Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sundrop had been keeping a tally of your foul language slip-ups. He had reminded you gently in the beginning, being fairly patient and understanding.
As the weeks went by, however, and you still kept cursing and cussing while on the job, Sun had decided to be more direct.

He started by shaking his finger at you with a click, saying how disappointed he was, then the next week he moved on to interrupting you before you could finish the curse, the next he warned he'd take away your art privileges while with the kids ("you'd only be able to sit and watch at craft time! No glitter glue for you!"), then there was the time he actually attempted to give you a time-out, which you refused and laughed off, all while he stood with his arms crossed, fuming.

Two weeks after that, you had attempted to keep a better watch over what you said. You could tell Sun was reaching his limit, and you didn't want to push further right away.
You just didn't see the point, is all. It wasn't like you ever cursed in front of the kids, or loud enough for them to hear, at least. You knew Sun was worried you might, and he was programmed to correct someone when they said any "bad words", but you were staff, surely you didn't fall under the same category as the children Sun watched after?

Despite your fussing, you knew the best thing would be to let it go. Sun was in charge of the daycare, and if he had rules he thought everyone needed to follow, then whatever, it wasn't really that much of an inconvenience.

A few days went by with no incidents, and you noticed Sun was much more relaxed around you and was even handling the kids better, a calmer demeanor radiating off him.

Everything was looking up, You got your art privileges back (which wasn't that big of a deal, to begin with) and Sun had invited you to help with his puppet show.

You and he were behind a mini stage with silly puppets on your hands, talking back and forth as the children giggled and clapped at the show, and you were even smiling yourself, Sun getting a few chuckles out of you with the voices he was making for the characters.

You leaned back on your hand with your legs crossed, making a deep voice as your puppet walked through cardboard grass, and as you attempted to hoist yourself up so you could grab a different puppet, your hand slipped, and you fell backward suddenly, a gasp leaving you as your heart stuttered in your chest.

"Motherfucking shit!", you shouted in surprise, falling on your back with a thud. Your head thumped on the ground and you groaned out another curse, rubbing at the sore spot as you came down from the mini adrenaline rush.

When you did, you noticed it was very, very quiet.

You gulped.

When you looked up, Sun was staring at you silently, puppet still on his hand, and the stage casting dark shadows on his face. You felt your heart stutter again at the look.

You slowly sat up and pointedly looked away from Sun and instead out at the kids sitting down on the playmats.

They seemed confused, shocked, and you let in a hiss through your teeth.

"What does motherfucking mean?", one child spoke up with a raised hand, and you could've cursed again.

"Uh..."

"Nothing, children!", Sundrop piped in, his voice strained. "Our friend said a naughty word, very, very naughty. It is not a word allowed in the daycare, and you should not repeat it anywhere else, ok?", Sun clasped his hands together and waited for the resounded promises, clapping them once he got confirmation. "Very good! Let's let our friend take a break for now, and I'll get us a yummy snack!"

The kids started to get up from their seats, some cheering and others running towards the table where snacks were served. While everyone was going, Sun turned to you, clicking his head side to side as he assessed you.

"Forty-six times."

You blinked in confusion. "What?'

"You've cursed in this daycare forty-six times since I've started taking count."

Had it been that many? There's no way. You were sure you hadn't been that bad at keeping a filter on your mouth.
Sun wasn't laughing though, wasn't joking, and you rubbed a hand at the back of your neck.

"Well, sorry, Sun, shit, I didn't know--"

"Forty..Forty-seven."

You winced. Ok, ok, maybe this was more of a problem than you thought it was.
You shuffled to sit down more comfortably and thought about what to say.

"Sun, I'm so, so sorry, listen, I did not mean to curse in front of the kids, I know I need to keep a better watch on what I say, next time I'll--"

"No.", Sun cut you off, and you shut your mouth. "Too many chances. You need, you need to be reported to management.", He sniffed, arms crossed, and you felt your heart plummet into your stomach.

You couldn't afford to lose this job. It paid well, the hours matched up perfectly with your other hobbies, and you did like Sun. He was a good guy, you liked the friends you made here at the megaplex, you could not afford to lose this job. Looking for one that was even close to as good as this one would be such a pain, and so you did what anyone would do when they wanted to keep their job, you pleaded for it.

"No, come on, Sunny, please, please.", You rambled, hands even coming up in a pleading gesture. "I can't lose this job, I can't! Don't report me, I'll do better. I'll find some way to stop cussing quicker, if you want, Whatever, just please don't."

Sun looked down at you, watching you the whole time, and after what felt like an eternity, he nodded his head. Your shoulders slumped in relief.

"Alright, Alright, I won't. Even though you're a rulebreaker. Breaking the rules all the time!", He threw his arms up in exasperation. "I guess I need to handle this situation myself. If you don't want to tell management."

You nodded, and he tilted his head again.

"Ok, ok, ok. After the kids leave, stay, stay later than usual. You gotta talk--to Moon about it too, I think. He's been talking with me this whole time, and he says he knows something that we gotta do. Ok?"

You didn't particularly like the sound of that. From what you heard from your coworkers Moon was a menace and even more of a follower of the rules than Sun. Then there was the prospect of staying later than usual. But whatever. It couldn't be that bad. What were they going to do, give you a stern talking to? This would be a one-time thing, you'd pacify Sundrop, and you'd be on your way with your job intact. Easy Peasy.

"Alright, sure. We should probably get back to the kids.", You stated, and Sun's hands flew up to his cheeks.

"Oh, dear! I forgot!", He rushed, jumping up faster than any human could and hurrying over to the children waiting for their snacks.

You sighed as you picked yourself up and went over to join them. You had a long evening ahead of you.

Chapter Text

The rest of the day went by normally. You played with the kids, ate lunch, and sent in the daily report. You pointedly left out the incident from earlier.

You weren't sure what was planned, but you made sure everything was in order. You talked with your boss, explaining your situation in a very subtle way, saying Sundrop wanted you to meet Moon, and that you might be able to talk with him and figure out why Moon has been having so many complaints. Your boss agreed, saying maybe you really could help the animatronic out. They'd been doing check-ups and maintenance on him for weeks but nothing worked, and they'd be willing to try almost anything at this point.

"If things get out of hand, there's a setting on your fazwatch that will turn the lights on, otherwise, they're scheduled to turn on and off every hour. I appreciate you doing this. These robots are too advanced for their own good.", Your boss had sighed and pat your shoulder.

You agreed awkwardly and thanked them, waving as you left. And that was it.
Now all you had to do was wait.
Wait for the pizzaplex to close so you could talk with Sun.

Sundrop had been acting a little strange since he talked with you. You kept catching him staring, and his head would swivel away from you the moment you caught him, even if the rest of him was still turned towards you. You wanted to call him out for it, but figured he was probably just on edge, thinking about what to say, thinking you'd slip up AGAIN because apparently, your mouth had a mind of its own. You were honestly a little embarrassed about everything.

Maybe this talk with Sun would actually do you some good. At the very least, the threat of being reported would help you remember.
It kind of sucked to be in this situation, though.

You fiddled with your watch as you sat down in your swivel chair, on the second floor where people would sign in, swaying side to side as you activated an easy way to turn the lights in the daycare on. You were a little scared that you even needed to have this option. Was Moon that scary and unstable? What if something bad happened and you couldn't get out in time?
No, no, your coworkers were around him every day. Children were around him every day. Moon was probably just intense, but his base programming was to be a caregiver. You'd be alright.

Once your watch was set you settled for being on your phone to try and drown out your worries.

The overhead speakers announced the pizzaplex would be closing in fifteen minutes, and you took that as your cue to make your way over to the main play area.
You could either take the stairs to the bottom or go down the slide that led to the ball pit.

Well, it'd be better than walking, right? And you knew Sundrop kept the slide clean and disinfected, so there was no risk of sliding through some kid's snot or something.

Besides, if you were being honest with yourself, you'd been wanting to try it. There was no one around to catch you, anyway.

With determination in your eyes, you walked over to the slide, looked at the "slide into fun!" Sign above it, and sat down at the edge. One. Two.

Three!

You pushed off and went through the tube, colors blurred from the plastic shining around you, and then you were landing in a sea of multicolored ball pit balls, sinking up to your stomach.

You flapped your hands a bit, excited that you actually got to try the slide. That was fun! The plastic around you felt smooth as you shuffled through it. You picked up a ball and tossed it, watching as it bounced and landed back into the sea of colors, before shrugging and waddling around, making your way to the edge.

Everything was quiet aside from the melody that played in the daycare, no sign of Sun, and you looked around.

"Sun?"

No answer. You hummed and tried again. "Su-AH!"

Something had grabbed you from under your arms and was now lifting you out of the ball pit.
Your eyes widened and your breath caught in fear before you were spun around and came face to face with--

"Hello!", Sun chirped, head tilting. "You made it! Good. Good! I'm glad you're here, friend!"

You shivered, trying to will away the thumping of your heart as you looked at him.

"Uh-huh. I said I'd be.", You chuckled weakly, hand coming up to hold Sun's arm so you could shift yourself in his hold.
Before you had a chance to ask him to set you down he was walking through the pit with you, heading towards the door leading to his room.

"Sundrop?", you questioned, and he looked down at you.

"Oh, we'll be discussing things in my room. Ok? Ok?" Oh, do you need a potty break before we get started? Water? A snack?"

You cleared your throat, embarrassed, before shaking your head.

"No, no, I'm good. Uh, I can walk myself, though, bud."

Sun shook his head.

"Too late, we're here!"

You looked back and came face to face with the door, painted to match the wall, and watched as Sun opened it grandly, the door swinging to reveal--

Huh.

It was definitely...less expensive-looking than the other animatronics rooms.

Not, well, ugly, per se, but definitely dingy looking.

Toys, toys, plushies, of course, uh, machine parts? Pillows, a hole in the wall leading to another room, perhaps. You hummed and Sun walked you in.

"I cleaned today. Yes, yes, I did. For you! It's, well, Moon usually throws things around so I don't bother keeping things too tidy, but today is different!"

He set you down and you stood, gathering everything in better. Poor Sun, you couldn't imagine how frustrating it must be to give up on nice things just because of someone else.

Maybe you'd bring it up with Moon.

"It's nice, Sun.", You nodded, and he beamed, rays spinning around his head happily.

"Thank you, thank you! Now, I'm not mad, no, no buuut, there is a reason I brought you here."

You shrugged. "Yeah, I remember. Not that it makes much difference but I am sorry about that."

You put a hand on your hip and tilted your head.

"So, what're we going to do? Go over the rulebook?"

Sun shook his head. "No, no, sorry, friend, but you've been getting much too out of hand for something so simple. First, first I'm putting you in time-out."

He said it so casually that you almost didn't catch it at first.

"What? Seriously?", you blanched as he nodded and felt your cheeks heat up. "Sundrop, I'm not one of the kids, that's not going to work on me."

He had tried this before but you'd been able to weasel out of it. This time, however, you couldn't do much. You'd agreed to let Sun handle things, after all.

"We're not going to be fussy tonight, no, no. I've been patient, reminding you, again and again, to refrain from foul language, but you won't listen. No. You're a rulebreaker, and sometimes rulebreakers get put in time-out. So come on."

You were lifted off your feet once more and carried over to a stool in the corner you had failed to notice before. Sun scooted the seat with his foot and set you down on it, holding you for a moment as if to see if you'd struggle, before letting go and stepping back, his bells chiming faintly.

"Good! Now stay good and no moving. I'm giving you fifteen minutes. Think about what we did wrong today, yes? I'll be riight over here."

You heard Sun's bells moving further away before he settled down somewhere, and you sighed, face hot from embarrassment.

It was so quiet, you were almost scared to shift in your seat because it'd sound loud in the room.

What was Sun doing? Was he watching?

You wanted so badly to turn around and check but knew if you did, Sun would say something, and you were already embarrassed enough as it was, you didn't need his reprimand on top of it.

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. This was not what you had planned. Maybe you had underestimated Sun's unpredictability.

Ok, ok, but! This wasn't really that bad. Just sitting? Not as bad as getting fired. Besides, it was just you and Sun, and if you didn't think about it too hard, you could pretend you really were just sitting down for a minute and not enduring a child's punishment.

Yep. And Sun was just doing his own thing, definitely not waiting for the timer to be up or watching to see if you move.

Yep.

You shuffle a bit and sigh, wondering how long you've been sitting.

You close your eyes and rest your head on the wall to clear your head. You weren't really going to sit here and think about what happened today. You already knew. You were an adult. This wasn't going to have any effect on you.

The longer you sat there, however, with nothing to do and nothing to say, your mind decided to bring up the things you did, and you were too bored to attempt to distract yourself.

You recalled how Sun had looked as he stared at you, disappointed and cold, how that kid repeated that swear. They could go tell their parents. It'd be your fault. How Sun had tried for weeks to get you to stop.
Whatever. Whatever.

Hadn't Sundrop said he was starting out with a time-out? Was there something more in store for you, or were you just going to have to swear to never...swear again, or something. Ugh. You couldn't stand Sundrop being mad at you, especially mad enough to resort to this. He must really think there was no other way to handle you.

You thumped your head against the wall lightly and heard shuffling, eyes opening as you straighten.

You could hear Sundrop moving, bells chiming, and then his hand tapped your shoulder. You swiveled around to look at him.

"Time's Up, Superstar! You did very well!"

Your chest swelled at the praise despite still feeling ridiculous, and you cleared your throat as you looked down, avoiding eye contact.

Sun helped you up and guided you over to his table, pulling a rickety-looking wooden chair out for you before seating himself beside you.

Your hands fiddled to distract you and keep you from getting nervous, it was only Sundrop after all. His words of praise still floated through your mind though, and for some reason, those words of approval made you feel more embarrassed than anything else.
You've always had a problem with compliments though, apparently, your brain reacted the same, it didn't make a difference if the praise was coming from a friend or a seven-foot animatronic.

"Would you tell me why you were in time-out, please?", his words cut through the silence.

You groaned at that, voicing your disbelief, but knew it'd be better to just get this over with.

"Uh. I keep swearing, and today I cursed in front of a group of kids. Twice."

Sun nodded, arms crossed.

"Yes, yes. Anything else?"

You scrubbed a hand down your face.
If this is what you got from now on when you broke Sundrop's rules, you're never letting him hear you swear again.

"I'm sorry? No, no, I am. I'm sorry I screwed up. I'm going to do better at my job, I promise."

Sundrop waited a moment, letting the silence stretch, before uncrossing his arms and reaching out, patting your head.

"Thank you, Sunbeam, I'm sure you will, yes! You're being very good right now, and I appreciate you for listening!"

You willed yourself not to react too visibly to his words, not wanting him to know just how deprived you were of approval. On the inside, you were melting.
On the outside, you merely cleared your throat with a word of thanks.

"Try not to be too hard on yourself, though. 'Screwed up' is not a very nice thing to say, no, no, especially towards yourself, Sunbeam!", he was still going, his voice more gentle than before, stern but caring.

"You made a few errors, but that's all it is. Everyone messes up here and there, but we do what we can to be better for ourselves and for others!", Sundrop finished with another pat to your head.

He was trying to kill you, wasn't he?

Kill 'em with kindness, huh?

It was working, definitely, even if you tried your best not to show it.

"Yes, yes, we work on ourselves, and sometimes we need a little help, and, speaking of, I have one more thing for you to do before Moon shows up!"

Chapter Text

You deflated at that. You had been hoping time out was the end of it. Sundrop noticed your demeanor and made a clicking sound like someone would do with their tongue.

"Oh, don't be too down! It's something easy! Yes, yes, and, oh! I have a surprise for you after we're all done. D-doesn't that sound good?"

You hummed and nodded. It did sound intriguing, at the very least. 

"So? What's this last thing?"

"I'd like you to write an apology letter to Moon, yourself, and me. In any order you like, oh, and don't show me! They don't have to be long letters, but I'd like you to be honest. It was very rude of you to break our rules over and over like that, Sunbeam, and it wasn't good for yourself, either. The letters will be a physical reminder of your promise to be good!"

"...I thought you said it'd be easy."

"Oh, fussy little star, no, no, I know you can do it! Yes, you'll be very good for Moon and me. You've been doing wonderful so far!"

Sundrop clapped his hands together in an almost pleading gesture, and you could do nothing but nod. His grin somehow grew, and he stood up to walk behind you.

He returned with papers, pencils, markers, and a number of arts and crafts you were sure you weren't going to use. Maybe you'd use the glitter though, you knew it was one of Sundrops favorite things.

"Alright, yes, yes! You stay here, and I'll be in the other room tidying up. Let me know when you're finished! Oh, and here's a little something for being good so far.", Sundrop reached into his pocket and pulled out a sundrop candy, presenting it to you with a flourish. 

You took the candy with a word of thanks and popped it into your mouth. You never really ate these because of how jittery they made you, but man did they taste amazing. 

Sun pat your head and waved goodbye as he disappeared into the next room, and you were left alone with your task.

You spent a good three minutes staring at a bunch of blank pages, before finally deciding on what to do.

First, you wrote Sundrops, filling his card with drawings to avoid having to write too much, adding glitter and puffy stickers, promising you'd pay closer attention to him and yourself. 

Next was yourself. You didn't write much at all. You put down to remember what might happen if you end up getting on Sun's bad side and that today you really could have gotten fired. You weren't sure if you'd actually keep this letter, but you knew writing it was important to Sundrop, at least.

Moondrop...uh, Moondrop.

Apparently, he could see and hear everything Sundrop could? If he could then he'd know the turmoil you've already gone through, and he'd know that you really were sorry.

You weren't sure what he'd like you to say though, or how much, so you decided to play it safe, writing down pretty much the exact same things with Sun with the exception of a few more sophisticated words. You also drew a little moon in the corner, and added silver glitter, just so Moon wouldn't feel left out.

When you were finished you looked them all over, stacked them on the table, tried to clean up a bit, and called out for Sundrop.

"I'll be right there!"

You heard bells and footsteps and then he was poking his head into the room.

You waved and he stepped inside, dusting off his pants.

"Good job, Superstar! I'll put these right over here on this table. Moon and I will read them later."

Sundrop set the letters down where he said he would and quickly put away the remaining papers and art supplies.

Once everything was done, you were suddenly scooped up into a bear hug, the air leaving your lungs as you gasped.

"Oh, my good little Superstar! You did so very, very well! I'm proud of you, yes, yes, I am! So proud of my friend!"

Your face flushed immediately, and you hid your blush against Sundrops shoulders. You returned the hug after a moment and Sundrop gave you a little spin.

This wasn't so bad. 

Sundrop was warm and soft, and the quiet whirring of his inner workings was oddly soothing.

No one had to know you were being comforted or had to know you were soaking in each word like a sponge. You didn't even have to acknowledge it yourself. At the moment though, you enjoyed every second of this interaction as you could. 

You whined when Sundrop pulled back, and he shushed you gently.

"Oh, no, no, don't worry! I'm just going to move us into the other room, it's all tidy in there for you, yes, yes!"

You looked back curiously as Sundrop carried you through a little tunnel-like doorway. You were greeted with another room, this one smaller than the main room, but definitely comfier looking.

There were blankets and pillows in the corner, an arcade game flush to the wall, boxes stacked neatly in the other corner, drawings on the wall, and fairy lights strung up to give the room a cozy ambiance. You hummed and didn't object as Sundrop set you down onto the soft blankets and pillows.

"My, my, you've had a long day, haven't you?", Sundrop said, and you nodded. 

"You were very good, yes, yes, yes. About the surprise,, I'd like to cuddle you! Hugs always make the little ones feel better, and I bet you need lots and lots of those. Is that alright, friend?"

Oh, gosh. Oh gosh. You tried to refrain from nodding too quickly, but once you did Sundrop beamed, his rays spinning around his head. 

"Alrighty, sunshine! Scoot over for me." 

 Once you did as asked Sundrop knelt down to sit next to you, fluffing the pillows before turning around and scooping you into another hug.

You huffed happily and let out a squeak as Sundrop fell back with you in his arms, landing into his warm chest. Sundrop's feet kicked a little from what you could only assume was excitement, and he smiled as you looked up at him. 

He pat your head and nuzzled further into the blankets with you, grabbing one to toss over the both of you.

The blanket was soft, not too heavy, and added another element to the already soothing warmth from Sundrop and the calming ambiance.

You could've cried. This was so, so nice. You couldn't remember if you'd ever felt so comfortable. 

You wondered if Sundrop would ever offer to do this again, maybe you could ask?
If your stubbornness didn't get in your way, you'd ask Sundrop to cuddle every other week, for sure.

A soft pat on your head got your attention and you hummed in question.

"Moondrop is going to be meeting you soon. H-he's, he still won't tell me what he's planning, but I know he's got good intentions. He's, well he's a little grumpy sometimes, yes, yes, but, you don't have anything to be scared of, Superstar. No, no, you'll be just fine, and maybe Moon will give you a treat if you're good for him too!", Sundrop rubbed your back, helping you release the leftover tension from the day, and you hummed again in agreement, too comfortable to question or argue with him.

You didn't think you really had anything to fear, anyways. Sun was so sweet, and he just wanted to help, and you bet Moon was the same way. A little grumpier and less direct about affection? Probably, yeah, but that was fine. As long as you got to stay in Sun's arms and forget about your worries for a while.
You were too out of it to deal with any of those concerns, anyways.

With a yawn you stretched and nuzzled against Sun, waving away the conversation, and Sundrop chuckled.

"Alright, alright."

The two of you stayed there for a while longer, and you could feel yourself drifting off, eyelids drooping, cheek pressed against Sun's chest, your arm almost numb from where it lay by your side.
You mumbled something unintelligible, and Sun's hand came up to run over your head, your cheeks, soothing you even further into an almost sleep.

"Sweet, little star. I'm so happy you're here.", Sundrop's voice was calmer than you think you'd ever heard it, an almost whisper that was filled with admiration.

"Such a good, good, good superstar. Yes, yes. You should try and sl--sleep--sleep for a minute, sw--swee--sweet--

"Little Star..."

The grip on you tightened, not enough to hurt, but it made you snap out of your relaxed state, groggily raising your head.

You were met with a pair of red, glowing eyes, a grin stretching Suns--Moon's? Face. He tilted his head with a click, and you gulped.

"Hello, starlight..."

Chapter Text

"Hello...", You murmured, eyes wide as you stared up at the animatronic.

You could already feel a nervous sweat forming on your brow, your sleepy, relaxed state steadily being replaced by an anxious tension. This entire visit both Sun and you had been in the dark about what Moon planned to do, and now you were about to find out firsthand.

You shuffled atop Moon's chest and he hummed, his head spinning slowly as he assessed you.

"You know why I'm here, don't you?"

You nodded.

"Then there's no need for introductions, and as much as I'm enjoying this...cuddle session, you do have to be punished."

Of course. Right. You knew you were going to have to face Moon, but you had kind of been hoping he'd go easy on you. Or at least be open to talking before getting down to business.

"Um, right. What are we going to do?"

His grip on you tightened once more, and you got a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.

You were lifted off his chest and held at arm's length as he sat up and hoisted himself up to his full height. You looked around curiously as he walked around and over to a chair. More time-out? You could handle that.

So this is what it was? Not so scary. You weren't sure why he bothered keeping it a secret, he probably just liked being all mysterious and--He sat down.

you made a questioning noise as he brought you close, almost like he was going to hug you, only for your world to suddenly be tilted as you found yourself over his lap.

You stared at the dusty floor for a moment in shock, wondering what just happened, before your arms were tugged gently behind you, held in a strong grip at your back, and it dawned on you with a horrifying clarity what was going on. He was going to--there's no way he was actually--

But he wasn't laughing, and you started to struggle then, twisting to try and look up at Moon.

He swatted the back of your pants and you squeaked, kicking your legs as a flush crept into your cheeks.

"Moon, Moon, come on! Sun already--and I thought you--You can't-!", you spluttered, a desperate whine sneaking into your voice as you attempted to get your words out.

"This is not up for debate, little star. You've been breaking the rules left and right. Being so vulgar. So naughty. Naughty, naughty. Sun gave you his punishments, and I will give you mine."

He gave you another swat, this one harder, and you clenched your hands from where they were kept at your back.

"But-! Come on, I-I'm--"

"you-", Moon cut you off, "Are going to get in more trouble. Do you think you shouldn't be punished? Being such a naughty thing, endangering your job, letting the kids hear those foul words. One of them even repeated you. Unprofessional.", he swatted you, "Reckless.", another swat. "Careless." Swat. "Impulsive." Swat. "Immature!" Swat. "Rulebreaker!"

You screwed your eyes shut, your heart absolutely plummeting at the words. Sun had been so careful of your feelings, being stern but gentle, praising you at every opportunity, and Moon was offering the opposite.
His disapproval was apparent, he was upset with you, and you couldn't help but feel ashamed as you listened. That and the pain was starting to get to you. He was being non too gentle and your eyes were starting to sting.

Moon's approach was giving you whiplash with how different it was from Sun's. You could hardly keep up.

"Little Rulebreaker.", Moon implored with a boop to your nose, and the action brought you out of your thoughts. "Stay with me. Can't have you getting lost in thought. So, why don't you tell me what we did wrong today, hm?"

You let your head fall with a grumble. Sun had asked you to do the same, so this should have been easier, but you found it was just as hard as the first time, maybe even more so. Moon tsked and gave you another sharp slap, pain blooming instantly on the spot, and ok, maybe it'd be better to just get this over with.

You raised your head and stared at the wall, taking a shaky breath in.

"I keep cursing and the kids heard me swear twice, and I haven't been watching what I say as much as I should--and, I'm sorry, really, I'm sorry."

"Good."

A hand rested on your bottom and you swallowed. You could feel Moon's eyes boring into the back of your head.

"Do you remember how many times Sun heard you curse? He told you earlier today."

You did not like where this was going. His words sounded nonchalant, tone steady and level, but you knew that there was something waiting under the surface.

You knew not answering wasn't in your best interest,
but you honestly couldn't remember. You racked your brain for a moment for the answer but still came up blank.

"Uhm...I don't remember. thirty-thirty something?"

"Forty-Seven times.", Moon corrected you and you let out a small hiss. Oh yeah. You couldn't even really believe it yourself. Forty-seven times?

"It's a lot, isn't it?"

You gave a hesitant nod.

"Yes, yes. It's much more than it ever should have been, or ever will be again. But, just to make sure you get the picture, realize how disappointing, how unacceptable, that number is, that'll be your count for today."

Your eyes widened in shock and you attempted to sit up only to be steadied with a hand on your lower back.

"No, I don't want to do that! No, no, no!"

Nope, nope, you couldn't!

Moon clicked and waited for you to stop, staying silent and patient, but the longer you stayed over his lap the angrier you got. Forty-seven was too much! And this was stupid! You were an adult, you didn't need this! Sun told you to be good, but you were reaching your limit.
You weren't going to lay here and be good when Moon was being unreasonable. Yeah, he was being unreasonable! You twisted to look at him and managed to glare up at him from the corner of your eye.

"You're being unreasonable!", you seethed, face flushed and eyebrows knit together in frustration.

Moon leaned back as if in shock, a hand on his chest as he asked, "I'm being unreasonable?"

Oh, was he teasing? Was he trying to be funny in the face of your anger? You growled.

"Yeah, asshole! Unreasonable!"

Moon hummed lightly and gave you a few sharp slaps that had you biting your tongue.

"I expected you to be fussy, but I'm adding another tally to your count. If you'd like to keep cursing I can add more."

"Not fair, you're being horrible, and ugly, and Sun wasn't like this at all!", You grunted, grasping for straws to come up with anything that might affect Moon, make him break even a little so you'd feel less alienated.

"Oh, Sun? Hmm, How about we ask him what he thinks of your behavior so far?"

You tilted your head in confusion, only to gasp as you watched Sun's rays start to peek out from around Moon's head. Moon's grin widened as he looked down at you, and his head spun a few times, left eye going blank as those rays came out fully, Moon's cap hanging on by the sunray at the top of his head.

This was new. Could they do that the whole time? Obviously, right, but why didn't you know about this? They could just switch whenever they felt like it?

You thought back to the watch on your wrist. Would it even matter if you activated the lights, then? Moon would just be able to come back if Sun let him. Was there really no getting out of this? You felt a spark of hope in your chest as you met Sun's gaze, happy to see him, and Sun blinked and looked down at you. You wanted to complain to him about Moon's behavior, but the words died in your throat when Sun frowned at you.

"Sunbeam, what's wrong? You, you were going to listen, you said you would."

"But! But Moon is just being a jerk! He...", You cleared your throat, embarrassed to get the words out. "He said he's going to spank me--forty-eight times! You wouldn't do that, would you?"

Sun shook his head. "No, no, I wouldn't, but Moon would, and he's the one punishing you right now. You agreed to take punishment from both of us, you did."

Sun pat your head. "I know this isn't what either of us was expecting, but, but, He's not going to get out of control. He-he-you can trust him. He's been patient so far, yes? Has he done anything but spank you?"

You swallowed, thinking about it, and, unfortunately, you couldn't deny he had a point. Moon hadn't done anything but give you a few swats, and he'd been gentle with everything else. Your wrists weren't bruised, your butt didn't even hurt that bad, all things considered. All Moon had done was taken a hit to your ego, and your butt, and he told you everything he was going to do before he did it.

You let your head hang, conflicted, and Sun leaned down to kiss the top of your head.

"Oh, Sunbeam. It's ok to be nervous, but Moon isn't going to get out of hand, he's very careful, yes, yes, and he even told me you're doing better than he expected! Such a fussy little star, though.", He pats your rear and you blushed, body going limp.

You heard a whirring noise from above you, and in the next moment, a hand was petting your head.

"How are we feeling now, hm?"

You grumbled out, "Ok, I guess. I don't know." You weren't about to apologize, but you weren't going to throw a tantrum over this, especially after realizing Moon really was just trying to help you. This was just another punishment, and you could take that no problem, right? Yeah.

"I'm going to let go of your wrists now, alright?", Moon said, and you nodded. Once your hands were free you scrubbed at your face and sighed from behind your palms.

"You're going to stand up, take your pants down, and get back over my lap. Do you understand?"

You scrunched up on his lap, waiting a moment before nodding again. You didn't want to, of course, but this would be over soon enough. It would be ok, yeah, and you didn't want to make things worse for yourself. Besides, deep down you wanted to impress Sun, make him proud, and Moon if you were being honest with yourself.

"Good, good."

You were helped off of his lap and you stood by his side, gripping the hem of your pants.

You shot him a pleading look, but he stayed silent, and after another moment you unbuttoned your pants and pushed them down to your ankles, you didn't want to take them off completely, especially since you were still wearing your shoes, so you left them be and gave yourself a moment to push past your embarrassment, hands covering your face.

You were really going to go through with this, huh? Dear God you were going to die from how hot your face was. If steam could be coming from your ears it would be, a blotchy flush covering you from the tips of your ears down to your chest.
You were glad Moon wasn't making any comments on it. If he even chuckled you knew you'd never be able to forget.

"Back over my lap.", Moon stated gruffly and took your hand in his. You peeked at him from behind your other hand and he tilted his head at you, a look of softness crossing his features. The look helped your nerves slightly, and you didn't object when Moon guided you back in place, leaving your arms alone this time.

"Forty-Eight, darling. I'm not going to make you count, I'm more than capable of that, but do know if you use any naughty language we're going to have a problem. Be good, good. I know you can."

He rubbed your back for a second, and the gentleness of the action caught you off guard, allowing your body to relax for a moment, before the hand was lifted and you knew it was being raised behind you, up, up, until-

You yelped when his hand connected with your backside, surprised by just how much more it hurt without your pants.

The hits rained down after that, alternating from one spot to the next, your flesh rekindled in a flashing hot pain that had you squirming.

Then he was slapping one spot over and over, the pain increasing, almost becoming unbearable, until he relented and moved to another spot. It had you near tears.

"You're doing good so far.", He commented, the words of praise conflicted with how harshly he was spanking you, and you kicked your leg out behind you on reflex.

He wasted no time in tucking your legs behind his own, trapping them so you were even further restrained, and you covered your face as your legs twitched in Moon's hold.

"We're at sixteen.", He said, landing a particularly hard swat, and you cried out, tears welling in your eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Oh, are those tears I see?"

You hiccuped and squirmed, wanting to get away, and he tilted his leg down.

You found yourself bent over even further, getting a proper look at the dusty floor, and you tried to twist to look behind you before-

"Ouch!", You gasped out as Moon struck just underneath the curve of your butt, a sensitive spot where your butt met your thighs, and you were stunned into silence as he began striking there.

"Oh, ow, ow, ow!", You keened and cried, your tears finally spilling from your eyes and running down your cheeks, and Moon hummed.

"There we go. Naughty little star. I was so disappointed in you today. So disappointed to see how you handled the situation, too. If Sun hadn't threatened to tell management, would you have even felt bad? Would you have learned your lesson?"

You hiccuped and shook your head, both at the questions and at Moon's disappointment. Your mind was reeling, your heart thudding, your vision blurred by your tears, and Moon's words were pushing you further into despair.

"No, you wouldn't have. No, no. Naughty, naughty. But you won't be doing this again, will you?"

"N-No, no! I won't!"

"That's right, you won't, because if you do, do you know what'll happen?"

You whined, hands clenching and unclenching to distract you from your pain because Moon was STILL spanking you, reheating old spots over and over as he talked, and it was pure torture.

"If I catch you having such a naughty mouth again, I'm putting you right back over my lap, and you're getting spanked again. Do you understand?"

You sobbed and nodded jerkily.

Moon stopped for a moment, hand resting on your butt, and you took the opportunity to catch your breath, tears pooling at your chin and dripping to the floor.

Your butt was absolutely throbbing. You wouldn't be surprised if you looked back and saw it on fire.

You scrubbed at your eyes, sniffling, and didn't object when a large hand guided your own away to wipe away the tears on your face.

Moon shushed you gently, allowing you a minute to recover.

"My, my, look at you.", Moon murmured, and you looked up to see him staring at you, head tilted to meet your gaze.

"So sad, yes, yes. But doing very well. Taking your punishment. I'm impressed."

You sniffled again and leaned into his hand, soaking up the praise unashamedly. You were already embarrassed beyond repair, might as well give in and enjoy this.

"You have ten more to go, darling, and we're doing those bare."

"I-I- don't want to.", you croaked, and Moon wagged a finger at you.

"I need to make sure your poor rear is alright, and I mean beyond the pain that's supposed to be there. I can't have my little star getting too much punishment, more than they deserve, no, no.", While he said this he grabbed the hem of your underwear and tugged them down gently, leaving them to pool with your pants around your ankles. You swallowed, and Moon told you he was going to scan you.

You heard the scanning sound, the pause, and then Moon snapped out of the process.

"Nothing is wrong, nope, nope, nothing to report but some light bruising, very light. I'll be careful, not to worry."

You were tilted down even further and you groaned, knowing the pain that was in store for you.

"Are you going to be capable of keeping your hands out of the way, or do I need to hold them for you? I don't want you hurting yourself."

"I-I can do it..."

Moon didn't reply, but he did lean down to give you a chaste kiss to your head, and your breath caught in your throat. Oh, these two were going to be the death of you.

"Almost done."

And with that, the spanking started again.

A heavy slap met the curve of your butt and you stuttered, fresh tears welling in your eyes.

"You're not going to be acting recklessly around the children anymore.", Moon demanded, voice stern.

Another hit, on the opposite side.

"You're not going to curse while at work. Not even if the children can't hear you. That'll lead to bad habits."

Smack!

"Owwww!"

"Be respectable, starlight, we will not be able to ensure other coworkers won't tell your bosses. You could get fired."

Two hits in quick succession, right on the top of your butt, and you squirmed, hands grasping onto Moon's pant leg.

"M-Moon! Please!"

Moon shushed you. "Halfway there."

"If either of us catches you doing something you shouldn't we will punish you. If you decide to be naughty, you will not get out of punishment. Do you understand?", Moon hissed with another sharp slap, and you nodded frantically. "Words, darling."

"Y-yes! I un-understand!"

"Will you be pulling a stunt like this again?"

"No!"

Smack!

"Will you continue to test our patience and endanger your job?"

"I-I won-won't!"

Smack!

"Good. If you do, I'll make this spanking seem like a warm-up. That is your only warning.", Moon growled, and you sobbed, nodding, gasping, and then Moon put a hand at your back, steadying you, while he delivered the two hardest swats of the night, right to your sit spots.

Smack! Smack!

"Ah, OW, OW, OW!"

You broke down fully then, body limp as you dissolved into tears that wouldn't stop.

Everything hurt and you couldn't stop crying. It was too much. The pain, the lecture, the way Moon was now rubbing Your back gently.

You hiccuped and gasped as you were lifted off of Moon's lap and sat in between his legs, your butt resting carefully between them so there wasn't any pain. Moon cradled you to his chest and rocked you gently, continuing to rub your back as he kissed the top of your head.

"Good job, sweet little dream. So very good, shh, shh, my good starlight. It's over now. We're done."

You sobbed into his chest and fumbled to grasp onto his arm, pulling it close so you could hug onto it desperately. Moon squeezed you in a soft hug, letting his arm be maneuvered.

"Oh, Sun was right, you're a very good star. You listened and did what I asked. I'm so proud of you, little dream."

In the back of your mind you knew you were absolutely giddy over the newest nickname, but on the outside, all you could do was nuzzle against Moon with a shaky breath.
He sat you there for a while, mumbling praises and rocking you soothingly, and your tears steadily began to slow, breaths evening out until all that was left was a sleepy exhaustion.

You were absolutely spent.

Your limbs felt like noodles, your brain was fuzzy, and your eyelids drooped, desperately calling for rest.

You yawned, giving Moon's arm a squeeze, and he clicked his tongue and leaned down with a tilt of his head.

"Oh, my star is sleepy, yes? Yes, yes, such a long night, such a big day, I'm sorry for keeping you up so long, little dream. Why don't we go lay down, hm?"

You nodded, mumbling out an agreement, and he picked you up carefully, carrying you bridal style over to the nest of softness in the corner.

You almost started crying again when you saw it, wanting nothing more than another cuddle session.

Moon was gentle when he laid you down on your stomach. He helped you out of your jeans but pulled your underwear up for you, being as soft as he could. You hissed a little when the fabric rubbed against your abused flesh but you otherwise didn't complain.

Moon then returned by your side and offered you another chaste kiss on your head. You hummed happily.

He settled down next to you and laid on his back before placing you on his chest once more, enveloping you in an encompassing hug. There was a low heat emitting from him, relaxing your tense muscles, and you sighed, cheek pressed against his soft silicone.

This made it all worth it.
Yes, you messed up. Yes, you were embarrassed. Yes, this night had been, possibly, the weirdest night of your life.

Cuddling though? This was nice. This was something you could get used to.
You couldn't deny you felt cared for even through the punishments. They really were looking out for you, and although you didn't like the actual punishment, you appreciated the love in-between.

Moon ran light fingertips over your face, tracing patterns on your skin, and you sighed again, releasing more of the tension in your body.

"Moon?"

"Yes, starlight?"

"I...I like this."

Moon chuckled above you, a soft sound that floated over you like a cloud.

"Oh, that's nice, darling, I like it too."

You smiled at that, eyes closing.

You were so tired. You could tell you'd be sleeping well tonight, especially cuddled up and comfortable. So sleepy...

"Sweet dreams.", Moon purred, and you mumbled it back to him before your exhaustion took over and you slipped into a peaceful dream.