stranger things imagines.

gaia and aether: robin buckely.

robin buckley is bored,
to put it simply.
had it not been for her undying loyalty to her best friend steve harrington,
she wouldn't even be at this party right now.
she'd be home in her comfortable bed,
listening to her music or reading her book that's just beginning to get good.
but no,
here she sits,
alone and not nearly drunk enough to have fun.
she picks her head up over the crowd of people in front of her to see steve halfway across the party,
talking up the girl he sought out for and doing it quite well, it seems.
robin wishes she had that kind of suave charm that made girls blush and giggle into their hands.
she sits back on the couch and rests her chin into her palm.
another ten minutes of this and robin thinks she might throw her hands up in surrender.
matter of fact,
make that five minutes.
"you look like you could use an escape."
robin focuses her attention on the girl now sitting beside her,
a smile soft but beautiful.
"parties are just...not my thing."
"not even this one? supposed to be the biggest party of the year. well, as big as hawkins can get."
robin shrugs at this mystery girl of grandeur.
"i'm only here for a friend. making sure his date isn't utterly insane, like the rest have been. if it were my decision, i'd be far, far away from here."
robin doesn't care that the most popular girl in school throws these parties,
she doesn't care that the girl somehow scores the best drinks and greatest music,
she doesn't care about the events at all.
the girl keeping her company smiles then nods in understanding.
"i know just the place far, far away from here if you're down for a drive."
"shouldn't i know your name before i get in the car with you?"
the girl shrugs.
"if you want to make this any fun, no."
robin has never done anything like this before;
something so rash and reckless.
it's thrilling.
it's exactly the kind of thing she needs to make this night exciting.
"o-okay,"
she finally says.
"sounds good to me."
the nameless enchantress rises to her feet,
leaving robin to follow her every move.
then she extends her hand for robin to take.
when robin stares at it expectantly,
the girl exhales a laugh and explains,
"so you don't get lost in the crowd."
robin latches her hand with hers and off they go into the night.
she piles into the strangers car,
which robin notices is very sleek and modern,
which means it must be very expensive.
"so, what can i call you if i don't know your name?"
"hm...i'm gonna tell you some things about me and you come up with a name. okay?"
robin laughs at how very strange this situation is,
but she nods her head.
"okay."
"let's see...i love to love. i'd go to war for those i love. i've been called the life of the the party. i like to bring light to any situation i'm in. an optimist, i guess you could say."
robin lets the air collecting in her lungs out in one big breath.
if it has to be anyone,
it's a goddess for sure.
look at her winsome eyes of inspiration,
her stature of grace and authority,
yet with soft hands that guide.
eyes that shine like a summers day,
lips that have a valley of a cupid's bow,
flawless, smooth skin.
a goddess for sure.
but which one?
"gaia,"
robin spits out before she can think much more.
"gaia?"
the girl echoes with a giggle.
"like the greek goddess?"
robin nods.
"just the first thing that came to mind."
"i love it."
the girl turns her head towards robin for a split second to showcase her divine smile.
beautiful like a blossoming flower,
definitely gaia.
"let's see...if i had to choose a name for you, since we're doing the whole greek myth thing, i'd say...aether."
"first, that's a man. second, i never even gave you any qualities of mine."
this stranger, now deemed gaia, rolls her eyes jokingly.
"so what? besides, you told me all that i needed to know before we left. you protect your friends and act as the lights in their lives, yes?"
"well...i don't know about all that."
gaia giggles then makes a sharp turn that sends robin slamming into the car door.
"sorry 'bout that. the turn kind of sneaks up on you."
"where are we even going?"
"if i explain it, it ruins it. just a few more minutes."
before robin's mind can begin to create awful scenarios,
all ending in her death because of this one irrational decision,
gaia leans across the console and rests her hand into robin's again.
"ease up! i'm not going to hurt you."
"that's not very reassuring."
the girl nods her head.
"understandable. i don't want to make you uncomfortable. should i turn around?"
the thought of being back at that godawful party with the smells of sour liquor and that terrible dj makes possible death seem much more preferable.
"no, god no."
"should i take us somewhere else then?"
"oh, what the hell. just...just go to wherever it is you're going."
gaia smiles widely while she continues to drive.
"so, aether, tell me. is steve harrington your boyfriend?"
robin nearly chokes on her laughter at this.
"that's disgusting! oh my god, no. nope. absolutely not."
"oh, gosh. i'm so sorry. i can't believe i became one of those people that assumes you're dating solely because you're a girl and he's a boy."
she shakes her head at her own ignorance,
but robin doesn't mind.
she's almost used to it.
"do you like him? most of the girls in our school do."
robin asks.
she doesn't know why she's holding her breath in anticipation for the answer.
gaia then shakes her head rather fervently.
"no, no. i don't like him."
then the breath is released from robin's lungs.
she notices there's something hidden in those words;
an enigma laced in gaia's tone,
waiting to be figured out by robin.
the two lock eyes for a split second,
but just long enough for there to be an understanding.
a wave of blush unravels itself in robin's chest,
spreading all the way up her neck,
to tint her cheeks,
and even turn her ears pink.
has robin been asked on a date and not even known it?
before she can ask,
gaia interrupts the silence with an announcement.
"we are here!"
climbing out of the car,
robin is left to follow in her wake.
"isn't weird for me to call you gaia?"
"no, it's the same as any other nickname. why? does it make you feel weird?"
when robin thinks about it a little bit more,
having this unfamiliarity in each other by eluding their names seems to make hanging out easier.
robin doesn't have to be robin right now,
the girl whose limbs don't work in unison with her mind,
the girl who shies away from any interactions,
the girl who wishes and wants but never receives.
she can be aether now.
the man whose in charge of lightening up the heavens.
that's a name worth owning.
"no, it's not."
"great. glad we're in agreement,"
gaia says as she throws robin a soft smile.
she accepts it and even gives her a gentle one of her own.
"alright, aether, we are here."
robin steps beside gaia and finds herself standing ankle deep in leaves that have fallen with the weather change,
amid a treehouse that has been worn down with time but kept alive by mere love and care.
"a treehouse?"
"my very own,"
gaia replies with a laugh.
"it's well furnished inside, i swear. there's even snacks."
"great. my last meal is going to be what? cheerios?"
robin's heart is beginning to make her chest ache with how fast it's been beating tonight.
when she turns to find gaia's eye,
she sees a flash of offense shock her.
"i'm sorry...i didn't think about how strange this would be. does seem kind of murderous of me,"
she says through a dry laugh.
"come on. i'll drop you off or something."
"no! no, i'm sorry. god, i just-i don't do these kinds of things. and-and my heart races, my mind won't shut up, and i get so freaked out over nothing! i want...i want to be here. i want to hang out with you because, well, you're cool and kinder to me than anyone i've really met before, but i..."
gaia steps forward and rests a hand to robin's shoulder to still her anxiety before it increases anymore,
if possible.
"you're careful. that's all. and i applaud you for that. i can't count the times i've gotten myself into bad situations because i didn't think it all the way through. and for what it's worth, i think you're pretty cool too. which is why i won't make this any harder for you. we'll just go back to the party and hang out there. that would have been the better idea but, again, i don't think."
robin shakes her head then inhales deeply.
be aether.
be the light in this moment,
the badass guy you've always wanted to be.
"no, no. let's stay. that party was, ugh...bad."
gaia laughs so loudly that it echoes through the night sky around them,
and robin joins in.
how relieving it is after a car ride full of panic and nerves.
then the pair are soon on their way up inside the treehouse.
gaia was telling the truth,
but well furnished didn't cover it exactly.
this place was decked out.
it was like better homes and garden magazine waltzed in this wooden home.
"you did all of this?"
"with my own two hands,"
gaia says with a proud smile.
robin runs her fingers through the fur rug on the floor,
wondering how it's stayed so clean in this secluded area of the forest.
then she wonders why a full blown apartment is sitting in the middle of the forest.
"you must spend a lot of time here. it's spotless."
"it's my home away from home."
gaia hands robin a bottle of water then sits on the floor across from her.
"isn't it wonderful?"
"god, it's the nicest thing i've ever seen."
she smiles at this praise and thanks robin for her kind words.
"now that you know where it's at, you're more than welcome to spend your time here."
robin looks up to her with wide eyes and asks,
"really?"
"really."
wow.
robin could sure use a break away from the world.
but why had this girl offered robin a sanctuary out of all people?
maybe she really is a goddess.
maybe she heard all my prayers and took pity on me.
"well, gaia, you make one hell of a goddess. show me your temple and i'll be a frequent visitor to honor you."
gaia throws her head back in a laugh,
highlighting the column of her neck.
accompanied with sharpened collarbones that are begging to be worshiped by robin's lips,
this girl looks like she's been chiseled from marble.
she is perfect in every way.
i can be perfect for you,
robin thinks to herself,
just give me a chance to prove myself.
"aether?"
robin snaps back to reality and finds gaia's eyes on her.
"yeah?"
"you're beautiful...don't forget that, okay? the worst thing a woman can do is forget her own beauty and potential."
robin breaks into a shy smile then nods,
bringing attention to her crimson cheeks.
"i won't forget if you won't."
"maybe we'll need to keep each other around as a reminder."
this girl is asking for friendship in robin?
she jumps at the opportunity,
desperate to keep someone as divine as gaia around.
"maybe we will,"
robin replies with an excited smile.
best night ever.