Work Text:
Day fifteen. You wipe the grease from your brow and exhale, turning screws back into place. This isn’t the first time you have had to fix this circuit, nor will it be the last, but you persevere this way regardless.
You plug in the animatronic to your wall, press a switch in his open chest, and wait, leaning over his face plate to hold him.
“Hi sweetie.” You coo to him. His optics are black, and you do not know if he hears you, but you will talk to him this way regardless, just like you did back then. You’re not sure who it is, really, Sun or Moon. They merge perfectly in this form, his hat you stitched up piece by piece dangling over the table and his rays carefully mended.
“I fixed one of your core wires. It blew out again - this should be a better piece now.” You lament your limited access to good parts, but if Faz caught wind that you stole one of their own, they would probably hunt you down real quick. You would never see him again, and that's not something you can bear. The fire already made your heart break and weep enough.
You found him lying there, singing and smoking from the bonfire. He was posed reaching for the entrance, clothes almost entirely burnt off. You wept and gathered him up, pressing apologies upon apologies into his metal. How scared they must have been, under the pressure of the burning heat.
You trace a finger on a ray, pushing it gently to rotate. You miss when Sun span his rays when he saw you, making wave patterns to make you laugh. “Should be any day now.” You comment, trying to hold it together as he fails to boot up again. Something sparks down by his leg, and you take a deep breath.
It's alright, the world is not ending. Something is preventing them from booting up, and you just need to figure out why.
Day twenty eight. You know you are getting closer because they do not spark anymore, at least. So far, he gets to his optic lights flickering, then powers off again, so you are so close you can taste it.
“It's a beautiful day out today.” You hum, opening the blinds. A sunbeam shines on his chassis, you hope he can feel some of the warmth, or at least know the sun is there. “I hope we can have a picnic soon. Remember? I said I'd show you, and Moon pinched my cheek making fun of me. You can’t leave, he said. But I said I'd figure it out.” You type rapidly at your computer, going through his code line by line. The answer to his failed boot up, or at least why the sun does not change their appearance, is in here. You are sure of it.
Day forty five. You rest your head in your hands next to your attendant, taking slow, deep breaths. You will not give up, no matter what, but you feel frustrated close to tears. The code fixing isn’t working, there’s nothing theoretically wrong with their body, yet they won’t wake up.
You pick your head up and rest it in your hands, just staring at him. “I won’t stop.” You mutter. He has to know you aren’t letting this setback stop you. What if they are listening in there? Stuck? It would be a living hell to you, so you refuse to leave them in any capacity.
You stand, stretching and cracking your spine. You can, although the memory is getting a little hazy, remember Sun reprimanding you about your posture, so you straighten up.
No, don’t think like that. He will wake up. You are a decent mechanic and you will get to see them again. There is no other outcome.
You wonder what they think of you, working tirelessly. You harbor your silly feelings in yourself, too afraid to say anything.
Day fifty arrives with little fanfare. You are a little worse for wear, eye bags heavy from long nights and constant work. You have him sitting up, trying something new with the cables on the back of his head. You are petrified to touch his motherboard, but as the weeks dragged on, you are running out of options.
“You know, soon, I can get some boots for you so you can stomp in puddles. I think both of you would like that.” The rain beats heavy against the window, muffling the world outside. You would give anything to sit with either of them on your porch, just watching the storm. “Maybe a poncho. Do they make ponchos nine feet tall?” You snort at your own joke, carefully soldering the pins connecting the wires.
Once done, you lay him back down, and plug him into the wall. Again, you press the button, leaning over his face plate once more. “Okay. Give me something sweetie. Anything.” You stare at him intently, eyes flicking over his body rapidly. Like always, his fingers twitch, core beginning to boot up. His optics turn on, flickering, but then the whole body shuts off right after.
You curl your fingers. You’ve increased the electric output way more than what should be necessary, so why is this happening?
You go back over to the plug, inspecting it. The storm booms horribly outside, but you pay no mind to it.
Is it your electric output? You think you would cry for a whole day if this all amounted to not enough power. But, you have checked this outlet countless times, even got a power maximizer for it. Nothing.
Lighting strikes close. “Don’t worry.” You say out loud. You would be worried if you had never heard a storm before, too. “It will pass. I'm gonna try the startup sequence one more time, okay?” You take a breath, and plug it back in.
You are thrown back, shouting in pain. Electricity shoots up your arm, and you shake, almost biting your tongue. “What the hell!” You shout, shaking your head.
No. Your heart stops for a second, because that was plugged into your friend!
You scrabble to your feet, choking. This can’t be it. All your hard work can’t end here. Oh god the hard drive could be fried! You could have a smoking motherboard, never to see them again! You watch in horror as he spasms, electricity coursing through the body.
You lean over him, assessing any damage. His internals look okay, and you don’t smell smoke. Instead, you watch with fear turned rapidly building hope as his optics turn online, electricity turning the gears in his internals.
You hold your breath, praying to anything that could be listening. “Sun? Moon?” You call, shaking with adrenaline. Anything, please. Just let him wake up.
Slowly, pinpricks turn on, and he blinks one. You almost start sobbing.
Abruptly, he sits up, rays popping in and out of his face plate. “Happy birthday!” He cheers, in a voice that does not sound like either of your friends. Your watery smile falters. Who…is this?
“Happy..birthday?” You echo, unsure. He seems to light up brightly, swinging his feet to the side. At least mobility is okay. You are so shocked, you aren’t sure how to react.
He calls your name, startling you out of your thoughts. “Still us.” One voice, low and soothing. “Still us!” Another cheer, light and airy.
You can’t help it, you break down in sobs right there. You throw your arms around his neck, shaking and trembling. “Oh, thank god. You’re here, you’re alive, you…merged?” You ask. He wraps arms around you, and you could cry from how gently he holds you. You thought that this form was some kind of safety protocol, when the day and night cycles got messed up. Apparently not.
“Yes! My name is Eclipse.” His tone is cheerful and bright, yet warm and slow with an even cadence. He really is both of your friends. “Don’t cry, starshine! We’re back in tip top shape, thanks to you!” You press your wobbly lips together, overjoyed.
He lifts a hand, holding your cheek. You pick up your head to face him, ugly crying as you are. He holds you everywhere, touching your sides, your hair, your legs. Like he is memorizing you.
“We’re so happy it was you fixing us. You’re perfect, just perfect.” He hums, rubbing thumbs on your face. This new version of your friends is very…affectionate! “Ah, we could hear you, as well. Everything.” He says dreamily. Your face flushes, but you are so glad you assumed that they could. “Even the anime updates.” A deeper voice grouses. You choke out a laugh, bubbling up from deep within your chest. He stares at you intently, optics flicking over your face.
“Let's do that right now.” He says abruptly. You tilt your head. “Sit in the storm. That sounds like a lovely idea! We can watch the ever moving blanket of clouds, with our favorite mechanic!” Arms reach out to hoist you up, and you squeak, patting his chest to stop.
“Wait! Wait! You need to go through diagnostics first! Hold on!
Your life changes like the flip of a card, with Eclipse. He is so happy to do anything with you, whether that be finally showing your friends anime, cooking, or just sitting next to you, buzzing in a way that can only be considered purring.
You were a little worried that your friends would fade away, merged like this, but that could not be farther from the case. Your morning walks are exclusively with Sun, his higher pitched voice and straight posture show his control. The rays shrink almost into his head with Moon, who fights you in video games and hums to you sometimes, when he thinks you are asleep.
Eclipse however, is very…hands on. You have a very hard time saying no, those feelings you shoved deep inside of you overjoyed at getting to touch freely. You can’t break this easy camaraderie that the two of you have, but lately you can’t stop thinking about kissing his silly face. What would it be like? Would they take turns, or just kiss you as Eclipse? You wouldn’t mind either way.
When he is stable enough, and you are sure he isn’t going to keel over outside, you take your friend on that promised picnic. You bring food for yourself, some tools just in case, and a fluffy blanket.
The day is crisp and shining, Eclipse watching in fascination as his steps sink into the ground. His gaze darts around, taking in the birds, trees, and a deer running off in the distance. Your heart swells, feeling like you won the lottery as his rays sink into his face plate to spin rapidly. “Up that hill.” You direct, carrying your things up with you.
You two sit under a tree, enjoying the sunshine. He points out every day things to you, like a squirrel staring at him intently, like the cloud formed in the shape of a fish. A smile is stuck to your face, nodding along. You celebrate every new instance, overjoyed.
“Toldja.” You remark, gesturing to your set up. “I promised. This is a good old fashioned picnic!” He scoots closer to you, picking you up bodily and placing you in his lap, hugging you. Jeez! He doesn’t have the same boundaries as a human, but give a person a warning!
“Eclipse!” You shout, squirming in his lap. He rumbles in his voice box, pulling you to his chest, resting his face plate on your shoulder. “That's better..” He gives you a squeeze, fans whirring in his chest.
“Actually..” Sun’s voice cuts in. “It's missing one key part.” You turn, trying to see what he’s talking about. Instead, he presents a flower to you, a tulip in fresh bloom. “For you.” Moon’s voice rasps, and presses it into your hair, over your ear. You touch it, in wonder.
“Thank you, that's so sweet of you.” You get your knees under you and turn, greeted by a tender look on Eclipse’s face plate.
“This is a new emotion for us.” Eclipse starts. You blink. “But what we do know is that we would have no other. You are precious to us, honeydew, and we hope you feel the same.” Your face turns red as a tomato, sputtering. He leans closer. “Would you be ours?” The voices break Eclipse’s steady cadence, both of them speaking at once.
“Do you…do you know what you’re asking? To be together, that's more than just friends.” It's okay if they don't understand. You are content to be this way -
“Yes.” They answer firmly. “We know what being partners is. We want that. We want everything with you, whatever you will give us. Your hopes, your fears, love, as well.” Your lip wobbles. This is something you could only dream of, working on them tirelessly.
Shakily you nod. “Yes. Yes, please. Yes.” He pulls you in for a hug, fans so loud you can hear his chest rumbling.
A new beginning, a new love.
Fin.