The Assistant (Toymaker x reader)

Old Heart

Toymaker's POV
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Peter woke up the next day very early. He heaved a heavy sigh. Last night was... unfortunate. The most he could hope was that his assistant hadn't already run away.
He decided it would be best to just focus on work, and so he went into the workshop. Looking for something to do, his eyes grazed over the drawings Y/N had done the other day.
Yes, that would be good.
If they were actually still around, this might be a good way to make amends. Peter got to work.

He used some pieces of wood he had laying around, starting to carve out the general shapes of the ideas that Y/N had created.
He worked and worked. And after what felt like minutes but was really hours later, he heard a voice from the door.
"Good morning."
Peter looked up and gave a crooked smile.
Thank goodness.
"Ah, good morning Y/N. Did you... get some rest?"
Y/N nodded.
"That's good." He said as he walked over to address them. "Listen, I'm very sorry about the... roughness of last night. I hope you can forgive me."
He saw them stare at their feet. There was still some trepidation there. That was fair.
"I hadn't meant for you to see that- not yet that is! I promise I would've told you eventually, I was just looking for the right time and-"
"It's ok. I understand." He heard.
"You... you do?"
"Of course."
"Well, that's good." It was probably best to change the subject.
"Oh, take a look at what I'm working on!" He guided Y/N over to the table, where the freshly sanded pieces sat. As realization set in, they smiled.
"Did you do this... for me?"
"Why yes! I needed a new project to get started on anyway, so I figured this was as good as any. Now we can put them together! I hope you'll help me."
"It's what I'm here for, isn't it?" They said. Peter could hear the joking tone in their voice, and was relieved that things were lightening up.
"Ah, I suppose so." He said.
"Now, if you'll just sit here, I'll show you what to do."
As they sat, Peter handed them the face piece that he had just finished.
"You made this?" They asked. It seemed rhetorical, but Peter felt a pang of pride nonetheless.
"Yes, especially for this project I might add!"
"Gee... they don't call you the Toymaker for nothing." They mused.
Peter was caught a little off guard at this. He tried to let out a laugh but it came out as more of a cough. There was that same odd feeling again.
"You flatter me." He said.
"So... what do I need to do?"
"I'd like you to paint it, if you could." Peter said.
"All of the limbs and pieces that don't have clothes covering them, I need you to add some color to."
"That sounds like something I can do." They said as they smiled.
"I'm sure you can." Peter said. And with that, they both got to work.
Peter focused mostly on fitting internal machine pieces together as Y/N painted. It seemed like they were a bit confused by the whole concept, but that was ok. They were never meant to take on all the work, just some of it so Peter could save some time.
The two of you worked together in silence.
Every now and again Peter would check in on
Y/N, and as far as he could tell, they were completely content with their painting job.

The more Peter checked in though, the more he found himself not being able to look away. He had to admit, he admired their focus and drive.
But there was something more than that. As he thought to himself, that same warm feeling came back even stronger than before. It felt strange. It almost felt nostalgic, but whenever the last time was that he felt this, it was too far gone to remember. It felt good though. Too good.
Before Peter could get too lost in his thoughts,
Y/N would suddenly look up at him. This would shake him into awareness and he would quickly look away, but he couldn't get rid of that nagging feeling.

He just hoped you couldn't notice the look on his face when he looked at you.

After a bit of work, it seemed like they were both done.
"Why don't we give those some time to dry?" Peter said. "Let's go and open up shop."
Y/N nodded.
The two went to the front of the shop and Peter switched the sign.
He asked Y/N to do a couple simple tasks; sweeping up, putting some dolls out on the shelves. After about an hour some customers finally came in.
"Well hello! What can I do for you little ones?" Peter looked down at the girl and boy.
The girl shyly nudged the boy, and he spoke up. "We're looking for toys, but we don't know what we want." He said.
"Oh, well, I'm sure we can help you with that!"
Then Peter got an idea.
Maybe Y/N could handle this on their own. Might as well try.
"Y/N, would you like to help them?"
"M-me?"
"Sure!"
"Um..." Peter saw Y/N nervously look between him and the children, but then they straightened up.
"What is it you'd like?"
"I want something that's fast!" The little boy said.
Peter watched Y/N look around for something that fit the description.
"How about a tin car or train?" 
The boy thought for a second, but shook his head.
"Hmm..." Y/N pondered, but then turned to the other wall.
"How about a kite? They can go really fast in the air!"
Fast thinking, Y/N.
The boy's eyes lit up.
"Yeah!"
And with that, Y/N brought a red and blue kite to the counter. Then the little girl shyly walked up behind them and tugged on their shirt.
"Oh yeah, my sister wants something too." The boy said.
"And what do you like little missy?" Y/N said, trying to be non-threatening. But she wouldn't speak.
"I think she likes animals." The boy piped in.
"Animals, huh?" Y/N said, turning toward the stuffed animal basket.
They picked one out. "How about... a little kitty?"
She stared at it for a second, but shook her head.
"Hm." They put it back, looking for something else. Then they took out another one.
"A giraffe?"
Again, she shook her head.
Maybe one more try.
"How about... this sweet unicorn?" They held the animal out to her. She gasped happily and grabbed it, hugging it close.
Nice work, Y/N. He knew you could do it.
"Thank you." She murmured.
"No problem, hon. Now why don't we ring those up for you?" Y/N said, and she gently handed them the unicorn.
Y/N came back behind the counter and rung them up. The little boy handed over some crumpled up money from his pocket. It was just enough.
"Alright, you're good to go! Hope you have a good day!"
"Thank you!" The boy shouted as they left the store.
As Peter looked at Y/N, he could see them basking in the satisfaction of doing a good job. He could feel himself grinning from ear to ear. Then Y/N looked back at him.
"What?"
"Nothing,nothing." He said. "It's just... I'm proud of you."
Y/N looked a little shocked at this comment. They even blushed, just a little bit. Yes, he noticed. It felt good.
"Thank you." They said.
The two took turns tidying up and attending to customers the rest of the day. It all flew by, and before they knew it the day was done.
Peter closed up the shop, and they went back into the workshop.
"It's been a long day, hasn't it?" He said. Y/N nodded in agreement.
Peter looked over to the table where he and Y/N had been working that morning.
"Looks like the pieces are dry by now." He said.
"We can work on that later... for now, I think it's time we had some well deserved rest."
Y/n agreed and they both headed to your respective rooms.
"Goodnight Peter." Peter heard from down the hall. He smiled softly. 
"Goodnight." He called back, and closed his door.
He laid in bed, contemplating the events of the day.
He felt something for Y/N. That was sure. But what he couldn't figure out was exactly what it was. If given enough time to think about it, he could swear it was affection.
He wasn't expecting this at all. The whole reason he created Y/N was just for them to be an assistant, nothing more. A helping hand to take some of the pressure off of him. But they were kind, and creative, and helpful... and most of all, forgiving. He couldn't help but feel something for them.
The real issue was how Peter was to address these feelings. What was he supposed to do? Just live life normally and expect things to be ok? Should he tell them? It was highly unlikely that they felt anything even close to the same way.
He sighed.
Whatever happened... he just hoped he could keep you close.