Chapter Text
The side room was dark, save for the soft lights of blinking consoles and Eclipse's own optics. He lay in the bed, staring up at the ceiling, hands clasped over his chest. It was late. Very late. He would rather be working right now, but Roxanne, the damned wolf, had inexorably sent him away from his desk, demanding that he needed sleep or some bullshit along those lines. He was supposed to be asleep, apparently. Rest mode didn't come easily.
Light spilled out across the ceiling, a soft blue in color, and the creaking of a door met his audials, then two small, muted steps. Eclipse listened to the following silence for a long moment, eyes remaining on the ceiling. The quiet hum of his lab was louder now that the door was open.
“Um…” a small voice started. So it was Andy. “Are… Are you awake…?” he whispered quietly, his voice going hoarse with a nervous strain.
Eclipse stared up for a while longer before closing his optics with a low sigh. He tilted his head, looking at Andy. He looked small in the silhouette of the doorway, his yellow eyes glowing just faintly and his shoulders hunched. His gaze followed Eclipse's slight motion, a tension rising up his little arms.
“What do you need, Andy..?” Eclipse asked softly. Despite himself, the volume of his voice lowered to a rasp in the silence of the room.
Andy tensed. His gaze fell, and his hands came together, thumbs twiddling. “Um… U-um…” He looked slightly to the side, as if trying to avoid Eclipse's ever present stare. “I… had… a nightmare…” he said slowly, his voice somehow becoming smaller.
Eclipse eyed the child, raising a brow. A nightmare? “And what am I supposed to do about that?” he asked dryly.
Andy's head lowered slightly, his mouth pulling to a tight line and his hands squeezing together. “I– … Can I stay in– in here tonight…?”
Eclipse blinked, then frowned. “How old are you, again-? Nine-?” He cut himself off with a sigh, letting his head fall back. After a moment, he braced his arms against the bed, sitting up. The bed creaked quietly under him, the covers shifting. He drew his knees up, the fabric of his pants and the blanket hissing against each other, then rested an arm atop his knee. A tired gaze was turned to Andy. Andy stared right back, his tense expression lost in exchange for a wide-eyed, uncertain stare. After a long pause, he finally, albeit unenthusiastically, asked, “What was it about..?”
Andy's hands squeezed tighter, beginning to wring, and he looked down. His brow furrowed, a frustration coming to his eyes, and he crossed his arms, looking away. “Being stuck in that body with Afton…” he muttered lowly.
Eclipse frowned slightly, but he kept his gaze steady. Tilting his head, he pointed out, “You're not, anymore.”
Andy's eyes narrowed further. His shoulders hunched, and his previously crossed arms came more around him in a self-hug. “Still feel trapped,” he muttered.
Eclipse watched the child for a long moment, how he glared off to the side, expression stubbornly gruff despite his nervous posture. God damnit, this kid acted more like him every day… With a quiet sigh, Eclipse dragged his gaze forward, staring at the cracked door. Light silhouetted it, making it and the corner behind it look darker than before. “You're… not stuck in that body anymore,” he reworded slowly. “You have your own body. You're in control of yourself.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “No one's… forcing you to be a captive in your own body.” Slowly, he drew his gaze back to Andy. Yellow eyes watched him intently, some tension once again lost as he listened to his words. “You're not trapped anymore.” He hesitated a moment, then more softly added, “You're free.”
Andy's brows furrowed, and he looked down. “Doesn't feel like it…”
With a harsh sigh, Eclipse pinched the bridge of his nose. “You're free from Afton, then,” he repeated dryly, some irritation making its way into his tone. The room fell silent. Eclipse's gaze returned to Andy. The child was staring down at the ground, twiddling his thumbs. His face was scrunched up, and there was clear discomfort in his posture. Eclipse's eyes narrowed, and he sighed again. “There's something else,” he guessed quietly. “You're not going to just stand there all night.”
Andy's shoulders hunched, and he chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. Head turning away, he quietly asked, “Can… I... sleep with you tonight…?”
Eclipse frowned. He had half a mind to shoot his request down and tell him to grow up. That remark died before it even reached his voicebox, though. Rather, another sigh left the small modulator in his chest, long and tired. He stared dully at the wall beside the door. Reluctantly, he said, “… Fine.”
Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Andy's gaze dart up to him as he slowly shifted over, white optics downturned as he repositioned, then laid back down. “Close the damn door, first,” he growled as he rested back. He patted the bed beside him, then crossed his arms, staring up at the ceiling with narrowed optics. There was a long beat of silence before he heard Andy's quiet footsteps. The light on the ceiling pulled away in a line, the shadow of the door consuming it until nothing was left. The quiet click of the door latching shut reached him. Then, Andy made his way back over, steps slow and quiet.
The bed shook slightly beneath him as little hands grabbed at the edge, Andy grunting as he pulled himself up with some difficulty, his smaller size making the task harder than it probably should have been. The boy sat for a moment, and Eclipse could tell he was watching him without even looking to see more than a silhouette in the corner of his vision. After a moment, Andy shifted, then laid down next to Eclipse. Eclipse uncrossed his arms as he felt a smaller arm come across his chest. He looked down, watching as Andy laid next to him, head laying atop Eclipse's arm as he shifted closer, hugging him. Eclipse's brow furrowed, his hand hovering in the air for a long moment after Andy had situated and gone still, yellow eyes staring stubbornly at some distant point through Eclipse's side. His hand twitched. Then, slowly, he rested his hand down on Andy's shoulder, his head tilting back again and his gaze returning to the ceiling.
“Don't expect me to sleep,” Eclipse muttered lowly.
“Mm,” was Andy's quiet response. The child hugged him tighter. He could feel some tension leaving his shoulder. Eclipse's brows furrowed slightly, but he kept still, glaring any discomfort or confliction up at the ceiling.
Silence stretched. The quiet humming of utilities in the walls and the working of components in his own red and black chassis were the only things keeping the audio levels from hitting a steady zero. He could hear when Andy went into rest mode after no more than twenty minutes. His systems weren't so easy to lul, though. He stared up at the ceiling, brows furrowed slightly, optics narrowed, his mind flitting between concern and the surreal feeling of, though it was strange to admit, his child laying beside him, hugging him and sleeping soundly.
A strange, upsetting feeling stirred in his chest as he thought. He didn't like how familiar Andy's nightmare had sounded. To understand that feeling of being trapped in one's own head, a slave in their own body… Hell, they were children, they weren't supposed to know that. He didn't want them to carry that fear. His expression tightened, and he closed his eyes with a quiet sigh. After a moment, he looked down at the sleeping child at his side. The tension was gone in his restful state, and an arm was still drawn across Eclipse's chest in a half-hug. Eclipse's hand twitched. Slowly, he lifted it, then, after a moment of hesitation, ran silicone fingertips through the boy's hair. It was strange to him, seeing someone seeking comfort in his presence, but he supposed he didn't really mind it all too much if it meant his kids were happy and safe. It wasn't like he was doing anything right now, anyways. Resting his hand back down on Andy's shoulder, careful not to awaken the child, he rested his head back and closed his eyes.
– – –
Eclipse's lab was empty. That was the first thing Roxanne noticed when she came down that morning. Usually, the abrasive prick would wake up at ungodly hours in the morning and deem it a good time to continue working. Sure, it wasn't exactly late– in fact, it was the ripe ol’ hour of six o’clock –but she would have expected him to be awake, working away at his computer like he always did.
Her gaze turned to the side, landing on the door to the spare bedroom that they all seemed to take turns with. He couldn't still be asleep, could he…? She supposed she should check on him.
Walking over, she gripped the handle, turning it as quietly as she could and nudging the door open enough to peek inside. She cringed slightly to herself as the lab’s dim lights spilled into the room. No sharp remark came, though, so she supposed she was A-OK. Peering in, she squinted in the lower light. As her optics adjusted, her eyes widened in surprise as her gaze locked on the bed.
Eclipse was laying on his back, optics shut and frame still and lax. At his side was the small form of Andy. The kid was hugging him. A single, large red hand rested on his shoulder. Both were sound asleep.
Roxanne's eyes all but sparkled as she pushed down the growing urge to drawl out a long awww. Smiling to herself, she snapped a few pictures, tucking them away for safekeeping in her memory card. The temptation to show this to everyone was powerful. Eclipse would kill her if she did, she just knew it. Quietly, she closed the door, contemplating the picture’s power as blackmail. Whatever she used it for, it was adorable. It was a keeper, for sure. Maybe Eclipse didn't even need to know.