Work Text:
"Evening, Sunshine!" you call out, entering the daycare, toolbox heavy in your hand.
You had been Sundrop's caretaker for some time now. Maintaining his frame to continue to play with hoards of children every day was a full time job. Not really, but it takes more than an occasional checkup to keep him as limber and flexible as he is, and stopping a problem before it started kept him from breaking down in the first place, so you met him every few days or so for routine checkups. At first he had insisted he could take care of himself, thanks in part to previous mechanics who were less than kind to him, but he very quickly grew attached to you. Grew attached, as in after five minutes of fighting you over opening his chest, you offered to play with him after as compensation for sitting in place long enough to make sure he didn't malfunction and accidentally hurt somebody. Being honest, you eventually grew attached to him, too.
Tonight was one of those nights. It was well past evening at this point, though. You couldn't do maintenance until he was free, and while the daycare closed earlier than the rest of the Pizzaplex, it was still late.
"Sunny, dear?" you called again. When Sundrop didn't immediately come out to greet you, it didn't exactly surprise you. He did this sometimes, hiding to try and get you to come find him, but you knew exactly how to get him to come out of hiding by now. Walking over to a pile of pillows, you 'accidentally' knocked them over with your foot. "Oops-" you said loudly, and before you could get anything else out…
"NOOO!! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!!! WHAT A MESS! A MESS!!!" Sundrop screamed, scrambling out of the nearby ball pit. He ran over to the pillows you had knocked over, squatting down and frantically trying to remember how they had been before. He fidgeted with one of the rays surrounding his face as he thought. It was cute.
"Good evening, Sunshine," you repeated cheerfully. His only response was a quiet 'hmph' as he stacked the pillows back neatly.
When he was finally done, Sundrop stood up to his full height and folded his arms in annoyance, the bell on one of his shoes ringing as he tapped his foot. "You never, never play with me!" he whined. His permanently grinning face was such a silly juxtaposition to his current mood, you thought.
"I play with you all the time, Sunshine. Playing is just for after maintenance," you replied, shaking your head and breathing out a laugh. "How about we play hide and seek later?"
Sundrop let out a sigh, arms falling to his sides. "Fine. But, but, but! I'm going to hold you to it," he tutted, shaking his finger at you with every 'but'.
You laughed again. "Of course, Sunshine! Since when have I ever let you down?" you teased. He finally relented, folding his arms back up with an exasperated sigh. You reached up to his face, playing with a ray. At that he almost immediately melted. He just couldn't stay mad at you, could he? "Now how's about we get you all checked up?"
Without any more fighting, Sundrop quickly whisked you off to his room.
The first time you had come to do maintenance, Sundrop was very hesitant to let you into his private quarters. And, when he finally relented, you could tell why. The place was messy, dank. It was… sad, you thought. The cobwebs, poor lighting and strewn about toys were so sad. This hidden away room felt lonely. Sundrop must have been so, so lonely. What else were the broken robots but surrogate friends? After your first visit, you felt a strange determination to make him feel a bit less lonely. And to help him clean his room, of course.
Now, his space was homey. It still wasn't the cleanest, but it felt warm. It wasn't just a place he hid away in at night anxiously awaiting the end of each hour to lose control to his counterpart for a few minutes and break something, it was a place uniquely him. A sun shaped rug with a moon inside it was in the center of the room, a brightly colored couch sat against one of the walls and one wall was covered in drawings from kids who had visited. Toys still lay about, recently played with, but it was a big improvement from before. Oh, and you had replaced the lights, of course.
You put your toolbox down as Sundrop excitedly pulled a chair out to the center of the room. He sat down in it, vibrating in place as he impatiently waited for you to start your checkup.
"So how's your day been, Sunshine dear?" you asked as you opened his chest to check if all the wires inside were in the right place. It only took a hand inside and a quick glance to know everything was where it should be- you had seen inside him enough times to know what was and wasn't right.
"You won't BELIEVE what happened today! A little girl hugged me today! SHE HUGGED ME!!" Sundrop spoke with so much joy in his voice. He shook his hands excitedly. "And- and, and-!" He scrambled up before you had even closed his chest and grabbed something off the couch. He jumped back and shoved a piece of paper in your face. "SHE- SHE DREW ME!! SHE DREW ME AND- AND SHE LET ME KEEP IT!!!" As he said, there was a childish drawing of him. You took it with an interested 'oh'.
"That's lovely, Sunshine!" The paper was a bit crinkly and it was obvious he had been admiring it for a while. Probably just before you came, even. You put it down next to you. "You'll have to frame that one, won't you?" you half teased.
"I will! I will!!" He hopped up and down, bells jingling. His chest was still open, of course.
"Come sit back down, sweetheart." Sundrop obeyed, though hardly able to sit still. You closed his chest piece and stood up, walking around behind him to make sure everything was in check on the back of his head as well. One time a kid ripped some wires out and you were called in for an emergency fix, and remnants of the incident still showed through fixed welding, but was otherwise as it should. "Anything been giving you trouble?" you asked. "Any creaky or stiff joints, struggling to move certain parts, any pain?"
Sundrop thought for a second, tapping his face plate with a slender finger. "My right knee has been loose," he finally answered.
"Let's get that tightened up then." Sundrop slipped his pants off quickly so you could begin your work. You took the cap that covered his knee joint, grabbing a wrench and tightening the bolts that held the joint together. As you did so, you asked, "Anything else?"
He was silent for a moment. Unusually silent, actually. It was an uncharacteristic wait before he finally asked, "No. But, uhm, can I ask... what it is like to be in love?"
That made you stop, just for a moment. "Bit out of nowhere, no? Why? Did you fall in love with one of the helper bots?" you teased. When he didn't answer, you knew where this might be going. Less than platonic thoughts about him had crossed your mind in the past, but you had always assumed he just… wasn't programmed to have emotions like that? Love, that is. Well, maybe you're being too hopeful here. Maybe he's just curious? You hummed to yourself before speaking again, "It's like… when you care about somebody a lot. There are lots of different kinds of love, of course. Familial, platonic, romantic, even lust."
"What about the romantic kind?" Sundrop asked.
"Well that, Sunshine, is something special. Being in love like that is… so strong. To you, the person, or people, you love like that are so, so special. One of a kind, passionate love for someone is the best feeling in the world. It's hard to describe. Maybe one day you'll learn what it's like." You place the knee cap back on, locking it in place.
Sundrop is silent for a very long time. "What if I already have?" His voice was low as fingers laced together in his lap.
"Then, that person must be very special. And I hope-" you were cut off.
"I love you-!" Sundrop blurted out.
Months of these thoughts and ideas about a being you had assumed couldn't love came true in an instant, and you were speechless. Your face heated up as you stared up at the robot above you.
"And I have. I have! For months and months and months I've loved you! You're so nice and you play with me and- and you're so pretty and I love you!" Sundrop rambled on. The bells on his wrists jingled as he waved them around to accent his words. "But- but I've been scared! So scared you don't love me back, but I can't keep it in anymore! I can't! Even if- even if you don't love me back it's okay. I just wanted you to know…"
Shock. Total shock. This confession hit you like a bus, and you honestly didn't know how to respond. So, you started laughing. You felt so stupid for not seeing it earlier, so blinded by your own casual obsession with the animatronic in front of you. The way he treated you was so different from anyone else, what could you expect? You were laughing until you were crying. At this, Sundrop looked dejected, embarrassed, even. He looked away and folded his arms tight to his chest.
You slowly stood up when your laughing finally began to calm down. Reaching a hand forward to get him to look at you, you finally spoke, "I thought I was so stupid to love you. Thought you couldn't love me back! Why would they program you to love, right? You're- you're a robot made to babysit kids, y'know? But how could I not learn to love you, really? Oh, Sundrop, Sunshine, Sunny, starlight, sweetheart, I love you too- and I'm a fool not to have seen your feelings sooner." As you spoke, the robot in front of you slowly began to relax, and just stared up at you. You played with one of the rays around his face between your fingers. "Sundrop, you're the one thing keeping me at this job. How could I not adore you?"
When you had finally finished your little spiel, Sundrop suddenly wrapped his arms around you and stood up, spinning you in circles. "Oh, you make me the happiest star in the sky!" he yelled. His grip on you was tight, but comfortable. Something you had thought about for a long time.
You pet his face, laughing as he swung you around in his arms. "Oh, Sunshine. Won't you be the sun to my moon?"
"Of course I would! Of course!" You leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. Maybe hide and seek would have to wait.