#max and robin

[stationbluebird]

they are everything to me

[showsedts]

CONVERSATIONS IN THE DARK - STRANGER THINGS ONE SHOT

Summary: Max searches for comfort in the middle of the night after a nightmare wakes her. In Robin’s room, a late-night conversation about nightmares leads Robin to confess the one that still haunts her: Nancy facing the Mind Flayer. Also, Robin definitely has a crush on Nancy (she just hasn’t figured that out yet).

Word count: 1.3 K

Content warnings: emotional hurt/comfort, nightmares talk but not detailed

A/N: Funny story, the whole reason I started writting in the first place was because of the scene described in the nightmare. I can’t be the only one that saw Robin's face when Nancy offered her life to the Mindflayer... Girl looked like she was about to lose the love of her life!

So that thought spiraled and I wrote this.

Originally, this was meant to be a chapter in the current fic I’m writing, but I’m on chapter 11 already and this still hasn’t found a place in it. Which led me to think it might work better as a one-shot.

This can exist in the same universe as my other one-shot (if you’ve read it, if not and want some Nancy + Robin + Steve taking care of Max that’s for you, that one is part of the longer fic), but it works perfectly well on its own too.

A few headcanons I’m using here: - Robin lives with Steve and they take Max in. - Max has been in therapy to regain mobility. - Robin is clearly in love with Nancy, she just doesn’t know it yet.

And because I could ramble forever, I’ll end this note here by saying this was not beta read and all mistakes are mine, English is not my native language! Enjoy! <3

First trimester, 1988

The scream died in her throat as she jolted awake. She breathed heavily, trying to calm down. Just a nightmare.

She was sleeping better, but sometimes nightmares returned with full force. Not every night like they used to, but when they do, she felt back in the cave, or the Creel house, or the Starcourt mall, really whatever scenario her brain picked for the night. She looked around, grounding herself, she was in the room at Steve’s  her room.

Max was still getting used to referring to it as that, or to Steve’s house as ‘home’. She’d been living here for a couple months now.

Unsure what to do, her eyes found the clock on her nightstand. 2:12 am. Steve and Robin would be asleep by now. But Robin had slept on the couch next to her during her first weeks here, and it was only when Max was finally able to move upstairs that they stopped sharing the same space. But Robin had made a pointed emphasis that Max could come to her room if she needed something, no matter the hour.

So she decided to take her up on that offer now, she didn’t feel like sleeping alone tonight.

She slowly crept out of bed, took the crutch beside her bed, her support for walking alone, and made her way to the room next door. When she reached Robin’s door, she quietly twisted the knob and peeked her head inside to see Robin laying on her side, her back to the door.

Max hesitated, not wanting to disturb her sleep, and decided this was a stupid idea after all. She moved to leave, but her crutch slipped and hit the door with a thud.

Robin turned over and blinked her eyes open, rubbing them with her hand. “Max?”

“Yeah,” Max said. “Sorry, I woke you. I’ll go back to my room. Go back to sleep.” She moved to close the door until Robin stopped her.

“Wait,” Robin said, sitting up in bed. “You can stay. Come here.” She patted the spot next to her on the bed and pulled the covers aside for Max to climb in.

With Max settled, they stayed in silence for a bit. “So,” Robin asked carefully, “do you want to talk about it?”

“Just the usual, you know? Nightmare. It was in the Creel house. The night you know…” She stopped.

That was the worst nightmare out of the options— the one where she woke up because she could almost feel her bones breaking and her vision going dark all over again.

Robin pulled the arm that was against Max and wrapped it around her, pulling her close. The younger girl rested her head in her shoulder.

“Yeah, it’s your worst,” Robin said softly. “You’re safe now, here with us. And I promise we won’t let anything like that happen ever again.”

Max wanted to ask Robin about her nightmares. She got them too, and it was something they didn’t talk about. She wondered if, just like how Robin helped her deal with hers, maybe she could return the favor.

“Robin?”

“Hmm?”

“When I was sleeping downstairs and you stayed with me… remember you used to scream sometimes too?” she asked. Robin nodded, letting her continue. “I’m sorry I never asked you if you wanted to talk about them.” She felt like a bad friend.

“Max, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” Robin said.

It really wasn’t something she’d ever thought of that way. Like Max was ‘not comforting her’. Besides, she shouldn’t have to, Robin was the one looking after her, not the other way around. 

“But you can tell me too,” Max added. “From now on, I mean. If you want to.”

Robin thought for a second. She really didn’t have many nightmares— just a very specific recurring one that had been haunting her. She thought, Why not? 

“Do you feel like sleeping, or are you up for the tale?” she asked.

Max moved to look at her, full attetion on Robin, “I’m up,” she said, so Robin began.

“Mine’s always the same,” she paused. “We’re back in the Abyss. The Mind Flayer is in front of us. We’re about to die, and then sh—” She looked Max in the eyes. She was going to have to be honest about it.

She sighed. “She offers to be bait. And I want to scream at her not to, to stop her, or go with her… but I don't. I didn't... and it’s fine. We’re fine...”

“But?” Max cut her from rambling.

“But in my dream, we’re not fine. She is not fine. And I just freeze and watch her get swallowed by that thing.” Robin looked down, letting out a shaky breath. “And that’s when I wake up. Every time.”

“Nancy,” Max blurted out. It wasn’t a question, but a fact.

Robin nodded.

For the past two months, things between her and Nancy had been… tense. Not in a bad way, but different. They’d been spending a lot of time together helping Max and hanging out. It was different from when they’d done their H&H investigation. Back then, Nancy had Jonathan, and Robin had Vickie. Now they were both single, and Robin had been having the nightmares, which had made old, deep-buried feelings resurface. Not that she had identified them yet… she avoided it.

“Why don’t you tell her?” asked Max, resting her head back on Robin’s shoulder and lacing their arms together.

“Tell her what exactly? ‘Hey, Nance, your starring presence in my dreams has been messing up my sleep’?” Max giggled.

“No, dingus,” Max said.

That was another thing, she’d picked up. Robin’s preferred nickname and now used it againts her.

“You have unresolved feelings about Nancy almost dying. So tell her. Tell her that watching her do that really messed you up, see what she says?”

“We had a conversation about something like that a while back,” Robin admitted.

She remembered how she’d felt that night when she’d heard Nancy’s name on her police scanner. Robin had been terrified. And she’d been even more terrified seeing Nancy point her rifle at the beast and run straight toward it.

“I told her I was scared to lose somebody cause she was running around like anything happening to her didn’t matter,” she said, the memory very clear. “I told her I didn’t want to be afraid. And she just said, she couldn’t help me with that, and stormed out on me. We didn’t talk about it anymore. We just… let things go back to normal, like that never happened.” She shrugged. 

Max thought for a moment. “Like I said. Unresolved feelings. I’d say you need to put on your big girl pants and resolve them if you ever want to sleep again.”

“I…” Robin was actually speechless. Max made very good arguments she couldn’t refute. “Yeah,” she finally whispered. “You’re right. Maybe I will.”

They fell into a comfortable silence again, laying down on Robin’s bed. They faced each other in the dark. “Just so you know,” Max mumbled against the pillow, “if you don’t… I will. And I’ll add way more embarrassing details.”

Both of them laughed softly.

“Noted,” Robin added, pushing up on her elbow to press a soft kiss on Max’s hair. “Now, go to sleep, you little red troublemaker.”

“M’not Little,” she protested faintly, already succumbing to her sleep.

Robin watched her for a while before rolling onto her back, staring at the ceeling and processing what had just happened. She felt good sharing this with Max. It wasn’t just her secret anymore and that was okay. She felt Max snuggling againts her, her warmth offering comfort, and with that, Robin closed her own eyes, resting her head against red hair as she finally dozed off.

I hope you liked this one! I’m basically writing what I want to read, but I hope someone out there enjoys it too!

Comments, likes, reblogs — anything is appreciated! <3

[queenie-ofthe-void]

pre-S4 Robin and Max || wc: ~1.6k || rating: teen || cws: depression, brief mentions of bullying and child neglect

~~~

Robin drops her lunch tray onto the table, falling into the seat with purpose. The young girl across from her startles at the movement. Pulling her headphones down slightly, Max raises her eyebrow in question, clearly annoyed at the unwelcomed company. Robin mimics the look in an overly dramatic way, and takes a large bite of her instant mashed potatoes. 

When Max only rolls her eyes and goes back to her homework– headphones off– Robin considers it a win. The girl’s been pulling away since Starcourt, drawing into herself in a way that’s putting everyone on edge, and the Party is at a loss for what to do. 

The beginning of freshman year was tough on all of the kids, but especially Max. Robin would eye her from across the lunchroom, seated at the opposite end of the table from the loud, brash, super super senior along with the rest of the Party and Hellfire boys. The poor girl would startle anytime Munson laughed too harshly and flinched at the loud bang of his fists on the table, shrinking into herself during his tabletop tirades. 

Needless to say, sitting with the Hellfire boys didn’t last long. Max’s patience for Eddie thinned even further after settling into the trailer across from him, complaining about music keeping her up at all hours of the night– the same electric guitar riffs over and over again. And she’d made more than one off-hand sarcastic remark about Munson’s late night customers causing the dog to howl.

Robin looks towards the Hellfire table now. Sure enough, Eddie’s flailing his arms around in what is most likely a lecture on The Man. Dustin’s wide eyes and Mike’s entranced smile tell her they’re fully proselytized to the Munson Doctrine now, after a full five months of brain washing. Hopeless, the both of them. She has no idea what they see in the town drug dealer beyond D&D. Mike didn’t even like rock music before he joined Hellfire. Now he’s subconsciously crushing so hard on their fearless leader that he’s starting to dress like him. 

She supposes she’d be a bit of a hypocrite to judge him too harshly though. She only joined the pep band to see Vickie after school.

Cutting off her own dating anxieties, she focuses back on Max. The young girl is more relaxed than when Robin first sat down. She’s hunched over an old copy of Romeo and Juliet. Not one of Robin’s personal favorites, and she’d guess not one of Max’s either if her frustrated huff means anything. Why it’s required reading for freshmen she’ll never understand. But speaking of Romeo…

She looks around again, and her eyes lock on to Lucas’s. He’s staring directly at her with a desperate look in his eye that Robin tries to acquiesce with a tight smile. Another boy in a letterman jacket is trying to get his attention, but he’s shrugged off as Lucas moves to stand. 

Panicked, Robin checks to see that Max hasn’t noticed and shakes her head. A silent plea to not ruin the small ground she’s gained-- the first ground anyone has gained with Max in weeks. Hurt flashes across his face, but he sits down. Robin nods, hopefully telegraphing her thoughts. She can tell he's not happy about it, but he settles back into the conversation with his teammates.

Max dumped him just before Halloween and just shortly after she quit sitting with the Hellfire boys. Lucas had tried sitting with her instead, but the older boys stomped their proverbial toddler feet, arguing that he was already splitting too much of his time between D&D and basketball practice. They couldn’t believe he then had the audacity to spend even less time with them just to hang with some girl.

Needless to say Mike and Dustin had been less than supportive, caving to the peer pressure from the older members and Robin knows it’s one of the reasons why Lucas eventually ended up sitting with his teammates.

Then her mom started pulling doubles during the holidays and Max did her best to hole up in the trailer, refusing to come out no matter how much caroling the boys tried. Robin understands why Max wouldn’t want to go to the Party’s holiday gatherings. The boys were the core unit of the group, backed up by the Wheeler and Byers families. But the Byers’ left and took her best friend with them, the boys were fighting, and they weren’t even sure if Lucas would show up if Max wasn’t there. Robin was one of the few people involved in the Upside-Down bullshit who understood what isolation from the core group felt like, so why not try to include Max in their own tiny group of three.

A few days later, on the coldest day of break, Robin sat in the passenger seat with her fingers smashed up against the beemer’s heat vent and watched out the window as Max opened the door for the only person she was still talking to. The girl put up an argument, but no one can out-bitch The King himself. She let him in and they stepped out a few minutes later, a bag slung over her shoulder and a small dog in her arms. He never complained, even when the house smelled like wet dog for a week later.

Now it’s almost March, and it’s been weeks since she’s talked to anyone. She’s been sitting alone everyday, not answering the phone. So maybe it's Robin's turn to try talking with her, girl to girl.

“I know what you’re doing here,” Max states, hiding her hesitancy under a false bravado, the casual air of her tone undercut by her shifting gaze. “You can tell him to stop worrying, I’m fine.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Random Girl,” Robin answers with an innocent wave of her hand.

Max’s deadpanned stare says she’s not buying it. The nickname all but confirms her motives. 

That’s fine, Robin just needs a foot in the door and now that Max has opened said door, it’s like the dam between Robin's brain and mouth has burst. 

“I was just sitting here eating my lunch and minding my own business, when you decided to say something. And honestly, I think that’s pretty good for me considering I’ve been sitting here for almost twenty minutes in complete silence, which– you know– is not really my forte. Normally I like when people talk to me, it’s how conversations are supposed to work, ya know? But when it’s just me I can’t seem to stop and I’ll, like, keep going and going until it gets awkward.”

She can’t stop rambling and oh god she’s going to ruin this, she’s sure of it. Max let her sit here and now she’s going to ruin this for Lucas and the boys and–

“Just,” Max interrupts. Robin takes a deep breath, in and out. Calming herself down and keeping her mouth shut. “You can sit here, alright. But don’t, like, expect anything from me. You’re not going to get me to open up, or some shit– don’t even say language right now Robin I swear– so that you can report back on how I’m doing. Because I’m fine. Really.”

“Why would I report back to Lucas how you’re doing–” Robin starts. But Max interrupts again.

“You know that’s not who I’m talking about,” Max says quietly. Her eyes are turned downward, avoiding eye contact now that the fire’s burned out.

“Max,” Robin tries again, yet doesn’t know what to say. Anything she says will either be a lie, or so genuinely truthful Max might withdraw again. 

“Max, I just want to sit here. Ok? I promise I won’t jump in the beemer after school and spill all your secrets. We don’t even have to talk if you don’t want to! I’ll just sit over here and do homework, while you sit over there and do homework. Because Nancy’s busy with the newspaper now and maybe I can help you with Spanish and just--,” but she stops. She has to be honest. Or at least try without it being too much.

Max is looking at her. Watching intently, searching for something Robin can’t figure out.

She sighs, exhausted but unwilling to give up.

“He’s worried about you. Of course he is. That’s, like, Steve’s whole entire personality.” It gets the small smile out of Max that she was trying for. “But I’m sitting here because I want to, not because he told me to or so I could, I don’t know, gather information for him. Talk to me or not, but I’m sitting here for lunch from now on.”

Max eyes Robin, and must find whatever she was looking for. 

The bell rings, and they both move to pack up their books. “If you’re sitting here,” Max says “then you’re going to have to listen to me gush about Kate Bush.”

Like that’s a deterrent. Hell, it’s an incentive.

“Fine,” Robin makes a show of it, whining and rolling her eyes. “Then you’re going to have to get over it and listen to me bitch about Steve being a dingus and a total loser when it comes to picking up girls at work. I spend too much time with him to not get it off my chest.”

“Totally understandable,” Max says, a huff of laughter escaping behind her restrained smile. “See you tomorrow then.”

Robin turns, bouncing lightly on her feet to her next class after a successful mission. Steve might not have asked her to do this, but she’s doing it for him regardless. For both Steve and Max. 

She can’t wait to tell him all about it.

~~~

@devondespresso thanks for the WIP ask! I've actually been sitting on this for a while, so you gave me a good kick in the ass to finally finish up edits and post. 💜💜💜

[ellewritesandrants]

What about a modern AU with roommates Steve, Eddie and Robin who have Billy move into the apartment next door with Max?

What if Steve and Eddie had been dating and Robin had confessed and subsequently been rejected by Vickie so they decided to fuck Hawkins and go to California after the Byers? Maybe, Eddie and his band had managed to get more success in California, having regular night gigs and doing well enough that Eddie could stop dealing on the side while Steve and Robin did what they did best and worked in retail together.

Maybe, a few months after the honeymoon stage has passed and they both started to get busy and to see other options available there, Steve and Eddie realized they weren’t working out so well and they decided to break up amicably, still remaining good friends and even wingmanning for the other when needed. It just didn’t work between them since they both had a tendency to dominate and even if they were willing to take turns, here in California there were a lot more people out and about that they could be with that could satisfy their needs too.

After a year or two of peaceful cohabilitation between the trio, they get a new neighbor and lo and behold, it’s a boy their age and his little sister. Imagine Steve and Eddie’s surprise when they see a blue Camaro park outside their building with a blond Adonis behind the wheel who ends up moving into the apartment next door. Imagine Robin’s surprise when she and the boys see a fiesty redhead trailing after the blond who introduces himself as Billy and his little sister, Max as the their new next-door neighbors.

Imagine Eddie instantly spotting the black handkerchief tucked into the boy’s back pocket, immediately telling Eddie that he had a chance and that they might actually work well together in bed if his handkerchief was any indication. Imagine Steve drooling over Billy doing laps in neaby community pool where he also swam, practically almost falling all over himself to introduce himself to the blond who flirts back and invites Steve to shoot some hoops sometimes.

Imagine both Eddie and Steve deciding they want to pursue Billy only to realize that the other is also planning to do the same. Imagine the absolute confusion they would have because it’s the first time their tastes have overlapped since they dated and neither of them are willing to back down so they just decide to let the best man win.

While Eddie and Steve were having a weeks-long mini war trying to figure things out, Robin had already befriended the siblings, happily inviting Max to her yoga classes and being surprised when both brother and sister joined her. Apparently, it had been one of their first bonding activities after Billy had gotten custody since a friend of theirs ran a studio and gave them free passes.

Robin was quickly made aware during lunch that Max was a budding baby lesbian like her while Billy was an out and proud gay man since they hadn’t wanted to deal with any more bigots after having escaped their own version of the house of horrors. Robin easily cut the tension by telling the siblings that she was a lesbian herself and her two roommates were pan and bi respectively. Billy had gotten curious over how they had gotten into that living situation so Robin detailed how they had left Hawkins after a few rejections and near disownments to have a fresh start.

Billy then shared how he and Max had ended up there after his dad had been jailed and Max’s mom succumbed to her alcoholism. It’s been Billy and Max against the world for more than three years and they’d learned how to care and love each other as siblings throughout that period. Billy had managed to finish his double major in Psychology and Social Services in UC Berkeley with a full ride thanks to his valedictorian status and a sports scholarship he got playing basketball. Max had finished up her high school and was now studying in the university nearby so Billy had decided it was time for them to move.

Billy had applied to be a social worker for the local office while he was working on his master’s in psychology so he could eventually be a psychologist to help abused children like he was which of course, made Eddie and Steve want to be with him more. For all of the fighting between Eddie and Steve behind the scenes, it was actually Robin who introduced those two dinguses to the supposed love of their lives.

Billy was charmed by both Eddie and Steve but he didn’t want to ruin their friendship so he initially stayed away until the two boys decided to corner Billy and tell him about their agreement in dating him. Billy found it so ridiculous that these two boys really made rules to protect their friendship while they pursued the same guy that he couldn’t help but give them a chance.

Billy starts going out on dates with them individually with him not realizing the boys were constantly trying to one-up each other on dates just so they could steal him away. A few months in, he ends up confiding to Robin about how great dating both Steve and Eddie is and how he finds it so hard to choose between them. Robin accidentally reveals they used to be together but that they eventually split because they weren’t all that sexually compatible but everything else worked out well between them.

It gives Billy the great idea to try and rekindle their romance so he doesn’t have to pick between them so he orchestrates more and more group dates between them. Movie nights become the three of them cuddled together on the couch with Billy in the middle. Eventually, they move movie nights into Steve’s room which used to be Steve and Eddie’s room and suprisingly, the three of them fit comfortably well in the California King with Billy in the middle.

The first time he kisses either of themon their first monthsary , the two boys play rock, paper, scissors to decide who goes first. The first time he makes out with either of them two weeks later, Billy ends up trapped between the two in Steve’s bed, trading partners every so often. Billy ends up telling them two boys 6 months later that he really wants his first time with them to be together and neither Steve nor Eddie can say no to him when he shows off the flexibility that yoga gave him.

It soon becomes a common enough thing for all three of them to fuck and then smoke weed in bed together and they shotgun kisses to get high because Billy becomes remarkably clingy when high and Steve does too a little bit. It’s after one of those fucks that Steve kisses Eddie for the first time in literal years and they end up making out in front of Billy. Eddie eventually realizes that they don’t know how Billy would react to them kissing since it wasn’t part of the deal but when they turn to look at him, their pretty little blond baby is wide-eyed and turned on and he’s not even trying to hide it.

After their first night as a throuple, the next morning brings actual conversations about relationship boundaries and they explain all sides of the story, including Billy’s machinations to get them back together again. Of course, the two boys have to punish their baby boy for tricking them but Billy enjoys their punishment. The three of them become an official throuple that morning and on their unofficial anniversary, they move into the boy’s apartment while Robin moves in with Max who had her girlfriend, El move in too.

Billy likes to say he’s the one who really won because he has two amazing boyfriends who love to spoil him and take care of him but Steve and Eddie know that it’s really them who won because Billy was the missing piece they needed in their puzzle and they’d be damned if they ever gave him a reason to want to go.

[strangerthings-incorrectquotes]

Robin: I made tea.

Max: I don't want tea.

Robin: I didn't make tea for you. This is my tea.

Max: Then why are you telling me?

Robin: It's a conversation starter.

Max: That's a lousy conversation starter.

Robin: Oh, is it? We're conversing. Checkmate.

[robin-buck1ey]

any chance you could slow down the gif of robin running towards max? it’s so fast i can’t cognitively compute frame by frame

Sure, here you go! I hope this is better :]

(If you tap on it I promise it’s better quality unless it’s just like glitching for me lol)

[beetlepuff]

Thinking ab the stranger things members of the gang with older siblings being referred to as a smaller version of their last name

- So Nancy is Wheeler and Mike is Wheeler jr

- someone from the fruity four started calling him Wheeler Jr and it grew from there

- robin refers to him as nancy’s Training Wheels once while they were waiting for him in order to give him a ride

- steve being a mom one day gets fed up and goes “calm down Hot Wheels”. Lucas and dustin never let mike live that down. he is Hot Wheels tm.

- so now the Byers boys are involved in this. So jonathan is Byers and will becomes Baby Byers 

- then they include eleven because ofc they do, she’s a part of the byers clan now. So now its Mrs. Byers (joyce), Byers, Baby Byers, and Super Byers.

- and then one day someone refers to max as Little Buckley and both her and robin freeze and its all cute and shit

- they still call max Mayfield tho. its like the “did you call them mom” “i didn’t call you mom” “respect ur mother” thing, so it was like a one time thing, but neither of them forget it

- and robin calls her M&M (ik thats unrelated to this specific thing but still)

- Harrington and Henderson are last names that are used interchangeably. I think that they are similar enough for people to slip up and confuse them accidentally until it became a joke for the group. So now its interchangeable 

- they don’t dare call erica Little Sinclair. eddie is the only one that does it. 

[isorottatime]

i’ll be like “these guys have the best dynamic. they’re besties” and they literally talked once in canon