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BRIAR HADN'T SLEPT TOO WELL THAT NIGHT, this didn't often happen, especially when she was surrounded by the warmth of Steve. It was sometimes uncomfortable in summer months, the feeling of bodies pressed together, slow building sweat in pores and prickles of heat behind ears and knees. Briar lay very still with her eyes open, staring at her photos tacked to the wall above her head. The corners had been engulfed by shadow but she could see the glossy exterior of the photo booth she'd taken with Steve. They'd taken a replacement early in February of that year. She looked so happy, all teeth and freckles. Steve was kissing the side of her face in one, the last was their lips firmly together but the other two photos were just them messing around, laughter that could be practically heard through the photographs.

She wasn't scared for the future of her relationship but the future of herself. Steve was a constant figure and sometimes it was futile to believe that she could ever be okay without him. It was so stupid, if they wanted it they should go for it and say to damn to whatever anyone thinks. Steve's arms were around her and around midnight he started to snore. Steve didn't do it often but sometimes when at a particular angle it would happen.

It frustrated her as she lay watching the shadows curl around the walls, hearing the soft shudders of breath in her ear. Briar turned over, his arm lying over her waist. His hot breath was on her neck, hair tied in some awful knot on the back of her head. Briar sighed loudly and willed for winter when she'd tangle herself in his limbs and never regret boiling suns and warm sodas.

Briar sat up, Steve's arms fell from her and she turned to stare at him in the soft beam of moonlight pooling from her window, left uncovered since the storm. His snoring wasn't abrasive, just soft. Briar smiled at him, leaning down to kiss his forehead, stroking his hair. She loved him so much that she couldn't think straight.

She managed to get a couple hours sleep, lain away from him for the sole purpose of staying cool. Briar woke up to sunlight streaking her bedroom in many colours, pouring through dreamcatchers to create rainbow patterns on the walls. The many shards of glass danced like disco balls as Briar woke up and yawned loudly stretching her arms over her head and feeling all the muscles in her back pull like strings. The ache was gentle as she rubbed her face, pushing sleep out the corners of her eyes as she turned to stare at Steve.

He was still asleep, lain on his back stretched out. His hair was a rumpled mess, a chaos of dark caramel. Briar stroked her fingers through the strands again and watched as he started to come to. Dark eyes opened and then closed again, he screwed up his face but then he turned and looked at Briar. Most of her hair had fallen from its capture, resting in strands over her skin as she smiled at him. The touching of eyes was gentle and Briar was ready for some compliment or declaration of love. His eyes lit up and it was clear something had struck him like a bolt of enthusiasm.

"It's today!" He exclaimed.

"What's today?" Briar frowned, worried she'd forgotten something.

"He's back today! Henderson!"

Briar laughed at the genuine excitement of seeing the small boy again. To be fair, it had been a while since she'd seen his curly hair and toothy grin but the bond he'd built with her boyfriend was above and beyond. She attributed similarity in what she shared with Max, a couple of sisters, a couple of brothers. It was sweet and although she would've liked a small 'I love you' she appreciated the way that Steve cared for Dustin.

"That's great news" Briar replied softly.

Dustin had been in some science summer camp for the past couple of months. Steve had taken this harder than anyone else by the look of things. She watched the boy as he settled into the pillows with a smile on his face. She wanted to hold his hand and never let go but instead she just kissed his forehead and watched as his eyes closed softly again. It was sweet, peaceful.

Steve dressed for work lazily, trying to find the sailors hat he'd most definitely misplaced. His eyes were bleary, he looked cute in the cobalt blue with his hair still sticking up all over the place. Briar watched him from her place on the mattress, knees pulled to her chest and hair now lying down her back, tucked behind her ears. There was a smile on her face as she watched him, this was always the case.

He styled his hair in her vanity mirror, taking at least five minutes to ensure that it looked alright before he pulled on his trainers, brushed his teeth and walked back into her room with open arms, an expression that asked 'how do I look?'.

"Such a pretty sailor" Briar mused as she tilted her head to the side.

"Aw you think so?" Steve drawled jokingly as he came to kiss her lightly with a small smile in his eyes, bending forwards in order to capture her lips.

"Go give em hell" Briar laughed, "I'll be in later... if I miss Dustin tell him I've missed him"

"Will do" Steve smirked as he lightly tapped her nose with his pointer finger. Briar watched him as the boy turned and walked from the room, hat now clutched in his hand with the perfect strands of hair sloping above his head.

Briar slept for another four hours after that, it was noon when she awoke with a large patch of red on the side of her face from where she'd been pressed into her hand. She showered, washing her face and then pulling on one of her many summers dresses. This one was a light orange, bell sleeves and floaty material that fell to her mid thigh. She paced around the house in her sandals, wet hair drying in soft waves around her face.

She'd just been starting to scramble some eggs in a glass bowl when she heard laughing emerging from the stairs to the kitchen. Briar turned to see Oliver and Eddie pacing lazily into the room. They stopped when they saw her, Oliver's hair so ruffled it was amusing and Eddie wearing one of Oliver's shirts, she could tell not because the band (which was Metallica) but because it was too big on his shoulders.

"Oh... hey Bri" Oliver grinned, "whatcha making?"

"Eggs" Briar replied, "you feeling alright?"

"I'm great" Oliver laughed, "make some more will you?"

"I'm not your slave" Briar rolled her eyes but she grabbed a few more eggs from the fridge, cracking them into the bowl.

"Where's Stevie?" Oliver asked as he dropped onto the sofa dramatically.

"Work" Briar replied, "some people make money for a living Ollie"

"Alright" Oliver laughed, "Jesus I'd ask if you woke up on a wrong side of the bed but seeing your bed only has one side I'm guessing you must've walked into the wall"

"No I'm fine" Briar sighed, "I'm okay"

"You sure?" Oliver sounded concerned this time and Briar kept her back to him as she whisked the eggs with a fork.

"Yes"

"Positive?"

"I said I'm fine Ollie" Briar snapped,

"Briar I am the king of saying I'm fine when I'm not, I literally invented it—"

"I don't wanna talk about it" Briar said in return, "I just didn't sleep very well, it's too hot. Is that a crime?"

"Okay" Oliver stated softly, "I'll drop it, I'm sorry"

Briar didn't say anything as she poured the eggs into a frying pan, watching it sizzle lightly as she listened to Eddie and Oliver muttering soft words to each other. She cast a glance to see that Oliver had his head in Eddie's lap, smiling up at him in a goofy way while Eddie traced small words onto his forehead with his thumb. Briar watched them for a moment before she turned back to her pan and messed the eggs around with a spatula.

It didn't take too long until the soft yellow became light, fluffy. Briar added a small amount of butter, salt and pepper. She stirred it until it looked the right colour. She then spread the portion of eggs into three bowls, grabbing three forks before she set two of them down in front of the couple with an unimpressed expression on her face.

"Thank you" Eddie said quickly, looking as though he hadn't been expecting it.

"Cheers" Oliver smiled as he sat up, turning to rest his back on the sofa. Briar sat at the breakfast bar with her back to them, lazily messing her eggs around on the plate as the steam cooled from the soft colours and created patterns in the air in front of her eyes.

"It's about college isn't it?" Oliver asked through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"I thought you were going to drop it?" Briar asked dully.

"Your brothers a nosy bastard" Eddie stated simply and Briar snorted.

"I'm caring!" Oliver exclaimed, "I care! I'm worried"

"And I said I'm fine" Briar turned on the bar stool to stare at them.

"You haven't even touched those eggs" Oliver shrugged as he shoved more food into his mouth. There was barely any left, Eddie was eating more politely as though scared that Briar was going to kick him out if he dropped any.

"You're not my therapist Ollie" Briar smiled,

"No I'm your brother, much more important" Oliver shrugged, "so what is it? Is it what mom and dad said... it is isn't it? About not being able to move with Steve"

"That's not exactly what they said" Briar frowned, she felt the empty pit in her stomach and turned to grab her plate, stabbing some of the eggs with her fork and eating them carefully to avoid burning her mouth. She made really good scrambled eggs.

"You know what I mean" Oliver replied,

"It's not that" Briar sighed, "I... I'm scared because I think Steve agrees with them, I think... he wants to go with me but he's worried about being a burden"

"But he's not" Oliver said quickly.

"Of course he's not... I'm just guessing, I don't know" Briar sighed, "I don't know how he really feels because it's clear he doesn't want to tell me, doesn't want to upset me and I get it...but I just want him to talk to me"

Briar's last few words faded slightly as she ate more eggs with a sour expression on her face. Eddie and Oliver gave each other a knowing look that she didn't like before they both turned back to her.

"What?"

"Briar... you and Steve are disgusting—"

"Oh thanks a lot" Briar rolled her eyes,

"I didn't finish" Oliver stated, "you're so ridiculously in love that it's sickly to watch. You're always holding hands or whispering to each other, hanging off his arm or laughing at something that is not remotely funny. You spend half your time together... more than that and you are both so devoted that it makes me feel lonely even when I'm literally not. You're crazy for each other and I think the last thing you need to worry about is college dragging you apart"

"It's not that" Briar groaned, "I can't do it without him... that wasn't part of the plan"

"So take him with you" Eddie shrugged, "just move into the college residence and keep him in a suitcase"

"They might figure that one out" Briar rolled her eyes, "why is life so expensive, I never even... well of course I considered that I wouldn't be able to afford it but... I don't know I kinda figured that we'd find a way"

"I'm sure you will" Oliver smiled, "and if you don't, there's planes but Bri... don't discard college because Steve can't go with you"

"That's easier said than done" Briar muttered, scraping more eggs off her plate. "I wasn't convinced about it in the first place. I'd be perfectly happy staying here the rest of my life. There's nothing wrong with Hawkins"

That of course wasn't entirely true but Briar guessed she'd leave that part out of the conversation.

"And Hawkins will still be here when you get back from college" Oliver shrugged. "Steve will be too"

"What if he isn't?"

"Oh Bri don't be stupid" Oliver shook his head, "I've never seen two people look at each other with such... adoration, it's—"

"Disgusting, you've said"

"I was going to say sweet but sure, sickening would be another way to describe it" Oliver mused, "what I'm saying is that you two are forever. I know I'm not Clover but without tarot cards and crystals I can confirm that my inner eye sees the truth and that truth is that you and Steve will be holding hands in your grave"

"Morbid" Briar frowned, "but thanks... I think"

"Have you ever considered talking to Steve?" Oliver asked.

"Well of course I have" Briar nodded, "but he never says anything whenever I bring up college, nothing to suggest that he doesn't want to come that is"

"I'm sure he wants to" Eddie shrugged, "but it's not that simple is it?"

"Evidently not" Briar snapped before feeling bad about the way Eddie fell silent, "sorry... I'm not trying to be annoying about it I'm just stressed that's all. I had this perfect idea in my head about how everything was going to go and now it's just crashing down in front of me—"

"Have you told Steve you're stressing out about it?" Oliver asked casually.

"Not exactly" Briar shrugged, "we haven't really had the chance, he was so excited this morning because Dustin gets back today and I didn't want to be the person who ruined his happiness by asking something serious"

"There's still a long time until college" Oliver pointed out.

"Yeah you haven't even registered yet" Eddie added.

"But I'm sure you'd feel better... comforted if Steve knew how you were feeling bout it. I'm sure he wouldn't want you to give up this opportunity for him—"

"It's not for him, it's for me" Briar sighed loudly, "I know myself better than anyone else and I'm painfully aware that I won't be able to do it without him. Call me stupid, call me pathetic but Steve has been there every single step of my life since kindergarten and I rely on him. Not just that but I won't have anyone in Pennsylvania, I won't have mom and dad, Clo and Rob, I won't have you two... so not only will I be away from the person I depend on the most I won't even have anyone else to help me through that"

Oliver and Eddie blinked at her for a moment before turning to each other again.

"Will you stop doing that?" Briar snapped.

"Doing what?" Oliver asked

"Looking at each other like you're speaking telepathically or something" Briar replied.

"Listen Bri" Oliver sat forwards, "this is entirely your choice, no one is forcing you to go to college, if you're not comfortable with it, don't go. We'll be happy for you either way, no one wants you doing something that is very obviously stressing you out. The best thing for you to do is to talk to Steve, it'll help you relax about the whole situation"

"I know you're right" Briar murmured, "I will talk to him... I will. I just don't want him to tell me something I don't wanna hear"

"I know" Oliver smiled, "why don't you go over to Scoops? You're always miserable around here without him"

"That's not true" Briar frowned, "I'm not incapable of being without him for a few hours"

"Yeah I know" Oliver said quickly, "but unless you'd like to participate in the experiment of how soundproof my room really is, I'd recommend going to Scoops"

"How I hate you" Briar muttered as she jumped off the barstool and stuck the bowls in the sink, grabbing her bag before she turned and walked towards the door, "have a good day"

"Oh we will!" Oliver called after her with laughter in his tone. Briar just rolled her eyes before she exited the house and shut the door behind her with a soft thud.

The drive was only fifteen minutes with no traffic. The summer holidays stretched to kids pacing down the roads in hoards of friends, ice lollies dripping onto their fingers, cars packed with bikes tied to the back and large boxes strapped to the roof. Beach trips, getaways. It clogged the roads as Briar opened the windows of her van and stuck her arm out into the warm air. ABBA was playing lightly on her radio, 'Voyage' this time. She sang along as she rounded corners and watched the long line of cars pack towards the mall for whipped ice cream, flashing arcade games and scams on every shelf.

Briar parked at the back of the car park where spaces were still void, cars raced around the front, trying to squeeze beside large trucks as bikes worked their way into spaces that bonnets simply couldn't reach.

She took the usual path across the parking lot as she entered the door and felt the waves of air conditioning hit her. The mall was always bright with its glass roof which let the sun spin in shapes on the walls, fountains flying into the air in wafts of spitting jets as plants cast the ides of nature into everyone's minds. It was truly a wonder to have so close to home and if Briar appreciated shopping more she probably would've loved it.

Instead the reason she loved the mall so much actually came in the form of Steve Harrington. It didn't take long to get to Scoops but she could see immediately as she rounded the corner that it was busy. Robin was on her own behind the counter, not caring for the queue as she leisurely scooped ice cream and gave false statements of 'have a nice day'.

She seemed to catch the wave of blonde walking into the shop and looked up expectantly to smile at Briar in a weary way. She waved at her friend but didn't want to get in the way of the waiting people, desperate for samples and wafer cones. She pointed instead to the booth at the back of the parlour, cherry red booth and remains of sticky treats.

Briar turned to see Steve sat in the booth with his elbows propped up on the table in front of him. Sitting in the seat across was Dustin, a smile on his face and a cap on his head. The boy looked the same as ever, radiant and joyful. They were speaking in low voices which made Briar think of their stupid conspiracies and desire for pranking.

"Hey Dustin!" Briar grinned as she paced over.

The boy turned expectantly to hear her voice and immediately beamed at her. He jumped from his chair and came to give her a quick hug. Briar laughed as she patted the boys head and marvelled in how he seemed to grow every time she saw him. Briar supposed that was just kids but it was still disconcerting to watch people grow up right before her eyes.

"Hi Bri" Dustin smiled as he stepped back, "how was Spain?"

"Oh... really good" she said quickly, "you mind if I come sit with you?"

"Only if you keep your hands of each other" he looked between Briar and Steve with raised eyebrows.

"We're not that bad" they said in unison as Briar slid into the space next to her boyfriend and made a very obvious display of not even holding his hand. Humorously it was harder than she believed it was going to be.

"So how was summer camp?" Briar asked, eyeing the large glass bowl of ice cream that was completely empty, sauce scraped over the sides.

"Really good" Dustin smiled, "missed home of course but it was a great experience"

"Dustin's gotten himself a girlfriend" Steve stated in a voice which suggested he didn't believe it.

"Really?" Briar gasped, "good for you Dustin, what's she called?"

"Susie" he stated proudly, "she's from Utah and she's the most brilliant, most intelligent girl to ever exist"

"Sounds like she's perfect for you then" Briar smiled as she tilted her head to the side, "how're you gonna keep in touch?"

"I built this huge satellite" Dustin started to explain, "I call it cerebro and it works on long distance channels of communication which means when we both tune into the right frequency we'll be able to talk to each other"

"Oh that's brilliant" Briar nodded, knowing that she didn't understand a word.

"Apparently she's hotter than Phoebe Cates" Steve muttered under his breath.

"You're still on about Phoebe Cates?" Briar frowned at him.

"Well I mean... she's nowhere as beautiful as you" Steve said quickly.

"More like it" Briar nodded as she turned back to Dustin, "you seen everyone else yet?"

"Yeah I actually got back yesterday" Dustin explained,

"I thought you said—" Briar frowned at Steve.

"He got the wrong day" Dustin smiled, "but yeah I saw everyone yesterday... but they were all so... in love or whatever"

"Surely you can relate to that now?" Briar mused.

"I still make time for my friends" Dustin stated, "Mike and Eleven have some bullshit curfew that I don't think even exists"

"Well Hopper's cautious about El isn't he?" Briar smiled, "I'm sure they were happy to have you back, we all are"

"Yeah" Dustin shrugged but he didn't seem too convinced. It made Briar feel sympathy for him, the boy always made time for his friends, was always there when they needed him and it seemed a shame that they weren't giving him the same in return. He sat back in the booth and looked at the glass bowl expectantly as though waiting for it to fill up on its own.

"You want some more?" Steve asked.

"No it's alright" Dustin shook his head.

"You gonna tell Bri what you told me?" Steve raised his eyebrows.

"I said it was top secret" Dustin hissed.

Briar looked between them in confusion, sitting up in her seat expectantly.

"Yeah you also yelled it to the entire parlour" Steve replied, "anyway Bri isn't anyone, you trust her"

"More than you" Dustin nodded.

"Hey!" Steve exclaimed, "what did I do?"

"Can someone maybe explain what's going on?" Briar asked with a small smile, "or am I supposed to sit here and guess like I'm on some quiz show"

"I..." Dustin looked around cautiously before he lowered a voice to a whisper, "I intercepted a super secret Russian transmission on my cerebro"

"Excuse me?" Briar raised her eyebrows.

"You heard" Dustin said plainly.

"What does that even mean?" Briar asked, "what did it say?"

"Well...it's Russian" Dustin shrugged simply, "you don't happen to speak Russian do you Bri?"

"I do not" Briar shook her head, "how does one go about intercepting a super secret—"

"Keep your voice down" Dustin hissed as he looked around, "this could mean big shit! Big big shit!"

"Okay but... how do you know it's not just a couple of Russians having a basic conversation?"

"Because... because it sounds like a code"

"How can you tell if you don't understand—"

"It's big shit Bri" Dustin interrupted, "it's big shit"

"Okay" Briar fought the urge to laugh at the very serious expression on Dustin's face, "are we going to get to hear this super secret—"

"I was just asking that when you got here" Steve smiled.

"Okay but we have to be subtle" Dustin looked around again and Briar followed his gaze to see a bunch of families trying to mop up spilt ice cream, a dozen couples with sickly eyes (that made Briar rethink what people had been saying about her and Steve) and teenagers who were relishing in their time off school. Certainly not the kind of people who would be a threat to Dustin and his super secret Russian transmission.

"We'll go into the back room" Steve suggested as he got to his feet, Briar stood up and followed him as Dustin grabbed his bag. They all paced across the queue of people, ignoring Robin's indignant stare as they pushed into the back room and shut the door behind them. Steve and Briar turned to Dustin as he pulled a tape recorder from his backpack, throwing the bag onto one of the dusted couches as he pressed a button.

Everyone fell silent as the Russian words pooled into the room. Briar wasn't sure what she had expected considering she didn't speak the language but it was just a bunch of jumbled phrases in a thick voice that didn't hold any familiarity. She wasn't even sure how Dustin knew this was a code and not just people talking but the recording didn't sound casual, the statements within it were laced in the idea of secrecy. Or maybe Briar was just reading into Dustin's determination for this to mean something. She could hear faint trails of music in the background before it clicked to a halt and Dustin stared at them.

"I've got this" Dustin said as the recording came to a halt. He reached into his back and pulled out a red book, Briar squinted at the title to see it said 'Russian dictionary', she scoffed at his resilience. "I figure given time we can translate this and prove that there's Russians plotting against our country!"

"Hang on" Steve waved his hand as he walked over to a fruit bowl in the corner and grabbed a banana, "plotting against our country?"

"Yes Steve I already told you this is serious shit"

"I think Russians write differently" Briar interrupted, she was flicking through the book and could only see a bunch of symbols.

"Yeah I figured that" Dustin nodded, "but... do you some paper or something?"

"Uh no" Steve looked around, "oh I've got this"

Briar watched him grab a whiteboard by the corner. It had writing on it, one said said 'you rule' and the other side said 'you suck'. Under the 'you suck' side there were six small lines but none on the opposite end.

"What's that about?" Briar asked.

"It's Robin" Steve replied, "it's about me trying to get tips from people... I'm not very good at it"

"I can see that" Briar smirked to herself as Steve grabbed a cloth and wiped the writing off, holding the pens in front of Dustin who snatched them from hand. He took a crumpled piece of paper from his bag and started to retrace everything that he'd already printed onto paper. Briar watched as the symbols started to accompany different letters of the alphabet. It still made absolutely no sense but Briar supposed it might do for Dustin.

"Alright... that's a start" Steve shrugged, "you know what it means"

"No clue" Dustin shook his head and Briar sighed to herself, "I mean... yeah but the code isn't written down so—"

"So this is impossible" Briar smiled as Steve went to hang the whiteboard onto the wall across from them, "you know, it's probably nothing. I doubt that Russians would be careless enough as to let a teenager intercept one of their super secret codes. You know what I mean?"

"She has a point" Steve nodded as he peeled the banana.

"Just listen to it again okay?" Dustin sighed, "and actually listen to it this time"

"Who said we weren't listening to it the first—"

"Shhhh" Dustin shushed loudly as he pressed the button on the recorder and let the voice trail out again.

It really meant nothing to Briar who had never understood any language except English her entire life. She watched Steve pace around, concentration between his eyes as he casually ate the banana with posture that suggested he didn't believe that they were really listening in on a super secret Russian transmission that could change everything for them.

"So what do you think?" Dustin asked as he clicked the recording to a halt.

"It sounded familiar" Steve stated as he popped a chunk of banana into his mouth.

"What?" Dustin frowned,

"The music" Steve mumbled, "the music right there at the end"

"Why are you listening to the music Steve?" Dustin snapped, "listen to the Russian! We're translating Russian"

"I'm trying to listen to the Russian" Steve replied bitterly, "but there's music—"

The door behind them swung open and Briar turned to see Robin pacing into the room with an unimpressed expression written all over her face.

"Alright, babysitting time is over" she stated loudly, "you need to get in there—hey my board! That was important data, shitbirds"

"I guarantee you what we doing is way more important than your data" Dustin stated seriously and Briar fought the urge to laugh under her breath as she stood close to Steve's side as he chucked his banana peel onto the table with a supportive nod.

"Yeah?" Robin raised her eyebrows, "and how do you know these Russians are up to no good anyways?"

Briar's eyes widened in surprise as the three of them looked between each other.

"How does she know about the Russians?" Dustin hissed.

"I don't know" Steve shrugged,

"You told her about—"

"It wasn't me" Steve shook his head.

"Yeah I didn't say anything" Briar murmured.

"Hello" Robin called, "I can hear you. Actually, I can hear everything... you are all extremely loud. You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country on tape and you're trying to translate but you haven't figured out a word because you didn't realise Russians use an entirely different alphabet... sound about right?"

Briar, Steve and Dustin gave each other almost sheepish glances before they turned back to Robin who was standing staring at them with her eyebrows raised. She went to reach forwards and grab the tape but Steve lunged and snatched it away before she could.

"Whoa!" He shouted, "what do you think you're doing?"

"I wanna hear it" Robin replied.

"Why?" Dustin and Steve said in unison.

"Cause maybe I can help" Robin shrugged, "I'm fluent in four language you know"

"That's true, she is" Briar nodded supportively.

"Russian?" Dustin asked hopefully.

"Ou-yay, are-yay, umb-day" Robin grinned at them in strains of accent.

"Oh-ho-ho!" Steve spoke in an impressed manner, a grin spreading over his face.

"Holy shit!" Dustin smiled.

"That was pig-latin, dingus" Robin laughed and Briar smirked at this as the grins on Steve and Dustin's faces faded.

"Idiot" Steve hit Dustin with the banana peel.

"But I can speak Spanish and French and Italian and I've been in band for twelve years" Robin stated smugly, "my ears are little geniuses, trust me"

"Uh" Steve looked to Dustin in disapproval.

"Come on" Robin groaned, "it's your turn to sling ice cream, my turn to translate. I don't even want credit I'm just bored"

"Oh come on Steve" Briar nudged him with her elbow, "we literally have zero hope of doing this without her"

Robin grinned at this statement as Steve stared at the ice cream scoop in her hand. He let out a loud sigh as the sound of the bell rang from the counter like an alarm. But then he took the ice cream scooper, placing the tape into Robin's hand before he turned and strode off to the front counter with a small kiss on Briar's cheek.

"Right" Robin grinned, leaning back in her chair. "Let's get started, shall we?"

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A/n
Words - 5327
Published - 11th September 2022