Robotic Hearts, and The Terror Soon To Come

Circles and Circles

"Don't worry about it, I'll put them to bed." Sun insisted soothingly. He laid you down in bed, tucked you in, and in the softest voice whispered. "It'll be okay, I promise..."

Sun sighed and sat back down beside Moon.

"Did you find out why they were upset?" Moon asked, leaning over slightly.

Sun stared at the ground, rubbing his thumbs together. He stayed silent for what felt like forever.

"Um... Well, they were frightened.."

"Do you know why?" He sounded so worried, you being scared was the last thing he wanted.

"I.. I do.. Um.. It was something you said.. To one of the other children... And they are very scared of you finding out, so please don't talk to them about it just yet..."

Moon tensed up the second those words hit the air.

"I.. I scolded a guest earlier... Maybe they just misheard... "

Sun didn't quite believe that, but it broke his heart to think his brother would not only lie to him, but lie to him about something so delicate.

".. Alright, um... They also brought up a box of pictures that uh.."

"Oh, that.. That.. That was for scrapbooking... I didn't know they'd seen it.."

"You scrapbook?"

".. It was going to be a surprise... I just haven't found the perfect book yet." Now, he did want to make a big family scrapbook, but did that make it any better? To get someone to develop, to hoard, and to hide so many pictures of a person without their knowledge?

Sun clasped his hands together and simulated a deep breath.

"... I-I'm sorry, Moony.. I didn't mean to accuse you or anything, they just looked so scared and-"

"It's okay, I get it, the safety of the child in your care comes first."

Moon rubbed Sun's shoulder slowly.

"I'd bet it's their parents' impatience that makes them so hesitant to tell when or why they're scared." He said quietly. It wasn't entirely untrue, but he was only bringing it up to steer away from his own faults.

"Maybe... It is a little concerning how scared they are of you finding out.." Sun agreed.

Moon squeezed his shoulder, "Go on and charge, Sunny. You've had a long day."

Sun nodded and plugged himself in, Moon watched and waited for him to settle completely before curling up in the corner.

"... Shit.."

...

Sun woke you up, much earlier than Moon usually did as it was the only way he could see you in the mornings.

"Rise and shine, little buddy!"

For a second there, you didn't remember what was wrong, pure sleepy bliss. Oh, but that never lasts long, does it. Still, you got up and followed Sun out. Moon was on the couch and waving to you. Maybe it was fear, or guilt, or something entirely new, either way it hurt. It was overwhelming, like a million alarms going off inside you, and the only thing you could think was "hide".

Sun picked up on this fast, "Heyyy, you wanna go set up for the day with me?" He asked with feigned cheer.

You nodded and left with him eagerly, much to Moon's disappointment. Sun started putting out coloring sheets, having you set crayons in the middle of each table. He danced around the room doing that, humming to himself, and eventually trying to talk to you.

".. Little one.. I don't think he meant to be scary.."

".. But he was.." You mumbled, not looking away from the crayons.

Sun stopped and nodded slowly, "Yeah... Yeah, he was.."

It took him a moment to collect his thoughts. "But, can you try to talk to him? .. I-I'll be there the entire time, and you'd be able to leave whenever.."

You thought about it, you didn't really want to say no when Sun seemed so hopeful. And Moon was your closest friend.. But what he'd said, how were you supposed to forget that? How were you supposed to make it stop echoing in your head?

Sun noticed your unease and put his hand over yours, "How.. How about we think about it over breakfast?"

You nodded, it was probably better to be upset on a full stomach than an empty one.

Unlike Moon, Sun actually let you feed yourself. It helped you think a little better, without the constant distraction. And thinking was what you needed to focus on.

Sun piped up once you were done, "Sooo, think you're ready to go up there now?"

".. Yeah."

He could tell you didn't want to go and placed a soothing hand on your back. "It'll be alright."

Moon was waiting for there for you when you got back, craft supplies sprawled around him. When he saw you walk in he gasped and reached his arms out. "Hello, my baby!"

You stumbled backwards, staring at the floor. Moon was saddened, but not deterred.

Sun pulled you down to the ground and sat beside you. He held his hand up to Moon, a silent, "Dial it down."

Still determined, Moon tried a different route. He put his hands in his lap and lowered his voice even more than usual. "So, I was thinking we could put together a little craft..."

He pushed a book in front of you, it looked handmade. The front and back were cardboard, covered in felt, decorated with a sun and a moon.

"I'd like us to fill this with memories.." He said softly, pulling a box, that box, pulling it towards you.

You hid behind Sun, your knees pressed against your chest. He pet your head slowly whilst glaring at his brother.

Sun took it upon himself to sort through the pictures with his other hand. Any picture with either of you sleeping, being comforted, in moments he didn't want you to see, or in those he thought you'd rather keep private, did not leave that box. It didn't leave much, but there were some good ones.

He tried to offer you the stack, but it didn't seem like your mood would improve much. So he leaned over to Moon and whispered, "I think they'd be better off adding the stickers..."

And that's exactly what you did. Sun and Moon tapped in a few pictures, and you got to quietly cover the pages in stickers galore. It wasn't quite happy, certainly not the bonding moment Moon had hoped, but it didn't end in tears again.

You all helped put the supplies away, getting it done quickly. You went off to put up the last thing, Sun grabbed Moon by the hands.

"We're going to talk about this later." His voice held so much kindness, but also made it clear this was not up for debate.

"... Okay." Moon only sounded defeated.

You spent the day at Sun's side, not to play, only to stand there silently, helping him out when needed.

You didn't know what to do, what to think. You just knew you felt lied to, and confused, and hurt. Because you'd done everything right, because for a little while everything felt better, and because it still slipped through your fingers. You tried your best, to be the best friend, to be the child. 'Where did I go wrong?', you thought. Because now Moon was acting weird, weirder than normal at least. You didn't know what you did to deserve that, just that you couldn't do any more wrong standing quietly.

Sun was clearly less chipper, multiple children asked if he was sick. He felt sick, sick of the situation, sick to his nonexistent stomach. He just wanted everyone to be happy. He knew Moon was lying to him, it was all just avoiding conflict at that point.

...

It was a long day, for all of you. Sun kept you physically healthy, and tried to cheer you up to no avail. After a while of tiptoeing around the mere thought of entering the room, he gave up and just put you to bed.

The two sat on the couch together, Sun refusing to face his brother.

"Why do you do this? I really want to understand."

"... What?"

"You know what."

"..."

"You need to pull yourself together, Moon. I will not force that child to live their whole life walking on eggshells because you're, what, jealous of a little kid?"

"I-"

"I changed my mind, I don't want to hear it. ... You're making us both miserable, I hope you know that."

Sun made a quick wall of boxes in the corner and plugged himself in behind it.

Moon sat in silence. A failure. Could... Could he even nurse his broken dream back together? The thoughts were swarming, overpowering, overwhelming, painful. It got bad in his head, violent. He was ready to tear that room apart, tear it apart so it would match his family.

And then he heard muffled sobs.

He crawled through the little blue tunnel, slowly and quietly. He was met with you, cocooned in a blanket, stuffed animal in arm, tears streaked down your cheeks. His shining light, his baby, his everything, in constant shambles and he knew he was to blame.

Moon carefully scooped you up into his arms, petting you with shaking hands. His whole world shattered when he heard the next words out of your trembling little lips.

"... Do you hate me now?"