#eternal [anomaly] by comrade-slugcat | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

catboyklug · 7 months

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Summary: sunrise vents. like, in among us. Characters: Sunrise (he/xe/they); Eternal Anomaly/'Ternal (it/its); various extras Word count: 1483 (1k!) Warnings: alcohol usage; drug mention; implied abuse or neglect (extremely vague); ableism (against self).

Well. He couldn't say he didn't expect this.

But that didn't stop it from sucking ass.

It was December the 20th, exactly eleven days before the godforsaken holiday known as "Christmas", and the exact day of Sunrise's birthday.

And Quiet's, of course.

By freak coincidence, the siblings had been born on the same day, five years apart.

And today, Sunrise couldn't forget that fact.

The noise from the other rooms was deafening, Quiet apparently having brought every single friend of eirs in the entire city to the tiny apartment the siblings had to live in.

Ey had been out all day, drinking or doing drugs or whatever it was that Sunrise's older sister had been doing, while he stayed here, cooped up and bored out of his mind thanks to a lucky cold he got.

If it were any better than it was, Sunrise probably would've forced himself outside. But he could barely see, his nose was utterly backed up, and he didn't really want to risk it on the icy roads with the brainfog he got to begin with.

However, with the party coming inside of his fucking house, xe was beginning to reconsider his earlier decision to stay at home for his safety.

Sunrise crawled out of bed once the party had reached its heights, determined to get out of her before everyone crashed. Dead on xyr feet, xe wrapped xyr blanket up and shoved it in a bag xe had sewed a few years back during some workshop event.

Headphones like a helmet on xyr head, it was time to exit this damned house and go elsewhere.

Pushing the door open, xe was met with a ridiculous amount of lights from god knows how many mini disco balls. Though the birthday girl was nowhere to be seen, the place was packed with some of the most annoying people Sunrise felt he would ever have the displeasure of coming across.

A couple sitting next to the fridge, blocking him as he tried to open it; someone making what was most likely the worst-looking meal Sunrise had ever seen right next to the microwave as xe put a cup of milk in; someone who ended up laughing after noticing Sunrise was microwaving a cup of milk, of all things.

...Which was deserved, but not any less annoying.

After pouring the milk into a thankfully-clean thermos, Sunrise secured it in his bag, put his boots on, and walked outside to the car, more than happy to get away from the mess that was once probably his apartment.

Outside was cold, but his car's old, homely leather interior was far more comforting than anywhere else he could think of.

He sat at the wheel, bag on the seat next to him, trying to think of where exactly he could run off to.

Though he was tempted to run off to his employer-turned-friends-with-benefits-turned-greatest-ally's house, Sunny was almost definitely asleep at this point.

There was only one person who would let him crash so late at night. Considering she didn't really sleep, it was his best bet.

So, off to 'Ternal's he went.

It was a long a drive as ever, but thankfully more than worth the time spent.

Though the exterior of the factory seemed cold and unwelcoming, Sunrise looked upon it as if he was a hiker lost in the snow and it was the first warm cabin he had seen in years. (lmao)

Xe grabbed xyr bag and xyr keys, zipped xyr bomber jacket up fully, and walked out into the snow, almost cheerful despite the cold wind blowing right through his already very ill bones.

The factory was massive, and that fact was somehow even more apparent inside, despite how messy and cluttered the area was. Tubes and wires and nozzles and beams that initially looked useless but disguised arteries and veins and *bio-wires* were littered around the ceilings, large "arms" near them to allow the resident mechanic access to these delicate systems whenever they needed repair.

As xe walked through the now very familiar halls, the various systems around him reacted in interest to his presence, clearly not expecting him this late after-hours.

"Sunrise?" called out the mechanical multitudes of the factory's collective voice, "Isn't it midnight in your human time? And you have some mortal illness."

"'S not mortal, if you wanna be technical with it. And hello t' you too, princess," xe replied, grinning.

"That doesn't answer my question," the machinery makes a sound similar to huffing, "Why did you come here so late?"

. . .

Logically, Sunrise knows that the world's most autistic computer would probably understand the concept of "extreme sensory overwhelm" and "deep, petty jealousy" (xe already knows it does), but, somehow, xe feels reluctant to tell it exactly what happened.

"What, you don't want me here, 's that it?" xe teases, getting xyr blanket out of xyr bag as xe makes it to the main control room, "Can always leave and head for Sunny's place..."

"NO-"

The factory exploded into a cacophony of flustered machinery, grating against itself in a state just below panic before it finally, and to its great embarrassment, realized the lighthearted intent of the statement and calmed down.

Sunrise giggles, now thankfully more than used to the once horrible noise, as the factory attempts to explain itself, trying in vain to play it cool.

"I want you here," it insists, truthfully, "But humans need sleep or something. Especially you, if you want to stop being sick all the time."

"Right..."

What else was there to say without completely revealing what had happened? Ruminating on this black-and-white, entirely internal scenario Sunrise had created for xyrself, xe gets the thermos with the milk out and pours enough bourbon in that it's an even split.

Despite the factory currently not having anything one could consider to be eyes, xe can feel it staring at him.

"Is that... 'alcohol'?" it asks, in a 'voice' indicating suspicion as much as intrigue.

"Yeah. Wanna try?" xe jokes, immediately putting the bottle away before the machine can respond, "'S not th' healthiest thing in the world, but... better than whatever Quiet was passing around at that stupid party."

At the mention of literally anything that could have been the source of Sunrise's troubles, the factory's figurative ears perked up.

"'Stupid party'?" it interrogated, "How... stupid are we talking?"

"....Really stupid," xe finally admitted.

And thus, the floodgates began to break.

"'S Quiet's birthday, I guess," xe said as if xe wasn't dreading this day for almost an entire month since it came, "So they've got every person in the city in *my* apartment making th' place smell like weed t' 'celebrate'."

"And you've-"

"Tried murdering them?" Sunrise interrupts, "Trust me, would love to. But I'd rather not get in trouble with th' law. Already skirting it just by being here, really..."

Recognizing that continuing to suggest what it views as the most logical thing would probably serve only to upset Sunrise, 'Ternal lets it go, and Sunrise takes a swig from his half-assed cocktail.

It's warm. Nice. Sunrise can feel his head loll to the side as xe drinks further, and xe nearly forgets how angry xe feels.

Until the memory of the gross, sweaty apartment comes back like a hunting boomerang, and xe feels his face get hot with rage.

"Fuckin' assholes," xe grumbles, "...Mean..."

Before 'Ternal can quiz him on exactly what that means, he sobs.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, st-stupid," xe repeats, "Stupid, petty, idiot..."

Not having any idea of how to respond to his outburst, the factory tries, "...I was worse."

"N-no," he sniffles in response, "You're jus' hungry. 'M... stupid. Asshole. Awful. Stupid..."

Tugging at xyr hair, xe takes another swig from the thermos.

"Sunrise," the machine says, almost quietly, "You need to stop drinking that."

Simply shaking xyr head in response, xe closes xyr eyes, hitting xyr leg in overwhelm.

"Stupid, freak... should've jus-" xe hiccups, "Shoulda jus' accepted 'm a lowlife. Don't deserve friends. Stupid, fucking, r-"

Suddenly, before Sunrise can even begin forming the following word, several metallic "arms" surround him. Hug him.

Xe opens xyr eyes. Blinks. Despite being made of cold metal, the arms are the warmest thing he's felt in weeks. Warmer and kinder than the cocktail in his thermos, not to mention.

Even knowing 'Ternal, - actually, truly knowing it - xe was surprised with how utterly kind it was.

Burying xyr face in some of the metal, xe muttered a tiny "th'nk you", getting relieved, almost happy whirring in response.

The cold, the alcohol and finally his breakdown having exhausted him completely, Sunrise drifts off a bit, only vaguely aware of another few "arms" coming to gently lay a blanket on him to keep him warm as he slept.

And, though it was a bit embarrassing, the factory was very deeply glad it didn't have to talk him through anything.

#credit to firefly-graphics for the borders!#eternal [anomaly] by comrade-slugcat #objectum #original writing #original character #original characters #ocs #klug's fics #klug's ocs #sunrise [oc]#no beta we die like quiet /j

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