Work Text:
At this point in time, Clockwork just had to get away to breathe. With all the men in the manor, she couldn’t stand to be there for another minute. Walking out into the cool air of the woods, she pulled her jacket on over her regular attire. The sun was beginning to set behind the trees, painting the sky orange like an artist would a canvas. As she slipped further into the woods, she took deep breaths, letting her anxiety out into the wind.
She had to admit, her life wasn’t horrible at the moment. Well, yeah, she worked for a faceless man in the woods that was some sort of immortal creature and went on missions to kill people…and maybe she enjoyed it, but that was besides the point. Natalie–now Clockwork–was still considered fresh meat to some other proxies. She had only been living in the manor for a little over a year, and while her new boyfriend Toby was very sweet, sometimes the things the older men did reminded her of her past.
As soon as the thought entered her mind, she had a flashback to her dad hitting her across the head with a book. She cringed, rubbing the side of her face the impact would’ve been on, and tried to shake the thoughts of her family’s abusive behavior out of her mind. Speaking of Toby, she normally wouldn’t be seen without him right now. However, he was out on a mission for Slender, and was probably busy hacking up someone with one of his hatchets by now.
Walking further, Clockwork passed a certain tree she knew would soon cause her trouble. A few nights before, she and Toby had gone out into the woods, drunk off cheap vodka, and carved into a tree a little heart that had “T+N” inside of it. Slender had known something was wrong in the woods–of course he did–but Clocky was in for an earful when he found out what they both had done. She walked past the tree, deeper into the woods, and the sunset turned from orange, to pink, and then faded past its colorful hues into a clear starry sky. If she bothered to look, Natalie could probably make out a few constellations, but all she had on her mind was the nagging thought in her head that she should’ve stolen one of Masky’s cigarettes as she left.
Thinking she had wandered far enough, she took a small sketchbook and pencil out of her pocket, and sat at the base of a large oak tree. She normally always had paper and something to draw with on her, and in her jacket pockets was the little book she had come to love on nights like these. Flipping past pages of sketches, Clocky found an empty one, and she started mindlessly drawing what came to mind. Hands were her first go to, because she sometimes struggled with them. More practice for her other drawings, she knew her friend Helen would say.
However, when she held up her hand to use it as a reference for a specific pose, she jumped at the sight of another person standing in front of her. Usually she would hear anyone coming up to her, but she was too focused on drawing to notice anyone approaching. Rookie mistake, she thought to herself as she stared up at the dark figure in front of her. Her shoulders released their held tension as she recognized the gear the person had–it was Toby.
“H-Hey,” he pulled down his respirator and smiled at her, “Whatcha do-ing out h-here?”
“Drawing…” Clocky’s voice trailed off as she noticed his clothes were clean and not, y’know, covered in blood and gore.
“Slender sent me out t-to find you.” Toby replied, his head twitched as he looked at her.
“Oh…” Clockwork’s voice trailed off again as she closed her sketchbook and hugged her knees close to her body.
“Som-ething wrong-g?” Toby muttered a vocal tic after his last sentence, but regardless his brow furrowed, and he took a seat under the tree with her.
“I just…I don’t know…” Clockwork hesitated, “Living here is an adjustment. I’m not used to it. Sometimes…it’s scary.”
Toby wrapped an arm around Clocky and pulled her close to him, rubbing her shoulder. He took a second to think, and nodded his head.
“Yeah, it can be scary. But…everyone here is nice, f-for the most part. Most of them won’t bug y-you if you giv-give them their space.” His reply was genuine, and he gave her a little smile. “You’re k-kinda new here. Most of them don’t real-ly know you yet. Maybe I could introduce you?”
Clockwork nodded and leaned into Toby’s warmth. She was wearing a jacket, but damn if it wasn’t cold and foggy in the woods. She shivered, and her stomach growled. When she got overwhelmed in the mansion, she had totally forgotten to eat dinner. Both proxies sat and took the time to appreciate each other’s company. The silence between them broke only when Toby muttered a tic, or if he cracked his neck. Clocky sighed, and looked up at him.
“I think…I’m ready to go back.” She said, burying her face into his shoulder. Toby nodded and stood up, offering her a hand. Once they were both standing, Clockwork put back the sketchbook and pencil into her pocket, and they started the walk back to the mansion.
“Hey, Toby?” Clockwork slipped her hand into his.
“Yeah?” He took her hand in his gently.
“I love you”