i will NEVER get over the first i love you playing in robin's coming out scene.
robin, who had probably never told anyone she was a lesbian before, who was most likely expecting a bad reaction from steve because, like, he just confessed his love for her and being lgbtq+ in the 80s was not very normalized. and steve accepted her for who she was, and to robin, that was her first "hey, i love you no matter what". because no one had ever told her that before.
steve, the most popular dude in hawkins who always thought he needed a girlfriend to be cool, who got rejected by the one girl he fell in love with (nancy), who was able to realize that, no, he didn't need a girlfriend. he needed a best friend. someone who would stick by him no matter what. and in that moment, robin was that for him, and to him, that was truly the first time someone said "i love you" to him. he didn't need to fall in romantic love to be happy. he needed to fall in platonic love. and robin did that for him.
im so normal guys. they are so. they love each other so much
