’s arm flex against her own, and Robin tightens her grip. No running from
this conversation. Effectively trapped, Steve quickly glances in the direction of the others before
slowing to a stop, pulling Robin with him and letting the rest of the group forge ahead without
 them.

“Don’t lose them,” Robin says as she watches Dustin round a tree and momentarily disappear from
sight in the dark.

“Yeah, I see them,” Steve says, and then, “So is this about Nancy—?”

“It’s about you! And also her, but—” Robin takes a steadying breath. “Look, I only know what you
told me that one time when we got super drunk, but I’m really good at reading between the lines.
And right now all the lines are majorly parallel.”

Steve just blinks at her.

“Okay,” Robin says. “Answer me this. Did you guys break it off before she got with Jonathan?”

“We had a fight—”

“Yeah, but were you officially over? Did either of you actually say the words? Or did you just
assume that you would take some breathing room and then kiss and make up?”

Steve shrugs, and that’s pretty much answer enough.

“So you don’t even know.” There’s a small part of Robin that’s angry at the thought of what
followed, and she lets it rage, because Steve obviously won’t entertain the feeling himself. “Listen.
She’s still with Jonathan. They haven’t talked about what’s going on with them, but I don’t think
they’ve broken up. Does that sound familiar? Do you get it?”

Steve looks away, then.

“She’s doing the same thing to him that she did to you,” Robin says, just to drive the point home.
“Why are you letting it happen?”

She can see Steve’s Adam’s apple move as he swallows. “We should go, or we’ll lose them,” he
says, jerking his head in the direction of the others.

He’s right – they’ve fallen further behind than Robin is comfortable with, so she gives him a nudge
and they start walking.

“Just— Tell me you’ll think about it, at least?” she says, quieter now once they’ve almost caught
up with Nancy and Eddie. “Don’t go for it just because it’s the easiest option. That’s bullshit.”

“I’ll— Alright.” Steve says. He’s quiet for a moment or two, like he’s doing exactly what she
asked of him – giving it some thought – but then he gently knocks his shoulder against hers.
“Thanks, Rob.”

Robin gives his arm a squeeze. “Hey,” she says, “what else are best friends for?”

Up ahead, beyond the trees, Lover’s Lake lay calm, surface like a mirror.

//

End Notes
 And then Steve abandoned all foolish thoughts of ever getting back together with Nancy
(though he still ended up getting pulled into the Upside Down). The End.

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!