Work Text:
Elizabeth can’t seem to remember the last time she went shopping for Christmas decorations. The only memories left she seemed to have were vague ones, dull ones. The last holiday she celebrated was over 30 years ago, before it all went wrong. It's odd being a kid forever, despite the many years she spent as a robot, she never felt like an adult. Mike said it was normal; people don’t age when they're dead.
It's been over a year since they both agreed to just try living a normal life instead of being set free. It was difficult at first, with all the IDs and important stuff they had to do, the enrollment to a new school and the multiple jobs Mike had to experience before finding a stable one. Fazbear entertainment was the who kept their souls in robots, Mike looked exactly the same before his death, with the addition of pink glowing eyes and as for Elizabeth, she looked like a mix of Circus baby and her alive version. With the addition of an illusion disks containing 3 forms: Scrap baby, a weird Charlie adult look-alike and the one she currently uses.
Nonetheless, life still went on and on. And before she knew it, December had already come around. Which was why she currently sat in the backseat of the car, gazing upon the snowflakes out the window
“We have a budget of a hundred dollars, should be enough for food and decorations, right?” Mike asked, tapping on the steering wheel as he waited for the traffic light to go green. He always made pointless small talk like this, most of the time not expecting an answer and just yapping to himself more than anything.
“You expect to throw a gathering with just a 100-dollar bill in this economy?” She responded with her arms crossed, her huge vocabular was something she still got used to, Baby’s programming still followed her around.
Mike didn’t respond and instead just threw his head on the wheel, trying to remain calm, she guessed- although she’s not quite sure why as she doesn’t recall saying anything wrong...she didn't mean for her tone to hold any venom, did he misunderstood her? Silence filled the car, and Elizabeth only grew more nervous upon no answer.
“I’m sorr-”
“I think we still got some Christmas ornaments somewhere in the old card boxes” he interrupted before regaining control of the steering wheel. Elizabeth only blinked at the sudden change of topics but slightly nodded. It would mean only buying the fake tree and the food. Should be enough, maybe?
★
The store they went to was huge with many people and holiday themed objects. Elizabeth had a feeling she could get lost if she decided to wander too much, especially with how unorganized the store’s layout was. They entered and Elizabeth immediately picked up a cart. Mike nodded in acknowledgment before they approached the food section.
“What do people eat on Christmas...” Mike mumbled to himself as he looked over the multiple choice of meat. Rubbing the back of his neck in thought. There were lots of options like beef, chicken, and the list went on. Including turkey which she never actually tried. “Is Turkey a good dish?” She asked.
Mike shrugged but picked up the said food to set in the card “Dunno, we'll try” he glanced at the other meats and placed a few more things in the cart. Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow that was answered with a ‘I don't know what I'm doing’ look. Next, Elizabeth suggested they take some mashed potatoes and a soup, which Mike agreed on. So then came the dessert.
“Is that much nourishment really needed?” Elizabeth asked, seeing the cart half full. Mike winced “I mean... Vanessa and Jeremy are coming so...” he shrugged. She sighed, being a human again was hard. She used to know those things, but as time passed, a bunch of her memories slowly started to fade away. But oh well, that just meant more leftovers.
Mike stopped dead in his tracks and inspected the desserts in the store’s fridge. Elizabeth though, couldn’t care less. This whole trip was far more boring than she thought it would be. Yet, it was important for Michael. Gathering with people and all was something they used to do when they were alive. Social interaction was something that made him feel more human. And so, she decided she could try having people over their house for at least one night.
“...Woah! Can you find my name too?”
Elizabeth snapped her head towards the voice, mostly because of curiosity. A few feet away, she could make out two kids talking about the ornaments sat in one of the shelves- little snowmen with different names engraved. Her interest was sparked. And so, with a nervous glance back at Michael-who was still deciding between carrot cake and strawberry cake- she approached the said shelf. As expected, the ornaments were separated in order of the first letter.
C- Chloe, Chris, Cassie.
Upon more digging, ‘Cassie’ was the only name similar to ‘Cassidy’ not like it was problem, Cassie was one of the many nickname her brother went by and this year would be one of the many Christmas she spent without him. A little souvenir would be a way of having him here with her.
Next, she searched for the M initial before remembering that Mike changed his name- right, she needed to find ‘Fritz’ not ‘Michael’ no matter how weird it was to hear her older brother being called that name. Her name was the last one-
E- Emma, Emily, Edward- Elizabeth.
She furrowed her eyebrows in thought; Mike wouldn’t have a problem with her buying one or two things but-Elizabeth didnt went with that name in public. Eleanor Smith was her name now. But she didn't feel like an Eleanor no matter how many times she's been called that name...
“Tell me where youre going before disappearing out of nowhere, Missy” Elizabeth flinched at the sudden voice behind her before realizing it was none other than Michael, looking at the objects in her hands “Lemme see that” he said before Elizabeth reluctantly gave him the three ornaments.
She could see many emotion pass through his eyes before he eventually cleared his throat “yeah..we’ll hang that up on the tree.”
“But- it has my name” she pointed at the small snowman with her name engraved with black marker. Mike furrowed his eyebrows before putting them in the cart “nothing a little art and crafts can’t fix; we’ll make it say ‘El’ as a nickname.”
El- a nickname for both Elizabeth and Eleanor huh enough to feel like its hers but also for Jeremy and Vanessa to not find out about her actual name. She smiled brightly before nodding.
“Now c’mon we better find a tree before they're all sold out”