Last Christmas - Robin x Steve (Stranger Things)

Part Two - The Gifts

(Part one embarrasses the hell out of me so I'm just gonna fix that with these next two parts, which I hope will be much better.)

***

"God, it's freezing out here!" Steve exclaimed as he burst through the back door of Family Video, more than ready to leave. He had screeched to a halt on his feet and hugged himself as soon as the cold air hit his face. Robin was right behind him, and she paused momentarily to lock the door; a habit she'd picked up after noticing that Steve almost always forgot. It was a miracle that nobody had broken in on her sick days.

"Hey, could you move your ass? I kind of want to go home." Robin shoved past him playfully, seemingly unbothered by the freezing weather. Steve rubbed his hands together and sped up his pace to catch up with her.

"You doing anything for Christmas this year?" he asked as they got to the car. It was their first day off after a long week, and neither of them had bothered to discuss the holidays while they were busy checking out Christmas movies for countless families. Neither of them thought they'd sell out any more than they had around Halloween, but they were both unfortunately mistaken.

"Not much, just a lot of packing," Robin replied unenthusiastically. Steve nodded and let out a silent sigh as he started the engine. It took a second for the engine to rumble to life, and Steve took a mental note that soon he would have to ask the dreaded question of pleading to his father for some money for a new car. Lately, the car's age had been catching up to it, and it started acting faulty in different areas, no doubt thanks to the endless cold fronts. Hopefully it would last another year or so.

"What about you?" she asked. Steve shrugged his shoulders. "Probably just gonna hang out with my parents for a bit when they finally get home," he replied. "Boring family stuff."

"Sounds pretty bland," she sympathized. Neither of them said a word until they pulled up to Robin's house.

"Hey, Robin?" he called out to her as she was getting out. His voice wavered slightly, but Robin didn't seem to notice. She turned and faced him with one arm resting on the open door.

"What's up, dingus?" she answered. Steve bit the inside of his lip before speaking. "You said you were just going to be packing stuff tomorrow, and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come spend the evening at my place for a bit?"

Robin looked at him thoughtfully for a few seconds before she answered him. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll see you then." She shut the door, tapped the roof with her hands and gave him a small wave. Steve grinned and waved back, and he waited till she went inside before letting out a loud exhale. He didn't know why he was so nervous.

It had been over a year and a half since they'd had their jobs at Starcourt Mall. Seventeen months, to be exact. Seventeen months since he got his heart broken again by the girl he was in love with. It wasn't all that bad, though. They were best friends and he had the blessing of seeing her nearly every day, and being with her was all that mattered to him. Things were normal.

Or, they would've been if it weren't for what happened a few months ago, when he and Robin had a very awkward interaction while at their double-shift at work. For a split second that day, he had wondered if maybe, just maybe there was a chance she had the same feelings for him as he did for her. But now he was certain that that was never going to happen. It was as if that day never existed, even though it was pretty intimate.

Steve shook himself awake and drove off towards his own house, his mind still wandering. Lately he had been feeling awful and, if he were to be honest, kind of depressed. For the past few months since that intimate moment, he had bottled up so many intense emotions, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was either always feeling like he wanted to cry, as if he were five again, or he was just plain exhausted. In this case, it was both.