Quick lil ficlet for my idiots au based on a quote! (There is a mild bit of suggestiveness near the end but nothing is outright implied)
~~~
It was past closing time at the daycare, and Sun was nearly finished cleaning up for the day. Eclipse was waiting for him in the car outside. Sun couldn't blame him, it had been... an eventful day to be sure.
The events of which, he was currently sharing with Ruin over the phone which was balanced a little precariously between his cheek and shoulder, given that his hands were currently occupied.
'Jacob's parents came in to pick him up early today,' Sun said, placing down the barrel he had been carrying onto its proper spot on top of the first one. He reached up to grab the phone just before it slipped off his shoulder, while Ruin made a small chirp of surprise on the other end.
'Did they now? My goodness, was he sick?'
'No not sick,' Sun paused as he hefted the final barrel onto the tower, 'he was just very upset because he had a rough day.'
He could hear Ruin shifting to sit up. The smaller bot must have been laying down.
'Oh dear, what happened?'
Sun sighed as he rested his other arm on top of the barrel tower. 'He brought his two pet snails into the daycare today. Had them in his lunch box can you believe it! Anyway, he wanted to leave them by the sink for some exercise, so I allowed it. But Eclipse, who as you know was volunteering today, well he... he thought they had come in from outside so he threw the snails out the window.'
Unsurprisingly, there was a bark of laughter from the other end. Sun could barely keep the small smile from spreading across his own face. He had to admit, it was pretty funny and it certainly solved Sun's issue with having the slimy things in his daycare, even if it was a bit unorthodox. But he supposed it was pretty in character for Eclipse.
Despite his growing amusement (Ruin's infectious laughter was certainly not helping), Sun kept his voice light and neutral as he replied.
'I know you're laughing Ruin, but please act sad about it when we come in tomorrow.' Sun's smiled strained a bit as he continued, 'and don't let Eclipse see you laughing either, he feels pretty bad about it. Even if he won't say that he does. You know how he is.'
Ruin chuckled as he replied, 'I will do my best dear but that is hilarious.'
Sun couldn't help the soft snort that escaped his voicebox. He sighed and drummed his fingers over the barrel. 'Yeah, I know.'
He leaned back. 'Anyway! I'm just about done cleaning now so we'll be back home soon.'
'Alright dear!' Ruin chirped before pausing, '..how is Eclipse doing anyway?'
'Sulking, but he'll be okay,' Sun smiled with fond weariness, 'maybe don't aggravate him too much tonight.'
'Ahh as grumpy as always that one. Very well my sweetsun! I will be on my best behaviour.' Sun flushed a little at the nickname. 'Also, I may know of a little solution to help him wind down a bit. If he is willing of course. ~'
Sun rolled his eyes as he scooped up his coat and bag from the employee room. 'Arnt you spending some "quality time" with Solar tonight?'
'I can work with two. Or three if you also wish to join, hmm?~'
Sun blushed, his voice box stuttering with static before the words finally jumbled out.
'Y-yeah maybe, we'll see. Um, anyway see you soon Ruin.'
'Ciao darling!'
Sun hung up with a sigh. He shook his head, rubbing the remaining blush from his cheeks, before sweeping his eyes across the employee room one final time. Satisfied everything was in its right place, Sun fished out the keys to lock up before heading out.
~~~
The original quote from the quotes generator plus my revision:
While working the fish stall at the market, Eclipse has a poor run in with an angry karen who threatens to take his child from him.
~~~
Twoshot written by my friend @crazedauthor and myself for the sams mer au! They wrote the first chapter and i wrote the second. Eclipse has a not so great day while working at the fish market. :)
Wordcount: 3,861
Relationships: Eclipse/Ruin (qpr)
Content Warning: Panic Attacks
Also on A03!
~~~Chapter 1~~~
Working at a fish stall is about as entertaining as watching paint dry, in Eclipse’s opinion. For the most part, he sits there watching a couple random humans stare at dead fish eyes until a mental connection is built enough for them to decide to buy the smell sea creature. At Ruin and his boss’s request, he doesn’t tell as many people to “hurry the fuck up” anymore, but the temptation is always there. It’s telling that Ruin prefers to nap underneath the stall, curled around Eclipse’s feet. He isn’t sure what’s so much better about napping under the stall, compared to napping on his nice, comfy blanket nest at home, but he admits, begrudgingly, that the company is nice.
However, a recent change in their routine has been the pups choosing to accompany them during market days. With the job being mostly just sitting there and waiting (as well as trying not to scare away potential customers with his sour expression), it’s fairly easy for Eclipse and Ruin to keep an eye on their children during the workday. Sometimes, they decide to stay home instead, but it isn’t uncommon for one or two to join them when work calls.
Particularly their youngest pup, Loon, only a few months hatched. He still retains the usual clingy nature of baby mers, so attempting to detach him from either Ruin or Eclipse when he wants to latch on is a foolish endeavor. As it stands, the tiny spotted pancake is content to lay in Eclipse’s lap as a ball and snooze the afternoon away, so neither of them is too bothered by this. After all, stall days are rather boring and quiet.
That is… until the Karens of the market happen to show up.
"I can't believe this! Is this what you call customer service?"
Eclipse holds back the urge to roll his eyes as this woman's shrill voice assaults his audio processors. He doesn't even understand what she's upset about. He just asked what fish she wants when she said she was ready to buy.
The woman, some lady with short brown hair and sharp, annoyed blue eyes, continues her rant, pointing a manicured finger at Eclipse. "I have been shopping here for years and you don't even know my order? What kind of shop owner doesn't keep track of his regulars' orders?"
Is that really what she's upset about? The fact he asked what she wanted? Eclipse actually does make an irritated huff at that. He will never understand some humans and their thought processes. The woman’s face screws up in disgust, perhaps from his clear disregard for her complaint. However, she still refuses to actually point out a fish she wants. Eclipse may be a robot, but he’s no mind reader.
Just as he's about to speak up to tell the woman to give him her order or fuck off, though, he feels a shift in his lap. The tiny ball, sleeping rather cozily beforehand, unfurls with a growl and suddenly leaps . There is a flash of blue with yellow spots flying through the air before sense returns to Eclipse. He thanks whatever powers that be for his fast reflexes because Loon was halfway to the Karen's face before he managed to grab him, caging the angry pancake in a gentle, but secure grip of his two hands. His urgency to do so nearly knocks over the stall as he bumps it with his legs – thankfully, it remains standing, though the sight of the woman covered in fishy water would have been entertaining.
Loon cries out in annoyance at the prison he finds himself in. Thoughtless, he waves his stumpy arm at Eclipse’s fingers in an attempt to escape, but it proves rather ineffective. The hisses and growls sounding from Loon mix with the Karen's startled gasp... before her noises turn to that of outrage.
"How... HOW DARE YOU!" she screeches, alerting other humans at the market to this situation. Several turn to watch the commotion. Eclipse instinctively pulls Loon closer to his chest, making sure any wrath she exacts is aimed solely at himself instead, and also trying to shield him from the view of others. However, the woman settles for a much more terrifying method to make her displeasure clear. "Owning a mer as a pet is illegal! You think you're above the law just because you're a robot! I will fix that ! You'll never see that mer again once I'm done with you!"
Eclipse freezes. In his hands, Loon continues to fight, now trying to swipe with his fully intact arm at the lady. He is doing his best to protect him from her anger (and in turn protect this ungrateful bitch from Loon's), but her words seem to make his machinery stop like a heart skipping a beat.
"Once I report this, you'll have your rights revoked and that little... creature will be removed from your lacking care at once! You should have thought twice before siccing such a thing at me in broad daylight! You'll have nothing left once I'm done with-"
Suddenly, the Karen falls silent. Eclipse glances to his left to see that Ruin has now crawled out from under the booth and is giving a very wide smile to this customer - though none of it reaches his eyes.
His voice comes out with feigned politeness. "That 'creature' is my pup, miss. Not a pet. And this robot is my mate. You will not be taking our child nor doing any of the other things you've threatened." His lips pull higher, causing his teeth to flash in the sunlight. Despite the casual way he props up his head on one hand, the other hand stands poised on the stall, displaying sharp claws only a couple feet away from her body. "I'd like to see you try~."
The stall finally falls silent as the woman quickly flees the scene. You never threaten a mer's mate or their pup. Sticking around was a disaster waiting to happen and she at least had the presence of mind to figure that out.
Still, Eclipse can't relax. He feels his body shake, the little hand cage for Loon (who is still hissing and trying to escape to pursue the lady) rattles against itself. It is only when Ruin's cool hands fall onto his that he unconsciously relents and lets Loon free - though Ruin is quick to hold him in place lest he continue to make a scene.
As the pup cries out in righteous fury, Ruin gently mlems his face. "Now now, little one. Dad looks rather upset, don't you think? Shouldn't you try to make him feel better? We don't want Dad to be sad!"
Huffing, Loon looks at Ruin with a glare, but reluctantly turns to Eclipse, who sits there as if a statue. The pup heeds his pa's words and scurries up Eclipse's chest, hugging his flat face and mleming against his cheeks. A soft rumbling purr reverberates through his flat body. This action eventually breaks Eclipse from his stupor. Carefully, he brings his hand up to pet Loon’s tiny head, the baby responding in kind with happy cheeps and faster purrs. Eclipse sighs, closing his eyes and letting the sounds soothe his nerves.
Loon is fine... Loon is safe in his arms, away from that woman. Her words still echo in his mind, but for now, he can relax with his family by his side...
~~~Chapter 2~~~
As the shock started to wear down, only then did the panic begin to emerge within Eclipse's mind. He could feel it as it lurked beneath the thin veil of his self control brushing against his mind like ice cold fingers, a soft chilling echo in his mind whispering the words said by that woman on repeat over and over.
You'll never see that mer again once I'm done with you!
As Eclipse continued to spiral, he could distantly hear Ruin as the mer huffed and thumped his tail against the floor in clear displeasure.
"Honestly the nerve of that woman! Can you imagine being so bold as to threaten a pup in front of their parents? Absolutely-"
The mer trailed off once he turned to face his robotic partner. Despite Eclipse's best efforts to hide it, it was clear Ruin could see his distress as the mer's expression shifted from confused to worried, and in an instant he was by Eclipse's side.
"Eclipse? My dear, are you alright?"
Eclipse didn't reply. He dared not to, knowing his voicebox would betray his inner turmoil with garbled static instead of coherant words. And even as Loon continued to hug his face and mlem his rays, it was not enough to stay the anxiety as it rose like a tidal wave, crashing against his emotional walls as they begun to crack, panic seeping through into his mind like poison. The dark orange animatronic released a rattled vent as the first sharp pang struck his chest, and his fans seized and juttered.
Fuck.
Eclipse gripped the table, claws digging into the wood. Loon seemed to realise something was wrong as the little pup cheeped at him, his single hand bapping his forehead. Eclipse shakes his head, no no he's fine he's fine it's nothing he's fine-
Ruin let out a small chuff, and Eclipse felt a webbed hand very gently cup his face making him flinch as the mer carefully guided his face toward him meeting a pair of mismatched eyes from behind the little fins of Loon that still wrapped valiantly around his head.
"Dear," Ruin said softly, running a thumb over Eclipse's cheek, "you are clearly not fine. You are having a panic attack."
Eclipse stared, unable to stop another hitch of his vents. He.. he hadn't realised he'd been saying those words outloud.
Ruin continued, "let us go somewhere else, hm? Somewhere quieter."
He feels a gentle tug on his hand and Eclipse numbly realises that Ruin had slipped his other hand into it at some point without him noticing. The storm continued to rage in his mind, but Eclipse forced himself to keep it contained as Ruin helped him onto his shaky feet. Loon shifted himself on Eclipse's head, clambering up to settle on top instead of covering his face, reaching his single arm down to pat at the space between the animatronics eyes. His own little way of telling his dad he's still there.
"Excuse me miss!" Ruin suddenly speaks up and Eclipse jolts having not realised he was zoning out. He realises Ruin is talking to a human girl and it takes him a moment to remember who she is. Short orange hair, above average height, wearing a tank top with a shark printed on the front and has a tattoo of some kind of seabird on her upper left arm. Can't remember her name, but Eclipse knew she was a co-worker. Usually worked out back sorting the fish crates.
So focused he was on recalling the girl, Eclipse didn't realise Ruin had been talking to her. She was looking at Ruin but her gaze switched between the navy coloured mer and Eclipse a look of sympathy on her expression. Normally Eclipse would have scoffed or snarled at the sight of being pitied at but currently his mind was still stuck in panicked turmoil. He looked away instead.
Another sharp pang shot through his chest and his eyes widened as Eclipse briefly forgot where Loon was, realising he wasn't over his face like before. He shot a hand up to his face, only to feel a tiny webbed hand grip his finger and tiny teeth knaw on the casing before mleming it. The typical but overwhelmingly familiar pattern of Loon making his presence known.
Another hitch fell from Eclipse's vents that left him wanting to shrivel up on the floor from embarressment once he realised his action did not go unnoticed. He may have very well done if it wern't for Ruin still holding his hand, keeping him upright. The mer gave his hand a gentle reassuring squeeze.
"Yeah it's not a problem, I can man the stand easy enough" the red haired girl said, continuing the brief conversation with Ruin that Eclipse had not been tuned in to before. "I saw the whole thing with that karen. She was a real bitch."
Ruin huffed, a small growl lacing his words. "That she was. For her sake, i sure hope not to see her likes about this place again." He muttered darkly, his head frills flaring a little.
"Ugh yeah nah I doubt it. Not when the boss hears about it." The girl flapped her hand, "anyway, you go and get him home safe and sound, yeah? I'll let the big man know what's up and all."
Ruin gave her a grateful smile. "Thankyou my dear. Come along Eclipse, Loon. Let's head home, yes?"
The little pancake pup let out a chirrup from the top of his dad's head and Eclipse himself let out a shaky huff, still not trusting himself to speak. Ruin guided them further behind the stall and through the door that led to the chilled storage room. They walked past the crates of fish where they were lined up against the wall and the animatronic had half a mind to reach up and hover a shaky hand over loon lest the little pup got it into his little fishy brain to diving into them. Thankfully however Loon seemed to be quite content remaining fixed to the top of Eclipse's disc shaped head, his fins gripping tightly around the two rays that were still partially poked out between him.
Once they reached the exit door Ruin pushed it open with a small grunt, the squeaky hinges causing Eclipse to twitch before the three of them were exposed to the cool salty sea air. The evening autumn sun was low in the sky, golden light washing over the robot and two mers soaking them in its warm amber glow.
But it was not enough to stay the sudden wave of anxiety as it crashed full force into Eclipse's mind, causing the robot's legs to buckle beneath him. Now that he was away from prying eyes, with only his partner and child to witness him crumble, Eclipse's walls finally broke and he let out a loud shuddering gasp that quickly developed into hyperventilation.
"Oh Eclipse.." he could barely make out Ruin's voice as the mer carefully settled Eclipse down by the wall. Eclipse shuddered, clutching his chest as a sickening pang of anxiety shot through him. His rays began to twitch and jutter from within his disc, and despite his panic Eclipse had enough sense to reach up and tug Loon off his head before the pup could get poked by his erratic rays. Thankfully the little mer came free without a fuss but immedietely clung to his hand chirruping and purring as he nuzzled against his dad's palm.
Eclipse let out a broken glitched sob as he curled around Loon, drawing his legs up. Ruin cheeped and coiled himself around Eclipse, pressing his forehead to Eclipse's own whilst muttering soft reassurances in both english and his own tongue that Eclipse had long since learned to understand after many days of practicing with Ruin. They helped to drown out the echoed screaming words of that banshee of a woman that continued to haunt his mind.
"Hush. I'm here, we're here. You're alright dear. No one is going to take our child. It's going to be ok." Ruin murmered softly, gently nuzzling Eclipse and stroking his cheeks with his thumbs from where his hands carefully held the sides of his head, keeping their foreheads pressed together.
Another hitch escaped Eclipse's vents, but he closed his eyes and forced himself to focus on the feeling of Ruin pressed against him, his words of reassurance and the feeling of Loon as the little pup purred against his chest and mlemed his fingers. After a while of sitting there together, Eclipse finally felt himself beginning to calm down. The panic slowly receded from his mind, taking with it the distant echos of the womans threats. Though he could still feel it lurking in the back of his mind, Eclipse now had it back under control. He let out a sigh, putting back up whatever remained of his shattered walls as he pulled himself away from Ruin.
The mer watched him carefully as Eclipse leaned back releasing a shaky sigh from his vents, still keeping Loon held securely against his chest. He ran a thumb over the spotted scales as Loon cheeped curiously up at him.
"Are you alright now dear?" Ruin asked softly.
Eclipse didn't reply immedietely, needing to take a moment to recalibrate his voicebox since it had glitched out during his panic attack. It took only a few seconds and once it was done he let out the biggest and most exasperated groan, throwing a free arm over his eyes. The sun had since gotten lower but it was still too bright and he was beginning to feel the start of a killer headache forming.
"Fucking peachy."
Ruin huffed a small mirthless laugh, as he shifted closer and mlemed Eclipse's cheek. "Do you feel ok enough to stand?" The mer asked, "would be best if we made our way back home now, yes?"
"Give.. give me a minute Ru," Eclipse sighed tiredly, dropping his arm from his eyes and instead wrapping it around Ruin, while the other hand continued to stroke Loon. "I'm still... recalibrating." He settled on, deciding not to mention the fact that his legs felt like strings of jelly. The mer cheeped and pressed his head against Eclipse with a purr.
"Take your time dear. I can help you walk if needed. I am quite able to do that today so don't fret about that either."
Eclipse rolled his eyes. But before he could respond, suddenly the phone in his pocket which he had completely forgotten about started ringing, startling Eclipse and the two mers with him. Loon hissed and flared his fins but Eclipse pressed him back against his chest before the little pancake tyke could pounce on the device as he weasled it out of his pocket. Ignoring the annoyed squeaks of his child, Eclipse brought the phone out and held it before him.
However the anxiety that lurked in the back of his mind briefly flared again sending a small shooting pang through his chest causing Eclipse to freeze, his mind suddenly jumping to the worst case. What if this was the police calling him? What if the woman had called authorities and they were calling him to tell him Loon would be taken away and Eclipse his rights revoked and-
"Let me answer it sweetheart." Ruin said, breaking Eclipse from his spiralled thoughts as the mer gently plucked the device from the robots hand. Eclipse's fingers twitched but he made no attempt to take it back, instead letting it fall onto his lap, watching as Ruin turned the phone over in his hands before hitting the answer call button.
"Speaking?" Ruin asked politely.
A gruff but familiar voice crackled from the speaker. "Bobby. Is Eclipse there Ruin? He ain't in trouble, but i got word some trouble went down and I wanna know if he's doing alright."
Eclipse felt another brief wave of panic but it died down as soon as his boss mentioned he wasn't in trouble. Ruin glanced over to Eclipse with a sympathetic look as he replied.
"Yes he's with me. Not doing the best i'm afraid, but he is stable, for now at least. I'm taking him home as we speak."
The old man grunted on the other side of the phone, and Eclipse could hear the creak of his chair as he moved. "Alright. Is he alright if i talk to him for a sec? Won't take long."
Ruin looked to Eclipse again with an eyebrow raised, an unspoken question in his eyes. Eclipse sighed, and reached out with his hand. Ruin placed the phone onto his palm, and Eclipse drew it back to hold before his face.
"Yeah?"
He hated the way his voice sounded so croaky, but his boss didn't comment on it, instead jumping straight to the point and asking "you alright son?"
Eclipse huffed a bemused laugh. It was difficult to not retort with an automatic snappish response of 'do i sound fucking ok?' but he managed to grind out a simple "no."
Bobby clicked his tongue. "Yeah figured as much. Now listen, i'm gonna tell you right now you got nothing to worry about. I heard about what that woman said to ya', Katherine gave me the whole thing and I confirmed it on the cameras. She's on the blacklist so she won't be coming back again."
Eclipse blinked. Oh so that was the red haired girls name-
Bobby continued, "that lady was talkin' shit too by the way. There ain't no way anyones gonna come for your partner or your kid, definitely not in this town. She could land herself in real trouble trying to take a pup from it's parents afterall."
Eclipse pressed Loon a little closer to himself, recalling the vague threat Ruin gave the woman, teeth and claws on full display. "Yeah.."
"Alright son. You get yourself home and rested, yeah? Take tomorrow off if you need it too, i got folk who can cover ya. You'll get yer' paid leave and all too, just let me know beforehand if you can."
Eclipse nodded despite his boss not being able to see it. "Sure. Thankyou." he added on quietely.
"Don't worry about it. Take care of yourself now."
And with that Bobby hung up. Eclipse let out a long sigh as he dropped his arm with the phone still in hand, relief blooming in his chest and the tension in his mind finally starting to ease up more. Only he immedietely had to jerk his hand back up again when Loon made a sudden mad dash for the device in his hand.
Eclipse grumbled a curse as he shoved the device quickly back into his pocket, holding Loon back as he did so. "Stop that!"
Loon growled and swatted in the direction of the pocket as Eclipse scooped him further away. Ruin chuckled, leaning in to nuzzle Loon affectionately which helped cease his gremlin behaviour before looking up at Eclipse with a soft look.
"Shall we head on home then?"
Eclipse sighed. "Yeah. I think i can stand now."
Ruin grinned, and he shifted himself next to Eclipse who allowed Ruin to manouver his arm around the mers shoulders before helping him stand to his feet. The animatronic stumbled only a little before he regained his balance. Ruin kept his hand wrapped around his though, giving Eclipse's hand a small squeeze which the animatronic returned while Loon scrambled up onto his shoulder and then back to his perch on top of Eclipse's head, sitting quite proudly between his rays.
With that and a gentle tug from his partner, Eclipse allowed Ruin to lead them back home.
A bit of an experimental one shot focusing on Bloodmoon (sams) and FC set when Bloodmoon was under Foxy and Monty's command many months ago, which is actually when i first drafted this lol. Woke up in a cold sweat and wrote most of it before forgetting about it until today.
So basically it's a what if situation where Stitchwraith shows up and Bloodmoon fulfils his command to protect FC. It's really not a redemption thing, more a what if they obeyed their command kinda deal. About 2.7k words!
(Also on AO3!)
~~~
Bloodmoon was guarding FC at the daycare. They did not want to be here. They would rather be anywhere else than stuck in this accursed place. Perhaps it would not be so bad if there was human children running around, but it was well after hours and it was just them and the little fox brat here. And he was under very strict orders not to harm the child lest they find theirselves swifted wiped from existence.
So here they sat, grumbling and clawing at the playmats as they were co-erced begrudginly into playing a game of castles by FC who wanted them to be the monster in the loch that surrounded his mighty castle made from those stupid barrels.
Admittedly the sight of the spherical objects made the twins a little uneasy, memories in the back of their shared mind of being faced with one held by a certain yellow animatronic, a flash of light and then nothing. But the barrels were supposedly safe now and no longer a danger. They remained skeptical of this, and so chose not to touch them leaving the fox child to stack them as he wished while they lay sprawled out on the ground, tearing fresh holes into the gross blue mats.
They wondered how much longer of this hell they would have to endure. One half was consistently egging the other to make a break for the doors, they could so easily clamber up the woodwork and squeeze between the gap toward their freedom. Multiple times the more logical half had to remind their erratic twin of the bomb planted so neatly into their head. And more so again as FC bonked them with a barrel to get their attention. They did snap their jaws in warning though, which ceased FC's actions and they snickered as the little fox suddenly startled and fell backwards.
However they quickly realised it was not them who caused FC to startle so. Hearing the sounds of uneven footsteps, they snapped their head around to see the Stitchwraith making it's way toward them.
Immedietely Bloodmoon was on their feet, teeth bared and claws out ready to attack. But experience had taught them to not immedietely jump and to be wary of the abomination as they knew it had many foul tricks up the cloak it wore. They made the mistake of jumping into action against it once, they would not do so again.
'FC' The Stitchwraith called out, drawing out the C' in a sickeningly soft voice. 'Come here, come to me.'
FC did not respond. He appeared to be too frightened, crouching behind the barrel that he had been hitting Bloodmoon with not a minute ago. Stitchwraith took another step forward and Bloodmoon growled, snapping their jaws in warning. The command to protect FC was starting to kick in in full and despite how much it sickened them, in the end they hated Stitchwraith more than they did the fox and his brat.
Stitchwraith seemed to notice their presence, and it called out to them next. 'Bloodmoon. Bring him to me. Now.'
Bloodmoon twitched at the command. They almost complied, the accursed instincts to follow orders activating. Plus it being Stitchwraith, someone they had unknowingly followed like an obediant dog for months.
But Stitchwraith was no longer their ward, their master. They had none.
Was Foxy their master? Coding said yes but Bloodmoon aggressively disagreed.
The old fox had treated them well though, better than the others. While they were forbiddan to maim people they were still provided sustenance as meager as it was. Animal blood couldn't compare to human blood afterall. It was less sustaining. But it was something.
FC whimpered, as Stitchwraith called for him again. This time Bloodmoon recognised the voice, the so called 'nice' one. They knew it to be a lie. They knew that one was more a snake than the other.
The twins considered briefly their next course of action. One side, the more angry one wanted to follow as they had been told and to lunge, kill the Stitchwraith as was their command.
Attack ATTACK it is weak, we shall maim and tear and feast!
No.. Something is wrong brother. Surely you feel it too. Weakened as it is, i sense something is amiss.
Their spiral eyes narrowed, and they growled menacingly as they lowered themself to the ground ready to pounce or bolt. Yet there was something... off about the Stitchwraith. When they first spied it they immedietely noticed it appeared to be more damaged than it had been the last time they'd seen it. The steps it took were uneven and it walked with a heavy limp. They could hear a sickening grinding noise with every movement almost as if it were forcing itself to move. It did not sound comfortable. It sounded like it was in a great deal of pain.
And that meant it was weak. Less of a threat, easier to take down.
But still they'd held their ground. Past experience aside, the closer it got the more the twins sensed that it seemed to be almost more.. powerful than before. Despite how badly damaged it was, the red core that sat in the center of the mangled robots chest thrummed with such potent energy that even they could sense it.
The abomination's patience appeared to wane, as with a sudden burst of energy it took a couple of quick steps forward, claws outstretched toward FC.
'Come here. Now.'
Bloodmoon saw red. Quite literally.
The red core in Stitchwraith's chest began to glow and Bloodmoon reacted on pure instinct. Twisting their head, they clamped their teeth onto the scruff behind the tiny fox's neck elicting a startled yelp from the child before turning and bolting out of the daycare on all fours.
There was an angry shout, something that sounded like a 'No!' But Bloodmoon didn't dare look back, didn't slow down. They scrambled up the wooden doors and squeezed through the gap at the top just as one half had been pre-planning prior to this. As they lept down, the wooden doors cracked and splintered before bursting open with a looud bang behind them.
But the twins and the little fox within their jaws were already up the stairs. They ran faster, running in an erratic zigzag as bolts of red electrical like energy struck the ground on either side of them.
They dashed out of the daycare, their claws scrabbling to find grip on the marble floor that led toward the main entrance. They began making big leaps and bounds, almost like a bunny and at one point they even ran briefly across the wall before finally making it to the double doors leading to the pizzaria lobby.
They burst through the doors, nearly snapping one off its hinges in the process. They stop briefly to finally check behind them, to see how close the Stitchwraith was. They couldn't see it, they had managed to outrun it. But they knew better than to hang around in such an open space.
They looked around, the little fox swinging in their jaws as the red and blue animatronic searched frantically for a place to hide. One side pointed their shared view to a specific hole in the ceiling, meant for the elevator that sit broken by the escalators. It could work to hide them if they could get up there.
Wasting no time, they darted toward the giant glowing pillars that connected the elevator to the ceiling. They lunged and grabbed onto one, grunting and hissing as the bright light hurt their sensitive eyes. But they scrambled their way up it regardless and into the gaping space above.
They were able to only get up so far though as there was a metal barrier of some kind blocking the rest of the way. A safety measure should anything fall in from above they would assume. But they were up far enough that they should not be so easily spotted.
Bloodmoon adjusted theirself, finding purchase with their claws and supports for their feet to keep theirselves in place. FC remained scruffed in their teeth, and the little fox whimpered as he hung almost precariously, his eyes closed tight as to not look at the high distance between them and the ground below.
The red and blue jester hissed a low and dangerous 'quiet' just as the Stitchwraith appeared, slamming the daycare entryway doors aside and completely snapping the already broken one off the hinges.
Both Bloodmoon and FC went very still. They couldn't directly see Stitchwraith at this angle but they could hear as well as sense it. The eerie energy that radiated from it was all too hard to miss, as were the uneven footsteps and sounds of broken machinery as the mangled animatronic prowled below them.
'FC? Where are you buddy? If you hear me just call out! Did Bloodmoon hurt you? I'll come rescue you, don't worry'
FC didn't make a sound but Bloodmoon could feel him tremble, how the tiny fox curled in on himself even more tucking his legs and tail close. The smell of fear was strong and it took all of their effort to not give into the sudden urge to bite down fully.
More accursed mechanical noises, more soft calls carrying false words of encouragement and poisonous promise. At one point Bloodmoon spied the Stitchwraith as it moved below them. Their spiral eyes fixed on it immedietely following its every move with intense focus, their body completely still and tense and ready to lunge the moment the mangled robot turned its hooded head up toward the two.
But it did not. Instead the calls fell quiet and Bloodmoon could barely hear the angry hushed whispers to itself. With a sudden angry snarl accompanied by crackles of more red energy that had FC flinching harshly, Stitchwraith turned and stormed off in another direction once again leaving their line of sight.
However Bloodmoon dared not move, remaining completely still. Both sides were silent even in their mind, both being completely hyper focused with one side listening and looking out for the looming danger below them and the other holding back the bloodlust being triggered by FC's terror.
Even as the sounds grew softer and eventually disappeared entirely they did not dare to move. For all they knew, the Stitchwraith could still be nearby, waiting for them to come out of hiding so it could ambush them. They wern't taking the chance.
They knew not how long they stayed there. Could have been an hour, could have been ten minutes. Either way, FC started to whine softly the events taking its toll on the little fox. Bloodmoon growled a warning and that shut him up quick. But not a minute after, there were sounds of footsteps approaching which had both tensing up once again before a familiar voice followed.
'FC? FC Where are you? Bloodmoon? Either of you are you here?'
It was Foxy. FC perked up instantly, and with only slight hesitation called out to his dad.
'I'm here father!'
With that, Bloodmoon finally moved from his position, grabbing onto the accursed glowing pillar and sliding down it to where Foxy was waiting for them.
Bloodmoon released FC from their jaws, and the little fox instantly bolted away and over to Foxy. Bloodmoon twitched in a barely restrained effort to not automatically chase after him, but otherwise remained where they were, flexing their claws as they fought to calm their bloodlust as well as their own nerves.
Meanwhile Foxy checked over his son frantically. 'Are you alright? Did he hurt you?' Foxy immedietely shot Bloodmoon a glare as he noticed the faint bite mark on the back of his sons neck. While the faux fuzz skin was not torn, there were clear puncture marks.
Bloodmoon notices his glare and they let out a scoff, turning their head away. But FC is shaking his head drawing the older fox animatronic's attention back.
'No no! I am not hurt they... Bloodmoon saved me from the Stitchwraith!'.
'I.. see' Foxy couldn't help the slight skeptisim from entering his voice but. 'Well.. Good. Glad to see you're capable of following orders then' Foxy directed his voice over to Bloodmoon. The red and blue jester shot him a snarl but they did not answer, instead plopping theirselves onto the floor and clawing halfheartedly at the carpet.
Foxy sighed, and turned back to his son. Aside from the bite mark he looked to be ok just a little shaken. 'I saw the Stitchwraith on the cams. Came here fast as i could. I'm sorry you had to deal with that but you're safe now.'
FC fiddled with his hands. 'Can we go home now?'
'Yeah kid, we can go home. Won't be back here for a while. I already gave Monty a call on my way down here so. He should be here soon, so just hang tight for a bit alright?'
'What if the Stitchwraith comes back?'
'Then we'll deal with it should happen. But i think it's gone for now and we won't be here for much longer.'
'Ok father..'
Foxy ruffled his sons head. 'Atta' boy.' He then stood and turned his attention to Bloodmoon, considering his options. They had done exactly as they were commanded which was... surprising honestly. Foxy had assumed they would have been torn apart by the Stitchwraith. Afterall their main purpose was to hold them off long enough for him or Monty to get down there. They had surprised him today.
Foxy hummed. He wondered.
While Foxy and FC were talking, Bloodmoon had tuned them out. They were starting to feel weary. The effort it took of holding back their bloodlust combined with the sudden burst of energy that had them bolting across the plex was starting to take its toll. The twins were tired and hungry and their arms and legs beginning to feel a little sore. Conflicting emotions swam within them from both sides. The satisfaction in their code of fulfilling their order to protect FC conflicting with the command denied to bring FC to the Stitchwraith as they were told to.
They hated this. Hated being stuck like this. Hated that they were bound to the commands of two masters. They knashed their teeth, wanting nothing more than to feast on soft flesh and warm blood before curling up and going to sleep.
They flinched as their name was called, flinching back as they realised the old fox was suddenly standing next to them. One half of them automatically hissed and swiped but the other half held them back as they processed a question that had been asked to them.
'What?'
Foxy had his hands held up in a non threatening manner. A difficult feat to accomplish when one had was literally a hook. 'Negative O. That's your favourite right?'
Bloodmoon tilted their head in a confused manner, but they warily nod. 'Alright, ok good got it' Foxy replies, 'listen you did good today so tell you what. I'll get you one blood bag as a treat. Maybe two if you behave between now and when we get home. Sound good?'
The twins do not answer, squinting at the old fox in suspicion. Was this a trick? Some kind of ploy? For what reason would he do this? They did not believe for a moment this 'good behaviour' shit he was spewing. They had simply done what they were commanded to do, nothing more.
However, the prospect of having actual human blood, and their favourite type no less was too good to pass up. They inwardly agreed with one another they could play the little nice nice game for a little longer too if it meant getting an extra bag so they nodded their head again.
'Alright good' Foxy nods mostly to himself before turning to FC. He had noted Bloodmoon looked tired and FC was looking increasingly like he could use a nap, the stress finally starting to take it's toll on the little fox. Bloodmoon too, as they stopped clawing up the carpet and resorted to curling up on the floor. Nasty place to lie down Foxy mused but he wasn't gonna tell them otherwise.
Eventually Monty did arrive and set up the portal back home. Foxy sent Bloodmoon and FC through first, and quickly passed on his request to Monty to grab the two negative o blood bags for Bloodmoon to which the gator agreed. As he passed through the portal himself Foxy wondered if perhaps he could use this as a consistant reward for good behaviours in future to keep Bloodmoon in line.
A small follow up to the first (two) chapters of In Our Dreams written by my good friend @emrystheblue please go read it first if you havn't already!
Anyways - Ruin suffers from chronic pains due to a crooked tail a result of a badly healed break from long ago. Today the pain is a little worse than usual and Eclipse tries to help. Little over 4k words be prepared should you hit that read more!
(Also on a03!)
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A thump and a crash followed by a sharp squark was the oh so wonderful alarm Eclipse had to wake him that morning.
Or afternoon. Evening? Something along those lines. How long had he been asleep?
He blinked blearily at the wall, his fuzzy processors struggling to boot up fully and leaving him briefly disoriented. For a split second his memory glitched and he forgot where he was and who he was- but a small refresh quickly fixed the issue, leaving only a small log in his files as the only evidence something had occured despite him not recalling it. Eclipse simply ignored it though. He was more than used to it.
Once his processors finally finished booting up, Eclipse raised his head sluggishly to regard the doorway, squinting as he tried to remember what had woken him up. Another small thump and an annoyed sharp chirrup from across the apartment slotted the jigsaw piece of memory into place and the dark orange robot deadpanned. Ah. Ruin.
The hell was that fish up to now?
Resisting the strong urge to flop and sigh into his pillow, Eclipse grumbled, sitting up and swinging his legs around to stand. A short bout of dizzyness had him placing a hand on the desk to keep his balance, and the other against his head, displacing the rays that crowned it. After taking a moment to gather his bearings and for the dizzyness to subside, the dark coloured animatronic wearily trudged the short distance across the small bedroom and into the main living area.
The immediate first thing Eclipse noticed was Ruin was on the floor next to a toppled over table lamp. Panic flared within him briefly but then the mer let out an annoyed growl as he tried to push himself up from the floor. Eclipse caught a glimpse of the mers legs trying to form but failing causing hm to flop back down again with a loud thump.
Well that explained the noise.
Eclipse leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms in an unimpressed manner. 'What the hell are you doing?'
Ruin clearly hadn't expected Eclipse was behind him as he squeaked in surprise and turned his head toward the orange and black animatronic, a sheepish look crossing his features and the yellow frills that crowned the mers head pressing back a little.
'Oh! Eclipse! He- hello I didn't see you there' a nervous laugh followed by a small cheep, 'I um... did I wake you? I'm sorry! I was just trying to get to the couch you see and... Well.. ' The mer trailed off and Eclipse followed his gaze down toward Ruins crooked tail that was now partially coiled around him. Ruin gave it a small flick when he realised Eclipse was looking too but winced as he did so.
Eclipse frowned. Shifting himself off the doorway, he took a few steps forward and crouched down with a small grunt as he begun to inspect the mer. Ruin had since stopped trying to form his legs which Eclipse was internally glad for as seeing them form always weirded him out. But going by how the fish was trying to form them combined with the obvious sound of him falling over before, they must have disappeared without the mers input.
He glanced up and raised an eyebrow at Ruin. 'So what happened to your legs? Did they run away or something?'
Ruin chittered in a way that Eclipse couldn't tell if was amusement or annoyance. 'Ahh very funny. But hmm... i've mentioned before it does require some ah... effort on my end to keep them extended yes?'
Eclipse nodded.
'Yes yes! Well- Umm..'
The mer trailed off again suddenly becoming a lot more sheepish as he glanced away from Eclipse who's frown deepened. 'So... what? You lost focus?'
Ruin whistled quietly, and he winced as he shifted himself. 'In a manner of speaking...'
Eclipse's gaze returned to the tail, taking note of the faint tremors running across the scaley skin and how curled in and guarded Ruin appeared to be with it. He tilted his head thoughtfully, rays slowly spinning before halting with a click as he came to a conclusion.
'It's hurting again isn't it.'
It wasn't a question. Ruin let out a nervous laugh followed by a small whistle, drumming his webbed fingers on the floor.
'Aha... Well, yes but you needn't worry yourself dear I'm pretty used to it at this point as you know-'
Eclipse gave him a look and Ruin shrank into himself a little, mismatched sky blue and scarlet eyes flicking downwards as he became very interested all of a sudden in the carpet. 'Anyways enough about me, how are you feeling dear? Did you sleep well?' A pair of white pupils appeared which looked up to meet Eclipse's. 'No nightmares i hope?'
Eclipse gave him a sour look at that question but opted to ignore in favour of reaching his hand out to hover just above the shivering scales but refraining from touching. 'Why the hell didn't you tell me about this? And just how long has it been hurting for?'
The mer's tail twitched and he huffed with a small fishy pout. 'It's very rude to ignore someone you know-'
'Answer the damn question Ruin'
Ruin's head fins flattened back at the sharp tone in Eclipse's voice and the robot felt a tiny spark of guilt at his small outburst. He took in a simulated breath and followed it with a softer, 'please.'
There was a few seconds of silence from the mer before Ruin let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping in clear defeat. 'A few days..'
Eclipse snapped his head up to stare at Ruin in disbelief. 'A few days?! You've been in pain for days and and you didn't fucking tell me?'
Ruin's head fins flattened back again very briefly before flaring out and flickered in clear irritation.'I didn't want you to fuss! You've not been well yourself dear-'
'I'm fine Ru!'
'No you have not been fine Eclipse!' Ruin cuts him off with a sharp click, and his tail thumped the ground behind him. However doing so was clearly a mistake as the mer let out a pained hiss, coiling in on himself as he chittered out some explicitives in his own tongue. This immedietely alarmed Eclipse but Ruin held up a hand before he could do anything, gritting his sharp teeth as he continued, his voice laced still with soft hissing and chitters.
'You have not been fine. You have been sleeping restless for the past few days, but that's not even the worst of it! You- You've been...' Ruin paused, drawing in a deep breath. His eyes fall away from Eclipse, his claws gripping and digging into the carpet in clear distress.
Eclipse sat a little stunned, simply observing Ruin as the navy blue mer continued to claw at the carpet. He then releases an exasperated sigh and imitating a habit Ruin had done with him many times before, reached out and somewhat awkwardly placed his hands on top of the mers webbed ones who went very still at the contact. He didn't pull away though, and a small cheep brought Ruin's eyes back to meet his.
'I've been what Ruin?' Eclipse prompts his tone a touch softer than before.
Ruin was silent a lot longer this time. His head fins twitched, flattening back and flaring out again multiple times betraying his inner emotions. Eventually he huffed a small sigh followed by a soft whistle. 'You've been forgetting things dear.'
Eclipse tensed.
Oh.
So that's what it was.
...Well shit.
Eclipse looked away from Ruin, his rays retracting a bit. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't already aware of it. He knew that since a few days ago his memory has been acting up again, and while he hasn't been losing huge chunks there have been spotty moments he can't recall. Ruin had been helping to fill in the blanks for him though, and in fact now Eclipse thought about it, the mer had been hovering around him a lot more than usual lately.
Eclipse tolerated the clinginess even if it irked him a bit at times. But it had helped on a couple occasions. Small moments where he'd wake up from a nap and forget where he was who he was, but then he'd get a face full of yellow frills or a tail flopping over his stomach and it'd bring him back again.
Even today, when his memory began to fail him after waking up the sounds of Ruin in the house kept him grounded. Speaking of, he must have fallen silent for too long as Ruin cheeped softly and Eclipse felt his thumbs gently stroking his hands that still lay atop the mers. He lifted his eyes up to meet the mismatched pair of sky blue and scarlet ones that were focused on him in concern.
Eclipse huffed, giving the mer's hands a gentle squeeze. 'Alright. Fine. So my memory is shit it always has been and some days its worse than others' He notes how Ruins claws dig into the carpet again but he chooses not to mention instead continuing with 'but right now I'm fine. I'm managing. You on the other hand-'
He glanced thoughtfully at the mers tail. 'I'm going to assume you can't walk or move much right now, because of the pain right? That's why your legs disappeared too. Too much pain to focus or whatever.'
Ruin was silent for a moment before he sighed and then nodded. 'Yes. That is correct unfortunately.'
The dark animatronic hummed, wracking his broken brain for remedies on pain relief. They didn't have any painkillers in the house as Eclipse hardly saw the need to stock up on them as they did nothing for him. He wasn't even sure if they would help a magical creature like Ruin but he made a mental note to buy some next time he went to the store anyway. Granted he didn't forget that too.
The mer seemed to realise what Eclipse was thinking and he perked up a bit, 'If you'd like to help, some ice from the- the...' Ruin paused a moment muttering something in his own language before continuing with 'freezer yes! Some ice from there should be enough to help ease it a little!'
'We only have so much ice right now Ru and not enough to cover all of' Eclipse gestures to Ruin 'that.'
'...Are you calling me fat?'
Eclipse ignored him, his brow furrowing as he considered something. 'I wonder...'
The animatronic goes silent for a moment that is just long enough that Ruin begins to worry that he's zoning out again. He jolts slightly when Eclipse suddenly leans back and smacks his hands on his legs as he comes to a conclusion.
'Alright Ru. Bathtime.'
Ruin blinked, taken off guard by the sudden change in subject. 'What?'
Eclipse didn't give the mer any time to fully process before he moved forward and slipped his arms under Ruin who cheeped in alarm.
'E-Eclipse wait wait WAIT- '
Ignoring the mers protests, Eclipse grunted as he hoisted the mer up who released a rather undignified squeak. As Eclipse took a moment to adjust his hold on the mer and maintain his balance, Ruin warbled out a mix of words before finally managing something understandable.
'E-Eclipse, dear please is this really necessary-'
Ruin was cut off by Eclipse shooting him a glare and he shrank down a bit, giving a nervous chuckle.
'Ah... This isn't up for debate it it?'
Eclipse said nothing simply turning and heading toward the bathroom. Ruin signed flopping in his arms. 'As you will then.'
Eclipse pushes open the door to the bathroom with his foot, shuffling himself and the fish inside being careful not to bump the mers tail on the doorway. He set carefully Ruin down on the mats and the mer let out a questioning chirrup as Eclipse leaned over the bathtub. The animatronic cheeped back put of instinct but said nothing as he turns on the faucets. Once the tub reached just above half full, he turned off the taps before turning to Ruin and pointing at the water.
'Get in.'
Ruin blinked looking between Eclipse and the half filled tub. 'Pardon?'
Eclipse gives him a deadpan stare before sighing and bending down to pick up Ruin again.
'Ah- ah- Eclipse wait what are you doING-'
Ruin cuts off with a small alarmed squeak when the tip of his tail comes into contact with what turned out to be surprisingly cold water. Normally this would not be an issue for the mer as he's swam in cold waters before but going from relatively warm room temperature to rather chillingly cold water was a bit sudden even for him.
As such he coiled his tail up best he could despite the sharp aches shooting through his tail and pressed himself closer to Eclipse, glancing between him and the cold bath. It doesn't take long for Ruin to catch onto what Eclipse's intention here is and while it is very sweet even so...
A nervous laugh escapes him. 'Ahh.. Eclipse dear while I'm sure the intention here is well meaning are you sure this is... a good idea?' The mer eyed the bath tub warily, curling maybe just a bit closer to the robot holding him. 'It does seem a bit.. excessive does it not?'
Ruin trailed off, his nervous gaze meeting Eclipse who simply stared back with a half lidded gaze. 'No.' He deadpanned and Ruin yelped as he was plopped straight into the icy water.
Ruin splashed about a bit and Eclipse had to take a couple steps back to avoid the worst of the cold water as some sloshed over the side of the tub. Finally Ruin righted himself, poking his head up out of the water and looking quite bewildered. He locked eyes with Eclipse and an annoyed pout crossed his fishy features followed by a small hiss.
'Proud of yourself are you?'
Eclipses deadpan stare cracked as a smile tugged the corner of his mouth. 'Very.'
The mer rolled his eyes and sank more into the water in defeat. 'Of course you are.' He sounded exasperated but there was a small chirrup added to the end of his words that told of him not being genuinely mad.
Eclipse settled down beside him crossing his legs beneath him. 'How do you feel now?'
Ruin grumbled, though it was more a soft low warble. 'Adjusting. Still sore but it is easing up a bit. However' He shot Eclipse a bemused look, 'I would appreciate not being dunked straight into cold water without warning next time dear.'
Eclipse huffed and crossed his arms. 'I'm not apologising. You needed this.'
Ruin hummed followed by a gentle whistle. 'I know dear. I.. I know.'
They sat in silence as Ruin relaxed more into the tub. Eclipse notes he still looks tense and he watches how Ruins tail quivers. Maybe he made the water a bit too cold, and he asks Ruin who waves him off. 'No it's fine dear. I'm just sore still. Give it a bit and i'll be fine.'
Eclipse wasn't fully convinced however. He knew the cold would help but it clearly wasn't working as fast as he hoped. Should have expected this, of course with flesh wounds the pain couldn't simply go away that easily. Made him glad for once he was made from metal and wires instead of flesh and bone.
Eclipse wracked his mind again for anything else that could help ease the pain more for his fishy companion. There was something he could try, something he'd known about for a while. In fact he'd considered it already before the cold bath thing but he wasn't sure how well Ruin would feel about having a sore and sensitive area touched. Another shudder and a small subdued hiss from Ruin was all the prompting Eclipse needed though, and he tapped the side of the bath with a single finger to get the mers attention.
'Can I.. try something?' Eclipse asked, gesturing his hand toward Ruins tail. Ruin tilted his head curiously, his tail twitching but he doesn't move away.
'I.. suppose? What was it you were wanting to do?'
'Something I've seen humans do. It's meant to help ease pain' Eclipse added on when he noticed how Ruins head fins flattened back slightly.
The mer seemed a little unsure but he nodded. 'I trust you dear. Go ahead'
Alright. Now he's just not gotta mess this up. Tentatively Eclipse extends his hand toward Ruin' tail, half expecting the dark blue mer to shift away but he remained still, simply watching as the animatronics fingers made contact. Eclipse very slowly and gently applied pressure as he begun to run his hand across the scaled skin, being careful to avoid the torn fins.
The scales were cold under his fingers, thanks to the water but it wasn't really a bother. He continued to run his fingers across the area applying gentle pressure as he moved his hands across the mers tail. He could feel the uneven shape under his hands reminding him of the crooked bones that lay beneath the flesh. He tried not to think about it too much, lest the anger of what those humans did to the mer cause him to accidently unsheath his claws. That would certainly not be of any help here.
'Is this... helping?'
Ruin who had been leaning his head contentedly against the bath side opened a sky blue eye. 'Hmm?'
'This is it.. helping at all?'
Ruin hummed followed by a soft whistle. 'It is! The pain is lingering still I'm afraid but this is helping make it more' another small whistle as he closes his eye again 'manageable.'
Eclipse hums but says no more, continuing the movement as he let's his thoughts wander, specifically to earlier when Ruin said he'd been having memory trouble again. Eclipse was still aware of it of course, infact he knew when it had started, ever since he woke up that night with Ruin laying on top of him and the mer had refused to shift for a couple hours after. Not that Eclipse could complain, the extra rest had been well needed afterall.
He frowned, his fingers absentmindedly drawing circles in the mers tail. Now he thought about it... he didn't recall anything from that night. At all. And while he had later found Ruin had been rummaging through the freezer again, he had also found some of the furniture had been knocked over or moved. Eclipse hadn't thought much of it at the time being too tired to bother, but now...
A chilling revelation runs through his endoskeleton spine. Had he... had another episode? Had he chased Ruin through the house but he didn't remember it?
Usually his episodes were nothing more than moments of sudden aggression but they were usually just angry snappish words and insults directed at anyone in the near vicinity. Nothing ever physical, and Ruin knew well enough to leave Eclipse alone whenever those happened.
But now he was wondering... what if it changed that night? What if it got worse and he chased Ruin down?
His fingers go still as Eclipse stares down at the yellow lined tail, turmulous thoughts overloading his mind and not realising his fans beginning to speed up.
Did he do this? Did he hurt him?
'Eclipse?'
Eclipse jolts not realising how still he had become and looks to Ruin who now has both eyes open, looking at him with concern.
Ruin cheeped. 'You were zoning out again sweetheart. Are you alright?'
'I'm-' Eclipses voice box glitches and he takes a moment to reset it before trying again. 'I'm fine... but.' He looks to Ruins tail again, conflicted emotions swirling around inside of him, making hm feel sick. He didn't want to ask but at the same time he had to know.
'What happened that night? Did i...' the words die in his throat. Eclipse doesn't know if he has the mental capacity to hear the answer.
The mer tilts his head, his eyes scanning Eclipses face. 'You mean the one from a few days ago, yes?' A silent nod. Ruin sighed, resting his chin on the edge of the bathtub as he reached out a webbed hand to brush Eclipse's rays. 'No it... it wasn't anything you did if that's what you're worried about. I... you.. you were calling for me.' A small sheepish chuckle followed by a small sad cheep, his thumb tracing a pattern on the dark orange ray. 'I might have panicked a little.'
Eclipse would have snorted at that but all he could manage was a half hearted huff from his vents, too focused on leaning against the gentle petting of his rays. 'Because of the fish? The very ones you know you're not allowed to have?'
A stuttered chirrup 'w-well yes! But...' Ruin trailed off with a whistle, sinking into the water a bit and withdrawing his hand much to Eclipse's internal dismay. 'You... you were panicking too dear. And when I made it to you you didn't.. '
'Didn't what?'
'...you didn't recognise me.'
That makes Eclipse freeze, his hand that had begun massaging the scales again going still.
'..What?'
Ruin sank even more, a low whine escaping him. 'I don't know why. But you looked at me and.. it was as if I were a stranger. But you kept calling out so... I kept calling back.'
Eclipse stares at Ruin, not knowing what to say and any words that he does attempt to form die before they can even be processed in his voicebox. He tried to access the memory files from that night but nothing came up either. The files were non existent. They must have corrupted and his systems deleted them during a reboot which means he must have crashed again. He hadn't had a crash for a long while so that was concerning.
And the fact Ruin had witnessed it too. Eclipse felt guilt knaw at him on the inside, and he released a shuddery vent. 'I.. I didn't mean to scare you.'
A soft chirrup. 'I know dear. I'm just glad you came back to me.'
This time a distant thought in the back of Eclipses head poked up but he immediately shut that thought out. No he was not going back into that line of thinking again. Not now. Not now...
However he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Knowing that he was experiencing crashes again was already in and of itself a great concern. He knew what those meant. And he could only hope it was just a one off this time.
'Do you want to watch a movie?' Eclipse suddenly blurted out. Ruin blinked at the sudden change in subject, and Eclipse himself was surprised by his own suggestion. But before he could backtrack, Ruin perked up with a small grin.
'Certainly! That would be nice!'
Eclipse felt his frame relax a little. 'Alright. How's the tail?'
Ruin hummed, flicking his tail a bit and sending a small water splash at Eclipse who hissed and swiped at the water droplets. Ruin trilled in amusement. 'It's feeling a little better!'
Eclipse huffed, wiping water from his face. 'Good' he stood up with a grunt, 'well when you're ready hop on out and we can go put one on.'
Ruin chirruped in reply and he rolled around in the tub a bit before hoisting himself up and slipping out and onto the mats. He released a small trill when Eclipse threw a towel over his head and began to playfully growl and hiss as he swiped at the offending soft material. Eclipse snorted at the dramatic display, and knelt down again to help dry the wriggling mer whos energy quickly waned and Ruin releases a soft warble as he leans back against Eclipse letting him finish drying him off. He still nipped a bit whenever the towel brushed his nose.
Once done, the dark orange and black animatronic tossed the damp towel into the laundry basket and grabbed a fresh dry one to wrap around Ruin before hoisting him up into his arms. Ruin doesn't complain this time, instead hooking an arm around his shoulder and pointing dramatically to the doorway.
'To the couch we go! Onwards my noble steed!'
Eclipse rolled his eyes but he couldn't help the small smile that tugged the corners of his mouth. He takes them to the living area and sets Ruin down onto the sofa, who let's out a small chirrup and curls up onto the pillows under the soft towel with a content trill. Eclipse meanwhile goes through the selection of dvds from the drawer under the TV.
'Alright what's it gonna be Ru? You can pick this time.'
A small hum followed by a click 'Shrek if you wouldn't mind dear!'
'Again? We've watched it three times already.'
'And we shall watch it a fourth time! It is a good film. But we could always watch anime instead-'
'No no Shrek it is' Eclipse mused, deftly plucking the disc out of the casing and slotting it into the player. 'We're not watching another twelve hours of One Piece.'
An amused chirrup. 'Very well then!'
As the movie starts up Eclipse plops onto the sofa beside Ruin who quite quickly shuffles up and crawls onto Eclipse's lap. Normally Eclipse would not permit such close cuddlyness but this time he allows it. In fact he even wraps an arm around the mer and helps pull him up a little more so Ruin's head is tucked under his chin, the yellow frills brushing against his neck. Not an entirely unpleasant feeling Eclipse finds.
'Could we watch the other ones too?' Ruin asks as he snuggles into the comfortable hold.
'Yeah we can do that. Except the third film. That one's shit.'
A small chuckle, 'it's existence is well ignored i assure you.'
The two fall into a comfortable silence, with Eclipse holding Ruin close with one arm while his other continues to gently and half mindlessly massage the mers tail. Ruin does not seem bothered by it, and going by the faint rumbling emitting from him seems to be enjoying it still. Ruin likewise keeps one of his webbed hands over the one Eclipse has wrapped around him, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of his metal hand.
As the movie begins, Ruin tilts his head back a bit to regard Eclipse who raises an eyebrow. 'What?'
Ruin chirruped before gently nuzzling his head against Eclipse's chin. 'Thankyou dear.'
Eclipse's fans sped up a little and he simulated a cough to hide it. ''Yeah sure. Don't mention it.'
Ruin whistles but says no more, and the two continue to watch the movie.
A follow up fic for this wonderful oneshot written by @thedemonscrawler for my sams runaways au! You can also read it here on A03!
Word Count: 7,215
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The sound of his internal alarm going off dragged Eclipse out of his weary rest. His systems booted up one by one, and Eclipse was met with the irritating flashing symbol on his HUD accompanied by the beep beep beep of the alarm, each one echoing into his mind like the wails of a tiny siren. With a small grumble he swiped a hand halfheartedly across his eyes as he dismissed the alarm, finally bringing him back to blissful silence aside from the soft breathing of Sol who lay still sound asleep beside him. Absentmindedly Eclipse noticed Lunar wasn't with them. Must be gaming on his laptop again he inwardly muses.
He continued to lay there for half a minute before remembering what the alarm was for and Eclipse stifled a groan. Right right right, the mers. It was time for their daily treatment. Being careful not to disturb the sleeping flower beside him Eclipse sat up, his metal joints creaking slightly. He made a mental note to grab some lubricant on his next shopping outing.
It had been a few days since they brought the tiny mers back to the motel. Eclipse had extended their stay there for another few days, just to allow the sirens a bit more time to heal before going on the move again. Thankfully the guy running the place didn't ask any questions. Then again, Eclipse did pay a little extra as they could afford to given the pay he'd managed to get from the other salvaged goods they'd swiped at the warehouse. Even so, once the time was up they had to move on. Eclipse felt they'd been here already too long, and the risk of being tracked down by the authorities once it's been noticed the warehouse has been raided was steadily rising.
But he knew they could not risk moving the mers too soon lest their health rapidly declined again. But if worst came to it, well- Eclipse had the motorbike filled and ready to go, and their essentials already packed in the case of an emergency gettaway.
Eclipse cast a glace toward Sol who was sound asleep still. He contemplated waking the flower, as Sol was usually the one who did the feeding and daily doctoring for the little mers. But he was clearly in need of rest and Eclipse didn't have the heart to wake him. Sol hadn't been sleeping well since they returned with the fae creatures, often staying up late just to keep an eye on them and make sure they were fine. He needed this sleep.
Besides, Eclipse had helped out with it each time already so the animatronic decided he would handle it himself this time. And so, he swung his legs around and stood from the bed, making sure to carefully pull the cover up and over Sol before heading out the room.
As Eclipse had earlier suspected, Lunar was sitting on top of the table hunched over with the laptop in front of him. The smaller animatronic looked up as Eclipse entered the room, shutting the bedroom door behind him.
"Morning stinky!" Lunar chirped.
Eclipse snorted as he passed by and into the kitchen area. "You're up early."
Lunar quirked a brow at him. "Dude it's like. 1pm."
Eclipse hummed as he opened the fridge to pull out a pack of salmon. "It's early for you."
"Yah i guess." Lunar leaned back to stretch, imitating a yawn before hunching back over again into a position that would be very unhealthy if he were human. "Need this vid done before my next stream. Got a schedule to keep to y'know?"
Eclipse huffed a soft snort, shutting the fridge before scanning the counter. So that's what he was doing. "Uh huh."
Lunar glanced his way with a small tilt of his head as he observed his twin wandering about the kitchen. "Sooo what ya doin'?"
"Getting the med stuff for the mers. They need their daily treatment and Sol is currently asleep." Eclipse replied as he rummaged through one of the drawers. Where had he put the damn- Ah there it was.
"Riiight right" Lunar waved his hand, turning his interest back to the laptop as Eclipse walked past with the bag of medication in one hand, and a sealed pack of salmon slices in the other. "Well you have fun with that. Don't let bitey get you!"
Eclipse rolled his eyes as he headed into the bathroom. As he flicked on the light, Eclipse spotted a flash of orange dart away from the waters surface in the bathtub. So they were awake then. Or at least one of them was.
Shutting the door behind him, Eclipse called out in a softer tone as to not spook the tiny mers. "Clip? Sun? You two awake?"
He spots Clip as the mer peeks at the animatronic from inside the bucket. The little orange mer glares and Eclipse sees a flash of needle sharp teeth as Clip hisses at him, followed by a tiny middle finger.
Rude.
With a sigh, Eclipse kneeled down beside the tub. Placing the bag of medicine to the side, he unsheathes a claw and slices open the pack of salmon pulling a piece out and tearing it up into smaller chunks that are more manageable for the little sirens.
As Eclipse reaches to grab the small tub of antibiotic powder, he catches movement in the bucket from the corner of his eye. Being careful not to look at them directly, he can just about see a pair of frilled heads poking into view. Ah, they must have seen the fish. Or smelled it.
Keeping the fish chunks in hand, Eclipse dusts them with the antibiotic powder with the other. The build up of powder on his hands twinges at his code, as he's all too aware of it building up and gunking up his finger joints. But he'd thrown out the styrofoam lid he'd used the first time, and he hadn't though to grab another substitute. But so long as he washed his hands after it should be fine. Plus the mers had grown used to Sol feeding them by hand already, so hopefully they'd be fine with Eclipse doing so this time.
Once the fish are covered enough, Eclipse turns around fully and the mers who had been slowly moving more out of the shadow of the bucket suddenly dart back quickly out of view again. Of course.
Eclipse held his hand out and rested it just above the waters surface with the dusted fish in the middle, locking his finger joints as to not spook them with any accidental twitching. "Here. I got some food for you both."
There is small movement in the bucket and Eclipse spots two pairs of eyes staring at him warily. The cream and yellow coloured one Sun, cheeps in a questioning tone and Eclipse sighs through his vents as he realises why they are so hesitant.
"Sol is asleep, so i'm managing the food and treatment for now. I'm not gonna separate you if that's what you're worried about" Eclipse tilted his hand slightly to bring the food more into view, and the sirens gaze instantly locked onto it. "Come on. Come get it while it's fresh."
Despite the promise of food, the mers were still hesitant to come out. This doesn't surprise Eclipse, as even with Sol they were still very shy. He waits patiently and watches the two turn and cheep and click at each other for a few seconds, before looking back at him warily. After another few seconds, the two slowly swim out hand in hand.
Eclipse remains perfectly still as they approach, though Clip breaks off and hangs back as Sun continues to swim closer. This is the usual routine, as Clip has yet to build up enough trust to venture anywhere near the food and will only eat what Sun brings him. However Clip keeps his eyes fixed on Eclipse, ready to lunge if the animatronic does anything that the tiny mer deems to be threatening.
Sun after a moments hesitation lifts himself up onto Eclipse's hand, glancing up at him briefly before scanning the food before him. He picks up a piece and nibbles at it, eyes widening at the new taste and he gobbles the rest eagerly before grabbing another and darting back into the water to bring to Clip.
Eclipse notes the two seem to have gained more energy, which is a good sign. The food and medicine is clearly working as intended. He continues to hold the food until all of it is gone. As he moves his hand, he accidently spooks Sun a bit as he hadn't realised the little mer was reaching up to sniff around for more and he darts back quickly. It's only the brush of fins against his fingers that alerts Eclipse of it, otherwise Sun is already halfway across the bathtub.
He can't help a soft snort despite the twinge of guilt. "Sorry" he mumbles as he turns his hand over to show there is no food left before standing to his feet with a grunt to quickly wash his hands of the medicine powder and fishy crumbs. Now it's time for the second part of the treatment.
They are a lot more co-operative this time around. Both the tiny mers had quickly settled into the routine of feeding and then checkup, though they'll still fuss if they arn't kept together. Today however as Eclipse settles back down and lowers his hands for the mers to climb into, while Sun clambers on with only a little hesitance Clip seems to be more unwilling this time around. The tiny orange mer floats a little ways back, glaring at Eclipse and he hisses when the animatronic glances his way.
Eclipse raises an eyebrow. Without thinking he slowly curls a finger in Clip's direction. "Pspspsps"
That earns him another sharp hiss and Eclipse can't help the chuckle that escapes him. It's at that point Sun who had been swirled in the cup of his palm looks up in confusion at Eclipse and then over to where Clip is. He cheeps at his companion before slipping back into the water and swimming over to the other mer to drag him over to Eclipse's still waiting hands. Clip clicks and warbles in indignation, but Sun cheeps and chitters back and continues to drag him up and onto Eclipse's palm before flopping over him, looking quite proud of himself. Clip however continues to grumble beneath him.
Eclipse lets out an amused huff from his vents and very carefully lifts them from the water and onto his lap. His plan was to treat Sun first as he was the worst off when they first arrived. But Sun is insistant Clip goes first, grabbing at Eclipse's fingers when they come near and dragging them to Clip who growls and nips at them.
"Bossy little thing, arn't you" Eclipse huffs in mild amusement. Despite still being very skittish, Sun puts on his most stern expression and points at Clip with a firm cheep. He doesn't even allow Clip to get his argument in as when he tries to crawl away Sun grabs his tail and yanks him back. Honestly the entire thing was quite funny but Eclipse kept his chuckles to a bare minimum as to not spook Sun or make Clip more angry.
"Alright alright. Come on Clip, sooner it's done sooner you can go back to sulking in the bucket."
Clip rolls his eyes but with another cheep from Sun who gives him a little mlem on his temple, he finally gives in and settles allowing Eclipse to check him over without further fuss. Sun hold his hands and he peeps what Eclipse can only assume are reassurances at the other. Upon inspection, the sore patch the tiny orange mer got from his mad scramble the first night they arrived was mostly healed now, and the other ones he had before were all but gone. Even so, Eclipse decides to play it safe and applies a thin layer of ointment over the scales.
"You're healing up well. One more treatment with the ointment and you should be all done with it."
Clip huffs, but the small perk of his head frills seems to indicate he is pleased with this outcome. No more manhandling twice a day. Sun appears to be quite happy too as he smiles and chirrups excitedly at Clip, and Eclipse even spots how his tiny thumbs rub the backs of Clip's hands.
They were pretty close huh, Eclipse muses. He briefly pondered the nature of their relationship but pushed that thought aside. Not his business. And he had to focus on treating Sun next, who he knew was still going to require a longer treatment. While he was breathing easier now and was looking to be more energetic, there were still signs of infection lingering, evident by the pinkish hue and slight swelling still around his eyes. At least he was healing though.
The mers swapped places, with Sun now swirling comfortably in the middle of Eclipse's lap. But just before the animatronic could begin his treatment, Clip suddenly scrambled off of his leg and onto the floor with a soft plap.
"Hey hey, what are you doing-" Eclipse starts, but the tiny mer ignores him instead pouncing onto the pack of salmon that still sat next to the animatronic and began tearing at the plastic packaging to get to the fish within.
"Hey no, you've already had your food that's for later-" Eclipse reaches out to pull the packet away, but Clip hisses viciously and presses himself over it, flaring his fins in a threat display and swiping at Eclipse's fingers making him draw his hand back when he feels the tiny claws connect with his finger tip.
"Sheesh fine. Just don't eat too much of it or you'll make yourself sick." Eclipse receded, checking his fingertips and yep. Sure enough there was four tiny new scratch marks.
Clearly feeling triumphant, Clip gave him a smug look to which Eclipse snorted in bemusement. "Yeah yeah alright, but if you get tummy ache later don't blame me."
Clip let out a tiny huff followed by an equally small trill as he continued his assault on the plastic, finally breaking through and grabbing tiny chunks of fish in his little hands. Eclipse sighed and returned his attention to Sun who was still waiting patiently in his lap, looking quite nonplussed at his companions little venture, but otherwise he seemed mostly unbothered, which came as a bit of a surprise to the animatronic.
It occured to Eclipse that the little orange mer had willingly left Sun by himself who in turn appeared relatively relaxed. This surprised Eclipse, given how inseparable the two had been but at least Sun was behaving. And he figured it would probably be easier to treat him without Clip nipping at his fingers anyway, so all in all this was working out quite well in his favour.
As Eclipse began his inspection, the first thing he noticed was that one of Sun's sore spots where the scales had been flaking before was looking a little rough again. He frowned and looked closer. The rawness looked fresh and recent, and he briefly wondered if maybe the mer was having a negative reaction to the ointment. He brushed a finger ever so lightly around the area and Sun tensed before very suddenly whipping around to madly lick at the area where Eclipse's finger had just been near the sore spot.
So that's what it was.
"No don't- don't lick there you'll make it worse" Eclipse said gently as he could. This seemed to snap Sun out of his preening craze and he jerked his head back, head frills flattening back with his expression a mix of sheepish and scared.
"No you're alright you're not in trouble." Eclipse reassured, gently running a thumb on the back of Sun's frilled head which seemed to help him relax a bit, allowing Eclipse to continue his inspection. He very carefully turned the tiny mer over to see the other spots and as he suspected, those were all red and sore too. Had he been overpreening this entire time?
This wasn't good. If Sun kept doing this then the treatments simply would not work. And Eclipse wasn't sure if applying it to nearly open wounds would be a good idea, or at least not without cleaning them first. Given he didn't have any antiseptic wipes on hand plus the bathtub not being available either, Eclipse realised the sink would probably be the best place to wash the little mer. And he'd have to empty out the bathtub and refill it with fresh water afterwards too, just to be safe.
He sighs, bringing Sun's attention back to him. "Alright. I'm going to have to give you a bath to clean those spots before i apply the treatment, alright? You've rubbed them pretty raw and we can't risk them becoming infected. And... i know it might be difficult but do try to not lick at them again for the time being or they won't heal."
Sun looks away, tucking his arms against himself within the coil of his tail but he gives a tiny timid nod in return. Eclipse feels a twinge of guilt in his chest but he had to be honest about it. He looked over to Clip who was still distracted with savaging the pack of salmon. Sensing he was being watched, the tiny mer glanced over at Eclipse before narrowing his eyes at him and taking a vicious bite out of the salmon chunk he was holding.
Noted.
Eclipse looked away, ignoring the satisfied trill from the little orange menace followed by more scuffling noises on the plastic. Well, as long as Clip remained distracted with the salmon, Eclipse figured he should be able to give Sun the bath he needs. But he'll try to keep it quick though, last thing he wanted was for either of them to start panicking from being separated too long.
"Alright. Let's get you cleaned up."
And with that, Eclipse made his first big mistake since the mers arrival.
In hindsight, telling a tiny skittish siren he was about to be quite suddenly scooped up and lifted what would be very high in the air for him might have been a good idea. But being distracted and wanting to get Sun cleaned up before Clip realised Sun was no longer within reaching distance, it had slipped Eclipse's mind.
And so, as he rose to his feet with the tiny yellow mer in hand, Sun began to frantically panic, wriggling and squirming to be freed. Eclipse jolted as he felt the mer wriggle suddenly in his grip and he automatically brought up his other hand to enclose the mer in, which only made Sun panic even more.
"Hey hey hey stop wriggling, calm down it's ok i'm not going to hurt you just- AH!"
Eclipse is cut off when teeth or claws catch onto one of his finger joints sending shooting pain up his arm, and causing his hand to jerkily open up. Very suddenly the mer that was once within his grasp was now freed and to Eclipse's horror, Sun swiftly slipped out from between his fingers.
What happened next was like in slow motion. Eclipse tried to catch the falling siren, but he just barely missed him and Sun continued to plummet towards the floor. However instead of hitting the tiles or the mats, there was a soft plop as the yellow mer fell straight into the toilet, just as time seemed to right itself once again.
"Shit shit fucking shit-" Eclipse swore heavily and without thinking he immedietely shoved his hand into the thankfully clean loo water, grabbed the poor mer and briskly yanked him out of it.
For a solid ten seconds, Eclipse just stood there bewildered and processing, his fans running on high with a dripping wet mer in his hand who appeared just as shocked as he was. The silence was soon broken however as the little yellow mer began wailing, snapping Eclipse out of his stupor.
Everything happened at once. Eclipse cursed under his breath and swiftly brought Sun over to the sink, turning on the faucet and carefully holding him under the water to rinse him off, rubbing his thumbs gently over the mers body. At the same time, Clip who had watched the entire thing go down began angrily chittering and screeching at him from the floor, and Eclipse distantly hears the sound of tiny patta pattas across the tiles before he feels little claws scratching and scrambling at his ankle.
But he ignores Clip for the sake of focusing on Sun who warbles miserably as he gently rubs some soap across his tiny body.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry I'm so sorry-"
He's so focused on gently but frantically cleaning the tiny cream and yellow coloured mer, that Eclipse barely registers the sound of the door opening and Lunar poking his head in.
"Dude you're being so loud what are you- WHOA what happened?!"
Lunar pushed the door the rest of the way open, quickly taking in everything before him. Eclipse barely spared him a glance, but Lunar could see the distraught look in his eyes and his gaze flicked between him and the wailing yellow mer cupped in his siblings hands.
"What did you do?"
"I dropped him!"
"You DROPPED him?!"
"I didn't mean to!" Eclipse's voice raised in pitch from the combined stress and annoyance at his own self. He felt Sun flinch in his hands, further increasing the ever growing guilt and he muttered a quick spew of soft apologies in between his words. "He was struggling and he slipped out of my hand and into the damn toilet-"
He's cut off as Clip manages to dig a claw into the ankle joint, snagging a wire causing Eclipse to flinch. "Fuck ow- Can you please get the other one he's clawing at my leg!"
Lunar didn't seem to be paying attention as he blinked, shook his head and waved his hands before splaying them out in a dramatic fashion as he replied incredulously, "Wait wait wait... you dropped him in the what?!"
Eclipse growled, "Not the time Lunar!" He hissed as Clip snags another wire, causing him to almost drop Sun again. "Fucks sake- would you please grab him already?!"
This time Lunar finally seemed to notice Clip on the floor tearing at his siblings ankle with teeth and claws, apparently undecided if he wanted to maul the animatronic or clamber up his leg. It would probably be a good idea to grab him before he managed to achieve the latter, Lunar realised. "Ah- yeah yeah yeah sure uh... lemme grab a towel I ain't touchin' that thing with my bare hands"
Side stepping around his twin, Lunar swiftly snatched a towel from beside the bathtub and held it open it in his hands like a net. Acting fast before Clip could catch on, the blue animatronic dropped the towel over the little mer and quickly scooped him up, holding all four corners of the towel in his hand to keep Clip contained.
"Gotcha'!"
However Lunar's declare of victory was quickly drowned out as Clip screeched and while it was muffled by the towel it was still enough to make everyone in the room flinch harshly. It didn't help when Sun cheeped loudly back, causing Clip to thrash even more violently than he already was within the towel. Tiny claws could be seen poking through the material as he tore and thrashed in his attempts to escape, and Lunar struggled to keep him contained.
"Sheesh, you really pissed him off huh!"
A keen of irritation emanates from Eclipse's voicebox, his processor beginning to feel far too overwhelmed with everything that's happened and currently happening. "It was an accident!"
"Yeah tell that to this little shit-"
"What's going on?"
It's almost comedic, the way everyone pauses to turn and look at Sol who stands in the doorway, looking like he had just woken up. Aside from the sounds of Clip's muffled hissing and tiny claws shredding the inside of the towel, everyone had fallen silent and Sol's petals flattened back, his tail tucking between his legs at the sudden attention. After a bit of nervous stuttering, the flower swallows and speaks.
"Sorry, y-you were making a lot of noise s-so i-" He starts, but the moment Sol's brown eyes fall upon the still softly wailing yellow mer in Eclipses hand his petals flare in alarm. "What happened?"
Before Eclipse can even speak, Lunar points dramatically at his twin, keeping the towel containing the other angry mer grasped firmly in his other hand. "He dropped him in the shitter!"
Eclipse snapped his head around. "Lunar!"
"What?! You did!"
"It was an accident ok?" Eclipse snapped back, causing both Sun and Sol to flinch. Even the towel in Lunar's hand went still for a moment. Realising this, Eclipse took a moment to release air from his shuddering vents, before he repeated in a quieter tone "It was an accident. I was.. Treating Sun and i noticed his sore spots were looking red and inflamed again, so i decided to give him a bath in the sink. He struggled when i stood up and then i... lost my grip. He fell.."
Eclipse trailed off, unable to continue as the guilt was beginning to be too much to bear. Combined with the red flashing lights on his HUD, the soreness in his ankle joint where Clip has scratched him up and the swiftly growing headache, he just couldn't bring himself to continue. He needed a moment.
He hadn't realised how silent the bathroom and when he did Eclipse simulated a cough and looked over in Sol's direction. "Sol could you help me with Sun, please? I don't think he wants to be anywhere near me right now."
Sol gives him a sympathetic look but he nods, stepping forward so he's next to Eclipse who very carefully passes Sun over to him. The little mer doesn't even struggle this time, allowing himself to be handed over to familiar scarred green hands that gently pet his little head frills, accompanied by soft chirrups from the flower. However Sun is clearly growing tired of being touched and handled, as he quickly pushes the fingers away and curls up into a ball in Sol's hand with a soft whine.
Meanwhile Eclipse brushes past Lunar without another word and steps outside the bathroom, pulling the door part way but not completely shutting it. Sol almost moves to follow, but Lunar places a hand out.
"Give him a minute" he says, voice a little more quiet than usual. "I'll go check on him in a bit. You wanna plug up the sink for me? I think bitey's had enough of towel time."
Lunar jostled the towel slightly for emphasis, and a vicious hiss followed with more sounds of fabric being shredded. This appeared to alarm Sol by the way his petals flared again.
"He might hurt his claws if they get stuck on the fabric" he explained at Lunar's confused look, and the blue animatronic's expression swiftly changed to shock and then nervousness.
"Ah.."
Sol quickly plugged in the sink, and they waited for a moment for it to fill up before turning off the tap. Sol gently placed Sun in first, and the little mer uncoiled long enough to dart into the water before turning into a ball again at the bottom of the sink.
Lunar then stepped over, and turned over the towel plopping Clip unceromoniously into the sink. The orange mer thrashed in the water a bit as he regained his bearings, before letting out a vicious hiss in Lunar's direction. It's cut off when Clip hears Suns sad warble, snapping his head around and in an instant he is by his companions side, holding his face in his tiny webbed hands as frantically cheeps and clicks in their language.
While the mers are distracted, Sol leans over to quickly assess any damage Clip may have done to himself while in the towel. There's no sign of blood and all the claws seem to be intact but that's as much as Sol is able to garner before Clip notices him and immedietely covers Sun with his body, fins flaring in a threat display as he hisses.
"Sorry sorry, i just wanted to make sure you were ok" Sol leaned back while raising his hands. Clip gave him a sour look but he stopped hissing at least, his fins relaxing just a smidge but still remaining flared in the 'no touching' position. Sol turned to Lunar, allowing Clip and Sun a moment to calm down.
"So... Is Eclipse...?"
Lunar sighed, dragging a hand down his face while waving the other. "I'll go talk to him. You stay here and make sure those two stay put. We'll be back in a jiffy."
Sol nodded, glancing back toward the mers. He brought up his hands and wrung them a bit before turning back to Lunar who was pulling the door open.
"Lunar?"
"Huh? Yeah?"
"I.. I'm not upset. At him. Eclipse.. I know he didn't mean it. He.. he looked very sad..." Sol trailed off, tucking his hands against his chest.
Lunar's expression softened. "Eh don't worry about it. You can tell him yourself after we got this sorted, yeah? Be back in a minute."
And with that Lunar slipped out of the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and leaned back against it, looking up at the ceiling while releasing a long stream of air through his vents.
Man what a shit show that was.
But it wasn't over yet, and as much as Lunar would love to just grab the laptop and hide away under the covers of their room he did have to check on Eclipse. It wasn't hard to spot him, in fact he was in the same room just a short distance away sat on the worn sofa and facing away from him.
Lunar pushed himself off the door and padded over to his twin. He leaned forward from behind the sofa to regard Eclipse who's expression was currently unreadable. However, the way his rays were tucked in halfway easily gave away how he was truly feeling. Which was, not great!
"Heeey bro. You alright?"
Eclipse didn't immedietely reply. After a few seconds his shoulders slumped and he buried his face in his hands with a shaky sigh.
"Yeahh i expected that" Lunar sighed as he flopped over the back of the sofa, regarding his twin. He reached out and rubbed his back gently. "Hey don't feel too bad. It was just an accident, yeah? And hey no damage done! At least uh, not physically!"
"They are never going to forgive me."
Lunar blinked, pausing his hand motion as he tilted his head. "What, who? Sol or the fish? Because i know for a fact Sol wasn't mad in the first place and the mers... well bitey might not i'll be honest, but Sun... well... He might! One way to find out right?"
Eclipse released a small sharp vent of air followed by a small sound of static from his voicebox, and Lunar couldn't tell if it was a laugh or a sob. He sent a ping of comfort and warmth through their shared connection as Eclipse started talking again.
"I dropped him Lunar. I fucking dropped him. I could have killed him!"
"But ya didn't! And yeah ok the toilet was definitely not the uhh.. best landing place but it was better than the floor!" Lunar shifted and front flipped himself over the back of the sofa so he was sat next to his twin. "Look. I kinda left Sol in there all by himself and, well i'm sure he could use the extra help. I'm no good with managing those things, that's yours and Sol's deal right? And i'm sure the fish have had enough time to calm down now so you can apologise to them and explain you didn't mean it!"
Eclipse snorted. "That is. Very overly optimistic Lunar." A sigh as he brought his hands down to rest on his knees. "Easier said than done though." He continued softly.
"Well you always told me it's best to nip the bad things in the bud" Lunar chirped, leaning up against his twin and poking his cheek. "So here's me telling you now, to go nip this one! Just like bitey! But maybe not literally, because that would be a bad idea and i don't even know if we can do that anyway-"
Eclipse rolled his eyes and pressed his hand against Lunar's face with a half amused huff. "Alright alright i get it, cease your rambling."
Lunar giggled and playfully pushed away Eclipse's hand before hopping off the sofa. "Alright stinky, let's go see how they're doing!"
Eclipse appeared to still be hesitant, so Lunar held out a hand for him, with a rare soft smile. "Hey. It'll fine, kay'?"
Eclipse huffed. "Since when were you the comforting type, anyway?"
"Since right now actually!" Lunar grinned, and did the grabby hand motion with his fingers. "So you coming or what?"
The black and orange animatronic sighed, but he finally relented. "Sure." he mumbled before accepting Lunar's hand, allowing his twin to pull him up to his feet. But before he could let go, Lunar pulled him in for a surprise hug.
"Love ya' Clipsy'" Lunar said quietly, his voice muffled by Eclipses hoodie.
It took him a second to process but Eclipse released a shaky vent, wrapping his arms around Lunar and hugging him back. "Love you too Lune. And.. thankyou."
"Anytime!"
They stayed like that for a few more seconds, before parting and heading back together into the bathroom where Sol was still waiting for them. The flower had cleaned up a bit in their absense, the shredded packet of salmon placed next to the sink alongside the medicines and the surprisingly still intact towel back onto it's holder. As they entered, Sol was just finishing re-filling the bathtub and placing the bucket back inside. He turned around and his petals fluttered a little when he saw Eclipse was with Lunar.
"Are you ok?" Sol asked softly.
Warmth spread in Eclipse's chest though it was edged with the guilt still lingering strongly within. He sighed and nodded. "I'm alright Sol. Sorry for making you worry." He quickly changed the subject before anything more could be said about him, turning his attention to the sink. "How are they?"
Sol grunted a little as he pushed himself onto his feet and stepped over to the sink. Lunar meanwhile set down the toilet lid and sat on it with his legs crossed. He gave Eclipse a supportive smile and reached out to give his hand a gentle squeeze, which the dark coloured animatronic returned in kind.
"They've calmed down. I offered them some of the salmon, and they did accept it. Not at first but... Clip called out and did the.. grabby hand thing. He gave it to Sun though. He didn't want any for himself."
That didn't surprise Eclipse. Sun was always the one to ensure Clip was well fed when he lacked the confidence to engage with any of them, so of course it would make sense Clip would return the favour. They really were quite close.
Eclipse looked in the sink and sure enough, the two little mers were coiled around each other, with Clip preening Sun's head frills and chittering at him softly. Upon noticing Eclipse however, his fins flare up in the threat display and he hisses. Sun looks up and upon seeing Eclipse too, his head frills flatten back and he buries his face in Clips' chest.
Another sharp pang of guilt shoots through Eclipse. He's not surprised by their reaction toward him however. Afterall, what if it had been him in their position? If he had to see something like that happen to Lunar or even Sol he'd be beyond mad and very protective as well.
"I'm sorry" he blurted out without thinking, but the damn was now opened and he couldn't stop the words as they flowed from his voicebox. "I didn't mean to drop you, it was an accident and it's entirely my fault. I should have told you i was going to be standing up so you could have been prepared. You didn't do anything wrong Sun. You're not in trouble and i'm not mad at you, or Clip for that matter. You both have every right to be angry at me, and i don't expect you to forgive me either but i'm... i'm so sorry."
His grip tightens on the edge of the sink and Eclipse has to take a moment to relax his hands as the joints begin to creak. Sol gives him a soft chirrup and gently bonks his head against his shoulder. Eclipse gives him a small soft smile, before returning his attention back to the little mers both of whom were now staring up at him, though Sun still remained mostly hidden within the arms of Clip. A single eye was peeking out but it was fixed on Eclipse.
After a few seconds, Sun shifts and removes himself out of his companions hold. Clip chitters at him in concern, but Sun replies in soft cheeps and clicks, holding Clip's' hands in his own as he does so, before turning to look back up at Eclipse. While there was still fear evident in his eyes and overall body language, Sun appeared to take in a tiny 'breath' and very slowly swam up to the waters edge where one of Eclipse's hands was resting.
Eclipse hadn't even realised he had placed one of his hands so close to the sinks edge, and he almost pulled his hand back out of panic. But he forced himself to remain completely still as Sun hovered just centimetres away from his index finger. The little mer reached out and withdrew his hand several times before finally reaching it out and just above the waters surface to very shakily pat the tip of Eclipse's finger before immedietely darting back and burying himself under Clip, who looked just as confused as Eclipse felt.
The dark coloured animatronic blinked. "Uhh.."
"I think" Sol spoke up softly, clearly sensing Eclipse's confusion, "that, that is his way of accepting your apology" he tilted his head and gave a small questioning chirrup in the mers direction and after a few seconds, Sun gave a cheep back. Sol's petals flickered, and he gave Eclipse a small smile.
"He said it was! Or, i think he did-"
"See? I told ya' it'd be fine!" Lunar piped up, poking Eclipse on the shoulder. Eclipse huffed a half snort, and brushed Lunar off. "I doubt everything is just fine like that but." He looked to Clip and Sun, the latter of whom was still watching him. "Thankyou. I'll do my best to make up for it, i promise."
Sun didn't make any noise but he gave a tiny flicker of his head frills before returning to curling up in the arms of Clip, who gave Eclipse a very unimpressed glare, and flared his fins in his direction.
Yeah Eclipse expected that. He turned to Sol, "I think you'll have to be the one who finishes the treatment. I doubt Clip will let me anywhere near Sun or himself ever again."
Clip confirmed this with a sharp cheep followed by a tiny hiss. Sol smiled sympatheticaly, and he gave Eclipse a gentle pat on the arm. "They'll come around again i'm sure. It'll just take time."
Eclipse opened his mouth to reply but was interruppted by Lunar yawning loudly and dramatically. "Yeah don't worry about it Clipsy'! Being a single dad of three, shit's gonna happen so what can you do, y'know?"
Sol tilted his head in confusion and Eclipse deadpanned at his twin. "Don't you have a video to finish Lunar?"
"Oh yeah!" Lunar perked up and hopped off the toilet seat. "You have fun with bitey and lil' yellow Sol, my work here is done!"
"Oh, ok. Thankyou for your help Lunar" Sol replied.
Lunar grinned and finger gunned before slipping out of the bathroom. Sol turned to Eclipse. "What did he mean by 'dad of three?'-"
"Anyways, i'll leave you to it Sol. I need to buy some things from the shop so i'll go make a list for that" Eclipse replied quickly, and gave Sol a quick head ruffle. "I can add an extra pack of shrimp for you if you want?"
Sol perked up his petals flickering, and Eclipse's rays mirrored the action on impulse. "If it's not too much trouble, then yes please!"
"No trouble, never any trouble" Eclipse smiled softly, before heading out the bathroom himself, leaving Sol to sort the mers. He finds Lunar perched on the table again, with the laptop sitting almost precariously on his legs as they dangle over the edge. He glances up and grins at Eclipse as he closes the door behind him.
"You know" Lunar drawled out. "It was kind of funny, the fact you dropped him in the toilet of all things. Kind of like that part in finding nemo!"
Eclipse glared at him. "That's not funny Lunar."
"Aww c'mooon it was a little bit, you gotta admit that!"
"Nope."
"Not even a teeny bit?"
"No."
"Not the tiniest tiniest widdle bit?"
"Lunar i will confiscate your laptop if you keep going."
Lunar gasped in alarm. "NO!" He squeaked and quickly scuttled off like a little goblin with his laptop clutched tightly in his arms, disappearing into the shared room and slamming the door.
Eclipse felt a small bubble of amusement and he allowed himself a small chuckle at his twin's antics. Leave it to Lunar to still be able to get a laugh out of him. But the amusement was only brief, and the guilt began to resurface once again. Eclipse sighed as he rested his hands on the counter.
He really fucked up today.
The one chance he had to gain the mers trust around him without Sol being present and he messed it up. And while Sun did accept or at the very least acknowledge his apology, it wasn't a confirmed forgiveness. But Eclipse didn't expect it from him anyway. Not that it made it hurt any less.
He leaned back. Well. There was no use moping. He promised to do better and make up for it so, that's what he was going to do.
Grabbing an old receipt and a pen, Eclipse quickly scribbled on the back of the paper, a note at the top 'find bath toys' and circles it as a means to mark it as priority. It's the least he can do, but finding some waterproof toys for them to play with and provide some enrichment is a small start.
After that, Eclipse goes around the kitchen and the rest of their belongings to take stock of what they are in most immediate need of, including food for the mers and Sol, and a couple things for himself and Lunar which is mainly just extra robot wiring and a couple cans of lubricant. He still felt a slight twinge in his ankle and Eclipse would have to check on that soon, hence the importance of adding wiring to the list. But he should be fine to make the small walk there and back again.
Once he's finished, Eclipse goes to grab his jacket and the bag containing the wallet when Sol quietly exits the bathroom. He sees Eclipse and pads shyly over to him.
"How are they?" Eclipse asks, upon noticing Sol approach him.
"They're ok. Sun's rough patches are looking a bit raw again. I-i don't know if that was from before or.. after the i-incident-" Sol wrung his hands together.
"It was from before" Eclipse sighed. "He's been over-preening himself. I asked him to try and not do that before the whole... yeah. Hopefully he'll still take that to heart."
Sol nodded, and watched as Eclipse slipped into his jacket. "Can i.. come with you?"
"Huh? To the store you mean?"
A nod.
"Oh. Yeah sure, i don't see why not. It's pretty cold out though but you can borrow Lunar's jacket if you want. He won't mind."
Sol nodded again, but he didn't immedietely go to grab the jacket. Instead, he stepped forward and tentatively wrapped his arms around Eclipse in a hug. Eclipse blinked but he caught on quick, and he sighed as he wrapped his own around Sol, gently rubbing the back of his head. "I know. I know. I'm alright. Thankyou."
Sol let out a half hum half chirrup, holding onto Eclipse a little tighter. Eclipse leaned over and pressed the bottom of his faceplate against Sol's forehead in a small kiss before patting his back. "Alright, c'mon. Let's get out before the shops close."
The flower pulled back without another word and quickly grabbed Lunar's jacket, pulling it on. He pulled up the hood he always wore with his poncho to cover his petals while Eclipse opened the front door and stepped back to let Sol leave first. The flower shyly hopped outside, and Eclipse allowed himself a moment to smile as Sol turned up to look at the sky eagerly his tail swishing side to side displaying his excitement. Just before stepping out himself, Eclipse turned to shout into the house in Lunar's direction.
"We're heading to the shops Lune! Will be back soon!"
He recieved a single ping across their shared connection, along with a gif of nemo being flushed down the toilet from the movie. Eclipse rolled his eyes in exasperation, and shut the door behind him.
As he caught up with Sol, he made a mental note to set Lunar's twitch icon into an image of a little blue rat at some point.
They protecc, they attacc... but most importantly oneshot fic under the cat!
🐈
~~~
The day had started out as normal. Sun and Moon were working their part time shift at the daycare, and Bloodmoon had tagged along to volunteer for today. They had been managing quite well too! Usually they could only last so long around kids, especially the rowdy ones but todays crowd was quieter than usual.
Until the man with the knife arrived.
Standing there in the doorway, preventing any possible means for escape. Saying he didnt want no trouble, that he just wanted his kid. But he smelled foul and cruel, and Bloodmoon knew an evil when they sensed it. Their hackles while hidden beneath their hat, raised and a low quiet hiss gathered in the back of their throat.
Sun and Moon were quick to confront the man however and kept him distracted while the human daycare attendants ushered the kids away into the naptime area, leaving the celestial duo to deal with the danger.
Bloodmoon was meant to follow suit, as had been long since established before should a situation like this ever occur. And so as much as they wanted to lunge and to bite, they gritted their teeth and followed the protocal.
But then the man took his chances by running at Sun, and all sense of reason left Bloodmoon as protective fury flashed through them in a split second. They dashed forward, faster than anyone else could react. The attacker had barely taken even a couple steps toward Sun before Bloodmoon tackled the human to the floor, pinning him there as their hands found his wrists including the one holding the knife.
Their sharp red gaze bore into the humans terrified ones, their grin stretching wide as their usually triangular teeth splintered into hundreds of needle sharp ones. Their wings spread open and wide like a hawk covering its catch, the thrill of a hunter having caught its prey.
But then a sharp scream rang out, snapping Bloodmoon from their prey drive as they harshly winced. One of the children must have gotten spooked by their actions or were simply overwhelmed by the situation. Either way, Bloodmoon recoiled from the noise as it shot painfully through their skull, bringing their hands up to their ears out of reflex.
A mistake.
They had a split second to process the glint of metal before it slashed across their one good eye, blinding them and Bloodmoon let out a yowl drawing back and falling to the floor, their hands clutching at their wounded eye.
There was more screaming, more yelling and Bloodmoon didn't know if it was the childrens or someone else. Pain shot through their skull, the sharp stinging from their eye mixing with the piercing shouts of others around them.
They saw movement from the corner of their remaining eye, weak and half blind as it was and they kicked out in feral panicked instinct, their foot connecting with something soft sending it flying. Bloodmoon scrambled to all fours, hissing and snarling at anything and everything that came near them, lashing out with their claws whenever they felt something brush them.
Everything was too much, too loud too bright. They couldn't see, everything was a blurred mess of shapes and horribly bright light. Their head was still ringing and even the smallest of sounds were too much for them.
Another movement and Bloodmoon lunged, teeth and claws bared. But something grabbed them before they could, and they swiftly found their arms pinned to their sides as another pair of arms wrapped around them and hoisted the crazed red dragon off their feet.
Bloodmoon struggled and thrashed about snapping and hissing but the grip on them was strong. There was something whispering in their ears, but they could not decipher it as the excess noise only hurt their head more.
They snapped their head back to headbutt whoever was holding them, which they quickly regretted as it aggravated their wounded right eye and sent more pain throbbing through their skull. Their hissing quickly shifted into a pained whine as they flopped forward pathetically.
It was too much. Everything was too much.
One of the arms that had been wrapped around them came up to cover their face. Bloodmoon automatically snapped at the blurred blob, but it covered their vision making everything go dark. The painful brightness and blurred movement disappeared, and they went still in stunned silence as some of the pain in their head briefly receded.
But there was still noise all around them, and they start to weakly struggle again, this time more out of desperation to get away and to hide but the hold on them remains strong, carrying them away from the commotion.
They barely managed to process the sound of a click and then quite suddenly everything went quiet.
But Bloodmoon was still panicking. They were confused, their face and their head still hurting. The noises may have ceased, but something was still holding them, keeping them from escaping. But then a voice speaks, and it's one they recognise almost instantly.
"Calm down. Safe. I've got you."
Raspy. Quiet. Soothing. Moon.
Bloodmoon relaxed almost instantly, but not completely. They were shaking and breathing heavily, their head still ringing and their injured eye hurting terribly. But they no longer felt the need to bolt and to hide, as Moon was here and they trusted him.
Now confident they were no longer going to attack, the lunar jester set them down carefully, but Bloodmoon scrambled around to hold onto him, their hand finding his arm. Their left eye - the partially blind one - was currently the only one working and all they could see was a dark blue and white shape and a red glow. But they knew it was Moon, and that was enough.
So they sit there, wheezing heavily and clinging to the lunar animatronic as the adrenaline from before started to wane and the shock slowly creeped in to take its place. They flinch as a pair of hands gently grasp the sides of their head, Moon tilting their head up to face him.
"Let me see." He said quietly.
Bloodmoon couldn't see his expression, but the worry was evidant in Moon's voice. Despite how sensitive their face felt, they allowed Moon to inspect the area of injury. They hiss and flinch back when they feel his thumb gently brush over the slash under their eye and they can just barely make out Moon's gaze shifting to look at what they can only assume is his hand.
Were they bleeding? They hadn't felt any form of liquid on their face, but then they were in a bit of a panicked feral state before so maybe they hadn't noticed. Moon meanwhile shifts and stands, telling Bloodmoon to stay as he moves across the dark room.
Bloodmoon does as they are told, bringing their legs up and coiling their tail around them. They look around the room while they wait. It's dim and they cant make out any details, but they assume its the break room.
Curiously they draw a hand up to their eye, flinching at the soreness but they manage to feel a gash just under their right eye, which they have kept tightly shut ever since the blade connected.
A hand grabs theirs pulling it away from their face and they squeak in alarm. Two orbs of blurred red fill their vision, and they recognise it as Moon.
"Stop that," Moon hissed, but there was no real anger to his voice, only concern. 'You'll make it worse.'
Bloodmoon huffed in mild irritation. "C-Can't… Get a-any worse than… th-than this." They stutter quietly.
"Hush."
Bloodmoon fell silent at the sharp tone. They didn't have the energy or will to talk more anyway, so they sit and allow Moon to remove their hat so he can wrap a bandage around their head and over their injured eye, his hands shaking as he does so. Bloodmoon wisely chooses not to comment on it, their single solid red eye flickering away as the guilt buillt up in their chest.
Their gaze instead lands on a green blob next to the lunar animatronic which they assume is a first aid kit. Other than the gauze, there wasn't much else in there that could really help them. Even the pain meds would be useless as they were intended for human children, not a shapeshifting dragon disguising theirself as a robot.
Once he is done, Moon pulled Bloodmoon's hat back over their head again before pulling them up onto his lap holding them close against him. Bloodmoon does not fight it and they even cling to Moon, feeling the faint tremors of the other under their arms. They were both shaking they quickly realise.
Suddenly a thought occurs to them and Bloodmoon jolts, the top of their head bumping into Moon's chin making him grunt.
"Sun! Is Sun-"
"He's fine," Moon cuts them off. "Dealt with the intruder."
A pause, and Moon shifts his hold on them pulling them away so they are face to face. Despite Bloodmoon being unable to see his expression, they can tell he is giving them a severe look.
"Police have been called. We're staying here until they arrive. You will do as we say and let us handle the situation from here. Do you understand?"
Bloodmoon shrinks a little under the piercing tone, but they nod. Moon's gaze holds them for a little longer before he deflates and pulls them back against him once again, his vents rattling in the robot equivalant of a shaky sigh.
Moon is clearly mad, and they don't blame him. They broke the rules and got theirself hurt in the process. But the way they can still feel him shaking also tells Bloodmoon that Moon was terrified, just as much as they had been. The guilt that had been building up overflows, and Bloodmoon shuts their remaining eye, pressing their face against his chest.
"Sorry." They whisper softly.
Moon doesn't immedietely reply, instead burying his face into Bloodmoon's hat and squishing their ears.
"Idiot," the lunar animatronic hisses, his hold on them tightening. "Never do that again."
Bloodmoon remains silent, but they increase their hold around Moon a little more. This seems to be enough of an answer as Moon does not speak again after and they continue to sit in silence together.
After a couple minutes Moons music box starts playing, for his nerves as much as Bloodmoon's who also appreciates the comforting sound of the tinkling tune. They stay that way, holding onto one another as they await the approaching sounds of the distant sirens.
A very short experimental soft scene with Sun and Eclipse i had written over a year ago and that i have just re-discovered! Basic summary is Eclipse has to leave to help out with some risky thing while Sun remains behind.
Wordcount: 384
Relationships: Sun/Eclipse (queerplatonic)
Also on A03!
~~~
"Must you go too?" Sun asks, his tone laced with concern.
Eclipse sighs heavily. "Yes. Look, just... stay here and watch the computers ok? We need someone on cams while Moon's computer is bust. We'll be fine so don't worry about it."
Sun doesn't look convinced. He doesn't say anything but the way he drums his fingers together betrays the obvious worry. Eclipse knows the habit all too well, it's a learned tactic to keep him from tugging on his rays again.
The dark orange animatronic leans his head back in slight exasperation. He was really going to do this huh.
Bringing his head back down again, Eclipse reaches up and unclasps the cape he was still wearing and shrugs it off his shoulders. Sun gives him a quizzical look as Eclipse steps forward and hands it over to his counterpart. "Here."
Sun stares at the fabric like as though Eclipse were offering him a toad. "Wh- I don't-"
"Just take it. Put it on, or hold it or whatever. I'd rather it not get dirty while i head out, so i'm leaving it with you so. Look after it for me, yeah?"
Sun still looks unsure, and he reaches out before hesitiating. His patience waning, Eclipse sighs and steps forward placing the cape around Sun's shoulders before stepping back again. The yellow animatronic stands a little stunned for a moment, before reaching up and running his fingers through the fabric.
"I... ok. I'll... keep it safe." He says a bit numbly, clearly still processing.
Eclipse reaches out a hand and places it gently on the side of Sun's head, his thumb running across his cheek, causing the other to look up and meet his gaze.
"I'll be back soon," Eclipse says, his tone a touch softer than he'd usually allow. "Promise. Ok?"
Sun stares but he soon nods, leaning his head a bit against the dark coloured palm.
"Ok."
Eclipse gives his cheek one final stroke with his thumb before he pulls back, expression once again back to the usual casual indifference as he turns and makes for the daycare's exit. As he does so though, Sun calls out after him.
"You better come back alive or i'll kill you myself!"
Eclipse smirks, flipping Sun the finger just before disappearing behind the doors.
