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The daycare was finally empty after a day of fun and play. Which meant it was clean-up time for the day themed robot. Sun chuckled loudly at the grumpy vibes Moon was sending his way as he was picking up a few scattered building blocks.
Ever since Moon's talk with Chica, complimenting him and his voice after walking in on him singing to himself, Sun had been non stop teasing him about it. In a friendly way, of course. Never did he make fun of him or his embarrassment because, honestly, he was very proud of Moon and happy that someone showed appreciation for his amazing singing talents.
Though that didn't stop the night themed robot's annoyance at the constant nagging.
'Can you just leave it??? You've been ranting about it all day. Don't act like I didn't notice you trying to convince the kids to get me to sing. You weren't at all subtle.'
Sunny giggled at that, clearly showing that he wasn't trying to be subtle about it.
"What's the big deal, Moony? You sing for the kids all the time!" He said out loud with an amused tone, not caring about being quiet since the daycare was empty.
'Well clearly you wanted to make it a big deal, considering how much you were hyping it up.'
"What can I say, she's right! Your voice is so beautiful! You really SHOULD try to sing in front of people more! Aside from naptime."
'Sunny, you're not helping my confidence by forcing it on me.'
"G-gee Moon. I… didn't think of it like that. I'm sorry. I didn't… didn't mean to make you feel so uncomfortable."
At Sun's sudden nervous realization, Moon's voice and his annoyed mood softened a bit and he could be heard sighing.
'It's fine. I'm not even that bothered by it. I know you just wanted to encourage me. It was pretty irritating, but that's nothing new for you!'
The daycare attendant let out an offended "HEY!!!" before he pouted grumpily at the internal sounds of laughter from his counterpart. Geez, when did the tables turn like that? He shook that thought quickly in favor of focusing on his cleaning.
'You're too easy. Heh!'
"Says YOU, Mr. I-can't-take-a-compliment!"
'Oh, whatever! And besides! It's not like I'm the only one out of us that can sing. Pretty much every damn animatronic in this place can sing, including you!'
"MOON!" Sun gasped at the use of language before he got more huffy, recognizing that that was exactly the reaction he was fishing for. That was confirmed when his system was filled with roars of laughter.
'HEHEHEHEHE! Haaaaa… alright, alright. But for real, you really do sing well too.'
"Yeah. Thanks Moonlight. That's really sweet" Sun simply muttered as he got up to his feet, moving to his next area of business. The other attendant immediately took notice of the way he said that. It didn't sound very sincere to him.
'Sunshine…'
He quickly froze in place at the tone of voice the other used when using the nickname. Darn, he let it slip.
'Do you… not think you sing well?'
"N-Nonono! It's nothing like that! I mean, I'm alright!"
'Sunny..?'
"I-I-I MEAN- I sing just fine! But it's nothing noteworthy! Absolutely nothing like you or the Glamrocks. And don't GET ME STARTED ON DJ!! It's just… average."
He jolted in surprise as he felt that familiar warmth in his processors. A mental hug. Was that really necessary? It came a little out of nowhere.
'You have a very charming voice. It's… captivating.'
"Captivating? Charming? I think you're confusing the two of us now!"
'You have a wide range, you can sing and jump around effortlessly, you put so much emotion into it, as if you're performing on stage.'
"S-S-STOP!!!" Sun burst out as his fans clicked into high gear, covering his face in embarrassment at the overabundance of praise.
'Who's Mr. Can't-Take-a-compliment now~?' Moon purred teasingly as he reveled in the flustered mess he had created.
"Sh-shut up…" He simply got back as the animatronic shook his head and continued towards his next mess to clean.
*~*~*
He was… so… GODDAMN BORED!
Monty had been laying in his greenroom ever since the end of the last show. He was just burying his snout in a pillow and suffering from sheer boredom. Once in a while, he might make a loud groan or growl, just to spice things up a tad. But that was only marginally better than the deafening silence of the Pizza 'Plex after closing. He didn't even have the energy to trash his room or something since he was so bored. It was just too much effort and would only serve to get him in more trouble. And, honestly, he wasn't in the mood to either deal with the consequences or even make a mess to begin with.
But he couldn't just lay there like a sack of scrap metal. He needed to do SOMETHING to liven up things. The gator briefly considered practicing on the bass for their next performance, but he shuddered at the idea. That was the main thing he was bored with. The music. They played the same crap day in and day out. Pop, rock, techno, pop, rock, techno, pop, ROCK-
It just never ends! If he had to hear that signature song ONE MORE TIME-
He'd rather become scrap metal.
Oh well. No point in just laying there and wallowing, as appealing as it sounded. With a groan, the Glamrock got up from his couch and dragged himself over to the door. Exiting, he looked around the large facility in search of something minutely interesting.
Nope. Not even a Staff-bot. Probably just hadn't made the rounds there yet.
Maybe if he wanders around a bit, he'll come across something even remotely entertaining. Like a wet floor bot with a jammed wheel, stuck going around in circles. Better than nothing.
*~*~*
Somehow, Monty ended up in the hallway leading to the daycare. He kind of just walked wherever he noticed something. He had seen one of the cleaning robots looking sadly at their broken mop, rolling slowly towards the nearest broom closet to retrieve a new one. That just so happened to be near the daycare.
So, there he was, following after the mechanical janitor while glancing around absentmindedly. It wasn't Montgomery's usual scene. He didn't really have a reason to go there, aside from guest starring at a young kid's birthday party. Which he had. He also ran into the daycare attendant while there.
Sun was… not half bad. If he was being real, he didn't know what to make of the solar caretaker. With Moon, he knew what his opinion was. Snarky asshole. But, like, in an enjoyable way… sometimes. But Sun? He couldn't tell.
He wants to say he's loud and overzealous. Just too much for the gator. But… there was a little bit more than that. He seemed like a people pleaser, but a little too much so. He seemed anxious, getting really antsy and nervous whenever things went wrong or someone got upset, trying his hardest to fix it. It made it hard to dislike the guy. And he really did seem like he was smarter than he looks. He could adapt well enough to get MONTY on his good side. And that's saying something!
Sun was way different than the rest of the Glamrocks. Moon too. But he was a little more introverted, so it was kind of hard to catch him for longer than 10 minutes.
"Hm… yeah… something different…" Maybe that's what he needed. A change of pace.
Monty was snapped back to reality as he heard something from beyond the doors leading to the pickup area.
"Moon, it's FINE! It's not that big of a deal. I have other good traits! You're the better singer, I'm the better… SOMETHING ELSE!"
Huh. That sounded like Sun. He's still active? The 'plex is closed so shouldn't he be in his… wait, did he even have his own green room? Maybe he just lived in the daycare.
Monty decided to be a little nosey. Not that he usually considered others' privacy much, but still. He quietly opened the door and snuck in while listening in on the one-sided conversation.
"LOOK! I just can't think of something from the top of my head, ok? So let's just focus on cleaning."
"..."
"Ugh! All this talk about singing is making me really want to sing! See what you did?!"
"..."
"ME?! Nuh-uh!
… Ok, maybe it was."
Monty resisted a laugh as he listened to the energetic gas giant whining at his other side, most likely talking to him in his head. Moon has a nice singing voice, huh? He'd have to bring that up sometime, maliciously, obviously.
But… does that mean Sun has one too? He didn't seem to think so, at least. Was he self-conscious? Self-critical, maybe?
… Now he was VERY curious.
Sun sighed lightly as he tried to ignore the other voice, bugging him about his tiny slip-up.
'Then why don't you? No one's here, so it's not like you're disturbing anyone.'
"Moony, I'm busy cleaning. I can't sing while cleaning" he huffed and grinned, reaching down to pick up a fairy costume that had been discarded haphazardly.
'OH, SO WHAT? You can do both! Haven't you heard 'whistle while you work'? It's not impossible!'
"AH! 'Whistle' not 'sing'. There's a difference!" he corrected Moon while reaching out for a pirate costume that he hung over his arm with the other ones he'd picked up. "And… I just… I don't know. I'm feeling… off about it."
Moon sent Sun a wave of understanding and reassurance, complete with another mental hug. It made him pause for a moment and hold his shoulders with a big, content smile.
Monty approached the mesh that made up the daycare wall and glanced down at the robot. Hmm… So he was right. He feels kinda bad for him for some reason. Maybe Sun just has that kind of endearing personality that makes you wanna root for him.
Sunny stood back up to put the costumes away in the closet.
'Don't worry. If it's what you want to do, then do it. It's what makes you happy, after all!' Which was true. He really did enjoy it. It was fun! So… why was he feeling so nervous? Maybe he was just overthinking it. It was just for fun after all…
And he had a song in mind.
"Moony! I don't have time for singing!" The Daycare robot called out in an exaggerated voice as he let out a soft chuckle. He could feel Moon's confusion, making him grin more.
"That's just gonna have to wait a while~" he proceeded to say in the most sing-songy voice he could, making his counterpart realize exactly what he was doing.
Monty watched Sun as he cartoonily sauntered over towards the broom that was leaning against the security desk, raising a brow curiously.
"Ain't got tiiiime for messing around~
And it's not my style~!"
He sang softly as he picked up the broom and began cleaning up lazily.
"This old town can sloooow you down, people taking the easy way~"
Then, Sun picked the broom up and did a little spin with it, as if it was his dance partner.
"But I know exactly where I'm going~
I'm getting closer and closer everyday~!"
And with that, the animatronic was off, spinning his partner away to eventually topple over to the floor. He then bounced over to the ball pit and began picking up the scattered plastic balls along to the rhythm of the song he was singing.
"And I'm aaaalmooost there~!
I'm almost there~
People down here think I'm crazy~!
But I don't care~"
He was truly lost in the music then, as he juggled the balls effortlessly and tossed them into the pit. He then pirouetted to the drawing table where he gathered up the colored pencils and figure erasers while still singing.
"I remember daddy told me 'fairytales can't come true'~
You gotta make them happen, it all depends on you~!"
Rolling them down his arm into the pencil case, he then quickly turned to sweep up an arm-full of plushies.
Monty grinned and leaned against the railing, not feeling so bored anymore. He noticed that his movements were very elegant in that Broadway musical kind of way. Very reminiscent of the song he was singing actually. In fact, the gator thought he might recognize that tune. It sounded like one of those animated kids movies that were all the rage. Kids tended to ask Freddy to sing a line or two from them once in a while.
Damn. That certainly was a breath of fresh air from their usual pop-rock-techno-repeat bullcrap. He could listen to Sun sing all night.
Sunny had practically been performing a one-bot show, dancing, jumping and spinning around like a freaking acrobat! Even the cleaning was theatrical, like balancing on one of the big cylinders before kicking it into place like it was nothing! How can he maintain 'character' when he was performing these amazing feats while singing?!
"And I'm aaaalmost there~
I'm almost there~
People gonna come here from everywhere~
And I'm aaalmost there~
I'm almost there~"
As he took a pause in the song, he leaned against one of the towers with an almost gloomy slouch. The animatronic up above looked a little confused, wondering if something happened.
…
Maybe he should stop creeping and just head down there. It wasn't like he was heading back to his green room anytime soon anyways. He started wandering down stairs as he heard Sun's voice softly singing.
"Theeeeere's been triiiaaals and triiiiibulations~
You know I've… had my share~"
Opening the door as quietly as possible, he peeked in and saw the celestial themed bot push himself up with new energy in him.
"But I've climbed the mountain~
I've crossed the river~
And I'm aaalmost there~"
He picked up pace again as he climbed up the play structure and pulled himself onto the roof, a fitting stage for his Grand Finale. Monty was watching expectantly, curious how he'd finish this cute little performance off.
"I'M AAAAAAAAALMOOOOOOOST THEEEEEREEEEEEE~!!!"
With that long last note, he finished it off with an underwhelming, but charming little impression of a trumpet riff before giggling to himself. He seemed so happy with his concert as he giddily shifted around, as if all that dancing didn't drain him at all, but rather energized him.
This was perfect. Sun hadn't seen Monty yet. Still blissfully unaware. This should be hilarious.
The Glamrock wandered into the daycare while giving him uproarious applause, even adding some cheers and whistling. Startled by the unexpected sound in the supposedly empty daycare, Sunny shot up and scrambled to see who just showed up.
Unfortunately, he got so nervous about the idea of any staff bearing witness to his stupid little musical, he fumbled around too much and lost his footing.
"SHIT!" Monty darted over towards the falling animatronic, stretching his arms out towards him. Sun's brief yell was soon interrupted as he huffed in surprise at the not so hard impact. He kept his eyes shut, expecting warnings to appear on his screen. But…
'Sunny! You're fine!'
Hesitantly opening one eye, he found that Moon was right. He landed on… something that broke the fall. Confusion began creeping in until-
"Well well well. Looks like I caught myself a shooting star. Does that mean you owe me a wish~?" A voice cut through his train of thought, his head snapping up to meet with the grinning reptile's, magenta eyes having a teasing glance.
"M-M-MO-MUH-MO-MO-M-MO-" Sun's voice box seemed to glitch out as he was pretty much visibly overheating at the realization of what was happening. The other animatronic chuckled at his shock and stuttering. Hell yeah. It was hilarious.
"MONTGOMERY GATOR!?!?!" He suddenly yelled. Monty laughed even louder at that, trying to not lose his grip on the slimmer robot as his shoulders shook with the laughing fit.
"Wh-wha-whu-what are you doing here!?! Th-the dayc-care is closed!!" Sun mumbled nervously as he shrank down into his hold. After he managed to calm his laughter, Monty let out a sigh and gave him his answer. "I was bored. I needed some entertainment. And entertainment I got."
Sun turned his head away from the eyes of the reptile, feeling so scrutinized under his gaze. Maybe even a tiny bit belittled by the way he was being talked about. And feeling Moon's anger rising, he could tell he felt the same.
'Let me out. I'll take care of it.'
'No! It's fine! I can… I can handle it!' Sun told him, this time not out loud, as he continued shrinking together in embarrassment.
"I never knew you could sing like THAT, Sunny boy! I thought you just did nursery rhymes, not full-blown Broadway musicals!" Monty then continued as he adjusted his hold on his co-worker so he was sitting more straight. Was probably more comfortable that way.
"Uh-! I-I-I… um… well…" he was at a loss of words, not sure how to interpret that comment. And that nickname… made him feel weird. It sure made Moon furious.
"How do you sing like that AND do your work at the same time. That's fucking impressive!" Monty interrupted, seeing as Sun clearly didn't have a response. He had REALLY caught him off guard this time, hadn't he? Pretty funny and… maaaybe a little cute.
"Langua- wait… impressive?" He'd usually just shrug off a compliment like that as something said just to be nice and polite. But coming from the Montgomery gator? One of the Glamrocks? The star bassist himself? That had to mean something at least.
"Yeah! How do you sing like that by the way? With so much emotion, but… like… not sounding like you're just singing??? Ugh. What the hell is that called?"
"D-do you mean… theatrically???"
"Yeah. That. How do you make it sound like that? As if you're a completely different person."
"Well… I-I don't know. I just… I picture who I want to be at that moment and… imagine what they are feeling and try to embody it with my voice and body."
"Damn. So you're basically acting and singing all at once. That's pretty cool! It's sure more interesting than the overplayed garbage I have to hear."
"H-hey! I love the music you guys play! I sometimes listen to it when the daycare is closed! It's really catchy!"
"Ha! Thanks, Sunny boy. But it isn't when it's all you hear. God I'm getting so sick of it!"
Sun was about to respond to Monty, but was stopped by Moon suddenly yelling at him, 'CAN YOU AT LEAST GET OUT OF HIS ARMS BEFORE CHATTING HIM UP!?!'
"G-Get out of his arms???" He mumbled confused, unintentionally saying it out loud. When Monty heard that, they both glanced down and realized the daycare attendant was still being held bridal style by the alligator.
Quickly, they scrambled to get Sun back to his feet. Both of them were feeling equally flustered by the mistake, cursing themselves for not noticing earlier.
"S-sorry 'bout th-"
"I'M SO SO SORR-"
They tried to apologize at the same time, but paused when they heard the other. Laughing awkwardly, Monty rubbed his neck while glancing away and Sun looked at the floor as he played around with his neck ruffle.
"... You're a good singer. Seriously. You might not be what management is looking for, but they're dumbasses! That was rocking!"
"Aha ha ha ha… th-thank you… really. I… I don't feel as delighted by it as you. Guess I'm just a teensy weensy little bit self-conscious."
'Oh yeah. So little. Barely noticeable. Hehehe~.'
"M-Moony! Stop it!"
That got Monty raising a brow at the tall robot, obviously not in the know about what got Sun to react like that. He looked over at him again, his fans clicking on as he heated up again.
"E-eh… HA HA HA HA! Um, Moon is just being… well…"
"Moon?" Monty finished with a smug grin.
"Yeah…" Sun laughed and rubbed his arm.
"You are so strong, dealing with that menace every moment of your life" the gator said dramatically as he put a claw on his shoulder in fake sympathy.
'HEY! WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, YOU SPIKY LITTLE SHIT?!?'
Sun burst out laughing at the offense Moon took, doubling over and covering his mouth in a pointless attempt to prevent the giggle fit. Monty chuckled at the outburst, pretty sure he knew exactly the reaction he had.
After they got done laughing, Sun sighed and wiped away an imaginary tear from his eye. Looking over at Monty, he noticed the happy look he had, something Sun was unfamiliar with. And he had yet to move his claws. He didn't want to bring attention to it, in case he'd get embarrassed again.
"But there ain't no need to be self-conscious. You've got talent! How 'bout I'll come back here sometime with my bass and we can jam together. I need something new to shake things up."
Did… did he hear him right? Did one of the Glamrocks want to play with him??? The daycare attendant???
"Th-the-that would be such an honor, Montgomery Gator!"
"Seriously, just call me Monty already. Even Moon doesn't call me by my full name."
"Doesn't he call you things like 'Water puppy' and 'Talking handbag'?"
"Exactly. Monty's just fine."
"Well then… Monty…" Geez… he liked the way that rolled off the tongue. And they're on nickname bases! Does that make them friends? Oh, he sure hopes so. His fans got louder by the second.
"That's the spirit! I should go back and charge now, but I'll be seeing you soon. Later, Sunny boy~"
And with that, Monty waved Sun off as he headed out of the daycare. Sun waved back stiffly, continuing to do so a while after he was gone.
…
Then he let out a big sigh as the tension disappeared and he collapsed into a pile of laundry.
"I can't believe Montgo- I mean… Monty thinks I'm a good singer~."
'You're flattered by a compliment from a swamp monster?'
"He called me Sunny boy. I like that nickname!"
'Dude… raise your standards.'
"Sounds like someone is being a menace~."
'Shut up…'