(On Hold) Sanctuary of Nightmares (Platonic SB & Child Reader)

PT 3 - Special Permissions

A long silence formed as Sundrop looked from your arm back to you multiple times. The longer the silence went on the more your dread increased. You were confused by the long silence, unsure what to do to fix Sundrop's state. Just as you were about to pull your hand back in hopes of hiding away from his now intense gaze, you were surprised to be pulled into his arms. You froze, your body tense in the animatronics hug. You weren't entirely sure what to do for a moment in the bot's grip, your mind completely stunned by the action.

You had very rarely ever received hugs, let alone one when you felt the spiral of anxiety bubbling in you, ready to overflow at any second. Slowly, almost unsure of yourself as you did so, you wrapped your arms around him. Only once you had accepted the hug did you feel the weight of your emotions. Your face remained shocked but your hands gripped tightly onto the fabric of his doctor coat, your body slightly shaking as you did so.

As you shook he gripped tighter, almost intuitively knowing that it was what you needed. As you began to accept the reality of what was happening you slowly lowered your head onto him, burying your face in his clothing as tears slowly began to fall down your face. Even so, you remained silent, your learned shame in sound not so easily broken.

The two of you remained like this for a moment as you absorbed this unknown comfort. You almost didn't want to let go, the vice grip you had on him signaling as much. But, overtaken by the thought that holding on for too long might anger him, you slowly let go. You fought back your tears as you pushed away your breakdown. You didn't want to annoy or upset him with your crying as you knew most people would simply tell you to 'suck it up'. So that's what you did. You swallowed your cries, your pain. You pushed it down and hoped no one would notice.

Of course, being a child, you didn't do that very well. You were very clearly distraught and the tears that had managed to fall stained your face. You quickly tried to wipe them away, but it didn't seem to help you look any less hurt.

Sundrop didn't entirely know how to deal with this. Sure, he's dealt with hundreds of crying children, it was practically in his job description, but this was different. This was an amount of pain he couldn't quite process in his usually cheery and childish outlook. He was barely able to process the intense sadness swelling within himself, let alone try to fix it in you. So, having nothing else to resort to, he did what he did best.

"Why don't we go play? We can...we can do whatever you want" he suggested, his once peppy tone now slightly dulled, his permanent smile the only thing keeping their lowered sense of happiness hidden from the others. You stared for a moment, the suggestion not one you were expecting. Yet it intrigued you, at least enough to pull you away from your thoughts enough to consider it. After a moment you gave an apprehensive nod, an action that seemed to brighten him up a bit as he stood. He tried to put a pep in his step in an attempt to make you feel better.

"What do you want to do first? We could- we could finger paint! Or I can put on a puppet show! Do you want to play in the jungle gym? Or maybe go down the slide! So much to do, so much to do!" He fired one idea after the other as he placed his doctor's coat back where it was and began hyping himself up, slowly gaining back his usual joyful mood.

"What do you want to do first?"

-

Everything, everything you wanted to do you got to. You messed around in every corner of the play area, slowly growing more comfortable with time. Every second of it Sundrop was with you. He had refused on many accusations to leave you alone, though it had never been by your request that he do so. It was instead the many staff members who noticed Sun's affinity for you, his attention lacking with the surrounding children. He had been told a few times to play with the other kids but he always had an excuse to stay near you. And when he eventually ran out of every excuse in the book he said that he had to be near you since you were still 'very hurt' and 'in need of supervision'. It was that final excuse that seemed reasonable enough to the others seeing as your bandages were still very visible.