Autism Acceptance Month Daily Prompts 2023

Prompt 6 : Phone Call

Prompt : Write a fic in which an Autistic character either makes or receives a phone call
Fandom : Stranger Things
Pairing(s) : Steve & Robin
Headcanon(s) : Autistic!Robin

Robin was never good at phone calls. It was the thing she hated most about working at Family Video- The phone calls they'd get in asking about different movies and policies. Even with a script to follow for most of those calls, it was stressful because she had to time out when to speak and there was always the callers with questions or comments she didn't have pre-scripted responses for.

Thankfully, whenever Steve was around, he'd handle those because he knew how stressful they were for his friend and he'd prefer her to do work that he didn't like doing instead.

One of these days, Steve happened to be in the bathroom when the phone rang. Robin's heart sunk but she swallowed back her anxiety and picked up the phone.

"Hello, this is Family Video! My name is Robin. What can I help you wi-"

"Yeah, I know you" an older woman on the other end of the phone cut her off and Robin's heart sunk even further because she knew that voice. "Look, I'm not so sure about you and this job"

"Mom..."

"You need people skills to work in customer service" her mom continued despite her clear discomfort. "And every time I ever talk to you, you avoid eye contact or you do weird shit with your hands. It's really impolite-"

"Mom, can we not do this right now, please?"

"See what I mean?" her mom replied with an exasperated chuckle. "You just cut me off!" she said, annoyed as though she didn't do the same thing just moments before. "I think I'm gonna talk to that boss of yours. I just don't trust that you-"

With that, Robin hung up the phone.

It rang again only moments later and Robin shrunk behind the counter, staring at it with dread as it continued to ring. Thankfully, Steve came out of the bathroom moments later, saw the situation, and quickly picked up the phone.

"Hey. You're calling Family Video. My name is... This is a company phone line and not the intended use for this number... Ma'am, I understand that you're frustrated, but you can't speak to me like that... Robin is doing great at her job... Whatever"

He hung up the phone and sat next to Robin on the ground. The pair was silent for a moment before Steve decided to speak up.

"You don't have to worry about getting fired or anything cause of her, trust me" he chuckled. "They need a little more than your mother not liking you to warrant firing you"

"I'm sorry" Robin said solemnly. Steve tilted his head in confusion. "For... Well, I told her not to call me over that number unless it had to do with a movie, but I'm thinking I shouldn't have told her the number anyways" she apologized. "And I'm sorry if I'm difficult or make work difficult or if I-"

"Robin, it's okay" Steve cut her off with a weak smile. "You're not difficult. Even if you were, I care about you and I wouldn't abandon you or hate you over any minor difficulties, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Now, get up" he told her as he stood up himself. "We still have a few more hours until closing and I'm not organizing the new tapes myself"

"Right, yeah"