Chapter Text
Poster did not stop until the wooden Daycare doors loomed above them. Needle had stopped crying for Moon a while ago, the bots garbled screams still haunting him. The lights had turned back on in the Plex as a woman's tired voice called over the intercom system that all robots were on lockdown over an incident. Poster calmly ignored the lockdown command. Needle was still hiding under the yellow flaps and Moon had given the Wet floor bot a mission that would not be failed under any circumstance. But getting Needle into the Daycare was hard without arms. The timing of the light soon flicked back to darkness as the top of the next hour began.
Poster beeped in alarm as the sound of bells and footsteps echoed in the dim lobby. Needle glanced out of his hiding spot to see Moon leaning heavily on the human guard from before. The guard looked like he was about to say something about Poster ignoring the lockdown before Moon stopped him with a tired pat to his shoulder.
"Poster do you still have him?" Moon rasped lowly, static still clinging to his voicebox. Poster beeped with a shallow nod. "Thomas can you please let us in the Daycare?" The doors opened for the group with a swipe of a badge. Moon was limping slightly, calibrations still a little off from where Monty had managed to sink his teeth into the bot's leg. Moon made his way to the craft tables and fell into a heavy sit. He offered Poster a sharp toothed grin beckoning the little yellow helper over to his side.
"Little gecko are you there? Are you hurt at all?" Moon whispered, his red eyes searching for his ward. He held out a steady clawed hand. Needle flung himself into Moon's grip with a choked noise. Moon raised him up to scan him properly. "Minor injury to your arm that needs cleaning and a few bruises from Mini's teeth on your back. Thomas can you please get our first aid box? It's behind the desk." Needle glanced up at the human in fear, his small form starting to shiver and shake. Thomas was staring at the borrower as if in a trance before the noise of Moon harshly clearing his throat brought him back to the task handed to him. The human went to go find the first aid, the slowness of his movements not lost on Moon.
"Now Thomas please explain to us," Moon stated as soon as the first aid box was retrieved and placed on the table, "How do you know of the borrowers already?" The human sat on the other side of the table not meeting Needle's terrified expression.
"Y-You know about us?"
"Yes...um...my wife, Alice, found a few borrowers trying to live in the Plex. She would rescue them because the Plex isn't exactly a safe place for them. This was...let's see...before the Daycare was finished. You and Sun where still in the theater if memory serves me correct. I don't think you remember Naptime, but you and Sun had a young borrower and their sibling living behind your stage that you almost fought Alice over to keep!" Thomas let out a shaky bark of laughter at Moon's confused yet concerned expression. The bot replayed a memory of Needle asking if they had held one of his kind before and shuddered slightly with the realization that they had done just that but didn't remember it past the reprogramming tot he Daycare.
"I'm actually glad it was you again and not one of the Glamrocks. When Alice and I started dating we had an incident with Chica and a Borrower in the bakery. She was trying to feed him icing and that did not go well at all. But seeing how DJ reacted I would not put it past him to have been involved with the colony that was here. I highly doubt we found them all but we haven't seen any trace of borrowers until...well you Gecko," Thomas explained with a gentle smile finally risking meeting Needle's gaze. Moon growled lowly as he stopped his binding of Needle's arm.
"That is MY nickname for our little friend," he hissed. Thomas laughed raising his hands up in a peaceful gesture.
"Then what do I get to call you?" Needle jolted realizing the human was addressing him directly.
"Um...Needle. I'm Needle." Thomas froze, his face going pale.
"Needle? Like...our little Needle?" the guard breathed wringing his hands together, "You do look an awful lot like Quill." Needle's grip on Moon's digits tightened at the namedrop.
"You know my father?" Thomas almost missed what the borrower said he was so quiet. The human grinned rubbing his eyes to save face and not break down crying in front of the boy.
"Quill was the borrower we saved from the bakery and took home with us to live in our apartment. He was my best friend. He'd stop by and get things for his family and even let us see you when you were old enough to walk. But he stopped coming...is he..." Thomas couldn't stomach finishing his sentence. Alice was still holding onto the hope that he would come back but it had been almost a year and a half since the borrower had visited them for supplies. Needle sniffled and moved to press himself against Moon's palm with a small nod. Moon felt his mechanical heart break.
"I'm so sorry Needle," Thomas breathed, his voice hitching with his own grief. Moon's music box began to fill the tense tear soaked space to even his own surprise. Needle looked up at him with reddened eyes past the entanglement of his fingers.
"Sorry. Caretaking protocol. My mechanisms want to calm you. Both of you," Moon muttered his eyes slipping closed to feel each note from his music box as if it were his own heartbeat, "In fact I really want to put you both down for a nap. I think rest is needed now." Thomas chuckled.
"Doubt Vanessa will allow me to do that Nap Police. She'd skin me alive if she knew I got more sleep than her whopping 3 hours while on the job." Moon cracked a small smile.
"I can deal with Vanessa," Moon snickered.
"Like you did with Monty? No thanks."
"Not like that and you know it! More like slipping a Moondrop or two in her stupid coffee," Moon snapped back, his red eyed glare lighting up Thomas' face. He felt Needle slip from his grasp and slowly approach Thomas. The human held his breath looking down at the boy with gentle curiosity.
"So...you were friends with my father. Um, could you take me home? I don't want my mother to think I'm gone too," Needle asked rubbing the gauze covering the cut on his arm. Thomas glanced at Moon who wore an almost devastated expression.
"I can but I think my wife would be a better option. She's here tomorrow and can bring her tote that she used for transporting who we could find out of here. Would that be ok? Plus I think Sun and Moon deserve a chance to say goodbye." Needle slowly nodded hopeful at the thought of finally being able to get home. He liked the Daycare Attendant but he didn't want to cause his family anymore pain nor did he want to hurt his robotic friends by disappearing without a proper farewell. Everyone in the room heard Moon's rattled sigh of relief. He felt Sun's code stir to try to comfort his starry counterpart. Feeling Sun's digital form drape across him like a blanket, Moon stood.
'It will be ok Moonie. Love you.' Moon tugged his hat low across his face to hide any expression of weakness feeling Sun's overwhelming positivity and his own insecurities about once again being left behind.
"Lights on in ten. I'm going to go clean up before Sun has his freak out," the night themed animatronic stated. He limped away to begin to wipe down the play structures and put away scattered toys.
"They really are good people," Thomas sighed startling Needle out of his daze watching Moon.
"People?" the borrower asked looking up at the guard, "But they aren't humans right? They are metal."
"Just because they are robots and built not born doesn't mean they aren't people like us," came the whispered answer, "They still feel. They still looked after and loved you like you were their own child. You should have seen them fighting Monty. I didn't even know they could both be out like that. I had to zap them good to keep them from destroying a Glamrock and getting themselves decommissioned." Needle tilted his head in confusion.
"Decommissioned?"
"Killed by shutting them down forever." Needle felt his heart almost stop. But the way the human spoke hinted that it wouldn't happen, that they were stopped before it would come to that.
"I didn't know he could open his mouth like that. It scared me," the small boy admitted with a shiver at the memory of creaking hinges and sharp teeth.
"Scared me too when he first did that towards me," Thomas laughed propping his head up on the palm of his hand as he gently put his elbow to the plastic table, "He bit my hat and ran off with it like an animal the first time we met. He's a bit of a troublemaker. I've never seen Sun open their mouth now that i think about it. Probably because it would scare the kids." Needle and the human behind him fell into a comfortable silence watching Moon use his wire to help him get around with an injured leg. His music box continued to fill the room with gentle noise.
"He trusts you. So do I," Needle broke the silence, "Thank you." The lights flicked on, the twinkling music snapping off with a strangled note. The sound of the animatronic crashing to the padded ground accompanied the growing tune of the Daycare theme.
"Sun?" Thomas yelped freezing as he felt Needle rush behind his arm. Wet wipes and colorful barrels exploded from the place Sun fell as the animatronic rose with a squawk.
"Needle! Oh Needle I was so scared!" Sun wailed rushing his way to the table on all fours more like Moon would have done. His faceplate smashed flat against the table, his long fingers gripping the plastic sides a little too tight. His rays couldn't decide if they wanted to stay extended or shrink back into their hiding place behind his face. Poster beeped in annoyance having been shoved aside by the stumbling Sunny animatronic.
"Neeeeeeedle," Sun groaned, "Pleaase don't hate us! W-we didn't mean to lie to you! Mary is at her dad's and not going back to your home until T-Tuesday! That's three days from now! That is all we w-wanted to tell you! Don't hate ussss!" His voicebox made a garbled sob. Needle stepped out from behind Thomas' arm and approached Sun. His hands wrapped around one of Sun's fingers ghosting the cut he had given the bot.
"No Sun," the boy sniffled, "I was mad and I said things I didn't mean. I'm sorry. I made a mess of all this didn't I?" Sun looked up at Needle, his LED eyes waving as if watery with tears.
"You are never a mess," Sun warbled, "Never ever a mess little Needle. You're our bestest friend. Moonie agrees." Thomas made a scoffing noise as he leaned back with his hands over his heart in fake hurt.
"You're best friend number three Mr. Thomas and Moonie isn't sorry for saying that."
"What? Who is number two then? My wife?" Needle laughed bringing a true smile to Sun's face as the bot pointed his free hand towards a very proud Poster.