Work Text:
The night was cold. The lab amplified the dropping temperature but Junkenstein still stayed at his desk to work. He scratched his head in frustration when he drew out a small plan of his and quickly scrapped it, throwing it into the trashbin to the right of him. The man let out a sound of annoyance and buried his face in his arms on the table in front of him. Sleep almost instantly began creeping up on him when he started to feel warmer from laying his head against his arms. As he decided the walk to his bed was too long, he felt a large hand on his back and could almost feel the silent figure eyeing him cautiously. After his monster could feel and hear the soft breathing coming from his creator he carefully picked the tired scientist up and held him in his arms. The most gentle thing the monster was capable of doing and he only did this for Junkenstein.
Junkenstein groggily moved his arm up to wrap it around the neck of his creation. His voice was low and exhausted as he spoke up. "Time.. for bed, eh?.." The monster gave a grunt and began to walk up the stairs into the main area of the home. He walked slowly and carefully while he held onto Junkenstein and made his way to the bedroom. He opened the door with a soft 'creak' and walked inside. The bedroom was covered with papers and a few dirty dishes on the floor. The sheets on the bed were messy and unkept.
The monster hummed quietly and walked over to the bed to set the exhausted scientist down and let him rest. He helped the man take off his prosthetics and set them down on the nightstand beside him. When he went to leave the room Junkenstein had held onto his arm weakly. "You should stay here.." The monster glanced around the room for a moment and then took his large shoes off, placing them haphazardly next to the nightstancd. He crawled into the bed on the other side and Junkenstein clung to his side as he got settled in. The monster didn't plan on sleeping but if laying beside the scientist made him happy then he did it.
The room went silent except for the small buzzing that the monster could hear in his ears. He looked around the dark room quietly and sighed. He didn't know how long he was going to have to lay there but he was hoping he might pass out some time. As he closed his eyes he heard the familiar fumble and thump of a peg leg against the cold wooden floor and the rustle of hay with every movement. He turned to look at the door that was still opened and could see a faint orange light approaching the doorway. As the light got brighter he saw Hayseed standing outside the room, looking in with curiousity at the two in bed.
Just as the scarecrow wanted to say something Hog put his pointer finger over the lips of his mask and gave a small "Shhh.." which caused Hayseed to whine softly and move from side to side. The scarecrow was craving attention and knew he wasn't going to recieve any with his creator deeply sleeping. He scratched at the stitches on his arm nervously while he examined Hog and Junkenstein. His glassy eyes creating small 'tic' noises and he glanced around.
Hog knew that the scarecrow wasn't going to do anything without being told to. He wasn't going to lay in the bed if Junkenstein didn't ask him to and he would wait at the door all night if he had to. He gave a small sigh and spoke quietly. "Go.. start fire... in fireplace.." Hayseed perked up a bit at this. He enjoyed the fireplace and although he couldn't feel the cold like Junkenstein could he knew his creator must be feezing.
The scarecrow quickly turned and hobbled down the hallway to the space where they keep the firewood. But he didn't see any. He even checked underneath the carpet and there was no signs of firewood. He whined again and looked at the door that led outside. Hayseed thought maybe he should go and get his own firewood since there was none left. He thought maybe Junkenstein would like not having to go and get firewood himself. But he knew that he wasn't supposed to be outside in case someone saw him and would hurt him.
He wanted to do as he was told and get a nice fire started. The night was dark except for the light from the moon and a few lights within the town. Hayseed began pacing and thinking it over in his head. "I get the wood.. start fire.. Master will be warm... I don't start fire. Master cold and i disobey Hog.." He let out a few more soft whines before walking to the door and opening it. His firey insides were burning anxiously and he could almost feel his fake heart pounding strongly in his chest as he put his foot outside. When nothing happened to him he closed the door behind him quietly and made his way to the forest to get his own wood.
.
.
.
There was a loud clang and crash down the hallway. Junkenstein jolted up in bed with his heart pounding in his chest. 'Was someone breaking in? Did the King find out about the creations?' Thoughts were racing through his head as he put his prosthetics on and looked down the hallway with caution. Hog was behind him and was ready to attack an intruder immediatly. Junkesntein could feel the tension leaking off from him and turned to pat him on the should to try snf calm him just in case it wss nothing.
Then they heard a whine that was like the whines Hayseed would make. It echoed down the hall and travelled straight to their ears. Junkenstein felt a chill in his spine and made his way down the hallway. Still cautious of what might be there waiting for him. When he got to the room he saw Hayseed on the floor wbith large pieces of wood. "Hayseed?" Junkenstein ran over to his scarecrow and Hog followed behind but at a slower less concerned pace. Not that Hog wasn't worried he just didn't feel like whatever happened to Hayseed was all that bad. Then again being stabbed and shot at was something that Hog considered as "not that big a deal."
Junkestein examined Hayseed quickly. "Hayseed what did you do-"
"I got wood. For fire... and my... uhm..." Hayseed turned towards his peg leg. "Leg broke... and i fell... it hurt.." He looked back at Junkenstein as the scientist rubbed his forehead to think. "Did anyone see you, Hayseed?" His voice was low and concerned as he spoke.
Hayseed pondered for a moment, trying to think about whether he saw anyone in the forest with him or not but he couldn't recall seeing anybody. "I... don't think so." Junkenstein sighed with relief and stood up turning to Hog. "Take Hayseed downstairs where I can fix his leg. I'll be there in a minute I just need to put this wood away and start a fire."
The Monster huffed and picked up Hayseed a little too roughly, making him yelp and cling on tightly. He didn't want to say that Hayseed leaving and causing unneeded trouble made him angry but it did annoy him. Hayseed is much more naive and careless than him and he doesn't want anyone to find them or hurt Junkenstein.
He went downstairs with Hayseed firmly in his arms and placed him in a chair. The straw man didn't look up at him and instead just stared down at ths floor like he was in trouble and was about to be scolded. Hog's chest rumbled as he was about to speak but before he got any words out Hayseed spoke up.
"I'm sorry..."
Hayseed's shoulders tensed and his eyes dimmed from closing them tightly. Hog blinked and stared at him before tilting his head to ths side. He didn't understand why Hayseed was apologizing to him of all people. He should be apologizing to Junkenstein for waking him up and causing him to deal with a broken peg leg. That wouldn't have been broken if Hayseed hadn't of gone outside.
"I..." Hayseed began to fidget with his hands in his lap. If it were possible for him to look more tense then Hog was sure that's what was happening. "S.. Sorry......" he murmured something more but Hog didn't catch it. Junkenstein came down the stairs and the both of them watched him as he walked over to them.
Hayseed didn't look up at Junkenstein's face as the scientist knelt down to get a good look at his leg. Hog stepped away and sat in a corner of the room closest to them, next to some buckets and a few broken tools.
He sat and watched them from afar. He didn't want to be in the way and he didn't really feel like getting too involved. He closed his eyes and leaned his head down, figuring he might as well rest more while Junkenstein was busy.
"It doesn't look serious.. a screw on your knee came out and you seem to have chipped it but.. looks good." He walked over to a large cabinet and shuffled through looking for screws that were the right size. "I'll just get you a new screw and you'll be all set Hayseed." Junkenstein yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He grabbed a few different screws that varied and sizes so he could see which one was right and walked back over to Hayseed. He picked up his screwdriver and went through the screws until he found the right one and tested to make sure the leg could move without falling apart.
"Stand up for me?" Junkenstein backed away and Hayseed stood up and hobbled around the room. He bounced up and down and kicked his peg leg out as far as he could. Junkenstein was relieved and put the tools back where they were before. "Don't go outside again." Hayseed stopped moving around and almost curled in on himself. "Okay..."
Junkenstein gave a tired smile and pat Hayseed on his head before looking at Hog. "You stayin' down here big guy?" The monster gave a small snort that could be his way of saying "Yeah." Junkenstein walked over to Hog and gave him a small pat as well but added a small kiss on his head before he left and went upstairs with Hayseed.
The two of them walked into the sitting area and they both sat in silence. The fire that Junkenstein had created was small and already attempting to die out. Hayseed got up and tended to the fire for his creator. "Is... this warm enough?" The scarecrow tilted his head and looked at Junkenstein as he waited for a response. "Yes.. it's fine, Hayseed. Thank you." That made the straw man giggle as he ran over and plopped back down where he had been seated before.
Junkenstein began to doze off in his chair. He was still exhausted and hadn't been able to sleep properly in days. Sitting in an old chair wouldn't be the best option but sleep was slowly creeping back up on him.
"Do.. you need anything?" Hayseed's voice rang out in the rather empty room. He went to twiddling his thumbs and watching Junkenstein with interest.
Junkenstein gave a tired laugh. "No, Hayseed." He sighed deeply and leaned forward, placing his head in his hands and rubbing his eyes with hard pressure until he saw spots and a rainbow behind his eyelids. He moved his hands down onto his lap and stared at the fire.
Now that Hayseed was getting a good look at him he could see the dark bags under his eyes. His eyes were also red and sore looking. They looked like they were dry and burning. Hayseed gave one of his usual whines but this time it was out of worry.
Junkenstein wanted to tell him that he was going to be fine but right as he opened his mouth to speak he heard a knocking on his door. He shot up instantly and looked at Hayseed. "Go hide downstairs with Hog."
Hayseed's eyes twitched back and forth from his creator and the stairs. He nodded quietly and made his way downstairs. As he approached the first stair the knocking got louder and the fire in him burned brightly out of fear. When he got down to the last stair he could hear a voice talking to his creator but he couldn't make out what they were saying.
Hog stood up and growled, walking to Hayseed casting a large shadow over him. The scarecrow crouched in defense when Hog's chest rumbled. Hog keot his voice quiet and low as he spoke. "What's going on." Hayseed knew Hog wasn't going to hurt him or anything but it didn't stop him from being scared of his much larger companion. "S....s.s..someone was knocking on the d..door..."
Hog grumbled something under his breath and listened in closely for any clue that might indicate Junkenstein needed help. There was a loud shout and a thud that came afterwards. Hog's body grew stiff and he put one foot on the staircase.
Before Hog could go any farther Hayseed grabbed his arm with both of his hands. "We can't let anyone see us that was an order-" Hog yanked his arm forward and pulled Hayseed to face him directly. His voice was dark and full of anger. "Let. Go." The scarecrow started breathing rapidly, nearly hyperventilating. "N-no he told us to stay out.. out of sight we can't-"
Hog waved his arm roughly, causing Hayseed to fling across the room and land in a pile of broken machine parts. This made the scarecrow angry. He glared from behind his mask and the orange light in him almost turned red. He shot up and ran at Hog full force and caused him to nearly fall over.
"Why do you ignore me!?" Hayseed's voice rang within the room like metal hitting metal. The fire in his smile burned and began to smoke.
When the scarecrow couldn't get a hit he quickly wrapped his arms around Hog's neck and tried to strangle him into submission. "Stop pushing me around all the time!" Hog grew irritated by Hayseed attacking him. He felt he didn't have time to sit here and fight with the smaller monster so he rammed his back against the nearest wall and smashed Hayseed into it. Hayseed let out a sharp yelp of pain and fell to the floor.
The scarecrow's breathing slowed and his lights dimmed to black from the heavy impact against the wall. Hog groaned and watched Hayseed for a moment before making his way up the stairs. When he made it up to Junkenstein he saw no one in the room with him. Just Junkenstein leaning on his flesh arm and cursing. Hog rushed over to Junkenstein's side and the scientist looked up at him. He had a black eye. The monster felt the rage boiling inside of him.
"Was late on a package. My fault." Junkenstein tried his best to reassure his creation that he was fine. "It could have been worse, huh? This is nothin', Hog.."
Hog growled lowly. Thinking about how much he wanted to run after whoever did it and kill them. But his mind wandered back to the situation downstairs and he closed his eyes and breathed slowly to calm himself.
"I... broke Hayseed..."
Junkenstein looked at him with shock in his eyes. "You wha?!" He stood up sharply and winced. Hog made a worried noise but Junkenstein limped away to see what happened to Hayseed. When they made it down to the lab Junkenstein rushed over to his scarecrow and knelt beside him. Hog stayed by the stairs and watched from a distance.
"He wanted... to stay downstairs when he heard a thud.. I wanted to go up. He tried to stop me..." The monster spoke quietly. Not sure if his creator could even hear him.
Hayseed's eyes flickered dimly and he was still breathing but softly like he was sleeping. Junkenstein sighed with relief. "Looks like you only knocked him unconscious." The scientist touched the side of Hayseed's face gently and watched the eyes twitch ever so slightly.
Junkenstein stood up and looked at Hog. "We should get him upstairs. Wait for him to wake up. However long that will be..." The stress just kept building up for the man. He hadn't finished much of the work that needed to be done, hadn't had a proper nights rest, he was given a black eye and a bruised stomach, and now one of his creations was unconscious because of the other one's anger and frustration. He wasn't sure what to do at this point now that he knew they would fight like this. He knew before that they had a few.. minor arguments, usually ending in Hayseed hiding somewhere out of fear of getting in trouble.
"Don't waste time. I have a lot of work to finish before I can rest again."
Hog hurried over and lifted Hayseed up and over his shoulder. He didn't carry him the same way he would carry Junkenstein. His actions were always much more rough with Hayseed. The monster took Hayseed to the bed like he was told to do and wrapped him up in a large blanket. He left the room and closed the door behind him, staring down at his hands as he walked down the hallway. He stopped walking and looked at the door that led to the lab, giving a small grunt before deciding to stay upstairs and letting Junkenstein work.