[TOY] Plaything

[skinstealer]

POLKA DOT: …I had a dream about us last night.
CROSSBONE: Oh?
CROSSBONE: …was I cute in the dream?
POLKA DOT: Oh, yeah, for real.
POLKA DOT: We were super hot pirates. Or something.
CROSSBONE: I’d make a terrible pirate!
CROSSBONE: …I mean, name would imply otherwise, but outside of this state, I can’t go anywhere near the water!
POLKA DOT: Yeah, you were kind of spooked about that in the dream too…
POLKA DOT: But you wanted to be there with me.
CROSSBONE: I mean…yeah, I guess that is true, I do want to figure out ways to be in the water with you…
POLKA DOT: Then maybe we can figure out how to be super sexy pirates someday. I took notes on the outfits and everything.
CROSSBONE: Handy!
CROSSBONE: Maybe we could make them sometime…
POLKA DOT: Yeah!
POLKA DOT: I’d be totally game for that.

 
She squeezes your hand, and you eagerly squeeze back. The look in her eyes encourages you to press on, strength building up in your chest.

POLKA DOT: In the dream….you gave me a big hug.
CROSSBONE: Aww!
CROSSBONE: That’s sweet…
POLKA DOT: You think so?
CROSSBONE: Mhm…it’s nice to know you think of me like that…
CROSSBONE: I think…it’d weird some people out when we had barely talked, but for me- I got some weird dreams too.
CROSSBONE: Keep going, though. I don’t want to derail.

 
You can’t deny that the feeling you get when Cross mentions having you in her dreams is a warm one.

POLKA DOT: We can talk about it after though, right?
CROSSBONE: Mhm.
POLKA DOT: Okay, good. So…
POLKA DOT: You hugged me.
POLKA DOT: It felt great, almost as good as the real deal-
CROSSBONE: And now you have that for comparison!
 

She gives you a big squeeze for emphasis, and predictably, you squeak. It gets both of you laughing again, and you’re somehow at ease even with the next part coming up.

POLKA DOT: Yeah, I do.
POLKA DOT: But…when I woke up, I felt this awful hurt.
POLKA DOT: It sounds stupid, but I was just…sad.
POLKA DOT: I tried journaling down my feelings, but it just fucked me up more at first. All I could think was that I wanted a hug, so fucking bad, and I kept going in circles.
POLKA DOT: Eventually it did start feeling better, once I focused on the nice parts of the dream and actually, yknow, took comfort in it.
POLKA DOT: And…now that I’m here, and actually doing stuff- not just with anyone but with you-
POLKA DOT: I know we just met. I know this is just…new, and the narrative is kind of fucking with me-
POLKA DOT: -but this feels right.
POLKA DOT: I feel actual hope.

 
Cross is quiet for a moment, and you start to feel nerves set in- did you fuck up? Did you say the wrong thing-

 

-the ghost pulls you in for another squeeze, and holds you there.

CROSSBONE: You can ask me for a hug any time.
CROSSBONE: After tonight, I know that I want to be here for you.
CROSSBONE: Sometimes, with the narrative, and the Store, and all of that stuff…
CROSSBONE: I know it can be a lot.
CROSSBONE: I said I had my own bad dreams, and I meant it. Being homeless for a while before coming here wasn’t kind to me, especially not during the winter…
CROSSBONE: And even if I ignore my own Store memories, I still get worked up over those days.
CROSSBONE: Life here is hard.
CROSSBONE: But…we have each other now.
CROSSBONE: I might not be able to help with everything, but I can at the very least give you a hug when you need it.
POLKA DOT: Thank you…
POLKA DOT: That…means more than you probably realize-
 

You can feel tears welling up, little pinpricks of paint at the corners of your eyes.

POLKA DOT: I just…this is a lot…
POLKA DOT: I think the last people who called me my real name either ended up hurting me, or they got hurt, or I don’t know-
POLKA DOT: What if I hurt them?
POLKA DOT: What if-
POLKA DOT: I don’t know.
POLKA DOT: I don’t think this is going to go like any of that, but my head keeps trying to put it in that box.
CROSSBONE: I’m not as delicate as you think, you know.
 

She smiles with her eyes again.

CROSSBONE: I’m able to stand up for myself. If you misstep, you’ll know.
CROSSBONE: And…if whoever hurt you in the past comes back…
CROSSBONE: I’ll show them the door.
CROSSBONE: Okay?
 

You can’t help but smile back, making a choked up squeak as she wipes your eyes.

CROSSBONE: Let’s just…take it one step at a time.
CROSSBONE: You and me.
POLKA DOT: You and me.
 

You curl into each others’ bodies again, occasionally giving each other kisses in the silence that follows.

POLKA DOT: …you said you’d talk about your own dreams too, after.
CROSSBONE: Mmm…what kind do you want to hear about?
POLKA DOT: Any of it, I guess.
CROSSBONE: Hm…I’ll go for bad dreams first. Good ones are a treat.
CROSSBONE: With my bad dreams…I get chased a lot.
CROSSBONE: Sometimes by toys, sometimes by monsters…
POLKA DOT: Monsters? Like the ones you mentioned earlier?
CROSSBONE: Mhm.
CROSSBONE: There’s creatures outside of settlements that hunt down passing toys…
CROSSBONE: They don’t look like toys at all themselves, just…strange.
CROSSBONE: I haven’t seen any up close, but I’ve heard stories, and I am interested in seeing one myself some day…
CROSSBONE: But some of the scarier tales people have told me stuck with me, and I dream about them sometimes.
CROSSBONE: I don’t know if such things existed back in the Store, but that’s where I usually get chased.
CROSSBONE: Endless aisles lined with empty bodies…
CROSSBONE: And none of them come to help.
POLKA DOT: That sounds awful…
CROSSBONE: Oh, it is.
CROSSBONE: But it’s scarier when it’s an actual person.
CROSSBONE: When I was homeless, I was attacked a few times…I eventually got my hands on my hatchet and was able to start fending people off, but electronic toys like myself are really wanted for parts.
CROSSBONE: Combine that with the fact that I showed up here during the winter, and the cold affects me a lot…
CROSSBONE: It was pretty bad, and I’ve had to get a few repairs to my shell since.
POLKA DOT: Wait, really?
POLKA DOT: Your shell looks brand new!
CROSSBONE: A lot of scratches got buffered out, new paint jobs…
CROSSBONE: Truth be told, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to ditch the whole skull thing on my shell, but it felt…important to keep.
CROSSBONE: The buttons were completely replaced, though.
CROSSBONE: Had one ripped out and couldn’t feed myself for days without having to actually reach inside to press the electronics…
 

She shudders.

CROSSBONE: That I dream about. Having to see and feel my own insides, even if only a little.
CROSSBONE: I never want to go through that again, but my dreams make me relive it every so often.
POLKA DOT: That sounds god awful…
CROSSBONE: It is, but…at least I know it’s over when I wake up.
CROSSBONE: I’m safe here at Laurie’s, at least relatively.
CROSSBONE: That’s what’s important.
 

You give her a reassuring nuzzle, which she readily returns.

POLKA DOT: And the good dreams?

Your grin spreads before you can help it.

POLKA DOT: You said you had some weird ones.
CROSSBONE: oh god
CROSSBONE: Well, okay, hmm….
CROSSBONE: Last night, you also showed up in my dream.
CROSSBONE: We were walking through some kind of forest together…
POLKA DOT: A forest?
CROSSBONE: Mhm, big trees and a mossy path. Not real moss mind you, but…springy rubbery stuff.
CROSSBONE: It was dark, and spooky, and you got scared, so I held your hand…
POLKA DOT: Wait, I got scared of the dark?
CROSSBONE: Only a little.
POLKA DOT: I can handle the dark!
CROSSBONE: But if you did, you wouldn’t have an excuse to hold my hand.
POLKA DOT: …good point.
POLKA DOT: What happened then?
CROSSBONE: Oh, just…some weird stuff.
CROSSBONE: …really weird stuff.
POLKA DOT: You can tell me.
CROSSBONE: …well….
CROSSBONE: I…
CROSSBONE: …turn into a monster.
POLKA DOT: …like the ones you’ve mentioned?
CROSSBONE: Sort of? Except I’m still, like, me.
CROSSBONE: But all of a sudden, I’m just…bigger and more powerful, and it feels good, especially because I’m able to protect you better…
CROSSBONE: and then i carry you and its really cute
CROSSBONE: Is that weird? Like, I have to be weird for liking that, right?