#( robin // we all die - my strange little child friend - it’s just a matter of how and when )

[your-average-dad]

File name: For Ma Fic

Snippet: Chapter 30

Steve booped Dustin's nose instead of answering.

Robin wrestled her face out of my hands and leaned over to Dustin. "We all die my strange little child friend," She smiled with her raspy voice. "It's just a matter of how, and when."

"Uhhh, okayyy," Erica said, taking a step away from Robin’s perch on the Dollie.

“Listen, Steve,” I said, crouching on the other side of him. He slowly turned his head back and fourth between Dustin and I.

“Hey, I see the family resemblance,” He said, trying to reach for our faces again.

“Steve! Stop!” I yelled, grabbing both of his wrists to keep him still. He whispered a small ‘ow’ as Dustin continued talking.

“The Russians are looking for us. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. Where did you park your car?”

“Ohhh can we make a pit stop at the food court?” He asked me, looking away from Dustin entirely.

“I would kill for a hot dog on a stick!” Robin gasped.

“Alright, yeah, food. You can have as much food as you want,” I nodded. That was a thing people did when they were high, right? Ate?

“They can eat only if they tell us where the car is!” Dustin said, getting more anxious as we reached closer to the top of the elevator shaft. We were almost out of time. The Russians could be here any minute, and we needed a plan.

WIP Wednesday Game

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Stole this from @kedreeva because I couldn’t decide what I wanted to work on. My only problem is that I tend to file name what the title is so I can find it easier, so…here’s what they were called before I titled them.

“File” Names

Concert Season 4 Fix 15 Shovel Talk Finale Soulmate AU Reconnecting 20 Years Later AU Season 2 AU Part 20

Snippet

Do You Know What Shovels Dig? Graves Part 6

After Max, Lucas, and Erica had gone, Steve sat with Eddie, El, and the Byers boys.

“I think all in all,” Eddie began, “those were some pretty good apologies.”

The other three nodded.

Steve sighed. “It doesn’t change the fact that it took an actual honest to god intervention to get them realize they were wrong.”

“No it doesn’t,” El said. “Which is why I told them that they’ve been grounded from Steve for two weeks.”

“Uh…” Eddie said, “what now?”

“It means,” Will explained. “That if they want to hang out with him they have to do on his terms, not theirs. No begging for rides, no stopping by for food and then bailing, and just no taking advantage of Steve.”

Steve blushed. “Thanks, guys. I mean it. It was nice knowing that there were people that weren’t going to threaten me and took this whole seriously.” He gave Jonathan’s knee a squeeze. “I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t stopped by. But I’m really glad you did.”

Jonathan squeezed his shoulder in response. “Me, too. I hope they learned their lesson.”

“That is the hope,” Will said. 

[glassesmcfancyhair]

Maya Hawke is a national treasure.

[suchmayhem]

@sunrisemuses liked for a lyric starter // john rzeznik - i’m still here

“and what do you think you'd understand?” robin @ dean

[theowritesstuff]

Head Over Heels

Book 3 - Chapter Seven: The Bite

Steve Harrington x gn!reader

Head Over Heels Masterlist

Summary: Steve comes to a realization while he and Robin try to figure out if the drugs have worn off.

Warnings: drugs, guns, throwing up, blood, the little monster thing in El’s leg

Steve watches all of the doors pass by from the back of the transport car, knowing that you could be behind any one of them, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

The speed of the car, and Dustin’s driving causes his stomach to turn. Whatever the Russians put in them was clearly not meant to be used before a car chase.

The car turns, making a sharp right, lurching Steve and Robin into each other.

“Jesus, slow down!” He groans.

“Yeah, what is this, like, the Indy 500?” Robin asks, rubbing her head.

“It’s the Indy 300.” Steve says, all thoughts of you leave his mind as he can only seem to focus on one thing at a time.

“No, dingus! It’s 500!”

“It’s 300!”

“Let’s say a million.” Robin shrugs.

Both start to laugh, practically laying down in the cart connected to the car.

“What is wrong with them?” Erica asks Dustin.

“I don’t know.” Dustin turns to her.

“Dustin, watch out!” Erica tries to warn him.

The car crashes into a stack of the metal canisters, coming to a sudden stop.

Steve and Robin groan as they’re thrown forward.

“You guys alright back there?” Dustin turns to them, then back to Erica. “They’re fine.”

They quickly get out of the little car, and run to the back, unclasping the door between them and Steve and Robin.

“Come on, we gotta go, now.” Dustin ushers them out.

They both just stare at the two kids, slowly moving to sit up.

“Come on! Get out!” Erica shouts.

Dustin grabs Steve, roughly pulling him forward and out of the back, Erica doing the same to Robin.

“This sucks.” Steve says as Dustin walks over to the door to the elevator, pressing buttons.

They somehow manage to push both loopy sailors into the elevator with only minimal resistance. Robin complains about possibly getting stuck inside again, while Steve laughs and trips over nothing.

They both grin when they see a wheeling cart. Steve immediately jumps on it as the elevator shoots back up to the mall. Robin grabs onto the handles, pushing and pulling him.

“Hey! You look like you’re surfing!” She shouts to him.

“They seem drunk.” Erica raises a brow at Dustin.

“Why would they be drunk?”

“I’m a natural, check it out!” Steve raises his arms up, then crashes to the ground as Robin pulls the cart out from under him.

“Wipeout!” She yells, pointing at him.

Dustin kneels down next to Steve, and lays a hand on his forehead.

“He’s burning up.” He sighs.

“You’re burning up.” Steve shoots back at him.

“One sec, one sec.” He tries to hold Steve’s eyes open just long enough to look at them. “Steve, Steve.”

“God, no.” Steve tries to turn away. “Ow!”

Dustin lets go of his face and turns back to Erica. “His pupils are super dilated.”

“Maybe he’s drugged.” She shrugs.

Steve boops Dustin’s nose when he turns back to face him.

He softly slaps the side of Steve’s face. “Steve, are you drugged?”

Steve scoffs. “How many times dad? I don’t do drugs. It’s only marijuana.”

“This isn’t funny, okay? I need to know what they did to you. Are you gonna die on us?”

Steve boops his nose again.

“We all die my strange little child friend.” Robin says from her corner of the elevator. “It’s just a matter of how, and when.”

Dustin shakes his head, and looks back down at Steve. “They’re gonna be looking for us up there, so I need you to tell me where you parked your car.”

Steve’s eyebrows furrow. “Oh, can we make a pit stop at the food court?”

“I would kill for a hot dog on a stick.” Robin nods.

“Alright, yeah, food. Yes, you can have as much food as you want, but only if you tell me where your car is parked.”

“Uh-oh.” Steve’s eyes widen.

“Uh-oh?”

“The car’s off the board.”

“What?”

“They took the keys.” He reaches into his pockets and turns them inside out. “The Russians, they took the keys. Like, forever ago. That’s a bummer, right?”

Steve and Robin both begin to laugh to themselves.

When the elevator stops, Steve and Robin are more than eager to get out, following behind Dustin and Erica as they walk outside. Robin sticks her tongue out of her mouth, her head tilted up towards the sky.

“Oh my god, that tastes so good! Steve, can you taste the air?”

Steve sticks his tongue out now too. “I taste it! I taste it!”

Dustin and Erica stop walking when they see the metal gate in front of them open. Russian guards walk towards them, holding guns.

“Shit! Come on! Come on!” Dustin shouts, as the two of them run back and start to push Steve and Robin towards a door.

They all run inside, Dustin closing the door behind them. They run down the hall, Erica holding Steve’s wrist, and Dustin holding Robin’s.

“Where are we going?” Erica asks as they turn a corner.

“Just trust me!” Dustin answers her.

They only run for a few minutes, stopping at a pair of doors. Dustin opens one and peeks his head inside.

“All clear.” He nods. He crouches low as he starts to jog inside and around a corner, passing a poster for a new movie, Back to the Future.

The other three follow him, Steve slowing down only slightly to grab a bag of half eaten popcorn from the trashcan. They stop again when Dustin opens the door to the theatre. He looks around, searching for any empty seats to hide in.

“Come on.” He leads the group to the front near the screen, points at the two empty seats, then looks at Steve and Robin. “You two. Sit.”

“No, no, these seats are too close.” Robin says as she and Steve sit down.

“Dude, these seats blow.” Steve says with a mouthful of popcorn.

“Then don’t watch the movie.” Dustin whispers.

“We wanna watch it!” Robin argues.

“Then watch it!” He shouts, earning shushes from various audience members. He lowers his voice again. “Whatever you do, don’t… go… anywhere.”

“Fine, dad.” Steve rolls his eyes.

The two drugged teems could only stare at the screen for so long before realizing how confusing the movie they were watching actually was. They found themselves wandering back outside the theatre, Steve pulling Robin towards a water fountain.

He gulped the water down as Robin leaned against the wall of posters.

“So like, I wasn’t totally focused in there or anything, but… I’m pretty sure… that mom was trying to bang her son.” Robin looks over at Steve.

He pulls away from the fountain just long enough to respond. “Wait, wait, the hot chick was Alex P. Keaton’s mom?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure.” She shrugs.

“But they’re the same age.”

“No, but he went back in time.”

“Then why is it called Back to the Future?” Steve argues.

“He has to go back to the future because he’s in the past. So the future is actually the present, which is his time.” Robin explains.

Steve stares off into space for a second, thinking. “Wh… what?”

Robin rolls her eyes, and pushes Steve away from the fountain. “No, no, it’s my turn. You’ve had enough.”

Steve stumbles as he’s pushed away, but catches his footing. He looks up at the glass ceiling twinkling above him.

“Wow. Hey, Robin. You gotta check this out.”

Robin walks over and stands beside him, now looking up at the ceiling too.

“This ceiling is beautiful.” Steve points up.

“Oh wow.” Robin turns in circles, looking at the ceiling from different angles.

They both slowly start to feel uneasy, then all of a sudden nauseous. They start to come to, running as fast as they can to the bathroom, each kneeling over a toilet in a stall.

Once their coughing and groaning has stopped, they each sit silently in their stalls.

Robin looks up. “The ceiling stopped spinning for me. Is it still spinning for you?”

Steve looks up as well. “Holy shit. No. You think we puked it all up?”

Robin shrugs. “Maybe.” She can hear Steve shuffling in the next stall. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Now that I’ve got that out of my system, I’m gonna go get Y/n. Should’ve never let Henderson leave without them.” Steve tries to stand, but sits back down when he feels movement in his stomach again. “Shit.”

“What?”

“I’m still dizzy.”

“Maybe you need to wait a little longer.” Robin tries to tell him.

“We shouldn’t have left Y/n in there at all, I’m not gonna wait longer to get them back.” Steve pushes himself up, but leans against the wall. “I’ll be fine.” He tries to move towards the door, but stumbles, falling against the wall near Robin’s stall.

“Will you please just sit down? You’re not gonna make it very far if you can’t even walk straight.” Robin tells him.

Steve sighs. He knows she’s right, that if he tried to get back there he’d be taken immediately. “Fine.” He grunts, sitting down in Robin’s stall. “How will we know when it’s worn off?”

“Ask me something. Interrogate me.” Robin says with a Russian accent.

Steve sighs. “Um, when was the last time you, uh, peed your pants?”

“Today.”

“What?”

“When the Russian doctor took out the bone saw. It was just a little bit though.” She laughs.

“Yeah, it’s definitely still in your system.”

Robin kicks his shoe with hers. “Alright, my turn.”

“Okay. Hit me.”

“Have you… ever been in love?” She asks. She already knows the answer, but the drug might affect how much he’s willing to share.

“Yup, Nancy Wheeler. First semester senior year.” He points at his chest and makes an explosion sound.

“And now?” Robin raises her brows at him.

Steve runs a hand through his hair. “Now? I don’t know…”

“Steve-”

Steve shakes his head. “No. I know what you’re thinking. You, and Dustin, and everyone else make it very clear you think there’s something going on between me and Y/n, but there’s not, okay? We’re just friends.”

Robin opens her mouth to speak, but is stopped when Steve starts again.

“And besides, even if there was any chance that they actually liked me, it wouldn’t work out. I’m a shitty boyfriend. Hell, I’m a shitty friend. I left them down there. I couldn’t protect them.” His head hangs down, his hands covering his face. “Y/n deserves so much more than Steve Harrington.” He mumbles.

Robin frowns, moving to sit next to him, instead of across from him. “Do you remember Mrs. Click’s class? We both had her for home room.”

Steve looks up at her.

“You sat in front of me. And you’d come in late everyday, with a bagel for breakfast. You’d spill crumbs all over the floor. And you asked the stupidest questions.”

“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” Steve furrows his brows.

“Just shut up, and listen to me.” Robin takes a deep breath. “I was obsessed.”

Steve turns towards Robin now. “Uh, listen Rob, you’re amazing and all but-”

“I wasn’t obsessed with you.” She stops him. She stares at the wall ahead. “It’s just… she wouldn’t stop staring at you…”

“Mrs. Click?”

“Tammy Thompson. I wanted her to look at me. But she couldn’t pull her eyes away from you and your stupid hair. And I didn’t understand because you were a douchebag. And you didn’t even like her and… I would go home and just scream into my pillow.” Robin shakes her head.

“But, Tammy Thompson’s a girl.”

“Steve…” Robin breathes out.

“Yeah?” He watches as she sighs and raises her brows, waiting for it to click in his head. “Oh.”

Robin doesn’t let him think for too long, quickly pulling his attention back to the conversation. “What I’m trying to say is back in high school you had people lining up to date you. People were crazy about you. But now you work a minimum wage job in a mall, slinging ice cream for bratty kids, and there’s one person that, despite all of that, is still crazy about you. If I had someone that I cared about, that cared about me, the way you and Y/n do, I’d do something about it.”

“Holy shit…” Steve leans his head back, staring up at the ceiling.

“Holy shit?”

“I’m in love with Y/n L/n…”

“Yeah dingus, I could’ve told you that.” Robin scoffs.

Steve laughs, looking back down at the wall. “So, Tammy Thompson?” He asks softly, nudging Robin’s knee with his own. “I mean, she’s cute and all, but, I mean, she’s a total dud.”

Robin turns to him, a scowl on her face. “She is not.”

“Yes, she is. She wants to be, like, a singer. She wants to move to, like, Nashville and shit.”

“She has dreams.”

“She can’t even hold a tune. I mean, she’s practically tone deaf. Have you heard her?” He starts singing, pitching his voice up, making it sound nasally. “You see me now tonight, you see me more than ever.”

Robin throws her head back laughing. “She does not sound like that.”

“She sounds exactly like that. That’s a great impression of her.” Steve nods.

“You sound like a muppet.”

“She sounds like a muppet! She sounds like a muppet giving birth!” He starts singing again. “And if you can hold me tight-”

Robin joins him now too. “We’ll be holding on forever.”

“Exactly!” Steve grins.

They’re both in a fit of laughter when the door to the restroom slams open. Dustin and Erica storm in, looking displeased with the two teenagers in hysterics.

“Okay, what the hell?” Dustin looks between the two of them.

Steve and Robin share a look, then start laughing again, sinking further down against the wall.

Dustin shakes his head and sighs. “The movies almost over. Get up, we’re gonna try and sneak out of here.”

Steve stops laughing now, and sits back up. “Absolutely not. We’re going to get Y/n.”

“Steve-” Dustin starts.

“No. We’re going to get Y/n, and that’s final.” He stands up, feeling significantly better than when he tried to stand up earlier.

“He’s really in love with them.” Erica says to Robin, her hands on her hips.

Steve steps forward and nods. “Yeah, I am. So we’re not leaving this god forsaken mall without them.”

A smile quickly spreads across Dustin’s face. His friend finally accepting his obvious feelings for his crush warms his heart. “Alright, Operation: Rescue Y/n is a go.”

“Do we even have a plan? Because this sounds like more child endangerment.” Erica shakes her head.

Voices slowly start to get louder outside the door. Dustin walks over to it and opens it just enough to peek outside. Robin stands now as well, and the three huddle behind Dustin, waiting for instructions.

“Okay, blend.” He says when most of the theatre has emptied into the mall.

They all walk out into the crowd, making sure to stay in between groups.

Erica looks around, surprised. “Well shit, that worked.”

“Of course it worked.” Dustin scoffs. “Now we just have to get back to the loading area, and back in the elevator.”

Robin stops in her tracks as they get closer to the front door. “Guys.”

Men stand at the doors, checking ID’s of any teenagers that exit.

“Abort.” Dustin says.

One of the men turns to the group, making eye contact with Dustin.

“Abort! Abort!”

The four turn and run, pushing through the crowd in an attempt to get further inside the mall. They stop at the escalator that has been closed for the night, no longer moving.

“Come on, let’s go, let’s go.” Steve nudges the group forward.

Robin sits down on the middle section, sliding down. Everyone follows, then keeps running. They all duck behind a counter of one of the food kiosks, practically holding their breath to keep quiet.

Steve takes a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. This is it. This is how I’m gonna die. He thinks to himself. Y/n, I’m so sorry.

Gunshots fire off, three of them. Then one of the Russians grunts something, then another gunshot. They hear gun fall to the ground, then a sigh.

Steve furrows his brows. That sounded familiar? He isn’t sure, but he knows when he hears your words.

“Shit.”

He jumps up from behind the counter, his eyes locked onto your figure. You’ve got tears in your clothes, and blood coating your hands. You smile when you see him.

“Steve-”

He jumps over the counter and sprints to you, wrapping his arms around you in the tightest hug you’ve ever felt.

“I’m so sorry we didn’t find you, but Robin and I were drugged, and we only barely escaped and-” the words rush out of his mouth. He frowns when he looks down at your side. “You’re bleeding.”

The Russian guards had left you to your own devices as soon as the alarms started blaring. They made it quite easy to patch yourself up and escape, most of them running around like headless chickens.

You lift a hand to his face, softly brushing your thumb over his cheek. “So are you. You’re gonna have some serious vision problems in your left eye.”

He laughs, leaning into your touch. He leans his forehead against yours, closing his eyes, taking in this moment with you.

“You guys are cute and all, but I think it’s time we find a way out of here.” Erica says.

The other three have made their way out from behind the counter. They all stand together watching you and Steve reunite, with small smiles on their faces.

Your moment is cut short when you hear more voices. A new group of Russian guards, all holding guns, runs towards you.

You take Steve’s hand, holding it tightly in your own. You’re about to take off running when you hear the sound of a car alarm.

Everyone, the Russians included, all stop, and turn to the car that sits in the hub of the mall. It was put there for some sort of promotion, behind velvet ropes. You slowly step back, pulling the group with you.

The Russians all talk to each other, shrugging and shaking their heads.

You glance up at the second floor for a moment, and see El. You sigh in relief. Her hand is held up in the direction of the car. She throws the car at the group of Russians, and into the wall behind them.

El drops her hand as Nancy, Jonathan, Mike, Lucas, Will, and Max step forward. They run down the stairs as the four of you run to them.

Dustin crashes into Mike and El in a hug. “You flung that thing like a hot wheel!”

You let go of Steve’s hand and pull Nancy and Jonathan into a hug. They both wrap an arm around you tightly.

“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you!” Nancy says when she and Jonathan pull away.

“Sorry, I was a little occupied.” You laugh.

“Lucas!” Erica exclaims.

“What are you doing here?” He asks.

Erica nods to the four of you. “Ask them. It’s their fault.”

“True, yeah. Totally true. It’s absolutely our fault.” Steve nods.

“I don’t understand what happened to that car.” Robin looks back at the now wrecked car.

“El has superpowers.” Dustin points at El.

“I’m sorry?”

“Superpowers. She threw it with her mind. Come on, catch up.” Steve says.

“That’s El?” Erica asks.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Nancy asks Robin.

“I’m Robin, I work with Steve. Y/n and I cracked the top secret code.”

“Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians in the first place.” Steve nods.

“Russians? Wait, what Russians?” Jonathan asks, looking at you.

“The Russians.” You gesture to the men laying on the ground.

“Those were Russians?” Max’s eyes widen.

“Didn’t you guys hear the code red?” Dustin looks at Lucas.

“Yeah, and I couldn’t understand half of what you were saying.” Mike answers.

“God damn low battery!” Dustin groans.

“How many times do I have to tell you with the low battery?” Steve snaps.

“Okay, well, everything worked out, didn’t it Steve?”

“Worked out?” Erica turns to Dustin, a look of anger on her face. “We almost died!”

“Yeah, but we didn’t, did we?”

“It was pretty damn close.” Steve eyes wander back to you.

You want to calm the group down, but see El move away out of the corner of your eye. She slowly lifts her hands to her ears.

“El?” You step away from the arguing, towards El.

She groans, before falling to the ground.

“El!” You run over to her and kneel down, lifting her head to rest on your lap.

Everyone gathers around, kneeling down next to you.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Mike’s hands hover over her, ready to do anything he can.

“My leg!” She groans.

“Her leg, her leg, okay.” Jonathan slowly peels a bloody bandage off of her calf, revealing a large lump in her leg.

It slowly starts moving around, causing El to wail. Mike keeps asking if she’s okay. You wrack your brain, trying to think of anything to do.

El screams in pain as it travels around in her leg.

HOH Taglist: @nptnewr @rishlurh @scoobiessnacks @wisdomcrys @parker-natasha @missbunsworld @eddiemunsons-lover @lilyhw1 @mrsjaderogers

[lesbianrobin]

We all die, my strange little child friend. It’s just a matter of how, and when.

July 4th: 2 Years of Robin Buckley!

[willbyersapologist]

thinking about Robin saying to Dustin ``We all die my strange little child friend. It`s just a matter of how and when.`` in season 3 and now I´m even more scared for everyone. 

[worrywart-ish]

drugged steve: giggles, says random shit, repeatedly boops dustin with a grin

drugged robin: wE aLL dIe mY sTraNgE LitTLe cHilD fRiEnD, iT's jUsT a mAtTer oF hOw aNd WhEn

[chironsbug]

robins "we all die my strange little child friend, its just a matter of how and when" isn't sounding so funny right now

[autumn-butterfly-31]

"We all die, my strange little child friend. It's just a matter of how...and when." :)

Drunk Robin would do GREAT on Tumblr.

[tibby]

character bios ✩ robin buckley (stranger things)

↳  "We all die, my strange little child friend. It’s just a matter of how, and when.”

[robinsteve]

Top 5 stranger things moments

joyce and hopper saving will juxtaposed with hopper's inability to save sarah </3

the last four minutes of 1x03 (holly, jolly), in all their heart-breaking glory!

"i wanted her to look at me. but she couldn't pull her eyes away from you, and your stupid hair."

that moment in the s3 epilogue where mike just stands there like🧍🏻‍. i hope i don't have to explain why it's funny because sjksjdkfsdjs

when max threatens billy with the nail bat. 10/10, i very much enjoy(ed) that entire exchange

honorable mention: "we all die, my strange little child friend. it's just a matter of how, and when." in conclusion: robin >>>

thanks for asking, jackie! 💖💖💖

ask me my "top 5" anything

[sttheorycraft]

Dustin to Die?

S3E1: Dustin calls himself "Gold Leader" when driving home from camp. I forget where I've seen it speculated that Dustin could die, but I'm starting to think that theory holds water. In the original Star Wars, Gold Leader is killed during the assault on the Death Star.

This isn't the only time in Season 3 where Dustin's life has been called into question:

S3E4: "If you die, I die." Dustin, to Steve. Played off as humor, but a lot of the evidence against Mileven in this season is, too.

S3E7: "We all die, my strange little child friend. It's just a matter of how and when." Robin, to Dustin. Also played off as humor.

[thebadchoicemachine]

For the writing prompt, what about ghost!Robin and Catboy!Corpse seeing present day Cornelius/Dream? Like Dream being confused and happy about his Partner and Son’s Ghosts being there and everyone else being v confused about the two random people calling him Cornelius and knowing him from a hundred years ago.

anon im so sorry. This has been sitting in my inbox for months now but I just cannot finish this story. it a really cool idea though. Here’s my incomplete first draft. I just copy and paste it from my wip to here so this is it, notes and cuts and typos and all. 

The idea is Karl shows up when they’re in the prison and they see the false timeline where Cornelius was a killer and are forced to accept he sucks

_________________

- The execution cell was supposed to be merciful, a more civilized solution than being beat to death, but everything about it made Robin gag. He hoped he would never ever end up in it. 

tw: implied indirect suicide, major death but they’re ghosts(?) 

--•-•-*-•-•-- 

Colors and colors and colors wouldn’t stop melting and mixing and swirling. They surrounded him. They were in him. They were him. He breathed them in without breathing, he bled them without blood, he was falling and flying and stood completely still. 

And then it was dark. No, then it was light. White and clean like the marble of a palace Robin knew he would never get to see. 

Where... where was he? He’d won hadn’t he? They’d... killed... him. They’d killed everyone. 

He wanted to die. He had to. There was boiling in his blood he couldn’t ease, he had to die, he needed them to hate him. To end him. The Jester’s Curse. Cursed to be wronged, to be hurt, to be freed. 

He’d always had it, as far as he was concerned. He didn’t know why he resisted for so long. Perhaps, despite everything, he’d enjoyed living at one point. Despite what he was, despite his curse, despite bring a jester, he wanted to live! At some point he couldn’t care less about tricking others into condemning him to the grave. 

After Cornelius, after Cat, he didn’t even fight it nor could he fight for it. He didn’t even care. Even as the ground swallowed him up in flames of the execution he held no harmony. No peace. There was no joy in his victory, there was no meaning to his death. Even in fulfilling it, he’d denied his curse. 

That’s why he was still here, wasn’t it? Jesters want to die, they want to transform, to be released into vengeful spirits of lies and trickery. He was... dead. He was also... still here... why? He knew why. He didn’t think he liked the answer. 

Robin couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t stand to bother mourning anymore. Not himself, not his long-dead family, not his new fath- he choked. He didn’t know know on what, he had no air, no lungs. He just couldn’t finish the thought. 

“We never did make it official, did we?” A solemn, comforting, voice rang out.

Robin spun around. No. What? No, it’s not. It is. He is. Right there. Standing- no, not standing. Neither of them can stand. Not floating either just… there… was Cat. 

Robin felt his eyes fill up with tears, he didn’t know how, he didn’t care. He flew into his friend’s arms. 

“Woah! Ah, be careful, child.”

“H-how,” Robin sobbed into his chest. “How are you…”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“I th-thought that was because of my c-curse.”

Cat sighed, gently ruffling the child’s hair.  

“No,” he spoke, finally. “I don’t think that’s why any of us are here.”

“Then-”

“No, I don’t think it’s what happens to everyone either. I’ve been alone as far as I can tell. I haven’t found anyone else. Not even…” he sighed again. 

Robin understood. Cornelius was gone. 

“I’m so sorry, Robin.” Cat tightened his grip. “I’m so sorry for what we put you through. We promised we would give you a better life, a safer one, but we left you in the worst way possible. You were executed because... because of me.”

“Oh,” Robin stared down at his feet. “You... were there for that?”

“No. I wasn’t- I can’t- I don’t know how to explain it, I only know what happened. Exactly what happened. It was like living a story being told to you, as though a nar- narrating...

Narration. Something clicked in both of their minds. Wasn’t there some strange… the spirals… the colors… he didn’t have a name, not one he ever told them. He had simply showed up one day, right before it all began. He wasn’t there, not properly anyway,. but he was there. He was there in the backs of everyone’s minds. He was there as he explained away every awful thing like it was a footnote in a novel. He was there as he made and told truth. He was the Narrator. 

He had such an air of control, such an air of change. 

Thoughts (memories?) of a past that never happened flashed through Robin’s mind. Cat was out investigating, Robin was carefully looking over his medical supplies. He couldn’t risk- NO. No. He swept the distraction from his mind. He wouldn’t get carried away, not this time.

The narrator. The Narrator. He had a book. A swirling and swishing mash of colors cover on his book he scribed all their horrors into. That’s where they were. 

“Cat, we need to go. He made a mistake. This… was his first time. We are not supposed to be here. We were never meant to leave. We should try to get out.”

Cat only nodded. Robin didn’t know why he understood or how deeply, but he did. This was a mistake.

The two began wandering the halls. It was strange, being able to think and move again as though his body was still his. To have his mind and thoughts working in a stream of consciousness instead of a thick muddy bog of echos. If he didn’t know any better he’d describe it as feeling more… alive.

He even reached out to guide Cat out of habit. How amazing was it that he had habits again? Cat allowed him to because he knew the comfort it gave him to have something so familiar. Although, of course, not really needing him to. They were both still dead, spirits, memories. Living- not living like this, detached, was like existing with a million tiny radars reaching out all around you. It wasn’t a matter of seeing or feeling, simply knowing. When you were so disconnected from life and itself you were able to get a much clearer and instant idea of the world, he supposed.

They walked and wandered in silence for a while. At least, a while from their perspective. Even with no real idea what or where they were Robin could tell time was… off… here. 

Eventually, they found their way out. There was no exit or pathway they walked through nor was it a sudden jump. They had just… made it out. They were standing beneath the shelter of some trees. It was raining. They were surrounded by unfamiliar structures and landscapes. Of course they were, but this wasn’t just some distant biome or kingdom it was…

“Robin? Are you alright?” 

“I- yes. I’m fine, Cat. This is- I mean, that place is just… wow.”

“It’s... different, yes. This rain is- hmm, it’s weird. I can’t feel it but I know it’s there. It’s making everything fuzzy.”

Robin stuck his hand out. The raindrops sizzled against his skin. He was so focused on the odd sensation he jumped when Cat yanked his arm back.

“What was that? Are you alright?”

“The rain, it stings.”

“Badly? Are you hurt?”

“Not really. It feels like I’m a bar of soap being whittled down by the drops but I’m fine. It only feels strange.”

“Oh, good,” Cat breathed a sigh of relief. “In that case, let’s keep moving.” 

Robin agreed. They didn’t have anywhere to go but neither felt like standing under the tree for all eternity. Besides, they were in a whole new world, maybe even a whole new dimension, and Robin was really curious to see what was with those strange building 

It all seemed impossible. 

His breath was taken away at every turn as they walked. Structures like nothing he’d ever seen before. There were so many colors, so many shapes, so many mechanics, so many things, and all so high and huge. It was amazing. 

“Slow down a little, this rain is really disorienting.”

“Sorry! Sorry, this place is just… wow.”

“So you’ve said,” Cat laughed. “What exactly is so amazing about it? Describe it to me.”

“Well, there’s so much of it. It’s like a town but nothing like a town at all. More like a whole kingdom. A very strange kingdom.  There’s no uniform to it, every build is unique. There was a castle we passed, it was huge and had so many colors! There were just rainbows and rainbows pouring out of every-”

“Mmm, interesting.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“This castle though, it felt like regret, didn’t it?”

“Y-yeah? Kinda,” Robbin had been trying to avoid thinking about that, how he could feel every building. “Uh, over to your side there is a pit, a giant crater bigger than our entire town! It’s tragic. It’s refreshing a little. It’s kind of…”

“Familiar. I- I don’t want to be near that, Robin. Let’s keep moving.”

Robin didn’t agree. He wanted to get closer, to feel what was so sad, so new, so ended, what about whatever tragedy there was familiar. He wanted to understand what he knew would hurt him, and why. 

*****

“No! He would never!” Cat’s voice was rising. It was honestly scary, Robin had never seen him so wrathful. “He is the kindest person you will ever know! He is a protector! He’s- he is-”

“Do you really believe that?” The Narrator asked, calm and unfazed, sorrow creeping into his question. Robin couldn’t shake it from his mind. His thoughts were ruffles like pages flipping backward in a book. Like a pencil rubbing revealing words erased and undone but that had still been written. He was sent back to his flashing memories, his lies, unable to stop them.  

Cat was out investigating, Robin was carefully looking over his medical supplies. He couldn’t risk choosing wrong tonight. He’d been right to focus on himself. No, he’d been lucky. He’d panicked. Cat was out to the town now. Robin was out now. The killers knew they could stop them, they would be targets. The killers…

Part of him wanted to ignore it, to go back to thinking it couldn’t be one of them. That no one would do something like that, that is must be some outside force but Jimmy… they’d gotten him right. Robin winced at the memory of Helga, at how it had almost been him, but they’d gotten Jimmy right. He knew they had, the Narrator said so. 

The next morning, no one had died. Robin hadn’t needed to heal anyone. Cat reported Jack hadn’t left his home. It seemed like, well, it must be Jack. It just had to be, didn’t it? Robin frowned. He liked Jack enough, he didn’t want to kill anyone. He didn’t want to be wrong again but what choice did he have?

Jack was fighting. He was shouting, angry, scared. He was in the exact same place Robin had been a few nights ago. The familiarity burned inside his chest. He couldn’t stand any more of this, it needed to end tonight. 

“IT’S CORNELIUS!  IT’S HIM! IT HAS TO BE! Look at me. Look at me! You know me, I’m simple, I farm potatoes. If Helga was still here she’d remind yall I ain’t good for much else. You really think I could do this?”

Robin couldn’t comprehend what he was hearing. He wanted to believe it. He wanted to spare everyone he could but… Cornelius? Could he really condemn him any more than he could Jack? Could he any less? 

“What makes you think it’s me and not one of them? I know you’re a killer, Jack. You guessed Cat would be on your trail tonight and didn’t kill. Why else wouldn’t someone be dead today?” Cornelius’s voice was as calm and upbeat as ever, if not a bit exasperated. 

“He’s smart! He’s too smart. Look at his freaky, calculatin’ eyes, if you can ever see them. Look at him! Hiding behind that mask, wearing that ridiculous green hood, what’s that smile for, huh? None of us should have trusted him the day he set foot in this town, make up for it now. C’mon! Cat, I know you’re better than murderin’ folks for mayhem. Bob, you’re as simple as me! Robin,” Robin froze up as he was addressed directly “You’re a child, a sweet one. I’m sorry you have to live through this. I’m sorry you’ve been where I am now but I only hope that gives you the empathy you need to make the right choice. It’s him. I swear it’s not me!”

Everything felt stifled. He muffled the distraught protests of Cat in favor of listening to his own. No. No, it couldn’t be.  Everyone in town used to be friendly but Cornelius was a friend. He and Cat had been there for Robin. They’d taken him in, cared for him, treated him as their own son. Well, Cat had. 

Robin slowly blinked. What had Cornelius done for him? Thinking this way made him sick but he needed to be rational here. Did he really believe Cornelius was innocent, truly? He trusted Cat. Cat had proof he was safe, even if he wasn’t an investigator he had years and years of kindness to back him up. What did Cornelius have, really? He was kind, decent enough, but so was Jack. So were Jimmy and Helga. That wasn’t something he could base his vote on. 

So what did make him so sure it wasn’t Cornelius? The only… he realized the only thing holding him up was Cat. Cat loved him. Robin wanted that to be enough. He wanted desperately to go back home, to lay in Cat’s lap while Cornelius told them stories. He wanted to retreat into his memories but when he tried they felt corrupted, tainted, hollow. 

Every time he tried to imagine the kind way Cornelius had ruffled his hair, how he’d giggle and blush after a kiss from Cat, how he’d take off his mask at home and join Robin sitting on the porch, every time he tried to lose himself in the memory of that soft, humored, smile he was frozen inside by the eyes. Even when they were sad or kind his eyes were always vibrant, sharp… calculating. 

Robin took a shaky breath. He didn’t like this, he didn’t want to do this, any of it. He was filled with a numb resolve as he cast his vote. He had no proof either was innocent but he had no reason to believe Jack was capable of this… he knew Cornelius was. 

“The voting has finished,” The Narrator began. “Jack... Jack is the most suspected but this means nothing. Cornelius, by 3/5ths of the vote you have been found guilty. Please, step into the chamber.”

-

“NO!” A scream cut through the faux memory, just barely. Just enough for Robin to hear it. Who had yelled? Cat? Cor- Dream? Himself? He didn’t know, he was still lost.

-

Lost… Robin was so lost. 3/5ths. Cornelius obviously voted for Jack and vice versa, Bob was on Jack’s side, Cat must have voted for Jack even if only to save his love. Robin had been the deciding vote. What had he done? Was he right? Cornelius gave him no answer as he calmly stepped into the cell. The Narrator blabbed on, explaining the votes and who and what but for the first time since the colorful stranger arrived Robin couldn't listen to a word he said, instead focusing on Cat. 

Cat had run to the jail, his hands reaching desperately through the bars. “I didn’t want this. I didn’t want this,” he kept repeating. His voice was calm and low but Robin could tell that was desperate. He was putting on an act, trying to reassure Cornelius as though it would all solve itself if he just kept together. Cornelius still didn’t speak. He took Cat’s hand and rested it on his face, under his mask.

Then the grate snaped close and Cat was forced to pull his hand back. He barely moved though, pressing his hands against the wire through the bars. Cornelius pressed his hand up from the other side. Maybe Cat could feel it, maybe he couldn’t, Robin didn’t know which he preferred. 

Part of Robin wanted to put him to back away, to warn him the bars and fence was there for a reason, but the rest of him knew he couldn’t. The least- the only thing he could do was allow Cat this brief moment of closure, if you could even call it that. 

Cornelius still kept silent, for just the briefest of moments Robin hated him. How dare he? How dare he sit there, keeping Cat suffering in silence? How dare he keep Robin in this horrid suspense? How dare he not admit his crimes or keep pleading his innocence? How dare he… how dare… then Robin heard Cat whimper and the anger was gone. 

“We’re gonna get you out of here, okay? We-”

“Well, that’s not gonna happen,” The Narrator laughed, almost callously. If he wasn’t so detached from the world, so different from them he felt innocent even in cruelty, Robin might’ve felt like spitting on him. He couldn’t though, he was different. He was detached. He was like a child who didn’t know any better than to hurt others’ feelings. Like a child except instead of not knowing any better he knew too much. 

Maybe that’s why Robin didn’t lash out or protest as the narrator pulled the lever. Maybe that’s why he didn’t scream as the pistons shifted. Maybe that’s why he only closed his eyes and ignored the shouts of triumph. He couldn’t even find it in himself to be angry at Jack and Bob for celebrating, at the moment he was only glad their cries drowned out the sizzle. 

[boardstomymood]

''We all die, my strange little child friend. It's just a matter of how and when.'' - Robin Buckley (Stranger Things)

Requested ? : No Inspired by : Stranger Things Concept : Robin Buckley, a neon presentation. All pictures are free of use/made via Quotescover !

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[wardencommanderrodimiss]

If Fates' child mechanics could be improved, story wise, what would you do? Because I do genuinely love the kids as characters but they were done DIRTY by the excuse plot and reasons for them to be there.

That reminds me of something else I’ve meant to say about how the Fates child mechanics really really doesn’t work. Actually several things, one big one and a bunch of other little ones.

It’s obvious that the thought process was “well, people liked Awakening and Awakening had XYZ, so let’s add it in again!” without taking into account that Awakening built its story around time travel. Even if you didn’t get any S-supports, Lucina is still there. It’s a major plot point. Grima is still there, also having time-traveled. You can’t separate the time travel from the main plot, so from there it’s natural that Lucina would have some friends who came back with her, and thus you get the kids.

We’ve discussed how Fates’ baby dimension is silly. Yeah hang on let’s all just have kids during a war and throw them into an Outrealm pocket dimension where they’ll grow up real quick and we can have more soldiers for our army. If a tree falls in a forest and nobody’s around to hear it - if a situation so fantastical happens that it couldn’t have been written about in any human rights documentation, is it still a war crime? Several other issues I have with it before I get into the big one I wanted to talk about:

Even if we presume that the ladies are spending the duration of their pregnancy also in a pocket dimension where time passes differently in relation to the outside world, that’s still the equivalent of nine months that they are experiencing. That’s (equivalent to) several months that they’re not going to be able to train when the pregnancy is far along or when they’re recovering. Even if it seems like just a few days passed outside, they’re physically going to be lagging behind where they were when they entered the outrealm. 

Azura and fCorrin would do that twice.

After they yeet the first of their female friends into a pocket dimension off the astral plane so that she can time-lapse her pregnancy, you would think that someone in the army would figure out some sort of birth control spell/concoction/herb/something so that they don’t have to worry about this again. That’s just good common sense, something we know Corrin lacks, but somebody else surely would suggest it. I feel like Camilla would have that under control - not to insinuate like that she’s a slut or something, but I mean that her older sister vibes tell me that she has the knowledge and supplies to dump on her three younger siblings to inform them how to have relationships safely without fear of unwanted children “and if anyone tries to pressure you otherwise, tell me and I’ll cut their head off” ;3c. She’s like that, I think.

And then the other big and uncomfortable problem with this setup is: some of the character ages.

Like, in Awakening, you’ve got Donnel, Ricken, and Lissa who seem the youngest. Depending on Robin’s gender and how the pairings fall, I think you could end up with two unmarried guys, so you could just have Donnel and Ricken not have children, but if you want to get every character you’ve got to have Lissa get married. I put her at 16/18 during the two parts of the game. Not a great age to have a kid at - but the thing about Awakening’s time travel is that she’s not having a kid at that age. Owain’s from the future, and the only child born during the events of the game is Lucina. It still felt a little weird to see those younger ones getting married, Lissa might be getting a ring now from someone just as young as she is (in the middle of a war) but kids are still years off. That...somewhat lessens the discomfort.

And then. sigh. then there’s Fates. Where no pocket dimensions and strange flow-of-time can get around the fact of character ages, because their children might be growing up fast but they are not from the future. Those kids are born during the course of the game. And like! Elise and Sakura! They’re my baby sisters! I don’t want my baby sisters to be teen moms during a war! That’s just weird and gross and uncomfortable! They’re my baby sisters. I want to find my siblings good partners but I’m not going to matchmake for my baby sisters if that’s the result.

So looping all the way back around to your question - I have no idea, honestly. Anything except time travel/coming from an entirely alternate timeline in the future has all of the above problems baked in, and then future-kids is just an Awakening rehash. Like I was about to suggest that it’d be interesting if for Birthright/Conquest, the kids came from an alternate timeline of the other path, where their side lost the war, but firstly that’s just Awakening rehashed again, secondly Corrin spares as many people as possible so we don’t have dead parents, and honestly it’s not even a dark dire future in Awakening. Like for Nohr in Birthright, Leo gets crowned king of Nohr, his kid is going to have no drive to come back and change the past because it’s fine, there’s holes in the family where Aunt Elise and Uncle Xander are missing, but this is not dire enough to need to find a way to change fate. And thirdly, for the few characters who do die - since we’re using Birthright as the example, Elise and Xander - that would mean that their kids were born before the end of the route, which runs into that same Elise problem! If you wanted “the kids as refugees from a dire timeline” it’d have to be one where Garon won and then again, just play Awakening for that plot. 

Conceptually I think it’s interesting to draw the kids in from a different timeline where Corrin made the other choice - “Roddy what about Revelation?” I don’t fucking know man - and see how they react to Corrin being on that side, fighting for their country, with their parents, but... then that runs into the problem of spoiling the other route. Like if you played Conquest first and Xander’s kid says he died before they were born, well, that’s awkward. And again, Elise - in Conquest you could pair her with like, Kaze, who was with Corrin the whole time, always on Corrin’s side no matter what, and then that creates a plot hole of it having been literally impossible for that kid to have come from a Birthright-esque timeline because they couldn’t have existed then because Kaze could’ve even died before Corrin reunites with Elise. No, that concept can’t work. Too much potential for plot holes and stretching too weirdly to try and cover it.

I don’t know. I don’t know if you can fix it without becoming an Awakening rehash or turning Fates into something entirely different...which, it’s Fates. Might not be a bad thing to do that.

[finnyboywolfhard]

Song That The Morning Brings (Chapter Twenty Two)

Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

catch up here 

summary: the gang hatch a plan to escape the russian base and a secret is let out. 

warnings: cursing, fluff, angst, violence, spoilers ig 

word count: 4.4k

Y/N climbed her way out first, glancing around the room. Glass cases surround the room, all of which are brimming with canisters of the green liquid. She kept muttering to herself, wondering what the hell it was and cursing some obscenities for the situation she was in. She helped Erica and Dustin out a bit, watching as their eyes looked at everything around them. They all took a moment to look around the room a few times over, scanning for something that would help them. Dustin starts to chuckle a bit, and scurries over to a nearby wall. Both Erica and Y/N follow him over to where one of the little red carts was.

“Do you even know how to drive?” Erica asked Dustin.

“No, he doesn’t. But I do.” Y/N watched as Dustin attempted to turn the key and start the engine.

“You seriously thought they’d just leave keys in there?” Erica pointedly asked Dustin. Y/N agreed with the young girls dumbfounded tone. It was a naïve idea on Dustin’s behalf.

“There’s gotta be a spare.” Dustin said started to search around the cart looking for it. Y/N stays with Dustin at the cart, however she starts to examine it. She looks in the back of the cart and then she looks at some of the walls, shelves and floors around her. She was searching desperately for anything that would help them. Realistically, she had no idea what she was looking for. Maybe a way out, maybe a weapon, maybe the keys to get the hell out.

“Hey guys?”

“Yeah?” Dustin replied for the two.

“How big did you say that Demogorgon was?” Y/N felt her stomach drop. She stood straight up and could only vaguely hear what the other two were saying.

“Big, nine feet or so. Why?” Dustin replied to Erica’s question. All he got was silence in return, this freaked Y/N out a bit, why didn’t she answer? The sound of something unlocking shook her from her daze.

“Holy shit, Dustin.” She said as she saw him opening up a vault where multiple keys were stored, specifically for the cart. “Erica, He found them…” her words trailed off as she turned to look at Erica and she wasn’t there. “Erica?” A loud zapping noise came from behind them, causing the two to leap around in fright.

“What the hell is that?” Dustin screamed toward the smaller girl.

“A deadly weapon, could be useful.” She pressed the button to bring the zap back once more.

“For what?”

“What do you think? Taking down commies, saving your friends.”

“Thought you were more realistic than that, nerd.” Y/N replied, “Besides, we don’t even know where they are.”

“I mean, even if we did, there are a million guards up there with weapons way deadlier than that.” Dustin continued off of his sisters thought. “The best thing we can do for them is get out of here and find help.” This broke Y/N's heart. What if they went and got help, but it was entirely too late? “Our chance of surviving and theirs, rises substantially. Just trust me on this, please?” he pleaded with Erica, and also his sister in a way. He looked to his sister to start and drive the cart. She hesitantly did so, scared for what they might run into.

               They drove for a bit, trying desperately to navigate where to go, with each turn Y/N took she felt more and more helpless. Until she heard shouts in the distance. She turned the engine off and sat for a moment, hearing an ear piercing scream come from Steve. She turned the key back and pressed the pedal to the metal.

“Y/N! What are you doing? We need to get them help, not to get them.”

“Dustin, I love you but you just heard that too. That could not have been good, and if I lose him because I went to get help…” She started saying before tears threatened to spill.

“Let’s go.” Dustin said from next to her. She continued to drive near where the screams and shouts were coming from. On quick thinking, she turned around and went back to the room filled with the mysterious green substance. She had each of them grab a few.

“Listen to me, we’re gonna go near an entrance and we’re gonna smash them all,  create a distraction. Then, we’ll go grab them and get the hell out.”

“Are you sure that’s gonna work?” Erica piped in for the first time in a bit.

“No, but I think it’s worth a shot.” They loaded up the goo and she went to where she could hear the most voices. She had them all toss them out onto the floor, making sure that they shattered. Once one did, a chain reaction started. Guards started to notice the ruckus, and she got out of there as quick as she could. Once back inside the maze of hallways, she listened for the familiar voices of Steve and Robin, and tried desperately to remember where the sound came from. She heard Steve’s chuckle a few rooms down. She didn’t know what took over but she whipped around a corner once the alarm started blaring, signaling all of the men to the source of the alarm. She saw the room ahead. She stopped the cart and turned the engine off, rushing to get out and into the room. Dustin takes the weapon from Erica’s hands and charges into the room with it already turned out. He lets the weapon shock the man in front of Steve for a long time before eventually stopping as the man was seizing on the floor. Y/N immediately got to work on the ropes that were tying them together. She could barely see either of their faces, but she knew she needed to get them out of these first. Once the knots were undone, she looked up at Steve.

“Stevie, your face.” It was the worst it’s been after a fight yet. Blood was stained against his face, with fresh blood coating the top. There was blood soaked into the uniform across his chest.

“Hey! Y/N! I was just talking about you.”

“Get ready to run. Both of you” Y/N said looking up at the two sitting in front of her. She got them completely undone and reached out her hand to help him up. He was stumbling a bit, but she thought he might just be concussed. “Come on! We gotta get out of here.” She helped Dustin and Erica load the two gangly teenagers into the back of the cart. Y/N got into the driver’s seat once again, and began maneuvering her way out immediately.

“Jesus! Slow down!” Steve yelled from the back.

“Yeah! What is this? Is it the Indy 500?” Robin quipped up alongside Steve.

“It’s the Indy 300.” Steve corrected her.

“No dingus! It’s 500!”

“It’s 300!”

“Let’s say a million!” Robin responded once more. The two both started uproariously laughing at that mediocre joke. Y/N couldn’t help but turn around to peer through the grate at the two in the back. Something was up with them.

“What is wrong with them?” Erica yelled.

“I don’t know!” Y/N responded in a scared voice.

“Y/N, watch out!” Y/N let her worry get the better of her as she crashed the cart into a bunch of the same metal barrels Steve knocked guards over with earlier. Everyone slammed  forward, the two in the back causing the metal grate to reverberate sound. Groans filled the stale air.

“You guys alright back there?” Dustin asked nonchalantly. The three upfront grabbed the two from the back despite their desperate protests to stay back there. Y/N was attempting to stabilize them as they were walking. Dustin walked over and used the keycard to open the elevator. They all climbed aboard, except Y/N was worried about her two coworkers. With one more swipe, the elevator began hoisting itself upwards to the surface once again. Robin and Steve were goofing around on some of the trolleys that were in the elevator. They couldn’t stop laughing.

“You look like you’re surfing!” Robin shouted directly to Steve.

“Woah! Yeah!” He said, trying to emulate the motions of surfing more extravagantly.

“They seem drunk.” Erica said.

“Why would they be drunk?” Dustin asked in response.

“This certainly isn’t as simple as drunk.” Y/N said dismissing both of their responses. She gets cut off by Steve falling off the trolley into a bunch of boxes. She immediately ran over to him, her brother following closely behind.

“Stevie, oh my god.” Y/N let the words fall from her mouth. Dustin laid his hand across Steve’s forehead.

“He’s burning up.”

“You’re burning up.” Steve slurred back. Dustin started examining other parts of Steve’s face, especially looking deep into his eyes. Steve kept trying to squirm away and whispered no, but Dustin just proceeded.

“His pupils are super dilated.” Dustin exclaimed towards both Y/N and Erica.

“Maybe he’s drugged.” Erica responded out. Steve’s hand came forward towards Y/N’s face.

“Boop!” Steve said after touching his finger to her nose.

“Stevie, are you and Robin drugged?”

“How many times dad? Y/N and I don’t do drugs, it’s only marijuana.” Steve let out in response. The girl cringed at the fact that he just said that aloud. Dustin took quick glances to both Steve and Y/N, while her shoulders tensed up and her face became scrunched.

“This isn’t funny okay, We need to know what they did to you.” Dustin demanded Steve. “Are you gonna die on us?”

“Boop!” Steve once again tapped Y/N’s nose, ignoring Dustin’s question completely. From the other corner, Robin finally spoke again.

“We all die, my strange little child friend. It’s just a matter of how and when.” She smiled towards Dustin, twirling her hair while she said it.

“They’re gonna be looking for us up there, so I need you to tell me where you parked your car.”

“Oh, can we make a pit stop at the food court?” Steve and Robin discussed food for a second.

“Wait! My car! Um, the keys are in Scoops I think.”

“We’re not gonna have time to go there and get out, we need his keys.” He turned away from Y/N and back to Steve. “yes, you can have as much food as you want, but only if you tell where your car is parked.”

“Uh-Oh!” Steve said in a sad manner.

“What do you mean uh-Oh?” Y/N asked gently.

“The car’s off the board.” Dustin responded with a what and Steve continued, “they took the keys. The Russians, they took the keys.” Steve started messing around with his pockets, showing how empty they were. Both Steve and Robin start laughing at the misfortune once again. “That’s a bummer right?”

Erica, Dustin and Y/N share a few looks before attempting to get the other two off of the floor so they can get the hell out of the elevator. The only problem was the next course of action. As they walked into the fresh air, robin began cheering out.

“Oh my god! That tastes so good!” The girl began to lap up the air with her tongue. “Steve, can you taste the air?” Not long after the boy joined her in eating the air. They start walking towards the exit gate when multiple armed men start walking into it. Dustin turns everyone around, and they wrangle the two drugged ones. They race into the mall, once inside Dustin leads them all into the movie theater to hide.

“Where are we going?” Erica yells to him.

“Just trust me!” The group sneaks into the complex and then into a theater showing Back to The Future. No one even noticed when Steve grabbed a bag of popcorn right from the trash can. The movie is playing on the big screen, just as Dustin drags Steve and Robin to open seats in the front row. He turns to his sister and says,

“You sit here with them, make sure nothing happens.” She takes on the job with her complete energy. Him and Erica disappear to the other side of the theater. Y/N watched as the two stared at the screen with glazed over eyes and open mouthed smiles. They were transfixed. Even all bloodied up and bruised, Steve was still the most attractive man she had ever seen.  However, the rush of having to pee came into her system fast and hard. She hadn’t even noticed that she hasn’t peed in nearly two days. She turned to the two beside her.

“Do not move. I will be right back, I have to pee.”

“Okay, Y/N/N we won’t.” Steve replied with an overbearing softness.

“Yeah Y/N/N, we won’t!” Robin repeated Steve.

The girl found her way out of the theater without being seen and ran right to the bathroom. She sat down on the toilet and let it all out. She put her uniform back on, and then sat down again. She needed a moment of peace. A break from the hecticness of the evening. She took a few deep breaths before she heard the door slam against the walls and multiple footsteps running in. Soon enough she heard retching in the stalls beside her. She ran out of her stall and saw both Steve and Robin throwing up. She ran beside Robin to hold her hair back. The two puked for a bit before both of their nausea dissipated. She stayed silent, letting them have a few moments to breath and relax from what just happened. She stood up and walked to sit against the wall outside of the stall. Robin sprawled herself out on the floor and Steve sat comfortably against the toilet.

“The ceiling stopped spinning for me.” Robin broke the silence. “Is it still spinning for you?”

“Holy shit, no.” Steve replied out.

“Do you guys think you puked it all up?” Y/N asked them, gauging how they were doing.

“Maybe, ask me something.” Robin said in a calm tone. “Interrogate me.”

“Okay, interrogate you, sure.” Steve said, sounding more like him by the second. “When was the last time you peed your pants?”

“Today.” She let out blankly.

“What?”

“When the Russian doctor took out the bone saw.” They both started giggling, and Y/N joined in as well without even realizing it. “It was just a little bit though!” Robin said through laughter.

“Yeah, it’s definitely still in her system.” Steve said rubbing his eyes.

“Alright! My turn!”

“Okay, hit me.”

“Have you…” Robin pulls in a harsh breath, “Ever been in love?” Y/N’s whole body tensed. She didn’t want to hear this. She didn’t want to hear that he had only ever loved Nancy and that he didn’t love her as well. Even if he did, he wouldn’t say it right now would he? Y/N adjusted the way she was sitting, in case she had to get up and leave in the middle of his answer.

“Uhh, yeah, I have. Twice.”

“Twice?” Y/N spoke back.

“First, Nancy Wheeler, first semester, senior year.” He fakes a gun shot sound as he points his hand to his chest. This is what she was waiting for. This was the pain she knew she would feel.

“Oh, my god. She’s such a priss.”

“Turns out, not really.” Steve added dully.

“She’s actually kinda badass.” Y/N adds in.

“Are you still in love with Nancy?” Robin asked. ‘Yes.’ Y/N thought to herself.

“No. I’m not.” Y/N felt her whole body tense. No?

“Why not?”

“I realized that I’ve been in love with someone longer. It just took me too long to realize it. You see, there’s this girl. And we had a falling out for a bit. But then, she came back in my life full swing. She’s so smart, and funny, and strong. She’s so gorgeous. Dustin keeps telling me to find my Suzie.”

“Who is Suzie?”

“This girl from camp, I guess she’s his girlfriend. Anyway, I don’t think I need to find her. I already did. She just…She’s different and I fucked it up the first time. But there was this night back in December where it just clicked. She’s the only one who has ever believed in me, and I love her so much.”

Y/N thought back to the night of the snowball. She thought back to the moments they were talking about what happened between the two of them, and how they reconnected.

“I’ve apologized for what I said. I don’t even know why I said it. Maybe I thought that it would snap you back to reality. Even then, I didn’t hate you. I don’t think I’ll ever hate you. I believe in you too much.” Y/N wrapped her arms around herself and waited for his response.

“You’re the only one who ever has.” Steve said quietly.

It didn’t take a genius to realize who Steve was talking about, but rather than face it now, Steve instead said, “What about you Robin?” She didn’t answer Steve at first, rather she tucked her face between her legs. “Robin? Did you just OD in there?” Steve said from the other side of the stall. Steve slid down under the stall to sit across from her and Y/N moved closer to the stall.

“The floors disgusting.” Robin finally spoke again.

“Yeah, well, I’ve already got a bunch of blood and puke on me so.”

“Rob? Have you ever been in love?” Y/N asked, setting her hand on Robin’s shoulder.

“Maybe not love, but really strong like.” She spoke quietly.

“Who is it?”

“Do you remember what I said about Clicks class? About me being jealous and like, obsessed?” Y/N looked between Robin and Steve, clearly missing a piece of the puzzle. She knew that they had had that class with one another, but she couldn’t figure out where this was going. Steve shakes his head.

“It isn’t because I had a crush on you.” Robin takes a breath, trying to calm down her nerves which were clearly skyrocketing. “It’s because…she wouldn’t stop staring at you.” Y/N felt her whole body go still, Robin was coming out to them. She was endlessly proud and happy for Robin that she was letting it all out.

“Mrs. Click?” Steve asked, almost causing Y/N to laugh, but she stopped herself and let Robin take over once more.

“Tammy Thompson.” Robin let out in a hushed sentence. Y/N let her hand go to grab Robin’s, giving it a soft squeeze, to show that she was there for her. “I wanted her to look at me. But she couldn’t pull her eyes away from you and your stupid hair.” This caused Y/N to let out a soft laugh. “And I didn’t understand because you would get bagel crumbs all over the floor. And you asked dumb questions. And you were a douchebag! And you didn’t even like her and … I would go home and just scream into my pillow.” Robin finally concluded her story. Steve still had a confused look on his face.

“But Tammy Thompson’s a girl.” He said in return.

“Steve.” Robin whispered and looked into his eyes, yet he still looked confused.

“Yeah?”

“Stevie…” Y/N said at the same whisper and inflection. That’s when it clicked for him.

“Oh…” He sat for a second, as she repeated the word. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah, holy shit.” The three sat in awkward silence for a moment, all thinking about the confessions that were left on the table.

“Steve, did you OD over there?” Robin asked, reciting his joke from earlier.

“No, I just, uh- just thinking.”

“What’re you thinking about?” Y/N asked him.

“I mean, yeah. Tammy Thompson, you know, she’s cute and all, but…I mean…she’s a total dud.” Steve spoke out. Y/N cracked a smile for that one, noticing Robin’s quick defenses.

“She is not.”

“Yes she is! She wants to be like a singer. She wants to move to like Nashville and shit.”

“She has dreams!” Robin said in attempts to defend her again.

“Except she can’t even hold a tune! She’s basically tone deaf. She can barely sing without sounding like…like…” Y/N said, trying desperately to think of what she sounded like. Steve began mocking how she sings, Y/N joining in. Robin started laughing telling both of them to shut up.

“She doesn’t sound like that!”

“She sounds exactly like that.”

“We were doing a great impression of her.” Y/N said applauding her and Steve’s imitation.

“You both sounded like muppets!”

“That’s it! She sounds like a muppet!” Y/N said, finally completing her thought from earlier.

“She sounds like a muppet giving birth!” Steve exclaimed as well. The three all started laughing before Steve started the song once again to mock Tammy’s awful voice. They were cut off from their laughter and singing by Dustin slamming the door open and storming into the bathroom.

“Okay! What the hell!” Dustin shouted at them. All three of them started laughing once more, unable to take Dustin seriously after what just happened.

“Calm down Dusty, I went pee and then they came in and threw up. I have been taking care of them and I made sure I wasn’t seen. It’s okay, I promise.”

“Well we need to get out of here and fast or else they will find us.”

“The movie is probably almost over, let’s just get out then.” Robin said, trying to calm Dustin down a bit.

They surrounded the door, leaning against one another in attempts to see when the crowd was leaving the theater. A swarm of people started to exit the theater doors.

“And…blend.” Dustin said leaving the bathroom. The rest of the group immersed themselves in the crowd, trying to look as normal as possible. They kept up the pace of the rest of the crowd her were swiftly approaching the exit.

“Well, shit. That worked.” Erica stated, clearly not thinking it was going to.

“Of course it worked.” Dustin’s voice was laced with confidence. “We just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home here we come.” Y/N was excited at the thought of all of this being over, at least for a night. She knew that it was never gonna be fully over seeing as they were opening the gate, but that was a problem for tomorrow. A problem for after sleep.

“Uh, Dustin?” Steve said just as Y/N was about to say something.

“What?”

“We might not want to go to your guys’ house.”

“And why is that?” Y/N said voice laced with concerns.

“Well, I might have told them Dustin’s full name.”

“You did what?” Y/N said, voice rising a bit higher than she should’ve.

“What is wrong with you?”

“Dude! I was drugged.” Steve said in attempts to find some innocence.

“So?”

“So?” “SO you resist! You tough it out. You tough it out like a man.” Dustin claimed.

“Dusty, how would you even know how to tough it out like a man?” Y/N mocked her little brother.

“Seriously, that’s easy for you to say.” Steve said trying to defend himself. Y/N could tell that he was getting a little worked up. He had the tendency to do that with Dustin, they would bicker and get heated. Y/N was usually the mediator, and more than likely in charge of calming them both down.

“Guys?” Robin spoke up from the other side of the pack, her voice filled with concern. She grabbed Dustin and Erica and pulled them back gently. Y/N and Steve stopped in their tracks as they noticed what she did. Standing only a few feet in front of them there was a few of the Russian men checking ID’s and asking people questions as they were leaving. There would be no way that they could get past them.

“Abort.” Dustin spoke, slightly too loud. The man looked over and noticed the group standing there. Fear flooded through each and every single one of their bodies. The group started to slowly back away from the crowd, in attempts to get themselves away from the Russian guards blocking the exit.

“Abort! Abort!” Dustin kept yelling to the group. Robin led the way, weaving through all of the people trying to find somewhere to go. They all ran to the escalators, thinking maybe they could find a way out from down there.

“Shit.” Steve whispered yelled right behind Y/N. They got to the escalators and they were turned off and roped off.

“Uh, okay.” Robin said in a fearful tone. Her language was becoming sparse and scared, something none of them had heard from Robin yet. Steve looked back and saw the men finding their way through the crowd just the same as they had. Y/N looked over to him, seeing it in his face how truly scared her was. But her attention was pulled away by Robin going down the center of the escalator like a slide.

“Okay, come on, let’s go!” Steve said, rushing everyone to do the same. One by one they flung themselves down the makeshift slide. They all rushed to hide behind the counter of The Great Cookie. Once hidden, they could hear the guards speaking thick Russian into their walkies. Every second felt like it was one second closer to death. The men’s footsteps were very prominent. The thick black boots they were wearing essentially pounded against the floor. Suddenly, one of the men’s voice was heard far closer than it had yet.

Y/N instinctively grabbed for both Steve and Dustin’s hands, clutching them both as if it was the last time she was doing so. Her breathing became unsteady and inconsistent. They had been found and there was no way that they could escape this. The guards footsteps took on a synchronized pattern as they stepped closer and closer to the counter they were behind. Everyone jumped as the sound of a car alarm started wailing in the court. It was going crazy, drawing the attention away from the hidden group. The car was bouncing and honking, it was uncontrollable and an out of this world phenomenon. The car flew across the food court, knocking down the guards as it flung across. All of the men, knocked cold and presumably dead. The group rises up slowly from behind the counter, Y/N still clutching one of Steve’s hands. Their eyes slowly panned around to look at the men on the floor, the still rattling, yet torn off cap, to the car that was now overturned and finally up to the balcony where the party was standing as well as Jonathan and Nancy. Smiles of relief took over Dustin and Y/N’s face.

 taglist: @mochminnie @queen1054 @prettysbliss @voidnarnia