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"DR. RODWICK, WHERE ARE WE GOING?"
"You'll see in a bit, Tinks." Darren replied with a slight grin on his face.
He held his hand over Tinker's optics as the two made their way through the building. This was unusual for Tinker, who wondered if this was part of another one of the doctor's unique experiments, which were rare.
As they walked, Tinker's auditory sensors picked up on an array of sounds in the building: the clanking of pipes, the echoes of their footsteps reverberating off the marble floor, and even the gentle rhythm of Dr. Rodwick's breathing.
That is, until he heard the sound of doors slowly opening in front of him, with Darren's hand still covering Tinker's optics.
"Okay, Tinker, here we are." The man behind him released his hand and allowed the small tinkerbot to see what was happening.
The bright sunlight from the window blinded Tinker for a moment, but as his optics adjusted, he scanned the room for anything strange. He saw a long table covered with an expensive-looking cloth, with all sorts of food for humans and metallic materials for bots to consume. Colorful decorations adorned the room, with a banner in the back that read "HAPPY CREATION DAY, TINKER!", and electro swing music playing in the background. All of the doctor's staff were standing there with cheerful expressions.
"Happy Creation Day, Tinker!" They all shouted with glee, surprising Tinker.
Tinker turned towards the doctor, who had a smirk on his face as he patted Tinker on the head. "Surprised?"
Tinker hugged the man tightly. "YES."
As Tinker sat on the bed in the living room, the sound of rain hitting against the house's roof filled the space. The atmosphere was serene with the loud crackling of the fire from outside adding to the calming ambiance. It was the perfect opportunity for Tinker to relax, especially after being stressed out for the past few days.
Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Sullivan entered the room, waving at Tinker before sitting beside him on the bed. "SULLIVAN." Tinker greeted him softly as he closed the book he was reading.
"Hey, so... I was wonderin'..." Sullivan began, fidgeting with something in his gloved hands, hinting at a surprise gift for the other bot.
"WHAT'S THE OCCASION?" Tinker inquired, his head tilting to the side, noticing the small, wrapped gift in Sullivan's hand.
Sullivan groaned in defeat, chuckling softly. "Damn it! I tried to be subtle."
"CAN'T BE SUBTLE WITH SOMETHING THAT COLORFUL IN YOUR HANDS," Tinker commented as he placed his hand over Sullivan's, "BESIDES, YOU'RE EASY TO READ."
Sullivan blushed and quickly averted his gaze. "Well, geez, a'ight.". The newsbot chuckled again before sighing and turning back to face Tinker again, their optics meeting. "At the very least, leave the room with me before you open your gift."
"... SURE." Tinker nodded, and they both stood up from the bed, with Tinker's hand in Sullivan's as they stepped out into the halls and into the living room. Tinker noticed the cake on the table, which smelled of metal for some reason.
Iron, perhaps?
"AH!" Tinker exclaimed as Sullivan let go of his grip on him and handed him the gift. "'Ey, Tinks, happy birthday."
Tinker's optics lingered over the gift. It was his birthday? He didn't even realize that today was his birthday. Well, he never really kept track of the days ever since he and Sullivan left Chronovale. Tinker let out a sigh as his grip on the box tightened, looking up to meet Sullivan's gaze once more.
"THANK YOU." Tinker paused. "I... COMPLETELY FORGOT."
Sullivan leaned down to kiss Tinker on the forehead before cupping his face with his hand. "It's understandable, but luckily I remembered it, eh?" He said it cheekily, making Tinker giggle.
"I GUESS SO." Tinker replied.
"Love ya, Tinks."
"LOVE YOU TOO, SULLIVAN."
"UGH. WHY DID HE HAVE TO TURN ALL THE LIGHTS OFF?" Grumbling, Tinker locked the museum's main entrance from the inside before turning around to face the completely dark main atrium, except for the faint light filtering in from the night sky above through the glass dome.
The area lit up as Tinker's optics activated and his steps reverberated through the museum. He would have preferred to have night vision, but he knew that sometimes people couldn't get everything they wanted. As he made his way through the atrium, he noticed a sudden burst of lights coming from the space exhibit. It was probably Fen, up to his usual nonsense. Tinker would have rolled his eyes if he could.
Making his way towards the source of the lights, Tinker stepped into the exhibit and immediately saw the flashing disco ball, suspended in mid-air by some form of magic. Fen had to be around here somewhere. Before Tinker could take another step, a loud bang echoed through the exhibit, followed by a flash of color as Fen appeared in front of him, holding a large chocolate cake with sparklers on it.
"Happy birthday, Tinks!" Fen shouted with enthusiasm, wearing a party hat and blowing into a party blower, which irritated Tinker. He should have been angry at the dragonian's over-the-top surprise, but he wasn't. Well, not that much, at least.
"YOU. YOU IDIOT." Tinker screeched. "YOU DID NOT HAVE TO DO THIS FOR ME."
"Oh-ho, but I wanted to, Tinks." Fen smirked as he approached the tinkerbot with the cake still in hand. "Because I care about you."
"THAT WAS EXCESSIVE, DON'T YOU THINK?"
"You're complaining again," he pointed out. "I know what that means." Tinker wished he could wipe the smug grin off his face.
Tinker let out a growl and averted his gaze from the source of his annoyance. "WELL," but Fen cuts him off. "Hey, calm down."
Tinker looks back at the mage. "Just take this time to relax," he added. Tinker understood what he was trying to say, "but-"
"No buts." Fen chuckled. "And no more excuses." Fen placed the cake aside on a nearby table and held out his hand. "Come on."
Tinker hesitated before taking the other's hand, "FINE, BUT DON'T RUIN IT."
"Ironic coming from you." The dragonian laughed as he pulled the small bot over to the center, right under the enchanted disco ball. "SCREW YOU." Tinker grumbled as Fen placed a party hat on him. "This looks good on you."
"I COULD KILL YOU RIGHT NOW IF I WANTED TO."
"But you didn't, and that's what matters."
"UGH."
The Tinkerbot and the little tree sprout traverse through the abandoned town, with Tinker pulling his bow out just in case. Sprout, on the other hand, just ran around in and through some buildings, finding all sorts of weird stuff, from broken porcelain dolls to graffiti resembling demon symbols that Tinker recognized from some of the books he read.
"Tinker, Tinker!" He heard Sprout's voice call out to him from one of the buildings. From what he could tell from the appearance, it seemed to have previously been a bakery of some sort. The lostwood on his left arm grumbled, much to his annoyance, "I'LL TEND TO YOU AFTER THIS. I PROMISE." He replies softly before heading into the bakery.
"SPROUT?" Tinker calls out as he carefully makes his way through the debris scattered around the area, scanning the area for the child. "Over here!' Sprout's voice echoes from the back. Tinker nodded to himself before heading over to the back, where the kitchen was.
Tinker found Sprout perched on a table, the rays of sunlight streaming through a gaping hole in the ceiling and illuminating them. In their tiny hands, they held a cupcake, topped with a single unlit birthday candle, which appeared to be a basic vanilla buttercream flavor. "I found it under a tray," they told Tinker as they gazed at the cupcake.
Tinker sighed before approaching the tree sprout, sitting on the table next to them, and placing his gloved hand, one without the lostwood, on the sprout's head. "YOU SCARED ME FOR A SECOND THERE." The Tinkerbot hummed as Sprout looked at Tinker with a saddened expression. "I'm sorry..."
"HEY, JUST DON'T GET TOO FAR NEXT TIME, ALRIGHT?" Tinker patted the sprout's head. "Okay, I promise." Sprout replied before looking back at the cupcake. "But look!" Tinker, too, turned to look at the cupcake. "It's still fresh!"
"IS IT NOW?"
"Yeah!" The sprout nodded enthusiastically. "And I know it's your birthday today, sooooooo." Tinker's optics gleamed a bit brighter. "YOU REMEMBERED?"
"Duh, of course, dummy!" They giggled. "Just like you said to me before, it's a special day."
Sprout handed the cupcake over to Tinker, who carefully received the small treat. "...THANK YOU, SPROUT." The tinkerbot expressed his gratitude. "THIS... REALLY MEANS A LOT."
"Hehe, well, you're welcome, Tinks!" Sprout paused to take another look at the cupcake before realizing something was missing. "Oh, right!" The tree sprout extended their hand towards the unlit candle and conjured a small flame. The candle flickered with a warm glow, now lit.
Sprout then gave Tinker a warm embrace. "Make a wish!"
"HM... I WISH..." Tinker hummed, thinking of something to wish for. "THAT ONE DAY, YOU'D GROW UP TO BE SOMEONE STRONG AND DEPENDABLE." Tinker lets out a soft laugh as Sprout shouted back. "I'm already dependable!"
"SURE YOU ARE, KIDDO."
"I am!"