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“What’s that song about potatoes that you play sometimes?”
Steve watches as Robin pauses in her task of rewinding tapes, slowly turning to look at him. “What song about potatoes?”
“You know.” He hums the tune, looking at her meaningfully. “And it’s, like… hot potatoes, hot potatoes… hot potatoes. Y’know?”
She squints at him. “Hum it again.”
He does, louder this time. It’s been plaguing him for a few hours now. For the life of him, he can’t remember the title, and he has no idea how he’d go about finding a song about hot potatoes. His only solace is that Robin has definitely played the song at work so hopefully she knows it.
As he hums, dawning realisation spreads across her features, which is then instantly replaced by what he knows is her trying to suppress a laugh.
“Steve,” Robin starts, her voice gentle despite the glint in her eyes, “are you talking about Rock Me Amadeus?”
He frowns. “No, I don’t think so. Pretty sure it’s hot potatoes.”
Robin raises one eyebrow, then sings quietly, “Amadeus, Amadeus, oh, oh, oh Amadeus…”
That’s definitely the tune. He lets his shoulders sag. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
Robin nods, her lips trembling. She at the least has the decency to turn her head back to the tapes in what must be a bid to hide her giggling, even though he can see her shoulders shaking.
He rolls his eyes. “You can laugh.”
“No, no, it’s an easy mistake to make,” Robin says loyally, even as her voice pitches higher.
“I can see you—”
The bell over the door chimes, a split-second warning before six familiar voices fill the room, all talking over one another, bickering.
Steve and Robin share a glance, both silently raising their fists; she throws paper, he throws rock, and he groans as she grins, turning to the chaos. “Hey, what’s—”
Dustin interrupts him before he can even get the rest of his words out. “We saw my mom hanging out with Max’s mom in the diner.”
He blurts it out like it’s a matter of urgency, his eyes wide and serious. The other five all look equally serious about the matter, which… tells him nothing. Steve wracks his brain, trying to think if he’s missed a significant chunk of gossip in which Claudia Henderson and Susan Withers weren’t allowed to interact. Nothing comes to mind; a quick glance at Robin reveals that she’s just as confused.
“... So?” he asks warily.
It’s, apparently, the wrong response, judging by the looks on their faces.
“So,” Mike says, like he’s stupid, “they were at the diner, and their hands weren’t on the table.”
“Why are you spying on your moms?” Robin’s come over now, leaning on the counter curiously. They ignore her.
“The diner,” Dustin reiterates, eyes going even wider. “And their hands hidden.”
Steve looks at him blankly. “I’m not picking up whatever you’re putting down, dude.”
Dustin splutters. “They were holding hands!”
“We think they’re dating,” Lucas adds, his voice hushed.
Out of the corner of his eye, Steve sees Robin stiffen. Instinctively he shifts to stand in front of the counter, positioning himself in front of her in as subtle a movement as he can.
“What makes you say that?” he asks carefully. Once again, multiple voices start talking at once. He holds up a finger. “One at a time, please.”
“My mom’s always spending time at the diner Max’s mom works at now,” Dustin says in a rush. “And Max’s mom always gives her a free refill of coffee ‘cause she stays so long.”
“And my mom’s been drinking less,” Max says. “And, and, she’s out later than she used to be, and when I asked her why she keeps working late she started stammering.”
“Dustin’s mom went red when I said Max’s mom complimented her cooking!” Lucas says.
“Which is weird, because she’s never gone red when my mom compliments her cooking,” Mike says.
Will and El, standing just behind the four of them, haven’t said anything. El’s standing with her shoulder to his, listening intently as the others talk, and Will keeps glancing back at the closed door.
It occurs to him suddenly that if any of them are ignorant about this—or worse still, homophobic—it’ll have lasting damage on their friend group, even if they don’t realise it. This could be his opportunity to guide them towards a more accepting direction, with no risk of Robin or Will being outed.
Though, if they do start spouting homophobia, he’s not above putting a teenager in a headlock. Like hell is he letting his kids get away with being homophobic.
“Would it be a problem if they are dating?” Steve asks lightly, looking between the six of them.
“Yes!” Mike blurts out. Behind him, Will goes unnaturally still, and Steve hears Robin’s sharp intake of breath from over his shoulder.
Goddamn Ted Wheeler. He’s going to kick his ass one of these days.
“And what, exactly, would be the problem?” His voice takes on a sharper tone than he intends. He frowns at Mike, silently daring him to challenge him and simultaneously praying for him to shut the fuck up.
Mike shoots him a look of disgust, and there’s a second in which Steve debates whether Nancy would be mad at him for throttling her brother, until finally, “Uh, because if they’re dating, Dustin and Max would be siblings.”
That’s… not what he’d been expecting. By the way Will nearly sags with relief, it’s not what he’d been expecting, either.
Seemingly unbeknownst to the heart attacks Mike had nearly caused, Lucas continues, “Which would be weird. Imagine you go to dinner and they’re both there.”
Mike butts in. “Like the twins from The Shining.”
Dustin shoves Mike, earning an elbow to the ribs in retaliation, but Lucas snaps his fingers.
“Exactly!” Lucas then turns to Max, widening his eyes. “Uh, no offence.”
“No offence to her? What about no offence to me?” Dustin complains. “Max and I would be great step-siblings.”
“Low bar for you to meet,” Max mutters, and Steve thinks he should feel bad for snorting.
“Don’t get too attached to the cat, Max,” Mike warns, grinning suddenly. “Dustin’s not great with pets, historically.”
“It was one time,” Dustin argues.
“The fact that it was one time is bad news enough.”
“Anyway,” Max says loudly, making them shut up. “They seem happier, lately. That’s good, right?”
“But also, gross,” Dustin says, before Steve can say anything. He wrinkles his nose. “Do you think they’ve kissed?”
Lucas raises an eyebrow. “They’ve probably done more than kiss.”
Dustin gags. “Dude, that’s my mom.”
“You asked!”
“Yeah, if they’ve kissed!”
“I think it is nice,” El says, speaking for the first time since she’s entered. Her arm is linked protectively with Will’s. “They have both been lonely for some time. They have found company in each other.”
There’s a series of nods in agreement.
“None of you think it’s… it’s wrong?” Will asks, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Because they’re both women?” Max raises an eyebrow, but she’s frowning. She sounds defensive, and Steve would bury his head in his hands if they wouldn’t see. “Why would that be wrong, William?”
“He’s just asking,” Mike snaps, standing protectively in-between Max and Will.
“Yeah, and it’s—”
“Hey, hey!” Robin slaps her palm against the counter, getting their attention. Steve moves aside, glancing at her before preparing to intervene if necessary. “Knock it off. Max, you know Will didn’t mean it like that. Will…” She pauses, sucking in a breath. “No, it’s… there’s nothing wrong with it.”
Steve feels both pride and affection swell up in his chest. The others may have no idea of the bravery it’s taken for her to say it, but he’s seen firsthand how Robin’s struggled with accepting her sexuality.
There’s been more than one occasion in which he’s held her as she’s cried into his shirt about her fears of never getting to have the love and acceptance she craves, about how much easier life would be if she could just force herself to be happy with a man and be normal.
He gets it. It’s not quite the same—he’s well aware that his bisexuality leaves him the option of ‘normality’, that he could chameleon himself in a way Robin can’t—but he, too, has had nights where he wishes things could just be easy, imagining a world in which he could go on a date with a guy and have it be as casual gossip as his dates with girls are. A world in which he’d never have to hide a part of himself for his own protection, where he could proudly flaunt a man at his side the way he’s flaunted past girlfriends, a world in which he can double date with Robin without an eye being batted.
So it makes complete sense that Will, too, has these fears, and Robin being able to put her own self-doubt aside to assure him makes him so, so proud. He loves her so much; he’ll tell her as much, too, once the little shits have taken off, because bravery should be celebrated, he thinks.
And, in the spirit of bravery…
“Love is love, right?” Steve shrugs, like it’s nothing. “Who cares if women love women or men love men? I’m bisexual, it’s no big deal.”
He’s met with varying expressions of astonishment.
“Bisexual?” El asks, looking confused.
Max leans over to her. “It’s when you like both.”
“You can do that?” Lucas looks impressed, looking back at Steve. He squints, then, “That makes sense for you.”
Hold up. Steve’s head whips to him. “What does that mean?”
Lucas shrugs. “Just, you know, how you are with Jonathan, right?”
El blinks. “Jonathan’s gay?”
“Bi, El,” Mike corrects.
“Why? Where am I going?”
“Jonathan’s not gay,” Steve interrupts.
“Bi,” Mike repeats.
“Or bi,” Steve continues, ignoring El’s quiet, “Now you’re leaving?”
“That’s what you think,” Will mumbles, which— huh? Steve shakes his head. Not the point.
“I’m not dating Jonathan, I mean,” he says hastily.
“Yeah, we know.” Lucas looks at him funny. “Like I said, how you are with Jonathan.”
Steve squawks. “I’m not anything with Jonathan!”
Lucas makes an ehhh noise.
“First stage, denial,” Max murmurs.
“Wait, you’re in love with Jonathan?” Dustin turns to him accusingly. “I thought you were in love with Robin?”
It’s Robin’s turn to squawk. “No!”
“Ew, no!” Steve grimaces, then, seeing Max’s immediate look of outrage, adds, “Not— Not that Robin isn’t, uh, great girlfriend material—”
“Never use my name in that sentence again,” Robin mutters.
“—but we’re just friends. Best friends and nothing more, you little twerp. How many times do we have to tell you?”
“Well I know that now,” Dustin says, exasperated. “I didn’t know about Jonathan before.”
He’s starting to feel like he’s being had. “I’m not in love with Jonathan!”
Max clears her throat. “Second stage, anger.”
“I think we’re getting off topic,” Mike offers, and it occurs to him that it might be a new low when Mike has to come to his rescue. “Point is, there’s nothing wrong with being gay, or bi, or whatever.”
“Yeah, social norms have never really been our thing,” Lucas points out. “Like, ever.”
Will smiles slightly, visibly relaxing. “Oh,” he says quietly, nodding. “That’s— That’s good to know.”
“We love you, Steve,” Dustin says seriously, putting a hand atop of his. Steve blinks, raising an eyebrow. “We accept you for who you are.”
“The bisexual part,” Mike clarifies. “I’m still judging you for being a jock.”
“I’m a jock,” Lucas points out.
“I try to forget,” Mike says wryly, then winces as Max elbows him, presumably for Lucas’ honour, or something.
“Thanks, Dustin,” Steve says, choosing to ignore Mike’s comment.
Robin clears her throat. “Um, while we’re on the subject, kind of, I’d like to make it known that I’m… I’m a lesbian. Uh, I like girls. Only girls.”
Another round of bobbling heads as they nod.
“Makes sense,” Mike says thoughtfully.
“We love you, Robin,” Dustin says in the exact same tone, placing his other hand on hers. “We accept you for who you are.”
“On that note, though,” Robin continues, and Steve glances back at her to see her twisting one of her rings around her finger, “you probably shouldn’t, um, go spreading these things around. About your moms. Or about us. Not… not many people in Hawkins are as accepting.”
Dustin frowns. “That’s stupid.”
“Well—” Robin starts, but Dustin interrupts her.
“Like, at least three people in Hawkins have died every year for the last three years, but they’ll get their panties in a twist about same-sex couples?”
“Unfortunately,” Robin says drily, but she’s relaxed, seeming far more at ease. Steve makes a mental note to celebrate both of them being brave later.
Mike shakes his head despairingly. “They’d be focusing on the wrong aspect. Why worry about Dustin’s mom and Max’s mom dating when the real issue is Dustin and Max living in the same house? Remember what happened when El moved in with the Byers?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” El says, the same time Will says, “No idea what you mean,” resulting in them speaking in unison.
“Exactly!” Mike gestures wildly at them. “They became, like, freakishly mind-melded! I can’t deal with Max and Dustin freakishly mind-melding!”
“It would be scary,” Lucas admits, earning his own elbow from Max.
They’re right, but Steve doesn’t want to get elbowed. Max’s elbows are particularly sharp, too; they should be registered as their own weapon.
“How about for now you all just… leave your moms alone?” Steve suggests. “Definitely stop spying on them, at the least. You need to find a new subject of gossip.”
“We have subjects of gossip,” Dustin says loftily. “If they are dating, though, how do we show them we’re okay with it? Should we tell them? Pretend we don’t notice?”
“I think you should leave things be until they’re ready to talk to you.” Robin’s voice is gentle.
Max worries at her lip. “But… what if they don’t?”
“They love you,” Robin tells her. “If it turns out they’re dating, and it gets serious, they’ll talk to you. For now, just… give them time, yeah? It’s scary, especially in a small town like Hawkins where everybody knows everybody’s business.”
Max nods, looking thoughtful. Robin glances at Dustin, who deflates but nods as well.
“Alright.” Steve claps his hands together. “Now that that’s sorted, anything else?”
Mike perks up. “Yeah, we wanted to rent A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
“We did not,” Dustin argues, and just like that, the entire group dissolves back into bickering, arguing about which film they want to rent for their upcoming movie night.
Steve shakes his head, affection surging through him, and turns to find Robin watching them approach the horror section with a small smile.
“All good?” He slides over the counter to lean against her, bumping his shoulder against hers.
“Yeah,” she murmurs, smiling at him. “They’re good kids.”
He grins. “Careful, Rob, you're starting to sound fond of them.”
“They grow on you like mold,” she says with a sigh. They both glance over at the group, watching them squabbling over a handful of tapes.
“I’m proud of you,” he says softly, nudging her. “You were brave today.”
“You were, too,” she reminds him, bumping her shoulder into his. “I’m proud of you, too.”
He flushes, still not quite used to praise. He changes the subject. “Ah, fuck, Rob, I give it a day before Dustin asks you to see if you can detect lesbianism in his mom.” Something else occurs to him, and he leans over to whisper in Robin’s ear, “You know, his mom has always liked cats… it makes sense that she’d like—”
“Ew!” Robin shoves him, cackling, which only makes him grin at her.
Dustin turns, looking at them accusingly. “What’s so funny?”
Robin stuffs her fist into her mouth as Steve clears his throat.
“Oh, nothing, nothing.” He waves it off, desperately trying to keep a straight face. He deliberately does not look at Robin, who is shaking with the strain of trying to hold in her giggles.
Dustin squints at them, not quite buying it, but shrugs and turns back to Lucas, leaving them to snicker.
“You’re so not funny,” Robin tells him, still trying to stifle her laughter, and he just grins at her again, wide and bright. He’ll never get tired of hearing the sound of it.
“You think I’m hilarious,” he counters. She rolls her eyes at him, fondly shaking her head.
They go back to watching the party squabble. If Max’s and Dustin’s moms do date, he thinks, it’ll be nice. They both deserve some happiness, particularly after the events of the past few years. And, despite Max and Dustin’s constant jabs at one another, they’re best friends; it’ll be good for them, too.
Robin must be thinking along the same lines, because she says, “Maybe Mrs Wheeler will run off with the Sinclairs. I mean, given the track record, they’re the only ones left, right? Hopper and Mrs Byers, now Ms Henderson and Ms Withers…”
“They’d be way better than Ted. Maybe we should slip them pamphlets about swinging.”
“Oh, god, wait, I just imagined Erica and Nancy as step-siblings.” Robin shudders. “They’d take over the world. Anybody in their way would get bulldozed.”
“You’d be doomed,” Steve agrees. “Erica already bulldozes you and you’re a sucker for Nance.”
“I am not.”
“Are too.”
She sticks her tongue out at him and he laughs.
The bell jingles again. He looks up to see Jonathan entering, to his surprise.
“What the hell, guys?” Jonathan asks, but he’s not looking at the two of them. He’s focused in on the group of teens who have somehow migrated to the romance section. “How long does it take to pick out a movie?”
“It’s a delicate process,” Will calls out in response.
“Dude.” Steve shakes his head at them. “You guys made Jonathan drive you all?”
“Nancy was busy,” Mike says defensively, as if that makes it any better.
“It’s fine,” Jonathan says, leaning against the counter. “I wanted to grab some new music anyway.”
“What’s the current rotation?” Robin asks, which gets a small smile from Jonathan.
“Thought I’d check out some Tears for Fears,” he says, holding up some tapes. “A friend has been raving about them.”
He smiles at Steve as he says this, interestingly. Steve perks up.
“That’s how he gets you,” Robin says. “First it’s Tears for Fears, then it’s ABBA, and before you know it you’re listening to Wham!”
“It’s not my fault you’ve got pretentious music taste,” Steve complains. “Besides, anything to get Jon to broaden out past The Smiths.”
“Hey, The Smiths are a classic,” Jonathan defends. “If you’d just give them a chance—”
“They warble!”
Jonathan laughs, a soft guffaw that catches him by surprise. It’s a pleasant sound, and he suddenly wants to do anything he can to hear it again.
“I’ll get you to come around sometime,” Jonathan says, brushing his hair from his eyes. “I’ll invite you over and it’ll actually be a lockdown in which you can’t leave until you admit you like one of their songs.”
“That’s a hostage situation, Jonathan,” Robin says. “Actually, as someone who has been held hostage, that sounds far worse.”
“I’d be down.” Steve shrugs. “It’s a date, Byers.”
Jonathan falters, only briefly, before smiling again. If not for it being Jonathan, Steve would swear he’s blushing. He must be too warm in his jacket.
The moment’s interrupted—is it a moment? It feels… significant—by the party barging up to the counter, led by Dustin, waving a tape.
“We’ve got it!” He slams the tape down on the counter. Robin rolls her eyes but slides it over, scanning it and passing it back over. Jonathan pulls his wallet out, ready to pay, but she shakes her head.
“On the house, this once,” she says. “I’ve used my employee card. Just don’t wreck it, or I will hunt you down and eat you.” She directs this last part at the younger teens, staring Dustin down.
“Oh! Thanks, Robin.” Jonathan smiles again, and Steve thinks he ought to smile more; it makes him look much younger, less tired. He’ll have to find ways to make him smile.
Jonathan bids them both a goodbye, and as Steve passes him the receipt—not that he needs it—he swears Jonathan’s fingers linger as they brush against his.
It’s only a moment, though, and then he’s leading the party out, oddly reminiscent of a duck leading ducklings, and the two of them are alone again.
Steve turns to find Robin watching him, one eyebrow cocked.
“... I might have a thing for Jonathan,” he admits.
She pats his shoulder comfortingly. “Wanna have a girls’ night about it later?”
“Of course I do. Do we need new nail polish? I’m not using your expired ones again, it’s gross.”
“Well excuse me, Mr Family Fortune,” she says, but there’s a teasing lilt in her voice. “Some of us are poor.”
He elbows her lightly. “You say that like last time you didn’t say ‘no, Steve, it’s fine, you don’t need to buy anything, I have tons of nail polish’ and then attack me with ancient nail polish.”
Robin huffs. “Well, then, yes, in that case, we need new nail polish.”
“Alright. I’ll get the drinks if you get the snacks?”
“Duh, always.”
Steve grins at her, then glances at the long-abandoned cart of tapes he’s meant to be reshelving. “We should probably actually do some work.”
“You mean we don’t get paid to sit around and do nothing?” Robin pretends to be shocked, going back to her own abandoned task of rewinding tapes.
Steve shakes his head fondly, picking up his stack of tapes.
Later, they’ll paint each other’s nails and talk about their love lives as they sip homemade margaritas, and Robin’ll make fun of him for having a crush on Jonathan and he’ll make fun of her for having a crush on Nancy, and they’ll do so with the knowledge that today their world got a little brighter, a little bigger. That the fear within them can be eased, just a little, because they have people who love and support them no matter what.
“Dude,” Robin says suddenly. “You realise Dustin’s going to be way more annoying about getting you someone to date now, right? I mean, you’ve basically told him your dating pool is doubled.”
And, unfortunately, the knowledge that their lives are going to be meddled with so much more now.
“Ah, fuck.”