Fishy Fingers
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.
