The daycare was still bustling an hour later, though some of the children had gone home. Sun had done my make-up as he said, being very meticulous, so he of course felt bad that he had left Earth with nearly 200 kids. She insisted it was fine and that she got them under control - which she had - but Sun still apologized one hundred times over.
I adjusted the mask carefully. The children were avoiding me, presumably because the owner of the uncomfortable uniform I now wore was the object of many a nightmare. One girl sat in my lap on the floor, leaning back against my chest and dozing. She had just come over and nuzzled down without saying a word. I didn't mind too much. Absently, I twirled one lock of her hair between my fingers and gazed around the daycare. Earth was stopping a child from ingesting glitter glue, and Sun sat next to a drawing table crowded with kiddos, seeming to show them how to draw something.
I smiled softly. In his room, I had seen a stack of around 10 very thick, bulky binders sitting in a corner. When prompted about it, Sun had admitted to laminating and hole-punching every single drawing a child has given him. He said he told the kids to sign their name on it - not so someone else can't steal their art, but so he could remember the child that drew it. He didn't frame any few he liked better, he didn't throw a single one away. Every one was stored in his room as a keepsake.
The girl in my lap stirred, and my thoughts snapped back to the present. I looked down at her. "Why, good morning, starlight!" She didn't look back at me for a few seconds. She got of my lap and moved her hands, seeming to fiddle with them. There was a pause in the movement as I stared at her hands, then she repeated the motions in the same manner. "Uhm..." I stand slowly.
"Is something the matter?"
The girl and I both turn to Sun, who had appeared as if by magic. He glanced between us.
I chuckle awkwardly. "This little one is acting like she wants to tell me something," I inform him.
His eyes fall on the girl. and he nods in understanding. He makes movements himself with his hands, speaking with each change - holding his palms to the air and shaking his hands - "What"; turning his palm outward, closing his fist, and lifting his pinky before snapping it back down "is"; pointed off to the side with his index finger "it"; and finally, pointing to the sky with both index fingers and moving his hands up and down alternately "star?". What is it, Star?
The girl replies by twirling her index fingers together, snapping her pinky up and down as Sun did, and then flicking her hands upward and dabbing her chin.
(Sorry if that's a bad description)
Sun moved his thumb up then pressed his hands together and tilted one with his index finger out. "Ten minutes!"
The girl nods before rushing off to a group. I realize I was staring at Sun with my mouth open slightly, so I snap it closed. He raises an eyebrow at me, letting his hands fall to his sides. "Do you not know ASL?" he asks.
"Oh," I gasp, "that is what it was? Afraid not."
Sun sighs. "Yeah, Emma's deaf, like a lot of kids I take care of. I took lessons when I was around 15, since I had a friend who was mute. I wanted to be able to talk to him."
That is very cool.
"Wow!" I find myself exclaiming. "I didn't know you could do... uhm..." I also did not know how to voice it. Do ASL? Do that?
"... anything!"
Sun sucked in air through his teeth. "I know I'm pretty useless, but that's harsh."
I realize how bad it sounded and instantly panic. My words jumbled together, as they tend to do in these situations. "Nono,Ididn'tmeanitthatway!Ijustmeantthat,yaknow,ASL!Wow!Imean,uh,coolandthat.You'renotuseless,pleasedon'tcallyourselfuseless-"
Sun chuckles and holds up his hands to silence me, which works. "I know what you meant. Thanks. I can teach you, if you want," he offers.
"Oh," I sigh, "that would be lovely! Please do, but don't waste time on me."
He scratches his neck. "It wouldn't be a waste of time if it helps you."
That... is true.
I take a deep breath. "Okay, yeah... yeah..."
I couldn't help but admire Sun. He was so cool...
YOU ARE READING
Parallel Paths (SaMS RuinxSun Ship)
Fanfiction(This is a continuation of Digital Delicacy, instead from Ruin's POV. Still Human AU) No one trusts Ruin fully - he knows this. His past self, that... thing that had taken over his body, had destroyed the home of the Celestara family. He doesn't bla...
