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Fandom: Stranger Things
Characters: Steve, Robin
Anonymous said: Hi! Could you write one where Steve is messing with Robin so she straddles him and tickles his belly button? Maybe they’re at his house having a sleepover and he makes fun of her haircut?
Words: 920
Steve became suspicious when Robin didn’t want to take her hat off in the middle of july. “You’re gonna get heat stroke,” he told her, going back and forth between opening his window and slamming it shut upon realizing it was still too early in the evening for the air to have cooled down. “I’m serious, Robin, I don’t feel like driving you to the hospital if you collapse.”
She rolled her eyes, pulling the neon green thing lower down so that it covered her eyebrows. “It’s comfy.”
“It’s psychotic behavior. Did you shave your head or somethin’?” It was mostly a joke, but the way Robin tensed up made him gasp. “You didn’t.”
“I didn’t!” she was quick to reassure him, pulling a strand of hair out of the hat. “See? Hair.”
“So then what’s your deal?”
“I might’ve cut my hair myself?”
Steve waited for her to laugh and say she was joking, but no laughter came. “Robin, oh my god.”
“Listen,” she started, sitting up, legs crossed on Steve’s bed, where she was about to spend the night like many other nights. “I- it’s a gay thing.”
“Okay?”
“Shorter hair? Like short short hair.”
“Right.”
“The hairdresser never wants to cut it as short as I want.”
Steve was beginning to see where this was going. “So you decided to take matters into your own hands.”
“Exactly. But-” She winced, grabbing her hat, but not pulling it off. “But I messed up.”
Steve rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You should’ve asked for help.”
“I know.”
Her voice sounded small, which was fucking terrifying to hear and Steve found himself reaching out to squeeze her knee. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“Promise you won’t laugh if I show you?”
“‘Course not.”
“It’s getting hot.”
“Told you.”
She sighed and shoved the hat off, her hair a mess of tangles on top of her head. Steve waited for it to settle down enough before he said anything, only to promptly realize it wasn’t settling down at all.
“Oh my god.”
“You said you wouldn’t laugh!”
“Woah, woah, am I laughing?” He wasn’t laughing, but that was mostly due to shock. “Robin, I- Did you try to cut layers?”
Robin nodded wordlessly and Steve mentally wondered how he could convince her to go get it fixed at a hairdresser. “It’s- nice. It’s camp.”
“Did Eddie teach you cultural words again?”
“It’s a good thing he did. I can definitely see the vision here.” He framed her face with his hands. “Way ahead of your time. A trendsetter.”
Robin snorted. “You’re making fun of me.”
“I’m not! It’s-” He waved his hands around, trying to think of a word. “Cool?” The way he’d said it, slightly high pitched, laced in a question, accidentally made way for a laugh which came out at the end, and he was already apologizing by the time Robin had tackled him.
“You’re so dead, Harrington!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s not funny, it’s just-”
“It looks bad. Just say it.”
“I’m sure we can get it fixed-” He had no time to say anything else as Robin’s fingers were worming their way under his arms, nimble and strong and unbearably ticklish. “Wait, wait, I’m only trying to he- stop!”
Straddling his hips, Robin and her ridiculous haircut hunched over him, her frown slowly smoothing out as he laughed and laughed and begged and laughed. She’d caught him off guard, okay? He could totally fight back otherwise. Probably.
“Oh-kay, no, not there, come on-”
Robin had this thing where she would zero in on a spot and not move away until Steve was a puddle beneath her. This time it just so happened to already be one of his worst spots, much worse than underarms which she’d only tortured for a minute. As Robin ignored him and tickled the edges of his belly button, shoving his flailing arms away easily, Steve felt he would pay for three of her haircuts if only she stopped.
It was a good thing they were alone, because Steve’s scream could surely be heard throughout the whole house. “Robin!”
“This is what you get,” she said, finally grinning at him which was at least a bit of a win for him. “I told you not to laugh.”
“I barely did- oh my god!”
His hands being free was nearly worse, as he came close to relief and then pulled right away from it. Robin was occupying one of her own hands purely with blocking his attempts, her other dancing around his belly, but mostly keeping close to his navel. His shirt was still pulled down, but it tickled too much nevertheless.
The first time she’d discovered this particular spot was a day he could never forget no matter how much he tried. The persistent pokes, over and over again, laughing when he jumped. Embarrassing, but also strangely nice to feel close enough that this could be happening. She’d discovered many spots since, but that memory was one of his strongest.
Also maybe because Robin kept bringing it up, making a very clear reference now as she was poking at his navel over and over. His whole body jerked with each poke, his laughter becoming choppy. He felt nearly as ridiculous as her haircut. Maybe he shouldn’t tell her that though. Although how much worse could this get if he did?
She stuck her hand under his shirt and Steve found out just how much worse it could get, all right.