Playdates

Something in Common

You flinch, preparing for what Moon might do to you. You don't know how to defend yourself in situations like this. You keep your eyes sowed together whilst you feel...

 Is a cold hand gently lifting your chin? You can feel Moon caressing your cheek with his thumb. You feel your heart relax. "Open your eyes..." 

You slowly open your eyes to see his glowing eyes staring into yours. Strange...Moon has pupils. You feel your face heat up. He brushes his thumb towards your eye. "How odd...you hide your emotions and problems but long for someone to love and understand you. Such beautiful eyes..."

You now remember Matthew telling you how gentle Moon can be. He gets angered pretty easily though and that's when all hell breaks loose. Fuck, you're so forgetful. 

Moon let's go of your face, still crouching on the desk. His smile is soft and somewhat welcoming. You try to go back to your paperwork whilst he just sits there looking at you like a cat waiting for its prey.  "Oh, don't be so bashful...I don't bite~"

You only whimper just to tell him you won't say anything. You're flustered and terrified at the same time which you never knew was possible. You hear Claire begin to wail into the darkness. You sigh under your breath and get up from the office chair to go put her back to sleep. But, before you could do so, Moon shoots up from where he was and picks her up, and floats above you. You look above and see him rocking Claire gently. He softly sings 'Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star'. 

You hear Claire calm down and begin to coo softly. She tugs at Moon's hat and you can hear moon chuckle (which, honestly, you thought was hot). After a few minutes, Claire is sound asleep. You finally finish your paperwork after thirty minutes or so. 

Moon lowers himself down and sits upon the desk still holding a sleeping Claire. Moon begins talking quietly to you, "Not going to speak to me yet, are you, dear? I'll respect that... 

"You humans seem so fragile. One wrong touch harms you...I wish wasn't programmed to be rough if I'm tempered..." He blabbers. 

Your brain bubbles with questions, though you're too nervous to ask any of them. With all your might, you're able to blurt out, "How do you scare people away?"  

Moon looks toward you with a surprised expression and then explains, "Ever since a certain incident, you humans thought of me as a crass monster. I despise disobedience and I'm aware I may not handle it appropriately...

"If I ever try to at least have a bond with an adult human they either run away or use foul language towards me. I may not technically have emotions, but it isn't pleasant being the outcast..."

You look at the robotic moon with empathy. How strange; you have something in common with a robot. In a way it's pathetic, but this particular robot has so many human-like features it's scary. So it counts in your book. 

You rest your hand on Moon's own. He looks you dead in the eyes. In a way, he looks spooked. You avert from his glare and tell him "I...I know how you feel, man. With...Aspergers...people call you a freak and... and treat you like crap. 

Moon's eyes soften, "Is that so?" 

"Ye-yeah. It sucks. People can be such jerks. They just laugh and laugh and punch you and steal your clothes and everyone leaves you in the dark...all alone...waiting for someone... to take you out of that darkness." 

You didn't notice it before but you're crying. After you see Moon give you a concerned look, you feel hot tears streaming down your cheeks. You quickly wipe them off, "Sorry, sorry. I don't talk a lot. Not even to myself." 

Moon rests Claire upon his lap and takes your other hand. "It's perfectly fine to express your emotions." He becomes strangely quiet for a moment, "What does...depression feel like?"

"Oh boy, you have no idea!" You explain. "Well...uh...first of all, it's not a nice feeling. Well, it's more of a mental illness? Whatever. Anyway, It feels like this cold and dark pit in your stomach. It makes you feel like sh- crap. Sometimes, it's like you just wanna lay in your bed and rot. Then other times, you can sob over something small or sob just because. Then you don't wanna do anything. Depression can make you lose sleep terribly and hardly eat anything: or it can be the other way around: you can eat 24/7 and try to sleep 24/7." 

Moon looks down at Claire, who's still sound asleep. "That sounds...dreadful."

"Tell me about it," you reply.

He lets go of your hands and picks Claire back up and softly says "Thank you...for speaking with me, Y/N." 

You look at his small smile. You can also tell that he's looking behind you instead of in your eyes. "Huh? Oh...uh...no problem." You feel your face heat just a little. 

Moon chuckles and then says "Maybe we could talk more whilst the children are resting?"  

You look at him, feeling hope some what grow in your stomach. You then look at the padded grounds again. "I uh...sure...it's no biggie. 

He smiles at you softly and begins to babble all over again. You nod slightly or agree silently to whatever he says; not saying much but listening to every word. You don't realize it, but you accomplished something that you've been wanting to earn for a while. Make a new friend. 

(923 words)