Hanahaki From Hell (Steddie + Ronance)

'Hanahaki'

Robin woke up to the sound of the buzzing TV. It was still night. Steve laid on the other side of the couch while Nancy was sprawled out on a sleeping bag and Eddie was sitting up against the couch, sound asleep. She felt another coughing fit coming on so she ran to the bathroom.

She hacked more flowers into the sink, exhausting herself to the point of dropping to her knees in front of the sink. She rested her light head against the cabinets. Blood leaked from her mouth, tasting it almost made her sick.

And she thought getting captured by Russians was bad. Now that it was confirmed she was sick in some way there was no escaping her fear of disease. And on top of that she felt like her blood had been replaced with ice water.

A sudden knock made her jump.
"Come in." She mumbled unable to pull herself from her weak state. Nancy opened the door a crack before diving in to help her. Nancy lifted her to the toilet where she sat head hung. Nancy was horrified to see the small bloody garden in the sink.

"How are you feeling." She asked handing Robin a towel.
"Cold, so cold but I'm also sweating." Robin mused at her state. "Also I'm.. my chest hurts so bad." She huffed. "I really can't tell if it's anxiety or the coughing." Nancy kneel in front of her.
"Tell me, is there anything I can do?" Robin looked over Nancy concerned face. She wished Nancy would smile, it was her best feature. "Unless you can take look inside my lungs I don't think so." Nancy shook her head. She stood up and asked for Robin's hand. Robin took it reluctantly but when she was sent straight to heaven from the warmth Nancy provided.

Robin let Nancy wrapped her up in a fluffy pink comforter. It didn't help much but Robin was touched by the gesture. She sat down on the den waiting for Nancy to finish making tea.
"All we had was camomile." Nancy said delivering Robin a saucer and a tea cup. It radiated with heat and Robin clung to it. "It should warm you a little." Nancy said. Robin nodded and took a hot sip.
"Thank you, Nance." Robin said. Nancy took a seat next her. "I really appreciate this."
"What are friends for?" She asked and Robin smiled.
"I'm glad we're friends." Robin admitted. Nancy beamed,
"Me too."
"Do you think we ever would've been, if not for.." She uttered as she remembered that past month. The four of them being inseparatable. All the movie nights and diner outings. She never thought she'd be friends with Nancy Wheeler.

"Steve? Or this wild town?"

Confusion set in on her gentle features. Robin quite liked her thinking face, it showed how smart she was. The way her doe eyes laid on Robin made her forget her train of thought.

"I- I'm tired.." Robin mumbled. Nancy nodded and stood up, as Robin tried Nancy set her back down.
"Sleep here, it's probably more comfy to have a couch all to yourself." She said and place the tea cup on the table. Nancy got comfortable on the lazy boy as Robin adjusted herself on the couch.
"Good night." Nancy said,
"G'night."

Robin laid awake listening to Nancy's soft breathing. She wonder if Nancy would still want to be around her if she knew. If she still would want to be her friend, and if she told her would she hate Robin. Her stomach started to ache at the idea. She hated that this question came up everytime she got close with someone.

Everytime Nancy and her got closer she wanted nothing more than to share that part of herself with Nancy but she couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't end well.

She didn't sleep for the last three hours of the night, only getting a bit of shut eye when the sun rised only to be awoken suddenly by Steve coughing in the basement. Nancy and Robin made their way to the basement to check on him. Eddie was already on the case, getting him water and patting his back. Steve was lucky no flowers came up, just a bit of blood.

"God damnit." Steve gagged.
"Don't talk man you'll make it worse." Eddie said and grabbed him some tissues.
"This is such bullshit." Steve huffed drying his face.
"Hopefully we'll get some answers today." Nancy said slipping on her shoes.
"Where are you going?" Robin asked.
"To grab some stuff for you guys, you need anthing from your houses?"
"Clothes." Steve said,
"Yeah just clothes." Robin said.
"Okay, after that I'll take the kids to the library and we'll get to reading." She said, "Make sure they don't die, Eddie." She called form up the stairs.
"Can do Captain Wheeler!"

A few moments of silence were had.
"We're not actually gonna die are we?" Robin looked to Steve who was chugging water.
"Pfft no, you guys are like actual heros, no way a cold is gonna kill you guys." Eddie reassured.
"Well at least he's optimistic." Steve said, his voice sounded like he ate gravel, Robins wasn't much better.

‐--

"We have something." Nancy said coming down the stairs with the kids in toe, three hours after she left. She walked into Robin and Steve sharing the comforter, if it weren't for Eddie being there it would've felt like she walked in a moment that wasn't hers.
"That's good." Robin said. They gathered around Steve and Robin.
"The closest thing to what your going through is a supposedly fictional illness called Hanahaki Disease." Dustin explained,
"Disease!?" Robin asked.
"Yeah unfortunately." Lucas said awkwardly.
"The ins and outs of this disease is, you have a plant growing in your lungs, the only way it goes away is for your.. romantic object of affection reciprocates that love." Nancy explained.
"What?" Steve asked,
"Who ever you love most has to return that love so you don't die." Robin started to hyperventilate.
"Oh god."
"Don't panic, how do we know this is even really what it is?" Steve said hoping to calm Robin.
"That's what we thought." Dustin said slapping some printed news papers. The front page was similar flowers to theirs.

'Local woman dies to flower.'

The headline read. In reading it they found she was found in home holding a written love note. The note read to 'My Dear Elliot'.
"The doctors said she died from a broken heart before the flowers suffocated her." Nancy said,
"And you'll notice that his happened two years again, when the first gate was opened." Dustin added.

"So you're saying... my chances on living are based on whether or not my crush likes me back... I'm doomed." Robin felt shaken and scared. She was almost teary eyed.
"Don't be ridiculous Robin, whoever he is he's gotta like you back." Dustin assured. She shared a knowing look with Steve and covered her embarrassed face. Steve through and arm over her shoulder and gave her some reassurance that this will be okay.

"And if we don't know who we love?" Steve know that he was revealing quite a bit about himself but it didn't matter now.
"We really need to figure it out." Dustin gave him a concerned look.
"You guys think on this, I'm gonna go find this Elliot." Nancy said and she was gone before anyone could speak.