Last Christmas - Robin x Steve (Stranger Things)

Part Three - Separate Ways

Robin pulled her Walkman out from where it was buried in her pillows and figured that it would be best to try and distract herself from whatever anxious wave she felt coming to destroy her mood. She eyed the box of gifts Steve had gotten her and gave in, pulling it toward her and putting one of the mixtapes he'd made for her in the Walkman.

As soon as the first track began playing, Robin forgot about her stress and laughed unexpectedly, recognizing the opening notes to Total Eclipse of the Heart. It had been a while since she last heard the song, but she knew why he put that track first. She knew she was going to be in for a show with this mixtape, so she laid back against her headboard and listened. She was right.

Following that track were some other songs she and Steve often sang as jokes; You're My Best Friend, Caribbean Queen, and Take On Me. After that, the songs got a little more powerful. Always Something There to Remind Me, Can'tcha Say, and I Got You Babe. They were all songs she'd heard before, but given the circumstances, they held a lot more meaning to her now. The last three songs caught her by surprise; Separate Ways, If You Needed Somebody, and Faithfully. He must have put some serious thought into this mixtape.

By the time her Walkman clicked to a stop, it was dark out, and all the lights in her house except the one in her room were off. Robin lay there now on her side, growing tired enough that she had to take her headphones off and lay them aside. She held onto them and chewed at her bottom lip, still replaying the songs she'd just listened to in her head. Steve had managed to find songs that she liked, and they were enough to make her heart flutter, though she wasn't sure he knew that it would have that sort of effect.

Her mind wandered past the songs and she thought more of Steve, who she figured was either escaping his parents' company or listening to his own mixtapes at this hour of the night. She felt the urge to call him, but she'd already spent a lot of time with him earlier and even if she did talk to him, she wouldn't even know what to say.

No, you do not miss the sound of his voice, Robin's judgemental inner monologue told her. It was the same old tone it used when trying to convince herself that she was normal, or that she didn't like Tammy Thompson. Yeah, a big freaking liar, that voice was. As much as she wanted to deny it, she felt herself being dragged into that scenario that her younger self swore not to get into- liking Steve. She had to admit that lately, she thought of him way too much for it to be considered normal.

It doesn't matter if you like him, you'll be leaving in a few days, said the voice. That did not help at all. In fact, the thought of leaving without any closure to this situation, good or bad, brought back her stress from earlier. Deciding that she would do something about it soon, she put her headphones back on and listened to Steve's mixtape again until she fell asleep.

***

The following days were definitely busy, with Robin boxing up plenty of what she owned and Steve insisting on helping her through every minute of it. The last box was shoved into the backseat of Robin's car just two hours before she had to leave on New Year's Day, and both of them were exhausted. Now that this was her last day here, Robin's anxiety was off the roof, and she still hadn't done anything about her situation yet. They left the garage and guzzled drinks in the empty kitchen.

"Do you think that Mind Flayer thing will ever come back?" Robin asked unexpectedly from her chair by the counter. Steve, opposite her in the kitchen, set down his water, surprised.

"I doubt it," he replied, not entirely believing himself. "Why?"

"Dunno." Robin shrugged. She leaned on the counter. "It's funny. When I was younger, I would always dream about getting out of this place, and now I don't want to leave it. I used to think that this town sucked, but it's actually not that bad." She looked up at him and made eye contact with him, an unexpected flirtatious glint in her eyes. Steve blushed, and he looked away from her, hoping that the light was too dim for it to be noticeable.