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There was an arm wrapped around Robin. An arm? Her eyes snapped open, heart speeding up in her chest. Because, well, she knew whose embrace she was in. That was not Steve’s arm. This was either a very nice dream or some sort of torturous waking nightmare… one where she has to get out of the woman she’s fallen in love with’s embrace without making it super awkward for the both of them. She didn’t love her odds of success relying on her own grace and was pretty sure she wasn’t dreaming.
She tried to breathe normally while recalling how they ended up like this. They were at her uncle’s house for a meetup. It was just her, Nancy, and Steve in the house. Jonathan hadn’t been able to make it this time as he was busy with a film project.
The last thing Robin remembered was laying in the bed, talking late into the evening with Nancy after Steve had gone to his own room. It was a conversation that drifted from one thing to the next so easily that they lost track of time. Despite Robin being head over heels for Nancy, being with her was always so nice. Her crush never got in the way of their friendship. They always had plenty to talk about and had only grown closer as the years went by.
“Just gonna rest my eyes for a sec.” Nancy had yawned. The plan was for her to sleep in the other bedroom, but apparently both of them had fallen asleep around the same time with Nancy never making it to the other room.
And now, Robin found her self in a predicament.
Okay, Buckley how do you get out of this? She thought frantically.
Maybe she could just lift Nancy’s arm a little and shimmy out of the bed, sneak off to the bathroom before the other woman wakes up, and casually walk back in once she hears Nancy stirring. Then, she’d make a joke or something and it would all be just fine and back to normal.
Robin shifted a bit.
The arm around her tightened.
The sound that escaped Robin was more of a whimper. She stilled again, waiting for Nancy’s arm to loosen up. She tried not to freak out at the way Nancy was curled behind her. Chest against her back, cuddled there together so closely. It was wonderful and awful because she didn’t want to make Nancy uncomfortable. They were so close that Robin could feel Nancy’s breath on her neck.
How’d I wind up the little spoon in this scenario? Robin’s mind swirled. This is both the best and worst thing to ever happen to me.
Robin decided then and there just to get out, even if it woke up Nancy. It was an accidental thing anyway. They’d just ended up like this naturally. Which probably meant nothing. Don’t read into it too much, Robin. No matter what dingus seems to think. So she went to move Nancy’s arm, ready to jump up and give an explanation, laugh it off and move on. It was all so silly. It would be fine! She was just overthinking it all, right?
But when she went to move Nancy’s arm, she heard the other woman’s breathing change.
“Hmmm?” Nancy questioned as she woke.
Robin held her breath.
Nancy’s arm loosened slightly as she blinked awake.
“Robin?”
Not Nancy’s voice, raspy from sleep, right in her ear.
“God. You’re gonna kill me.” Robin breathed out in an exasperated sigh.
“Robin.” Nancy said softly. “This okay?”
“Well, yes and no.” The nerves beat Robin’s filter as the words tumbled out. “On the one hand this is a dream come true. Because well, you know I love, well women, and you are one of the most amazing women I know. I get it that guys lose their minds around you. Hopefully I’m not that much of a Neanderthal. It’s fine you know. You just like to hug a pillow or something at night right? So this could be a completely platonic thing.”
“Hmmmm?” Nancy’s response was dripping with amusement, not that Robin noticed at the time.
“But I’m making it weird. Because I wouldn’t be mad if it wasn’t platonic ya know? But I know that isn’t what you mean by this obviously, and it wasn’t even on purpose. Even if it was. Friends can cuddle! I cuddle with Steve sometimes! Oh wait no. Talking about your ex is probably not the thing to do here. I uh well I just mean it’s cool if you like to cuddle with your friends there’s nothing wrong with that obviously! I just really feel like you should know that I like… like you, like you? So waking up like this has kinda thrown me for a loop, honestly, man I just messed up I’m saying too much I—”
The sleepy laugh in Robin’s ear cut her off.
“Aaaand your arm is still around me.” Robin blinked.
She had expected Nancy to frantically pull away muttering apologies or something.
“Is that okay?” Nancy asked.
“Y-Yes? I’m telling you this is what I dream of waking up to. Wait no, ignore that. Oh my god.” Robin took a deep breath. “Uh. I’m, Well, not sure what’s happening here, but I’ll just…”
She shifted to get up.
Nancy tightened her embrace. “You dream of waking up like this? With me?”
Robin felt her cheeks flush. “Okay can you fill me in on how to take this please?”
“I like waking up like this too.” Nancy whispered in Robins ear. “With you.”
The involuntary shiver Robin felt caused her to jolt forward suddenly, out of Nancy embrace and gracelessly into the floor.
“Oh my god! Are you okay?” Nancy shuffled to that side of the bed.
A muffled reply from Robin’s face in the carpet. “‘m fine.”
When Robin managed to sit up on the floor her gaze shifted to Nancy.
On the bed the other woman was laying propped up on one arm looking down at Robin in concern, amusement dancing in her eyes at the same time. Her hair had grown out some, curls cascading over her cheeks on one side, while the hair hung down beneath her on the other. Her eyes might as well have held the secrets to life itself as far as Robin was concerned.
Nancy’s lips twitched up on one side.
“Jesus.” Robin breathed out. “You are so gorgeous, Nance.”
Pink bloomed in Nancy’s cheeks and Robin felt her heart flutter.
Then Nancy looked down at the sheets and picked at the fabric with her fingers. A brief moment of contemplation. One that was followed by a shift in her expression— the set in her jaw, the purse of her lips. Robin knew that expression well. It was decisive, confident. It was a woman knowing full well what she was about to do next.
Nancy looked back at Robin through her lashes. “So are you.”
“What?” Robin said brilliantly. Her jaw dropped. Could a look melt a person? Robin was fairly certain this one could. She had to be melting at this very moment, in fact.
“Gorgeous.” Nancy laughed a little, clearly directed at herself this time. “You’re gorgeous. And I’ve been too busy overthinking this. I’ve never tried, um, pursuing another woman. I wanted to be sure about what I was feeling. Didn’t want to mess it up. Was afraid maybe it was just some curiosity or experiment or something. I don’t know really, or I didn’t.”
“Oh?”
There was a shift on the bed as Nancy scooted back to make room for Robin. She tapped the spot with her hand. “Get back up here.”
Robin grabbed the extended hand and settled back into the bed hesitantly. They were face to face now, heads on the pillows. Nancy kept holding her hand.
“I like like you too.” Her thumb rubbed against Robin’s skin.
“Yeah?” There were tears welling in Robin’s eyes. “God. I’m such a sap.”
“I don’t think so.” Nancy blinked and a tear left her own eye.
They looked into each other’s gazes for a beat before breaking out into relieved breathy laughter.
“Never thought you’d want this too.” Robin shifted a little closer.
“You didn’t? Because I felt like I haven’t been hiding it all that well lately. I love being with you. I want to know everything I can about you. I love talking to you, spending time with you, all of it. And I know that’s all friendship stuff too… But Robin?”
“Yeah?”
“I want to—“ Nancy looked away timidly. “Is this too fast? I want to kiss you. Can I kiss you?”
“God, yes!”
Suddenly she found herself looking up at Nancy. The other woman tenderly brushed Robin’s hair from her face. A finger traced her jaw ending under her chin, tilting it up just so.
And then Nancy Wheeler leaned down and pecked her lips gently.
It was quick. Too quick, for Robin. She opened one eye curiously, lips still pursed.
Nancy had pulled back slightly and was looking at Robin’s expression with far too much amusement.
“You tease!” Robin’s mouth quirked up on one side.
Then Nancy leaned in again, kissing her lips and letting her hand caress Robin’s face. Robin’s hands reached up into Nancy’s hair, pulling her closer, earning her a content hum from the other woman. Their lips moved against each other with passion. Both of them in no rush to end it, memorizing the sensation of their first kisses, letting the contact linger. The next time Nancy pulled back, she eyed Robin’s lips with satisfaction.
“So pretty.” Nancy cooed. Her eyes impossibly fond. “You’re so pretty, Robin.”
Robin felt a shiver run through her body at the words, the love telegraphed in that gaze. All of it too much in the best way. She grabbed for the covers and brought them over her head.
“You’re gonna be the death of me, Nance!”
The covers were pulled back for a second as Nancy joined her underneath them.
“You’re a really good kisser, you know that?” Nancy complimented easily as she curled her arm around Robin again.
“Really?”
“Really. I’ve never kissed a girl before.”
“It is my deepest honor to be your first, my lovely lady.” Robin beamed.
Nancy pondered about the position she’d inadvertently put them in earlier. “Sorry you woke up like that. I really do like to sleep hugging a pillow and I guess it just happened.”
“I think I almost died. But it’s fine.”
Nancy breathed out a laugh.
“Told myself to not read to much into it, actually.”
At that, Nancy started to giggle. “Read into it as much as you want. Pretty sure I wrote the book for you, babe.”
“That was so—“ The joyful little noises escaped Robin too. “Ha! So damn cheesy.”
The giggles continued as Nancy cuddled closer into Robin’s side, planting soft kisses on her neck. Robin couldn’t remember the last time she felt this happy. It was several more minutes before they decided to actually get out of bed for the day. In their giddiness they shared one more quick kiss as the door opened, pulling back and looking into each other’s eyes with a joy that was palpable.
So lost in each other they were, that they didn’t notice the man at the end of the hallway.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” Steve had a dish towel over his shoulder, and his hands on his hips. There was a knowing smile on his lips.
“Jesus!” Robin’s hand flew to her chest like she was having a heart attack. “Dingus, don’t do that!”
“I didn’t do anything! I was just going to grab the rest of the dishes from the living room and I look down the hallway and there you are!” Steve narrowed his eyes at her, then added in a sing-song voice, “you owe me so many boppers.”
It clicked with Nancy instantly. “You bet on us?”
Steve just shrugged. “She said she didn’t think you liked her back. I said I thought you might. She said if that were true she’d give me twenty packs of boppers.”
“You two are ridiculous.” Nancy walked past him and whacked him in the arm playfully.
Robin stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m going to go find more dishes for our dingus housekeeper to wash.”
She turned on her heel and walked back into the bedroom to grab the glasses and plate from the night before.
“Hey Nance?” Steve turned to her.
“Hmm?”
“For the record…” He gestured his head towards the hall. “You and Robin? Not bullshit.”
Nancy looked that way, then back up to Steve with a smile. “Thanks.”
When Robin walked back into the room she rushed past Steve, sat the dishes in the sink and immediately grabbed Nancy’s hand. “I’m glad he was right and I was wrong this time. Even if I have to buy him his stupid boppers.”
She looked back at Steve, a wide genuine smile on his face as his eyes locked onto their intertwined hands. “God, look at that goofy grin he’s wearing.”
Nancy laughed at that. Steve did look completely over the moon about the new development.
“What?” Steve walked backwards to the sink to finish the dishes. “A guy can’t be happy you two finally figured it out? And also about boppers. I love boppers!”
“We know.” The girls both said at the same time, before heading to the couch for more cuddles.
And if a certain dingus made them a celebratory “finally figuring things out” breakfast, they weren’t complaining.