The Drive-In

18

"So, he thinks that you and I were..." Steve clears his throat.

"Oh my god, don't make it any grosser than it already is, Steve", Robin replies snappily, grimacing.

Steve puts his hands up in submission and paces around the empty store.

"Eddie Munson, Steve? Really?" In disbelief, Robin puts her hands in her hair, leaning to rest her elbows on the counter.

Steve spins on his heel and points at Robin, "Ok, now that is way outta line! I didn't look up at the stars and say, please, oh please, let me develop feelings for a man, but not just any man, a loud, tattooed, long-haired nerd."

Robins turns and stares at Steve, "Say that last bit again..." She says slowly.

Steve furrows his brow in confusion, "Loud, tattooed, long-haired nerd?"

Robin smiles, "No, Steve before that."

"Oh my god, why can't you ever just listen to me the first time?!!! I said I didn't look up at the stars and say, please let me develop feelings for a man." Steve says, shrugging.

Robin points at him, "That bit, yes!"

Steve looks at her face, his face contorted in even more confusion as he throws his hands in the air, "Can you please stop talking in mysteries, Robin. I am still very much in hangover recovery, ok?"

"Riddles!" Robin says, exasperated.

"What about riddles?!" Steve yells.

"It's not talk in...you know what, never mind. The point being you said feelings!" Robin clears up.

It hits Steve like a Mac truck. Feelings. Not an instant superficial attraction. Not based on sex. Not even a shared interest. But it felt true. As unlikely as it would seem, Steve had feelings for him. And now Steve knew it. He had to fix this.

Robin is quietly finishing off the last banana pancake watching Steve, "You know, if nothing else, we've learned something new about him. He makes great pancakes!"

"How can you think about pancakes right now? I'm having a life crisis, and you're being impressed by him stirring a pancake mix and chopping up a banana?"

"Pancake mix has never lived in your house the entire time I've known you, Steve. I checked a few weeks ago when you were drunk and whining about missing pancakes. Remember we went to the diner the next day and ate a bunch?" Robin is coaxing Steve to think about something. He can tell by the way she's staring, smiling and making that circular motion with her hands like she's winding yarn around them.

"Then how...but...if...why?" The channel from Steve's brain to his mouth is wide open with no quality control, "Ok, ok. So let's say after I nearly scared him to death, I had a panic attack that he helped me out of, and then whilst I was showering, he made me banana pancakes from scratch. So let's say that's what happened. Couldn't that just be a friend thing to do?" Steve counts the events on his fingers, holding them up to Robin to help answer the question.

Steve wants a clear answer, he knows the only way to get the truth is to ask Eddie, but he can't just sidle up to him and be like Hey, I just found out I might like a guy... you...do you like me too? Check Yes or No. If No, please don't tell anyone else or beat me up.

Then the feeling of Robin's arms around him snap Steve out of his thoughts, "You didn't mention you had a panic attack, Steve! Are you ok? What happened?"

"I was worried Eddie was in danger, and I charged in there with my bat, and nothing was wrong. Then the room got all hot, I thought I was gonna die, and he helped me round," Steve recalls as images of Eddie intensely looking into his eyes whilst their fingers were interwoven flood his mind, and his pulse quickens, but this time he understands it.