A/N: If you are reading this, I have recently come out of hiatus for this story and am working on fixing the chapters first. So enjoy.
I don't own Disney, Pixar, Marvel, of DC.
The late afternoon sun hung lazily in the sky, slowly sinking behind the houses across the street. The chilly, early spring day approached its end as the remaining light poured into Bonnie's room, basking it in a soft, golden glow. Several of Bonnie's toys forced themselves not to blink as the brilliant light that blinded them. Bonnie had faced herself away from the window, the front of her was masked in the shining light behind her.
"More tea Woody?" she asked the toy to her immediate right. Bonnie paused, as though waiting for an answer. "No, are you sure?...Mr. Pricklepants! We don't steal tea from other guests!" she added with a scouring look at the stuffed porcupine across the table. She moved the small cup in front of him over to Mrs. Potatohead. "That was very rude of you... I'm sorry Queen Potato," she apologized to the other table guest.
"Bonnie, sweetheart, it's too dark outside to leave the lights off," her mother said from her bedroom doorway. Mrs. Anderson was wearing a fancy dress and her shiny black shoes that Bonnie sometimes liked to play dress-up with. Her mother flipped on the bedroom light as the last signs of daylight faded.
"The babysitter should be here in a few minutes."
"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked with a frown, she had forgotten that her parents would be leaving tonight.
"Daddy and I are going to a fancy dinner for his work. We will be home late after you go to bed, so you won't see us again until tomorrow morning," her mother fiddled with a pair of earrings as she spoke, they reminded Bonnie of sparkly stars.
"Is Mrs. Harding babysitting again?" Bonnie asked with a tilt of her head. Mrs. Harding was an old lady that lived down the road, and though she was kind, she always fell asleep in front of the television and wasn't very fun to play with.
"No, Mrs. Harding is still on vacation in Florida. Tonight, a nice young lady named Roxy is going to watch you."
"Will I like her?" Bonnie asked nervously, for she was hesitant on meeting new people. Her mother smiled down at her as she blindly put in her second earring.
"I'm sure you will."
Just then the doorbell rang. Bonnie heard her father answer the door.
"You must been Roxy," her father said in his deep voice. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Anderson," an airy voice responded.
Bonnie's mother headed down the hall to greet the new sitter. Bonnie peered nervously from her doorway. She could see the shadows of her parents and of a third, unfamiliar figure.
"Hello Roxy, thanks so much for offering to babysit on such short notice," her mother's voice echoed from the entrance hall.
"It's no problem, I love watching kids!"
Bonnie inched her way from the doorway, curious and a bit nervous. She was painfully shy around new people. The toys glanced uneasily at each other behind her back; Andy's old toys had experienced teenage sitters before and none of them had ever paid much attention to Andy or Molly. Most teenage sitters spent the evening talking on the phone with their friends.
Bonnie slowly made her way down the hall and peeked around the corner, too shy to come out and meet the stranger. She caught a glimpse of an unknown and tall figure from around the hall bend.
"Now Bonnie just ate dinner a half hour ago, she is allowed to play with her toys until eight-thirty and should be in bed by nine. She may have a yogurt if she get hungry before bed. She is going through a phase of fearing the dark, so you'll have to turn on the hall nightlight when she goes to bed. If any kind of trouble occurs, there is a set of numbers on the kitchen counter," her mother listed off rapidly. Bonnie saw her father glance at his watch anxiously, like they were running late.
"Sounds good," Roxy said happily.
"Dear, we should be leaving now before we wind up late," Bonnie's father urged, the scratchy sound of his coat could be heard as he slid it on.
"Yes, yes, alright. Let's say goodnight to Bonnie first...Bonnie, would you come here?" her mother called down the hall. Bonny hesitated before scurrying to her mother's side and hid behind her leg. She covered her face in the silky black material her mother was wearing.
"Bonnie, this is Roxy," Bonnie glanced up at her new sitter; she was tall, even taller than her mother! Her hair was a deep, bright red and she had blue eyes that were hidden behind large framed glasses. On her arm she carried a large brown messenger bag. Roxy kneeled down to the little girl's height before speaking.
"Hello Bonnie, it's nice to meet you," Bonnie responded by hiding her face again. Her mother ruffled her hair reassuringly.
"Sweetheart, Daddy and are leaving now. We'll see you tomorrow," she said before giving her daughter a kiss goodbye.
"Bye, Peanut," her father said from the front door, trying to hide his impatience. Bonnie sorrowfully waved goodbye.
"We should be home no later than one," Bonnie's mother said to Roxy, "Goodnight."
"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Anderson!" Roxy waved as they closed the door behind them. The door shut and the two were now alone.
"So Bonnie, would you like to play any games?" Roxy asked as she turned to look over at her. Bonnie looked down nervously at her feet, she never had much to say to strangers.
"...How about you show me some of your toys?" the sitter's kind voice reminded Bonnie of the nice boy that came to her house several months ago and gave her Woody and all his friends. Deciding that maybe Roxy wasn't so scary after all, she gave the young woman a faint smile.
The first thing she did was so Roxy her room, as it held all of her most special and prized possessions. Bonnie loved her toys, and if Roxy was anything like that boy, maybe she would want to play with her too!
Bonnie sat down in her seat at the tea party table. Roxy pointed to the space between Rex and Totoro.
"Mind if I sit between these two lovely gentlemen?" she asked, trying her best to get Bonnie to warm up to her. Roxy tried not to step on any of the other toys that littered the floor.
The little girl nodded. Roxy scooted the two toys slightly further apart. Sitting down, she placed her brown bag in her lap.
"Would you like to introduce me to some of your friends?" Roxy asked. Bonney shrugged, unsure about talking to the stranger. Roxy was not deterred."Well, It just so happens I have a little friend of my own, maybe you would be more comfortable introducing the others to him instead."
Curious, Bonnie leaned in as her sitter rummaged through the large bag.
"Here he is!" Roxy said, pulling out a figurine from a small pouch. The plastic man stood about seven inches tall and was decorated in red, white, and blue. The mask he wore gave away his superhero status.
"What's his name?" Bonnie asked, speaking up for the first time. Every toy had a name, of course!
"His name is Captain America, the first Avenger! He's one of the bravest and strongest toys...I mean, action figures I know."
"You're pretty old to have a toy." Bonnie pointed out, she had never seen a grown-up bring along their own toy to play with.
"He's an action figure, and he used to be my brother's. My brother, Josh, liked to collect superheroes," she responded stiffly. She bent the figure's legs into a sitting position on the table, so that he joined the others.
"Did your brother not want them anymore?"
"No, he loved them all very much...He got sick a few years ago and he...went away," Roxy mumbled, trying not to bring up something as complex as death to a five year old.
"Where did he go?"
"He went to heaven," Roxy sighed, brushing a finger across Captain America's shoulder. Bonnie may not have completely understood death, but she was not unfamiliar with it.
"My Nanna went to heaven too. I miss her a lot... do you miss your brother?"
"Everyday," Roxy said with a sniff and rubbed her nose with a freckled hand. Bonnie looked for a way to cheer her up again.
"Woody is like Captian America; he is brave too!" Bonnie said with a smile as she pointed to the cowboy next to her. "He's the best cowboy in the whole, wild west!...and this is Dolly and Trixie and the Evil Doctor Porkchop and..."
Her sitter's smile rapidly returned with each new introduction.
After Bonnie had introduced all of her toys to Roxy, the tea party table had escalated into a wonderland of magic and adventure. Captain America, Buzz, and Woody fought against the evil Dolly and her dinosaur minions to save the Peas-in-a-Pod and the aliens. The mission was cut short when Bonnie suddenly stopped playing.
"What's the matter?" Roxy asked.
"I have to go to the bathroom, really bad!"
"Well, then go, silly. I promise we won't continue without you," Roxy laughed. Bonnie smiled with thanks before rushing down the hall, grabbing her backside as she ran. Roxy giggled and turned her attention to the toys scattered around her.
"So everyone, it's nice to meet you. You certainly have a wonderfully creative kid to play with you."
As she had expected, none of the toys moved. They laid silently on the wood floor.
"Well, these guys aren't a very exciting bunch, are they Captain?" The heroic action figure in her hand sat up with a lively spark.
"Oh Roxy, there is no need to be mean; they are unresponsive out of instinct. It is only natural," he said with admonishment to the teen. Roxy just rolled her eyes at the spectacle.
The other toys felt shocks of fear run through their bodies at the gross display of the broken taboo.
Reviews and critical feedback are both welcome!
