Work Text:
It was a rainy spring evening when Robin came to him with “Footloose” tucked under her arm smiling broadly before slamming the tape on the counter.
“So I was thinking… Friday evening, we don’t have a shift tomorrow, your parents aren’t home and we’ve just got this super awesome movie that I haven’t seen yet,” she shook the tape, looking at Steve expectantly. “How do you feel about a few beers and “Footloose”?”
Steve looked at her from his place behind the counter, tiredly quirking an eyebrow. Normally when she got this excited there was no talking her out of whatever plan she had devised in that head of hers and usually it was endearing, funny at times when her excitement caused her to be more clumsy than ever and trip into a puddle that she hadn't noticed. He was short of saying "no", because work really kicked his ass today, but after seeing the cheerful glint in her eyes nad how hopeful she looked he couldn't do it.
Instead he just shrugged.
“Do I have a choice?”
“Let me think…” she tapped the plastic cover against her lips, feigning contemplation. “Nope, not really. You have to suffer me tonight, pretty boy!”
Steve just sighed, shaking his head and took the keys to close the store. It was about time they clock out anyways.
“What’re we waiting for?”
And that’s precisely how Steve found himself on his sofa, mouth slightly ajar with a weird feeling in his gut and heat on his face. His stare glued to the screen, beer in hand frozen halfway on the route from his mouth to the coffee table. He was so focused he barely registered Robin’s stare drilling a hole into the side of his head.
She cleared her throat and that’s when Steve’s trance came to an end. He swallowed the beer he’s been holding in his mouth and turned to look at her and noticed her slowly widening grin.
“What?”
“See something interesting?” she asked, poking his side with her foot and wiggling her eyebrows. Steve just pushed her legs off of his lap. She giggled when he accidentally pushed over some of the empty beer cans.
“You wish, I was just… Lost in the music and the… The dance moves…” he muttered, making a non-committal gesture with his free hand, wincing internally. That was such a weak excuse there was no way she was going to buy it. Gauging from Robin’s expression he might’ve as well dug a hole under himself.
“You know the last musical number ended like five minutes ago? You’re sure it’s not about the pretty boy here?” Sometimes Steve hated how easy it was for Robin to read him.
He hummed nervously looking anywhere but at her. Robin moved closer to him, putting one of her arms behind him, the smile never leaving her face.
“You know, if you did, that's not such a big deal. He is… cute, if someone’s into that I guess.” She started, wincing lightly, her sight on him unwavering. “He's got impressive muscles, he’s probably pretty strong, and the charm, the smile, those warm eyes, everyone would fall for that, am I right?”
With each word Steve felt his cheeks grow warmer and the unknown feeling twisting his gut. He sighed audibly as if that let him escape the confines of his body, its reactions and this weird investigation. He sagged in his seat and closed his eyes. After a while he furrowed his brows and looked at her.
“But Robin… You’re gay.”
She laughed and blush of embarrassment at what he's just said made his way on his face. He truly disliked the effect alcohol had on his thoughts and tongue, and how it made him turn into a male version of the "speak-then-think” Robin.
“Seriously? Didn’t notice. I can still tell when a man is attractive, thought” she started playing with his hair. When Steve didn't bother to say anything else she nudged him with her free arm. “What are we thinking, Steve-o?”
He smiled slightly, feeling himself relax as he always did whenever she played with his hair, which was a special occasion in of itself because Robin wasn't keen on physical contact. He decided to savour it for a while, letting the rain falling outside fill the room.
A minute later Steve looked at Robin and was greeted with her tender smile and soft eyes. He swallowed the ball that formed in his throat and searched for the right words.
“It’s not about the music or the dancing. I think... I think he’s hot… Ridiculously hot. And cute.” he admitted, words no louder than a whisper. He didn’t know why this realisation didn’t bother him or made him freak out, maybe it was the booze. Or maybe the fact that Robin was his safe space, the person who knew absolutely everything about him and sometimes he was convinced she knew more than he himself realised. That is why he just looked at her and smiled with the corner of his mouth.
Robin’s smile widened and she almost slapped her knee in silent excitement, at the last moment slowing her movement and just placing her palm in place.
“Aww, Steve, I knew it! I could feel it! I knew there was something!” Steve lifted his brow at that. “I’ve waited so long for you to finally figure this shit out, seriously I don’t know how much longer I could stand you ogling every boy that came into Family Video and then act as if it was something everyone does on the daily,” she sighed, having once again run out of breath.
“‘Ogling’... Robin, I was not checking anyone out! I was working and… thinking about movies. That is just a relatively handsome man,” he reasoned pointing at the paused frame, stealing another glance. “And I do like boobies!”
"Oh my god," she drawled," I told you to stop saying that word."
Robin groaned but when she clocked Steve’s slightly panicked expression, she straightened up and took his face in her hands.
“Steve, my man, what I'm going to say right now is going to rock your word. You can like both babes and dudes,” she explained carefully, looking him in the eyes. “At the same time. One does not exclude the other.”
Steve took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He had no reason not to believe her, as far as he knew she had a better understanding of such topic than he would ever have. So why did he feel jittery and short of breath? Hell, she was someone who had seen him at his best and worst, he had nothing to worry about.
He gave her an unsure smile and licked his lips.
“And does it… does it have a name?”
Robin thought for a while.
“I think it’s bisexuality, I heard it mentioned on the radio once and I think that's it. I mean it sounds right... and makes sense.” She took her hand back, returning to her previous position with legs across Steve's lap. Steve observed her, processing the information in his head.
“Babes... and dudes…”
“Exactly.”
“And that’s not… Wait, how come it doesn’t surprise you?”
Robin snickered.
“Oh come on, Steve! Just look at you! You’re like the living description of a sexual crisis on two legs, I swear I was starting to wonder if you'll ever catch this yourself or if you'll stay oblivious for the rest of your life.”
“There was no catching on to be done!” He exclaimed, and Robin just laughed at him, throwing her head back. Steve furrowed his brow, thinking back to every customer interaction (let's face it, it's the only way he meets new people now) from last week that might hold a clue as to what Robin meant.
He thought about the guy sorting through the tapes and the way his shirt clung to his shoulders. About his jealousy over how another guy’s pants framed his muscular legs when he walked towards the exit, how someone’s wavy hair fluttered in the wind, about a guy that has such a smile that made Steve enter the wrong title in the system. He thought about many other instances such as these throughout his whole career at Family Video, all while Robin enjoyed watching the journey his face was going through.
Almost five minutes of absolute silence have gone past when finally Steve let out an airy laugh, leaning his head on the couch.
“Oh my god, Rob… I’m such an idiot."
“Yeah you are,” she said softly. “I'm surprised you're not freak out about it too much. Imagined you would have a full on freak out session, you know denial, crying and the mortifying realisation," she counted out on her fingers. "But that didn't happen, so... welcome to the group dingus, now you have a much bigger field to suck at scoring a date.” She laughed when Steve threw an empty can at her head.
She moved for the remote to start a movie when he spoke again.
“When did you figure it out?” He looked at her, fiddling with the loose thread of her pant leg.
“Ugh, I think I’ve always known?” She thought for a while, scratching her forehead with the remote. “Oh! But I definitely knew knew when I watched 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'!”
Steve quirked an eyebrow, “The what?”
“'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'? Susan Sarandon? Tim Curry? The Time Warp?” Her disbelief at his lack of knowledge only deepened as Steve shook his head after every question. “You’ve never se– But you work at a video-You know what, never mind, obviously you’ve never seen it." She briefly waved her hand in his direction. "We have to add it to our list, maybe for next week.”
Steve still had no idea what she was talking about, but shrugged and took the remote from her, unpausing the TV.
“Sure, whatever you say.”
They resumed their watch party, chatting the whole time, pointing out details (in Robin’s case taunting Steve by pointing out every nice-looking dude) and drinking more beers.
In the end Robin pulled him to the middle of the room and they drunkenly tried to replicate the final dance party to the jaunty sound of the title track. Of course their dance skills were mediocre at best and combined with booze the dance-off turned into a laughter filled tumble to the floor but that didn’t kill the lively atmosphere that hung in the air for the rest of the night.
Only when Steve went to sleep at the crack of dawn with Robin snoring down the hall did he feel the heaviness that lingered on his chest, of which he wasn’t even aware, give way to a lighter and warmer feeling. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth envelop him completely and turned on his side, closing his eyes. He heard Robin snore again and smiled, silently thanking whatever power led them to each other for he never could wish for a better friend than the chatter-box sleeping in his guest room.