Say Geronimo
Noah's OCs have me by the THROAT.
Anyway, have some fluff because they deserve all the cute sweet soft things. ;__;
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You moved across the daycare, sweeping up the pieces of construction paper and little piles of glitter beneath the tables. Far across on the other side, Sun stood seeing off the last of the children for the day, and you paused as you caught a motion in your periphery. Your eyes met Prologue and Epilogues where they stood outside the plexiglass, and you automatically smiled. They returned it, gesturing you closer, and you walked over to them curiously.
They held up a cup with your name written on it, curls of steam rising from the lid, and beamed at you as you gasped excitedly. Quickly, you gestured to them to meet you at the doors, and hurried across the daycare as they nodded.
Sun watched you jog across the room, rays clicking slightly as he saw the form of the security bot outside the window match your movements, and quietly walked away, out of sight. Whatever was happening between you and the two other animatronics, he didn’t want to be seen as in the way of it.
You pulled open the doors and stepped out, hands reaching out eagerly with gesturing fingers as Prologue smiled, but Epilogue held the cup just out of your reach. You put your hands on your hips and huffed, before lifting your hands and signing at them.
“Excuse me, sir. That is mine.” You moved slowly as you said it, their eyes tracking your hands. They were still learning how to communicate with you, and although they understood how to make it easier to speechread their lips, signing was more complicated. They had taken a great interest though, and you were happy to teach them whatever they asked about. They seemed dedicated to learning everything they could, about both ASL and you.
This had led to quite a few long conversations, sitting cross legged in front of them with a notepad as you gradually built up an initial library of words and phrases.
Not long after meeting them, you had noted their frequent use of nicknames for you, and realized the specialized symbolism of name signs would be of interest to them. You had already been thinking of possible name signs for them. Some things felt too plain, like “sunshine”, while others almost worked but didn’t quite fit how you viewed them.
Eventually, you had begun thinking of it less in literal terms and more in emotional, to indicate the building affection you felt for the joint animatronics. They needed separate signs, you had decided, because although they shared a body, they were very much their own robots. Where one ended, the other began. Like a sunset fading into the night, flowing into the sunrise before the brightening day. The motion was fluid, the thumb and index of one hand circled, lowering towards a level arm for one, rising from it for the other.
Teaching them what a namesign meant, and demonstrating theirs, was a highlight of your interactions. Their attention was rapt as you gestured “sunset” and “sunrise”, their eyes large as they followed every movement with dawning realization.
Afterwards, they had spent time practicing on their own, and came up with their own special sign for you. Your delight when they first used it in conjunction with the spoken word had sent Prologue's rays fluttering, and Epilogue's sharp smile had grown even larger than usual...
The smell of hot chocolate brought you out of your reverie as they knelt next to you, and you took the proffered cup, inhaling the steam with a soft sigh and sipping it. Your shoulders relaxed as you indulged, raising your eyes to theirs with a grateful smile as they signed somewhat haltingly,
“We know you… like chocolate.” You beamed at them and nodded, stepping forward and holding out your arm in invitation of a hug. They took it and bent to wrap their long arms around you carefully, the soft material of Epilogues hat pressing against your cheek pleasantly. You hesitated when they pulled back, glancing back into the daycare, but you could see Sun across the room finishing tidying up. His eye caught yours, and he nodded, gesturing for you to go.
You looked back up at the two in front of you, who were watching you with a soft smile. You used your free hand to point at the tables nearby, and they walked over with you, their long legs folding gracefully to lower them to the ground in front of you as you sat down and set the cup on the table.
“What’s the occasion?” You signed, tilting your head. Epilogue shrugged, the motion of one shoulder echoing across their frame as Prologue rubbed the back of his head for a moment.
Epilogue spoke, and you watched their mouth carefully. It wasn’t easy, speechreading an animatronic with minimal lips to speak of, but he pronounced them carefully for you.
“We wanted. To spend time. With you. little. star.” As he said the words aloud, their hands raised, palms facing each other. They moved them slightly closer together, then pointed both index fingers up and brushed the sides of their fingers together twice with a small upward motion. The special name sign caused your chest to tighten with happiness and longing, as it always did when they used it, and you scooted closer to them on the bench seat.
“I’m always happy to spend time with you, with or without hot chocolate” You signed with a giggle, and they smiled at you. You blushed and looked away for a moment, before Prologue reached out and touched your hand. You looked up at him, and he made the sign for teaching.
“Another lesson?” You asked, and they nodded eagerly. “What would you like to learn today then?” You used the joint sign that merged their names, raising your circled fingers above your level hand and spreading your fingers in a wiggle, indicating ‘Twilight’.
They hesitated before their slender hands raised, signing
“How do we say ‘date’?” You blinked, tilting your head.
“As in, what is today?” You asked, and they shook their head with a smile.
“Oh, like a romantic date!” You signed, then raised your hands and made a D shape with both of them, your index fingers pointing up but your other fingers curled. You faced your palms toward each other and tapped your curled fingertips together twice. They mimicked the gesture, and you reached out to gently correct their hand positioning. Their hands were smooth and pleasantly warm as you guided them, and your heart sped up for a moment as they brushed your fingers with theirs to copy your motions. They tried again when you pulled back, and you smiled approvingly, nodding.
“You got it!” Only then did it register what they had asked to learn. You pulled back slightly, confused, and watched as they seemed to have an internal dialogue, then refocused on you and carefully began to sign.
Prologue pointed at you with his index finger, and they both held their hands out with palms up and clawed fingers, then pulled them slightly toward their body. Their hands came together as they touched the curled fingers together in the sign you had just taught them, then Epilogue's index finger pointed to their own chest. They leaned forward, raising their eyebrows, and waited.
“Will you date us?”
Your breath caught as you looked up into their eyes that seemed to glow with an inner fire as they gazed back at you. Prologue's rays were twitching nervously, and though Epilogue looked more at ease, they were both holding their metaphorical breath.
You blinked, then pointed at yourself, raising your own eyebrows. You could see the vibration of Epilogue's chuckle as he grinned, and Prologue flushed as they nodded. They watched you as the heat climbed up your face, and finally you took a breath and stood, composing yourself before nodding vigorously and launching into their arms for a tight hug. You pulled back, tears sparkling in your eyes as you gestured rapidly, incoherent. Laughing, they caught your hands in theirs, holding them to their chest in the equivalent of a shush. You stopped, flustered, and they smiled as they leaned down to you. Releasing your hands, Prologue signed teasingly,
“So cute, little star.”
You giggled and stuck your tongue out at them, and Prologue smiled and signed the words as Epilogue spoke aloud, cupping your cheek in their large hand affectionately.
“Our. Little star.”
So it's here I stand, as a broken man But I've found my friend (At the curtains of the waterfall) Now I'm falling down, through the crashin' sound And you've come around (At the curtains of the waterfall) And you rushed to me, and it sets us free So I fall to my knees (At the curtains of the waterfall) So say Geronimo Make this leap
