Baby's 1st Christmas
At exactly midnight, Toby nagged and dragged the Proxies into the game room. "PRESENTS!" He shoved Jeff to the floor in front of the couch with their new friend, right in front of the teeny tiny tree. Toby then jammed jingling reindeer antlers onto Masky's head and threw an elf hat at BEN. "Time to celebrate!"
Except... Toby was faced with one small problem he hadn't anticipated.
The baby wouldn’t go near the tree. Or the presents. When Toby tried to entice him with a bit of tinsel tied to the end of a stick like a fishing pole.. The baby turned and latched onto Jeff with both hands, pressing his face into the Killer’s shoulder.
Jeff attempted to pry him loose, but quickly gave up when the toddler started to cry.
Masky exchanged a baffled look with Hoody. “What kind of kid doesn’t like presents?”
Toby had non-stop harassed the rest of the group into getting presents for the Boy, and now they couldn’t get the baby to even go near them much less unwrap the toys and clothes.
“We knew he was mistreated,” Liu brought up, speaking slowly as the cogs turned. “..but what did they do to make him afraid of Christmas presents?”
They’d only had him for a couple of months, and were still being surprised by the Boy'ss random little quirks. Constantly hiding in small spaces, flinching at loud sounds, eating like a starving wolf...
Cried when offered a wrapped gift box...
Toby chewed on a thumb. “Maybe if I opened them for him…?”
Masky pulled the thumb out of his mouth before Toby could pull out the nail again. “Nothing to lose by it. Do mine. It’s just a shirt so you can put it on him right away. If he knows it’s his, maybe he'll chill out."
They had to wait until Jeff could coax the baby off his shoulder, turning him to face the little crooked tree with its lights and random decorations. Toby rummaged for the green box, dutifully tied with a ribbon. Boy pressed himself back against Jeff’s chest with a worried expression and a sniffle as Toby edged closer.
Toby didn’t even bother with trying to draw it out, he had the paper shredded and box opened before the baby could freak out any more. The white sweatshirt looked absolutely tiny, but then so was Boy. Stenciled across the chest in black letters was N A P T I M E, making Jeff snort.
“Hilarious,” he snarked.
The baby stared at the shirt but didn’t try to grab it. Toby finally scrunched up the material in his hands and jammed it over the baby’s head. Jeff had to help with the sleeves but eventually it was on. The now very rumpled toddler peered down at his new shirt in surprise.
“...mine?”
“Ok this is just heart breaking…” Hoody muttered. “Can we kill them again?”
Toby brought over another present, this one wrapped in newspaper. Boy wouldn’t touch it himself, but he watched Toby unwrap the book curiously. “Go the Fuck To Sleep… oh my god. That’s brilliant.” He handed it to Boy to hold while he grabbed another. The older boys didn't typically exchange presents, so the small heap was all for the brat. While Toby tried to decide which one to upwrap next, Jeff shifted the baby on his lap so to free up a hand and crack the book open.
“The owls fly forth from the treetops
Through the air they soar and they sweep
A hot crimson rage fills my heart love,
For real, shut the fuck up and sleep.”
“...alright we’re keeping this.”
The rest of the gifts weren’t the newest and shiniest in toddler toy technology, but in hindsight that might have been for the best. More clothes, giant box of crayons, finger paint and paper.. A couple more books straddling the fine line between appropriate and wildly inappropriate, such as 'Brenda’s Beaver Needs a Barber', where the woman in question had a literal pet beaver that was in dire need of a haircut.
Hoody read that one out loud, very nearly derailing the mini celebration single handedly.
By the last gift, Toby managed to coax the baby into opening it himself. Looking up every few seconds for reassurance, Boy unwrapped a gift from Eyeless which turned out to be a.. doll? A very odd looking doll with a giant zipper across the stomach. He didn’t need any coaching now, Boy pulled the doll open to find a whole set of miniature plush organs to play with.
"...I want one too!" Toby pouted over the giggling.