Work Text:
“Hey, Hilly! Look at this!”
Robin had been scrolling social media while laying on her bed when something caught her eye on her timeline. Boothill looked up from where he was lounging on a lavender bean bag.
“What? What is it?” He stood up and walked over to where Robin was waving her phone excitedly.
The post had four images, each picture featuring some species of animal. One was black and the other was white, pink bows on top of their heads.
“It’s us!” Robin grinned. Boothill couldn’t help but nod.
“Oh, yeah. That is us. The only difference is that I don’t wear bows.” He leaned back before coughing and whispering under his breath, “Although I wouldn’t mind wearin’ one.”
Robin stared at him before standing up and walking to her dresser. Without a word, she pulled out her bow-making kit. She opened it, letting him look inside. “Pick a ribbon!”
Boothill stood in surprise for a few seconds before looking at the kit. After several minutes, he sheepishly looked at Robin. “I’m kinda indecisive. How about ya pick one for me?”
She nodded, excited. “Sure. Turn around.” Robin held up a spool to his hair.
“Mmm…this one’s pretty!” She picked another one up. “This too…” She frowned as she held up another, and another, and another…
It’s just too hard to choose!
Boothill chuckled before half jokingly saying, “Maybe we just need to put all of ‘em in my hair then. Since neither of us can decide on just one.”
Robin tapped a finger to her chin, considering the idea before smiling brightly. “Good idea!”
She got to work making the clips, one for every single ribbon. She stuck out her tongue absentmindedly, taking her work very seriously. Eventually, she managed to make a clip for every single ribbon, which added up to twenty eight clips. Boothill peered at her work.
“Do ya think all the bows are gonna fit in my hair?” He asked, slightly nervous. She picked up a bow.
“Definitely! Hold still.” Robin stuck a few bows confidently before getting an idea and hurriedly taking them off. “Wait, wait! Let me braid-your hair first!”
Boothill’s grin grew wider. “That’s a great idea, angel. Can’t believe I didn’t think of that one.”
Robin started bouncing slightly on her toes. “Which kind do you want? There’s french, dutch, fishtail, three strand, and four strand! Which one?”
Boothill wasn’t the greatest at remembering hairstyles, but he did remember fishtail braids. His adopted sisters had tried the style on him when his hair was getting longer in his late teens. It wasn’t very successful since his hair was still pretty short at the time, but with his hair being as long as it is now…
“Fishtail. That’s the one I remember.”
“Fishtail it is!” Robin declared, pulling a chair over. “Turn around and sit here!”
As Boothill gingerly sat down in the chair, he felt a strange sort of giddiness that he hadn’t felt in ages. He tried to push it down, fearing he’d start smiling like an idiot, but it kept slowly bubbling back up.
Robin quickly got to work, taking his cowboy hat off and placing it into his lap so it wouldn’t get lost. She then started braiding his hair, picking up strands and twisting them over each other. As she worked, she realized something.
“Your hair is so soft…” She murmured, continuing to twist them. Boothill couldn’t help the blush that creeped onto his face. He was still getting used to people touching his hair so much. He didn’t even think that he himself had brushed or braided his hair as much as Argenti and Robin have.
“Thanks. I don’t do much with it so I guess it’s just naturally like that.”
Robin gasped a little, still extremely concentrated on his hair. “Really!? You’re so lucky…” Her brow furrowed, focusing on a difficult part of his hair. She was focusing so much that her sentences were getting a bit choppy as she forgot to finish them. “I put like…a bunch of products…yeah…your hair is so soft…”
Boothill started talking, hoping to fill up the silence while she was concentrating. “I never thought about it much, honestly...don't even think I took care of it well before. Have no idea how I still have this much hair on my head.” He laughs lightly. “Grateful for it, though. I've never cut it since...y’know. Shows how long I've been travelin’ the universe like this.”
He stops, suddenly realizing how much he was talking. “Sorry. Hope I’m not breaking your focus or anythin’.”
“Hm?” Robin shakes her head even though Boothill can’t see it in his position. “Oh, not at all.” She finishes the final strand, pulling it all together. “Ta-da! Now, for the bows…”
Grabbing the bows from her kit, she places them on strategically, making sure not a single one is too close to the others. They’re spread out remarkably evenly and she takes a step back to admire her work. The multi colors of the bows go well with Boothill’s mainly white hair, contrasting beautifully. “There we go. You look so good! You should keep your hair long, it looks nice. We could be haircare buddies!”
He lightly touches the bows with metal fingers, a wistful expression forming on his face. “Well, I ain’t plannin’ on gettin’ it short anytime soon. Haircare buddies.” Boothill nods slowly. “That sounds real nice, angel.”
“Glad you think so.” Robin says before she drags him up from the chair to the mirror so he can see himself clearly. The cowboy hat falls to the ground in the process but neither of them notice. “Look! You look great, see? How does it feel? Is the braid too tight or not tight enough? Are the bows okay?” Despite the confidence in her abilities, she can’t help but feel slightly nervous that Boothill wouldn’t like it.
He’s lost in the mirror, admiring her work. He almost spaces out and forgets to answer her questions but quickly snaps himself out of his amazement. “It feels good. And it's the perfect amount of tightness, I don’t feel any pain or nothin’. The bows…well, the bows are adorable, I have to say.”
Robin cheers. “I’m glad you like it!” She presses kisses to the top of his head before wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning into him. Boothill rests a hand on top of her arm. “Thanks, dove. This means a lot to me, truly.”
“Anytime, ranger.” Robin says as she picks back up her phone. She aims it to the mirror, taking selfies of them. She then types quickly on her screen. “I’m sending these to rosie. I think he’ll like them.”
Boothill continued to fidget with the braid, finding new details he appreciated about it. Suddenly, Robin let out a small gasp.
“Rosie’s said he’s coming over! Says he wants to see the braid in person.”
Less than thirty minutes later, Argenti was playing with Boothill’s braid. “You’re right, his hair is quite soft.” He murmured.
“Right?! And he said he uses no products.”
Argenti raised an eyebrow at him, which he could see in the mirror. “If that’s true, I’m going to start recommending you hair products. You simply cannot damage such wonderful hair.”
“I mean, I put like, uh.” Boothill paused for a moment. “Shampoo, I guess. Sometimes.”
Robin and Argenti both stared at him, open mouthed. “Hilly, with such thick hair, you can’t just put shampoo in sometimes! ” Robin tapped him on the head disapprovingly.
“Not to mention the length. Darling, how are you not completely bald?”
“Good question. Guess my hair just really wants to stick with me.”
Argenti sighed, turning to Robin. “Putting that aside, I wanted to ask you something, dear.” He bowed slightly. “May I also have my hair braided by you? It would be an honor.”
Robin clapped her hands excitedly. “Of course! I used all my bows on Hilly’s hair though…”
“That’s alright. I just wanted the braid part.”
Robin gestured to the chair that Boothill had been sitting on earlier. “Sit right here, then. I’ll get to work right away!”
After a few minutes of discussion, Argenti finally settled on having a French braid. Boothill watched with great interest as Robin tied the knight’s hair methodically into a braid.
“You’re really good at this.” He said.
“Well, I’ve been practicing with my own hair for a long time. Stylists usually do it nowadays but I like to do it myself, if I’m allowed. Rosie, sit still. I’m almost done.”
“Apologies.” Argenti adjusted himself. Robin finished tying the strands, securing it with Argenti’s own hair as a hair tie.
“Alright! Look in the mirror, look!”
Argenti stood up and smiled at himself in the mirror. “It’s quite lovely, angel.” He shifted the braid so it was over his shoulder. “Like Boothill said, you are really good at this.”
Robin blushed from the compliments, feeling shy suddenly. “Thanks…”
Boothill slapped his hand on his knee as an idea entered his head. “Say, what if we try to braid your hair, Robin? It probably won’t be as good…”
“But then we’d be matching! Great idea!” She tugged the chair over, bringing it closer to the mirror. She then picked up her handheld mirror. “If I turn around and use this, I’ll be able to see what you’re doing, so I can help guide you.”
As Robin gave them instructions, the two men did their best to pick up the strands and tie them together. Argenti was doing well when it was his turn, but Boothill was slightly struggling. He let out a yelp as one of the strands got caught in his joints.
“What happened?” Robin asked, trying to tilt the mirror so she could see better.
“It’s okay, dear. Boothill just got one of his fingers stuck. Don’t panic, either of you. I can get it untangled.”
It took a bit of pulling, but eventually the hair escaped from his fingers. “I don’t think I should try it no more…” Boothill said nervously.
“No, it’s okay, darling. Just do it slowly.” Argenti grasped his metal fingers and guided him, showing him a way he could tie the hair without any strands getting stuck. “See?”
Eventually, they finished the braid, tying it neatly. Robin congratulated them, swinging the braid around. “It’s great! And even better considering you both helped me with it.” She hugged the two tightly. Argenti smiled gently, kissing the top of her head.
“Now we must take pictures, my loves.” Robin gasped at his words.
“Right, right!” She fished her phone out of her pocket. “Okay, get ready. Three, two, one! Angel wings!”
The photo was beautiful, to say the least. All three of them had printed it out and hung it somewhere in their ships (or, well, room for Robin.) A subtle reminder of their lovely afternoon together.