The Assistant (Toymaker x reader)

Get to Work

You woke up groggily, still a bit confused as to where you were. You sat up and looked out the window. Right. The toy shop. You hoped that your purpose here would be revealed today.
You got to your feet and headed out to find the Toymaker. You figured he might be in his workshop.
Opening the door to the workshop, you found the Toymaker sitting at a table, hunched over some small piece of machinery. He looked very focused.
You cleared your throat and he turned to address you. "Ah, my assistant! Good morning. I hope you rested well." He said. You nodded.
"Good, good." He picked up the little piece and brought it over to the work table that you had woken up on the night before.
"Come and take a look." You did as he said, coming closer. You looked down at the thing on the table that he gestured to. It looked like a doll, but it was opened up and empty.
"This, assistant, is what we do here." He said. "Of course, I'm sure you could've figured that out by now. We are, after all, in a toy shop."
You nodded, but something nagged at you in your mind. You stared at the lifeless doll for a moment, then looked down at yourself.
"Am I... a toy?"
Toymaker laughed a bit.
"In the most technical sense, yes. But don't worry, you are so much more than that too. You are far more capable than a doll like this could ever be." You were confused. He could tell. "Here, here, look." He picked up the machine piece and positioned it in the doll's torso. "This little doll may look cute, but at her core, there is only this little motor. That's all she is, a machine in a pretty package. But you-" he poked your chest, "there is something much more inside of you."
"What do you me-"
"Here, hold this in place for me." He cut you off. You still weren't sure what he meant, but decided to let it go. You leaned over and held the piece the way he said. He took the bands of the gears and wrapped them around the proper parts, connecting it all together. "Ok. You can let go now." He said.
He turned to the other table and took a little box and some screws, then came back to the doll. He placed the little box into a slot, then carefully screwed it in.
"Would you like to do the honors?" He asked.
You blinked. "Uh, sure."
"Go ahead and close her up."
You closed the door on her chest cavity, latching it up. The Toymaker took a small dress and gave it to you. You pulled it over the doll's head, pressing it down over her body.
"Wonderful! Now," he pressed the doll's back, and it came to life. Her arms moved up and down and she spoke, "I love you! I love you!" The Toymaker laughed. "Perfect." He said, pressing the button again, and the doll became immobile again.
"Thank you for helping me, assistant." He said.
"No problem." You answered. It made you feel good to do a good job. You wanted to help more. But before you could ask,
"Well, I've got to go attend to the front of the shop." The Toymaker said, picking up the little doll along with a few other toys. "But while I'm working, feel free to look around. Get accustomed to the workshop and all. I'll check in later." He said. You nodded, and he left to open the shop.
You were left alone with your thoughts. You turned back to the table with all the tools on it. You sat down at the table, examining everything before you. You picked up different tools, trying to figure out what they were for. You picked up a craft knife, and curiously poked the tip of it.
"Ouch!"
That was weird. Your skin was like wood, but you could still feel. Looking down at your finger you noticed... you were bleeding. You tried to find something to stop it. There was a bucket of scrap cloth under the desk. That would work. You wrapped a little piece around your finger. Contemplating the blood, you looked back in the mirror.
"What am I?" You asked no one. You hesitantly lifted up your shirt, revealing a smooth torso, with a hatch much like the doll you had closed up just moments before. You traced its edges...
But before you could search any further, you stopped. You didn't want to think about that, it was too hard. You put your shirt back down.
You looked around the room for something to distract yourself. Eventually you spotted what looked like a sketching table, covered in paper and pencils.
That would work.
You went to sit at the table and took a look at all the papers there. Many drawings and scribbles of toys and mechanisms. This got you inspired. You saw a pile of blank papers next to you, and decided to draw for a while. You scribbled and doodled mostly, but some of your drawings you colored in and really worked hard on.

You were deep in the flow of art when you heard a door behind you open. You turned to see a very frazzled looking Toymaker. He sighed.
"Hello assistant. Goodness, I wasn't expecting things to be so busy today, but they sure were."
He walked over to you.
"Luckily there was a slow point in the day, so I thought I'd come and check on- well, what's this?" He came and looked over your shoulder to see what you had done.
"May I?" He asked, and you nodded. He picked up one of your drawings.
"You drew all this?"
You nodded again.
"Why, these are wonderful! Who knew my new assistant would have such an eye for color?" For the first time in quite a while, you smiled with pride.
"Good ideas, too." He said, scanning over your work. He was silent for a moment.
"Say, if you want, we can really make some of these." He said. You looked back at him.
"Really?"
"Of course! I think they would sell quite well!"
Once again, you smiled.
"That sounds fun!"
"Absolutely. We can get to work on them tomorrow, but for now... I think it's time to rest." The Toymaker said, gesturing for you to follow him to the hall.
It was silent for a moment, but as Toymaker walked you to your room, you heard him speak up.
"Hmm."
"What is it?"
"It's just that, I hadn't realized until now that you don't have a name."
"Oh."
"Do you want one?"
"Um... yeah, that would be nice."
He thought for a moment as you stopped at your door.
"How about... Bailey?"
"Hmm... no."
"Chris?"
You shook your head.
"Gertrude?"
"Oh, come on." You said.
He laughed.
"Ok, ok. How about.... Y/N?"
You thought about it for a second. That felt good.
You nodded.
"Very well, Y/N it is."
You opened your door and entered. You stood there for a moment, but before Toymaker could close the door, a thought came to mind.
"What about you?" You said.
"Hm?" Toymaker turned back around.
"I mean, what about your name? I'm assuming you have one, aside from just... the Toymaker."
The Toymaker made a face... contemplative, like he was reaching for something in his mind that he hadn't considered for a long time.
After a minute of silence...
"Peter. It's... Peter."
You smiled.
"Well, I've had a good time working with you today Peter."
You saw something flash across the Toymaker's face that you couldn't comprehend. But the moment passed as quickly as it came.
"...It's going to be a big day tomorrow, so get some rest." Toymaker said. "Sleep well, Y/N." He closed your door.
As you laid in bed, you thought about the day.
Toymaker, who you now knew to be Peter, seemed to really like your work. You hoped you could impress him even more. Maybe the two of you could come to be... friends.