Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You wouldn’t say that you particularly hated children. You loved them when there were just one or two. A few of your friends had children of their own and they were a wonder to spend time with. The way they laughed when you cooed and the way they giggled when you played make-believe with them was always your favorite. But at most, you spent time with only two or three children at a time. Any more than that would drive you crazy. All that screaming, crying, slobbering, and germy hands. You didn’t have the patience to sit in a room filled with them, like for example, a classroom or maybe a daycare. 

Which is why when the positions at the Fazbear Entertainment Pizzaplex Superstar Daycare had opened, you purposely avoided them. One was for the daycare helper, one was for the daycare security, and the last one was for the daycare animatronic attendant’s handler. That last one had piqued your interest but knowing that you had to sit in daycare with the animatronic the whole day, you decided to forgo it to someone else and wait for another spot to open. 

You did find it strange that multiple positions at the daycare had opened all in the same week. Not to mention that you had been surveying their hiring page for months, and these positions seem to return to the page multiple times in the last half year - especially that security position. Working with children must be taxing. Parents are probably worse. It was slightly understandable. But, the turnaround of employees in the daycare was noticeably concerning. 

So instead, you applied for the spot as the Lucky Stars Gift Shop cashier - the official gift shop to the daycare. The other spot that opened was a janitorial position for the pizzaplex’s theater and a low-level arcade technician. The spot for the technician was off the table immediately as you felt severely underqualified. The janitor position didn’t sound as interesting to you, so you thought that maybe the gift shop was busy enough to pass the time and a distance away from the daycare itself for you to observe from afar. Cleaning up popcorn daily can only bring so much entertainment to a work day. 

But why so adamant on the pizzaplex? The Fazbear Entertainment Corporation is well known in the community to be the worst of the worst in terms of work conditions, uptight management, and high distribution of workmans comp. The amount of OSHA violations that are supposedly reported on social media websites were probably the menial ones that got through their human resources department to the media on accident. It was still a surmisable amount. Yet, the reason you specifically wanted to work at the Fazbear Pizzaplex was your own memories of the animatronic band members. They used to be your favorite cartoon to watch and you always wanted to see what all the excitement others talked to you about. The animatronics were rumored to be the highest state of the art technology. Everything seemed so real, children couldn’t tell them apart from real animals. (Probably not true, but children do tend to exaggerate).  Plus you only lived a few miles away from the plex itself. It would benefit you to be able to work close to home while deciding if you wanted to further continue your studies for the future. 

This was also going to be a stepping stone job to get you some more work experience. Working as a barista at Starbucks for several years can get tiring when people yell at you all the time, asking for the same things everyday. Maybe a job at a gift shop will provide some variation. These were words that hopefully won’t come back to bite you one day. 

The application process for the position itself was a little sketchy. Just a one page electronic application sent from their website, requesting to attach just your resumé and a photo of yourself. The questions didn’t seem too difficult, like asking for your strengths and weaknesses and your preferred hours of work. It was strange that nothing asked for particular skills for the position itself. Maybe those were hidden in the next round of interviews. 

You waited maybe a couple days before hearing back in your email that you had qualified for a telephone interview. It was scheduled for the next day. Excited but nervous, you fretted the whole day, looking up forums online of what others had been asked before. There wasn’t much you could find, but even a few general advice on how to answer interview questions was fairly welcome. 

Instead, you found some information about how the Pizzaplex stemmed from a previous rebranding by the founder, several times in fact, after many mishaps of missing children and smelly unknown odor of nearly four different restaurants. Many posts, videos, and articles  pinpointed the animatronics themselves to blame for the incidents, from faulty machinery and lack of proper maintenance. But those were back in the days where the necessary technology hadn’t yet been implemented. The original founder of the Fazbear brand went missing shortly after the company was handed over to a different corporation seemingly encouraged by the shareholders. He was never found and has been long forgotten. The news articles attached about the missing children and video interviews of past customers all had a suspicious tone to them. 

The more you scrolled through these social forums, the more you wondered if you were making a mistake. 

Brewing yourself a cup of coffee at your current job, you mentally went through all the possible questions that the interviewer could ask you over the phone just hours before your call. You felt that you didn’t need to prepare too much, but it didn’t hurt to practice for yourself. You haven’t been swayed by the online warnings and refused to get cold feet. 

To calm your nerves, you spent the rest of your shift trying to think of other things. But your mind couldn’t keep off the kid-friendly franchise. Out of curiosity, you checked the hiring page on your phone during the last couple minutes of your break. The positions for the helper and the handler were taken off the site, leaving only the security position left open. It seemed that you weren’t the only one scouring the website for jobs. 

Minutes before the moment, you settled into your car and turned on the engine, cranking the air conditioning to a comfortable temperature. Your stomach growled, turning nervously as the time ticked within your head. 

The sound of your phone ringing echoed in your car, scaring you briefly before you composed yourself and answered confidently. “Hello?”

“Good afternoon,” a friendly high-pitched voice responded on the other side of the phone. Your interviewer requests to speak to you by addressing your name. “Is that who I am speaking with?”  

“That is me,” you affirmed respectfully. 

“Wonderful, I am with Fazbear Entertainment. My name is Gabrielle and I will be interviewing you today. I see that you have applied for our Lucky Star Gift Shop cashier position. We are ecstatic that you are interested in working with our company. Before we officially begin, please tell me about yourself.” 

You opened your introduction with facts about yourself, including information about your hobbies, your academic career, and your past work experience. You could feel your mouth moving faster and faster as you tried to get as many words as you could out within a short period. Even your lungs were supporting you as they never stopped your montage to remind you to breathe deeply. You must have jumped a little bit ahead of yourself as you heard a small impatient click of a pen in the background. You quickly closed your statement and waited. 

“That’s great to hear. Thank you for that.” The answer that followed sounded a little automated, almost like the interviewer wasn’t paying attention to the last three minutes of your response. “I have a few questions for you today that I have prepared for you. Depending on how you respond to these questions, I may be offering you the position at the end of the call. How does that sound?” 

“That works for me.” You agreed rather swiftly. Your nerves were starting to crawl, wanting to get on with the difficult part of the interview.

Gabrielle shoots off the first question immediately, “To start, have you ever worked or volunteered in an environment with children before?” 

Fairly easy question and expected. “Yes I have, but not with a company that focuses specifically towards children. I have worked in positions where children were present and often interacted with.” You smiled. While not entirely a lie, working at Starbucks has presented many opportunities to see customers bring in their offsprings and their pets. Usually these moments passed by without problem, but you got the occasional screaming and crying child with a parent who just barely gave a damn to control them. You winced at the memory. 

“Sounds fair.” Gabrielle continues. You could hear her drag out her words as she types something in the background. “In a scenario where you come across an unruly child or aggressive parent or guardian, how would you react in a high stress and high pressure situation in which customers would inappropriately yell, scream, or threaten you?” 

You pondered for a moment. This must happen very regularly to end up as a situational question in an interview. With an entertainment establishment this big, that a daycare is an offered feature, parents must repeatedly bring reckless, rebellious, and restless children. And with parents, there’s bound to be a protective bunch that threatens every person who wrongs their child.  But seeing how customer service always comes with its obstacles, it’s not something you haven’t dealt with before. So, you answered deliberately but truthfully. 

“Staying as calm as possible, I would try to deescalate the situation before reaching out to higher management to intervene. With children, it is important to keep a calm composure and respond clearly, ensuring that nothing dangerous may occur to the child if they were to deal damage to company property or themselves. For parents, it is important to be professional and provide alternatives to divert the danger. This may include offering solutions, promotional coupons, or a refund if a parent is so inclined to demand it. Otherwise, if the threat becomes too physical or dangerous, security may be requested if the situation escalates.” 

There was a small hum on the other side of the line. Almost like your answer sparked something in Gabrielle’s mind. There was a bit of a judgemental tone to it and made you slightly uncomfortable. Rather than having you elaborate, she moves on to the next question. 

“Have you worked with animatronics before?” 

“No, I can’t say I have.” You fisted the hem of your shirt nervously. You didn’t want to lie, but you were afraid that your interviewer would be able to sniff out your bluff if you tried. However, stating this truth could cost you a couple points in getting this job. 

“Well let me tell you a little bit about them. Though you won’t be required to work directly with them, it doesn’t mean you won’t be coming across them during your day at the Pizzaplex. You see, they are of state of art artificial intelligence and on the verge of sentience. They can answer questions and interact with people like they’re humans. Nearly all of them are capable of learning with experience. They have also been coded with their own personalities, which means sometimes emotional generated responses and actions outside of their control may occur.

“They are programmed to be as human as possible. I wanted to give you a warning so you are not alarmed by the sudden reactions and replies that come from these animatronics. How you decide to treat them and respond to them will be up to you.”  

Slightly off put by the ominous closing of her explanation, you reminded yourself that you were still in the middle of an interview and haven’t officially gotten the position. So you quickly thought of a professional response that would butter up the company to their impression of you. “I see. That sounds amazing and very innovative. I must admit, the animatronics were one of the features of this job that lured me to apply. It would be a unique experience that I don’t think I can find anywhere else.”

A laugh comes from the other side of the line, “It is what we pride ourselves in here at the Pizzaplex.” You could hear a smile form over those claims. Hook, line, and sinker. “Additionally, how would you react if an animatronic were to malfunction and, say, injure you in the process?” 

A pause. Is it possible that they could injure you? You hadn’t really thought about that. You must have taken too long to respond because you heard a heavy sigh on the phone. Quickly, you began, “Well, if that were to happen, I think I would appropriately send in a report for system failure or maintenance request. I would respond to the injury as necessary with first aid. I am not well versed in either medical needs or debugging programs, so I may divert and request attention from those professionals, if needed.” 

Gears were turning in both your head and the interviewer’s. Yours for wondering what exactly you would do if you were to be attacked by a two-ton animatronic figure, and your interviewer’s for evaluating your response. 

You could hear some shuffling of paper being organized before Gabrielle spoke up once more. “Going forward, seeing how you are very well versed in customer service and seem qualified to handle situations professionally, I believe you are a wonderful candidate that we would like to extend an offer to join our Fazbear Entertainment team.” You were unsure how she came across that conclusion from a one page application and three interview questions, but those thoughts left your head as the excitement overcame you for getting the job. 

“Thank you, I appreciate it. I would love to accept the offer.” You nodded your head in tandem to your words as if your interviewer could see your excited movements. 

“I will be sending you the documents that include the contract of your position, description of day-to-day tasks and job requirements, and list of benefits. I request that you please sign and return the contract before the end of the week to officially seal your position as our newest gift shop cashier. If you do accept, your first day of work will be the first Monday of next month.” 

“Sounds good. I will do so as soon as possible.” 

Gabrielle beams, “Splendid. I hope to hear back from you soon.” 

The phone call ends with a click. You sat there a little dumbfounded, surprised by how the interview went and that you got the position right away. 

There was just something strange about that interview that you couldn’t seem to put your finger on. They seemed way more interested in how you would react to certain situations that may occur rather than how you would handle them. Why was that so important? Plus the interview was… short. You only pondered for a few minutes as your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of your email app alerting you of a new attachment. 

The official contract to become the cashier of the Lucky Star Gift Shop was received. 

After returning home, you opened your email and began reading the document that you were so inclined to sign. You figured you would take a glance before accepting the position, it's always important to read between the lines. The contract itself was very well-written and detailed - definitely reviewed by several lawyers if you had to guess. Another concerning fact is that Fazbear Entertainment had put so many clauses and amendments, the document itself was almost twenty pages long for just the cashier position. You could only imagine what the documents for the animatronic handler or the senior technician position would be like. 

Strange enough, the section that caught your eye was the liability and compensation for personal damages inflicted by animatronics or company property. Usually clauses included like these must be a direct result of a major incident, which in turn, concluded with either a scandal or a lawsuit. That would explain the interview questions. 

You figured you could write this off as just a warning, the job as a cashier shouldn’t be too complicated or dangerous that HR would need to be involved. Your hand slowly typed out your name at the bottom of the document, signing your acceptance for the position, though your mind couldn’t stop thinking about how often animatronics malfunction. You pressed send to return the contract. And truly, how often were you going to come across animatronics from the gift shop? They’ll be too busy entertaining children to focus any attention on you - an adult behind a counter. 

Right?

Chapter Text

Scrunching and unfurling the ribbons tied around his wrists, Sun fidgeted and anxiously worried about the new incoming employees. He paced back and forth against the padded foam floors, circling around the foundation poles of the play structure. The bells hanging from the ribbons jingled with every step. It was the first Monday of the month, which meant a new round of new employees were having their orientation later this morning. Three of them will be working with him and his brother Moon. He’ll have to introduce himself again, dreading how it will be this time. 

Just last month, three daycare employees had all quit simultaneously for, what he hoped, different reasons in the same week. It wasn’t a surprise that the security guard had left, they never stayed long. But his handler and the daycare helper too? It was a surprise that they left the same day. 

As the special, sole animatronic in charge of the Superstar Daycare and one of two AI personalities, it was their duty to protect the children, clean the daycare, and provide the entertainment when necessary. While their purpose didn’t match the Glamrock’s the same way, working in the daycare was something they prided themselves in. Sun didn’t appreciate slackers who avoided work and wasn’t afraid to voice it if they were a hindrance to the workflow. The children came first.  

However, Sun didn’t mean to scare off the last daycare helper. She was being too careless, spending more time on her personal cell phone (which was against the rules!) than watching over the children like she was paid to do. He also felt that sometimes she was being purposely mean to Moon, refusing to look him in the eyes whenever he tried to speak with her. It made Moon severely annoyed. 

So Sun gave her a warning one day, one where he added a little too much of his own personal thoughts to and raised the volume of his voice box. 

It didn’t end well. She did not like being told what to do. 

She claimed that Sun was falsely accusing her of wrongdoing and that he yelled at her for no reason. But Sun didn’t think he yelled. Yes, he scolded her slightly, but there was no yelling involved. 

Moon thought the raise in their voice was warranted. He never liked that helper seeing how the same girl would nap during the children’s naptime rather than her own breaktime. It added to his duties to cover her side of the work, especially when it came to cleaning up the nap cove after the children left for the evenings. It was one of her tasks to fold the blankets and put the pillows back once the children finished their naps and returned to play with Sun. That insolent girl would always pretend not to see the mess and walk away. 

She was a rule breaker. A lazy rule breaker. Plus, he didn’t actually mind that she wouldn’t talk to him. She was boring to talk to. Yap yap yap . Shopping this. Boyfriend that. Losing her wasn’t a big deal. 

And that security guard. Rude and entitled. Distracted by their handler and their strange human emotional desire for each other. So strong that neither of them were in the daycare half the time. The two of them were always so touchy with each other, thinking other people weren’t watching. Both Sun and Moon were repulsed by them. 

The duty of their handler to watch over the celestial bot was constantly interrupted by the additional task to man the gift shop counter which gave leeway and excuse for them to disappear off to the back stockroom with the security guard. That little store was just out of view of the daycare because of the walls. Sun could only see the checkout counter through the front windows from the perch of his balcony. But he knew they were there. If they weren’t in the daycare, they were in the back closet making excessive noise. 

He never understood why management didn’t just hire a new cashier for that gift shop. It wasn’t a busy store so they probably thought to save some money by splitting his handler’s duties over to that store during daycare hours. But it only provided further proof that they didn’t need help. Sun and Moon can take care of themselves. 

Sun was also more than capable of taking care of the children alone during playtime. It was a question he had always wanted to pose to higher management as to why they even opened and offered these positions to humans in the first place. Though deep down both Sun and Moon knew why - it’s because the humans didn’t fully trust them. They had to be watched.  

After circling the daycare for the fifth time that morning, a voice pipes up from within Sun’s head. A small ping that indicated that another AI was entering the shared mind space of the nervous animatronic. 

『 Sun. Stop that .』

It was quite early to be hearing the sound of his lunar counterpart. “M-Moon? Good m-morning. You're up very early. What am I stopping?” 

『 Thinking. You’re making it too loud to sleep. And you’re going to burn a hole in the ground with how many rounds you’re walking with your pacing. 』 Sun looked down at the floor and then at his surroundings. He was somehow on the other side of the ball pit near the entrance slide, quite far from the front doors. He fiddled with his ruffles and soothed out the winkles. 

Walking back to the security desk, Sun explained his behavior. “But it’s that day again. A whole new set of humans are joining our team today.” He whines. 

Moon audibly cringed. 『 Ugh, don’t remind me. I don’t want to introduce myself to them today . Or ever, really.  』

“But we’ll terrify them at naptime if we don’t show you to them.” Sun remembered how the last helper screamed bloody murder the moment Sun transformed mid-sentence and Moon peered his red eyes down at her when lights went off. Sun was offended but Moon thought it was hilarious. That scare was well deserved. 

『 Good. Let them be scared, maybe they’ll quit faster this round. 』Sun could tell that Moon didn’t mean that. Not wholeheartedly, at least. He knew his brother loved to interact with humans, of course more so the children. The adults were… questionable. There hasn’t been a single person that Moon enjoyed the company of that he would admit to out loud. Few people were tolerable, but none were favorable. 

Sun walks towards the security counter and looks over. He taps the surface in a nervous pattern with his silicone finger tips, portraying his discomfort. The table top was covered in unorganized papers that were left by the last daycare helper. He had urges to clean up the area but he also knew that he wasn’t supposed to touch anything behind the counter. The documents left behind were the last report that was meant to be submitted about Moon’s behavior towards the last helper. It had a lot of angry words that were not allowed in the daycare. They were still inexcusable to use on paper. He sighs deeply, desperately hoping that this new bunch would be easier to handle. At this point even the children were better behaved than the employees.

Moon rolled around in their mental shared space, unhappy to be woken up so early from his rest. But he thought about it. It would’ve been a rude awakening if he was pulled from his slumber suddenly. He preferred to be woken up by Sun ahead of meeting his new… coworkers. 

Moon pulls up the security camera footage by habit, something he does before his patrols. He scrolls through all the cameras around the Pizza Plex, noting all the humans who were preparing for the opening of the building. Seeing this many humans walking around his empty, quiet halls irritated him slightly. Too many faces to keep track of. Too many that he didn’t care about. He liked it when the building was dark, quiet, and empty. 

As he flips through the channels of the Glamrock's main stage, Fazcade, Bonnie Bowl, Rockstar Row, and the atrium, Moon notices a particular group of humans that were walking out from Roxy Raceway, heading in the direction of the daycare’s grand entrance. There was a face blended within that he recognized and one that he didn’t particularly have good feelings for. Quickly, Moon warns Sun of some impending visitors. 

『Gabrielle is coming. 』Moon pings urgently. 

“Gabby? From HR?” 

『She’s got people following her. 』

“Oh no! Th-They’re coming!” Sun scrambles to attach his aerial wire, which nearly misses the latch after unraveling from the ceiling pulleys at high speed and Sun’s unpredictable movements. He quickly calls for the wire to pull him up to his balcony, the clip releases, and he slips in between the curtains just in time to hear the front door of the daycare creak open. 

“- and there are several party rooms surrounding the daycare. They’re available for rent for birthdays and other celebrations at any time for parents who want private service at a discounted price!” Gabrielle voices cheerfully. “But this is where you will spend most of your days.” Four people enter the daycare, triggering a little alarm in Moon’s code. 

As Gabrielle continues to ramble, Sun peeks through the curtain, trying not to catch his rays in the fabric to reveal himself. He spots three individuals standing rather distant from the HR representative. A fairly tall-for-a-human, skinny male. A strong and built looking female who almost mirrors the same height as the male. A small plump short little girl who bounced on her heels with visible excitement. An assortment of humans. An atypical bunch. 

At first glance, they all looked friendly. 

『 And that’s what you thought last time too, but look at what happened to them. 』 Moon reminded, with ill intent. 

“Shush, Moonie. You can’t judge a book by its cover… but I’m allowed to make first impressions.” Sun bends down, trying to dodge the balcony rails from blocking his view. He zooms in with his lens and tries to make out more details. 

But before he could record anything, Gabrielle’s voice calls out to him. “-And of course, let’s meet our daycare attendant who is the animatronic in charge of this area.” 

Oh no. Sun falls back, away from the curtain and scrambles to get back on his feet. The sounds of his bells around his ankles jingle with every slip of his foot. Surely they heard him trip and fall. 

“Oh I’m so excited!” The short woman claps her hand rapidly. 

“Sunny!” Gabrielle calls for him towards the empty daycare. She had a relative idea of where he would be hiding, but decided to let him appear on his own terms. His bells gave him away quite easily. 

Sun straightens himself out and calms himself down as best he could. It’s just like every other morning, he tells himself. 

”Ho-ho-ho!” Sun cheers as he dives out from the curtains, over the balcony rails, and dips into the ball pit below. He flips twice in the air, hearing gasps of air escape from several human lungs at the sight of his stunt. It was something he’s practiced every day for the children, but the astonishment never ceases each time he performs it. The jump was always perfect, barely leaving a splash of balls in his wake. 

“Ohmygosh! What was that?” A high, shrill voice exclaims rather loudly, enough that Moon caught the question from within Sun’s head beneath the mountain of plastic balls. He decided right then and there that he did not like the pitch of that voice. 

Sun hops out of the ball pit with ease, landing just a few feet away from his audience. Two mouths were stunned wide open while the third was smiling up to their cheeks. “Hello there, new friends! Welcome to the Superstar Daycare!” 

Sun has said these words over a million times. It's practically a recording of his own voice that he plays at this point. He uses that recording quite often when he doesn’t mean his words. However, today he’s decided he’ll actually say it rather than replay it. He has to give a good first impression after all. 

“Everyone, this is Sun, the Daycare Attendant. He is one of two halves. He is in charge of the daycare activities during playtime hours.” Gabrielle smiles up at Sun. With his towering height, everyone had to look up at the animatronic before them, cranking their necks nearly thirty degrees to even see his white-coated eyes. 

“Nice to meet you!” The solar bot beamed. 

Sun could hear the muttering beneath their breaths. “He? Did she call it a he?” The one male had leaned over to the tough-looking female to whisper, but Sun could see that even the female was slowly leaning away like she didn’t want to be part of the conversation. Her brows furrowed and she clicked her tongue. 

“Sun, let me introduce you to your new team members!” Gabrielle gushed. She waves at the tall, strong female wearing nothing but an olive green tank top and earth brown khakis that covered the majority of her black, steel-toed boots. Without any sleeves to cover her shoulders, Sun could tell that this woman has trained her body quite a bit. “This is Dylan-” 

“-Our new handler?” Sun suddenly cuts in, a little too excited at this point not to say a word. 

Dylan shakes her head. Her brown pixie cut barely moves with. “No, I’m the new security guard,” she corrected. Straight and to the point. 

“Ooohhh…” The rays atop Sun’s head vibrate briefly before retracting halfway into his head in embarrassment. “My apologies!” 

“Thomas here is your new handler.” Gabrielle indirectly answers Sun’s question by introducing the second of three. The male stands awkwardly as he is being called to attention. Thomas had a thin build in comparison to Dylan. He was tall with messy dark hair, two to three piercings on each ear, and a noticeable tattoo that peeked out from under his short sleeves. This pants sagged so low, Sun was worried that they were going to fall off. 

『 I already don’t like him, can we return to sender? 』Moon seriously jokes. Sun wanted to laugh but held his stance and kept his faceplate still. 

“‘Sup,” Thomas gives Sun a small wave, but he receives nothing back from the animatronic as Sun just simply nods in acknowledgement. He was still stifling a laugh, but Thomas didn’t seem to like the lack of response. 

“And lastly, this is Lindsey. She will be your new assistant!” Gabrielle pats the short blond beside her on the shoulder. She wore her curly hair up in a high bun and dressed in a pink frilly dress that barely covered up to her knees. 

“Oh my gosh, hi. I can’t believe it! I’m going to work with you in the daycare! I’m Lindsey, and as you can see, I love the color pink. I am truly amazed by your design by-the-way . Your clothes make you look like a fun little jester! Ugh! It’s so adorable. And looks soft too. Can I touch-?” 

Sun nearly jumped back when Lindsey extended out her hand to touch his striped costume pants. He was not expecting any of the humans to approach him so quickly today. Rarely do adults approach him at all. Only the children would make such sudden and abrupt movements. The short blond rubbed her fingers together as she gripped the fabric, feeling the material as she continued to talk about how soft his pants were. The tugging came at random.

『 I take it back. Return this one to sender. 』 If Moon were the one out at this moment, he would have triggered a reflex to push or kick her away. This is what he woke up early today for? Sun does not resort to any bit of violence, so he could only cry out for help in their headspace. 

『Moonie-whatdoIdowhatdoIdo?!』He was panicking with a smile on his face. 

“Now, now, we still have one more to introduce, so let’s keep our hands to ourselves for a moment.” Gabrielle saves the day by pulling Lindsey back. Her stubby fingers released the fabric and returned back to her side. Sun didn’t need to breathe, but he felt like he just held his breath underwater for the first time and almost drowned. “Moon, our naptime attendant, needs to make an appearance.” 

『 No I don’t. 』

Dylan and Thomas looked around, wondering if another animatronic was going to appear from above like Sun had. But rather, Gabrielle walks over next to Sun and looks at him. “Are you ready to turn the lights off?” 

“I’m ready whenever you are.” Sun replies enthusiastically. He needed a break. 

From within her pockets, the HR representative fishes out a remote and points it up at the ceiling. Within seconds, the white fluorescent lights begin to dim slowly. As the darkness began to envelop the playground, sounds of metal plates shifting filled the room. The white light of Sun’s eyes diminished into blackness, leaving only pinpointed red lights in its place. Moon’s infrared eyes were all they could see. 

“This is Moon,” Gabrielle continues introducing as she flips on her phone’s flashlight and points it directly at his hips. His star-patterned navy blue pants took up the majority of view. “As you can see, Sun and Moon are special. They are two different AI’s programmed into one body. They are light-activated with their sensors at the top of their heads. Moon will be mandating naptime. He reads children books to help them feel comfortable to sleep.” 

“ Hello .” Moon grunts forcefully. His raspy voice caused Thomas to jump as Lindsey’s eyes widened once more at Moon’s pants. He looks down at Gabrielle and her phone, quietly growling to signal to her to turn the lights back on. 

She visibly flinches. Something that Sun noticed while watching from Moon’s vision. He sighs sadly. 

The lights turn back on, once more followed by the sounds of Moon’s body changing back to Sun’s. But now that there was light, the new daycare team watched in awe of their transformation. 

Gabrielle pipes up at the solar bot once he has settled into his body. She asks, “Now that that’s out of the way - Sun, why don’t you give them a tour of the daycare. I need to step out for a moment but I’ll be right back!” 

“That sounds like a good idea!” Sun replies. Internally he painfully dreaded being left alone with the new employees. Something bad always happened when HR handed over their orientees to him and not once did this portion of their orientation ever go well. But he had to do as he was told. These people were now part of his new team, and he and Moon must also be team players. 

Standing patiently on your own, you heard a commotion occur from outside the daycare doors. Loud gasps, giggling, and the sound of someone jumping into the ball pit echoed through the amazing acoustics of the empty daycare lobby. At one point even all the lights in the area turned off for several minutes. But no one screamed, so it must have been a deliberate move rather than a blackout. 

You looked around as you waited for Gabrielle. She instructed you to wait outside as she brought in the other three daycare workers to meet the animatronic inside. You wouldn’t admit out loud that you were curious and wanted to meet them too. But you simply followed instructions and stayed put. Maybe you could meet all the different mascots on your own time. 

The entire morning was dedicated to the orientation of new employees. It seemed that they managed to hire people they were originally looking for - the daycare helper, the daycare attendant’s handler, the daycare security guard. Even the Daycare theater’s janitor, who was currently on another tour in a different area of the plex. The schedule was fairly packed and filled with information and how-to’s, so you barely had enough time and attention to meet the other new employees. 

Did you even get their names?

You shook your head in disbelief. Introductions will come naturally later. You had to get your bearings straight before you explored too many new things. And that includes meeting new people or making new friends. Taking in all the neon lights and loud music was already overwhelming on its own. The Pizza Plex was nothing like the cartoons you grew up watching. 

You imagined what the animatronic must have looked like to hear the reactions come over the wall. You had glanced at their statue at the grand entrance to the small atrium dedicated to the daycare. Two bronze animatronics posed right at the front, taking up the entire height of the room. They stood back to back, almost like they were welcoming you in and escorting you out at the same time. You noticed the celestial theme that covered the place from head to toe to match them. The suns, the moons, and the stars decorated all over the walls. There were posters of them posing with flavored candy named appropriately as Sundrops and Moondrops. You wondered if those were sold at the gift shop. 

Their designs were kind of cute. 

Bringing you out of your internal monologue, the daycare door opens to ajar. Gabrielle in her maroon colored suit slips through the crack and closes the door behind her as she approaches you, out of breath. 

“Sorry for making you wait,” Gabrielle huffs a breath of air, she sounded a little winded from all the talking she was doing today. “Let me give you a quick tour of your station and a fast run down of some of your duties.” 

You nodded your head and followed her closely, wondering if she’s left the others in the daycare to roam. Gabrielle leads you back and away from the enclosed daycare, leaving the sounds of chattering behind in the distance. With barely a few steps across the tile floors of the daycare lobby, you could see the gift shop coming into view. Its shutters were down, blocking the entrance but Gabrielle had the solution resting right in her hands. 

“This here is the gift shop. It’s where you’ll be working the majority of the time.” Inserting a navy blue encrusted key into the embedded lock of the metal shutters, Gabrielle unlocks the door as she talks. “Your duties include daily stocking of the shelves, ensuring that any perishable items that expire are appropriately disposed of, and helping any parents who may have questions of how to get to the main pizza plex gift shop.” 

“That happens often?” You impulsively asked. 

Gabrielle immediately nods, wearing a concerned expression. “Parents wander a lot, thinking this store in particular carries merchandise for all our mascots but it’s mostly items associated with our daycare attendants, Sun and Moon. You’ll get a lot of questions asking for stuff animals of Freddy or Monty, but your only solution is to redirect them back to the atrium.” 

“Sounds fair.” You shrugged. Doesn’t seem like too big of a deal.  

“In addition, you may be asked to prepare party rooms early in the mornings.” Gabrielle bends down and grabs the latch of the shutters before pulling them up. “You won’t need to clean them. Only set them up for the party. Leave the cleaning to our janitorial team. Our S.T.A.F.F. bots have been programmed very well to clean, but when it comes to setting up for parties, they’re missing a lot of that human touch, especially when parents make special requests of how they want tables and chairs set up. They can’t seem to follow those instructions.” 

You chuckled at that. Something about trying to imagine those stiff S.T.A.F.F. bots trying to arrange furniture as a result of strict customer service was amusing. Annoyingly though, that now falls on you. 

Gabrielle continues to explain, “However, you won’t need to chaperone the parties. We will have staff bots on standby if anything were to occur. Plus it’ll be up to the parents if they want a human at their party - and if they do, we typically send the daycare security guard.” 

The two of you walk into the open gift shop. You noticed that there was a set of glass windows that wrapped the front, leaving an open space as an entrance. There weren't any doors.  

“Try to keep the gift shop open from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon. You’ll be paid for any overtime you need to restock but try not to go over two to three hours everyday. The company doesn’t like it when they have to pay extra.” You notice that her voice dips at the mention of the company. Almost with distaste. 

The two of you walked towards the back counter and stopped to look around at the mess. Clearly there hasn’t been a person in here in a while because there was a weird musky smell that came from the carpet. Almost like the shutters haven’t opened to vent air in weeks. 

She hands you the keys to the gift shop shutters and extra keys to the party rooms. “This set will be yours to use. I have a spare set but make sure not to lose these. It’ll be a big issue if someone gets a hold of them and uses these party rooms inappropriately, if you know what I mean.” 

You look at her confused. 

She laughs at your expression. “We occasionally have teenagers who visit the pizzaplex. You can use your imagination of what they do when they find a place to be alone. Sometimes the carpet smells like weed for days.”  

“Ew.” You responded automatically. Hanky panky in a children’s entertainment establishment can’t possibly be sanitary. You kept a mental note to give the gift shop a good wipe down before you settle too comfortably behind the counter. Who knows what’s happened here. 

“And here is the security desk, this is where the three of you are stationed for the majority of the day!” Sun swung around his arms and motioned at the horseshoe-shaped counter that sat by the front door. “This is where check-in and sign-out of the children will occur daily. Feel free to use any of those filing cabinets under the desk to store your belongings. There is a rule that there is no usage of your personal cell phones while on duty unless it is for emergencies!” 

“Oh wonderful,” Lindsey immediately skips over behind the counter and begins to pull open all the drawers, even ones that Sun did not specifically indicate. She sifts through a couple of them before turning her attention back to Sun. 

“There’s a lot of… papers on the counter still. Are these important?” Thomas asks, confused. His eyes scanned bits and pieces of the curvy handwriting of the previous daycare helper and was slightly concerned with what he was looking at. He picks them up and straightens them out, before handing them to Sun. 

“Oh no, no, no, these are just trash!” Sun frantically takes the papers from Thomas’ hands. He gets a couple of weird looks from both Thomas and Dylan, but he chooses not to acknowledge the questionable stares. 

Dylan decides to make a comment. “With how clean the rest of the daycare is, I’m surprised to see this area a bit of a…” 

“-Disorganized, I know!” Sun interrupts, waving his hand around to dismiss the statement. He takes the papers and fold them in half before walking over to the recycling bin by the door and throws them in. Sun decides to quickly rip the bandaid off clean and admits, “I am strictly instructed not to go behind the security counter without the permission of another human staff member. So those papers have been sitting there for QUITE some time as another human staff has not entered the daycare for weeks before today!” 

“Why’s that?” Lindsey asks. 

“They were all busy finding you three to hire!” Sun twists his words a bit. He didn’t want to mention that the last three daycare workers all quit within the same week. That wouldn’t be a fun thing to explain. 

Each to their own, the three human staff members wander to different swivel chairs to sit in - each of them exploring their new workstation and organizing the surface of stray paperclips and dried-up pens. None of them says a word in passing with each other, nor make any eye contact with Sun. 

Sun was getting uncomfortable with the silence of his handler and his security guard. His new helper seemed to have a lot to say during the tour, which did help fill the awkwardness that was beginning to drown his anxiety. He wondered where Gabrielle could have gone. 

『 She’s outside the walls, over at the gift shop. 』 Moon had immediately gone back to surveying camera footage. He was already too tired with the new employees to give them another second of his attention. 

『What’s she doing over there?』 Sun asks as he continues to hold a smile at Lindsey’s story of her last job at another daycare. He nods his head in agreement with whatever she was saying, but he wasn’t processing a single word. Neither Thomas nor Dylan were listening either. 

『 It looks like she’s talking to another human. 』 

『Someone we know?』 Sun perks at a new topic to focus on. He and Moon watch as the camera zooms in on your face and lingers. 

Moon scans the employee database for your profile, immediately finding a match. He reads out your name. 『 It looks like they’re the new gift shop cashier. Hired with these clowns. 』 

『Moonie, be nice!』Sun mentally shakes his head at his brother’s insults. But continues to let his curiosity dictate his questions,『Wait, they hired someone to man the gift shop?』 

『 It seems so. 』

『Why weren’t we introduced to them?』 

『Unsure. 』

The both of them stare at your face for another minute longer, watching as your expressions change with the way you speak with Gabrielle. Something about you felt a little different from the group of humans before them that they were actively ignoring. Were you not considered part of daycare? Why did Gabrielle keep you away from them? Was it something you requested?

It made them curious.

But not curious enough to explore.

Chapter Text

Sun dangles over the side of his balcony, nearly folding his body in half as he bends and rests over his legs. His arms limped with gravity over the edge, only moving when he twitched. He wallows in anguish. Yesterday was like torture. Everything he dreaded with his new team of humans and hoped wouldn’t happen steam-rolled into him at high speeds all in one afternoon. Okay, that was an exaggeration on his part. It could have been worse, but it was still undeniably terrible. His helper broke more items for crafting than the children did - including three markers, fourteen crayons, and one glue stick - from excessive force. The security guard barely said a word the entire day, making no effort to converse with anyone. Sun and his handler argued several times over small details, including the logistics of clean up, the scheduling of his maintenance, and the organization of the security desk. Such small things to clash about. Important topics, yes. But! Why must that be discussed right at that moment when children are around? It was inappropriate use of time! Maybe he was too used to the last handler ignoring him all time. 

And it was only the first day. He could only imagine what today was going to be like. Because he and Moon were AI programmed to learn from experience and exposure, Sun could only compute all the worst possible scenarios that can occur in a workplace based off past submitted reports. He didn’t like any of the hypothetical results. What if… what if they all quit like Moon says? 

“I really don’t want to do that again.” Sun groans to himself. He continues to mope, as he was for the last three hours. The daycare was well-cleaned by his own hands earlier in the night. Usually he would take his time. But to keep himself and Moon from remembering the mistakes from the day before, Sun sped his cleaning to avoid any thoughts of the humans. The distraction was over too soon, and now all he could do was wait for the time to count down until the human’s arrived. 

It was five thirty-seven in the morning. Moon had one more power-save cycle where he could patrol the plex once more for the night before the building opened at six. He was looking forward to rest mode to avoid seeing any humans until naptime. Not even a little guilt dripped from him for leaving Sun alone for the next six hours. If another human tried to tell him what to do today, he just might snap. 

That annoying handler hovered at a distance the entire hour and the clueless helper was talking up a storm while the children were trying to sleep. He was thankful for the security guard. She actually did her work by standing firmly by the front entrance - silently . 

When the lights dim and shut down for the final power cycle, Moon found himself almost hanging upside down from the balcony. Only a leg was supporting their weight from succumbing to gravity. Sun was down for the count on the emotional and energetic scale, leaving Moon nearly crashing and damaging their body. 

With a huff, Moon immediately takes off on their wire and climbs onto the high beams and walkways of the upper levels just below the ceiling. He scales the railing, balancing with dexterity on his shoes. Not once has Moon ever seen a human on these catwalks. It was a shame because they were accessible to all parts of the plex, including a few entrances to larger air vents that provided a quick path between floors. As mentioned, Moon removed a vent cap and stepped in, preparing to make his rounds. 

He crawls from the daycare to Rockstar Row, observing the Glamrocks all in their charging station in preparation for the day. Then a quick sweep of Roxy’s Raceway, Fazer Blast, and Bonnie Bowl. The plex was quiet, not a single peep except for the sounds of air conditioning blasting through the vents and the wheels of the S.T.A.F.F. bots as they rounded their own paths on the floor. 

Finally, Moon makes it to the west arcade. He always saved this area for last on his patrol. His friend resided there. 

DJ Music Man was laying on his stage in rest mode and charging in preparation for the morning. The dance floor opens as soon as the building does, it is always filled with lights and music, loud enough that the surrounding areas could feel the beat of the music bouncing off the walls. Usually, Moon would be able to converse with DJ but the last hour was always more so Moon sitting and enjoying the view from one of the large tunnels that bore into the walls for DJ Music Man to travel. The bright lights of the arcade almost mocked what Moon imagined to be the skylights of a large city. He hums to himself and kicks his feet to the beat. It was peaceful. 

Before the hour ended at six on the dot, Moon crawled his way back to the daycare. He was ready to shut down and disconnect from the outside world as soon as his human coworkers arrived. He only wanted the company of the children, and maybe Sun too. 

From the top vent of the daycare, Moon drops onto the foam padding gracefully. He looked around in the dark and was satisfied with the peace of his surroundings. The sounds of the power redirecting equally around the building began to hum. The fluorescent white glow flashes Moon’s AI back into his and Sun’s conscious body. The colors and the features of the sun arise. 

However, just as Moon and Sun switched places, a small alarm of the daycare triggers at the entrance. While his rays extended and settled, Sun felt the alert and turned his head towards the gate. There was no sound or movement for several minutes. The wooden doors remained untouched. But there were squeaking noises echoing around from somewhere. 

“M-Moon, did someone enter the daycare just now? Or am I imagining things? I-Is something wrong with our notification system?” Sun stutters. Rarely does he feel fear, since he had the strength to lift two elephants with one arm. But there hasn’t been a need to use it since the plex opened. However when unexpected and unused emotions such as fear did occur, Sun threatens to overheat, over-exaggerate, and shut down. To prevent that, Moon quickly jumped up in their mind. 

『 No, I saw it too. I think that someone entered the main entrance from the atrium. The shutters are up. 』 Who could have possibly entered the Pizza Plex right at opening? That has never happened before. Maybe the night security guard leaves the building immediately after clocking out, but no one’s come in right at six. 

“Is there an intruder!?” Sun panics. He begins to call for his cable and prepare for security protocols. Moon growls as he pulls up the security footage immediately within their shared mind. 

Which fool is dumb enough to enter their domain? 

You were pushing a cart of janitorial items and supplies across the tile floors towards the gift shop. The cart was not well managed, with every turn of its wheels making an ear piercing squeal like it was crying for help. Pausing for two seconds, you looked up at the large colorful daycare gate, but you didn’t make any move to open it. Instead, you pushed ahead. 

After spending the afternoon of your first day in the musk, you couldn’t handle it anymore. The smells were overwhelming. You requested for a carpet clean by the S.T.A.F.F. bots before you left for the evening and witnessed them start the process as you clocked out. But now, you need to wipe down everything else. You thought about putting in another janitorial request, but instead decided against it. You wanted to come in and start restocking the shelves early and clean them in the meantime. Hit two birds with one stone. 

After unlocking the doors as you saw Gabrielle from HR had done the day before, you pushed the cart right through the entrance of the gift shop. It smelled a lot better, like a mix of lemon and lavender scent soaps wafting the air. The S.T.A.F.F. bots did their jobs well. 

Moon shared the live feed of your movement across their lobby with Sun as Sun watches you unlock the gift shop from his perch. The thoughts of activating the security emergency protocols lost to the wind. 

“It’s that cashier. What are they doing here so early for?” Sun fiddles with his fingers as he leans over the balcony to get a better look at you from afar. “Do you think they’re here to steal things?” 

『 Who in their right mind would steal from their job on the second day of work? 』Or in the presence of the best security animatronic to ever be created: him. 

“Well, we don’t know anything about them. They could be crazy? Humans are so unpredictable.” Sun crossed his arms. Take his new coworkers for instance. He turns to look over at the open shutters of the gift shop. You walked inside.   

Moon, being more reasonable, rolled his eyes within their head. They had to be here to prepare for the day. It had been a long time since Sun or Moon watched someone dedicated enough to their job to arrive so early. They couldn’t recall anyone coming right at opening. Before, the closest they got was a daycare assistant from years ago who used to come stock new markers and papers every few weeks an hour before the children arrived. 

『 Let’s keep an eye on them just in case. 』

Standing several feet away from the daycare walls, you looked around your small little store, barely the size of a studio apartment but big enough for you to walk laps if you wanted to. On one side of the store, the wall was lined with four rows of shelves separated by a small cabinet in between. They were partially stocked with clothes of all kinds and sizes - pajamas, shirts, pants, socks, sweaters. You name it and it’s there. The back wall contained decorative shelves that were mounted into the walls. A bunch of plushies and action figures were fully stocked, but a noticeable layer of dust covered them lightly. 

Gabrielle wasn’t kidding about the gift shop only focusing on the Daycare Attendant. Everything was Sun and Moon themed. Yellow and blue flooded your eyes. Different designs of their little faces were plastered all over the store. Even behind the cashier counter, you found little gift bags with their tag lines. 

Setting your personal items into the cubby below the register, you quickly gave the countertop and the shelves below a quick wipe. With a large huff, you started to get to work. From the cart, you grabbed a few rags, the cleaner solution, and a roll of garbage bags. You sprayed down every flat surface within your reach, including the upper wall shelves that hung behind you. The color of your rag goes from yellow to gray in minutes.  

“Gross,” you mutter to yourself. 

Each shelf took about ten to fifteen minutes to clean and reorganize. You made sure to spray a generous amount of cleaning solution to get rid of any grime that had accumulated over the years. It wasn’t ideal to throw away so many rags before even an hour had passed, but it was a good way to account for your progress through the store. 

When you got to the shelves with all the toys, you stopped to look at them. Their little movable action figures looked just like the statue you saw the day before. Curious. You had yet to see them in person but you couldn’t help but find their design so intriguing. You ran your fingers through the valleys and peaks of the plastic, tracing the shapes of their crescent moon plating, the hardened mold of their clothes, and the folds of their pants. Once more, you felt an itch to go meet some of the animatronics in the building, but that will have to be off hours at your own leisure. With a quick wipe of the rag, the figurine was dustless and you placed it back on the shelf. 

For a majority of the morning, you cleared out each shelf of the current stock of clothes or figurines and wiped down the surfaces. Sun watched from the balcony, his eyes following the movement of your arms. It was hypnotizing to watch the smooth circular movement of your rags. Even the way you folded clothes was mesmerizing. It reminded him of his own cleaning, but he had better methods. Yours wasn’t as good as his, he scoffed with attitude. 

Moon watched through Sun’s eyes how diligent you were compared to the other humans. The attention to detail was slightly better but he agrees with Sun, it wasn’t enough to be complimented by yours truly. He chuckles to himself. 

A loud beeping noise knocks you out of your routine, your mind was twenty feet deep into your cleaning. You looked down at your new Fazwatch - a strange company asset that not only told the time but was also the communications system that received alerts, messages, and emails. It was an innovative and handy little thing, but a bit heavy on the wrist. 

It was eight forty-five. Almost time for the building to open to guests. 

Not quite satisfied with the outcome, you sadly relented and began to put items back onto the borrowed janitor cart and pushed it out of the store to return it back to the closet that you took it from. The wheels once more whine as you leave the daycare area. Sun’s eyes continued to trace your movement, unsure why he couldn’t stop looking. 

Humans were like pests, pervasive and fragile. Sun and Moon were designed, programmed, and built by them. They work with them. They play with them. Every single one of them were different. Together, both celestial guardians were built to learn how to act human. But sometimes they had difficulty knowing which aspects and personality traits of humans they were supposed to learn from. Slowly but surely over time, Sun and Moon learned to differentiate what was good and what was bad, with the help of additional coding. But where do you fall? Your actions were different. It wasn’t something they recognized as normal behavior. 

Sun’s internal alarm reminded him it was time to prepare for the children’s arrival - and his human helpers. But he ignored it. 

『 Sun, it’s time to go. You need to prepare. 』Moon metaphorically shook Sun’s mind, trying to snap his brother back to reality. 

“O-Oh, yes, that’s right.” Sun stands on his balcony, taking one more glance at you, and quickly enters his room behind the curtains. “It’s that time…” 

You made your way to the daycare’s employee breakroom after you clocked yourself out on your watch. This thing was coming into handy a lot more often than you thought. Just earlier you submitted a quick report on a malfunctioned lightbulb in the party room and a S.T.A.F.F. bot appeared within minutes. 

 A small room hidden next to the theater was neatly reserved for the human employees to relax and take their lunch. You figured that most families would be enjoying their lunches as well in the main cafeteria, taking the time to close down your store for half an hour shouldn’t lose you too many customers. Not that you had very many in the morning. 

The breakroom was definitely part of the daycare’s theme, decorated with a night sky along the ceiling. The walls were covered in more advertisement posters for the daycare, with clouds painted underneath. A fridge and a coffee pot were provided on the counter in the back. You kept that in mind for later, coffee sounded like a plan for when you feel that post-lunch crash. Apart from a small two-seater couch against the wall, a small table took up most of the space.

Two other people were already sitting in the room when you arrived. The ones from the tour from yesterday. “You saw what he looked like! My eyes actually adjusted today. Sharp teeth? Claws? Fucking terrifying!” The man threw his hands behind his head and groaned. “Why did they design him like that? His eyes pierced through my soul and I think I died today.” 

The girl sitting against the wall across from him made a small hmph noise, agreeing wordlessly. She crossed arms and leaned her head down, almost like she was trying to nap. A pile of trash sits on the table next to her, clearly indicating that she was finished with her lunch. You noticed that she wore a typical security guard outfit, dark navy blue color and had a daycare badge pinned to her front pocket. Questionably, you wondered if there was also a gun pinned to her waist, but it was hard to see from where you stood. 

You took the spot across from the girl and next to the guy. Placing your home-made lunch before you, you took the time to enjoy your food. As you began to eat, the last person from the daycare team appeared with her own pink polka-dotted lunchbox. The girl wore what looked like a neatly designed outfit that matched the breakroom's colors. She sat across from the boy and gave everyone a small hello. The guy was wearing the same pants, but opted to keep a black short sleeve shirt instead of the orange and navy blue button-down.  

There was silence in the room for a brief moment. No one made eye contact or a sound for several minutes. You decided to start the conversation after your second bite of your favorite sandwich. “Sounds like you had a rough first day.” You commented at the guy, giving him a small shrug. 

“That’s the understatement of the year.” The man made a quick glance at the shorter girl who was sitting across from him. You thought you saw his lips curl into a sneer, like the result of your statement was her fault. He was gripping his cell phone so hard, you couldn’t help but inquire for more information. 

“What happened?” You asked, genuinely curious. The inside of the daycare from your little gift shop always sounded like a party was occurring over the wall. The joyful screaming was endless. 

“Ugh, the kids were so much. I didn’t realize that an overprotected and glorified playground would accept so many children at once. I think there are, like, a good forty of them in there right now?” 

“I think we checked in thirty-seven kids.” The shorter girl added matter-of-factly. Her mood seemed a little sour. She took a sip of her soup without looking up at you or Thomas. Thomas gave a deadpanned look in her direction. 

“The name’s Thomas.” Thomas extended out his hand, revealing his many tattoos that stretched from the back of his hands onto his arms. You took it and gave a firm shake, replying with your name. Taking a bite of his sandwich, he asks, “So where are you stationed?” 

“I work in the gift shop.” You replied. 

Thomas perked up. “The one by the front door?” 

You laughed, “No, actually, the one by the daycare.” You took your hand and slightly indicated that you were in this room sitting next to him for a reason. 

“Oh sorry. You were the other person with us on the tour. Duh.” Thomas shakes his head in embarrassment. “My bad. It’s just been a day.” 

You turned and introduced yourself to Lindsey and Dylan, who both responded back politely. They both seemed fairly pleasant considering how far they were sitting from each other. You turned back to Thomas, “Don’t worry about it. You guys have it busier than me, that’s for sure.” 

“No kidding, if I have to argue with Sun one more time about how to document names on a piece of paper, I will lose it.” 

“You wouldn’t be arguing with him if you’d just do as he says.” Lindsey interrupts. She glares at him before taking another bite of her soup. Then she mumbled under her breath, “Maybe that’s why Moon was so mean to us…” 

Thomas narrows his eyes at Lindsey. Already in the twenty minutes you have been sitting in the room, Thomas has shot Lindsey many disparaging looks.  You sipped your drink while looking back and forth. The animosity was building after just the second day. It was amusing in a third-party sense. Not part of the drama but the entertainment wasn’t unwelcome. 

The conversation died well before your break ended, so you ate in silence. The tension was too thick to say anything else. Considering how it was only the second day, you were fairly accepting to put in the effort to become friends with someone on the back-burner when the air thinned out. 

A mess! It was a mess! The daycare has never been this disorganized! Nothing was entirely out of place, a few dolls scattered here and there, but Sun felt like nothing was going the way it was supposed to. The procedures! The protocols! It’s all a mess! 

These new humans are just messing up his usual schedule. The check-in papers for new children must be filed in the filing cabinet under the main computer, not shoved to the side of the counter. Arts and crafts is after hide-and-seek, not whenever the assistant feels like it is. There is no such thing as TV time so the assistant can go fix her make up. Sun wanted to roll around on the floor in mortification, but the presence of children was preventing him from doing so. 

Sun was stressed. He didn’t know the word to describe how he felt, but his wires and his joints were tense. He couldn’t stretch his arms and legs. Moon remained in rest mode the entire morning, leaving Sun alone with his new companions in addition to the children. All while the chaos was occurring, there was bickering behind the security desk, and it was conversations that Sun wished he never heard. 

Sun was used to new children coming into the daycare and initially finding him terrifying. He was nearly eight feet tall! Of course he was scary to the tiny humans. But when he hears the adults saying something similar, he couldn’t help but feel distraught and a little offended. Thomas was casually whispering over to Dylan that he found Sun a little… too much. “Too extra” and “overwhelming” were the words. “He looks realistic but the design of a clown or jester or whatever makes him so creepy.” It stuck with Sun for the rest of the morning. What was wrong with him? Wasn’t he built to be this way? For the first time, Sun felt terrified. Is this what all humans thought of him? 

The children were fine with him! He reminded himself over and over again. 

Moon didn’t have it better. Came around naptime, Sun and Moon switched places as the light dimmed. Moon could feel that something was wrong, Sun was never this quiet when they switched places. 

Looking around, nothing seemed out of place. The children were all tucked into their little mats and bedrolls, all prepared for Moon and his storytime. The only difference from days before were the handler and the helper both standing in front of him with their mouths open. 

Thomas and Lindsey both didn’t move after their vision adjusted to the dark. The children started to giggle at their reaction to Mr. Moon, the guardian of the night. “What the f-” Thomas retracts and takes a step back. 

“ Don’t you dare finish that sentence .” Moon warns with a low growl. He leans down and invades his handler’s personal space to allow his sharp teeth to make a point. An instinctive gulp moved down Thomas’ throat. Lindsey looked down at the floor, she was unable to look Moon in the eyes.

The fear that swelled in their eyes. It was different from the fear from the children. Moon tried to shake it off. It didn’t mean anything to him that the adults didn’t like him. That was common. The last security guard quit because of a small spat Moon had with them. He may have tried to hang the security guard by their leg on his wire. A mere punishment for bad behavior. 

“Look, they’re scared of Mr. Moon.” Someone whispers from under their blanket. 

“Yeah, we’re not even scared anymore. Mr. Moon protects us from the boogie monster.” Another responds. Moon smirks at the comment and proceeds to continue with his usual tasks. The adults can continue to fear him for all he cares. He grabs a book from the little shelf off the side of the naptime nook and sits down in his spot, beginning to read until all the children fall asleep. The adults were all easily forgotten. 

Now that the humans have all left the daycare for the evening, Sun rejuvenates while he cleans. He could feel his brother stirring within their shared space, the lunar AI sulking to himself. Sun’s obstructive mood brought Moon down with him. 

“Today went… better than we thought?” Sun tried to cheer up his brother. 

『 Don’t lie, Sun. You’re the reason I’m like this. Your incessant crying dragged me down with you. 』 Moon complained. It was only half the truth. Moon was also affected by Thomas’ words. But it was really Lindsey’s facial expression that afflicted his mood. She looked like she was going to cry when he leaned over Thomas. Moon wasn’t anywhere near Lindsey and yet she looked like she was getting attacked. 

Sun clapped his hand, trying to improve the atmosphere. “It definitely could’ve gone better. We just need to go over the rules again with them! Give them clear expectations of what it’s like to work in the daycare!” 

『 Right. Good luck with that. 』 Moon grumbled. He returned to rest mode for the rest of the evening, it wasn’t until midnight that he began his patrols. 

Sun picked up dolls and toy cars, putting them into their respective cubby holes. The art supplies were on the right side and the toys on the left. Everything will be wiped down a second time before the night is over, but for now they must be stored correctly. He hums to himself, rays twirling as everything is settling back to the way it was before. 

The sounds of the shutters from the gift shop made Sun pause. The sound was so foreign that it made Sun blink twice. It was nearly seven in the evening. A little late for human employees to go home. Sun pauses picking up the markers off the ground. He walks over to the daycare gate and tries to peek through the gap. 

You were walking out of the gift shop and past the party rooms to get to the main atrium. The main entrance to the daycare’s atrium was up the stairs and around the corner, enough distance for Sun to see you for a brief second. Within your arms, you carried your lunchbox, your jacket, and several bags of garbage that you’ve collected from your morning cleaning session. 

You leaned a little more to the left, waddling with the heavy bags dragging down your right side. It wasn’t particularly heavy, it was the sheer amount of volume that took up space. You were quite happy with how much you managed to wipe down today. The glass display cases didn’t have a single finger print on it and the shelves were dustless. The plan was to bring more products from the back closet and restock the shelves. You’ll get to that tomorrow. 

As you make your trek up the stairs, your jacket slips. It went unnoticed as you continued to climb.

Sun watched as your jacket touched the ground and pooled on the stairs. He wasn’t sure what to do as he couldn’t leave the daycare as per the rules to help you retrieve it. And he was no rulebreaker. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Sun struggled to figure out how to let you know you had dropped your possession. So he spoke up. “O-Oh, friend! You dropped something!” Sun calls out. 

You turned around. Indeed as the mysterious voice has mentioned, your jacket had fallen out from under your arms and landed on the ground a couple steps back. Retracing your steps, you skipped back and grabbed your jacket to throw over your shoulder, trying not to drop any of the large bags. Looking around for the source of the voice, you couldn’t help but wonder if it came from inside the daycare. Didn’t the others leave earlier? You swear you saw them leave a few hours ago. 

“Thank you mysterious voice.” You called out into the empty atrium. 

“Y-You’re welcome!” Sun responded immediately. 

“Where are you? How do you see me?” You curiously asked. There was no movement in the atrium that would signify that someone else was present. Maybe that animatronic in the daycare was around? 

“N-Nowhere, friend!” Sun stuttered. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to bring you towards him. What if you had the same reaction the others had? What if you became scared of him? He was a little thrilled to remain anonymous, you could be a potential friend to him! He smiled to himself behind the daycare doors. 

You gave a small smile, looking around once more before turning to walk out. “O-kay then. Well, thanks again! Maybe we’ll meet one day, Mr. Ghost!” 

A small ping indicated that you had left the daycare atrium in Moon’s alert system. The entrance turnstill counted its last occupant leaving for the night. 

Sun thought to himself for a second. His hands fell from the door as he no longer looked through the gap but looked down at his shoes. He bumped his head against the wood. A potential friend. 

Maybe one day he would like to meet you. Maybe you’ll be his friend and stay to talk more. He was hopeful. 

He was a little excited for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

“It’s been over a month! How have you not gotten this down yet?” Thomas was on the verge of pulling his hair out of his head. He clenched his fingers tightly, gripping the pen in his hand to focus all his anger somewhere. Standing before him was Lindsey who was on the verge of tears. Between the two of them was a hefty stack of unsorted papers on the counter, a half-drank can of soda, and a pink tangled phone charger. “These need to be filed away alphabetically after they’ve been entered into the syst-…. did you even input any of these reports into the system?” 

“W-Well,” Lindsey stuttered. She wraps her finger around a loose thread from her uniform. Thomas continues to glare and wait for her response, prompting Lindsey to sniffle with tears forming at the corner of her eyes. She stood with her shoulders caved in, head hanging low, and hands behind her back. The curls of her blond hair bounce around her face. 

Sun silently watched from the other side of the counter, outside of the invisible boundaries that he was forbidden to cross. His fingers picked at his ribbons around his wrist, the bells jingling occasionally. A few children stood beside him, unsure what was going on but were amused by the sight of someone else getting into trouble. However, Sun thought the scene looked miserable to witness. 

Sun didn’t know what to do or say. His handler was correct. Those weekly activity reports were due to be submitted before the end of the week - end of the shift on Friday evenings on the dot. It was already Saturday afternoon. A bubble of dismay brewed within, now knowing that the report was never sent in and management didn’t have a constant record of his activities. Maybe they just haven't noticed the reports were late. 

Lindsey looked at the ground and then to the side, “I-I thought it wasn’t due for another day or two. I just lost track of time!” She throws her arms to the side to exaggerate her excuse. 

“Lindsey, you were on your phone. That thing tells time - the date is right on the screen every time you turn it on.” He takes a deep breath. Thomas pauses for a second to think, “But also, you know you shouldn’t be on your phone anyways. It’s against the rules.”  

“No I wasn’t!” She whined, trying to defend herself. Her eyes glance back and forth, at one point she lands on Sun and the children. “I-I wasn’t on it.” Her voice cracks. 

Thomas scoffed, “Don’t try that on me, I know you hid your phone in your back pocket just now.” He crosses his arms across his chest. The tattoos on his arm made him more intimidating, as if his additional height above Lindsey didn't already do the trick. With a quick glance, his handler looks over at Sun to see if the attendant himself had any comments about phone usage during daycare hours.

Sun wanted to cower, the attention of his two human employees were on him. One set of eyes called for help while the other glowered for support. “Yes-yes, that’s right! Using your phone while children are present is against the rules!” He jumps up and points his finger into the air, something the children next to him mock while giggling by jumping up and down. 

Lindsey scrunched up her face and pouted. Her face turned red and more tears started to gather above the bottom lids of her eyes. She sniffles and rubs her eyes with both hands. Sun was startled by the reaction. It has been a long time since he had seen an adult cry. What was he supposed to do in this situation? He panics and quickly reforms his statement, “-b-b-but! I think we can all help submit the forms today! We should all pitch in! That way as a team we work together and quicker to get the work done!” 

Thomas’ mouth drops open but immediately closes. The pen in his hand drops onto the ground. He doesn’t say anything but groans, throwing his hands up in the air and surrendering. “Yeah, okay, sure, whatever! We’ll help out and get it done by today.” Sun watches as the pen rolls under the table. Thomas makes no movement to pick the pen back up and instead turns to leave the security counter. 

“Urgh, management is gonna be on my ass about this…” He mutters to himself as he walks away. Thomas mutters to himself, “I’m going to hang out with the kids before I explode.” 

Lindsey looks up at Sun, standing innocently and swaying her body back and forth like she looks shy. “Thank you for the save, Sun.” 

Sun looks down at her, a little confused. Her smile grew at his eye contact. Her tears were gone, eyes nearly closed with how wide her cheeks lifted, and she was looking up at him with appreciation. 

“Yes, of course, Lindsey.” Sun responds cautiously. Thankful for what? Avoiding work? Sun starts to round up the children at his feet and turns them back towards the play area. “L-Let’s return to the children for now, okay?” 

“Okay!” Lindsey turns and leaves the security counter, taking two children by the hand and skipping over to the rest of the group playing tag. Leaving Sun at the counter, she begins to assimilate herself into the activity with ease and without care. The stack of papers was once more left behind, unacknowledged. 

Sun was a little shocked. What happened to the girl who was worried about being punished? 

Slowly, Sun walks to join in the games. The screaming and giggling distracted him momentarily from the previous conversations. Thomas was chasing a few kids up the playground while Lindsey was putting on a puppet show in a separate corner. A small discomfort forms in the back of his mind as Sun gets dragged from left to right by the children. It was an itch that couldn’t be scratched, knowing that rules were being broken right at this moment. And he was letting it happen. For several hours, the papers were left untouched. Sun looks back over and over, wondering if anyone was going to deal with the reports. 

Morning activities ended with lunch approaching quickly. Lindsey was back behind the counter in preparation for lunch, taking out her food from the filing cabinet beneath the table. She quickly throws down her jacket and a few markers she pulled out from her pocket onto the counter next to the papers, ready to leave. Sun watches her move, lifting her arm up in preparation to clock out on her Fazwatch. 

“OH! Lindsey! You can’t have lunch yet!” Sun waves his arms at her. He approaches the counter and looks down at the assistant. Strange that he’s had to tell her this multiple times already. 

“What do you mean?” A finger hovers over her watch, nearly touching the screen to confirm the start of her break. 

Sun pointed over towards the children who were all seated at small round tables. “Well, we need to set the children up first!” Sun exclaimed. He kept his smile as he spoke. “You may have your lunch after the children are settled with their food. Thomas is picking up all the meal trays at this moment and will be back shortly! You can help me pass them out to move the process quicker!” 

“Oh, okay.” Lindsey’s voice deadpans. Rolling her eyes, she takes her lunchbox and throws it back into the cabinet, slamming the drawer forcefully before storming back to the play area. The loud noise of the metal shook Sun, taking him by surprise. Sun immediately recognized annoyance when it appeared. It was a facial expression he’s seen often from previous human caretakers. But after a month of working with Lindsey, this was the first time she reacted to him in that manner. He shrivels into himself. No no no! He can’t make these humans mad too! 

Thomas returns from the cafeteria with a cart full of small trays, all labeled with the logo of the beloved restaurant, El Chip’s. Children were getting hungry from just the smell, acting squirrely in their chairs as their patience ran thin. Sun grabs two trays in each hand, slowly sliding each one in front of a child and reminding them to eat slowly. He repeats over and over, something he’s gained a routine for after years of serving food. 

Behind him at the security counter stood both Lindsey and Thomas, each unmoving and only watching. Neither took the initiative to help Sun, just observing the animatronic do his job. 

Sun didn’t mind. It has been several months that he worked alone and these small menial actions were easy for him to do. He had to adapt when he didn’t have humans to assist him. Yet something bothered him about the way they just stood and watched him from afar. 

“Alright children! Let’s clean up and prepare for naptime!” Sun encouraged the children to clean after themselves after mealtime was coming to a close. Luckily food from the pizzaplex cafeteria was created in thought of children and their picky palates. So lunch was always brief. However, before the children even stood up from their seats, a voice from behind sprang to life. 

“I’m going to go eat lunch now!” Lindsey’s boisterous voice echoes in the atrium, and she runs to the break room without even stopping to ask if all tasks were completed. But what about returning the trays to the cafeteria?

Thomas visibly grew frustrated. He grumbles as he grabs something from the other side of the counter and walks over to Sun. “Here, the remote to the lights. Lindsey didn’t even bother to stay to do her job so I’ll give it to you. I’ll take it back after naptime is over.” 

Sun looks down at the remote as Thomas also leaves the premises, leaving him and the children alone. 

The screams of the daycare continues. It's almost as if the adults weren't even there to begin with. 

“Sun? Can I speak with you really quickly?” Thomas curls his finger at Sun and beckons him over to a corner of the playground. “Really quickly. I promise.” His handler ducks under one of the plastic bridges and disappears. After nap time had ended, the security guard, the handler, and the assistant all returned as if nothing was out of place. Moon's switch to chaperone nap time had allowed Sun to decompress all the events of the morning. But now his fears had heightened once again. 

Sun slips away from the children, all distracted by the arts and crafts lessons taught by Lindsey. They were making macaroni necklaces, nothing too complicated for a single adult to handle. Sun felt a little afraid of what Thomas might say to him, but he was also concerned about leaving the children alone with a new assistant for too long. 

Thomas stood with his back turned to the playground, waiting for Sun’s arrival. The jingling of Sun’s bells alerts the handler of the animatronic’s presence, causing him to start speaking even before Sun appears within his view. 

“Sun, you can’t keep standing up for her.” Thomas crosses his arm against his chest. “I know it's in your programming to step in and protect people, but Lindsey can’t keep putting off her tasks and avoiding deadlines just for you to do it for her. She’s going to keep thinking that you’ll defend her and she’ll never take responsibility. I feel like you in particular would want rules to be followed.”  

“Well, yes, but we shouldn’t put our coworkers down like that!” Sun was conflicted, because he was aware that he did help Lindsey in that moment by taking away work she should have completed yesterday. But being yelled at in public was something Sun reacted negatively to because he was usually one being shouted at. Whether it was parents and guardians or his previous handler. 

“As much as I believe that tasks will be done faster if everyone contributes, there are still things that you and I are tasked to do that she is not helping with nor really capable of doing.” Thomas asserts. He noticeably has been itching his arms, his tattoos surrounded by trails of red blemishes. “As your handler, I should be making sure everything about you is going well. I shouldn’t also have to worry if Lindsey is doing her job too.” 

『 He’s right, you know. 』Moon suddenly comments from within Sun’s thoughts. 『 You can’t keep shielding her like that. She’s already missed the deadline twice. 』

『I am well aware, okay? 』 Sun grumbled. “I understand the frustration, Thomas. I will ensure that this will not happen again! I-I think we just need to give her some time and a few reminders so she feels more comfortable with her position.”

“I think she is very very comfortable with her position, Sun. She plays more than some of the children do sometimes.” Thomas notes with scorn. “And I don’t think you realize how often she just sits behind the counter watching you instead of helping. Anyways, let’s go back before she breaks another box of crayons.” 

Words of warning have been delivered, so Thomas returns back to the children to chaperone Saturday afternoon activities. Sun stands there for several seconds more, computing. He didn’t want to admit out loud that he has noticed that Lindsey doesn’t work as hard as the other humans. But he couldn’t enforce anything. Yes, he was technically in charge, but he wasn’t their official boss. He couldn’t order them around. 

Plus that wasn’t exactly something he wanted to do. 

Moon, however, disagreed from their head space. He would have loved to tell the humans what to do. Things might be more coherent and smooth if he could. 

Or just get rid of the humans all together. Who needs them?

Sitting with your back against the large wooden door, you chatted with your new friend - the voice behind the Daycare walls. The conversations were never really long, but they were quite interesting considering the source behind the voice seemed to be quite intrigued with you and your work. They also had updates about small occurrences in the daycare that you weren’t able to witness. 

You have been talking to this disembodied voice almost every day for nearly a month after your shift. While you pondered for several days now, the presence of the voice only appeared after the other human employees had left for the evening. And they seemed to always be by the door - waiting for your appearance to pass the playground’s main wooden gate. This could only suggest two possible options to who the voice belonged to. Only the animatronic daycare attendants remained: Sun or Moon. 

“Oh Sunshine, you missed it today.” Sun wiggled his feet against the soft padding below. “Poor Lindsey got yelled at again.” 

You hummed a sound of confusion. “Sunshine?” 

“Oh yes, I figured I would give you a nickname! It’s what friends do, r-right?” Sun quickly stiffens his shoulder and retracts his rays. Oh no, has he messed up? Did you not actually want a nickname? Maybe you weren’t really friends with him yet and he was overstepping his boundaries. Was there a limit? 

The graceful sound of your laughter echoed in the empty atrium. Not a hint of rejection was conveyed. “Yes, of course! Friends do give each other nicknames! But, Mr. Ghost, I don’t think I’ve ever told you my real name. I don’t even know yours. Are we skipping to nicknames already?” 

He froze, releasing a sound that was similar to gasping from his voicebox. Sun wanted to slam his head against the floor. He realized he messed up. He knows your name because of the employee database that Moon had searched a couple weeks back. And he hadn’t shared his name or his identity to you either. “W-well, I-I mean, I-I just thought- th-that- its because- names. Oh dear…” He stuttered persistently. He continued to mutter ‘oh no’ over and over until you tried to stop him from spiraling. 

Quickly interrupting, you spoke louder, “No! Wait! That’s not that I meant, don’t worry, I like the nickname. It’s nice. I just didn't know if you were addressing it to me!” You tried to reassure the voice behind the door. You turned around to look directly at the slightly splintered wood as if Sun was in front of you, speaking to him directly. “I guess since I’ve been calling you Mr. Ghost for a while now, I was the one who gave you a nickname first!” 

Sun sat up straight, nearly jumping up from his spot against the door. His rays twirl excitedly as your point had affirmed his hopes. You did give him a nickname first! You are his friend and you weren’t upset with him. You accepted your new nickname. “Yes! Yes! Oh Sunshine that’s true! That’s so wonderful!” 

You chuckled at the sudden change in emotional direction. You decided not to press on the fact that Sun still hadn't shared his name with you nor had you shared yours with him. “So, you were saying something about Lindsey?” 

“Oh oh oh! Yes! That’s right!,” Sun clapped his hand and sat back down, completely forgetting his previous meltdown and turmoil. “Well, Lindsey was getting reprimanded again by Thomas. She missed her deadline of submitting the reports... again.” 

You hummed in a sarcastic surprise. This wasn’t new information. You had actually known about this because Thomas complained the entire time in the breakroom earlier at lunch after Lindsey left the room. Apparently, it wasn’t the first time this has happened. 

“But it’ll be completed with the help of the handler and me-” 

Sun pauses for a second. Though they all promised to work together to submit the report, they hadn’t done it. Thomas and Lindsey had already left for the day and the papers were still on the counter. The daycare will be closed for Sundays too. He just mistakenly realized that the reports were still incomplete. 

“-I-I mean, I’ll be submitting them later for her.” Sun uttered, a little dejected. You noticed that the sound of his voice fell at the end. 

“That’s very nice of you, Mr. Ghost.” You complimented, feeling a little sorry that the poor animatronic was tricked into completing more work. If only there was a way you could help. It was unfortunate that your scope was tied to the cash register outside of the daycare. 

“Yes, well, I am amazing at making sure those reports are detailed and perfect!” Sun perked back up. He began to explain what he does to make sure that management was satisfied with the outcome of the daycare on a weekly basis. Those parents will be satisfied with the reviews. 

While listening, you occasionally laughed to let Sun know you were invested in the conversation. He was easy to listen to and his voice was quite nice, despite how anxious and nervous he would sound after a sudden realization of his own words. It happened a few times, almost like the voice was talking to itself and then scaring itself for doing so. But you didn’t mind, the topics of the conversations were interesting, so you never interrupted unless it was your turn. 

To continue on his mild rant, Sun decided to share something else about Lindsey. “But also, she did something strange today too.” Sun was hesitant to let you know this information, but he figured he could discuss this with somebody without getting caught for sharing such a thing. You were his friend now and friends confide in each other. 

“And what was that?” You asked. 

“Her demeanor changed when I told her she couldn’t have lunch before the children did.” Sun grew confident as he continued to share. He knew he wasn't in the wrong. “I had never seen her react to me that way after I told her the rules. I-It is recommended by the employee handbook for daycare employees that they were to help serve the children first and then take their lunch once all the children were settled for naptime. And she went to lunch before the children were even done cleaning up!”

This was new. You hadn’t heard about this situation earlier from Thomas. You put your hand under your chin and rested your elbow on your knee as you listened. “Well that sounds unfair,” you remarked. You personally had seen the way Lindsey would sneer at Thomas in private, but never had you heard that she would do this in front of the children. You agreed to Sun's concerns, stating that you thought it was a weird reaction as well. 

Unbeknownst to both you and Sun, Moon listened secretly and quietly as the two of you conversed. 

Originally, Moon was only mildly aware that Sun was speaking with you every evening while he was tucked away in rest mode in the early evenings. There was one particular day where Sun laughed loudly and woke up his brother two layers deep within their mind. Moon’s AI entered their shared space, curious to see what was getting Sun so worked up. It was past the pizzaplex’s usual closing time, so no children should be around to keep Sun company. After a month of working with Thomas and Lindsey, Moon didn’t even attempt to assume it was either of them. So who was it? The security guard? 

One day, Moon peeked at the view of the daycare shown through Sun’s eyes. It was empty. Not a single sound of feet pitter-pattering around on the padded floors. Whoever he was talking to wasn’t even there in the daycare. Moon starts to observe the moment with more intent. 

It was strange to see Sun sitting on the floor, he usually never stops moving. And Sun kept talking though no one was there. The constant rambling flowed like Sun was telling a story about their day. The words weren’t directed at Moon either. Sun didn't know Moon was awake. Rather, there was an unknown voice who was responding, but it was muffled by a barrier. 

With full curiosity, Moon pulls up the security tapes, moving from camera to camera, looking for the view of the daycare’s atrium. He was surprised to find you sitting on the tile floors on the other side of the wooden gate, nearly mimicking the same way Sun was sitting. And you chatted with him wholeheartedly the whole time. 

Moon never once interrupted Sun to let him know what the lunar half thought of his solar brother becoming close with the human from the gift shop. It wasn’t unlike Sun to be so friendly, but it was weird to see a human respond so warmly. He didn’t want to take away the moment from Sun. Seeing Sun so happy to make an adult friend was something Moon would initially try to discourage. 

But since it was you, he stayed quiet. At least it wasn’t that air-headed assistant. 

“Well I have to head out now, it’s getting late.” You announced as you began to gather yourself off the floor. Sun audibly whined but accepted that it was almost time for the Pizzaplex to close. Moon should be waking soon for his night patrols. 

“Be careful, Sunshine. Make sure you get home safely.” Sun once again wishes you well, like he does every evening. You smiled at the concerns, always reassuring him that you will. 

“I will Mr. Ghost. I’ll be back Monday.” You waved your goodbye at the door. 

Sun’s rays twirled around as he received the alert that you had left the turnstile of the daycare atrium, knowing that you had promised to return in two days. He rolls around on the ground a few times before jumping up onto his feet. 

『 So, Mr. Ghost huh? 』 Moon’s voice cuts through Sun’s thoughts, nearly causing him to trip as the shared animatronic body walks back to the security desk. 

“M-Moon! You were awake?” Sun jolts back a step. “I didn’t realize you were listening, heh.” He nervously felt guilty, though he wasn't even sure why. 

Moon sighed. 『 Don’t get your ribbons all twisted. I don’t care that you’re making friends with a human . 』

“Are you sure?” 

『 Yes. 』 Moon answers a little too quickly. The tone was unreadable to Sun, but he could feel Moon’s code getting erratic.

“Oh Moonie, I think you’d like this one too.” Cautiously, Sun approaches the counter and stares down at the untouched reports. They were now scattered upon the countertop, as if someone had moved them to the side haphazardly in order to grab something else. 

『 Hm, don’t make assumptions for me. 』 Moon retorts. He watches as Sun shuffles the papers from behind the counter - something that Sun usually would have avoided doing. Sun shouldn’t be grabbing things from behind that counter, but it was a rule that wasn’t coded into his program by his creator or management. Rather it was a word-of-mouth from the previous daycare handler. One that wasn’t here anymore. 『  I’ll see to it myself. 』

Moon personally wasn’t expecting the opportunity to speak with you anytime soon. He knew that you were not scheduled for another shift for a couple days. Sundays were the days the daycare was closed and only the mainstage, the arcade, and the Glamrock’s meet and greet were available. So to say that Moon was dazed and confused to see you standing in front of the daycare gates at six in the morning the next day, he wouldn’t have believed it either. 

The lights to the daycare were still dim, leaving only the lights of the emergency exit shining through the dark. You stood in front of the gate and stared up, wondering if your friend was on the other side. It might have been too early that even the lights were off, you did come in outside of your shift to come prep a party room for Monday. 

Moon stood on the other side of the door, watching the security footage guardedly. Your odd appearance and behavior annoyed him, but he wasn’t going to reveal himself to you just to throw you out. You were an employee and was permitted to be here. It just didn’t make sense for you to be here the day before your actual shift. 

“Mr. Ghost?” You called out in a small voice. It was still early morning and the coffee hadn't taken its course, so your throat was a little hoarse. “Are you there?” 

Pondering how to react, Moon wanted you to walk away on your own. He didn’t want to reply. However, you called out two more times, a little louder each time, before he decided to speak up. “ What are you doing here? ” Moon replies harshly. 

A voice that you did not recognize responded, startling you. The raspy, deep static that infused in each word was noticeably a contrast to Sun’s. Moon takes immediate notice that you jumped on the cameras. He knew it. You were afraid of him just like everyone else. He began to stalk away back to grab the remote for the lights. 

However, you stopped him in his tracks. “Oh, a different Mr. Ghost!” Your voice sounded so cheerful after a scare. Moon doesn’t move another step but also doesn’t make any additional choices to turn back either. “How come I’ve never heard of you before?” 

Moon looked back and forth on the ground, searching in his mind for Sun’s presence. But Sun wasn’t there, still sleeping in rest mode. He wasn’t due to awaken until later since the daycare wasn’t opening for the day. Should he respond? For his next option, Moon considered for a moment to use his wire and make noise in the atrium to scare you away. But he thought otherwise. Sun wouldn’t like that. His voice faltered, “ I-I only lurk in the shadows. ” 

“Then I guess that’ll be your name. You can be Mr. Shadow.” You claimed with such confidence. Moon wanted to argue about the name. It sounded stupid. But he remembered what Sun had shared the day before with you. Friends give each other nicknames. 

Moon flinches and shakes his head. The bell at the end of his nightcap jingles lightly. Friends? How silly. He turns back to the door before asking, “ Again, why are you here? ” He made sure to growl loud enough so you heard. 

This new disembodied voice clearly did not want your presence or at least was demanding a reason for disrupting his day. You were going to ask Sun this early in the morning if he needed help with those reports he mentioned yesterday. Sun’s voice rang in your mind for the rest of the night after you left, sounding so sad to complete them alone. “I wanted to ask Mr. Ghost if he needed help submitting those reports from yesterday. I don’t know much about the procedures and details, but I thought maybe two heads were better than one?” 

Moon narrowed his eyes. Sun completed that task in seventeen minutes and fifty-two seconds after you had left yesterday evening. He finished it in almost one eighth of the time it took Lindsey to do it last week. Why would you even think that Sun needed help? 

“ It’s not necessary. It has already been done. ” Moon explained. 

You marveled with relief, “Oh that’s good! I just didn’t want Mr. Ghost to get into trouble. He didn’t seem like the type of person to be late.” Moon hummed in agreement, that would be something Sun would dislike. “I thought I would come help if it still wasn’t completed by today.” 

Seeing that you were relieved of your voluntary duty, you prepared to complete your assigned one. A message had come in right as you were leaving the Pizza Plex parking lot last night that a special request for party room B needed assembling. The tables in the room were all currently pushed against the walls. So a diagram of the requested set up was mailed to you the night before. You removed your jacket and threw it onto your arms, rolling up your sleeves. Before Moon could hint a second time for you to leave, you turned and walked towards the party room. “I guess I’ll see you later then, Mr. Shadow. I’ll be over here preparing the party room before heading home. I’ll come by again to say bye before I leave!”

Moon was about to protest your reappearance, but a little twist in his wires had him doubting that he wouldn't want to know you were departing. Something in his programming wanted to ensure you were safe. But you weren't a child. This feature shouldn't be firing. While he contemplated, your attention on him was now gone. He was a little disappointed that you didn’t stay a little longer.

…. was he?

 You had already made your way to one of the party rooms, flipping on the lights of that single room. You flinched at the brightness, but you didn't let it stop you as you quickly started to move chairs out from under the tables.

The clear windows of the party room did nothing to stop the lights from illuminating the rest of the atrium, but it was not bright enough for Moon to switch with Sun. Something that Moon was momentarily grateful for. 

Moon crawled to the perch of the balcony, sitting similarly to the way Sun had several times before to watch you clean the gift shop. He cross his leg and observed quietly, wondering if he should wake Sun up early. He’d probably enjoy this moment more than Moon would anyways. 

Or so he assumed.

Chapter Text

“That’ll be ten dollars and eighty-four cents.” You smiled your best customer service smile as you turned to grab a small gift bag from under the counter. The tips of your fingers were getting chafed and dry from all the times you rubbed against the plastic bags to open them. The chime of the credit card reader rang once to signal its readiness for payment. The parent before you places their credit card on the scanner and waits for the beep. A long furl of receipt paper spits out of the printer just as the sound of cheerful laughter comes running around the corner. 

“Mommy! Mommy! I want this one too!” A little girl in a bright orange tutu, white leggings, and a yellow shirt comes running down the small aisle of your store, carrying a Sun plushie. Her hair was tied in two high pigtails, similar to the way you saw Lindsey sporting her hairstyle just yesterday. 

“No honey, that one is too expensive. You already have a Sun doll at home.” The mother quickly slides you the doll, making eye contact to remove it out of sight. You non-verbally agreed with a wink and placed Sun under the counter. He joins the other unwanted store items to be returned later. “Plus that one is the older model, it’s not as nice looking as your Sunny doll.”

“Then I want a Moon one!” The little girl stood her ground. She stomped her feet twice to let her mother know she was serious. Quickly you bagged her original purchase and threw in the receipt to top it off. You tried to help the mom in the situation, but alas the child wins. 

“Okay, okay, quickly go grab it. But grab the new model please.” The mother sighs before giving a nervous smile at you. The girl was gone from sight even before her mother had agreed. “Sorry, we’re going to add one more item.” 

The girl returns in a flash and waves Moon around in the air for you to grab. You chuckled, “No worries, I’ll put it on a new transaction. I'll be quick so you can go home.” The mother seemed very appreciative of you as her daughter hopped up and down next to her in excitement. You quickly processed the new Moon doll and sent the cute mother-daughter duo on their way. 

They were the last two customers to have exited the daycare after afternoon pickup and directly walking over to the gift shop. You noticed that the daycare was quiet except for the sounds of vacuums humming in the party rooms next door. All the children must have been gone for the day. The S.T.A.F.F. bots were making their daily rounds of the daycare after its closure. You were supposed to close your shutters about half an hour ago, but you decided to delay it. 

You’ve been staying later and later to speak with your new friends. At first, you only stayed half an hour to an hour late after you clocked out of your shift, but now it's more frequent that you stay until almost eight or nine in the evening. The conversations have been mostly with Mr. Ghost. Mr. Shadow hasn’t made an appearance since that initial one. You had a feeling he didn’t like you. He didn’t speak much and seemed to growl more. But it didn’t bother you, people are allowed their own opinions. 

In preparation for closing, you began to wipe the counters and organized the stray items you’ve accumulated throughout the day. A pair of Sun socks, an extra large adult pajama pants covered in rainbow stars, a box of Fazbear character collection playing cards, and two different sizes of plush dolls of Sun. Attempting to hook them all under your arms for restocking, you looked at the doll you pulled from underneath the counter, the exact one the little girl just held. Using your other hand, you held the other doll and compared them, seeing that indeed it looked a little different than the action figures that were on display behind you. 

Sun’s face looked like it was an older design, created with theatrics in mind. Round, flat, and full of rays, he reminded you of those masks worn by actors to portray emotions in old English plays. His eyes were wide and blank as they stared back at you. His cheeks puffed high to bring out his teeth, making his smile genuine. However you noted that the crescent moon carved down the center broke his smile into two, almost giving a tragic touch to his look. 

The new design was softer. He was given a more cartoon yet realistic rearrangement, probably to adjust for favorability towards children. He had pupils and his cheeks looked softer. No longer were they stiff and locked on that forceful smile. You could tell that this new model tried to maintain the main traits of his old design - his rays, his blush, and the crescent moon. Looking up, it seemed that the company had been trying to get rid of merchandise of his old design, but they were not selling as well, for the shelf of old Suns has not depleted a single one since you started working. To you, both designs were kind of cute in their own way.

Of course, there were a few designs of Sun printed on notebooks, stationary items, and handkerchiefs that were straight cartoon characters - something you would find in an animated show broadcasted on TV. Those was extra adorable, but you guessed that Sun and Moon probably didn’t look like that in real life. Those items were made to give variety.

When you placed the plushies back on their original shelves, you grabbed Moon to make a similar comparison. His older design was detailed but probably difficult to attract the attention of children.  You could understand that mother’s concerns, though you thought it was unwarranted. Compared to Sun, Moon’s depiction was darker. His colors set the mood of his theme, but-  does he have… sharp teeth?

You kept that information in the back of your mind. Wondering if you get the chance to meet Moon, would asking him to smile to see his teeth be rude? 

As you put Moon back on the shelf, you wondered when you’d get to see them. It was too late now to barge into the daycare playground gates on your own without reason. It’s been over a month since you started working, but your comfortability level was still fairly low. You felt like it was now considered trespassing into unauthorized territory, with your own domain sketched out to only be within the gift shop. However, it was an invisible line you drew for yourself, no one had actually told you that you weren’t allowed within the walls. It just felt weird without asking first. 

Quickly, you put away the rest of the items and prepared to go speak with Mr. Ghost. You knew that Dylan and Lindsey left around five thirty on the dot. You saw them shuffle out of the doors after the mother and the daughter walked into your store. Most children are picked up by their parents before they leave. Thomas tends to leave a little later. He must have other duties he needs to complete before he can depart. 

You didn't want to make your friend wait. You had a feeling he was looking forward to your daily talks as much as you were. The enthusiasm he held when he spoke always made you smile. Grabbing your jacket and your keys, you locked up the cash register and inputted into your Fazwatch the total amount of items sold today before clocking out. The shutters made their usual loud scratching noises on the way down. It behooves you how you manage to forget to put in a ticket request to get those shutters re-oiled, you hear that atrocious sound daily. 

Sun was waiting on the side of the door for you just as you predicted. As soon as Thomas left for the breakroom, Sun put down his cleaning supplies and a few loose toys and skipped to the door awaiting your arrival. The two of you settled into your spots on either side of the daycare door. Sun recently felt the most comfortable in this one spot, facing the daycare he was programmed to protect. Usually cleaning calmed his mind, but spending the moment with his new friend after many hectic days seemed to destress him in a different way. It was a different change of pace from the morning rush. 

The two of you shared your day as usual. Sun spoke of the games they played today, and you told him what items kids seemed to prefer when they come into your store. You noticed that recently Sun has spoken less and less about his human coworkers. He used to tell you more about how Lindsey and Thomas treated him, but it was now sparsely mentioned. You figured, maybe everything is okay now and issues have settled. 

In reality, Sun enjoyed listening to you speak. He felt that if he complained or shared too much of his day with you, you would find him annoying or bothered by his thoughts. He and Moon both shared the sentiment that the interactions of the daycare assistant and their handler were starting to get repetitive - constantly fighting and the occasional jabs at each other were silent but deadly. There wouldn’t be any reason you didn’t feel the same way as he did if you listened to the same thing over and over. So, he’d rather hear you talk. Most of the time, Sun wanted to hear about the rest of the Pizzaplex. He felt like he was bothering other humans when he asked, yet you always shared so openly about your experiences around the building. Moon constantly reminds him that all Sun needs to do is pull up on the security footage if he was truly curious. But it just didn’t seem the same if he didn’t hear it from you. 

“There were a few kids arguing in the lobby today of who would win in a fight. It was between Freddy and Monty.” You shared, pondering the question on your own as you spoke. You haven’t met the Glamrocks yet but knowing that Freddy was a bear and Monty was a gator from all the posters, you started to assume using your limited knowledge of animal biology. 

“And what did they say?” Sun asks. 

“They think Monty would win.” You revealed. Sun could hear a smirk at the tip of your words. 

“Oh? And what about you, Sunshine? Who do you think would win?” He leaned his head back against the wooden door, turning his head slightly so his audio receptors would catch more of your muffled voice than the sounds of the air conditioning blowing through the empty playground. 

“I don’t know! I feel like if a bear and a gator were to fight for real, the bear would probably win with more dexterity and limb length.” You crossed your arms. “Bears also have advantages on land. So Freddy?” 

Sun cocked his head to the side, imagining the main mascots of the pizzaplex fighting it out on stage. He knows that will never happen, but it didn’t hurt to try and compute his own results. “But Monty and Freddy both have the same length of limbs. I would know! Their design blueprints are searchable on the company database.” 

You laughed at how different the two of you think. “Well I wouldn’t know that,” you admitted. “I haven’t actually seen any of the animatronics yet. Except S.T.A.F.F. bots, there’s a lot of those. I’m not sure those count though.” 

Sun blinked twice and backtracked on your statement. You haven’t met the famous four? That’s strange. Most people would have immediately tried to make contact with them. Sun knows the children are constantly asking him if the Glamrocks will make a field trip to daycare one day, only for him to deny it each time. Adults have even come from far and wide to meet the newest advancement in technology that is the Fazbear entertainment animatronics. The draw and the excitement for them was of all ages. 

“Well Sunshine, I think you would love to meet the Glamrocks. They’re amazing animatronics.” 

“Only the Glamrocks?” You asked.

“Most people think highly of them after the first meet and greet.” Sun continued, completely missing your question for his aversion of himself and Moon in the equation. 

You sat there quietly, thinking. Both Sun and Moon are animatronics. It wouldn’t hurt to meet them first before the Glamrocks, would it? The design of the tile floors were making you nauseous with how you tried to talk yourself up. Maybe it’s time to formally meet them. "Mr. Ghost?" 

"Yes Sunshine?" 

"What's your real name?” You picked at your fingernail, suddenly feeling nervous about the question. “I feel like we've gotten to know each other well enough for me to ask, yes?" 

There was no sound for five whole seconds. It made you sweat. 

Sun mentally facepalmed himself, wanting to shake himself until his processor split into a million pieces. He never told you his name since he gave you your nickname! How could he have forgotten? He was so worked up about your reaction to his nickname for you, that he got distracted.  

He bit his bottom lip. The metal combs of his teeth lightly pierced the silicone of his faceplate. Ever since he was able to emote and move his mouth, he was careless with the soft padding of his new face, constantly scratching and poking holes from his anxious ticks. Parts and Services were not going to like seeing these new dents. 

"I am Sun." He reveals slowly. You could hear that his voice has lowered from the usual delighted tone into something more apprehensive. 

You laughed, almost relieved that Sun easily shared that information with you. All that anxiety built for nothing. The tension in your shoulders released. Sun turned towards the door and leaned away, wondering why you laughed at his name. You quickly debunked his concerns with your response, "Hello Sun. I'm glad to know that this whole time I've been speaking with the beloved daycare animatronic. Here I thought maybe you were an actual ghost." 

Sun blushed at the compliment. He was beloved? He didn't know that. He knew that the Glamrocks were definitely the most famous. But beloved? That was unexpected. 

He held onto that word tightly. 

"Does that mean Mr. Shadow is Moon?" You continued. The progress was uplifting. 

Sun responds on behalf of Moon, wondering if his lunar half was listening. Moon hasn't been resting well lately, so his appearance in their shared headspace was more frequent and more irritated. "Yes, you are correct." 

"Why hasn't he come to talk to me recently? Is he very busy?" You quickly turned around to correct yourself. "-N-Not that I don't like speaking with you Sun. I really enjoy our daily talks." You could feel the heat of embarrassment build under your cheeks. Was it possible for an animatronic to be offended? You continued to ramble, “-I-I guess we did only talk once, he’s not really obligated to talk with me again.” 

You were left alone in your own mental turmoil, since your possible offense was completely missed by the animatronic. Sun was too busy trying to think of an excuse for Moon. He wasn’t going to share with you that Moon didn’t have a positive opinion about you, let alone any adults for that matter. He wanted to protect his brother, but he also didn’t want to offend you back. "Yes, u-um, he's been busy. He and I both clean up the daycare once the kids leave." 

"Oh, have I been distracting you from your tasks? I hope that doesn't mean Moon is doing all the work right now." 

"Nonono! That's not the case at all!" Sun tried to cover up his blunder. How was he going to explain that he and Moon shared a body when they hadn't seen their transformation? “We do equal amounts of work! No doubts about it!” 

“I guess that’s good and fair.” You weren’t really sure what to add to that. Was equal work something the two of them shared on their own or was that something that was programmed into them? You wondered for a second, not realizing that your silence was causing Sun to mentally breakdown. 

Sun began to pull on the ribbon on his wrists, dangerously close to pulling apart the knot that held his bells. Now that you knew he was an animatronic and that you had spoken to someone who wasn’t human for a whole month, he wondered if you were reconsidering the whole situation and daily setup of your meeting. Did you not like it anymore? Was this the end?  

“Sun?” The silence broke from the sound of your voice calling out his real name. Turning from your spot, you sat up onto your knees and pressed your hand on the door. You paused further motions to stand, waiting. You finally built up your confidence to ask, “Would it be possible if I came in right now to meet you and-?”

“N̵ͨ́͛O͙͕!” 

Sun quickly covered his own mouth as soon as he realized he raised his voice. He heard a small gasp from the other side of the door. “No no no-no- I mean- it’s not that we- um, I’m a little -uh- messy today from all the children’s hands, YES- that’s it! We can’t get you dirty, it’sabadfirstimpressionyouknow.”  

There was a terrible uncomfortably long silence that followed. You didn’t know what to say. “Oh, I see.” 

It would be a lie to say you weren’t disappointed with Sun’s response. It was the way he said no that caused you to fluster. You weren’t expecting Sun to be so forceful with his response that he didn’t want you to see him. It didn’t really matter to you if he was covered in children’s handprints. You just wanted to satiate your curiosity. But you respect his choice. 

Truthfully, you were a little dejected. 

『 Smoothe. 』Moon suddenly piped up from the back of Sun’s mind. He watched you from the security footage how you flinched when Sun refused you, scooting away from the door and sitting back down. A line of code punched out at him, executing painfully after seeing your expression. Even he was a little surprised by Sun’s response. 

A tinge of guilt wrapped around Sun’s neck, strangling him, slowly threatening to rip his wires for denying you such a simple request. “Sunshine, I-” 

“It’s alright Sun. It’s okay to say no. I-I’ll let you and Moon clean the daycare now. I’m sorry for keeping you.” You interrupted. You tried not to let the rejection stun your voice, but Sun immediately detects the change of your tone. He recognized that modulation, it was similar to when children were on the verge of crying after being told they can’t have more candy. This was your candy. “We’ll talk tomorrow.” 

The sound of your voice trips a switch. Sun wrapped his arms around himself, feeling the shivers of static shock coursing through him in a pulsatile manner. Cowardice. He messed up. He told you no. All because he was afraid that you were going to have a negative impression of him and Moon. 

『 Weren’t you the one who told me that they were our friends? Why did you say no? 』 Moon asks solemnly. It was unusual that Moon was siding with the human. But Sun understood the reason for the mental interrogation. 

“How long have you been listening, Moon?” Sun asks, crestfallen. 

『 Since the beginning. 』 Moon watches on the camera as you stood up with your head down. 『 Are you never going to meet them? I don’t feel like this type of construct of speaking daily behind a door is what you truly want. 』While Moon himself prefers to stay away from any human, he could feel that Sun was desiring more every time you spoke to him. All those times Thomas would scold Sun for not listening, Lindsey for disrespecting Sun's personal space, or the times Dylan refused to speak with Sun - they were starting to take a toll on Sun’s humanity. Maybe just one person on their side would be permitted. 

“But what if Sunshine doesn’t like the way we look? We don’t look as nice and pretty and shiny as the Glamrocks. We aren’t soft like Freddy and Roxy. We aren’t cute like Chica. What if we scare them - like everyone else? They won’t want to be our friend anymore.” Sun’s teeth chattered as he spoke. 

『 They don’t know what the Glamrocks look like, Sun. They said so themselves. 』

Oh. 

“Sunshine, wait!” Sun frantically attempts to call out. He bangs his hand on the back of the daycare door, thinking you were still there. Nothing. Quickly he calls for his wire, lifting himself above the door frame, and looks around for you in the empty daycare lobby. His fingers scratch the wood as he clenches his fist. Why did he deny you? Why was he so scared? He attempts to call out one more time. 

However, a signal of the turnstile activating rang in Sun’s head. 

You were gone. 

You kept your head up high. Attempts to be optimistic though was draining. 

The day following Sun’s sudden outburst started out just like any other, but you were unsure if you wanted to speak with him today. What would you talk about? Can an animatronic feel awkward? What if he didn’t want to speak with you anymore? The entire night at home, you thought of ways to apologize to Sun. It took so long that you started to think of ways to apologize to Moon too. Neither of them seemed to be interested in meeting you. Maybe they just weren't comfortable enough with you or maybe you weren’t close enough as friends to meet them. A billion thoughts and reasons ran through your mind as you tried to sleep, only to conclude nothing. 

The break room was once again silent when you walked in for lunch. Only Dylan and Thomas were eating, both respectively on their own phones. You were hoping for something to distract you from thoughts of Sun. 

Eyes perked up at the sight of your entry, lighting up with life. Thomas immediately sat up, “Oh you’re here! What do you got for lunch today?” 

“Oh you know,” you waved your lunchbox around without care, “my amazingly curated chicken casserole and steamed vegetables with a side of mashed potatoes!” 

"You mean the meals your parents brought over for you last week that you're still somehow stretching until now?" Thomas pokes at you, pointing his fork in your direction. 

"Shut up, yes, okay. It's still the leftovers." You laughed unfazed by the teasing. Even with the mocking of your coworkers, you felt a little better immediately. 

You noticed that the stiffness in Dylan's shoulders released as soon as you laughed. She still sometimes seemed a little uncomfortable around you. Thinking that maybe it was just that you didn't see her often, you wondered if there was a way to get her to open up a little more. But it wasn't necessary to push - just like with Sun and Moon. 

Shoot, you were trying to forget about them. 

"So how's it been recently? Still having troubles?" You ask nonchalantly. It's been a few days since you've gotten any news shared with you. Lindsey was present the last two days talking non-stop about a new store that opened at the large-scale mall on the other side of town. She wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, almost like she was just talking to fill the silence. You wouldn't say you weren't interested in the topic at first, but there is only so much you converse with someone about a store, especially one that was endorsed by some social media star that you were not familiar with. It was a long lunch break those few days. 

Thomas rolled his eyes around his head dramatically twice just to lightly convey the pain. "Yes." He hisses. 

"What's happening now?" You pressed. You were a little eager, hoping your voice didn't give you away. 

"Lindsey keeps disappearing." Dylan pipes in a low voice. There was a hint of disturbance in her voice that you were not expecting. From Thomas? Most definitely. But not Dylan.

"What do you mean?" you interrogated.

"She leaves the daycare quite often. Sometimes she's gone for more than an hour, claiming that she's going to the bathroom. And it's multiple times a day." Thomas throws up quotation marks with his fingers, exaggerating hard with his movements to show his frustration. "She just returns like she wasn't doing anything wrong. Sun has yet to say anything to her, but I doubt he will." 

"That's weird. And concerning. Everything okay with her?" You quickly took a bite of your meal, invested in drama. Feeling your chest tighten, you tried to put mentions of Sun to the side of your mind. 

"Yeah I think she's fine and dandy . I caught her a couple days ago on our lunch break flirting with a mechanic in the cafeteria. I'm pretty sure she struck up that conversation way before our scheduled lunch." Thomas sneers. He couldn't help himself but roll his eyes again.

You tilted your head in confusion, "Oh good for her. She's got a crush on someone." 

Dylan and Thomas shared a look before turning back to you. Thomas smirks, "well actually this was something we were talking about yesterday after you left lunch. We are like ninety percent sure Lindsey has someone she's dating. Maybe seeing? We're unsure. This is all speculation. She's on her phone a lot, texting and sometimes calling in the middle of daycare." Dylan nods in agreement. 

“Meaning?” You waved your hand in a circular motion, prompting the daycare handler to keep talking. 

Thomas gives you a devious grin, “She’s flirting outside of her relationship!” 

You pretended to gasp in absolute shock. " Blasphemous! Can't believe you left me out of that conversation." You pretended to mope, fake rubbing your eyes like you were crying. 

"Lindsey was still here when you ate with us." Thomas groaned. "I wanted to complain so bad, but you left and Dylan had to sit through my rant. Turns out she had some of her own observations to share. It was a pleasant exchange." Thomas began to describe all the times he and Dylan noticed that Lindsey was on her phone, seemingly more frustrated with what was on the screen than with the children pulling on her dress. 

You shrugged your shoulders, sharing, "Glad I could get a bit of an update on that. I'll see if I see her come out of the daycare when she has these breaks. Maybe we can catch her in the middle of her rendezvous." Thinking back, you hadn't really seen Lindsey or anyone come out of those gates during open hours or outside of break. If there were repetitive instances of someone coming in and out, you think you would've noticed. 

Thomas nods, “I’m just waiting for the day Sun reprimands her. He’s such a stickler for rules, I can’t believe he hasn’t said anything yet. Maybe Moon will do it instead...” 

With a quick turn of the subject, you ask playfully, "Speaking of Sun, what's he like?" 

Thomas furrowed his brow. "Have you not met him yet?" 

"No, not at all. I don't think I've stepped foot into the play place once yet since we all started." Finishing your food, you put away your fork into the takeaway container, snapping the lid together with the base to store into your lunchbox.  

"Oh, never noticed. Been too busy doing two people's worth of work to observe." Thomas shrugged his shoulders, casually throwing shade. "But, Sun huh... He's interesting. A very down-to-Earth animatronic. Whoever programmed him and Moon really gave them different personalities. Lots of emotion and opinions."

“That sounds really unique. Does that mean you’re friends with them now?” You jealously inquired. 

Thomas pauses for a second before continuing, "I'm going to be very honest with you. I find both Sun and Moon scary, a little creepy, sometimes. Structurally taller than me for some reason and they hover. They both know so much, thinking two to three steps ahead all the time. It catches me off guard a lot, making me feel a little incompetent as their handler. Plus Sun is sometimes either full of anxiety or full of sugar. He’s hard to control. There is no in-between." 

"And Moon?" 

"I barely talk to him. I help him set up naptime, and then Dylan and I leave for break. Moon himself wants us out of there. He highly encourages us to leave - usually with an evident growl." Thomas crosses his arm, clearly deeply affected by Moon's actions. 

"You seem like you want to be friends with them though?" You speculated out loud. The words slipped from your subconscious thoughts, knowing deep down this question was really for you rather than Thomas. But the situation seemed to fit. It seems like you yourself weren’t going to give up. 

Thomas halted immediately mid-breath. He shook his head to reject your notions. "I don't think they trust us," he concludes. "I don't think it's possible to get close to them." 

"That wasn't a no." You pointed out. You flicked finger guns at him. 

Thomas slightly blushes red. "Shut up." 

Moon sat in his favorite spot of the daycare, on top of the play structure at the highest point. It was a plastic tube that stretched about six feet, red in color, and had a slight dent caving in on top from all the times he landed there after calling his wire. Luckily he hadn’t dented it too low, kids could still crawl through, from what he was aware. The spot allows Moon to observe all of daycare in the dark, including a few spots over the walls. But there were blindspots - like for instance, the gift shop and one party room. They were just barely blocked by another protruding design of the playground. 

As Moon settled into his indented spot, perfectly molded to the shape of his crossed legs when he sat, he watched the children nap. The other humans have gone to lunch, leaving him alone, as he preferred. However, instead of watching the security cameras as he usually does, he thought about what you said the day before, rewinding several different conversations up to a week back in time. There was no forceful demand from you ever. Only soft talks between you and Sun. You had asked to see Sun’s face and when he declined you didn’t throw a fit or rebuke. 

Rather, you looked sad. 

Moon huffed a sound of defeat. Sun had spent the whole day distracted, internally asking Moon questions of how to apologize to you. He was mostly worried that you wouldn’t return at all and Moon suspected that would most likely be the case. They couldn’t figure out how if you didn’t show up today. That would really sink Sun’s mood into the depths of the deep ocean of their mind if you did.  

Moon wanted to put this problem off to the side. It wasn’t his issue to begin with.  He was only tied to it because Sun kept dragging him back. But Moon felt a little guilty. He purposely avoided you in the mornings when you called out to him a few times before and didn’t speak with you because he thought you didn’t want to speak with him either. He made his own assumptions about you. Yet your admission yesterday of wanting to get to know him more sparked a little bit of hope. Only for Sun to crush it before it started. 

An unknown sound of giggling caught Moon's attention, followed by fierce whispering. Moon jolts out of his thoughts and looks around, unsure where the source of the sound was coming from. All children were accounted for when he put them all down to sleep in the nap cove, so who could be in the play structure playing this late into naptime? 

With his usual security stealth and prowl, Moon crawls around on his claws, barely scraping the plastic as he strafes. The top layer was free of any intruders. Using his wire, he drops down two levels of the play structure, peeking a dim glow of light in one of the colorful plastic tunnels. 

As he got closer he could hear the words of the strong whispering that bled through the plastic. 

“You’ve got to believe me! I wasn’t hanging out with anyone when you last called me! I’m at work okay? I- No I’m of course focusing on work.

“You know I’m looking forward to our date on Saturday. 

“W-What? No you can’t invite her! It’s supposed to be a date!”

Moon couldn’t believe it. Phone usage during daycare hours was one thing, but during naptime? Oh he was furious. Moon unlatches from his wire and immediately scales the playground from the ground up. He carefully makes sure to avoid the louder parts of the structure like the hanging bells and the squeaky stairs, maneuvering around like a spider making a sprint up a tree. Finding an open entrance between ropes on a bridge, Moon slips into the colorful tubes and crawls directly towards-

“ Lindsey !” Moon snarls in a harsh whisper. His sudden call of her name had Lindsey jumping out of her skin, screaming. 

Her sudden and loud screeching echoed across the daycare. The sounds of children waking and crying for their mothers arrived in a wave, piercing Moon’s audio receptors. The quiet of naptime had trained him to peak his audio receptors at its highest to catch any small sounds in the silence. But with all the sounds of crying occurring at the same time with this current setting, Moon was winded. Distracted, Moon barely misses the way Lindsey crawls away and out of the tubing down a slide. 

As he untangles his large body out of the play structure, he watches her slam her body against the daycare door and escape towards the breakroom. There wasn’t enough time for Moon to catch her and comfort the children, so he chose to focus on the latter. He climbs down and runs towards the children, shushing them and calming them the best he could. 

All the while, Moon kept repeating the same words over and over to himself. 

She will regret that .

Chapter Text

Tomorrow never came for Sun. 

You told him you’d meet him the next day as usual and yet you never showed. And it wasn’t just one day, it was three. Three whole days where he didn’t see you pass by his daycare doors. The first day he stood anxiously by the entrance, waiting for the sounds of the shutters of your gift shop to close. He was a little late because of a certain human employee causing issues for Moon. Except there was no sound that came and you weren’t there. The shutters had already closed before the daycare finished for the day. The second day, he waited once more. The third day, he and Moon were watching the cameras for you from their balcony. Sadly, the sun didn’t rise. 

He should’ve known that his actions had consequences. He's seen children scream and immediately regret the punishment or how he taught children not to fight using storybooks. Moon had even warned him ahead of time of your pending reaction. But that doesn’t mean Sun wasn’t still holding onto that expectation and hope that you would return. He compiled and executed all the possible results of apologies he could recite, ensuring that you would immediately accept his apology. He imagined all the ways to show himself to you, just like you asked. He moped for three nights, repeating over and over what he should’ve done differently. But Moon reminded him again and again that it was too late. 

Sun had to stay strong for the children. He kept his smile on his face and his stutter at a minimum. His system was slightly overworked, but it was nothing he hadn't experienced before. But his patience was waning. His emotions were heightened. At this very moment, he had Lindsey standing before him, holding onto the sleeve of his pants and crying into the fabric about how Moon scared her a few days back. The solar bot looks down at her without a smile, wondering when she will release her hands and begin preparations as the children would be arriving soon. Sun usually would have given her empathy - a word he didn’t understand the definition of but as a caretaker acted upon. He was an animatronic who was built for compassion. However, he knew what she did, her screams had woken him from rest mode and he watched her run out of the daycare. The lies she tried to spin were hopelessly lost. He could only just stare. 

After the naptime mishap, Lindsey called out from work for three days straight. Each day, texting two hours in advance before her shift, she would message on her Fazwatch to her coworkers that she would be three hours late to work . Sun didn’t think too hard about her messages, he was distracted by your absence. His duties to prepare the daycare for the children were more important matters. 

Thomas made comments about her suspicious actions over and over, suspecting that she wasn’t sick like she claimed. His irritation plastered all over his face. Sun was slightly optimistic since he knew the truth of her delay, thinking Lindsey would come as she promised and apologize to Moon. But once those three hours passed, she would message again everyday that she wasn’t coming in. 

To say that Thomas was furious was putting his true feelings lightly. She was leaving him her work. The disrespect of placing an expectation that she would come into work late, only to crush it with a simple “I’m not coming.” His anger was visible. The veins in his arms were quite prominent even with all his tattoos covering them. Sun was a little afraid of him. He was disappointed, but not angry. Moon however was in full agreement with his handler. This was ridiculous.

Finally, Lindsey showed up for work this morning. The first thing she does is cry at Sun. 

The same evening Lindsey was caught, Moon and Thomas worked up a report to submit about her. She returned from her “break” only to find the daycare still dark past naptime. They waited for her return, but instead she clocked out of work and went home. She knew what she did wrong and what was waiting for her in the daycare. Moon was beyond ready to dish out some kind of punishment, whether it was a written warning or one he was delivering personally. She can’t avoid him forever. 

Sun looks down at his assistant. He could barely understand a word she was babbling through her tears and hiccups. Moon rolled his eyes within their shared space, making it very clear he was watching.『 I’m surprised she didn’t just quit. 』 

“And he- he growled at me! Sun, h-how is he allowed to do that? I swear I saw him lunge at me!” Lindsey gasps deep gulps of air, making her performance all the more believable. Sun gave her a mental round of applause. Humans can be so tricky. 

『 Ah, playing the victim. That’ll only get her so far in life… How dare she tries to lie to you? 』  Moon’s growling was starting to turn physical, shaking Sun’s chassis from the violent vibrations. Sun has never felt Moon so worked up before, it was a new sensation and he wasn’t quite sure he liked it. 

『Moonie, you need to calm down. 』Sun urged, he couldn’t force the little movements to stop without noticeable intervention. Luckily, the performance of a lifetime was still running, the water works from Lindsey’s eyes continued for some time. When the rumbling finally stopped, Sun looked down at his assistant and spoke to her with the most professional voice he could muster. “Lindsey… Moon didn’t mean to scare you in that way. He was just trying to look out for the children. You know that it was against the rules to use your phone in the daycare outside of emergencies.” 

“I-I know but it was important to me that I take that call!” Lindsey whispers, her hands tangled in front of her, fidgeting. 

『 Liar! Rulebreaker! She was talking about a date! 』 Moon continues to interfere. Sun’s eyes followed Lindey’s movements, documenting and recording in real time. Humans were an enigma when it came to lying and believing it to be the truth. That’s how they make it sound real. She was very convincing, Sun will have to give her that. 

“I understand, but next time, please take your calls outside of the daycare. Okay? Calls can be disruptive during naptime.” Sun requests. He gives his signature smile as he watches Lindsey nod and grin up at him. Her eyes twinkled in the light, but it did not produce any reaction within Sun. 

There was that real expression. The one that portrayed her true emotion. Sun knew she wasn’t truly sad. Lindsey was trying to get permission to do things she wanted by bending the rules and to get out of trouble. He recognized that he was giving his assistant a way around having to use her phone outside of breaks, but it was better than nothing. Better than in the daycare. Plus, Moon was on the verge of eating her alive if given the chance, and Sun thought this was the best way to alleviate the issue at hand. 

Sun was quite proud of himself for being able to hold himself together. He was an animatronic for crying out loud. He shouldn’t be letting your disappearance affect him. But the longer he stood there in Lindsey’s presence the more he realized how much he missed being in yours. 

『Moon, I miss Sunshine. They never acted like this when told no. These feelings… these emotions - they’re so different. 』 Sun internally sighed, conflicted. Why did he say no? He asked himself again and again. He pushed you away, there was no compromise. He knew he was preaching to the choir, forcing poor Moon to listen to his whining for the fifth time that day. Sun didn’t know, but Moon was having similar thoughts. He’d rather you work as their assistant than this rule-breaker. 『I need to make things right.』

『 But they’re missing. They haven’t been back for several days. 』 Moon reminded, stating the obvious. Even he was starting to get worried. N-Not that he cared or anything. 

As Lindsey was gathering herself together and wiping away her tears, Thomas and Dylan walked in through the doors to begin their shift. They paused briefly at the sight of Lindsey and her flushed cheeks, but neither made a comment or chose to acknowledge. 

Sun turns and calls his wire, standing and leaning forward to allow the hook to latch. Lindsey runs off with a big smile on her face towards the security desk to join Dylan.『Do you think they’ve also been out sick? 』

『 We should check their timesheet. 』 Moon suggested. He pulls up the Fazbear Entertainment intranet and begins to search the employee database for your name. Sun clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering, letting his body get carried through the air. From the top of the balcony, he watches Thomas grab a bunch of brown paper bags from the supply shelves and a bag of rainbow pom-poms for arts and crafts. The handler sets them off to the side of the security desk, making sure they were within arms reach but not quite within the view of children entering the daycare. The doors will be opening soon. 

『I-Is that okay? Is that against the rules? 』Sun flattens out the wrinkles in his pants, patting them down lightly. He simulates a stretch of his arms and legs, preparing to do his dive. 

『 I doubt it Sun. We’re doing it… out of concern for their wellbeing. 』Sun could hear Moon smirking, as if the sounds of cackling didn’t give it away first. But the chuckling stops. Moon found the information that he was looking for, and it wasn’t what he was expecting.『 Sun . 』

『Yes?』Sun parts open the red velvet curtain of his and Moon’s shared room. 

『 They’re here. 』The room was brightened by one single strand of fluorescent light bulbs hanging around the room.  

『The children? I know that.』The front door of the gate swings open, a wave of laughter stomps through the padded floors. 

『 No, your little friend . 』A few parents tried to talk over each other, giving contact information to Lindsey or Thomas or whoever would listen. The two employees scramble to type on their computers as the children run around aimlessly without any chaperone to watch them. 

『Our friend.』Sun corrected immediately. He wanted Moon to feel included and personally he knew Moon was curious about you too. 

『 Whatever. They’re here in the pizzaplex. 』 Moon reveals slowly. He expands a screen from the database of your schedule, something the company has recently modified. Within their head, Moon squints at the name of the employee who changed your shift. 

Sun was flabbergasted. Maybe you were avoiding them?『They are?』

Moon directed the screen he had pulled up and flashed it into Sun’s direct vision. The database page opened a window at the corner of his optical view. 『 Yes, they’ve been over at … 』

Under the glass case, a multitude of neon colors that could decorate the rainbow stung your eyes after hours of staring in any general direction. You stood at the unfamiliar counter, helping a pair of young siblings check out their purchase. They have been deciding and arguing for the last ten minutes, unsure what to buy. You tried to give your opinion, but it didn’t seem like they were listening. Their father stood at the entrance of the store, waiting for his son and his daughter impatiently. You could feel him glaring at you from the corner of your eyes. 

As soon as the children finally confirmed and mutually agreed, you grabbed two plush dolls from their hands and scanned the items for total pricing. You recited enthusiastically, “That’ll be thirteen dollars and seventy cents.” 

“Quick, give them the money! Didn’t dad hand you the money?” The little boy shoved the girl against her shoulder. Luckily the girl was holding her stance, unfazed by the physical force of sibling brutality. 

“Shut up, don’t rush me. I have it here!” The girl unfurls twenty dollars and hands it to you over the counter. You quickly pushed a couple buttons and popped open the cash register to quickly count out their change, lest you make their father wait a single second longer. His glare was starting to burn. 

Before you could grab a bag to package their new dolls, two hands swipe them from the counter just as the cash register was closed. “Yes! I finally have a Monty doll!” The boy jumped up and down and immediately ripped off the price tag. He runs towards his father, leaving his sister behind in the dust. 

The older sister was just as impatient. She yells with her lungs, “Roxy is so much better!” She catches up to them, swinging around her arms and nearly missing a few shelves on the way out. You held your breath. 

The father circles his arms around both the backs of his children and leads them out the gift shop door, ignoring their incessant arguing. He barely gave you any thankful acknowledgements, which you weren’t too offended by. They did leave without taking their change after all. You were just glad they were finally gone.

You took a deep breath and slumped onto the lone chair that was backed against the wall. It was an old metal stool with worn out and ripped cushions matted on top. Not the most comfortable chair, but clearly many people have rested on it with how busy it gets on a typical day. With a momentary breather, you fell against the wall and bumped your head. You didn’t get to drift far as a voice calls out your name from behind. 

“I’m so thankful you agreed to pick this up. I would’ve drowned if you weren’t here to help.” The voice behind you thanked you sincerely. You sat up and looked over at the scrawny man with tight and tense shoulders, wearing the same uniform as you and holding two more boxes of true-to-size Chica’s cupcake plushes. Dark circles under his eyes were nearly three tones deeper than yours. The exhaustion that mauled through their voice had you reconsider the regrets of picking up this extra shift. But you still had that sprinkle of regret brewing. 

Two nights ago, you received a message on your Fazwatch right before you went to bed. It charged on your wardrobe at a distance so you didn’t feel obligated to check for any emails before bed, but you forgot to silence the damn thing and had the urge to reply immediately. The direct notice to you requested for your presence at the main gift shop, called Glamrock Gifts. Located right at the lobby entrance, it was the largest gift shop in the Pizzaplex. This known fact then prompted you to wonder, how many gift shops were there? You can only display so many things about their limited mascots for purchase, right?

You were very wrong about that. When you thought there was more than enough Sun and Moon merchandise, you were not ready for the variety of Glamrock products that could exist in a lifetime. 

You accepted the request without a second thought after reading the last line of the email. You would be compensated extra for having to pick up this shift for a few days in exchange for abandoning your usual station. The Lucky Star Gift Shop can close for a few days since Glamrock Gifts also sold Sun and Moon items. You didn’t think much of it, extra cash was always welcomed. But that also meant that you left something important behind and unaddressed. 

You mentally berated yourself for leaving Sun early that day. Thomas had told you about the situation with Lindsey, storming into the gift shop directly to address you of his frustrations. You figured you didn’t want to add to the chaos. Distracting Sun further away from Moon and Thomas would have dumped more guilt on your conscience. After embarrassing yourself the day before, you didn’t mean to leave the awkward conversation hanging for so long. But it gave you time to think of what to say the next time he spoke with you. 

If Sun wanted to talk at all. 

“Anytime, Connor.” You tried to brush off your exhaustion. The difference in workload from your small store to this one was quite drastic. But it was an experience that made you appreciate your current position. “Anything else you need help with?” 

“Naw. Don’t worry about it. You should go take your break. I only have two shelves to restock left, I can handle it.” He walks past you and towards the opposite side of the store and drops the two boxes on the ground carelessly. The thud of the impact was loud, indicating the heaviness of it. You were quite impressed with his strength considering how skinny he looked from afar. 

“Alright, I’ll be back in thirty.” You gave a small wave without looking back. Your lunch breaks have been your saving grace from the chaos. For the first time since you’ve been away from the daycare, you didn’t bring food. Which begged the question, could you find the cafeteria on your own? 

You had overheard Thomas telling Dylan once that the cafeteria had a lot of options, but everything was catered to children’s appetites. Sweet and salty fast food at every stall. Fries, burgers, and shakes of different flavors. At the moment, those options didn’t sound like a bad idea. 

Your mind wandered as your feet took you around the building. You never strayed from your usual path of taking the same route to the daycare every morning. It’s gotten to the point where you could even retrace your steps in that direction blindly, for all those early mornings that you arrived as soon as the main doors opened. 

You waded through the crowds, following a majority of families mindlessly. Children bumped into your legs, teenagers running past you, yelling. The atmosphere of the main floors were very different from the daycare. 

The rest of the Pizza Plex held the same child-like wonder of space party themes. The neon lights lined the walls, creating an endless marquee down the halls. Posters, memorabilia, and statues of different characters from various years and previous franchises stood at every corner of the halls. The specific games and areas based off the Glamrock mascots advertised on large banners. You were very interested by the signs for go-carts and laser tag. You made a mental note to find time on your day off to visit and try out Roxy’s Raceway and Fazer Blast. Maybe they’ll let adults play alongside the children. 

The directional signs posted on the wall pointed left for the cafeteria, but you failed to pay attention and continued to walk forward. The wonders of the bright lights and loud music distracted you from your rumbling stomach. However, as you traveled down the halls, families started to scatter into different attractions and you found yourself in an area that was scarce with people, only an occasional tired father sat on a secluded bench and small groups of teenagers giggling on their phones and sitting in the corner were in sight. You looked around, realizing you were lost. 

Instead of backtracking, you decided to see if you could circle back to the main halls. You tried to walk faster, attempting to save as much lost time as you could. But you failed to notice someone in front of you while turning a corner. Your face bumps into pink fabric. 

Looking up, you saw white and automatically made noise for the hit. “Oh.” 

Whoa. Tall . 

The figure you bumped into grabbed onto your shoulder to steady you. She apologized first, “I’m so sorry, Rockstar! I didn’t see you there! Are you okay?” 

An animatronic bird stood in front of you wearing a concerned expression, she kept you in place as her eyes traveled around your face, almost as if she was looking for any injuries. You did run into her back, nose-first. 

Using your menial deduction skills, you concluded that you had just walked into one of the famous four. Chica looked exactly like her merchandise collection, but the toys and figurines did not do her justice. You noted her height first, but now that you had more time to observe her in detail, there were many amazing things about the design of her as an animatronic. The way she moves her body and moves her face was fluid. You could barely tell she was speaking out of a voice box. The attention to detail for the designs of a female chicken was immaculate. Without the clear lines of her joint separating the metal plates of her limbs and her chest, you wouldn’t have guessed she was made of anything other than silicone. The 80’s inspired outfit was the icing on the cake. 

“Rockstar? Are you lost?” Chica’s face was now inches from yours, she leaned over to make sure you were still present. You were too stunned to reply for a moment, taking in the amazing sight of her facial expression. This was made by Fazbear entertainment technology? The way Gabrielle had described their artificial intelligence downplayed the advancement of their technological progress. 

When Chica waved her hand in your face, you stuttered back to reality. “S-Sorry! You caught me staring, I’m so sorry. I was just admiring your design. It’s very cute.” 

“Oh!” Chica giggled and waved her hand, covering her mouth with her other, “you flatter me!” 

”I’m sure you hear that all the time. You’re just sparkling!” You continued to compliment. Anything to continue your conversation with Chica and observe her from up close. She giggles, a fan kicks on from a light flush that brightens her cheek. 

“You are quite the cutie yourself!” Chica pauses and her green eyes flash for a brief second - almost like she was scanning you. “I see you’re a registered employee! And one of the daycare too. You are quite far from your usual post.” 

“I was trying to look for the cafeteria. You were right, I got lost.” You scratched the back of your neck, embarrassed to admit your mistake to one of the main mascots. But of all people to help you, you didn’t mind that it was her. 

“Well, Rockstar, it’s actually just a few more turns to the left up ahead. You weren’t that far off!” Chica turns to point down the hall. You noticed that a bunch of children watched her signaling towards them, causing a bunch of giggles and screams. Even the children loved everything she did. 

Chica blinks, letting you take your time. She snickers as she notices that you were once more in a daze. The temptation to reach out and touch her was irresistible. 

“Ah! I’m sorry that I keep staring. You’re actually the first animatronic I’ve met so far.” You admitted, quickly retracting your hands behind your back. But you stopped yourself for a moment. Hold on, did Sun technically count as the first? “You’re quite amazing. I can see why the children love you all so much. I’m becoming quite a fan.” Chica gives you a strange look, the way her brows furrowed and her beak frowned nearly distracted you from the question she was about to ask.   

As if Chica was speaking your thoughts, she asks, “You haven’t met Sun and Moon? But you work at the daycare!” 

“I- no. I haven’t.” You gave a forlorn smile, one that barely curved into your cheeks. A warm hand pats you on the back. Chica’s silicone covered fingers produced a comforting support. She doesn’t question or ask for your reasoning. 

“Oh they are such darlings! Sun is just a peach. Moon is a- hm, Moon’s a little rough around the edges, but I know he doesn’t mean those harsh words half the time… I think?” Chica thought to herself, questioning some of the things Moon has said before in her presence. She shook her thoughts to the side. “I’m sure you’ll love them!” 

“I don’t know, I have this feeling they don’t really want to meet me.” 

“Don’t say that! They might just be a little shy.” Chica’s beak curves into a genuine soft smile. 

Shy? Could they really program that into an animatronic’s personality? After speaking to Sun for almost a month and your five minute conversation with Chica, it might be believable. The excitement and emotion in their voices sounded so human, the combination of sentience and conscious personality was high. It was astounding- 

“Oy! Chica, where the hell’ve you been?” A grumpy unknown voice cuts in between your conversation, making himself obviously known by standing between you and Chica. Now you are seeing green. “Distracted again?” 

“Monty! How nice of you to join us! Meet one of our employees!” Chica introduced your name, which you don’t remember giving. However you realize that when she scanned you, she must have grabbed your employee profile to view. Was that why Sun never asked for your name?

A low growl. The giant green gator animatronic stood before you, sizing you up with a puff of his chest. “Hello, shrimp.” He greets bluntly. 

Once more you stared in awe. The alternating pattern of green and purple really brought out Monty’s design as a character and a mascot. The unique idea of using an alligator as the chosen animal must have been a personal executive decision by someone of higher power. You noticed even the little red tuft of hair from your height, combed and styled into a mohawk, peeking from above his star-shaped sunglasses. Compared to Chica, he was even taller. You could see the potential dangers and foreshadowing associated with your signed contract about liability and damages inflicted by these animatronics. They were large, and probably heavy. If Monty were to fall on you right at this moment, he could crush you. 

You grinned, showing all your teeth, unperturbed. “Hi!”

“Your excitement is showing.” Monty grunted, a little unsure by your lack of awareness. His sharp teeth glistened. “Reel it back a little.” 

“Oh sorry.” You apologized, feeling little pinpricks of hair on your arm stand from your enthusiasm. “I’m a little worked up from meeting you guys. Since working here, I haven’t had a chance to interact with any animatronics.” 

“That’s a shame. We’re the best part of this whole establishment.” Monty responded. His snide commentary would have been offensive if you didn’t wholeheartedly agree with him. “You’ve been missing out.” 

“Yes, it’s quite a shame.” You laughed. Monty glares down at you, finding it annoying that none of his quips were affecting you. “ Thank you for coming by to say hi.” 

Monty jolts and swings his arms to his hips. “What? That’s not what I was doing at al-” 

“-Monty! Chica! You're late!” The calls from the crowd turned heads, addressing the presence of two of the famous four down the side hallway. A large amount of muttering began to crowd, children and parents alike wanting Monty and Chica’s acknowledgement or their signatures. "It's time to go, like now!"

“Ah! Sorry, Rockstar! We gotta go!” Chica calls out before striding down the hall towards two other employees. They must have been their handlers, seeing how their arms were crossed and clearly looking annoyed and impatient. 

You waved your hand goodbye at Chica and Monty, both responding in their own special way. Chica jumps up and down and waves with her entire arm, making sure not to hit any children. Monty nodded his head with a flick of his snout, his arms crossed against his puffed out chest. He still didn’t understand you, but you were none of his concerns. Their handlers urged their animatronics forward to the next scheduled appointment, pushing them further and further away from view. 

You had the jitters. You didn’t think you’d ever really get to meet any animatronics during your time at the Pizzaplex and yet in a few moments, you got to meet two. Plus there were others! The way they spoke and understood you, clear differences in personality that were far from something that could be coded merely by a computer. You knew there was something special about them from your conversations with Sun, but you didn’t think visually you would be mesmerized by their innovation. You stood, excited in anticipation to see Sun and Moon. They had to have been just as amazing! 

Only one more shift in the main gift shop and you’ll be back in the daycare. You almost couldn’t contain yourself. For the rest of your lunch break, you tried to think of ways to apologize to Sun and bond with Moon. Maybe you just had to take it slow. Like Chica said, Sun could just be shy, and Moon probably needed some time to warm up to you. It was clear that there was still a metaphorical hurdle for you to jump to meet them. 

For the rest of your break, you sat in the cafeteria alone at a booth and away from the other patrons of the Pizzaplex, barely eating your food. Your thoughts were in too deep and you had forgotten to finish your lunch. The call of your stomach wasn’t strong enough to bring you back down to Earth and your meal had gone cold. You sighed, shuffling through different ways to approach your friends in your mind, completely unaware that they, too, were having the same problem. 

For nearly half an hour, two sets of eyes were observing you through the lens of the camera hidden in the corner of the cafeteria. 

Yearning for your attention.

Chapter Text

『Moonie, are you sure this is a good idea?』

“ Wasn’t this your suggestion ?” Moon whispers quizzically. Ruby eyes trained on the path before him, careful not to make too much noise as he moved. He crawls through the vent space on the tips of his fingers and the tips of his shoes. One hand before the other, one foot before the other. His bells occasionally jingled at the turns of the vents, accidentally catching the corners.  

『I-I didn’t think you would act on it!』 Sun watched through Moon’s eyes, helping navigate through tunnels that they haven’t traveled through in a long time. Sun’s nervous ticks in their code were irking Moon as he tried to focus. Luckily, it was scarcely occurring as Sun scrolled and switched through all the camera feeds rapidly, looking for something specific. 

Moon’s eye twitched. “ Well too late to take it back .” 

The vents to the lower levels were slippery from all the dust built up over the months. Air hasn’t flowed through them in a while. Even with his claws, the trip took extra attention and dexterity. The lack of practice maneuvering through the dusty vents meant he was moving slower than usual. Moon rarely patrolled down in the basement as the only place of access was the stairs from Parts and Services and the elevators next to the back loading docks. It wasn’t necessary to search for intruders in such empty halls. 

Plus, he hated being down there. 

For some strange reason, he was currently making his way from Rockstar Row down to the basement. A small ping in his security notification alerts had let him know someone had entered the underground storage units early in the morning shortly after the ping for the daycare rang, and Sun urgently suggested they checked it out. It was a little strange for Sun to want to visit the dark depths of the basement, but his reason was what tipped Moon off towards the source.

Before the plex closes for the night, the back docks open for several trucks to drop off new inventory and supplies. Items dropped off by management at headquarters were typically stored down in designated areas for inventory count before distribution. This includes new merchandise for the gift shops. 

It’s been nearly four days since you left your humble little shop, and you were glad to finally be back. Your store was untouched and needed a brief restock, but during your time at Glamrock Gifts, you knew there were new items for Sun and Moon collectively. They sat on the shelf staring at you for several days. You just had to grab them for your own store. 

Connor had mentioned that the extra supply of stock was stored in the basement, probably ready for you to pick up at any time. The allocation was sorted days ago, but you hadn’t had a chance to pick them up due to your relocation. 

And that’s why you were now meandering the dark, humid halls of the basement of the Pizzaplex alone at six thirty in the morning. Considering how you got lost above ground, it wasn’t a surprise that you were lost deep underground, trying to use directions from your Fazwatch to lead you and your phone’s tiny light to guide your steps. Why did the lights of the basement only turn on at certain times? You groaned, the stress of your sleepless nights, dreaming of your attempts of delivering apologies, was weighing on your mind. The intensity of a recreation of your worst nightmares in the form of a horror movie or horror video game being played out before you wasn’t exactly on your to-do list today. Your eyes flickered left and right as you walked, fingers flinching at every sound. Evening the tiniest sounds of water dripping had a grip on your nerves.  

Moon reaches the end of the air ventilation and finds the grating latch to his exit screwed tight. Grumbling to himself, he takes his claw and starts to loosen each screw. His job revolves around withholding ample amounts of patience around children, but dismantling hardware was not. Recklessly, Moon kicks the vent open after loosening only two of the four corners. Unlike the humans, he didn’t have to pay for damages. 

The metal flap flies out with force, first rebounding off the wall, and then hitting the ground and scraping the stone floors as it slid to a stop. The echo progresses down the hall, traveling at a speed that makes even Moon flinch. Sun fumbles within their mind at the noise. 

『Moon! You’re being so loud!』

“ Do you have any better ideas, Sunny ?” Moon growls. He begins to crawl slowly on all fours, trying to locate you with his infrared sensors. They weren’t as useful down in the basement, with how large the maze was - you could be anywhere. Your heat indications were weak through the thick steel walls. However, his caretaker’s vital scanner picks up a rapid heartbeat, pounding and fluttering in the distance. Luckily, the occasional emergency lights of the basement were set very dim, enough that Moon’s light sensor could barely read the difference. So he sets off towards your direction, running on the tip of his toes, with only the sounds of his bells occasionally ringing. 

You heard the obnoxious noise of Moon kicking the vent, wondering what exactly fell to produce such a sound. The shrieking of the heavy metal grinded against your eardrum. You held back a scream threatening to erupt from your lungs. What a coincidence that a possible ghost or intruder was banging against the pipes just as you were walking down in the creepy basement alone. Next time, you thought, you were going to bring someone with you. 

The hissing of the ventilation system had you on edge, but you trudged forward. The cold air that blew beneath your collar sent shivers down your spine. The quicker you grabbed those boxes, the quicker you could leave this place and hope to never come back. You waved your phone around, trying to give off as much light as possible and give you a good sense of where you were going. So far, every hallway looked the same, walls with pipes, moldy stains, and questionable liquid on the ground. There were many panels with wires and buttons mounted next to doors that were locked and closed. Only an occasional warning and caution sign hung on the corner, reminding you to wear a hardhat in areas of construction. Right next to the sign was a broken hat with the glass of the head lamp shattered all over the ground. 

Great, another thing you had to worry about. The horrors must persist somehow, you supposed. 

The halls seemed to wind but your watch gave detailed directions of where to go. You cursed that it didn’t give you the shortest route, but at this point you were just hoping to reach the destination at all. Beggars can’t be choosers.  

Moon had no troubles running through the basement without directions, it was much easier than the vents. The pitter-patter of his footwork was extensive and calculated. It was quick. It was nimble. The speed at which he ran caught him up to you quicker than he thought. Moon was about to run around the corner as he watched your heat signal on his sensor grow, before he noticed a spotlight shining directly on the floor beside him. He paused and took two steps back, pressing his back against the wall within a crevice to dodge your phone’s light. 

That’s great, he found you. Now what? 

『J-Just make sure Sunshine is okay-』 Sun tried to give extra reason. He’s already convinced his brother to come down to the basement, when he couldn’t. He didn’t need to do more, but for some reason he felt that he did. Both Sun and Moon knew of the dangers and disturbances that lurked in the basement. None of the animatronics discuss the things they’ve seen in the storage rooms next to Parts and Services on their own terms. Body parts of their extra endo- and exoskeletons lay displayed on shelves. Dismantled and decommissioned bots had to be stockpiled somewhere. Even heads and arms of the S.T.A.F.F. bots looked repulsive when there were hundreds of them stowed away in one room.

『Please follow them, Moonie. 』Moon hummed in agreement absentmindedly. He watched as you looked around cautiously. You were nearly there by the time they found you. Moon only had to tiptoe behind you for a few more turns. A major and easy indication that you were close to what you were looking for included the increasing amounts of pallets and cardboard boxes all stacked haphazardly in a very obvious pattern for violation of OSHA regulations. 

“Of course…” you sighed and grumbled to yourself. You run your fingers through your hair as you transition a face palm to combing your frustrations through thin strands on your head. Moon had to hold in a snicker as he watched you try to squeeze through two saran wrapped pallets to get into the warehouse-sized storage room. Sun was going crazy in their mind, pulled in two directions. He was upset by the disorganization of the room while also concerned for your safety. What if there were dangerous items hidden in that room? He wouldn’t be able to identify it through Moon’s eyes if there was so much blockage. 

Almost as if he spoke accidents into existence, the back of your hand scrapes against a stray piece of plastic sticking out from one of the pallets. “Ow!” You retracted your hand quickly feeling the sting immediately. Looking over the damage, you saw a shallow cut stretch across your skin. It was too dark to tell if it was bleeding, but it seemed to be minimal based on touch. “Shoot.” 

『Oh no! Sunshine!』Sun quivers. Moon could only stare, unable to react from his perch. 

You tried to suck in your breath as much as possible as you scooted through the room, keeping your arms and legs close to your body. The clothes on your chest dragged across saran wrap material, getting caught with every shimmy. The boxes you were searching for were labeled specifically for the Superstar Gift Shop. You’d think it would be easy to find, but turns out poorly written words using a thin sharpie triples the difficulty. 

Coincidentally, it seems that someone had left your boxes off to the side, stacked nicely for you to carry. They were smaller than the surrounding packages, hiding them well among the mess. You sighed, looking down and noted the height of the boxes. You gave a slight kick to the bottom box to gauge the weight. Carefully, your phone slid into your back pocket as both your hands were going to be used to carry your new inventory back to daycare. 

As you stared at the boxes, Moon took the opportunity to enter the room slyly. He snaps and hooks his claws into the concrete and begins to scale the wall, finding an exposed corner hidden in the dark. The light taps of his metal talons were overshadowed by your attempts to squat and carry the boxes for a single trip. Moon dims the light of his eyes, making sure you wouldn’t notice his presence. Moon looks down just in time to see you stand back up. You whine as you lift with your legs, “Hup!”

The trek back through the halls seemed three times worse now that you were carrying the weight of a hundred plastic figurines. Moon crawls along the walls, no more than ten feet away behind to keep watch. He ascends over large rusty pipes and tangled wires. Several times, Moon had to grab his bells and keep them from ringing, especially the one on the end of his hat. 

You stop every few steps to readjust the boxes, your fingers slipping trying to keep hold. With the boxes stacked up high, your vision was obstructed. But you slowly shuffled your feet blindly in an attempt to leave the way you came. However, not being able to see where you were going was posing a major problem. 

『Moon! LOOK!』Sun’s voice in their mind cries. 

Moon’s night vision zooms in. As instructed, Moon shifts in his spot along the wall to see you walking aimlessly in the wrong direction. You were not following the same way you came and made the wrong turn. With the constant act of changing your hold on the edge of the cardboard and throwing your balance off each time, you were unaware that you were leaning in the direction of the stairs that headed deeper into the dark abyss. 

Moon begins to panic. Sun’s mental screaming wasn’t helping. How was he supposed to warn you? He wasn’t supposed to be seen! They haven’t even apologized to you. He didn’t want you to meet him like this! 

You were seconds away from overstepping. He had to make a decision now. 

Moon reaches out and screeches, “ Starlight -!” His hand extends in the darkness, just stretching to the border of where the light stops, as if aiming to grab your shoulder if he jumped. But he catches himself, quickly retracting his claws from being seen and presses back into the wall. A jingle of his bells ring. He doesn’t go for you, he’s too far. But it seems that his voice was just enough. 

You stopped at the sudden call. Your feet nearly trip at the abrupt stop. “What?” You stilled and turned, adjusting the boxes from your view to see that you almost stepped off the edge of the steel grating stair step. The plummet down the stairs was seconds away from solidifying your immediate head fracture and possible death. Your breath catches in your throat. “Oh-holy shit.” 

Instinctively, you walked three steps backwards. Deep breaths in and out. 

You swerved your body in the other direction with the boxes undisturbed in your arms, turning your head towards what you thought was someone calling out - possibly calling out to you? Who or what stopped you? 

“Is someone there?” You swallowed. 

Moon doesn’t move. He doesn’t dare to blink, staring directly at you. He holds onto the top corner of the room with his claws digging into the crusted drywall and waits. 

You squint your eyes in Moon’s direction. With your hands occupied by the boxes, you weren’t able to grab your phone from your back pocket and light the room. The darkness wasn’t adjusting to your vision thanks to the dim lights behind you. Instead, you held your gaze as long as possible, staring directly at the two small red lights that shine back at you. You swear you saw them waver in place, as if the light was pulsing. 

After gathering your bearings from a near death experience, you hummed to yourself and continued your trek, making sure you were going the right direction this time by bending sideways to glance at your watch. The security camera lights were the only thing there, you told yourself. Nothing else in the corner. There’s no one with you, you hoped. This is all just a crazy fever dream. A crazy dream where someone saved your life. Yeah. Hallucinations. 

That was... a close one? Sun didn’t know what to think of what just happened. Fear and relief welled up in Sun’s coding, jumbling all his emotions into a matrix. If Moon hadn’t called out, you wouldn’t have been walking out of this basement alive. He was stunned silent. Even Moon’s system froze, watching you stumble away. 

『Moonie, you did it. You called for them.』 

“ I… “ Moon didn’t know what to say. There was a moment where he thought of complete inaction. He wasn’t going to do anything. You were just another adult who came into his and Sun’s life and might not stay long like the others. His mind stutters, lagging and delaying a reboot as he tries to come to terms with this new feeling of interest and apprehension for you. The attention was different, direct eye contact devoid of distaste or fear. It was warm. It was different. It was you. 

No adult has ever looked at him outside of terror and disgust. You might not have known he was there, but your eyes were still thankful nonetheless. Someone saved you, you looked for them, and Moon was in denial that it was him. He didn’t want you to find him while also desiring that you knew it was him. That gaze was so foreign he couldn’t believe he deserved it. A heavy pounding built in their chest, the thrumming of their gears, pistons, and machinery all hissing and overworked at once. 

What is this feeling? 

『Moon?』

Moon blinks as his eyes relit to full brightness. Sun’s voice flooded into his senses. 『 Yes? 』

『Is everything okay? 』Sun asks hesitantly. He’s never seen Moon stall for so long. From Sun’s point of view, your gaze over towards Moon seemed to have jolted him, causing all his coding to stop processing. Moon must have been scared of being caught by you. He was worried - they haven’t been to maintenance in a long time and having something happen to their body while down in the basement would be bad news for everyone. Severely detrimental. 

“ I’m fine .” Moon manages to whisper, forgetting that you were possibly still nearby. He turned to see if you were still struggling, but you were out of sight. 

『Sunshine is long gone, we-we gotta go! They’re almost back to the elevator!』 Sun warned. Moon shakes off his momentary malfunction and looks up. He searches for another vent opening for him to jump into. 

Quickly. Quickly. They had to get back first! 

Sun paced back and forth at the door. His bells constantly ringing against his wrist and his rays spinning rapidly. 

Moon had dropped him right into the center of the daycare from the top air vent. No wire was called as their plunge from the ceiling was rushed. Due to the bright lights of the morning cycle, their body was thrown from darkness to lights within seconds. Their transformation midair threw them both in a loop, confusing Sun as he staggered on his legs like a newborn deer. He barely caught himself, feet first. 

Quickly straightening himself up, removing dust from his and Moon’s shared clothes, he ran to the door and awaited for your arrival. Based on his calculations, Moon’s travel through the vents should have gotten them an eight minute head start back to daycare due to your ride up the elevators. 

『 Sun, they’re about to enter the atrium . 』Moon announces, multiple windows of different camera feeds lined his vision within their headspace. Sun wasn’t able to pay attention to any of them, as he attentively watched for you through the slit between the wooden door. 

The turnstile dings and you appear within view. 

Stairs were the only option to travel between floors within the daycare section. That slide on the back side entering the fenced playground didn’t count since it only took children from the ground floor into the pit with one fell swoop. There was no elevator, and you swore to yourself as you took one box at a time from the top of the stairs down to the bottom. No way were you going to attempt to walk all three boxes down at the same time. Anything to keep you from throwing out your back and applying for workman’s comp. 

You dropped the boxes right outside the shop shutters, putting one of your hands against the wall and the other on your hips. You lean back to crack your spine. Every muscle in your lower back was stiff. Never again will you go down to the basement without a cart or a dolley. You needed to send an email to management asking for either if possible. Or maybe the daycare storage room had a cart, you suddenly realized.

Before unlocking the metal panels and opening to start your morning, you had to return back to the break room for your stuff. You had left your lunch and your jacket there, thinking your trip to the basement would be quick. However, a total of nearly an hour and fifteen minutes passed since the building reopened. It wasn’t ideal, but you still had a while before you could clock in, so maybe a drive to the nearest fast food restaurant for breakfast was an option as well. 

After you put the boxes into the shop of course. 

You took a few steps towards the break room before acknowledging a forgotten issue. You paused before the daycare door into the play area, looking at it hesitantly. You hadn’t recited or practiced what you wanted to say even after four days of break, but you wondered if maybe your friend was willing to speak to you today after so many days away. You weren’t going to push to see him anymore anyways. Was he angry with you? The pause of your own silence was deafening. 

It was either now, or wait the rest of the day anxiously. Pressing your hand lightly against the door, you muttered, “Sun-?” 

Suddenly, the door opens a jar, pushing your hand back, and an orange-yellow blur flashes before your eyes. You had barely finished calling out for Sun when your lips shut by the surprise. A large hand was wrapped around your wrist, holding you still. You couldn’t even flinch with how tight the grip was. You were so distracted by the long fingers that clearly did not belong to a human. 

“S-Sun?!” You questioned a second time. The panic was settling in. 

There was a moment of silence. No other movement. The situation you found yourself in didn’t feel awkward or forced like you thought it would have been. The anxiety diminished. Instead it was more… decompressed. Maybe because you were happy that Sun waited for you. Maybe because the hand shooting out of the door scared you out of your thoughts. Maybe it was because you now had a physical embodiment to the voice you were always listening to, even if it was only in the form of a hand from the wrist down. The rest of his body was still hidden behind the door. Your imagination was running wild. But there was also a possibility you were reading the situation wrong and Sun was totally furious. 

“Sunshine, you’re injured.” Sun finally found his voice. He stroked his thumb in a circle against your palm. He slowly releases his grip and maneuvers his hand to gently hold yours. 

You barely registered his words, staring intensely into detail at the components of Sun’s hand. The tingles he brought to your skin as he moved only solidified your interest in it. 

While his hands were modeled after a human’s, you notice the subtle differences as well. Each joint of his finger was segmented, colored a shade of light golden yellow. The ball in the sockets was shaded orange and his palm was beige. His color scheme matched a stereotypical sun. The light tone of silicone that covered all the metal provided a soft touch, something you weren’t expecting from an animatronic. And of course, the length. It was very different from Chica’s or Monty’s, you noted. 

With how much the door was open, Sun could only see your hand and your wrist. You were still on the other side of the open door, shielded away. Unlike you, he knew what you looked like, constantly watching you through cameras or from afar from his balcony. But what he was really fascinated by was the touch and the contact he was making. His hand felt how soft your skin was under the touch receptors embedded in his silicone coating. It was almost like holding hands with the children, but the size fit perfectly within his hold. He usually never touches adults, he was told he wasn’t allowed to without permission. But for some reason, he overrode this protocol in this instance as a temporary emergency - that way, he wasn’t breaking the rules. 

You watched the golden hand turn, gently releasing his fingers to turn your hand and to reveal your fresh wound. You looked down at the scratch you received in the basement under the light. It wasn’t too bad, slightly larger and longer than a papercut, but no blood was seen coming from the wound. 

“Will you… l-let me bandage that up for you?” 

You nodded as if Sun could see your reaction. But you quickly caught yourself and responded, “Sure! Yeah- sure, of course.” 

Sun releases your hand and retracts back into the daycare, letting you hover your wrist in the air for a brief second inches from the cracked open door. Suddenly, without his hold, your hand felt heavier. He returns into view, extending both hands out the door, with a small alcohol pad, a small tube of ointment, and a Bandaid. He preps your wound care methodically, ripping the Bandaid open first, opening the tube of ointment, and finally opening the alcohol pad between his fingers. 

Sun presses the pad against the back of your hand. The sting of the alcohol was light, signaling that your cut was still slightly open. You tried not to make noise, distracting yourself with the way his hands worked gently on yours. 

“How did you know I got hurt?” You asked softly. Your eyes tracing to see Sun dab a small dollop of ointment on his finger. 

“W-Well, I-I…” Sun tried to think of an excuse. 

『 You’re a caretaker, Sun. It’s a feature you have to notice these things. 』 Moon reminded Sun, giving him a saving grace. 

“Yes! I’m a caretaker, Sunshine. I have capabilities to detect injuries from far away and know all the possible ways to treat wounds and illnesses!” Sun gently rubs the ointment on your wound, one hand keeping yours steady while the other tickles your skin. 

You laughed, “Oh that’s very convenient!” Sun places the Bandaid perfectly over the cut, making sure to cover the majority of it with the cotton pads in the center. The bandage itself had the design of large cartoon stars on a navy blue background. Smiling, you thanked Sun, “Thank you for your help. I don’t know what I would have done without you.” 

The sounds of fans turning initiated following your joyful laughter. Sun felt the weight of that statement. He and Moon had saved you and you unknowingly thanked them for their help. Sun knew that your thankfulness was directed towards the first aid, but he wanted to add your near death in the basement to it as well. It was something he and Moon will keep to themselves. What you don’t know won’t hurt you.

Sun kept his hold on your hand, refusing to move first to let you decide when to let go. His fingers barely curled. They laid flat as you rested your warm palm against his. The two of you stood hand in hand for a minute, wondering who should speak first. The topic of your request has yet to come up. 

To confront the inevitable, Sun decided he will do as he regretted, ready to reveal himself to you. He and Moon had discussed this while you were gone, thinking that there is nothing wrong with all the scenarios they predicted. Even if you did dislike the way they looked, they couldn’t imagine you would react in a nasty or frightened way any differently from what they have already seen before. 

They were prepared. 

Sun tightens his hold on your hand, feeling the way you instinctively curled your fingers against his. He makes an audible sigh and begins to push against you, displaying more and more of his arm beyond the door. 

But he felt pushback. You pushed against his arm, barely noticing that the door was coming towards you.

“Sun, what’s going on? Are we playing arm wrestling?” You bubbled playfully.

“N-Not exactly, Sunshine. I was… going to let you see ᵯē.” Sun’s voice box glitches from how shaky he felt. You definitely noted the sudden voice malfunction. 

You stood up straight. “What? You don’t need to do that.” 

“Oh! Would you like to come in instead?” Sun offers, forgetting to ask which you favored. He starts to open the door further to pull you in. It was something he preferred anyways since his body couldn’t cross the imaginary borders of the daycare play area. His code withheld him from doing so as part of the rules. A really old rule that no one could remember the reason it was implemented for in the first place. 

“Sun, you don’t have to force yourself.” You reassured him. Now you pull on his hand to stop him from dragging you within the daycare. The door stops opening. You continued with your reasoning, “If you don’t want me to see what you look like, that’s okay. There’s no need to put you in uncomfortable positions.” 

“It-It’s not that,” Sun nervously admitted. While he appreciated your concerns, he knew questions still weren’t answered as to… why.  “It’s not that I don’t want you to see us. It’s just that… I’m afraid.” 

“Afraid of what?” You perked up. Animatronics could be afraid? Their sentience provided them with emotions!

“Afraid that you won’t like how we look.” The end of Sun’s voice dips low. Immediately, your excitement curtailed. Forget about the amazing advancement of tech. Now you were gobsmacked with the reality that Sun was anxious about what you thought. This is what Sun has been thinking about?

“We?” You subtly asked. 

“Both Moon and I.” 

“Oh,” you acknowledged. Thinking back, this could possibly feed into the reason why Moon didn’t want to talk to you. Avoidance is a method of dodging the problem. You weren’t entirely sure of the story, but maybe if Sun was willing to talk to you, Moon might open up more later. But for now, you focused on the problem at hand. You asked from behind the wooden door, slightly leaning against it now to feel closer. “Sun, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you afraid that I won’t like how you look?” 

Sun hesitates. “Because… we’re not designed the same way as the Glamrocks. Even our redesign to be more - uh, family friendly - wasn’t as welcomed by the children and parents as the others were.” 

“I see.” You squeezed your hand in understanding, wondering if Sun could feel your empathy. The way Sun reciprocated your squeeze told you everything. “I’m sorry, Sun. I shouldn’t have worried you with such a silly request.” 

You felt Sun’s hand shake. “What! No! It was my fault for yelling! I thought… maybe you hated me after I told you no.” 

You shifted your hand and readjusted your stance behind the door. You placed your palm against his and laced your small fingers in between his long ones. “How about we get to know each other a little more?” You suggested, “and once you feel comfortable, you let me know when I can meet you face to face. We’ll make it a big event between us.” 

“Are-Are you sure, Sunshine? I don’t want to make you wait.” 

“Yes I’m sure. I don’t mind waiting. And… if Moon wants to join too, this also applies to him.” You presented. Sun beams and cheers for Moon internally. 

“Thank you, Sunshine.” He caresses your hand gently. A small thunk against the door vibrated back against you. “Thank you for understanding.” 

You looked down to see that Sun was now holding your injured hand with both of his. The way his long slender fingers held you had you feeling small yet protected, even with the giant barrier that separated the two of you apart. 

“There’s still some time before the others arrive. How about I tell you about my last few days?” You proposed. It has been a while since the two of you spoke. 

“Oh yes! Tell me, where have you been?” Sun’s ray spun in excitement, happy to once again be speaking with you again - but now with the door slightly open. He knew where you were, and he might have already been watching you for a day or two from the cameras, but he was interested in hearing you talk about it yourself. You began your story about how management messaged you a few nights ago and your experience working at Glamrock Gifts. You had a lot you wanted to complain about. 

You sat down and waited for Sun to do the same, both of you keeping your hands tightly laced together right where the crack of the door just barely opened. 

Moon was suspiciously quiet for the rest of the conversation you had with Sun. No longer was he focused on his security feeds, instead he observed you. Every reaction and expression your face made. Earlier, while he watched Sun patch you up through their optics, he saw Sun gently stroking parts of your skin. He wondered what it felt like and wondered why Sun kept repeating the gesture. The way Sun reacted to your thanks was similar to the way Moon’s processor started to produce strands of code that excited him within their shared space. He looked at your eyes once more on his live video feed. 

Sun noticed how quiet Moon was, not reacting with his usual cheerful and snarky quips. He asks,『Moon, are you alright?』  

『 Yeah, I think so. D-Don’t worry, it’s just time for rest mode. 』Moon quickly responded. Sun drops the subject quickly and returns his attention to you as you spoke about your experience with naughty children at Glamrock Gifts. Sun didn’t feel the need to be concerned about Moon if nothing was wrong. Because Moon never lies. 

But only because Moon didn’t know what jealousy was when it hit him.

Chapter Text

Turns out, stress and overworking your body has its consequences. You woke this morning feeling a little off. Just a bit uncomfortable but nothing overwhelming. Your throat was itchy and your eyes crusted over a thin layer. There was a little pressure in your sinuses, but the worst was that your nose was clogged on one side. You rolled over. Your shoulders fold in as you hunched your back, sitting over the edge of your bed. A sharp ringing in your left ear buzzed for several seconds, alerting you to the incoming illness that tumbled in fast. 

You had hit your snooze button three times, unable to bring yourself to fully awaken, drifting back to sleep over and over. And now you were nearly half an hour behind your usual schedule. 

The last few days, you had purposely arrived at the pizza plex early - as soon as it opened - and visited the daycare door. There was someone you wanted to meet. Moon has yet to speak with you since you and Sun had made up your differences. In contrast to the lunar half, Sun has been graciously letting you study his hand while the two of you talked every afternoon after your shift. You had been mesmerized by the features of his fingers, tracing his palm and his joints with your finger tips. 

Moon, however, was absent. No matter how often you called his name in the mornings. There was no answer. You thought about giving up, but Sun had encouraged you to keep trying. “Moon is just shy, Sunshine.” He elaborated. “I promise he and I are quite similar. Just keep trying.” 

“I’m not sure that means he’ll talk to me without a legit reason. He’s probably busy in the mornings. I don’t even know if he’s around in the afternoons either. I’m quite surprised you even take the time out of your day to speak with me.” You admitted. “You should be cleaning up the daycare right now with him.” 

It was true that your fascination with the animatronics in the pizza plex had yet diminished. When you had first applied for the job, you thought you wouldn’t want to be with them, but now, you were invested in your curiosity. Your efforts to meet both of them have grown. 

Sun quickly insisted, “Definitely not! You are not bothering me at all!” You smiled to yourself as your fingers curled around his from around the door. Such simple words brought a warmth in your chest that surprisingly comforted you. You decided that you were going to try. If your relationship with Sun could flourish, then maybe Moon will open up as well. 

Yet that was proving to be very difficult. Moon was very evasive. 

Your knees groaned and your back cracked in several places along your spine as you stood up from the comfort of your mattress to make your way to your bathroom. How could this have happened? You’ve been eating and sleeping fairly well. You haven’t skipped a single meal. Thinking back, maybe your body wasn’t ready for the amount of work presented at Glamrock gifts or maybe it was just coming into contact with more kids than you were used to. Regardless, it was a new exposure and a severe change in environment.  You must have caught something along the way. 

When you had thought getting ready for work and attempting to keep something down for breakfast was difficult, the drive to work was a real struggle. Leaving the comfort and warmth of your covers has made your mild illness turn for the worst. Your vision occasionally blurred. Your palms were clammy and gripped the steering wheel tight. You rubbed your eyes consistently every few minutes. It was wonders that you made it to work without causing any incidents to you or others around you. 

As you entered the front doors of the pizza plex, you felt the soreness in your throat close in. No longer was it only itchy, but now it also hurt to swallow. The saliva in your mouth was scarce, disappearing down your throat quicker than you were generating it. Unconsciously, you rubbed the skin along your neck, trying to quell the discomfort and the pain on the inside from the outside. The regret was setting in not calling out from work. 

You trudged your way to the daycare, dragging your feet along the way. 

Within the daycare, Sun was speaking with Thomas early morning by the front counter, having their usual meeting to discuss plans for the day and any additional updates that may have come in from management. There was one particularly important topic that had yet to be addressed. Sun had peeked over at the papers left on the counter overnight and noticed something circled big and bright in red. He jolted at the words. It took every wire in his body to hold back the desire to rip that sheet of paper to shreds. Together, both Sun and Thomas had both been putting off this dreaded topic for weeks, but Sun knew it was coming. Thomas had gotten a whiff of how Sun felt about it once before, letting the issue slide for weeks. But it couldn’t be put off anymore.  

“Alright Sun,” Thomas starts as he shuffles papers within his hands mindlessly. Sun watched as Thomas was preparing himself to bring up the topic. “I’m getting more and more pushback from Parts and Services to schedule your maintenance-” 

“Eep!” Sun hiccups. Hands immediately cover his mouth, attempting to muffle his voicebox. His eyes look anywhere but at Thomas’s judgemental gaze. His handler tilted his head, slightly confused by the noise that came out of the solar bot. He furrows his brow and sighs heavily. 

“You can’t avoid this forever, Sun. Both you and Moon.” Thomas crosses his arms and looks up at the cowering daycare attendant. “I don’t know what happened before in Parts and Services, but you need a check-up. There might be some driver updates or physical upgrades that need to be installed. It’s best if we get this done at least once every three months.” Sun’s rays retracted into his head as he spoke with Moon. 

『What should I do?』 Sun frantically asks. He really hated going down underneath the Glamrock stage. Nothing good has come from his appointments. Especially the last one.

『 Nothing. 』 Moon growls, 『 He’s right, we can’t avoid this forever. It’s been a hundred and fifty-three days since we last saw that annoying tech… We need a tune up anyways. I saw you pick paint off your arms again. 』

Sun whines. He looked down at his wrist, the layer of silicone under his ribbons was missing several chunks of paint around the joint. Moon was right, as he always is. So much for permanent paint. Neither of them dared to mention the exposed wires that occasionally loosened when Sun's rays jammed or Moon's hat slipped. 

“Alright, Mr. Thomas. We’ll concede to scheduling maintenance.” Sun grimaced, all the memories of his last visit came flooding back. “B-But can we make it for next week? There’s movie time this week in the theater. We need to prepare for that!”  

“Oh you’re right,” Thomas straightens up and stops shuffling his papers, he looks down at his Fazwatch to see on the schedule that the theater was booked for the daycare on Thursday. “Yeah, we definitely can do that!” Thomas smiles up at Sun, something he hasn’t really seen his handler do since he started working here. The contrast of his excitement to his usual scowl was drastic. It was certainly a good look for him. 

While his handler scribbles away on his notes, Sun takes the moment to look around the empty play area. It was devoid of any children for another hour. Most notably, he gazed over at the area above the wall where the gift shop sat below and wondered if you were on the other side. The itch to ride on his wire up to his balcony was there, but Thomas was still muttering updates to him. He couldn’t leave just yet. 

『I wonder what Sunshine is up to.』 Sun thought to himself. 

『 Focus, Sun. 』 Moon snaps. His voice sliced through Sun’s attention like butter. 『 Thomas is speaking to you. 』 Sun looks down at Thomas to see that he was indeed facing his torso and doing a pre-screening of his exoskeleton and silicone skin, but he was mumbling something to himself, not looking at the direction of Sun’s face. The pen in his hand was furiously scribbling down all the places he thought Sun needed a repair. 

Sun noticed that Moon was extra snippy with his responses today. Was it because you tried to call out for him again this morning? Or was it something else? He noticed that Moon was still trying to avoid you all week in the mornings after his last patrols around the plex. One morning, Moon hid in the vents, and another morning he waited in the arcade next to DJ. He only knew when to return to the daycare from watching you leave on the camera feed. He thought you’d give up after two tries but you kept coming back. 

Sun thought it was heartbreaking to know Moon wouldn’t respond to you. You were putting in so much one-sided effort only for Moon to dodge it with ignorance. After you asked Sun whether Moon would give you a chance, he had been hounding his other half to give in. And he was going to keep trying. 『Moon, Thomas isn’t saying anything in particular.』 Sun asks, 『And why have you been avoiding Sunshine?』

『 What does that have to do with anything? 』

『Moon… You’re extra moody today. I have a feeling it has something to do with them.』 

A spark of electricity shot through Sun as he felt Moon’s code jerk. The implications of Moon’s avoidance was starting to sound more accusatory. And he wasn’t having it. 『 I am not avoiding them… At least- well. Not today. T-They didn’t come this morning. 』Moon grumbled, attempting to hide that he was slightly disappointed in your absence. Your persistence was admirable. It was becoming a little game for Moon. A game of hide and seek between a party of two. But the unreluctant seeker was missing this morning. 

However, Sun caught the dismay. He gave a small smile. 

A voice brings Sun back to the forefront, disrupting their bantering. “I think that’s it for today then, Sun. I’ll speak with Moon later to make sure we’re all on the same page.” His handler nods. Sun gives his acknowledgement in the form of a wave. Thomas returns back to the security counter and logs into his computer. 

『 Unnecessary discussions. I was already listening. 』 Moon gripes.  

“He doesn’t know that, Moonie.” Sun whispers. “If we’re agreeing to go to Parts and Services, you need to do your part too. He has to make sure all your paint is in line too. ” 

Another aggravated growl rumbled in their head. 

The day passes like lava flowing down the mountain. Slow and sluggish. The voices of children within the walls merged with the loud music of the daycare speakers. The brain fog has gotten thicker since this morning. You noticed that the numbers on the register were starting to double and overlap each other. The font wasn’t large to begin with and now everything was shifting and blending together. Luckily no one was in the store at the moment, so you looked around. 

Was the room moving right now? The stars on the walls were starting to shoot across the sky. The small figurines were starting to dance on the shelves. You closed your eyes. Maybe it was time for your break. It was getting close to lunch and you could feel yourself getting a little nauseous from all the involuntary movement of the world around you. 

You stood up slowly and began to walk out of the gift shop and into the dark daycare lobby, forgetting to close the shutters behind you. A momentary spike of guilt had you quickly changing your plans, and you spun around in place, turning straight back into the gift shop. The combination of forgetting your duties and your head hurting created a new dilemma. Was it worth the effort to pull down the gates with no strength and to make your way to the breakroom to eat and feel horrible or just stay and nap in the store? 

With how much the world was spinning. You decided you’ll just nap at the counter instead. 

Perfectly on time, Moon watched you leave the store from his perch on the playground. However, he noticed from afar that you stopped walking out of the gift shop, paused in the lobby for one second - only to turn back immediately. 

Strange. You’ve never done that before on your way to lunch. Did you forget something? He watched as you slowly went back into the store, and the lights of the gift shop switched off. Minutes passed and the sounds of the shutters never followed. Sun was watching from Moon’s eyes within their shared headspace, feeling very concerned. 

『Do you think Sunshine is okay? They haven’t come back out yet. 』 

“ I don’t know .” Moon whispers softly. He flips through the security cameras to see the one facing the gift shop barely caught a view of your slumped body. Without zooming in, the two of them jumped to their own conclusions. 

『Moon! Sunshine isn’t moving!』Sun cries desperately.

Without any additional comments, Moon crawls down the playground and lands on the padded floors with a light thud. His bells lightly jingle, like the sound of stars twinkling in the sky. Not a single child stirred from his landing, something he has perfected after months of practice. Moon does a quick scan to see that all thirty-eight kids were accounted for and all fast asleep in the nap cove. The adult employees were also all gone, off on their own breaks. It was the perfect time for Moon to scale the wall and step away for a brief second. 

He tip-toes over towards the direction of the gift shop and quietly calls for his wire. The hook latches and pulls him up, the sound of the wire quietly buzzing as it reeled and released. Immediately, Moon saw the open door of the gift shop when his eyes level with the top of the wall. With a quick scan of every camera feed in the daycare, there wasn’t a single adult patron in the lobby, allowing him to prepare to descend the wall. Promptly, Moon jumps over and stalks over towards the open gift shop. 

Entering with a slow pace to keep his bells from ringing, Moon found you with your head down on the counter in the dark, breathing a little erratically and shivering. You laid your forehead on your arms while you sat leaning slightly to the side. Your left shoulder propped against the wall kept your entire body from sliding off the counter. If it wasn’t for your short heaving breaths and his capabilities to read vitals, Moon would have thought of the worst scenarios. 

He narrows his eyes and focuses on the readings and measurements. A temperature of a hundred and one degrees. High heart rate of a hundred and seven. Respiratory rate of twenty two. 

In conclusion: You were sick. And somehow here at work. “ How troublesome .“ He grumbles. 

With a quick side glance, Moon walks over to the shelves and grabs a few star-patterned blankets off the display, unfurling them and carefully wrapping them around your shoulder. They were draped and tucked tightly to prevent from slipping off your body.『 Sun, do we have any antipyretics in the daycare? 』

『Hmm. Actually. There might be some in our chest compartment.』 Sun wondered. Moon looks down at his chest and presses down on a panel that had a faint symbol of a plus sign carved into it. It was small and barely noticeable if not looked for and hidden amongst the pretty colors of their exoskeleton. The plating slides open and reveals a little compartment with sparse first aid supplies. Moon grabs the small foil wrapped plaster, holding one tablet of acetaminophen and places it next to your head on the glass counter, before closing the panel with a click. 

Red scarlet eyes observed and monitored your minor movements. Just like he did down in the basement a couple days ago. 

A horrible urge to pat you on the head swelled through Moon. It was bizarre seeing you in person up close rather than behind a camera lens. His faceplate spun one-eighty degrees to capture all the features of your face. What was it about you that made you so different from the other adults? Attentive. Selfless. Curious. Compassionate. Feeble? Characteristics that made you human but also pulled you apart from other humans they’ve met. The desire to protect flared. There was an unknown allure that pulled him closer. 

Moon hesitates but reaches out. 

『Moonie?』

He pressed his palm into your hair and raked his finger gently through. It was soft. The sensation was no different from the feeling of petting the heads of children, but somehow it meant something more. There was no movement between the two of you for a full minute. However for a brief second, singular threads tangled around his joints when he tried to pull away. They were caught momentarily, but Moon was able to shake off the snarl trapped around his digits. You twitched, groaning and swung your hand towards Moon’s tug. 

In one swift motion, you grabbed Moon’s hand in an attempt to remove the sudden irritation on your scalp, rather than swatting at him. The lunar daycare attendant nearly jumps and yells, instinctively wanting to hide against the wall or in the corner. He hisses instead, and your grip holds him down. 

『Oh no.』Sun squeaked. 

Moon was stuck. Sort of. Your grip wasn’t tight, but you were slightly roused. Your lashes blinked like lightning, only to stop once your body’s movement ceased. 

To prevent your full awakening, Moon freezes and processes what to do next. His eyes dart back and forth between your closed eyes and your entwined hands. He could wait until your breath evens out. Your hand grasped only three of his fingers - he could swiftly pull and run. Or he could wake you up and have you take your medication. 

『 No. No, that is not a good idea .』 He thought. Mentally, he groans and drags out the noise for Sun to hear. This was all his fault after all. 

So Moon decides to wait. 

In the meantime, he looks around. 

Neither Sun nor Moon has ever stepped foot into the gift shop before. They tended to stay away since the previous handler and security guard would choose this spot to do their scandalous meetings. But looking around, they understood why you were so intrigued to meet them. Everything in the shop was stocked with items of only them. Not a single neon pink or green or blue was present. Not a single Glamrock souvenir can be seen. Moon glanced in awe with Sun right beside him. 

『Sunshine’s always watching us.』 Sun beamed. He watched as Moon looked over at the shelf behind you and the counter below. The moveable figurines all posed like they were cheering. Stickers and cards were laid out within the glass panes. Both of their smiles were plastered everywhere. 

『 Yet they're still interested in what we look like .』 Moon noted. He looks over at the plushes on the opposite side of the store. 『 Hmph, they even have the old versions of us to look at. 』

『It’s not like they can talk to these dolls of us. 』 Sun giggles. 

『 I almost prefer that over their constant yelling of my name in the morning. 』 Moon huffs, a pump of air pushes from his fan as he curls his finger to hook with yours. He focused on the way your fingers fit between his. 

『Don’t lie, Moonie. I know you want to talk to them. 』

『 No I don’t ,』 Moon denied vehemently. 

Sun smirked.『That’s not what your code says right now.』 Moon’s fan completely kicked on, droning just low enough that you didn’t stir in your sleep. His hand tightened around yours in full admittance of truth to Sun’s discovery.  

『 Stop reading my codes, Sun . That’s too literal on the meaning of intrusive thoughts. 』 Moon gave a small half-grin at his joke, but his brows furrowed in annoyance at his solar counterpart. Sun was doing too much digging. It wasn’t easy for Moon to finally accept that he was also interested in a human, let alone an adult. His thoughts have been in a disarray since he watched you and Sun hold hands. And now it was his turn and it felt exactly like he imagined. You were now unavoidable. Constantly coming to them in more ways than one. Maybe he could use this instance to practice opening up to others - others who weren’t children. 

『 I guess… I’m open to speaking with Starlight, but they need to get well first .』 He watches as your breath levels back to deep sleep.  

『I’m glad. 』Sun beamed in excitement. 

Carefully, Moon extrapolated his fingers from yours, slow and steady, letting his touch receptors gather as much data as he could and mapping out the creases of your palm. The warmth emitted from your skin was sensitive to his cold silicone–covered body, what he imagined sitting by the fireplace on a cold winter night would feel like. The heat fluttered his sensors. Moon could feel something pull him towards you. Sun had felt the same. But neither of them decided to address it for now, they had children they had to get back to. He gently brushes his fingertip across your forehead as a silent goodbye. 

Moon then slips away as quietly as he came. 

Your Fazwatch rang with a high shrill, beeping to remind you to clock back in a few minutes later and waking you from your nap. The discomfort that drowned you earlier has lifted. You no longer felt cold and your head was lighter. You felt a little better as you sat up but you felt an unusual weight on your shoulders. 

The familiar pattern of the starry night was hugging your back and keeping you warm. Its embrace was comforting. But when did this get here? 

And who came by and put medication on the counter? You were thankful, it was just what you needed. But how did you not hear anyone approach you? You shivered at the thought of being so sick, someone could have dropped by and stolen items from right under your nose. 

You slowly rose from your stupor, trying to convince yourself that nothing had happened while you were out. You kept the blanket over your shoulder as you stretched your arms forward, pulling all the stiff muscles from your poor posture. Your hands hit something during the motion. 

A small little figurine of Moon was propped against the cash register, posing like it was giving you a greeting.  His little smile reminded you of your missed opportunity this morning. You picked him up and considered him a charm of good luck. Someone to protect you while you slept. Maybe it was a sign. You stared at it for a good minute, trying to remember if you had put him there. There was a lot that happened this morning that you didn’t remember. The longer you studied him, the more you observed bits and pieces of his design. The features of the toy’s red painted eyes reminded you of something you’ve seen before. But what does it exactly remind you of?

You shook your head and outwardly thanked whoever stopped by. Moon was placed back on the counter - he can stay there for the rest of the day. It was time to get back to work. Immediately, you popped the pill left behind out of its casing and straight into your mouth, preparing itself to be your greatest supporter for the rest of the day. 

The first to return from their lunch break was Lindsey, skipping into the daycare after the lights turned on. After a few weeks ago, the daycare assistant would never return from her break while the lights were still off. Even after she clocks back in, she stands outside and waits for the sound of children waking up and the sound of her bright sunny animatronic laughing. She was afraid of Moon, unable to enter his domain. And he knew it. 

Moon has been waiting for the day she lets her guard down to teach her a lesson for the disruption she caused and the rules that she broke. He plots her punishment in various ways, watching as Sun interacts with her like she did nothing wrong. Oh the things he could do. He has a few ideas of tricks he can play on the poor girl. Maybe if he’s lucky she’ll want to quit after. One day - she will let her guard down. For now she has gentle Sunny to protect her. 

After Sun and Moon had switched places, the sound of the daycare door opening brought the attention of many children to its source. The few who rebounded from their somnolence rapidly began running over towards Lindsey, jumping up and down and asking what the next game was to play. A swarm of children began to drag her towards the playground. 

Sun took the moment to fold blankets and attempt to awaken the few children who had refused to succumb to the bright fluorescent lights. It was also a good moment to recollect himself after watching Moon scramble back over the daycare wall with only seconds to spare. The lights turned on just as Sun landed on the ground next to the nap cove. The sudden force of his consciousness pushing to the forefront caused a whirlwind in his and Moon’s code. 

Sun’s fan was blasting on high, trying to calm himself by chanting over and over in his head that what they did for you was right. The children were fine. No one was hurt. He wasn’t breaking the rules. You needed the help. Moon cares for you. He cares for you. It was for the best- 

A loud scream cuts through the daycare music, disrupting his nervous thoughts. Sun quickly spins around and spots a child holding Lindsey’s phone by the charm and waving it around carelessly. She must have brought it back into the daycare and forgotten to put it away behind the counter, like he had warned her several times before. 

『 And just when I thought I was in a good mood- 』 

“Hey! Give that back!” Lindsey yells, fiercely yanking her phone from the child’s hand. The long beaded charm slips from the child’s hand, creating friction that stun and scratched their sensitive skin. 

A loud wail echoes through the play area. Large globs of tears streaming down the child’s face. Alarms in Sun’s head started blaring. 

The child attempts to push and shove Lindsey against her leg, before running directly over to Sun. With barely any strength enforced, the assistant minimally stumbles. The attendant catches the crying toddler within his arms to comfort them and looks over at the only adult who was in the daycare with a look of surprise and disappointment mixed into one. 

“M-Mr. Suuun! My h-hand hurts!!” The child screams at the top of their lungs, clinging to the bot like the world was ending. They waved their hand in Sun’s face, trying to show him, but Sun’s vision was only focused on one thing. 

“Lindsey! That was inappropriate!” Sun raised his voice. A tint of red flashed across his eyes, mimicking the same lights as Moon’s. The change in volume shook everyone around them, including the child within his arms who slips back onto the ground to remove themselves from the situation. Other children had left Lindsey’s side to hide behind Sun, who now stood up to approach her. They all recognized the sound of someone about to get reprimanded by the solar animatronic. No one enjoyed being on that end of the stick - even if he was playfully lecturing. To be precautionary, they have all sided with the accuser. 

“It-It was an accident!” Lindsey tried to argue, using her default excuse to defend herself. Nothing she has done seems to be on purpose of her own volition. It was never her fault. Instead, she focuses on putting her phone back into her pocket and stumbles to protect herself. But Sun noticed. 

“I fail to see how that was an accident .” Sun scowls. A bit of Moon’s deep rasp crawls into his voice box. The lies that come out of her mouth just keep accumulating by the day. Someone has to put her in her place! And Moon was itching for a fight. 

“Okay…” a voice interjects. A body appears into view. Thomas quickly slips in between Sun and Lindsey. “Let’s talk about this after the children have left, okay? Everyone makes mistakes… let’s not make it a big deal right now .” The emphasis was exaggerated, trying to get Sun’s attention to break the focus. However, Sun looms over Thomas with his height as his handler stands as an obstruction between him and Lindsey. His glare unwavering. Thomas was by no means a small human, but Sun was just larger. And deadlier. 

Thomas tried to get Sun’s attention again. He lightly pats against the bot’s chest and whispers “Sun, we’ll do something about her later, remember the other children are watching!” 

Sun reeled it back in and stood up straight. His posture returns to the playful and goofy limberness, rather than the stiff, menacing, and aggressive one that Moon typically held. The human makes a good point. Quietly, he hisses where only Thomas could hear, “She hasn’t even apologized! It’s been one lie after another, I even saw it happen!” This rule breaker. She was being naughty! Sun crossed his arms and pouted. 

As if she had heard Sun’s complaint, she turns to the little boy by Sun’s leg and crouches down. “Daniel, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you!” Her voice pleading - almost like she was pleading for forgiveness from Sun rather than the child. 

The little boy nodded, too focused on Sun’s expression to retaliate and misbehave further. This led to Sun quickly softening his face. He brings a hand to his faceplate and rubs his cheek. He gave a small smile, as if signaling that everything was once again fine and dandy. Back to normal. Only then did the children around him all relax. 

“Daniel, is your hand okay? Come over here and let me take a look,” Thomas beckons the toddler over to the security counter to grab first aid. The child quickly follows the man many of other children have begun to like, leaving Lindsey and Sun alone once more. The other children all watched from a short distance. 

A swarm of hushed whispers surrounded them. “Do you think she’s in trouble? I haven’t seen Mr. Sun get angry before. Maybe he’ll throw her into the ball pit. I wanna get thrown into the ball pit-” A wave of giggles breaks the tension in the room. 

Lindsey looks up at Sun, gripping her hands together in an enclosed fist. She mocked the stance of an innocent praying their sins to God. “I’m so sorry, Sunny. It won’t happen again! I-I really didn't mean to!” 

Sun flinches at the use of his nickname. 『 She’s still lying, Sun… It’s all part of a game she plays. 』 Moon was severely not convinced. He’s been scanning her nonverbal gestures and not once has it been genuine. The way she looks away and never at who she’s speaking to. The way her lips curl when she gets what she wants. The way her mood changes so quickly. He could read her like a book easily - just like all the previous humans who have worked there before. Sun had to hold it together, Moon’s influence was very strong at that moment. 

“Lindsey, please be careful. As the assistant, your job is to make sure the children are safe. Not be the one to hurt them, understand?” Sun explains calmly. “We can talk more about this later and-”

“Yes! Yes! Of course, oh my god, thank you Sun!” She interrupts. Immediately Lindsey jumps up and looks in the direction of Thomas and the other children, who have all gathered to watch him apply an unnecessary band aid. Sun watches as she once again runs off, completely misunderstanding his intentions of lecturing her and avoiding confrontation. Sun just couldn’t wrap his mind around humans and their incomplete dissonance. 

Sun was left standing in the middle of daycare on his own, thinking to himself. He looks over at all the humans, gathered together. Laughing. Playing. Moving on. Soon, he was to join them, putting aside all the conflict as if it wasn't important.

All he could think about was how there was still three hours and twenty-two minutes until the daycare closes. It was just too long of a time spent in places Sun no longer wanted to be at with people he no longer wanted to be with. Looking over at the gift shop, Sun mutters to himself and Moon, “I wish Sunshine were here.” 

Moon, now calmed down by the futile strangling of his own code for blood, sat within their shared headspace and for once agreed with Sun.  『 At this point. Me too. 』

Chapter Text

“Bye Mr. Sun,” the last child to check out of the daycare waved Sun goodbye with their free hand. The solar bot watched the child and their father walk out of the doors together, giving an enthusiastic wave back. 

“Goodbye little cloud! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Sun beamed. He jumped up and down dramatically until the doors closed and the final customers were out of sight. Immediately, Sun dropped his shoulder, relieving the tension, and sighed heavily through his voicebox. He had given up keeping up his facade with his human employees still around. Before, he would try to keep up the energy, but today, he didn’t care. 

The day progressed as usual but with the very intimidating countdown of his scheduled maintenance ringing in the back of his head. Thomas had approached him earlier in the day letting him know that Parts and Services was waiting for him next Tuesday. And Sun could not stop thinking about it. 

Moon had yelled at him twice already today for bringing it up. A third time was unwelcomed.『 There’s still six days until our maintenance, can you not spend the whole week reminding me of our upcoming doom? 』The lunar half was getting agitated as he was irritated. Having not been out yet for the day to relieve the tension Sun has created was driving Moon mad. Their code twitched and glitched every so often, but it has been more frequent recently. 

Sun scratched his arm, rubbing his silicone fingers against the paint along his arms. The bells strapped to his wrist jiggle in tandem with the movement. “I’m not trying to be nervous, it’s uncontrollable.” He whispers while furrowing his brow. 

『 Enough with the scratching ,』 Moon reminded. 『 Don’t forget, Thomas did promise to go with us. No need to fret. 』 He wasn’t too keen on the idea of his handler being present at their maintenance but recently Thomas has been proving himself well. Plus Sun needed company down in Parts and Services. Moon’s presence was starting to be less and less relief to Sun’s anxiety. Though they are always together, Sun needs a physical presence. 

Sun sighs as he begins to gather the scattered toys littering the daycare play mat. “Right, but that leaves Lindsey with the kids on her own. For almost a whole three hours.” Sun grimaced. He places the toys back in their respective spots in the toy cabinet. 

『 Ah. I understand your concerns now . 』Moon hums in agreement, immediately peeved by the mention of his human coworker’s name. 『 Not sure there is anything we can do about that. We can only hope that Dylan can help her during our absence . 』 Moon’s opinion of the security guard is minimal - neither good nor bad. She has been doing her job well and her presence was barely there. It was enough for Moon to consider adequate though exceptional in comparison to the other female. 

Sun goes over to the arts and craft storage shelf and starts to readjust every marker and crayon by color, making sure every tip is pointed up and every cap stood upright. All the colors must be organized by gradient. His hands move in a blur, action smooth from repetitive motion. What felt like many minutes to Sun was in reality a few seconds. 

With half of the daycare organized and prepared for sanitization, Sun returns to the security desk to check on the remaining humans in the premises. He looks over at his handler, typing away furiously behind the counter at what looked like the weekly reports that would be due on Friday. How or why they ended up in Thomas' hands was a mystery in itself, but Sun had an inkling he knew why. Their poor handler had been working hard for the sake of the job, caring for the children while monitoring his conditions daily. Bags under Thomas’ eyes first developed nearly a week ago, the hunch in his back started this week, and the cough in between conversation started today. The uneven weight of work distribution was taking a toll on Thomas’ body. Sun gave Thomas extra gold stars in his mind. 

Meanwhile sitting two seats away, Lindsey was doodling little flowers and spirals on a scrap piece of paper leftover from today's arts and crafts session. She was humming to herself, mindlessly thinking in her own little world. Though her phone wasn’t in view, Sun had a feeling it was nearby. Her hair was tied once more in her signature bun, red curls leaking in various directions from the ribbon that held everything together. Her expression was lax, just waiting for the time to pass. Sun felt the need to speak up. 

“Thomas, why are you putting in the reports today? There’s still two more days until Friday.” Sun purposely asked at a volume audible to everyone in the daycare, even over the sounds of the music blasting overhead. Without a beat, Sun turns to look at Lindsey, who seemed to have paused what she was doing for a second, but pretended not to hear. Her finger twitched. The scribbling pressure intensifies, nearly breaking the tip of the color pencil. 

“There’s just too many incident reports already made this week. I have to get the process started. We won’t be able to put them all in one day.” Thomas groans dramatically. He waves the sheets of paper he and Dylan have both accumulated from recording all the times children fell, cried, or got injured. “There also seems to be a flu or something going around.” 

“It would be nice if you had some help.” Sun bounced back and forth on his heels innocently. He watched Lindsey start to suspiciously gather her items and put them away into her purse. 

“Oh, I would love to help you!” Lindsey exclaimed, seeing how she could no longer ignore the direct call Sun was making in her direction. She looks down at her Fazwatch, eyes darting between Sun’s blazing gaze and Thomas' judgmental look. “But it seems that the shift is over in like five minutes and I really need to get home. I’m sure you can contribute a little before we come back tomorrow right?”

Sun stops needlessly bouncing. “M-Me?” He points to himself. 

“Well you were able to help out last week right? If we all pitch in, they’ll be done in no time!” Lindsey exclaims. “Teamwork makes the dream work!”

Thomas couldn’t help but tsk off to the side. He wasn’t hiding his disdain for her anymore. 

Easily, Sun could submit these reports alone. He’s always had before. The last employees always left them incomplete as a pile on the counter. Sun didn’t mind finishing them, he wanted to make sure everything was well documented and properly recorded - it was what he was programmed to do. But being told directly to do them in place of the employees felt a little different than when they were carelessly and purposely ignored. There are rules and instructions to follow. These structures are put in place to keep the daycare running. To keep the children safe! And these humans keep breaking them! Why do they keep breaking them! 

Sun twitched. One ray of his crown retracted out of line. 

With a sweep of her arm, the assistant brushes all her belongings blindly into her purse. “I really got to run, but I’ll be back bright and early to help out tomorrow!” 

Unnoticeable to the human eye, a small flicker of red light flashes behind his right eye, blinking in a rhythmic pattern. There were no rules against animatronics keeping personal recordings for his own files. As the clock strikes five in the afternoon, Lindsey was out the door in a scramble. Her bag flailed as she briskly jogged away. Not a second too early and not a second too late. Sun furrowed his brow, too stunned to say another word. 

“Thanks for trying, Sun.” Thomas heavily sighs, clicking a random key on the keyboard absentmindedly. Sun turns and looks at him worryingly. “I know what you’re trying to do, but I don’t think it’ll get in her head.” 

Rays clicked as they retracted into Sun’s head. His eyes shifted back and forth. “It just doesn’t seem… fair.” 

To Sun, the concept of fairness was first described in a single paragraph description programmed into his code. He and Moon later developed a more fine tuned notion of objectivity and neutrality. To apply the idea to children was easy - it was a teaching moment for most of them. You have to share. Why? To make it fair. The daycare attendant could easily educate in practicality with examples to the blank slate that was a child’s mind. However, for adults, it seemed that each person had their own idea of what fairness was and a lot of times - they noticed - was very subjectively one-sided. The world outside of the pizzaplex is never fair. And Sun was getting this experience first hand. 

“And I wholeheartedly agree.” Thomas clicked his tongue as he leans back against the swivel chair. “It’s frustrating that she acts this way and management won’t do anything about her. Dylan and I have both reported her… twice - for a lot of different reasons. I feel like if I tried the same gimmick, I would be fired immediately.” The solar bot hunches over and glances to the side; he wanted to deny Thomas’ claim, but it was only the truth. If too many daycare employees were out of line, money was being wasted and Fazbear Entertainment will step in to correct it. 

Sun has always recognized bad behavior amongst his previous human employees. But he’s never come across one who was so blatant with their avoidance of difficult work and not admitting to their fault. She was good at dodging the blame by picking up the easy work. Others have embraced their bad habits and owning their faults. Lindsey was a new breed of human employees he’s never come across before. She refuses to acknowledge that she is wrong. But the children love her enthusiasm and energy - it almost matches Sun’s. She knows how to put up a front. 

Sun gives a sympathetic look, but perks back up, “Make sure to drink some water, Mr. Thomas. And rest up! Up! Up! The reports can wait!” 

His handler gave a small smile. “Thanks, Sun.”

As Thomas and Dylan finish up with their work for the evening and prepare to clock out, Sun continues to clean to keep his mind off his and Moon’s building frustration. Anything to keep his attention from turning towards their upcoming maintenance. Sun skips over to the supply closet and grabs the feather duster, wet wipes, multi-surface cleaner, and an entire roll of paper towels, which he noted was running low. While he pings for a request for supply refills within Fazbear’s employee portal, he notes that several other items were missing. 

Two boxes of sealed color pencils, a pair of safety scissors, and a stack of assorted colored papers were unaccounted for. Strange. He swore that he took inventory of all the items the night before and they were filled. He didn’t grab them today nor did he notice if Thomas or Lindsey removed them today for use. Even the cubbies of used stationary were missing pieces here and there. A blue marker wasn’t with the rest of the rainbow. A bottle of glue was misplaced, making the numbers odd and not even. Even a handful of lost color pencils made his collection incomplete. 

With his left foot tapping rapidly, Sun tried his best to avoid acknowledging the small space in the art supplies where a few missing color pencils were supposed to occupy. How could he let this happen? Did the children lose them in the ball pit or the play structure? Disappointed, he forcefully pries himself from the supply corner, submitting another order on the intranet for art supplies. For now, he had a playground to clean and wait for his favorite human to stop by. 

The next morning, Moon finished his patrols early. There were no long conversations with DJ tonight. He didn’t stop to check on the S.T.A.F.F. bots down by Rockstar Row. He barely cared about empty halls leading up and down to the cafeteria for any potential intruders. There were none anyways - he had checked multiple times that night. 

Moon had promised Sun that he would try to socialize, specifically with you, following your recovery. It only took a day before you were back to your usual self, chatting up Sun like nothing happened just yesterday afternoon. 

『You promised, Moonie. 』

“ Yes, yes, I know .” Moon growled at Sun’s resolute reminder. Even without Sun nagging him, Moon was silently looking forward to your arrival. It had been on his mind all night. He drops down from his shared room upon the balcony and scales the daycare wall. Using the wire was too obvious of his presence. He had to keep himself hidden in case you were coming into work again early. It’s not something he is still used to, you were still the only human employee to arrive so early for a shift that lasts so late. 

Just as he suspected, you arrived through the daycare atrium turnstile at six o’ clock in the morning sharp. An entry notification alerts him. You really haven’t given up. That persistence was what caught the cat’s curiosity. The dedication was what kept him intrigued. Moon’s fan gave a small puff of relief as it charged to activate. 

Moon knew you needed a moment to situate yourself at the gift shop before coming to the door, a pattern he has now memorized after watching your movement through the cameras. He drops himself from the side wall and makes his way to the front door. Over the ball pit pool, around the foam towers, and under the playground tunnel. The attendant maneuvers around the daycare with grace and with ease. Though he was programmed to be light on his toes and walk on two legs, Moon felt more comfortable closer to the ground. It’s what he does on patrols, and it makes him quicker. 

As he reaches the front gate, a small knock on the other side echoes in the atrium. Moon stands with his back towards the door facing the empty daycare and with his arms folded behind his lower back. Attempting to relax his shoulders, he stands up straight.  

“Hello? Moon?” Your voice held a hesitancy that Moon realized was a product of his own evasion. You weren’t confident with him as you were with Sun. Hopefully that will change. “M-Mr. Shadow?” 

Your hand hovered before you, waiting before trying another knock. Waiting several aching seconds before responding, Moon discloses, “ I’m here. ” Static filled his speakers. Nervous. But why was he? He cleared his voice box with a clear audible cough. “ You - uh - wanted to see me? ” 

Sun giggles within their shared headspace. 『Smooth. 』Moon growls quietly, warning his opposite. 

“Well, I wanted to talk with you. You know, get to know you better. But at, um, your pace, I guess.” You suddenly felt nervous, lips trembling as you fumbled with your words. With how comfortable you had been with Sun, you weren’t sure how to approach Moon, and his constant delay in response fueled your discomfort. You were afraid you were going to scare him off. “But! If you’re busy, then don’t worry about me and I’ll comebacksomeotherti-” 

“- I’m not busy .” He abruptly interrupts. You held your tongue. The words that rolled out of your brain halted at the top of your throat. 

Knowing that Moon was on the other side of the door, speaking fairly close to it, you relaxed and slid down against the wooden panels, letting your back rest against them. Excitement surged through you. After several failed attempts of getting Moon to approach you, he was finally here. And…

You didn’t know what to say. What can you say? You don’t know anything about him other than the visuals of his design sprinkled around your entire gift shop. One wrong phrase and Moon could disappear. You would never know - you can’t see. Sun had mentioned that Moon was similar to him, but nothing more. A distance between you had made itself known with the way the lunar attendant spoke with you last time. 

An awkward silence filled the daycare. There were no lights on for another ten minutes. The music was off until the next hour. You agonizingly waited for Moon to prompt a conversation first. Nothing was coming to mind. Scared, you started to needlessly stretch the bottom hem of your uniform. Maybe Sun will make an appearance to help you, you hoped desperately.

Moon could almost hear the gears in your head turning. Because it probably matched what was going on in his own head. Sun was channeling his anxiety through their code, begging his brother not to leave. Constant rambling. It was hard to focus. He had no intention of leaving the conversation early and he didn’t mind if the two of you sat in silence. But Sun was screaming otherwise. 

You decided to take the chance, ask anything to break the silence. “So, Moon, what do you do during the day? Do you play with the children like Sun does?” A genuinely curious question. Sun has always mentioned the games and activities the children would do to pass the time. But you never seemed to notice if Moon was in that company. 

“ I do not. ” Moon grunts. “ I am the naptime attendant. I guard the children while they dream . It is my duty. ” 

“Oh, do you put them to sleep? That would explain why the whole atrium goes dark.” You inquired. 

“ Yes .” 

“How do you do that?” 

“ Lullabies, story times, soothing sounds. Even the naughty ones fall asleep to the lure of my voice. ” Moon recounts all the times he’s sung songs that are licensed under Fazbear entertainment. Most of them were too quick and energetic to put children to sleep. So he learned to put a slower spin on all of them, dragging them with his low tone and decorated the notes with his bells. They always seemed to hypnotize the little ones.  

“Do you ever want to play with them?” You question. 

Moon repeated the question in his head. He’s never been asked for his opinion of his duties. It was harder to play safely with children in the dark. Though he had his night vision, children did not. They would succumb to injuries at twice the frequency in the dark than in the light. And he didn’t want to risk that. 

『Moonie… do you?』

“ I’m… not sure. ” Moon answers both you and Sun with confused honesty. 

You returned a small chortle, unaware of Moon’s internal turmoil. “Well, I can play with you. And Sun too. Do you have a favorite game?” 

“… Hide-and-Seek. ” Moon replies meekly. 

“That sounds fun!” Especially in the towering playground that peaked over the daycare walls. You could always see it from your little gift shop counter, wondering what it would be like to climb the structure even as an adult. “Maybe we can play one morning if I come in early?“ 

Moon blinked a few times, lips moving but no sound generating from his voice box. He wanted to agree - with excitement. But instead, he was flustered. Moon began to imagine what a game of hide and seek would be like with you. How does one play games with adults? You were providing the permission to accompany him, something not a lot of adults do when they approach him. 

He wondered if you’ll change your mind once you see him. Fully see him. Like all the humans before you… 

He falls somber. 

Awaiting through his silence, you wondered if he was apprehensive to agree for the same reason as Sun. Maybe he was afraid you’d judge his appearance. Unbeknownst to you, you hit the bullseye. So you quickly added, “You just let me know when, okay?” 

“ Okay ,” Moon agrees for now. He felt the wires in his chest untangle, slightly loosening from your offer of his autonomy. 

The quiet returns, settling more comfortably than before. 

“ Are you well? ” 

You sit up straighter. You were unprepared for such a simple question. “What do you mean?” You pondered. “I’m doing alright.” 

“ Not what I meant. ” Moon hesitates. “Y our fever. ” 

You sit there stunned. The fever that loomed over you for nearly two days almost inhibited you from coming into work. You didn’t tell anyone of your illness, not even Sun. Had you been caught at work with sickness, you would have been sent home immediately. But because of a mysterious stranger who had stopped by the first day, you were given a morale boost in the form of a single pill. You wondered, “How did you know I had a fever?” 

Moon left you in silence. Stifling. He immediately regretted indulging you with details and suffered the consequence of revealing himself for potentially breaking the rules. Panic. He feels like he’s lost control but refuses to show it. He could only respond the same way he had coached Sun previously. “ Because we are caretakers. I can read vitals. Even through doors. Your heart is currently beating abnormally fast. ” 

You bring a hand to your chest, unaware of your own bodily responses. Your heart was indeed pounding. Incredible feature. Your curiosity peaked, unsatiated by the how and needing to know the why. 

“Did you leave me the medication on the counter?” You continued, unable to drop the subject, much to Moon’s dismay. 

“ Perhaps .” Though not a direct answer, the response was confident enough for you to make the correct assumption. Moon wavers, hoping you weren’t distraught by his roundabout response. 

“That’s not a very direct answer,” You sarcastically scolded. You even put your hands on your hips, not that Moon could see your pretend frustration behind the door. But Moon could hear the curl of your lips break into a smile. 

Moon snickers. “ I’m not the naughty one who came to work sick. ” He jokes. The deep rasp of his laugh sent a shiver down your spine. He was truly different from Sun in this aspect. “ Naughty children must be punished ~♪ ”

“No! I don’t need a punishment!” You couldn’t help but laugh with him. 

Moon squats down and rests his arms against his knees, feeling more relaxed. “ Mmm, I disagreee .” 

Jokes aside, you felt like you had missed your chance to interact with him earlier. He had possibly stopped by when you were asleep. It was almost bittersweet. 

“Thank you, Moon.” 

“ Hm .” Moon hums. Not a direct admittance but also not a denial. The two of you let the topic hang, both understanding that the other has acknowledged the truth. You felt a small flutter blossom at the bottom of your stomach.

You noticed that Moon was not a man of many words. Sun, however, could talk your ears off. You wondered why Sun had said they were similar, they seemed so different. In consideration of their character designs, you would almost think they were complete opposites. 

“Moon?” 

“ Yes ?” Moon responded, quicker than before. More confident. 

“I know this was an agreement I made with Sun, but I was wondering if I could extend it over to you too?” You took a deep breath, fiddling with your collar unconsciously. “Would you be willing to let me see your hand? I told Sun he didn’t need to reveal himself to me if he didn’t want to, or at least until he wanted to. I’ve been wanting to meet the both of you, but I know Sun didn’t want to show himself just yet. And you don’t have to push yourself to do anything. But I wanted to ask…” You rambled. 

Sun poured guilt all over their shared mind. He whines apologetically for setting themselves and you in this situation. If only he had just opened the door that day. 

Moon didn’t mind it though. He would rather take it slow. And since you asked so nicely- 

The daycare door suddenly cracked open a jar. Long slender fingers curled around the edge of the door before extending out to uncover Moon’s entire hand.  

Moon’s hands looked just like Sun’s, except for the obvious difference of his color scheme. His hand was glazed with a shade of navy blue, deep enough to nearly skim by as black but even under the pale red light of the emergency exit signs, you could tell it was blue. His wrist was wrapped in the same red ribbon, a singular golden bell tied to the side. You previously didn’t notice that Sun had adorn them as well, as his touch was too distracting to your injured hand. But with Moon, the color contrast to his theme made it obvious. Even in the dark, they looked mystical.

Slowly, scared to not jostle Moon, you reach out and place your hand in his palm. He twitches before a few of his fingers curl in and rest upon your skin. His touch was light. He was cautious. Compared to Sun’s warm silicone, Moon’s felt cool and crisp. 

With your other hand, you gently reached under and held his hand from the bottom, giving you leverage to feel. You felt the weight of his metal endoskeleton lean against your touch, waiting for your next move. 

Moon could see the motions of your hand from the crack of the door, watching in a trance. The way you circled your finger tips along his palm, how your thumb brushed against the side, trickled electric currents through his touch receptors. This was nothing like he imagined, nothing compared to hiding behind a line of code. When he watched the way you explored Sun, he wondered how it would feel for him. Warm. Soft. 

『Doesn’t it feel exquisite? They’re so gentle. 』

On the back of his hand, you traced along the joints and ridges where his fingers connected, mocking the structure of bones and tendons. It was a strange design - using the human hands as a muse for something so unique and purposely practical. You were curious of how much he could feel, the way his fingers twitched when you swiped along sockets of his joints clued that he could feel everything. Furthest from the palm, your fingers brush over the tip of his, feeling something briefly prick you. 

Innocently, you asked, “Claws?”

Instinctively, Moon tried to retract his hands, slip them from your hold. Take them back… shamefully . He had forgotten about the weapons Fazbear had loaded him. They made him dangerous. This was a mistake. You were going to fear him. He had always known that these hands were not made to tend children. The claws were only present when he fronted. Sun didn’t have the option to use them, and Moon didn’t have a choice to conceal them. He had forgotten about them at that moment. 

“Wait! Don’t leave!” Your grip on his palm tightens, leaving you prone to a deadly slice of his sharp talons along your wrist. But you risked it to keep him from fleeing. You felt your body pulled forward. 

“ You !” Moon tried to flex his fingers far from your skin as soon as he felt resistance to his escape, dodging the possibility of harming your flesh. “What are you doing? Why are you so careless? ” 

“I-I didn’t mean to offend you! I was fascinated by how different your design was from Sun!” You stuttered. “I’m sorry!” 

Moon let his arm relax, allowing you to gently grab hold of his hand once more. Befuddled, he asks, “ You… You didn’t do anything wrong. Why are you apologizing ?” 

“I-I don’t know. You responded like you were frightened.” You gripped his fingers tighter. Moon resisted the need to hold your hand back, preventing his claws from getting too close to you. “I thought I upset you.” 

Frightened. Scared. But why was he? He is Moon, the animatronic in charge of security, built to destroy as he was to protect. The big bad anti-hero of the night. Yet he was afraid of what you would think of him.

Sun had to chime in once more. He tried not to hover, but he could feel Moon spiraling. 『Moon. Remember, it’s Sunshine. They’re not going to react the same way as the others. They’re different. They want to get to know us. To see us. I don’t believe they will hurt us.』His lunar half started to relax at the sound of his voice. Though Moon tended to be the calmer of the two, Sun always knew what to say. 

“ Forgive me. I am… not used to human touch. ” Moon admitted freely. 

You thought about how Moon had already told you that he doesn’t play with children, he puts them to bed without holding or touching them. There was a deeper, and possibly darker, explanation to his fight-or-flight responses, but you weren’t going to ask him about it today. So instead you reassured him, “Thank you for letting me observe you. It was very brave of you to do so. We can stop if you're uncomfortable?”

“ No .”  

Moon allowed you to observe his hands for a few moments longer, just until lights were supposed to turn on for the opening of daycare. He and Sun had already delayed the lights turning on for you after the end of the last power save cycle, but now it was time to go. Moon began to relish the feeling of heat emitting from your hand, melting against the door by the second. It was a drastic difference to constant temperature that he sustains. Your fingers were dancing around his silicone and he couldn't help but wish for more. As you felt Moon slowly urge you to release your hold, he promised you that he won’t avoid you anymore. It’s the start of a brand new friendship, you hoped. 

You were reluctant to part ways with Moon’s hands, but with some hard convincing and light bribery - to meet tomorrow morning as well - you let go. Before closing the doors and parting ways, Moon mutters quietly - desperately close to the gap separating you and him, “ We will meet again soon -” A light purr emits from the door. You swear you heard it. “- Starlight .” 

The door closes with a click. An overloading explosion of warmth swelled within your chest. Your heart was once again beating uncontrollably fast.

Starlight? You smiled at the new nickname. It was adorable and unique. You had thought Sun’s name for you was already special, but now Moon was joining in on the name game. Another successful step in the right direction. 

….But where had you heard that name before?

An echo from the depths of the basement tickled your memories, barely existent to fully remind you of the voice of your savor. Maybe you’ll recall some other time. 

Sun sat at the edge of his balcony, kicking his legs back and forth. He was alone, which was a rare occasion on a Thursday afternoon. All the children were rounded up into the theater for movie day, something they were all very excited for since early morning. Considering how strict Fazbear Entertainment was with copyright infringement and not stepping over boundaries they themselves refuse to share - the movie was just a reel of old Freddy and the Gang cartoons. It was something Sun and Moon had watched hundreds of times. But children were easily entertained and there were no complaints in the choice of that matter. 

Unexpectedly, Sun was excused from the theater. Thomas had promised that he, Lindsey, and Dylan would take care of the children during movie day, giving Sun a moment to himself. It was a very thoughtful gesture, but Sun didn’t need time alone. He didn’t need rest. And he has a lot of time after hours to think alone. But he figured with how adamant the humans were, Sun decided to relent and sit on his balcony to wait for the children to return. 

Instead, he shifted his focus towards the gift shop, watching you walk around in circles cleaning the shelves and restocking inventory. Sun was beginning to like your mesmerizing movements. After this morning’s encounter between you, his sweet sunshine, and Moon, his other half, Sun felt like he was tiptoeing across the soft, bouncy clouds in the sky. Things were falling smoothly into place. It won’t be before long that he and Moon will finally get to comfortably meet you, letting you see everything that they hoped you were expecting. 

You were so good to Moon. His brother hasn’t been able to connect with an adult in such a way that it was almost perfect that they met you. The exact person they needed. If only everyone could be like you. Sun couldn’t help but want to reward your good behavior. But how should he reward you? Stickers? A trophy? A gift?

A small notification of movement was detected in the hallways leading out from the Superstar Theater. Moon quickly flips to the camera feed in their mind, hoping that it wasn’t a naughty child trying to sneak out undiscovered. 『 Sun, watch the hallway .』 

Vigilant, Sun turns his head towards the side halls that are connected to the daycare atrium. It was one of two exits from the theater. Motion sensors were activated. As Moon swipes through camera feeds, Sun catches sight of blue and yellow with red stripes leaving the darkness of the hall, the main color palette of the Superstar Daycare uniform. “Oh no.” 

Moon shudders in excitement. He’s been waiting for the perfect moment to land right in his lap. 『 Oh yes… 』

Entering the main lobby of the daycare, Lindsey sneaks back towards the main doors of the play area. Her right hand held her precious cell phone and her left held a small case for wireless earphones. She looks around cautiously, bending her knee just enough to hide her presence as she traverses around statues and decorations to return to the employee breakroom. There was still more than half an hour of the movie left, they won’t miss her for too long. 

Did she really think no one could see her silly attempt of escaping her duties? Where does she think she’s going?

『 Flip the lights Sun. Now. 』

A whine of dread escape their lips. Rays slowly retracted into their head. But Sun does as he’s told. Deep down, he does not condone Moon's definition of punishments, especially after seeing what his other half was planning in their shared mindspace, but he also cannot let rulebreakers run wild. It is against his programming to let this slide, especially when there are children at risk. Using the remote from the security desk, Sun turns off the lights and begins to feel the push-pull of Moon’s return. 

The humming of white fluorescent lights powering off rumbled across the atrium. The sounds of the generator falling silent could be heard from your counter. The only remaining lights in the daycare illuminated from the gift shop entrance and the large windows of the party rooms. Sounds of mechanical whirring and reconstruction echoed in the dark chamber of the daycare. Two beaming red lights appeared as the moon rose. 

Lindsey nearly cries out from the sudden wave of darkness enveloping her. She crouches behind a table and could feel something dangerous heading her way. She was emitting fear. 

Moon was coming. He’s ready for a hunt. And she was the prey. 

The sound of wires reeling and stretching drag across the atrium rapidly, carrying Moon from his balcony to Lindsey’s location beyond the walls. This was his territory. His home. And he does not allow tomfoolery and rule breaking within his domain. A punishment must be served. One worthy of all the wrongs she has committed. 

The metal wire latched onto Moon’s back releases the animatronic from over ten feet above ground. Gravity took hold as he plummets, but his landing was serene, only the impending sounds of bells ringing alerted Lindsey of his arrival. He stalks in a straight line. His eyes trained on her legs, peeking out from behind the small table. 

Walking slowly towards her, Moon strides, making sure his bells rang as he strolls. On the floor, Lindsey looks up to see her coworker approaching, looming over her with piercing ruby eyes glaring down. She scrambles, sliding backwards and pushing against her arms to crawl away across the tile floor. The fear in her eyes was all too familiar to Moon. He didn’t mind it with her. This he wanted.

“ And where do you think you’re going ? Hm? ” Moon takes two steps and catches up to her futile attempt to flee. 

Lindsey looks back and forth between Moon and the space behind her. A chair was in her way, but she could easily roll and run to the right. However, Moon was too close for her to make her break for the door. She nervously protested, “I was… o-on the way to the bathroom!” 

“ There’s a bathroom in the theater halls. ” Moon narrows his eyes. He slowly squats down to her level. His teeth bared for her to witness. 

“Well, I didn’t know that! First time being there, you know? I know that now, so I’ll just-” She falters, slowly turning at the earliest chance to make her escape. But Moon had already calculated her movements. He side steps and turns to block her exit, standing behind her.

“ No, please, use the restroom out here. You’re already so close. ” Moon smirks as he points at the public restroom by the stairs, opposite the direction she was hoping to go. The way he was standing guard was like a predator circling their next meal. Inching forward step by step, waiting for the right time to pounce. He shrugs his shoulders. “ But I doubt you’ll need these while you’re in the bathroom. ” 

Moon swipes at Lindsey’s unexpecting hands, taking both her phone and the earphone case. It was too easy. She barely held them tightly in her palm. It was laughable how unprepared she was for him. He looks at her silly little phone. The items are small compared to the size of his hand. The urge to crush her belongings sparked in the back of Moon’s mind, but Sun was urging him to refrain. 

『Moon, don’t do anything that’ll attract attention. W-We don’t want to get decommissioned.』 Sun reasoned. Moon’s shoulder tenses.  

“W-Wait!” Lindsey reached out towards the phone in Moon’s hand, but before she could reach the dangling charm, he pulled back and waved her possessions up in the air where she couldn’t reach. She stands and jumps up and down a few times. Her attempt was laughable. Moon growls at her through his smile, coaxing her to talk back. He was curious what kind of excuse she could make. Lies. All lies. 

“I was going to put them away, you know, since I shouldn’t be using them in the theater!” She laughs nervously. Moon watches her deflate with every second that passes in silence. Her breathing hastens. That confidence she usually held in front of Sun was absent. 

“ Yes, yes, you are correct. No phone usage while the daycare is open .” He hisses. A spark of hope and a smile erupts on her face - prematurely. Moon continues swiftly, “ Since you are so concerned with following the rules, let me help you put your phone away. Properly. ” 

Immediately, Lindsey’s face shifts, realizing that Moon wasn’t going to gently return her phone to her hands. Moon looks down at her, this time with a frown. He wanted her to know he was serious. He lets her glance at her phone one last moment before he winds up his arms. With a wide swing, Moon launches her phone and earphone case over the daycare wall, tearing through the air at supersonic speeds. The way her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates brought raw joy to Moon. The phone was there and suddenly it wasn’t. 

A distant splash of plastic balls indicated the safe landing into the ball pit after blindly hurling through the air. Nothing will break from the cushioned impact. But the ball pit was rather large, and in some parts of the playground, also deep. It could take a human several days to search the whole thing. Lindsey was at a loss for words. She whimpers quietly, mourning the loss of her phone. 

“ Seeee? Now you can return to the children… and watch over them diligently. Like a good Fazbear employee. ” Moon sneers. He waves his arm, shooing her towards the direction of the theater hallway. “ Your phone will be waiting for you right where I left it for the rest of the day. No one will even know it's there. ” His smile curls as Lindsey’s lips quiver. She refused to look him in the eyes. Through his thermal night vision, he watches as her body temperature rises, either from anger or embarrassment, he wasn’t sure. But that was none of his concerns. 

Lindsey doesn’t move or speak - unsure what to do. However, Moon doesn’t wait for her, if she wants to search for her phone for the rest of the day, he will delight in witnessing it. Otherwise, maybe she’ll make the right decision and head back to the theater. Moon takes two steps back and waves at her. He grinned, “ Nighty-night .” He leaps back into the air and catches his wire, latching tightly before it carries him back to his balcony. 

If this plays out correctly, Lindsey should have learned her lesson. If not, then Moon will move onto his next plan. 

Forced persuasion to quit. Just like all the others. 

Chapter Text

“Sun’s doing that shit again.” Thomas mutters with frustration. The furrow in his brow looked tighter than usual, you noted. Especially with the heavily tinted black circles around his lower eye lids. His face was pale in complexion. A single hand-wrapped sandwich sat on the table in front of him. “What can I do to convince him?” 

You took a sip of coffee as you leaned against the breakroom counter. Even with the cup design from the gift shop stating “Sunshine in a Cup” reminding you of Sun, you couldn’t really agree on the statement of its contents at the moment. The free coffee was mediocre and the caffeine wasn’t kicking in yet. No sunshine in this break room.  

Thomas has been noticeably having a harder time than usual. You’ve seen him less and less in the break room. It wasn’t directly his fault, but he was taking on a lot on his own. 

“What’s happened with Sun?” You asked genuinely. 

Even without Thomas’s complaints, you could gather that something was amiss and now was your chance to get a more direct answer. You noticed recently in the afternoons that Sun’s hands were getting more and more twitchy as he held yours. A few times he let go before readjusting and pressing down too rapidly on your hand. The silicone pinched your skin, which caused you to flinch. You recalled that it happened a few times in one conversation. It didn’t hurt, but Sun couldn’t stop apologizing after that. Even as you tried to reassure him, he was like he was trapped in his own little world. 

Sun retracted his hand, but immediately sought yours with both. The crack of the door opens more from his body leaning forward to grab you, slightly pushing you forward and you lose your balance. That seemed to make Sun panic more. “I’m sorry, Sunshine! D-Don’t be mad!” 

You adjusted yourself before holding tightly to Sun’s hand. “What? I’m not mad, Sun. I just lost my balance. It’s alright.”

“But what if you had fallen! Then you would have scraped your knee - a-and it could get infected!” Sun cries.

You argued, “Don’t worry, nothing happened. I know you didn’t do it on purpose!” 

”But-“ 

You squeezed his hand gently twice, like sending wordless, pulsing signals. “I’m not mad.” You tried to smile through your words, wondering if he could hear it. Sun must have sensed your implications, because he let the topic go with a warbled whine. You reassure him several times after. It’s okay. Everything’s okay. We’re okay. 

Moon wasn’t any better. He was already quiet in your daily conversations, but his movements were also very stiff. You tried your best to get him to relax, massaging parts of his palm and feeling his fingers twitch with your movements.  But with the way he avoided gripping any part of you with his claws, you had a feeling he must have known what Sun had previously done that day. The precautions were stifling. 

It seems that both Sun and Moon express their true feelings and thoughts with their actions. Too many words and too little words couldn’t get their messages across. They also stressed about things too. You kept that in mind in case they ever wanted to put off or hide something from you - which seems to be the current case for their handler. He hadn't discovered the true reason for Sun and Moon’s behavior. 

Thomas sighs as he leans on the break room table. He sat alone with an obvious slouch, seeming like he hasn’t been able to take a true break in a long time. “Sun’s been trying to avoid his maintenance appointment with Parts and Services. I’ve already had to reschedule it twice and he still wants me to move it once more. He was supposed to go in two weeks ago. The way he prances around my questions is starting to piss me off.” 

“Moon too?” 

“Yeah.” Thomas rolls his eyes, he puts his head down and muffles his words into his arms. “I haven’t even gotten a chance to talk with Moon. He’s even better at avoiding me. Running away in the dark is such a cheap fucking trick. But really, Sun is making a bigger deal about it. The two of them are becoming a pain in my ass.”

You took another sip of your coffee, sympathizing with his troubles. The taste of grounded beans was rendering a little more bitter at the back of your mouth. Guilt was seeping down your throat as you couldn’t seem to help his situation. You thought about how his position had opened up several times before you applied for your current job as the gift shop clerk. Had this been you, would the results have been the same? 

It couldn’t be right? Your experience with Sun and Moon had been cordial, entertaining even. You were looking forward to the next step of the friendship, whenever they allowed it. So what was going on?

”Do you regret being their handler?” You asked. 

“No,” he admits, fairly confidently. Slowly, Thomas lifts his head and rubs his temples. “But there’s just too many things happening right now that I have no control of. I just want one thing to go right.”  

You observed your coworker carefully. He was losing muscle tone by the day. The signs of exhaustion were creeping up at a rapid rate. If you had the guts to let him know how he truly looked, you wondered if he would get mad. You decided not to say anything just in case. Slowly, he reached for his untouched sandwich, but he stopped after hearing the plastic bag wrinkle under his fingers. 

Instead, you squint your eyes at him, lips curling hesitantly. “Hey, is everything alright with you?” 

Another heavy sigh slips from Thomas’ lips. He rubs his eyes, pressing on them hard as if he hoped that once he released the pressure, life would be different. “My mom is sick.” 

You bit your lip, treading waters you weren’t expecting to swim through. “Thomas…” 

“She’s been having trouble breathing for some time now. When we finally got her an appointment to get it checked out, and… the docs found a mass in her lungs.” 

You froze. “I’m so sorry.” 

“Thanks,” Thomas tries to shake off the atmosphere he created, smiling through the pain. “Don’t worry about it though. She’s going to start treatment next week. I’m going to try to go with her as often as I can. Management is already giving me a hard time with all the time off I’m requesting since reports about Sun and Moon are getting submitted late. It sounds like they’re going to deny a lot of it. But I’m sure she’ll be fine if she goes on her own.” 

Reservation coated his sweet, hopeful words, dripping down slowly like tears flowing down a child’s cheeks. The way he wore his expression and the way he spoke didn’t match. You felt sorry. None of this was his fault - his mother’s sickness, the attendant’s behavior, the assistant’s negligence…

Ideas and options started to form in your head - things you wouldn’t consider when you first took this job. The gift shop was supposed to be an easy job for you to use as a transition and childcare was off the table. You never expected to be attached to anything that Fazbear Entertainment had to offer while you used them as a stepping stone for another career. Plus, forty to fifty children in one room was still an overwhelming and intimidating aspect to tackle.

You hesitated and considered the alternative. This was the opportunity to test your capabilities to handle large groups of children, and if you didn’t like it, it wasn’t permanent. And you could spend more time with Sun and Moon. Simply put, the gift shop has also been slow business… it won’t hurt to try something new.  Maybe you could…?

You downed the rest of your coffee in one swig, deciding to take that leap. “Thomas, if you ever need to take the day off…. I can cover for you. Especially on the days of those appointments.” 

His head flicks up at you. Thomas gives you a thankful smile, hopeful even. 

“You’re a real one - you know that?” He put his head back down. “Thank you.”

You gave a playful smirk, “Don’t mention it. Just give me a summary of things I need to do.” Turning, you took your used coffee mug and ran it under the sink behind you. Your collection of Sun and Mood themed merchandise was expanding and you had full intentions of keeping all your paid items. Your heavy conscience washes away with the brown remnants of your beverage. “Need me to extend my offer for tomorrow?” 

“Nah, I’m good, not until next week. You’re already a big help just talking to me.” Throwing his thumb over his shoulder to point at the general direction of the daycare, Thomas indicates, “Compared to the princess, over there, who isn’t helping at all…” 

Even with the nickname, you knew who he was referencing. It seemed like Lindsey hadn't improved. But you also knew that. Rumors about her have been traveling the pizzaplex, something about her being really flirty with other employees. 

Hesitantly, you watch Thomas finally grab his food, unwrap its contents, and begin to nibble at it. The color in his face returned. You thought for a moment about sharing this next bit of information. Maybe it’ll help Thomas with his predicament. 

“Speaking of her,” You decided to add your bit to the list of grievances. “She’s been hanging out a lot in my store.” 

“With you?” Thomas perks up with his mouth full, eyebrows now furrowed for a different reason. 

”Yeah, with me.” You opened the top cabinet above the sink and stored your new mug inside. You turned back to find Thomas glaring. 

“Is that where she’s been?” 

“Yeah, since the day after the movie event,” You added. 

Lindsey has been spending all her personal breaks in the gift shop, whether you were also on your breaks or not. Something occurred a few weeks ago. You suspected it had something to do with movie day because no one came back from the event happy. The daycare lights were turned off for a long period of time, you assumed that it was for conserving energy. While you were sitting in your shop restocking the glass display, indistinguishable sounds came from the lobby. Wasn’t everyone in the theater though? 

Yet when the movie was over, Thomas was pissed that he and Dylan were left alone with nearly forty unsatisfied children and Lindsey came straight to your brightly lit shop crying. Sun was suspiciously quiet that evening too. You returned home after your shift that day, severely confused. 

Day after day, Lindsey stopped by your store and complained about Moon and how he was bullying her. He was the reason that her phone was missing for several days, according to her. Strange that neither Sun or Moon had mentioned this to you days following. 

“Those days were simultaneously the most productive and the least productive she had been since we were hired. She lost her phone and wouldn’t say how. She did her work but also spent a lot of time in the ball pit and away from the daycare.” Thomas recalled. 

“I wonder if Moon had hid her phone in the daycare.” You pondered, sitting down in front of Thomas. 

He takes another bite of his sandwich, scarfing more and more of his food. “If he did, I should go thank him. However, she really shouldn’t be bothering you with your work.” 

“I mean, she’s not bothering me per se… it’s more like she’s using me to avoid her own work.” 

“Amen.” 

“I guess she found some comfort in confiding with me? I didn’t really do anything though.” You thought back to those last few days that Lindsey would stand on the other side of the counter, leaning against the glass you had just wiped down, just to complain to you. Barely giving any feedback or saying words outside of agreeable humming noises, you listened. “She keeps coming back.” 

“Maybe it’s because Sun, Dylan, and I don’t give her the attention she wants.” Thomas guessed. 

“What about the children?” 

Thomas chuckles, “I doubt she wants that kind of attention.” 

You sat there, confused. How could the attention of almost fifty little sugar-high, tiny adults not be enough? Then why did she apply for the assistant position? 

Sun held two children in his arms, walking around the ball pit in circles. He aimlessly wandered with no real direction. The children were having fun pointing and leading him, thinking he was dutifully listening to them, but in reality they didn’t know how deep in thought their caretaker was in. He felt beyond troubled, unable to piece together all the sources of his problems. One child begins to slap the back of his head, the panel that housed all his necessary processors, to get his attention. 

Sun takes one step after another. His eyes shifted and focused on his handler sitting behind the security counter. The man was oozing disdain. The poor solar attendant couldn’t help but think that their handler was upset at them. It’s been over five - no, six - months since their last maintenance. It was almost a daily task for him to mute the request for a program update, because he was afraid that Parts and Services had to be the ones to initiate it. He absentmindedly reached out to his other half for help. 

『Moonie… I don’t think Thomas is happy.』

『 Oh you think? I think he’s feeling peachy - all dandelions and sunflowers. Just look at that face. 』 Moon retorts sarcastically. Thomas looks up at both of them, seemingly wearing a scowl on his face. Moon could sense hostility when he saw it, but for some reason, he didn’t think Thomas was directing his frustration on them. The stare was very… blank. Yet it was still unsettling to see the poor man be tortured by his and Sun’s ignorance. 

『 I don’t think we should delay maintenance anymore.  』Sun suggests meekly. The child in his right arm leans up and pulls on Sun’s ray, who barely responds to the action. 『 We shouldn’t get on his bad side. 』

Moon grumbles, 『 I agree . 』

Unfortunately and fortunately for them, Sun and Moon’s previous handler lacked connection with the children, but they were really attentive to the daycare attendant’s maintenance schedule. They would never let Sun nor Moon miss a company wide driver update. This, of course, put them on the animatronic’s bad side, but that was never really a concern for them in the first place. They just needed a way to seem like they were doing their job correctly. 

Moon sighs within their shared head space. He watches as Sun puts the two children down on the ground. They run off towards the front gate, giggling. More children were arriving for the day and they were more interested in their new friends. 『 When’s the next appointment made? 』

Both Sun and Moon had noticed that their ticks are getting more frequent. Their movements were getting harder to control. What was synonymous with human reflex crossed over to animatronics as unexpected erratic input. A small kick of their foot. A ray on Sun’s head retracts and gets stuck. Sometimes it was code executed by Moon from within and Sun would respond. Sometimes neither of them had the thoughts to move and their body would react anyways. It was strange. 

The afternoon Sun pinched your skin with his fingers, Moon was terrified to hold you. He wanted to deny your request that morning, but your voice was too alluring to say no. So he withheld with all his strength every finger from curling into your hand. 

But the way you caressed his palms gently called out to him to give in. He wanted to hold your hand. He wanted to fully feel the warmth of your small soft hands encased in his. The wires underneath the silicone were drawn to your touch every time. However, he refrained, putting up his own firewalls to block communications of his desires from his manual control. 

Sun pulls up the calendar and drags the window within their visual space. A small but bright red dot indicated doomsday in the center. He mentally sighs,『 Next Thursday… we’re after Freddy. 』

『 Hm. Alright then. 』 Moon surrendered. His voice sounded distant within their shared mind. He disappears into deep sleep in preparation for nap time later in the afternoon. 

Sun returns his focus on the children, who are now running around his legs playing tag. He watches as they play, carefree, to the world around them. Even with all the dangers that lurk just outside of daycare, these kids are protected and unfazed in their ignorance. For as long as he has been activated as a caretaker, Sun has yet felt the disconnected joy that children have. He was jealous of their innocence. Fear, anxiety, anger - emotions unique to things that were alive. Happiness, sadness, excitement - feelings portrayed by man-made metal juxtaposed at a cellular level. Or even sensations, like pain . Why was he built the way he was? To exist as close to a human as possible? And yet, he didn’t feel the same. Only partially, just the code that he was given and the code he has adapted to develop. It didn’t feel like it was enough. He didn’t feel whole. He didn’t feel human or wanted. Sun didn’t even bother to ask why he existed in the same body as another. Not even the Glamrocks were forced to share! 

It just wasn’t the same.  

The day goes by uneventfully. Before lunch, the same routine passes like clockwork - story time with Sun, arts and crafts with Lindsey, morning exercises with Thomas, and then preparations for lunch. But the whole time, the daycare attendant wasn’t as enthusiastic as he usually was. It was almost like he was tired. 

“Alright everyone, it’s time for naptime!” Thomas announces by clapping his hands twice. The children all run around him screaming different variations of ‘no’ and ‘you can’t make me’. Sun grabs a few kids and throws them over his shoulder, letting them giggle and yell before he walks them to the nap corner. He wore his signature smile, hoping no one would notice his inner turmoil. 

“My turn! My turn!” Several other children chase Sun, grabbing onto his yellow and red striped pants. They tried to pull him down but of course they were no match for his strength. 

“Are you ready, Sun?” Thomas asks as he lifts the remotes for the lights out of his pocket. The daycare attendant nods his head, giving an unusually silent response. His handler must have noticed because a slight frown made its way across his face. 

But before any comments can be made, Thomas hits the remote too quickly. The color of navy blue and pants filled with stars return as the lights dim in the daycare. Moon fronts, switching sides with Sun, and notices that his brother was suspiciously quiet. It was why he got proper rest today, Sun wasn’t fussing or talking as much. Maybe lunch didn’t go well today or it was possible that the looming appointment with Parts and Services clouded his mind. Either way, Moon didn’t want to bother Sun about it. It was time for the sun to set and take a break.  

Restless little feet scramble around in the dark, attempting to find a way to escape Moon’s gathering arms. He made sure to keep his claws in check and placed the children onto their little spots to nap as quickly as possible. Somehow, the children aren’t as excited about playing with Moon than with Sun. 

“ Everyone this way .” One-by-one the children are led to the naptime corner, where Moon will read them a story of their choice. Most of them are reluctant followers, tempted by Moon's sweet and alluring voice. A few of the troublemakers required a little more hand-on convincing. 

A distinguishable pitter patter of heavier steps against the foam floors made its way away from the security desk towards the exit. Moon took notice immediately with his keen hearing, processing the possibility of a child straying from the group. However, it wasn’t a child. 

It was Lindsey. Her bright red hair could be seen even in the dim lighting of night lights scattered around the daycare. 

“ And where does she think she’s going ?” The raspy voice harshly whispered from the animatronic’s voice box, trying to keep calm in front of his young audience. Moon’s eyes trained on Lindsey’s movement out of the daycare. First she doesn’t help set up for naptime, and now she decides to leave for break early? The doors open a jar, barely enough to let her slip through before she disappears. From the moment she stepped out the door, Moon switched the camera feeds on to trail her. 

Another voice joins him, also catching the assistant skipping out on break early. “Ugh, there she goes again. She never stays to help, does she?” Thomas rolls his eyes before returning his focus on the squirming child in his arms. “Paula, stay still!” 

His handler was wearing a fierce grimace, staring daggers at the direction of the misguided assistant. Maybe it wasn’t them that was making Thomas mad. 

While his hands were busy tucking in one child at a time and wrapping their flailing limbs into a bundle of blanket burrito, Moon’s attention focused on the surveillance footage. Curiosity had him in a trance. His arms moved swiftly and methodically, not missing a beat in restraining the children for their naps. It was something he had done hundreds of times. Easy. However, he watched as Lindsey walked directly in the direction of the Lucky Star Gift Shop, the opposite direction of the Superstar employee break room. She moves with confidence, striding like she owned the place. 

『 Is she going to see Sunshine? 』 Sun pipes up with interest. His first words since Moon took control of their body. 『 I didn’t know they knew each other. 』

『 I didn’t either … 』 Moon snarls quietly. The child in his arms looks up in confusion. It wasn’t strange to them that employees knew one another, it was bound to happen since both of you worked in the daycare. It was the fact that Lindsey was so familiar with you. How could someone so diligent, focused, and hardworking associate with someone like her?

Both Sun and Moon continue to watch Lindsey move, strolling into your store and greeting you with overdramatic waves of her arm in the air. You gave her an acknowledging nod without pausing your task of folding clothes to stock the shelves. Then, their assistant dares to move your neatly folded items to the side, making space for herself to lean against the counter. She continued to talk while you occasionally nodded. Moon noticed that you haven’t spoken once and worked around her.  

As you walk away from the counter to put the clothes onto the shelf, Lindsey quickly gets up and rounds the corner of the counter to stand where you were previously stationed, taking your spot and making it her own. She sits in your stool, kicking her feet like a child on a swing set. Sun was furious. 『 Just what is she doing!? 』 Even children knew not to take what wasn’t theirs!

You walked back towards the counter to grab another stack of the clothes, minding your own business as Lindsey invaded your workspace.  Sun speaks up once more,『 Why is she bothering them? 』He continues to ask questions that Moon was also wondering but had no answers for. Maybe Moon didn’t scare Lindsey enough. He regrets not dishing a harsher punishment.  

Moon walks towards the little corner bookshelf and grabs The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It was a book about a bug he’s never seen before, but they must be big if they’re always hungry like this book mentions several times. While Moon grabbed the book and sat down in his spot in the center of the nap corner, his focus was still on you. 

You looked over the shelves satisfied with your own work, completely oblivious of how Lindsey was looking at you from behind the counter. Her eyes follow you the same way Sun and Moon’s did when they first observed you. They sparkled with interest. Moon slightly frowned, that unknown feeling of unobtainable desire was back. Jealousy made its way down his endoskeleton. His finger twitches. 

『 She’s distracting Sunshine! 』Sun complained. He was getting worked up, producing code to be processed at double the speed. 

Multitasking, Moon read the book, smooth and steady. His voice was low as he tried to focus on the children. Luckily, it didn’t take long for him to put them to sleep. He was satisfied with his work, but his fans were turned on from how much strain was put on his system. With Sun making a ruckus in their shared space, Moon was using more RAM to complete easy processes. 

Moon couldn’t stop producing questions that he wanted answers to. Sun was asking them line by line. Was she spending her time with you? While you were working? Why’s she bothering you now? First Lindsey tried to distract Thomas, then Sun, and now you. 

『 Moon, look! 』Sun indicated. The footage of the camera pointing directly into your little store concentrated on the two humans that stood within.  

Lindsey reaches for your hand and grabs it, trying to slide her fingers between yours. The moment that hit the nail on the coffin. You showed some resistance, startled by her sudden familiarity. You pulled back and said something to Lindsey, which caused her to giggle. But Moon and Sun didn’t catch your refusal. It was already too late. 

A flame seems to light in their chassis as heat builds from their fan turning at rapid speed. Nothing diminishes the flames as quickly as it grew. 

They snapped.  

“ How dare she ! ” 『 How dare she! 』

The two brothers stiffened. Frozen. Fail to execute. For a second, they disconnected - from the world and from each other. Their programs synced together in anger. Everything fell into a single line. Together, they felt a spark of another presence. 

“𝗪h a ʇ?” Their voice box whispered. The glitches caught in between the syllables, “w̜͛ḫ̾ͫɐt’s Ⱨ₳𝗽𝗽 en ing͙?” 

That sound. Was that their voice? Combined and merged into one. Unrecognizable. 

Moon felt his body convulse. His head twitched to the side as a golden ray fell out from the left side of his faceplate. It locks into place for a second before retracting back into his head. A second ray on the opposite side does the same thing, violently popping into place. His night cap nearly knocks off his head from the snap. Almost like Sun had just stepped into his shoes and tripped Moon off their feet to take his place. It took Moon a moment to get straightened out, mind in a whirlwind by the sudden overwhelming explosion of synchronized emotions. 

Then, their arm grasped his attention. 

Though it was dark and his night vision blurred colors into grayscale, Moon could tell that something was wrong. The metal plating under his silicone was paling. Navy blue transitioned to light yellow mid-forearm down towards their hand, mixing into an orange tone where the two colors meet. His paint color was becoming Sun’s shades. But Sun wasn’t in control, he was. Was he? 

He tried to clench his fist. His fingers locked after a momentary curl. He couldn’t move them past that. 

Instead, a few of his claws retracted on their own before his eyes, two of the five fingers, jerking as the metal talons suctioned back into his finger. A short jolt of pain stung his wires, like they were splitting down the center and unraveling under his skin. Another one of their ticks was now transforming their body. Smooth, clawless fingers rounded the tips of his thumb and pointer. Moon watched in horror. Their body had never hurt them before. This has never happened before!

Was Sun forcibly fronting? 

Moon tries to fight it. He runs through the code he could reach and scans for anomalies. A bunch of letters, numbers, symbols were jumbling and mixing in various places, specifically the lines that dictated their transformation. The sensor was breaking. Moon’s confidence shatters as he watches his hand return back to sleek, navy shade. His claws extend back to normal length, sharp and jagged.

『 Sunny, you need to calm down! 』 Moon tried to warn his brother, unsure how to contact Sun when the two of them were merged. Are they one mind? Or are they still two?

Sun finally responds from his side. No longer was he within their shared space but rather he was beside Moon. 『 Moon, I’m scared!』They were both scared. 

Their body flails, uncontrollable as their limbs jerk in different directions. Moon pulls back as Sun pushes forward. Their minds try to separate from their physical body, like peeling apart two strong magnets. Error messages flash before them. Warnings of overheating alerted them. Moon’s scarlet eyes dimmed before flickering on and off. Then, their body slumps to the ground like a doll carelessly thrown onto the floor. 

Silence filled the daycare except for the sounds of soft snores. With none of the adults within range, the children were left unattended for several minutes. But the attendant wasn’t gone for long. 

A loud hum buzzes as the animatronic reboots. Powering up from an unexplained crash took several minutes. Power was siphoned from their battery bank, draining at twice the speed to restart. 

Moon slowly sits up, reading the various pop up windows of reminders for their maintenance and their updates. The final window that appeared before him was a warning of possible lost data after the shutdown, sending a receipt similar to a crash report. He closes the alert, saving the file, and finds himself staring straight into the open eyes of a child. 

“Mr. Moon, what’s dat sound?” A little boy sat up from his little mat. The movement of Moon’s body hitting the ground had created vibrations and woken the child, who was more intrigued with Moon than missing out on his nap. 

“ I-It’s nothing .” Moon whispers as confidently as he could. He smiles and clenches his teeth to avoid any further suspicions. Hands carefully placed on the boy’s head to soothe the growing cowlick.  “ Now go back to sleep, little one .”

Neither Sun nor Moon spoke to each other for the rest of naptime. Each of them analyzing the crash report individually. Where did it go wrong? What triggered this sudden clash. Was it a misinput?

They had completely forgotten about you and Lindsey during their panic. 

Finding nothing, Sun whispers first.『 Moonie?  What was that?』

” I… I don’t know ,” he whispers. 

Maybe it was time to request to move their maintenance up earlier.

Chapter Text

You squat outside of the daycare doors well beyond their closing time. All the parents and children have long cleared the area, more interested in other parts of the pizzaplex filled with games, shows, and food. But only you remained, sitting and waiting for your dear friend to arrive. It was Saturday after all, the plex was open late with extra shows and events today. Entertainment was everywhere, but you didn’t mind spending it here instead. 

The other employees have also left, leaving just the sounds of the daycare theme song echoing across the atrium. The lights in the party rooms have been turned off by yours truly. There was nothing booked for the weekend. Everything was so still, except for a few fans above the catwalks that swayed with the flow of the air conditioning. You looked down at your Fazwatch. Almost six thirty in the evening. 

It was getting noticeably late. Sun has never left you waiting for too long without dropping by the door to let you know he still had one or two quick things to do. And even those instances were rare. Since the two of you had started these daily talks, he hadn’t missed a single one. The enthusiasm he brought to the end of your shift always brought a smile to your face. Plus his timing was impeccable, always present before you. Almost like he knew you when you were leaving the breakroom to come see him. 

Slowly you slid down against the door, completely sitting on the cold tile floors. Your head leans against the wood, making a dull thunk. Another fifteen minutes passed and you were starting to get worried. Was it inappropriate to call out to him? The option lingered on your mind for another minute. 

No. No, you won’t. 

You decided to continue to wait. You tucked your arm below your knees and held your legs. Giving him the boundaries previously seemed to really bring him out of his shell last time, and respecting it will be the best thing you can give him indirectly. The results of your actions changed the development of your relationship with Sun. The evolution of how much he shared with you impressed you. It originally started with only things he did that day. 

“Sunshine! Little Crystal drew me a picture of all the farm animals her parents own. And-And little George stubbed his toe trying to jump into the ball pit from the wrong side. He cried for almost a full five minutes! But big George, the-the older one of course - that’s not his name, it’s how I distinguished them - he laughed at little George for hurting himself. I gave him a big lecture about laughing at other’s pain.” Sun recalled. “Victoria dirtied her doll but I managed to give a good clean! You couldn't even see the ketchup stain and she was so happy!” 

And he could go on forever, recalling everything from his stored memory of things that happened in the daycare. He would share everything. And while you were engaged in the conversation, you couldn’t help but fear what it would be like to have to deal with all the children the way Sun dealt with them. However, he made it sound fun. You’d never interrupt him, giving him that space to tell you whatever he wanted. It was a simple dynamic between the two of you. 

But, something changed him. Sun started to share how he felt. Things that he thought and feelings he had about the situation leaked into the conversations. You started to swell in appreciation of his advanced technology. He adapted. He transformed. He really was his own entity.  

“Oh Sunshine, poor little Justin had fallen down the play structure stairs and scraped his knee. It looked like it hurt so much! I couldn’t stand listening to him shriek in pain when I applied first aid. It hurts my chest every time they make any noise that isn’t laughter. I just want the children to be happy!” A sound of metal retracting could be heard from the other side of the door. Sun’s rays shrunk into his head as he described his sorrow. “But-but luckily I was able to sing him a little song! It really brought up his mood and it just made me so warm!” 

“That’s amazing, Sun,” You smiled. “Tell me more.” The tingles of warmth spread across your chest as you melted in his descriptions. Rather than storytelling line by line, he was now expressing and sprinkling the events with his emotions. His willingness to share grew as your relationship got closer. 

Unknown to you, Sun could hear the sound of your lips curling but he also had Moon’s surveillance footage pulled up to see your face. Secretly, it brought him joy. Just knowing you were on the other side of the door enjoying his company and his feedback and not just wanting a word by word replay of his day encouraged him to share more. The need to see you cultivated and blossomed. The urge to open the door ripened. 

As for Moon… well, he started to tell you what books he read to get the children to sleep that day. And you considered that progress. A few times, he let slip what his favorite moment was when he got to sit with them: being able to listen to them breathe and dream in peace as he hums soft tunes of a lullaby that he was programmed to learn. It made him comfortable with his job as the naptime attendant. It also meant you were close enough for him to share such intimate secrets of his. And that was enough for you. 

Moon shared the same sentiments as Sun, though he didn’t speak as much. He appreciated your understanding of his distances, yet he was slowly getting drawn to you as well. Having given him the opportunity of touching a human differently from just holding a child, he often wondered if the rest of your arm felt the same warmth as your hands. But he was too afraid to ask. And he was too afraid to act. 

Another ten minutes trickled by. 

You couldn’t help but wonder if maybe something was wrong. The negative thoughts were seeping in. Did Sun… maybe run out of batteries somewhere? Or maybe he was stuck? What if you ran in to find him? You didn’t know what the inside of the play area looked like, but if you tried hard enough, you were sure you could possibly find an animatronic, right? Especially if he was built to be as similarly tall as Chica and Monty. Maybe Moon was also damaged? Could they not help each other?

Neither Thomas nor Lindsey seemed to be in any distress when they were in the break room previously before they left. Thomas has requested that you take his shift next Friday, his mother’s appointment has been scheduled for that morning. And Lindsey was excited to hear you were going to be working with her next week. 

Speaking of Lindsey, her actions this afternoon were unexpected. After her appearance in your store, she hung around for the third day in a row. Whenever she dropped by, she would talk non-stop about herself. Several times, you wanted to interrupt and ask her to leave, but confrontation with conflict wasn’t in your agenda with his job. You held yourself back. You wanted to ask her why she continued to visit you, especially during your work hours, but you decided that ignoring her presence should deplete her interest in you quickly. It seemed to work initially. Whatever had prompted her to grab your hand so suddenly in an attempt to lace your fingers together today forced you to be vocal. 

“What the-” You sucked in a breath and pulled your hand back swiftly. “Lindsey!” 

“Yes?” She giggles with high pitched innocence. She bats her eyelashes at you. “What’s the matter?” 

“What was that for?” You questioned. You watched as Lindsey tried to slip her hand toward you again but you took your hand and placed it behind the store counter. She stops and tries to smoothly reach for your Moon figure by the register instead. 

“I just felt a little lonely~ and I wanted your company.” She looks up at you, leaning her entire body over the counter to bring herself closer. You could hear the creaking of the glass from the weight of her body. Lindsey stuck her nose in your direction, trying to give you a better view of her face. Carelessly, she drops Moon’s figure to the side and lets it fall against the glass. 

You gave her a look, as best as you could muster that would describe itself as bafflement. The skin between your brows furrow and your cheeks raise as your eyes squint in disbelief. “You can’t do that without asking. What if I didn’t like it?” Your voice rises just a little seeing how she was not taking the situation seriously. It was all a game to her. “We don’t know each other like that.” 

“But we can. I’ve been wanting to get to know you better.” She laughs. She had left after several awkward moments of her trying to inch closer. She spoke with no awareness, oblivious to your discomfort. 

There was something different about the way you felt Lindsey’s request to your friend. Or something closer, as she implied. It wasn’t the same feeling as when you had asked Sun and Moon to be their friend. There was no desire for anything more with her. 

You took a deep sigh, bringing your legs closer to your chest. The air was starting to get cold. Lack of movement and the large blast of air through the empty daycare was starting to nibble tiny goosebumps across your skin. You rested your head against your knees. Maybe Sun will come soon. 

『 They’re still there.』 Moon whispers. He pulls up the camera feed within their shared mind space and watches as you slowly lean your head down against your knees upon your arms. A wire tugs in Sun’s chest. Sun clenches his fist before reaching over and placing his hand over the sudden jolt of pain. Was Moon affecting him?

“I- I know, but…” Sun stutters. “But I can’t. I d-don’t want to hurt them.” He laces his hands together in his lap. Their body sat barely on the edge of their makeshift bed - a lump of constructed cushions stacked into the form of a mattress. A single thin sheet covered the personal project. The room upon the balcony was lit bright, but the velvet curtain kept any light from seeping through. Sun had already connected the worn-out charging cord to his back, biding his time. 

The two of them look down at the state of their body. Nothing looked different. Sure, a bit of paint here and there needed touch up from a lack of consistent maintenance, but nothing seemed broken. No wires were out of place and no silicone plates slipped during their combined shifting. Moon had checked the hardware earlier during naptime when he opened his chest quietly. There must be something wrong with their internal processor. A code error. 

Moon sighs. 『 Then just tell them to leave…』 It wasn’t the action that Moon wanted to suggest, but it was better than wasting your time. It was hard for them to tell you no. But watching you on the feed slowly curl into yourself was saddening him, an emotion he has yet to explore fully. 

“I can’t, Moon! I can’t! If I go over there, I won't be able to stop myself.” Sun’s teeth start to chatter. The metal chips lined up in his mouth tinker in a high pitch clink, almost touching but not quite. 

Both Sun and Moon had started to look forward to certain things in the daycare. Snack time. Nap time. Play time. These short little rendezvous with you. The list of people they were willing to spend time with wasn’t long. Nearly the majority of the list were children. You were the only adult on that list. However, having to outweigh the risk of possibly merging while holding your hand was a sacrifice of their time with you they were willing to attempt to make. 

Sun’s rays retract into his head. He tries to avoid watching the live video feed, but inadvertently mimics your posture. His body begins to shake. 

“How many more days until maintenance?” Sun cries as he tries to focus on anything in his room. 

『 Five.』 Moon responds somberly. Their request to move maintenance up a few days was denied. The Glamrocks had their post-weekend tune-ups and after that a three day block was saved for DJ Music Man. There was nothing they could do. Maybe this was karma for having delayed their scheduled check-up for so long. 

It was late. You were starting to get a little hungry. You stretched your neck forward and back at the terrible posture before releasing your legs in preparation for maximum lung usage. At the top of your voice, you called out. “Sun! Moon! I’m going home-” You paused, hoping for someone to stop you before continuing. A noise. Any noise. “I’ll be back Monday morning. I’m going to be off tomorrow. I’ll… I’ll see you guys then?” 

You hesitated with the rest of your statement, turning it into a question. There was a moment where you doubted that they would have time to meet with you then if both Sun and Moon were busy now. Maybe there was another big event they were preparing for that no one had told you about. Or maybe they were finally tired of speaking with you. It probably wasn’t programmed into them to ghost you, but maybe they know how. They have no obligations to you - an employee outside the realm of daycare. 

Silence followed your announcement. Your feet wavered another minute before you stood up and began to trudge towards the stairs. The weight of your legs felt like lead, unsatisfied with the way your Saturday was ending at the pizzaplex, dragging forward. It felt like something was pulling you back. 

In the distance, the sound of high power wires reeling started far before approaching at high speeds. You gave a small glimpse towards the daycare, wondering if you were hearing things. But a large thump against the daycare’s rainbow painted door captures the rest of your attention immediately. 

“Sun-Sunshine, wait!” Sun nearly bodyslams into the wall as he yells, feeling the way his body’s momentum was drawn to your voice. His wire throws him into the ground after his latch detaches as he rolls and somersaults towards the entrance. He barely held his hand out in time to stop his body from crashing and making a hole through the wall. In the end, he couldn’t help himself, just like he predicted. “P-Please…” 

“Sun?” You quickly turned back to the door and put your hand against the panels. Moisture immediately formed in between the folds of your palm. The tone of his voice, frantic, sent immediate stinging sensations down your spine. “Is everything alright?” 

The sound of mechanical whirring and jumbled clanking seeped through the crack of the door. You put your ear against it, trying to determine if you could diagnose the issues of an animatronic body blindly. Maybe the noise could give you an idea of what Sun was going through, why he was so late. Thomas did say they were due for maintenance but you didn’t think their condition would be anything concerning. 

“Y-Yes, Sunshine, I’m al-alright.” Sun responds anxiously. He tries to collect himself a little, seeing that his ribbons were slipping from his wrist and his ruffle cuff was sliding off his shoulder. He’s never let himself get unkempt, but frantically trying to remove his charging cord to chase you down threw him off. It was so abrupt, he forgot to close the panel on his back. 

“That doesn’t sound like you’re alright.” You grimaced. “Sun, tell me what’s wrong.” 

Another small squeeze develops in their chest. Sun’s bell jingles as he adjusts them along his wrists. 『 They were worried for us. 』Moon whispers as if surprised. He thought you would have proceeded with your usual conversations with Sun without asking a single question about their delay. That wasn’t the case at all. You were truly worried. You cared. Their momentary disappearance meant something to you. 

“We’re just due for maintenance is all. Nothing-Nothing to worry about!” Sun tries to brush away your concerns. It wasn’t often, if at all, that someone cared enough to ask about their wellbeing. Sun didn’t know how to answer the question. There was something wrong with them. But what exactly is wrong, he didn’t know. He and Moon were still exploring their code. After sweeping it twice, there was still nothing. 

You furrowed your brows. You had this feeling that he was hiding something from you, either out of courtesy or avoidance. You originally wanted to give him space. But now that you could sense something was wrong, you changed your mind. “Sun, if anything is wrong - with you or Moon - please tell me. I may not know what you look like or know anything about Fazbear’s animatronics, but I think you can trust me in finding you the help you need. There has to be, like, an on call mechanic right?” 

『 Moonie, can we tell them?』Sun fiddles with his fingers. He slowly crouches to the ground and cowers against the wall. The sound of your voice draped in uneasiness and agitation was starting to stress him. 『 If it’s Sunshine, they might understand.』

『 But what can they do? We don’t even know what’s going on with us. 』 Moon’s unconscious way of bluntly speaking the truth was starting to hurt himself. Without the technicians from Parts and Services, there was no way to diagnose anything by anyone. Even their handler was oblivious to this conundrum. 

『 It’s better than us suffering alone! 』Sun squeaks within his mind. 

Moon tries to shake Sun from within their shared space.『 But when have we ever not suffered alone?! 』A single claw pops out from Sun’s right pinky. Moon quickly takes a step back and the claw retracts. He gasps. 

Sun watches his hand in horror, ultimately pushing him to take that step. No more waiting. “Sunshine? Can I ask you something?” 

“Yes?” Your tone is hopeful, relieved that Sun’s opening up. You quickly took your hands and patted down the side of your jacket, removing as much perspiration as possible. 

The clicks of his rays getting stuck halfway into his head create a blunt snap. The snap didn’t sound like something an advanced animatronic should be producing. Sun whispers, “I’ve been feeling… feeling strange.” 

“Strange how?” 

Sun could feel Moon stutter from within, anxious for how Sun will answer the question. “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s almost like a feeling. Something that isn’t physical. I can’t hold it. I can’t grasp it. I-” 

Sun stopped himself. He gasps in realization. Moon felt a jolt of hesitation as a shock from within, unprepared for Sun’s hesitance. Maybe it was a bad idea to tell you what happened - especially since you’ve never seen them. Did you even know they were one animatronic? That fact slipped them. 『 Moon, I don’t think Sunshine knows we’re one in the same yet.』

His counterpart growls, 『 Then tell them something else! You’ve already started it, you can’t leave Starlight hanging!』

So Sun deviated the topic with a rapid swerve. He spins the problem from another direction. “I… I thought it was something special.” 

『 Where are you going with this, Sunny? 』Moon asks, confused with his brother’s capability to problem-solve. 

“What was?” You respond. The anticipation was creeping into anxiousness. You brought your face closer to the door to lean your ear against the crack. Sun’s voice was slowly disappearing with each word. Whatever was ailing him was bothering him enough to affect his volume. 

“Being able to hold your hand-” 

Moon interrupts,『 That’s your solution? 』

『I mean, it kind of relates?』 Sun shrugs his shoulders. 

You admit quietly, thinking as you speak. “I would say it is. I don’t just let anyone do it.” It was mostly the truth: aside from your family, there weren’t many people who had the permission to hold your hand. Sun and Moon are the most recent additions to that list. 

“But… but what about Lindsey?” Sun’s voice borders a whine, like a child asking for more candy. He tugs on his collar, readjusting it once more. 

You sat there in silence, processing his question. Lindsey? Why would he bring up her…-? 

Suddenly, you felt nervous and gasped. This afternoon!  How did he know that happened? Wasn’t it in the store? It strangely felt like you were caught with your pants down, even though it wasn’t in any way your fault. Why did you feel so guilty? 

“Sun, I didn’t give her permission to do it. She just did that on her own! No warning-” You tried to explain yourself. You weren’t sure why, but you felt the need to do so. Your hands were starting to sweat again, this time between your fingers. “I’m not even sure why she was there today, or even yesterday for that matter,” You fiddled with your jacket sleeves as you spoke, tugging and pulling the elastic. “She was just all up in my space!” You sputter through your words as they generate in your mind, “I immediately took my hand back. And-And actually, I told her not to do it anymore! Because-” You pounded your fist against the door. 

Like rapid fire, you yelled, “-I didn’t even like it!” 

Your voice echoes across the daycare atrium, resonating for no one but Sun and Moon to hear. For some reason, your chest was heaving with your face plastered against the door. Maybe Sun would understand your urgency if you were just a little closer. It’s just not close enough. 

“Oh.” Sun’s rays extend back out, unlocking one by one. He stands and turns towards the door, leaning into your weight. The latch of the door squeaks from both your weight against it. Sun’s faceplate rotates a hundred eighty degrees, to the left and then to the right. He slowly processed that information before concluding and generating a new fear. He whispers, ”What about us? Do you not like it when we hold your hand?” 

You could feel the sweat in your palm turn clammy, sticky and moist. “You and Moon are different. You had permission because I wanted to hold your hand. To see you. So… yes. I-I don't mind it. I... like it” 

Sun didn’t realize, but he was standing on his toes and hugging the door. What grandiose revelation! Your words brought him so much joy! Oh if only there wasn’t a barrier. You were so close. And he can easily remove it, all he has to do is open the-

“And how did you know?” You asked quietly. “How did you know Lindsey tried to hold my hand? Were you nearby?” 

Sun’s fan jams, mimicking the sounds of him sucking in a breath and nearly choking on it. The excitement rewinds back to anxiety. His voice box produces the sound of coughing, nervously he tries to make up an answer. “We… I-” he hiccups. 

Moon thought watching Sun curl under the pressure of his own mistakes usually to be fairly funny, but this time knowing that Sun might lie to you more deterred him from allowing it to wedge their relationship with you further. He didn’t want to lose his first adult friend. And he knows Sun doesn’t want to either. His poor brother was digging himself deeper into the hole.『You can just tell them. If we’re going to be honest with them, they should know.』

Sun sighs. He scratches his arm with the blunt finger tips, removing a little more paint from his forearm. “Moon is a security bot. The head security bot. He can access the cameras all around the plex. But-But I promise we haven’t been using it for anything other than child security … and occasionally… watching you. I’m sorry Sunshine. ” 

“What?” You heard yourself ask in shock. Moon is a security bot? What does that exactly entail? You know that means now that Moon has the ability to watch you through the security cameras, but what else does he do? Doubling up on their roles within the pizzaplex to save them money sounded like something a cheap large franchise company would try to do. Your heart continues to hammer, now fueled by the knowledge that your friends are capable of other tasks and roles separate from being a child-rearing robot. 

“A-Are you mad?” Sun follows up immediately. He could feel the silence upon your lips, quivering. 

You naturally smiled, unaware of his turmoil. “Mad about what?” 

“That we saw?” 

“Not at all,” You reassured him. While it was definitely an invasion of privacy, this was a topic you were going to delve more into later with them. It seems that now is not the time for that. Save this conversation for when they aren’t having a mental - or physical - breakdown, which he still hasn’t exactly explained the cause. “Sun, is Lindsey the reason you were late today? What was Lindsey making you feel?” 

“Maybe. I’m not sure. I just felt… something. Confused? That you shared moments so personal with other people too. It wasn’t exactly angry. Or sad. Maybe a little mix of both.” Sun was describing it lightly. He didn’t want to make you worry that he and Moon had an incident in the middle of nap time today. 

Moon scoffs,『Maybe? You were definitely angry! 』

『 Shush! So were you!』 Sun retorts.

“So you were jealous,” You intervened, trying not to giggle. You didn’t want Sun to think his dilemma wasn’t serious. 

“Jealous?” He asks intensely. Sun has heard of this word bounce around before, usually coming from the adults in their personal conversations about their lives outside of the pizza plex, but he’s never understood the context of it. 

“Yes, it’s usually the feeling or thought of wanting something that someone else has. But sometimes it also means that you’re fearful or anxious of losing a position or situation to someone else. Did you think you were going to lose that feeling to Lindsey?” You felt a bit of self-flattery,  thinking maybe Sun was feeling protective of you. 

“Possibly? I know I didn’t like it.  Is that what this pain in my chest is?” Sun nods. Now hearing you explain it, he’s realized that he’s seen many children showcase that emotion. They fight and take things from each other unprovoked. It was always a strange sudden event that occurred. 

『 That might be something else. But… it could be.』 Moon grumbles. Loose wires and parts could also be the cause considering how often Sun doesn’t land on his feet when they travel by wire. However, the possibility of Lindsey being the ultimate reason to trigger integration now rests at the top of the list. 

“Then… what about now?” You inquired timidly. Confidence is not your friend today. “Can we hold hands now? Just to get rid of that feeling for you?” The sound of fans cranking and blowing bled through the crack in the door. 

“Eep! No! N-no-no-no-ohno-no” Sun stuttered at rapid speed. “We-We cannot risk that! No! We cannot let you get hurt. And-And-And how do we patch you up-up-up, if we… if we cause it? We might cause it again! Oh! It’ll be neverending!” Moon must have also thought the same thing because their arm flashed navy blue for a brief second. 

Now, you frown. “Why would you hurt me?” you protested. A slight pang in your chest knocks in sync with the thumping of your heart. Initially, you had taken their refusal as a rejection. But the longer Sun continues to mutter ‘no’ under his breath, you start to think differently. He’s spiraling. Maybe whatever was wrong with Sun or Moon was more consequential than you thought. 

“We seem to be having… malfunctions.” Sun solemnly admits. His voice volume falls to a whisper. “We aren’t safe to be around.” 

“Both you and Moon?” You questioned internally. What kind of malfunctions could they be having? And was it in association with jealousy? There has to be more you were missing. 

“Yes. We both are. And-And we don’t understand what’s happening.” Sun felt like he was admitting something that would get him in trouble. He wondered if this is what children are feeling before they throw up. He’s seen them dry heave a few times before saliva and lunch comes after. He was put on the spot, and decidedly admits, “We-we-we’re scared.” 

Without a second of hesitation, you requested, “Sun, can I see your hand?”

”I-I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Sun curls into himself, taking one step away from the door. 

“Please Sun?” You begged, muffled from the barrier. Your voice is small but powerful.  

Sun whines. Your politeness only entices him more to do as you ask. “O-Only look! But don’t touch me! Just in case!” 

You watch the door creak open, taking a step back to let the door swing, before a recognizable yellow and orange themed hand appears. It extends towards you, flashing its palm up. You leaned down closer to take a better look. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with his hand. Everything seemed to be in place, not a single speck of dust in between the wedges of his joints. The warm familiar tones reward you with sentimentality. Where’s the malfunction? 

Without a beat, you reached for his hand and smacked his palm with yours, threading each finger in between his, and held on tight. With your back against the door, you braced yourself for his reaction. 

As you suspected, Sun immediately tried to pull away. He tugs with moderate strength, but you refuse to budge. “Wait! I said-!” 

You squeezed your hand tighter. Your back hits the door right on the edge. “I didn’t promise anything, Sun! W-Wait! See? Nothing’s happening! Please! It’s okay!”

The tension stops. You pulled on his wrist and slid his upper arm further out the door, extending the glory of his entire arm into the lobby. The sound of Sun’s head thumping against the other side of the door resonated against your back. You didn’t think you had the strength to pull a full sized animatronic, but in truth, Sun wasn’t entirely resisting either. He gave up and finally stopped moving. “Unfair…” he whimpers. 

After you’ve concluded that Sun wasn’t going to struggle anymore, you took your other hand and started to stroke the back of his. “See? Nothing’s wrong.” You reassure him, the massage of his silicone bringing comfort to his anxiety. With every slow caress, you felt Sun slowly close his fingers to wrap around your silky skin.

Moon watched silently, amazed how easily it was for them to fall into your soothing pleas. He quietly wished he was the one fronting instead. He and Sun listened to the sound of your soft breathing, and Sun felt the way you were raking your nails gently down their arm. The calming tactics you were performing on them were like magic, though made up on the spot. You figured Sun was fueling his own worries and if you could prove to them that everything was okay, maybe these malfunctions would lessen. Machinery and programs tend to cycle through the same code over and over until there is an end. But what is at that end for Sun?

After what seemed like minutes have passed, Sun begins to fall into the rhythm of your movement, swaying his head back and forth with the motion of your hand. Up and down, back and forth. Your hand marks his casing with your fingerprints, drawing invisible lines along the ridges of the metal plating below his skin. Your hand within his pulses with small squeezes, reminding Sun that your hand was still there unharmed. 

“No need to be worried." You reiterate. You pinched his thumb gently and playfully.

Sun understands that for humans, the gentle handling and consolation of another person is preferable over none. Children are easily comforted when they’re held or hugged, sometimes even just being spoken to is enough. And he wonders if that would be the same case for him. Currently, being in your vicinity and feeling your small fragile digits against his synthetic skin calmed him. That was just his arm receiving electric signals from his touch receptors. What would it feel like if he felt you in other places of his body? All the touch receptors together? He wanted to find out. He was itching for more. 

“Sunshine, can I ask for a favor?” 

“Yes. What can I do for you, Sun? How can I help you?” Usually you’d say these words in your customer service voice, but today, that was turned off. This was a genuine question for a friend in need.  

Sun smiles. He felt confident to ask you, “Can we do something else? Instead of holding hands, can I… try something?” 

『Sun, what are you doing? 』Moon watches carefully. 

“Sure! What is it? What would you like me to do?” A bubble of excitement began to rise up your chest, possibly in the form of indigestion. Or hunger. 

“Can you stand up and face the party room? Look forward for me.” Sun instructs. 

“Okay,” you quickly agreed, no questions asked. And as soon as the word slips from your lips, Sun releases your hand and slowly slips out of your grasp. You let him go, hearing the door slightly close after his arm disappears to allow you to stand in your spot. You figured that he probably wasn’t using this excuse to get away from you now that he’s calmed down. Though your legs were a little numb from the uneven weight distribution during your struggle with the daycare attendant, you managed to lift yourself up with shaky knees. 

You stood with your back towards the door as instructed, concentrating on the sounds Sun was making behind it rather than the repeating melody of the music echoing across the atrium. The bright colors of the daycare were starting to blend as you focused on your thoughts, eyes no longer seeing. Just waiting for what Sun was going to instruct next. 

You begin to rock back and forth, shifting your weight from your heels to your toes. The wait was suspenseful. Sun must still be hesitant or purposely careful. “Now what?” You asked softly. 

Slowly, the door cracks open barely an inch. It hung in that position for a second, before it continued to swing on its hinges. The creaking gave you a clue how far Sun was pushing the door open. A gust of cold air follows. The door must be completely open. 

The temptation to turn around and look directly at Sun was maddening, but you continued to look forward and away from the daycare playground as promised. You trust him. Surprisingly so. Your eyes did skate around looking for something reflective, anything to clue you to his appearance. But Sun didn’t make you wait long, he had something he wanted to try.  

Both of Sun’s arms come into view from your peripherals, wrapping around your sides and enclosing around your chest. His fingers grip your shoulders tightly. You sucked in a breath, thrown off guard by his actions. You felt him pull you back and up towards his chest. His entire frame encompasses yours as he embraces you tightly. Sun’s faceplate dips into the spot where your neck met your shoulders, wanting even his face to feel your skin. You swear you felt the shape of lips along your hairline. 

“Thank you, Sunshine.” He whispers into your ear. “I feel much better.” 

Sun immediately felt the difference. The way you held his hand was providing comfort but the hug he was giving you nearly tripled that sensation. It wasn’t skin to skin all around, but you were radiating enough heat for Sun to indulge. If he could pull you closer, he would. This was different from holding children. The way they held onto Sun in his arms was for his support - their need for guidance of an adult figure. But Sun was now the one who needed the encouragement, and you provided that with your words, your touch, and your presence. His processor flutters. 

You couldn’t believe it. Sun was hugging you from behind. But, you also couldn’t move or adjust your arms to reciprocate, so you let him hold you like a ragdoll. Your toes almost dangle an inch above the ground. 

You wanted to savor this moment longer, but Sun pulled away cautiously. He brushes his finger across your clavicle as he releases, lingering for an extra second longer, before withdrawing back within the enclosed playground walls. 

“We’ve kept you here long, Sunshine. You must be tired. You should head home soon,” Sun suggests, closing the door slowly. He reaches over and brushes his hand against the back of your neck once more. You shiver. “And I promise, we’ll meet face to face soon. I think… I’m almost ready.” 

Without turning around, you proclaimed, “Bye Sun, I’ll see you soon. And tell Moon bye for me. I’ll see him Monday morning.” Adrenaline cycled through your body at his words. 

“I will let him know.” Sun assures you, feeling Moon’s presence still within their shared space. He was sure his brother had heard. But Moon was quiet. He wasn’t generating a single snarky comment about already hearing you say it. Instead he was thinking, wondering. Could this feeling of ‘jealousy’ also be something he could be experiencing… with Sun?

The doors close with a click as you picked up your items and began to stroll over to the daycare’s turnstiles and enter the front lobby of the plex. Your body felt light, like it wasn’t your own. Your feet take you out the door, following several families as they were leaving to head home as well. The feeling of Sun taking hold of your entire being flooded your mind and your nerves. 

Your smile continued to plaster across  your face as you walked towards your car. The parking lot was getting sparse with other vehicles. The night sky was particularly dark tonight, but the bright white street lights illuminated your way across the plastered concrete. 

There was a lot that you learned this evening and a moment to deconstruct was needed. It seemed that Sun was harboring more elaborate thoughts than he showed. There was a malfunction that may or may not be associated with his emotions. Or it could be purely physical and whatever was causing this reaction of his. But it was strange that Sun mentioned that Moon was the same. 

It was a shame that you didn’t get a chance to see Moon tonight, but maybe you’ll get to learn more when you see him Monday morning. The two of them were so fascinating!

As you unlocked your car, opened the door, and climbed in, you realized something had slipped your mind amidst your surprise at his hug. Sun missed out on some important news. 

You hadn’t told him that you would be working with him next Friday…

Chapter Text

『Moon? You’ve been… awfully quiet tonight.』Sun watched his brother sitting over the daycare on their balcony. A spot he has been warming up intermittently all night from the heat radiating from his overworked processor. The weak current of air flow from the vents above blew against the starry patterned night cap on top of Moon’s head. If he had real skin, he would be trembling from the cold. 

“You’re supposed to be resting, Sun.” Moon grumbles into his hand. Go away, he thought. He rests the weight of his faceplate into his arm. Hunching over the edge precariously, his legs dangle inhumanely still. 

『I heard that.』Sun retreats quietly in their shared mind, wanting to give Moon his space but ultimately deciding not to. Instead, he adds,『Moon, I’m worried.』His code attempts to reach forward and brush against the barrier of their mind. 

The plex at this hour was particularly quiet - dark but peaceful. With only the flashing indications of exit signs and minor emergency lights, the halls were dim and free for a particular security bot to freely sprint around. However, tonight Moon refused to patrol more than he needed to, only checking off the boxes of his duties, and remained close to the daycare. He didn’t want to talk to DJ or accidentally get into a scuffle with Monty or Roxy. Freddy tends to be just as much of a chatterbox as Chica. The chicken spent nearly two hours blabbering about her new outfit for the holiday theme event next week. He wasn’t in the mood to talk with anyone. The S.T.A.F.F. bots can handle it without him for one night. 

“I know,” Moon admits with guilt. “I am too.” He grumbles a small apology. It’s not Sun’s fault. Nothing that is happening to them right now is either of their faults. But ever since you explained their new emotional jealousy, Moon hasn’t been able to keep his mind off of it. 

Or of you. 

Moon growls. Human emotions are so intricate. And the fact that their sentient AI was still adapting and learning to pick up on these new sensations. It was… irritating. 

Since Sun got an armful of your warm body pressed against him, he and Moon glitched a few more times after you left. They felt something - and overwhelming emotion - together. Desire. Longing. Curiosity. For a human they have barely met and only recently touched.

While standing in the middle of daycare, mid-cleaning of the playground slide, Sun paused to recollect your soft skin brushing across his silicone lips. It wasn’t intentional for him to drop his face so close to you, but it felt - natural? - to do so. He lets his used rag slip from his fingers and looks down at his hands. Slowly, his fingers creep across his face and graze his artificial skin, wanting to replicate the feeling. He kisses his palm and imagines it to be your neck. Moon watches with anticipation and reaches forward, trying to grasp the impression… wanting to feel that warmth too. Half of Sun’s rays spun out of control before retracting completely, leading to Moon’s hat peeking out of their secret compartment to cover their head. The remaining rays peeked from below the fabric hat for a brief second, and their eyes flashing between blue and red. But Sun retained control after Moon pulled back, a semblance of his consciousness realized he was falling forward. The little night cap disappeared magically as multiple thin silicone pieces returned in its place. The two of them were shaken back to reality. 

Strangely, it didn’t hurt this time. 

Without another thought, the rag left unattended was retrieved. Long fingers curled gently around the fabric, taking in how different the texture was from your skin. Sun pondered while he continued to clean the daycare, scrubbing the foam padding with soap. His hand slowed the circular motion as he thought about you. Why didn’t they feel this way when they were holding children in their arms? Or when kids gave them hugs. This has never happened before. Did he have to be the one to initiate it? No, that couldn’t be the reason because he’s done that many times before with others. But also, has he ever hugged an adult before today? 

In addition to this new feeling, they still haven’t solved their issue of merging at random moments. What’s going on? He grunted as he wiped the remaining stains with a new towel. Going unnoticed were little spots of navy blue sprouting on the back of his arm. 

Meanwhile, Moon wondered if he’d get a chance to approach you and ask for the same treatment. He ached for something similar, knowing that you would not be back until tomorrow morning. How unfortunate Sun decided to experiment with hugging your small body on a Saturday evening. Hissing, Moon cursed that you were off Sundays. Only one thousand, nine hundred, and eighty minutes, with a little over thirty seven seconds, until your return Monday morning. 

There was one additional problem that Moon was internally facing: what if you didn’t like what Sun had done and refused a second try? You hadn’t voiced your opinion before you went home. They didn’t glance at your expression through the cameras before you escorted yourself out immediately. With all this time in between, you could have decided it was a one off moment to soothe Sun’s distraught behavior. Moon stands up from his spot on the balcony and begins to pace the small area. There wasn’t much space for him to move, practically spinning around in one spot. His fan clicks on in an effort to cool his overheating circuits. 

Violently sitting back down, Moon hunched another inch closer than before to the balcony platform, disappointing himself with depressing thoughts swimming around in his mind. It didn’t help that Sun was chattering non-stop words of encouragement within their mind. 『You should do it Moon! You should try. Sunshine wouldn’t mind… I think.』The worst that could happen is you say no, but that doesn't mean you wouldn’t be his friend anymore right? 

Maybe a small risk he was going to take to satiate this bothersome emotion. But the question was how was he going to approach you?

Moon looked down at his hand, curling his fingers one at a time and balling them tightly into a fist. The color of his exoskeleton underneath the squishy silicone was a solid deep navy blue hue, contrast to the gray and white shade of his palm. He tried to remember the beautiful gradient tone of orange and blue under the unmistakable lighting of the daycare nightlights. He’s never seen Sun’s colors before while fronting their body, always only through Sun’s optical recording in their shared space. It was marvelous.

Was this something he could attempt while cognizant of their changes? Maintenance wasn’t for another five days and this repeating accident was going to cause some kind of hardware to break. He might as well try and play with it a little. Moon checked the time. Another eleven minutes until the building lights return. 

“Sunny, how did you feel when your body held Starlight?” Moon asks his counterpart. He tried to sound playful and teasing, like he wasn’t about to experiment with their own body. A part of him was genuinely curious, but he needed Sun to express his side of the story.

『Oh? Why are you so concerned all of a sudden?』 Sun questions innocently. He didn’t realize this was a subject that Moon was in turmoil over. Was this what was on his mind all night? His hug soured Moon’s mood. 

“It seemed… different from what we’re used to.” Moon tries to make an excuse. “Just from my point of view at least…”

『It-It was. It felt very different.』 Actually. It was amazing. So amazing that Sun hadn’t stopped thinking about it. 『Sunshine was so nice. And warm. They fit in my arms so nicely. B-But they were also so small! Not as small as the children of course! They felt exactly as I imagined and- 』

As Sun reminisced and rejoiced his personal memories, Moon tried to imagine the same feeling. He closed his eyes. The feeling of your hand sliding across his palms - how that would translate if he were to tickle the skin of your forearms as his fingers crawled. The warmth of your body - would it equilibrate with his cool and heat-absorbent metal? 

A tingle appears on the left side of their body. Reinitiating his optics, Moon watches his arm turn golden orange. His claws retracted and smoothed out on every finger of his left hand. Codes and calculations ran through his system, the colors merged and morphed into something unusual but beautiful. 

『- of course, how can I forget! Sunshine was so light! They barely weighed more than a… 』 Sun rambles in a single artificial breath. He stops as he realizes that Moon wasn’t listening at all, instead staring at their arm. 『Moon! What’s wrong with your hand? Is that my hand?』

Moon chuckles and tries to reassure his brother. “It’s happening again, but it doesn’t hurt this time.” He flexes their clawless fingers. “Almost like I can feel you with me… when we think of the same things - no, feel the same things.” Sun watches Moon move closely, it was an out of body experience to see his own hands from within their shared mind space. 

Very briefly a claw shoots out of their thumb. 『Eep! Is this okay?』 Sun asks in shock.

As thoughts strayed, their body began to blend. Together, they sustained this incomplete form. Thinking, moving, and speaking together. Slowly more and more of Sun’s physical characteristics emerged mixing into Moon’s traits of the night. Sun tries to control their body. The most he could affect while Moon was in control was the extension of one ray, the one closest to their neck. 『Strange, I can feel you too. But at the same time, it feels like it’s neither of us.』

Back and forth, Sun and Moon alternated their appearance as they thought about you together. Orange. Blue. Claws. Clawless. Sharp teeth. Yearning. Craving. Blue eyes. Red eyes. Hat. No hat. All the rays. Half the rays. Longing. Hunger. It was… 

Too much. 

Their body shook spastically. Their voice box growls and rumbles, before Moon completely retakes control with the help of their light sensors. “Alright! That’s enough.” 

The dark colors of the night took over all the spots of orange that blossomed across their body. Evidence of Sun’s appearance vanished faster than they appeared. However, all of Sun’s emotions engulfed Moon as they began to revert. It wasn’t just control and thoughts that synced, but desires and disgust also seeped through. They didn’t go away once Moon pulled away from Sun. Now his overwhelming thoughts and concerns doubled. That bodily contact was so close… yet so far. 

Suddenly, he wanted it badly. He wanted to see what you did in the mornings close up. He wanted to watch you get ready for work. He just wanted to be there by your side, even if you didn’t know he was there. He wanted to get to know you just as well as Sun. Maybe even more. This greedy itch he couldn’t scratch - what was going on?  

There was something he needed to do. Something he could do to get what he wanted. Something to… speed up the process and get his hands on you sooner. He was never going to wait for maintenance to occur before seeing you anyways.

Moon calls for his wire and latches it to his back as their body finally stops malfunctioning. He gracefully jumps from the balcony and glides up to the catwalk. Using all four of his limbs, the naptime attendant made his way quickly around the building through a few vents, jumping around from wall to wall, and eventually made it to the back of the main Glamrock stage. 

After being ripped from partial control, Sun slowly powered back up. He watches through Moon’s eyes how they were no longer in the daycare.『M-Moonie, where are you going? The power-save cycle is about to end! You have to go back!』

Moon ignores Sun and continues towards his destination, brushing aside his warnings like an afterthought. He was on a mission. 

The control room for the whole plex was well hidden behind several layers of curtains and locked doors. But there was nothing in the entire building that Moon didn’t have access to. It didn’t occur to either his creators or Fazbear Entertainment that such rooms didn’t need to be accessible to their animatronics. But that’s just small details that were easily overlooked. He was the lead security bot afterall.

In the back of the control room, the main breaker to the entire electrical circuit of the building was contained in a poorly painted yellow box on the wall. It was ridiculously large, considering the Pizzaplex’s size, but to Moon, it’s something he regularly sees the night shift technician tinker with on evenings with bad storms. And tonight, it was his turn. Unsurprisingly, the metal box wasn’t locked. It unlatched easily and swung wide open with a flick of his fingers. Almost like it wasn’t even closed to begin with by the last technician who used it. Human carelessness is such a predictable and laughable trait to Moon. 

Looking at twenty to thirty or so switches, all flipped left and right in various directions, Moon tilts his head to read the first few labels. ‘Rockstar Row’, ‘Cafeteria’, ‘Fazer Blast’, ‘Bonnie Bowl’, ‘hallway one’, blah blah blah. Moon rolled his eyes. Humans are so extra. Instead, he had a better option that he knew would cause just enough problems. 

Above all the switches were a bunch of wires tied with zip ties - bunched up together and twisted to keep the circuitry organized. But this set up also made all the wires easy to break together. 

He reached forward. With a swipe of his claw and a swift tug of all of the breaker wires, Moon forces the entire Pizza Plex to go dark. 

The daycare was suspiciously dark, you noted, as you walked in slowly Monday morning. It was nearly the perfect setting of a scary movie or video game. Usually the main door of the daycare had one spotlight lighting its presence before seven in the morning. But today, only the building’s emergency lights were on. Even the main lobby of the building was draped in shadows. Did the building’s breaker trip overnight? Or was this a scheduled maintenance of the building that you were unaware of? Is no one aware of this?

Quickly, you flicked down to your Fazwatch and skimmed through any notifications or emails you may have missed, but nothing indicated an explanation for the blackout. You held yourself to fight off the creeping chill, unsure what awaited you deep within the atrium. You managed to slip through the turnstile without getting your clothes caught and peep at the poorly lit staircase. With ease, you walked down the stairwell while holding onto the rails, lit by the small walkway lights that illuminated each step. At least you didn’t trip down these blatant hazards of poor architectural designs. 

You arrived early this morning in hopes to see Moon. After spending the rest of your weekend wide awake, you needed to see him to help relieve this itch and find answers to your questions, pertaining to the excitement of telling them you were working within the daycare this Friday and pertaining to Sun’s actions that stole hours of your sleep away. You couldn’t stop thinking about him. The way his arms wrapped around your small body in comparison to his. Judging by how he held you, you deduced that he had to be tall just like the Glamrocks. Maybe even taller. The comfort of an animatronic’s hug was suspiciously human. 

Not to mention, the feeling of his lips ghostly lingered hours after you arrived home. Goosebumps took its place. Not even your hot shower could rid that cool prickly press of Sun’s faceplate along your neck. Even now, you shivered at the memory. Intimacy wasn’t a foreign concept to you, and experience was definitely something you had under your belt. But when it was unexpected, it still swept you off your feet for days. 

Your imagination began to run wild as you tossed and turned in your bed. What did they look like? Just from your collective knowledge of their merchandise and your experience with their limbs, curiosity obscures you from deviating creatively. Maybe they looked exactly like their figurines. Maybe they were modeled more like the statues in the atrium. Maybe their design was scrapped entirely and changed a few years back to something completely new. 

You knew you’d find out soon, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t wonder. 

The atrium was dangerously pitch black. Not a single emergency light that hung high above in the rafters was reflected off the tile floor. They were impractical in the situation and absolutely useless. The amount of OSHA violations that were currently broken could get the company into legal troubles. But you remembered the contract that you signed. It was pretty well known that this place wasn’t built for safety and there was nothing you could say about it. So, you shuffled forward carefully. 

With your vision unadjusted to the darkness, you could only guess your way to the giftshop. There probably were some light up dolls or trinkets that were stocked within you could borrow for the time being. You couldn’t remember if something like that existed in last week’s shipment of new inventory, but you recall there were items of illuminating gimmicks somewhere in your store. Those light up star wands sometimes never turned off when kids would turn them on to test them. Hopefully, you could find one first before you trip or hurt yourself. 

With skill and patience, you managed to maneuver to the gift shop. The playground walls led you the majority of the way. You outstretched your arms, waving them in front of you while attempting to find a familiar solid shape to stabilize your journey to the gift shop. Your knuckles hit a couple surfaces, knocking a stinging impact against your bones. You silently hissed in pain. The bench,  walls, the door frame, a metal clothing rack - many shapes and surfaces gave you clues as to where you were headed. 

You entered the store, feeling the change of tile to carpet under your feet. Your hand reached for the light switches. You swiped back and forth along the wall at the approximate location based on memory and tried to flip them on and off once your fingers found them. 

Nothing. 

The disappointing clicking noise with no resulting lights made you sigh deeply. You don’t know what you were expecting. With the plex without power, you thought to avoid leaving your store. Moon will have to wait for another time. Maybe Sun will let you talk with him in the evening if the power comes back on. But also, how were you going to do work today? Maybe you should be glad that you didn’t need to do much while the building was kept dark. At least you charged your Fazwatch before coming into work today, so you can still clock in and get paid for your presence. 

Oh your watch. It could work as a flashlight, you realize. It wouldn’t last very long if it was kept on the whole day, but it could get you through the morning. It’s better than walking into corners all day. 

Just as you were going to look down at your wrist, something caught your attention at the far side of the store. A pair of red lights glisten in the corner. You don’t remember there being a security camera in that area of your little store… much less two of them in one spot. You stared intently, tilting your head slightly as you tried to approach closer. You reached out to grasp something for stability. 

But suddenly, they blink. 

You halted your next step, taking the step backwards instead of forwards. 

Are those eyes? “I-Is someone there?” You ask, not taking your eyes off infrared lights. Your hands hover towards your Fazwatch, wondering if the small screen could brighten up the room just a little for you to see who was within your company. But you hesitate, prepared to use the screen light instead to run. 

The lights slightly shift to the left and then the right. He was caught. Too soon. Moon looks around nervously, trying to figure out what he could say to you. Cursing himself for thinking that turning his optics off for a second would make you lose interest, Moon clenched his teeth. He didn’t think you would see him so soon, but judging from your question, you couldn’t completely see him either. 

Should he reveal himself? And ask you…?

His silence was making you nervous. Especially with how the glowing red dots in the corner of the room were starting to bounce around, refusing to stay still and surveying the area. Considering this was a building made to house million-dollar animatronics and a thousand or so S.T.A.F.F. bots, you jumped to conclusions that maybe there was an intruder or spy hiding in your store. Not the animatronic itself. 

However, soft clicks of Moon’s joints alerted you of his movement. Without clear vision, you could only rely on your hearing for more clues. The sound of gears softly turning and joints mildly creek gave you a better idea of who was there. A small, deep snicker follows. 

“M-Moon? Or is this Sun? I’m really hoping it’s one of you.” You grind your teeth after asking your question. Your fingers grip the glass counter edge, trying to sweep across the surface for something to grab and throw if necessary. Mild whirring of a fan descended down the wall. “Because I swear if it’s not…”

“Hello Starlight,” Moon responds calmly. He tried not to scare you, but he was glad that you were the first to address him. He held himself close to the wall in case you decided you were scared. A small figurine of himself rests in your hand, looking ready to be launched in his direction. 

His low raspy voice soothed the moment. You let out a loud breath of relief. You could feel your entire chest empty as your anxiety washed over. “Oh thank goodness, it’s you.” The grip you ironically held Moon's doll released and you slumped over the glass. 

A small jingle of surprise from Moon’s bells rang from above. He wasn’t expecting you to be happy with him stalking your store. “You’re… relieved?” 

“Yeah, I thought maybe you had been an intruder or something. I could’ve been jumped in the dark by some stranger!” You smiled up at him blindly, a view he wished he could watch all day. 

Moon snorts, “Not possible. No intruders ever make it into the daycare while I’m here.” Or out for that matter. He attempts to reassure you while flattering himself. 

“Oh that’s right, you’re also a security bot.” You remembered, “What exactly do you do as the security bot?” 

“Patrol. I make sure no troublemakers enter the building at night.” Moon responds proudly. You laughed to agree, glad that Moon was saying more words to you than he usually does. 

Shoulders fall, relaxing. Moon didn’t realize he was so tense, holding his limbs tightly along the wall. He releases his claw from the drywall. The two of you settle into the darkness, letting the quiet overtake the moment. It hadn’t fully occurred to you that Moon was no longer protected by the walls of the daycare and crawling along the walls just a few feet in front of you. Moon, however, was fully aware. 

Once calm, you had to ask, “Moon, do you know why it’s so dark in here today?” 

“Mhm. The power went out yesterday.” Moon chuckles knowingly. Straight to the point. 

“Is the power still not fixed?” You asked, dragging your hand across the glass counter to find your way around it. You tried to keep your eyes on his. It was fairly easy since he was the only available light source in the room. You wanted to approach him, but you had to remind yourself to let him do that on his own terms. His skittish personality was unpredictable.  

“It is. Fixed yesterday by the techs.” Moon watches you closely, making sure you don’t trip over your own shoes. He crawls from his spot in the corner along the wall towards the counter. “None of the Glamrocks charged for nearly twelve hours of the day. So they’re charging now. Using all of the power at once.” 

“Is that why it’s really dark? It’s not usually this dark when I come to visit you.” You wonder out loud, unsure if Moon could really answer that question. Because being unable to see past six inches in front of you was a hazard and slightly getting on your nerves. Only Moon’s gaze illuminated a dim glow in the store, but it barely revealed anything about him or what was in front of you.  

“All the power is routed to their charging station. Nothing else has power. But don’t worry little star, they will be done before guests enter later.” Moon smirks, proud that he was able to keep Sun from fronting almost all night. His solar counterpart has been complaining nonstop how unfair since the power had been rerouted yesterday evening. 

『And I am still mad about it!』 Sun chimed. 

You felt your way to your stool, the shape of it recognizable along your fingers. You turned to sit on it before proclaiming, “Moon, I didn’t know you could leave the daycare.” 

“Only when it’s dark. How else can I patrol the building?” Moon slowly slides down the wall, comfortable to approach closer. 

“Oh that makes sense, I guess” You laugh awkwardly. In reality, you didn’t understand at all. But Moon’s confidence in his explanation was somewhat convincing in its own sense. Since the Glamrocks could wander, why couldn’t he? Small details you'll ask later. 

The two of you talked briefly, like your usual moments in the morning. There wasn’t anything different aside from the lack of light around you and the location of your conversation has shifted to your store. For you, sitting in the dark was very serene, knowing that you had company that you wanted. Moon was great. If you didn’t know he was an animatronic, it would have seemed like you were speaking to a fairly closed off and shy person. 

Moon watched you speak. Seeing you in person was a dream come true - if he had dreams. Sun was observing quietly, something that was out of character for him. He was also entranced with the way your mouth moved, staring directly at your lips. Silently, he cursed the door for constantly blocking him from seeing you. And then he remembered he was the one who restricted that in the first place. 

Moon kept thinking about the perfect time to detach from the walls. But you looked so comfortable sitting there and speaking with him. He didn’t want to scare you. 

“- and of course, my mom was trying to get me to come home yesterday. I know she wanted to go home just to hound me about something successful my cousin did. Ugh, so annoying.” You rolled your eyes, huffing your frustration and crossing your arms across your chest. The topic of your conversation has diverted in a very different direction. Something about you, no less. It seemed that venting your problems from over the weekend was something Moon didn’t mind listening to. But when Moon didn’t make any additional comments, you got a little worried. “Ah sorry, I was complaining too much.” 

“Not at all.” He responds immediately. Moon blurted, “Starlight, can I come closer?” 

You perked up. “Of course, why couldn’t you?” You hear the sound of bells jingling as his feet touch the ground. 

His faceplate spins at the question but doesn’t answer. He knew why - because he was scared you were going to reject him if he didn’t ask. Most children did. Moon waves his fingers in front of you, “Can you see me?” 

“Not really,” you squinted your eyes. “Are you really close in front of me?” Moon’s red eyes were directly before you but you couldn't judge the distance appropriately. Your vision has adjusted slightly since entering the daycare atrium, but it is still too dark. You stood up from your stool, trying to hear where he was in relation to your position. You reached out and felt his arm. 

Moon flinches. You took your hand back and apologized, but a small whine escapes from his voicebox after startling you. You felt familiar fingers curl under your chin, leading you in his direction. Your feet take you forward, following him without a word. Moon brushes the side of his hand across your right cheek before dragging his claw lightly along your jaw. You shudder as you close your eyes. A second point of contact to your face was made by his other hand, tracing a circle on your other cheek. He was so gentle. 

Moon was mesmerized. You were soft compared to him. Your skin was exactly what he imagined. Originally limited by his night vision, he could now feel the oily patch below your dark circles, a small blemish on your upper cheek, and the exact shape of your chin with his touch pads. The tactile code he generated was received and read at an alarming rate. 

You waited for him to say something, but judging by how he was running laps around your face with his claws, you knew he was concentrating hard. Maybe you could use this time to experiment on your own. 

Slowly, you lifted your arm and reached forward once more, blindly pawing for him. His arms no longer blocked and he stood so close to your face that he had to bend down. Your fingertips poke softly at the silicone that overlayed his face. There was dimension to it, maybe you were touching his nose? Or his cheek? You held back a gasp, and Moon did the same. 

He leans into your touch. Your fingers traced his faceplate - it felt flat yet uneven. There was shapes to different parts of his face and you tried to piece together an image within your head. Curves and lines that shaped his crescent mask, the bumps that formed his cheekbone, and soft edges of his cap seemed familiar to you. But it was the way his lips curled into a smile, his cheek moved as it twitched, and his eyes blinked that captured your attention. Similar but not the same as your imagination. 

Hands now off your face and on your shoulders, you felt a pull of your body forward. Was Moon trying to bring you closer? 

You took small steps forward, not wanting to collide into him. You dragged your hand from his faceplate down to where you thought his chest was. Because of his stance, there was a bit of distance, and because of his height, you managed to grab his waist. Moon couldn’t hold back a jolt that time. 

You furled and unfurled your fingers, feeling the hem of his clothes. Was it just pants? You couldn’t really find the edge of what could be a shirt. He struggles to stay still, tickled by your fingers along his chassis, making it harder for you to map out his body. He struggles to speak, “S-Starlight, wait-” 

You paused, forgetting what you were doing in the first place. “Oh, sorry.” You stopped and straightened yourself, gripping whatever fabric you were holding. With what confidence you had, you looked up at him and muttered, “Moon, can I hug you?”

“Please.” Moon whispers. His hands trembled as they slowly wrapped from your shoulder to your upper back. Just like Sun, he lightly presses you into his body and lifts you an inch off the ground. 

You smiled, throwing your arms around his waist and drawing him closer. You couldn’t return Sun’s hug but you didn’t want to miss the chance to hug Moon. And he was giving you permission for it. He can’t escape you now. You giggled as arms tightened. On the other side, Moon was trying not to enclose his entire body around you. He feared he would crush you but the desire to bring you closer flourished. Sun must have been affecting him too. 

The sounds of something whirring and buzzing within Moon’s chest filled your ears, the vibration quaked against your cheek. It was comforting, you could see why he was in charge of naptime. You wondered if he held any children to sleep, because you were slowly hypnotized by the slow oscillation of his machinery. You focused all your senses to Moon,  and only Moon. 

For several minutes, the two of you held each other, unsure who should let go first but neither willing to be the one to do so. But in the back of Moon’s system, he was being fed new information from his security feature. A few technicians and handlers were on their way into Parts and Services to unplug and release the Glamrock band. They clocked in a little earlier than he expected. It was getting close to the opening of the Pizzaplex. Carefully, he puts you back down, making sure to brush his faceplate up your neck. 

“Starlight, I have to go now.” Moon announces softly, he curls his finger along the shape of your left ear, moving and tucking some of the hair there. “The building is opening soon.” 

“Okay,” you agreed, reluctant to let go. You let your arms drop to your side. “I’ll see you soon?” 

“Hm.” Moon affirmed. Whenever that will be, he tells himself. The attendant swiftly takes a few steps back and exits the store, watching the technicians on the camera feed preparing to pull the lever to reroute the circuits. His wire arrives just in time to retrieve him. 

As the two red lights disappeared into the atrium, you called out to him, “I mean it, Moon! I’m going to be working in the daycare on Friday!” 

“What?” Moon stammered as his wire yanked him away too quickly. He wasn’t given another second to ask for details as the lights of the daycare suddenly power on, flashing his sensors abruptly. Just as their body has crossed over the barrier of the walls, Sun was thrown into the ball pit. His violent return caused him to fumble his wire and accidentally unlatches while in the air. 

Your eyes close from the shocking flash of light of the fluorescent bulbs above you, too distracted to follow up with Moon’s question.

In between the loud beat and notes of the daycare theme song, somewhere in the distance you hear a loud scream that distinctly sounded like Sun.