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The silence is deafening, it always has been to Dandy, there's nothing he hates more than silence.
There's no children screaming, there's no laughter, no toons talking, no one swarming to hug him or singing his praises… And it's all his fault.
He didn't mean to, he really didn't. He didn't even know he could do that, it was something in his nature it seemed. A ticking time bomb, it would've come out sooner or later.
Dandy heard Delilah and Arthur that night. She used the word ‘Twisted’ and ‘Defective’ like he was nothing but a tool, they threw the blame at each other, they fought louder than they meant to, then the discussion quieted down.
Mentions of ‘lawsuits’ and ‘damage control’, terms he didn't understand, things that seemed too big for a flower toon so small… He hid in his room, cried for hours. Everything was crashing down.
And it was all his fault.
Then the tears stopped and the anger surfaced. His fault? No, he didn't do this on purpose. He didn't know he could even do that, he was a victim. If anything, it was Delilah's fault.
His mother, his creator, the one he admired so much. She failed him. She held information from him, put him in the spot and then called him Twisted and considered him a failure. If only he could tell her how he felt, he'd give her a piece of his mind when she came back!
Except she didn't come back…
At first it was just Arthur and Delilah who didn't show up, the Toon Handlers tried to maintain a facade but Dandy saw right through it. He saw through Devan’s lies, he knew this was it.
Then the Toon Handlers left.
They were abandoned, and suddenly Dandy's entire universe shifted. The rooms and exhibitions that harbored laughter and joy were now empty halls that began collecting dust from disuse.
And when he felt the loneliest, he turned to what he saw Delilah do. He'd sit in his room, look up at the ceiling and beg just like Delilah had. He didn't understand why he was doing it, but there had to be something out there that could bring them back, he wanted everyone back… and he hoped someone would listen, he did it the same way he used to see Delilah do.
But his prayers were never answered, so he took matters into his own hands. If no one was listening, he would make them come back.
He could do that. He was Dandicus Dancifer, he was the pride and joy of his creators. He'd seen Delilah work, he could do the same! She'd see how smart he was and she would come back, bring everyone back! Right…?
Things didn't go his way, though it seemed like nothing did lately.
Hurt toons, ichor spilling on the floor, staining his hands, new duties, smiling every day, pretending he didn't just doom them all.
He was so exhausted.
Sleep rarely came, and when it came, it was brief, restless. It felt like punishment… Sleep was a mercy he didn't deserve, it was freedom he hadn't earned.
It was one night where Dandy couldn't sleep when he finally stepped outside and sat by the main three. He still felt comforted by it, he remembered Arthur holding him and letting him plant it, Delilah handing him a water can and telling him how to water it, he remembered their smiles, the summer heat, the routine.
He sat there and thought about everything and nothing at all until he heard someone quietly sitting next to him.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you… I thought you seemed lonely,” Astro's voice felt like a balm to his exhausted soul. Suddenly, gentle magic cupped his cheeks, “Oh Dandy… You haven't been resting, have you?”
“Why are you talking to me?” Dandy asked, it came out meaner than he intended but he couldn't fully grasp by Astro of all people would still be talking to him, holding him with such gentleness, “I thought you'd be upset at me, look at where I got us.”
Astro made a small grimace, and Dandy launched into a rant, “You saw what happened, you know I did all of this… Just… Just drop the act Astro, you can leave me too, I know everytoon hates me now. I'm not stupid,” he didn't know when the tears started, he didn't know how to stop them, “It's all my fault, Astro… I don't… I don't know what to do anymore, I don't know how to fix this, I don't think I can–”
Cold hands grab his own and that's the only thing that stops him. He looks down and finds his and Astro's upper set of hands locking fingers with him.
It seems to break him even further.
“Why are you here…? I don't deserve it Astro, I don't deserve you…”
Astro looks at Dandy, and the flower toon thinks he looks melancholic when in reality the moon toon is devastated to think the Sun could think of himself as undeserving of love.
“Dandilion…” he whispers, and suddenly they're both kids again, “Please don't say that ever again… Yes, I saw you at your worst, yes I… I know what you're doing is less than ideal, I know you're not a saint and I know consequences will catch up to you eventually. But you could never make me hate you.”
“You're stuck with me, remember?” Astro continues, “I don't think I have a solution to your problems, I don't know if I can help you fix it… if there's even a solution, but I will be here with you.”
“But they'll turn against you too. I can stand it if they're mean to me… But not you, moonlight.”
“Then it'll be just us against everytoon, sunshine…” Astro whispered, his hands holding Dandy's tighter, “Can you trust me? Please, lean into me, let me be your anchor like you've been mine.”
They're quiet for a second, Dandy sniffles and just leans against Astro who quickly traps him into a hug gentler than he believes deserves. He feels like he's floating, he feels so tired…
“Just rest, love… We'll figure it out, okay…? No matter what happens, I will love you for as long as ichor runs through my body, I will stand by your side Dandy,” the moon promises with its eye closed, “We can think about solutions tomorrow and every day after that, let me keep you safe tonight.”
Dandy won't have a solution tomorrow, Astro will crumble under the pressure eventually, everything will be worse.
But for now? He closes his eyes and lets Astro hold him.
A toon is allowed to dream and he allows himself one small mercy before the world ends.