#eclipse fic

What made me realize I had to finally tell them was the text I got from Paul during lunchtime, practically begging me to tell him what he did to make me ignore him for a couple days. He was rightfully confused, everything had been going great before my father called. Paul and I felt like we were easing into something comfortable. Then I suddenly started ignoring him and telling him not to come over.

He had sent several texts over the last few days. All of them are harder to read than the last. I wanted to reply and tell him to come over but if my dad found out I didn’t know what he would do. I didn’t know who his friend was or if they were dangerous and I couldn’t risk Paul’s life. 

Em, please let me see you today. It’s been a couple days and I’m worried about you. Please tell me if I did anything wrong, I’ll fix it!

I thought we were going really well, we can slow down if that’s what you need.

Em, please talk to me. 

I was almost crying in the middle of class as I tapped my pencil impatiently on my notebook. Edward and Bella sat in front of me and I stopped tapping my pencil when I realized it was bothering them, though neither said anything. Bella kept turning around slightly to look at me, I’m sure she saw the tears ready to spill over. She didn’t say anything but gave me one of those ‘I’m sorry but I don’t know what to do’ smiles. It comforted me in a way, enough to dry up the tears and get through class.

Thankfully I had made no friends at this school, so I had no one to loiter around the parking lot with, once school let out. I was free to jump into my car and speed off. Going home was my first thought but if I drove out to Emily’s house on the reservation then I wouldn’t risk anyone running into my on the way there or back. 

It felt wrong to be doing things like this, sneakily trying to avoid the people that seemed to care about me, as much as possible. In my mind there was no other way, this was me protecting them from whatever my father had planned if I didn’t stop seeing them. Tears welled up in my eyes again as I thought about anything happening to them. They had become my friends, some of them had felt like they were becoming actual family. My gut always told me not to let it get that far because I knew it wouldn’t turn out well and I had been right.

As the tears spilled down my face the sky began to pour. There was no thunder or lightning, only rain and gloom. My mood matched the weather, which was always the case. Looking at the wet road as I drove I began to realize this is how I always felt. I felt like a dark grey, cloudy sky that was always ready to burst from how achingly hopeless I felt.

Spending time with Emily, Leah and the rest of the pack made me feel like the clouds had started to move on and make room for the sun to come out. For as long as I can remember I always associated everything in my life to the weather. When I was little, long before my dad let me leave the house and go to school, I would draw bright, colorful pictures of the sun. Some stupid part of me had always held onto the hope that one day I would see the sun, a metaphor I guess, for the happiness and warmth I always craved from my father.

Even with my dad out of town there was always some doubt in the back of my mind that told me even though I felt like the sun was finally about to shine through, that I shouldn’t believe it. He would never let me be happy on my own and I just needed to suck it up and get used to that.

Emily’s house was coming into view and I could hear the low murmur of voices from inside. The amount of voice I could make out made me realize that the whole pack must be here. I could faintly smell something sweet as I opened my car door. Emily must have baked something, which would be the reason everyone showed up. She was a talented baker, no one could resist.

Paul was on the porch before I could even take two steps. He looked like he had been through hell. His face wasn’t clean shaven and his clothes looked like they hadn’t been changed since I saw him last. His eyes brightened as he looked at me but he stayed back, not knowing what to do.

“It’s good to see you,” he whispered softly as I got closer. He seemed to be unable to stop himself as he came down the stairs and grabbed me. One of his hands went to my face, his thumb rubbing across my jawline. His other hand pushed my hair back, away from my face. His eyes searched my face frantically for some sign of what was going on.

“I only came here because I have information that the pack needs,” my words hit him hard. He let go of me like touching me was hurting him. He stepped back and whispered ‘only’ to himself, repeating the words I had used to make it clear that I wasn’t here for anything else.

“It’s your father, isn’t it?” He asked after he had taken a moment to think. “He’s back isn’t he? That’s where the car came from? You know you don’t have to listen to him, you don’t have to follow his lead.”

“He’s not back,” I croaked out, trying not to cry. This was the last thing I wanted and the reason I waited so long to come here. I cleared my throat, swallowing back the tears. I didn’t dare look at Paul right now so I just walked past him and up the stairs. 

When I walked in it had been clear they were listening to our exchange. Everyone was silent, Embry and Quil quickly turned around as I looked around the room and took bites of the muffins they were eating. Jacob was sitting on the couch, his gaze unwavering as he looked at me with anger in his eyes. Sam was standing behind the kitchen counter with Emily, both of them looking upset.

“Sam, I have some information about Victoria,” he looked taken aback by what I said. He rounded the counter quickly to come and stand in front of me. 

“What is it?” he asked, his arms crossed in front of his chest. I heard Paul walk into the house behind me. His breathing was erratic like he had been crying or running a marathon.

“I overheard Alice Cullen telling Edward and Bella that she was coming back this weekend. They’re sending Bella away to her mom’s in Florida just in case, so I’m assuming whatever Alice saw was bad,” I explained, now I had everyone’s attention. Even Jacob who looked like he wanted to choke me to death when I walked in was now standing and listening carefully.

“Did she mention where Victoria would be?” Leah asked, pulling my attention toward her. I hadn’t noticed her earlier, sitting on the stairs behind the couch. She was peeking through the railing, watching me.

“No but I’m sure it won’t be hard to find out. Wherever we pick up the Cullen’s scent is where she’ll be,” before I could finish, Paul was pulling me back. He looked angry now, no more hurt on his face.

“We?” he asked, his voice sounding sharp in my ears. He had been crying by the red, puffy circles around his eyes. “You will be nowhere near where Victoria is, you could get hurt.”

“You’ll need all the help you can get. She’s dangerous and her special ability is evading capture,” I reasoned but the look in his eyes didn’t waver. There would be no changing his mind on this. The intensity of the look made me recoil, my senses telling me I should be afraid. My father had always given me this look whenever I made him mad or when he didn’t want me to do something. 

“Em, I’m telling you no,” his face got closer to mine. Using all my strength I shoved him away from me with the arm he wasn’t holding. Paul was expecting it so he didn’t stumble too far but he did let go of me and that’s what I wanted. With everyone looking at me I began to feel even more defensive. I felt like I was backed into a corner and being bossed around like a little kid.

“No one’s going to tell me what to do. I’m going to help you whether you like it or not. Once we capture and kill her I will leave all of you alone, forever. I’m just sorry that I didn’t leave you alone to begin with,” I was barely able to get out the last part but I needed them to know I wasn’t going to be around anymore. Paul looked hurt at what I said. He opened his mouth a few times to try and say something to me but he couldn’t get anything out. He looked utterly lost and defeated, his eyes were filling up with tears again. 

Emily was making her way to me from the kitchen but I didn’t want to hear anything anyone said. I muttered ‘see you tomorrow night’ and ran back to my car. Paul followed behind me slowly, watching my every move. As I was pulling out of the driveway I saw the tears start to fall down his cheeks and Emily came out and wrapped an arm around him comfortingly. 

My heart felt heavy in my chest as I drove home down the slippery roads. Rain pelted my car unforgivingly, the drops somehow fatter than the tears that spilled down my face as I thought about Paul and how much I was hurting him. This is what I get for going against my father's orders in the first place, I should’ve kept to myself like he said to. 

My mind was racing the whole night. I laid in bed covering and uncovering, laying on my side and turning over to lay on the other. The tears were gone but my whole body ached. Nothing was comfortable. Anxiety filled my body with an electric current, pangs of pain hitting all over, taking my breath away.

I couldn’t tell what this was more from, Paul or the thought of Victoria being anywhere near me and the pack. She was dangerous and I didn’t want any of them to get hurt or worse. Images of her and her fiery red hair flashed in my mind. The dream I had had where she killed Paul creeping back in, making me sweat and want to scream. I muffled them with a pillow as I tried to force myself to sleep. I needed the rest so that I could be useful tomorrow night when she showed up.

They were already phased when I showed up in the woods after sunset. It had rained the whole day leaving a damp scent in the air. The ground was slick with mud, the boots on my feet sinking into the mud with each step. The trees dripped all around me, my senses were on high alert so I could hear every drop as it hit the ground. 

The forest felt empty

The wolves acknowledged me as I approached them. A couple of them looked mad, a couple looked like they didn’t even want to know I was there and then there was Paul. He may have been in wolf form but his eyes said more than words ever could. My heart ached as I looked at him knowing I was hurting him the same way his mother had. I was evil and a monster. I deserved to hurt this much since I was hurting him so badly. 

As I looked into his eyes I started to think about what Emily had told me earlier in the day. She had shown up to my house unannounced with a basket of breakfast ingredients. She didn’t take no for an answer, no one around here seemed to. She cooked my breakfast while giving me a lecture, though she said it wasn’t one.

“This is how Paul’s mom left them you know,” she told me. Her back was turned to me but I could feel the disapproval that was all over her face. She tried to keep her tone light and airy but it was laced with hurt and anger. She was chopping up some onions, the knife hitting the counter harsher than it should have. Each chop with the knife was another sign that was angry. Before I could respond she was speaking again.

“You didn’t even give him a chance. Paul is a really good guy who seriously cares about you and you’re going to throw it all away with no explanation?” she ranted. She was now throwing the onions into a hot pan, the sizzling sound that filled the kitchen seemed to calm her a bit. She moved onto whisking up some eggs, her rhythm almost faster than what I could do with my enhanced speed.

“Look, I know you haven’t known any of us for long but that shouldn’t make you run away when things are going good. I also know that you’ve never experienced what a real family is but we were willing to show you. You’ve not only hurt Paul’s feelings but you’ve hurt mine and Leah’s,” she chastised not looking at me. She had quickly poured the eggs into the pan and then turned around to look at me, her spatula pointing at me for emphasis. 

“You don’t underst-”

“You can talk to any of us about anything. If this has anything to do with your father you need to let us know and we can protect you,” she told me, her eyes wide with sincerity. She was wrong they wouldn’t be able to protect me. My dad had somehow lived for over three-hundred years and that wasn’t an accident. He had known how to survive and though he never expressed I’m sure it meant killing a lot of people that wished to stop him.

“Paul’s mom left with no warning, you know,” she told me quietly, she was turned around now moving the eggs around the pan with her spatula. Her voice was solemn as she spoke again. “They can hear each other's thoughts when they’re in wolf for, you know. Sam tells me pretty much everything so I know how Paul really felt when his mom left him. They can also feel the feelings the others are having when they’re phased. Sam tells me that whenever Paul accidentally thinks of his mother leaving it feels like his heart is getting torn from his chest.”

I stayed silent as I listened to her. Paul had never talked to anyone, not even his father, about how he felt when his mom left. His dad had said he knew it affected Paul more than he had ever let on but I wondered if he knew it was to this extent. 

My heart felt like it was being torn out of my chest as I pieced together what Emily was telling me. She was saying he felt the same way with me. The pain was to the same extent as when his own mother had randomly left him. 

“I’m not telling you this to make you feel bad, I just want you to think about things.” Emily said as she placed a plate full of eggs in front of me. She put an english muffin on a napkin next to my plate with accompanying butter and her homemade jam. Her cooking was always delicious but I didn’t feel like eating right now. Emily must have seen the look on my face and assumed that I didn’t want to eat because she pushed the plate closer to me.

“You need to eat if you’re going to help the pack catch Victoria tonight. I don’t want anyone getting hurt,” she went quiet. She looked very concerned as she spoke about what was going to happen tonight, probably worried for Sam. 

“Why did you tell me all of this?” I asked her before taking a reluctant bite of eggs. They were delicious as always, light and fluffy with a lot more flavor than I had ever had in an egg. She crossed her arms and leaned then on the island across from me, thinking before she spoke.

“There are factors at play here that Paul hasn’t told you about yet and it’s not my place to tell you what they are,” she abruptly went quiet and looked around the kitchen lost in thought again. There had been a part of me that knew there was more than meets the eye here but Paul had never gotten around to telling me. After the beach, where he promised he would explain everything to me, everything happened so fast and I started to ignore him. 

“You must feel a strong pull to Paul, don’t you? I know you haven’t had much interaction outside of your father but you must feel that what you have with Paul is completely different and unique,” every word she said was right and it made me wonder what exactly it was that I didn’t know. It didn’t matter though because I had to stay away from them, for their safety. After tonight they wouldn’t hear from me again, no matter how I felt about Paul.

“It doesn’t matter, after tonight I just can’t be around any of you,” I told her as I stared down at my plate, not daring to make eye contact with her. 

“Good luck, it’s not going to be that easy and I know you that you understand that,” those were the last words she spoke. She packed up the stuff she had brought and left me alone in my house with a plate of eggs that were getting unedibly cold.

Paul and I’s gaze broke as a couple more wolves walked into the patch of trees were hidden in. Apart from Paul, I didn’t know what anyone else looked like in their wolf form. Not being able to tell who was who made me uneasy. I didn’t know who was looking at me with hatred and who wasn’t. 

One of the wolves that had just shown up broke apart from the group and walked over to me. This one was slightly smaller than the others. The fur was grey compared to Paul’s silver. The wolf shoved it’s huge face into mine, licking as it went. I knew right away that this was Leah, her eyes as a wolf matched her as when she was human. 

I suddenly felt bad as we looked at each other. She was becoming one of my best friends and I loved talking to her. In a way she felt like a sister and had we been able to bond longer I’m sure I would have thought about her that way. 

All the wolves gathered around me now, some whining here and there. Others were growling lowly and Sam, howled bringing them to order. I didn’t know what they were saying but I knew from the silence that they were all waiting to hear Victoria approaching.

“I’m gonna go to the top of one of the trees so I can see where the Cullen’s are and when I jump down and start running follow me because that’s the way Victoria will be heading,” I told Sam directly. He nodded and all the other wolves nodded too.

Climbing trees was easy for me, having spent most of my time at the tops of trees in the yards of the houses I had lived in. My father never bothered me when I did this, there was no harm in climbing trees since I wasn’t interacting with anyone. Branch by branch I climbed, the rough bark,not softened by the immense amount of rain, biting into my skin as I went as quickly as I could. Once I got there and perched myself in a good position, I could faintly make out the Cullen’s on the other side of the river. 

Alice was standing in front of everyone with her eyes closed, concentrating hard. I wasn’t sure how her visions worked but I imagined she could see Victoria in some way and was waiting to see where she would show up. I didn’t strain too hard when I noticed that they were talking, not needing to hear them but only see them when they moved. There were more of them than I had imagined, minus Edward. 

Next to Alice was a blonde male who was watching her intensely. His body positioned almost to defend her from whatever would possibly come their way. Behind them to the right was another blonde that looked like the first but this one was female, her hair braided intricately and she stood next to the biggest vampire I had ever come in contact with. To the left were two more vampires, the way they held themselves suggested that they were the leaders of the group.

All was quiet for a while, the only sound was the rain drops falling from the trees and the occasional gust of wind. The vampires had ceased talking, their eyes darting around the dark forest around them. The wolves below me weren’t making any noise either, just shuffling around anxious to get this over with. 

Being still in a forest this cold was harsh. It was so cold my bones almost ached, my whole body feeling like icy water had been poured in. I vowed as my teeth started to chatter never to take for granted how cozy and warm my bed was. 

A strong wind came making me lose my balance. With it my ears pricked up, a new sound popping up in my senses. Goosebumps began to cover my body and the hairs on my arms and neck stood on end. She’s here I thought to myself just as Alice sharply turned her head to the left.

“On your left!” Alice suddenly shouted loud enough for me to hear without much effort and they all took off up the river. I let myself fall from the tree landing gracefully on the forest floor. Wasting no time I took off running as fast as I could. Trees blurred by me and I heard the loud stomps of the wolves catching up. I kept myself hidden within the treeline so that the Cullen’s didn’t see me but the wolves moved out of the woods so they could see where Victoria was. Her red hair flashed between the trees as I ran.

Everything was happening so fast but little time was passing. As was the case whenever there was a fight between supernatural creatures who could move at ungodly speeds. A couple wolves passed by me, a blur of grey and silver fur letting me know Leah and Paul were ahead of me. Before I could process they were coming to a stop and turning around abruptly, almost running into me but I jumped into the air and ended up landing on Paul’s back.

This wasn’t where I wanted to be but since he was moving faster than I was it was the best place at the moment. He hurdled forward quickly, staying concealed in the treeline unlike before when he was front and center. I gasped as a fiery red blur flew by us, my nostrils flaring as I caught her scent that closely to us.

“C’mon Paul she’s right there. If you go faster I could probably get her!” I encouraged him and he sped up somehow. He was going so fast and harshly that the ground he stepped on was being pulled up and piles of dirt and grass were being flung with each move of his huge paws. 

The wind whipped my hair back as we went. I gripped Paul’s fur tightly with one hand and started to lean forward and reach out with my other. She was right in front of us now, if only I could lean forward a little more. She was so close I could make out every detail of her clothing, from the tears in the shirt she wore under her jacket to the sewed up patches on her jeans. It didn’t make sense that she would wear tattered clothes like that when she could just steal some new ones.

She turned her head and snarled at us, her top lip curled above her overly sharp canines. She caught sight of me on Paul’s back, causing her eyes to almost pop out of her head but she composed herself quickly. I wondered briefly if she recognized me but that was fleeting. Victoria spun quickly, arms outstretched and threw me and Paul into the nearest tree. Having been on his back I hit the tree and somewhat cushioned him. We both landed to the ground with a thud. I felt his head nudging me to get up. Then without warning he gripped at my jacket with his teeth and yanked me up. 

Paul was off as I regained my balance and I took off after him. Victoria was on the other side of the river now getting chased by the Cullen’s. The large vampire, who could’ve played defense in football back in his human life, was almost close enough to grab her. I saw her turn her head slightly and snarl at him like she had done to me and Paul and just as she was about to be grabbed by the large vampire she soared across the river coming back to our side.

I seized my opportunity and picked up my speed and ran after her. In my peripheral I saw the large vampire jump across the river after her and my jaw almost hit the forest floor. The treaty forbade any of the Cullen’s from coming onto their land and he was taking a huge chance doing so. There was an immediate response of deep throated growls from the pack.

Victoria was long gone when I turned my head back. I let out an angry shout, cursing myself for getting distracted with a treaty that doesn’t even apply to me. We should’ve been able to get her but her abilities proved to be very helpful for her. I was starting to think no one would ever catch her. As I spun around to go back and see what was happening between the vampires and the wolves I angrily kicked down the nearest tree to me. The snapping sound and the inevitable crash of it hitting the ground satisfied me and calmed me down a bit.

In front of the large vampire was a large silver wolf, snapping his large teeth at him and growling. They were both taking small steps toward each other. The other Cullen’s had gathered on the bank of the river as did the wolves on our side. The large vampire sent a chill up my spine when I thought of the damage he could do to Paul. Without thinking I launched myself out of the trees, kicking off the nearest one to propel me forward and jumped over the wolves. I felt an energy build up inside me, electric heat coursing through my veins. Just as I landed in front of Paul to face off with the large vampire lightning struck all around me.

It hit the rocks violently. Loud cracking sounds filled the air and chunks of the rocks went everywhere. The heat from the lightning hit my skin like a wave, knocking me backwards. Paul was still behind me and caught me before I could hit the rocks. The air was filled with smoke, some from the heat of the lightning the rest made up of particles from the rocks that the lightning had blown up.

As it settled I noticed all the Cullen’s faces, their jaws hanging open in shock. The large vampire was not in front of me anymore. He was just now standing up from up a pile of rock that had blown up and taken him with them. He looked more angry than shocked at what had transpired with the lightning.

“You’ve been hiding that you were a vampire this whole time,” Alice said in disbelief, her mouth turned into a frown when she was done speaking. 

“Does it really matter?” I asked, my tone biting through the tension that hung in the air. No one said anything as the large vampire got back into a defensive position. He started to stalk back over as Paul growled harshly behind me. 

It was like I couldn’t control my body as I raised my arm into the air, thunder erupting as it raised. Clenching my hand into a fist I brought my arm back down quickly. A bolt of lightning struck just in front of the large vampire, stopping him in his tracks. He didn’t continue on, instead he turned and jumped up onto the bank with his family.

“You’ll fight me for coming onto your land while trying to get someone who’s an enemy to all of us but you’ll let this vampire on your land when she’s clearly a bigger threat than all of us,” the large vampire barked at us. I felt embarrassed at his words, nothing about me was a threat. Everything with the lightning had to be a coincidence. The energy was still flowing through me and that was something that I couldn’t ignore and explain away as a coincidence.

Another vampire came to the front. His blonde hair slicked back into a style older men usually wore, his face too young to match. It was clear from the way everyone took a step back for him that I had been right and he was one of their leaders.

“We’re sorry for crossing onto your land, it was never an intention of ours to do so,” he began, his tone that of a natural leader. His words flowed so peacefully over us that I instantly knew he wasn’t a threat and probably never would be. Sam made a gruff noise from the back of his throat in response. Alice and the large vampire turned and left followed by two blonde vampires who now that I was closer and could see better looked like they could be twins. The leader was left with a brunette vampire standing by his side. Her body language showed that she was his mate.

“I’m Carlisle and this is my wife, Esme,” he spoke quietly to me. The woman next to him smiled politely and then looked back at him waiting for the next move. “We didn’t know we had another vampire in town with such an exceptional gift.”

“I don’t have a gift,” my voice came out unsure. Esme and Carlisle exchanged a look before nodding at me. Neither of them looked like they accepted what I told them to be true. 

“Regardless we would love to have you come visit us sometime if you want. There’s no harm in getting to know one another, especially when we clearly have the same enemy.” now he was the one that sounded unsure. My father had always told me to stay away from everyone, especially other vampires. He had specified red eyes but the vampires in front of me had bright golden ones like he had. 

I stayed silent. I wasn’t going to say anything about going to see them when I was actively trying to stay away from the pack. But I also didn’t to be rude and provoke an attack. When they realized I wasn’t going to say anything they silently ran into the woods. 

Sam howled from somewhere behind me, giving the order to vacate. My shirt was being pulled from behind me and suddenly I was off the ground, suspended in the air by Paul’s mouth.

“Please put me down, Paul,” he huffed out of his nose. A low growl came from the back of his throat when I tried to pull myself away. I crossed my arms over my chest as I hung in the air, unable to get out of the situation. If I really wanted to I could try harder but I didn’t want to upset him any more than I already had. 

The walk through the woods was quiet except for the occasional sigh from me or Paul. I figured he was heading toward Emily’s but when he started to go in a different direction I got worried. He was bringing me to his house, probably to confront me about everything. Would his father be there? Had he told his dad anything about me ditching him? I had really liked his father when we met and it had seemed, at the time, that he had liked me too and I wanted it to stay that way even if I was hurting his son.

He dropped me to the ground as soon as his house came into view and ran off somewhere. The ground in his yard was not as wet as it had been in the forest and I was thankful, even though my clothes were already ruined from the tree and lightning incidents. Paul came back into view, wearing wrinkled clothes that he had stashed in the forest.

He said nothing to me as he took my hand and led me into his house. He turned the lights on as we went through the empty house, his father nowhere to be seen. It felt good to be in his house, holding his hand and as I realized that a pang hit my chest. This is what I wanted but could never have as long as my dad was watching my every move.

His room was messy, dirty clothes on the floor and his bed unmade but it felt like home. The entire room smelled like him and felt warm. I hadn’t realized until he sat me on his bed that I was shivering. Whether it was from the adrenaline wearing off or the wet and cold weather outside, it most likely being a combination of the two along with the nervousness I felt being alone with Paul.

Grey material landed on my lap and the door to his room slammed. Pulling at it, it became two articles of clothing. Matching grey hoodie and sweats, much too big for me. I pulled off my ruined clothes reluctantly and dressed in what Paul had provided. As I was changing my back began to ache. Without my faster than normal healing I’d probably curled up in pain with some serious injuries but whatever had been damaged was healing and only giving me some discomfort.

I was folding my clothes when Paul came back into the room and dragged me toward his bathroom silently. He was still silent and look on his face told me to keep it that way until he decided he wanted to hear something.

Paul picked me up with ease, like I weighed less than a piece of paper and set me on the counter. The sink water was already running as he ran a washcloth under it, squeezing it out before bringing it to my face and dabbing at my forehead. He ran the towel under the water again, light pink rinsed from it and ran down the drain. Why my head was bleeding I didn’t know but he seemed determined to take care of me so for the moment I let him. 

He kept rubbing the towel on different spots of my face until the water ran clean from it and he looked satisfied. When he was done putting the towel in the hamper and wiping his hands he came back over to me and took the hair tie out of my hair. I had forgotten about it altogether. My hair was probably a mess anyway so having it down wasn’t much different.

His hands didn’t leave my face like I thought they would. He had used his fingers to get the knots out of my hair and now his hands were cupping my face. His thumbs gently moved back and forth over my cheeks as he stared into my eyes. I could feel mine become glazed over with tears.

“You think you’re so great,” Paul teased from beside me. We had stopped kissing for the moment as we watched the sunset. I shoved his chest and beamed over at him. 

“Better than you,” I teased right back. The smirk on his face was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. When I looked at him, whether he was smiling or not, I knew I wanted to see that face every single day forever. 

“Better than me, huh,” he thought for a minute. His eyes popped wide, I could practically see the lightbulb click on in his head. His head turned slowly to me, an evil smirk forming on his beautiful lips. I knew he was up to no good but I couldn’t help the urge to kiss him that hit me as I stared. 

“What?” I asked, leaning into him and nudging at his shoulder with my head. He looked down at me, smirk still present.

“Well, miss ‘I am so much better than Paul’, how about we see who can climb to the top of those cliffs faster?” he was challenging me? I leaned back from him surprised but intrigued. The only way to get to the bottom of the cliffs was to swim to them and I could hold my breath for long periods of time so that would be a cake walk. Though he was probably challenging me to this specific task because he knew he could beat me.

“You’re on,” I agreed, shoving myself away from him and bounding to the water as quickly as I could. Somewhere behind me Paul could be heard yelling ‘you cheater!’ but I ignored him and laughed as I dove into the frigid water. 

Sometimes to get places when I was younger my father made us swim. It was the best method if you didn’t want someone to catch your scent plus it was a great way to keep kid me entertained. We swam as much as we could, the temperature not really affecting me because of my heightened natural body temperature.

Right now I was thankful for all the time we spent in the water. My arms pushing out in front of me and my legs kicking behind me. Who knew how far behind Paul was, that only made me push harder and go faster. He didn’t seem like the type to let me win so I would have to win this all on my own and I was confident that I was able to pull it off.

My head broke the surface as soon as the rocky shoreline came into view. I kicked off one that was submerged under the water and landed up on the side of the cliff, gripping onto the jagged edges as hard as I could without hurting my hands. Paul was coming out of the water too breathing heavily from having to hold his breath for longer than he was used to.

We made eye contact and I gave him a fleeting smirk and started going up the cliff as fast as I could. I wasn’t wearing the ideal pair of shoes for rock climbing, they didn’t have proper grips on the bottom and they were slippery from being in the water but I made it work. 

I could hear Paul’s labored breathing to the side of me and knew he was gaining on me. I gritted my teeth and grabbed the rocks harder. In my peripheral I could see him going higher than where I was at, he was almost at the top. I didn’t want him to win so bad that I braced my legs on a small ledge that jutted out of the cliff and sprang up as hard as I could on them. Thanking my amazing vampire abilities as I landed at the top of the cliff, leaving Paul hanging onto the side and staring up at me in awe. 

“Cheater,” I heard him mutter as he climbed slowly to the top, not ready to face his defeat. He tried to make his face look sad but I knew better from the mischievous sparkle in his eyes. He stalked over to me rather quickly, the same look on his face the entire time but someone his smile got wider and more suspicious. 

“I’m glad you showed me that you could swim very well,” he whispered very lowly, as he came to a stop so close to me that my chin was brushing his chest. His hands caressed my face gently and he placed a soft kiss to my forehead, before scooping me up into his arms. He started to walk, getting closer to the edge of the cliff we had just climbed.

“Don’t you dare,” I warned him as I glanced down to the water far below us. Gripping onto his shoulders as best as I could, a sinking feeling in my stomach as I sensed what was coming up next. 

“Are you afraid, princess?” he taunted me with the nickname. I felt his arms leave my body and I was flying through the air quickly. Just as I started to feel a cold mist against my body from the waves crashing violently on the rocks, I hit the water and sank far below. My eyes closed as I was submerged, opening again slowly so I could look at the dark ocean around me.

Kicking my legs and flailing my arms, I slowly rose back to the top and broke through the water. Air flooded my lungs and I greedily sucked it in.  A huge wave rose up and towered over me, crashing down and sending me under again. This time I stayed under and swam quickly to the shore. 

“Took you long enough to get back here, princess,” Paul taunted from where he was sitting on the beach. Despite him throwing me into the water the urge to kiss him was there again. Without thinking about anything I charged forward out of the water and tackled him backwards into the sand. Our lips pressed in an urgent, heated kiss. We stayed like that for a few minutes. The waves crashed gently on the beach behind us, the sun setting overhead. 

“You’re going to keep me on my toes, aren’t you, princess?”

The tears poured down my face now as Paul watched me quietly. The connection we had had was immediate and urgent. Some relationships took several years to develop and others took minutes. There was no reason why. Maybe it was fate, something mapped out by an entity greater than us. No one really knows the real reason, the only thing anyone really knew was that some people find their soulmates and others don’t.

The reality was I think I had found mine. As I looked into Paul’s eyes I could see a home, a future. The thought of going against my father made my stomach churn in an unfamiliar way. The decision was made in my mind. For now I would have to put a stop to Paul and I but I wouldn’t be able to close him out completely. But one day I would figure out how to get my father out of my life so I could peacefully be with Paul.

Paul’s thumbs were gently against my cheeks as he wiped my tears away. He was there, right in front of me, looking loving and caring. My heart ached as I thought about having to put off whatever Paul and I had but I knew for now it would be safer for him if I did that. 

“Paul,” I tried to start to tell him what I was thinking but he shushed me real quick and leaned his face toward mine. The kiss was more gentle than the kisses we had shared before, his lips barely touching mine. 

“Em,” he whispered, to me when he pulled away. His arms pulled me into a hug with my cheek pressed against his chest. This felt safe, safer than being home alone worrying about whether my father would show up. His warm skin against me almost lulled me into forgetting and falling asleep.

“Listen, I have something I need to explain to you because I don’t want to hurt you,” Paul sighed quietly form above me but didn’t let me go. His arms stayed wrapped around me tightly and he pressed his head to the top of mine. He nuzzled his cheek against my hair, breathing in heavily like he was trying to calm himself down.

“Don’t,” he whispered, his voice beginning to sound hoarse. I pulled back quickly when I realized he would start crying. Taking his face in my hands I made him look at me.

“It’s not that bad, I promise. My dad saw us on the beach the other day and called me warning me to stay away from the ‘dogs’,” I began. The confession that my dad was involved in me hurting Paul brought a fire to his eyes, his nostrils flaring. He opened his mouth to say something but I was the one to shush him this time. “One day I’ll figure out how to get away from him with no repercussions. One day you and I will be together but right now it’s not safe. He told me he had a friend that was watching me too when he is too busy.”

“Em, no one in the pack will let your dad do anything bad to you or anyone else. Friend or not he’s no match for us ‘dogs’,” he tried to reason with me. His words flowing out urgently like he had to convince me now in fear that he never would have the chance again. The tears were flowing down my face again as he spoke.

“It will make me feel safer if we put us off for a little bit. We need to focus on Victoria anyway, if my dad sees us doing that I have a better chance of explaining that than if he sees us making out on the beach again. Please Paul, doing this will put me at some sort of ease even if it’s not easy and doesn’t feel good,” when I was finished he just stared at me silently for a few minutes. He looked around the small bathroom we were in.

Author's Note:

While this may be a little late for a traditional christmas fic, this is for @murasaki-rose from the DCA Secret Santa 2023 event! I hope that you find this as cute and fluffy as I did while writing it -- Eclipse is an absolute sweetheart and I love any excuse to write him being domestic :3c Thank you also to @solar-synapse for all the feedback to help make sure this piece was as polished as I wanted it to be! ;w; Your advice and writing help is invaluable!

In the quiet emptiness of the hallway, it's all too easy to get lost in your own thoughts.

You stare down at the collection of items in your hands with only the soft echo of Christmas music coming from the end of the hall leading to the living room — soothing, but distant. It has been playing since you woke up earlier that day and the sound has all but fallen into the background of the afternoon chill.

In one of your hands are several old shopping bags stuffed with ribbons, tape and various other supplies for wrapping gifts that you've accumulated over the years. In the other is a relatively small bundle of multicolored lights that have seen far better days. The strands are criss-crossed over one another in giant knots of plastic and unlit bulbs. Is it worth it to untangle them...?

Normally, your answer might have been a solid 'no'.

It isn't because you dislike the holidays or the activities related to them (absolutely not!) but simply because you rarely have a need to pull much out. Ever since moving to this apartment on your own, you didn't exactly have much of a reason to decorate for the holidays — less so after leaving the Pizzaplex when bills got heavier on your shoulders and another job offered higher pay. It was an at-home job doing database work, but... you missed seeing other people. With friends and family so far away, it meant a lot to have even a stupid little holiday party with faces you were somewhat familiar with, even if the pizza and copious amounts of Fizzy Faz served were convenient tax write-offs.

The last two Christmases were spent alone, so you never bothered to pull out much more than a small, cheap tree and some ornaments to decorate its scraggly limbs. It wasn't lonely per se, but...

A loud crash pulls you out of your thoughts. Dropping everything in your hands, you run out of the closet and immediately start to think the worst. There are plenty of boxes in the room you'd sent Eclipse to look through, and if he managed to topple them all...

"Are you okay?" you call out, hurrying down the hallway to find where your housemate had been rummaging through the rest of your old decorations. Worry starts to well up in your chest when you don't get an answer. "... Eclipse?"

"Y-Yes yes! I am alright!" a familiar, bright voice all but chirps before stepping around the corner. He looks entirely unfazed, outside of being covered in several long strings of Christmas lights and smiling like an idiot. "There was a lot of stuff to go through in your office — you had lots of boxes stacked up veeery precariously! But don't worry-"Eclipse gestures to the big tub of loosely packed ornaments he holds like a treasure. "-we made sure these didn't hit the ground!"

Relief flickers across your face for a moment before you start to laugh, the sound filling the air around you and echoing within the snug space of the hallway.

"Oh, those are all plastic ornaments," you say, patting one of Eclipse's arms. "It will take more than a little fall to break them. I think I keep the good ornaments in my bedroom closet."

Eclipse peers down at the container in his arms, then tilts his head curiously. It isn't hard for the animatronic to look endearing, but the fact that he is entirely covered in tangled lights is only making it worse. You reach out and gently try to remove the strands caught between his rays.

"I assume you found all..." you gesture at his entire body and the lights dangling over his face. "All this in there too?"

"Yup!" he nods, smile never fading. "The lights were on top of the box in a big big bundle and... well, it fell down, but we saved these since we thought they were important..."

His expression droops for a moment, but you gently pat the side of Eclipse's faceplate. His eyes lift and meet with yours and, for a breath, you feel your heart begin to race. It takes several seconds before you realize that your fingertips are lingering against the cool metal. You pull them away abruptly, heat spreading across your cheeks.

"That... was very considerate of you," you say with a smile, words honest and praying that he wasn't paying too much attention to the fact that you couldn't quite meet his glowing gaze. "I haven't actually pulled these out in a few years. I... I think they'd look really nice on the tree, if you want to help with that."

The animatronic instantly beams with joy and sprints to the living room before you even have a moment to try and untangle the lights from his body.

Christmas Eve comes and goes with very little fanfare, a lovely and peaceful evening spent in the company of someone you cherish. A friend — and nothing different, though your mind often wandered back to the moment of brief intimacy shared in the hallway; the way your eyes met with his like a spark of electricity, and your heart felt all too tight in your chest.

Just friends. Companions of fate so tightly bound together that you still wonder what possessed you all those months ago to climb through the crumbling skeleton of the old Pizzaplex.

Was it guilt? Curiosity? You'll never quite know the answer, since whatever compelled you was quickly overwhelmed by the shock of seeing the daycare attendant still functioning. Mostly functioning.

You and Eclipse spend the evening together in the living room, gazing at the tree and reminiscing about inconsequential memories of the old Pizzaplex and daycare alike. It was unknown for a while after taking him home if Eclipse could even access Sun and Moon's memory; he explained early on that he himself was something of a backup subsystem, almost like booting up a computer in a safety mode to diagnose errors and issues plaguing it otherwise.

It had been awkward for a month or so, but the two of you grew close rather quickly — especially once time allowed memories and personality quirks to seep into Eclipse's own sense of self: Moon's soft but mischievous nature, Sun's near-overwhelming need to be helpful. It shouldn't have been surprising how they fit so well together, but you still often found yourself wondering about how it all worked inside of the animatronic's mind.

You take a slow, careful sip of the hot drink in your hands. It's sweet, the aroma filling the air as you raise it up to your lips and let its flavor settle over your tongue. It's a nice contrast to the stark chill outside your apartment, making its heat feel all the more comforting as you stare at the tree.

"I think we did a good job!" you finally say, tilting your head just slightly to the side. "And the ornaments are only a liiiitle crooked."

"Are they?" Eclipse asks, tone sounding almost worried as he brings a hand up to the lower half of his faceplate. "We can adjust them again if you think-"

"Eclipse no, no I don't-" you laugh, managing to reach an arm out to keep the bot from moving off the couch beside you without choking on your drink. "It was just a joke. Promise. Besides, it's nicer if things aren't perfect."

He looks at you, silent for a few moments, then slowly leans back into the couch again. That's Sun for you, eager as always to jump and fix a problem...

The lights twinkle in multicolored splendor across the deep green of the fake tree, accented by bits and bobs of ornaments you had collected over the years — many of them were hand-made, either gifted by friends or given to you by the children of the daycare back when you managed that part of the facility. While time has blurred the memories, there are still a couple you can remember clearly, though that might be due to the fact that the ornaments are labeled with the kids' names in various colors of marker, paint and glitter glue.

"Pretty..."

Eclipse's soft whisper catches your attention and makes you giggle. "Yeah," you nod in agreement, turning and looking towards him. "The lights are really-"

Oh. He'd been looking at you.

Both of your gazes lock together for a moment before the bot averts his eyes quickly, the entire exchange only taking a moment or two but feeling almost like an eternity as heat rises up into your cheeks for a second time that day.

"I uh." You try to collect your thoughts, then nod towards the tree. "I think you did a good job on getting those lights untangled! I would have just tossed them out."

Eclipse hums, gaze trailing towards the tree. "Thank you," he says. "It wasn't too hard to do! Just takes time to unravel everything properly."

You feel impressed for a few moments before remembering that Eclipse — Sun and Moon, to be specific — are likely programmed with enough patience to tolerate such a herculean feat. When compared to dealing with a horde of small children on a daily basis, untangling a few sets of Christmas lights is nothing more than child's play (pun certainly not intended).

You sip your drink silently, trying not to think about how gently he had looked at you.

The evening is peaceful and sweet.

"Merry Christmas!"

Eclipse's voice is a bright ray of warmth amidst the frigid backdrop of winter.

You almost don't see him as you step into the room, bleary eyes blinking away the last drops of sleep; you might have slept a few hours longer if Eclipse hadn’t sent you a flurry of text messages begging you to wake up.

The bot looks at you from the other side of the couch, rays twitching with excitement. He leans forward on his knees as if eagerly waiting for your reply.

"Merry Christmas to you too, buddy," you murmur with a smile. After a moment, you narrow your gaze and raise a brow. "Have you been... sitting there all night?"

"Not all night," he corrects, glowing eyes glancing off to the side. "We needed to spend an hour or so in the kitchen to charge, but... well, we were just too excited! We want to open open open the presents under the tree!"

He shifts more onto the couch, making your face crane upwards to keep his gaze. It's easy to forget how tall Eclipse is when he's almost constantly hunching over or sitting on the floor beside you. He's simply excited, so the looming shadow overhead is hardly frightening even as he claps his hands together with a loud metallic thunk.

"And we want to watch you open your present too!"

The gesture brings a smile to your still-tired lips. Glancing behind him at the multicolored shapes sitting innocently beneath the belighted tree, you have to wonder, what in the world could he have gotten for you? It's not as if Eclipse has the ability to leave the house to purchase a gift, and you haven’t noticed him working on anything recently...

Curiosity wins out in the end, though you wouldn’t be able to deny the over-enthusiastic animatronic such a simple joy for long, especially not with that adorable, pleading look on his faceplate.

After all, had the animatronics of the Pizzaplex ever truly been able to celebrate the holidays? Outside of trying to sell something, of course — the Fazbear Corporation wasn't one to let a chance at profit slip away from them so easily — you don't recall there ever being a lot of opportunities for Sun or Moon to get into the spirit of things themselves. 

Sure, there were special crafts for the kids and a change in the decorations strewn about the facility, but… In a way, this really is Eclipse's first ever Christmas.

"Let me get something warm to drink," you finally say, smile never dropping from your lips at the thought. "And then we can open presents, m’kay?"

The bot's excited shouts echo into the kitchen as you step through the archway separating the rooms. It doesn't take very long to prepare something hot to sip on, yet by the time you return to the living room, Eclipse is already sitting beside the tree and staring intently at the wrapped gifts beneath it.

"They're not going anywhere," you tease as you step around him and sit down on the couch. The cushions sink pleasantly beneath your weight, soft and warm, and it's only then that you realize just how cold the air feels; you’ll have to get up in a bit to make sure your heater isn't acting up again. "You'll survive waiting just a little bit longer, you dork."

It's hard not to feel amused by the way Eclipse looks at you, annoyed and restless, so much like a child told to be patient. He's all but leaning against the side of the tree, waiting for the first syllable of permission to grab the golden-wrapped box nearest where he's sitting.

"We've been waiting for exactly ten hours and thirty-seven minutes!" he says pointedly. "And technically you are the one who's late to opening the gifts. I had to wake you up!"

You lift an eyebrow as you sip the hot liquid. "... And what happened to 'not being up all night'?"

Eclipse makes a low, scoffing noise but otherwise doesn't offer an answer. He simply turns his attention back towards the presents and stares at them again, so hard that it's almost like he’s trying to see through the obstructive layers to the gift within.

There's a soft whisper in the back of your head idly musing to itself — how long can Eclipse be patient? You have half a mind to find out, perhaps even making him wait until you’ve finished your drink and gone to check the thermostat, but... No, you're not quite that cruel.

"Alright then," you giggle, setting the mug down and climbing off the couch to sit cross-legged on the floor beside him. "Pick out a gift to open up." Beneath the fake green branches are a variety of boxes decorated in several different kinds of wrapping paper, so you take a moment to direct Eclipse's excitement by pointing them out. "Yours are wrapped in the sparkly gold paper, Sun's is the yellow polka-dot, and Moon's is the dark blue with the little stars."

You'd almost feel a little silly in wrapping their gifts up individually if you didn't already know how much Eclipse appreciated the distinction. Sun and Moon's individual processors and coding are still in self-repair mode, but you like the idea that they could still enjoy the holiday through Eclipse's eyes when they finally ‘wake’ back up.

"Can I... can I open them all?" Eclipse asks, picking up one of the blue boxes and giving it a gentle, experimental shake.

You nod, feeling more and more embarrassed as the words fall from your tongue. "Yeah! I figured that as long as they could like, see through your eyes when you opened the presents that it would... I dunno, I hope I didn't misunderstand when you said you could recall each other's memories..."

"Oh! No, you didn't misunderstand!" Eclipse sets the gift down and reaches out a hand to touch your cheek. The gesture is meant to be reassuring — he tends to use physical touch a lot when comforting someone — but his cool silicone fingertips feel like ice against your searing hot skin. "We just want to make sure we're following correct traditional expectations. On the internet, it said that it's rude to open presents for other people on Christmas."

You blink. Though you feel almost endeared by how sweet and polite he is, a detail sticks out in Eclipse's words that gives you a moment of pause.

"The internet?"

Eclipse's expression freezes. He pulls his hand back after a moment, looking decidedly more sheepish than before as his eyes flick back and forth to little parts of the living room that certainly aren’t as interesting as he makes them seem.

"Eclipse," you say gently. "Since when did you have access to the internet when I’m not around?"

After recovering him from the broken facility, you took every precaution to keep the animatronic safe — and that included the possibility of him getting a virus from a direct connection to your home's internet. Sure, you have a great anti-virus, a strong firewall and VPN since your job requires it, but you aren’t sure what kind of security programs Eclipse himself has onboard his processors.

Though there is a good chance that Fazco outfitted all of their animatronics with something to keep their software safe, you can't take any chances. You know of only one old programmer that had worked on Sun and Moon before the fire. His contact number is safely tucked away on your phone, but you don't want to know how much he'd charge to repair Eclipse if the bot stumbles into the dark corners of the web. 

It’s why you prefer to let him use your phone or tablet to amuse himself when you can keep an eye on him. More often than not, Eclipse was entertained by pet videos and video game playthroughs, so it never occurred to you that he’d try to connect himself directly if he had no need to do so.

You must be staring at him pretty hard while everything parses through your brain, because after a few seconds Eclipse starts to tilt his faceplate this way and that, his body language growing jittery in the same way that Sun’s does when he's nervous. Wringing his hands together. Unsure where to let his eyes fall. Anxious.

"We didn't connect directly to the internet, for the record!" the bot finally exclaims. "No broken rules whatsoever! We just..." he pauses, then quickly grabs a box wrapped in red and white-striped paper. You know it's one you didn’t wrap even before seeing the little tag taped in the corner with your name on it.

Though a part of your mind would like to continue questioning his little internet secret, curiosity has been gnawing at everything since he mentioned there was a gift for you. Even if it was little more than a kid's art project, the gesture alone makes you feel almost giddy. He went out of his way to make sure you had something under the tree, even though you had told him many times over that it didn't matter — you have the financial stability to get yourself something nice every now and again, and it was more important that he had something to look forward to. That he got a really nice Christmas experience. For all that Eclipse has been through over the last several months (perhaps even years) it's the least that he deserves right now.

So to be genuinely surprised by a gift is... really nice. It makes something twist up gently in the center of your chest that you can't quite identify.

"Alright, alright," you giggle, shifting so that you can set the box down over your crossed legs and start tearing the thin paper away in long strips. Unsurprisingly, a simple cardboard box lies beneath, easily opened with a few careful tugs at the folded flaps.

Initially, all you can see within is a small mountain of bubble wrap. It takes a few seconds to pull most of it out, but eventually you reveal a shiny metallic form hidden within one last layer of bubble wrap carefully packed around it.

Pulling the item out and unrolling the protective layers, you realize that it's a music box sitting in your palms. It's relatively small — barely larger than a fist — and it looks familiar.

There used to be a gift shop at the Pizzaplex, and this one almost resembles the little music boxes sold there, but not exactly. Those were minuscule things, cheap to produce and capable of playing a thin, tinny version of various jingles heard around the facility, one of them being the Superstar Daycare theme, but… you had really wanted one of them. Silly, yeah, but you often caught yourself thinking ‘I’ll buy one with the next paycheck’ whenever you passed by the shop, and then coming across another bill that needed to be paid first.

This one mimics the overall design of a jack-in-the-box, with a bent handle jutting out of one side and a flat top that looks like it might open up if you start to wind it. A few tiny marks of imperfection speak to it being handmade; the metal is bent a little too much on the edges, and there are places where the paint hasn’t been applied smoothly. It's colored red on one side and a deep navy blue on the other with little stars speckled across the entire thing, though it's the carefully embossed shapes of a sun and crescent moon that catch your attention most.

"It's... beautiful, Eclipse. I love it."

Your words are little more than a soft whisper, stilted despite your attempts to hide the emotions plaguing them. There's something so personable about the gift that you can't quite put a finger on, and it weighs pleasantly heavy in your hands and heart alike.

Movement in the corner of your eye pulls your attention away from the item in your hands. Eclipse has shifted quite a bit closer to you, so much that when you look up, you find his faceplate barely more than a few inches away from your face. He reaches down, one palm cupping around the back of your hands to stabilize the music box while his other hand slowly winds it up. All the while, your thoughts linger over how gentle and large his hands are, practically engulfing yours against his flat palm.

The sweet sound of the daycare jingle fills the air with gentle, dulcet tones.

"We made this," he says so quietly that you might have missed the words if he wasn't so close to you. "It took a long time. You said you liked being in the daycare, that you wanted one of the music boxes so... we thought you'd like to have your own."

There are layers of meaning in those words; nostalgia for a time when things were less lonely, bitterness for the fact you'll never be able to experience it again, and an overwhelming sense of heaviness that you can't begin to decipher properly. What... is this feeling? It makes your chest ache and your eyes start to water, wet heat building up behind your sight until you realize that everything has started to go blurry.

That heat bubbles up until it's too much, then starts to roll down your cheeks in heavy droplets. 

Ah. That's what's happening now, huh?

"Eclipse..."

You truly don't mean for your lip to quiver when you say his name. Nor do you mean to look so pathetic when his gaze meets yours — just a few inches of space between you both. Close enough to see the way his mechanical irises twitch and focus.

The bot suddenly freezes in place at the sound of your voice, entire body going stiff as ice for a silent heartbeat before his words start to run into one another.

"O-Oh my— We're— we're so sorry, sorry we didn't mean to make you cry oh goodness no we're so sorry starlight we didn't realize-" He fumbles his hands around yours as if to take the offensive item away, but you wrap your fingers so tightly around the metal shape with firm denial that it almost hurts.

"N-no!" It's hard to sound convincing when tears are actively dripping down your cheeks. "It's okay. I promise. I'm just- It's a really, really sweet gift. I wasn't expecting it to... hah, I'm just a bit more emotional about it than I thought I'd be."

A bit more emotional is a severe understatement, but it's hard to pinpoint why something so simple makes you feel as though your heart is about to burst right from your chest. It takes a moment, holding tight to your assurance and the music box both before Eclipse's body loosens up.

"It's... it's good?"

You nod. "Yeah! It's such a thoughtful gift, you... obviously put a lot of work into it." More work than you thought he'd be able to do, given the fact that you didn't have any metalworking tools available in the house. Or paint. Actually... "How in the world were you able to even make this?"

Eclipse is silent for a moment, still for just a breath before his fingertips begin rubbing idle circles into the back of your hands. He looks sheepish and fidgety again, but this time, you genuinely want to know what he's trying to keep secret and aren’t afraid to push the question.

"Eclipse..."

"So, you know when you take trips into town to do your errands?" he offers after a moment. 

You nod. Even while working from home, you still need to get groceries and take care of the random tasks that come up every now and again. "Well, we... We found out that the library down the road has a little workshop. A-and the people who work there are really, really nice!"

Oh. 

Oh god.

"You left the house?"

Eclipse immediately lifts his hands and waves them apologetically. "W-We didn't go far! Not far at all, just a few minutes walk away! W-we even made sure it was okay, emailed the librarian and asked if we were allowed to use the workshop!"

You groan. Eclipse is half-right on where your worry lay with him leaving the safety of your house, but he doesn’t seem to grasp the fact that he is a seven-odd-foot tall animatronic with no ability to pass as human. Granted, Fazco was all but driven out of town after the fire decimated the old facility, but you can’t risk someone identifying Eclipse and trying to claim him as company property.

The music box is still playing, though the tune has slowed down slightly. Maybe it's the soft sounds, maybe it's the heat in your chest — maybe it's the way Eclipse is looking at you with such wide, sad eyes that it's hard to stay mad — but you feel your anger yield to weary amusement.

"So you actually snuck away every time I went to get groceries?"

"Not every time," Eclipse denies. "Just... here and there since you mentioned wanting a music box." His words and expression grow warm, and for a moment you can almost swear that his faceplate is radiating heat. "Everyone there was really nice to me. Promise! When we told them what we were trying to do, they even showed me how to use the equipment and gave us materials to use since we said we, uh, didn't have any money."

"Well," you sigh, "I'll have to thank them sometime." And make sure nobody is going to report this to the police, or worse, a company lawyer.

As the tune of the music box winds down, finally going silent halfway through its melody, you come to realize that Eclipse hasn't moved. He's still hovering, faceplate so close that you can see all the little movements of his lips, as if there's something else he wants to say.

In fact, he's close enough that you can...

It all happens faster than your brain can process. Your body leans forward, face tilting up, lips parted ever so slightly. Eclipse's mouth is made of the same soft silicon covering his fingers and hands, made to be flexible and resilient so that he could be expressive and friendly-looking. You once wondered what those lips might feel like against yours, but nothing in the world could have prepared you when you close the inches of empty space between your faces.

Soft. They feel so... soft. And warm too, since you were absolutely right about Eclipse's faceplate heating up. Though you desperately want it to be anything but, the kiss is quick and awkward. It's only when he moves against you that reason and logic catch up with instinct and impulse.

You pull back suddenly, eyes wide and cheeks hot as fire while your brain desperately tries to come up with a worthwhile reply. Broken noises are all that falls from your lips however, bits and pieces of his name intermixed with something vaguely sounding like an apology.

Fear clutches your heart as it starts to race. You begin to push away, hoping that space might help you process your swirling thoughts, but Eclipse swiftly wraps an arm around your waist, preventing your escape.

"No," he says, plucking the music box from your hands and gently setting it down beside the two of you. Though his words could be considered shy or bashful, Eclipse's tone is firm and low. "Do that... do that again?"

You can say no.

You can tell him to let you go, and there's not a doubt in your mind that he would do so instantly. But... there's a part of you that doesn't want him to, a part that's been worming through your mind and in your chest ever since the first night he'd been with you — his hands on your back and his voice in your ear, soothing you through one of the most terrifying nightmares you'd ever had in your life.

Instead of saying anything at all, you simply lean forward and press your lips to his again.

This time it's less awkward, one moment blurring into the next as he learns how to reciprocate the motion and allow his mouth to meld against your own. The kiss is a little wetter than you expect, but that's only until you realize that there's a tongue gently pressing at the seam of your lips. You part them instinctively and allow Eclipse to taste you, one hand still on the small of your back as the other reaches up to cradle the back of your head.

It's so hot, so soft, so... so nice, actually. Your own hands are grasping at the loose shirt he wears, some old hand-me-down piece that fits him better than it ever did yourself. The fabric crumples in your fists and helps to anchor you while emotions swirl around like a storm.

And then, slowly, it's done. Eclipse pulls his faceplate back and looks down at you with half-lidded eyes, their glow so bright that it's as if you're looking into the sun itself, but they dim quickly, blinking as the two of you let the moment catch up with your bodies.

There's a quiet emptiness in the living room, the air still around you and Eclipse both. It settles for a few seconds, then fills with warmth that seems to emanate deep within your chest and lifts the corners of your lips into a shy smile.

"... Merry Christmas?" you finally offer, hoping the words could break the silence — and they do, leaving everything feeling cozy and comfortable as you allow Eclipse to hold your body up. He simply giggles, a smile mirrored on his expression as he looks down at you like you are the most precious thing in the world.