Work Text:
Chica
Normally cleaning the kitchens wasn’t the worst task in the world, the STAFF bots usually kept the place fairly clean. Saturday’s however always mean far more people though and it seems that they had been unable to keep up with the massive crowds that the Pizzaplex had to entertain today. It being the middle of summer when all the school aged kids were off definitely put its strain on the facilities.
Apparently not enough strain for management to hire another night janitor though.
You breathe out heavily through your nose as you scrub another pizza pan down, trying to get rid of the burnt cheese from the metal surface. You would take cleaning all of the bathrooms in the Plex than wash the dishes. Standing still at the sink trying to pick off blackened cheese and dough is by far your least favorite thing.
“Stupid crust, come off.” You grumble under your breath, annoyed that your speaker had already lost its charge so you were without music while you did your best to make the kitchen equipment shine.
“Need a hand, Sweetie?” Chica’s voice interrupts your stormy thoughts, causing you to jump slightly, not having expected the animatronic chicken to be nearby.
“Ah nah, besides, you aren’t supposed to get your joints wet.” You wave a damp hand.
“Not supposed to, but I can handle a bit of water.” She chuckles at you. “Come on, a little helping won’t cause me to short.”
“I know it won’t but I’ve got it, Cheeks.” You laugh softly, “Promise. I’ll be outta here eventually. Dishes aren’t the hardest task I’ve got.”
“Oh dear, do they have you doing more things again?” She asks, referencing how occasionally your schedule seems to fill up to the extremes when the day shift doesn’t finish their tasks properly. Like washing the dishes.
“It’s not as bad as it could be. I’m good. If it was too much I’d let Colin know.” You try to wave off her concern as you manage to dislodge a glob of burnt cheese finally. “If I’m not outta here at…” You glance down at your watch, “4 AM then you can drag me out.” You snort, figuring that’s plenty of time given it’s only 1:30 AM.
“Hmm… Only if you promise to take your lunch break and a quick nap at 2AM.” She smiles, tilting her head in a cute manner.
“You drive a hard bargain.” You laugh, “Deal. I’ll make sure I take a quick break at 2 AM.” You hum, focus returning to the dishes.
“Mhm. I’ll swing by to check on you later.” She waves before heading out of the kitchens.
Chica wandered back to the kitchens at 2:30 AM, having gotten caught up with Roxy in a conversation. She hoped that the janitor had taken a proper break, but they always took so much on their shoulders. Humming softly to herself she steps gently into the kitchens finding the janitor still scrubbing away.
“Did you take a break?” She asks softly, trying not to startle them.
The janitor doesn’t jump, but they also don’t say anything. They also don’t seem to be scrubbing? Chica carefully steps forward, calling their name softly but it doesn’t garner any response from them.
“Sweet pea? You okay?” She asks, gently putting a hand on their shoulder only to have to quickly catch them from falling. “Sweetie???” Chica squawks in concern. They have their eyes shut, breathing softly. She blinks in disbelief before sighing. “How on earth did you fall asleep standing up?” She mumbles.
“Mmm…” You hum, shifting slightly in her hold. Chica laughs softly, “I think there’s a far better place for you to go sleep in, sweetie.” She adjusts her grip to carry the janitor off to the daycare.
“And make sure they have something to eat, I don’t think they’ve had their lunch break yet.” Chica’s voice hits your ears as you shift in someone’s hold. “Poor thing seems so tired.” She clucks before walking off as you slowly open your eyes with a yawn.
“Starlight.” Moon apparently is the one holding you, keeping you in his arms even though you wiggle to be let down. “You gave Chica quite the scare.” He hums in a disappointed tone. “You were quite lucky she caught you.”
“Whuh?” You rub at your eyes, glad that someone had dried your hands off, even if they smell vaguely like cheese water.
“You fell asleep while doing the dishes.” Moon sighs, “Sunny is fetching some snacks for you.”
“Oh whoops…” You mumble, giving another yawn. “Dish duty always makes me tired for some reason… Ow.” You grimace as your knee protests a slight movement. “Shoot, I think I locked my knees.”
“Even more reason why you were lucky Chica checked in on you.” Moon huffs.
“Yeah, yeah.” You wave him off a bit, pouting that he won’t let you out of his arms. Moon takes you to the nap corner, sitting down and keeping you in his lap.
“Don’t you ‘yeah, yeah’ me.” He squints, voice stern, “You could have been hurt, Starlight. If Chica didn’t check in you could have fallen and hit your head, I wouldn’t have found you until my rounds. If you’re tired you should rest.” Moon’s long fingers brush through your hair gently.
“I have to do my job though.” You grumble softly, leaning into his touch.
“I know. But next time, put a timer on? Just to have a mental break if anything.” He sighs, pressing his lips in your hair.
“Mkay, I will.” You agree easily. The jingle of bells alerts you both of Sunny joining you, passing you a Fizzy Faz, a bag of crackers, and some apple slices. Your stomach sounding off with a growl at the sight of the food, making you realize how hungry you actually are. You make grabby hands for the food which Sunny is quick to pass to you and you scarf it down.
You hiccup as soon as all of the food is gone. “Uh thanks…” You mumble, a little embarrassed you ate so quickly.
“Of course, Sunshine, we’re happy to help, but you gotta make sure you’re taking your breaks.” Sun waggles his finger at you before joining you and Moon on the ground.
The three of you chat for a while, Moon eventually going on his patrol and bringing you back a heaping serving of moondrop curry and sunnydrop lemon cake from the Fazpad making you laugh. You tried to eat a bit slower but you were hungry still, the snack only stopped your stomach from eating itself. You polished off the curry and cake fairly quickly.
“Mmph.” You hum before it turns into a yawn, “Gosh I think I’m gonna go into a food coma that was a lot.” You mumble before your words turn into a yawn again. Sitting between the celestial animatronics was like having a gently heated blanket against your back. Your eyes slowly slip shut as Sunny and Moon just relax behind you in comfortable silence.
DJMM
You sigh heavily as you stare at the glowing screens in front of you. The cleaning bots in the West Arcade hadn’t charged properly throughout the day due to someone managing to get into the charging room and unplugging the main power supply before Security yanked them out. No one had reported them as being offline from the dayshift and no one had properly cleaned the arcade either.
You had plugged them back in to get them charging again, clearing a few tasks for an hour or so before checking back on them. MU51C and RY1HM, the lead cleaning bots for the West Arcade, had at least enough juice to help you out a bit, but it was like a hurricane had blown through the arcade.
Streamers and banners were flopped over, hanging by weak tape or strings. Silly string coated the screens of multiple arcade cabinets, covering up the game demos that were still running on them. Plenty of mysterious and not so mysterious stains coat the carpets and the benches scattered around the room. Not to mention there were at least ten different arcade cabinets that were out of commission. And to top it all off, someone had managed to get spray paint on DJMM’s body, coating the poor animatronic in not so nice phrases and images.
You grimace at the long night ahead of you. You’d even been called in two hours earlier than normal to deal with all of the damage done. Thank the stars Colin was in a panic and offered you double your normal hourly pay for using tonight to fix the West Arcade.
“Alright… Let’s get to it. I’ll take the streamers and banners first you two start on the lower level alright?” You give a tired smile to Music and Rhythm, getting affirmative chirps, before starting to work your way around the room to replace decorations. You really hope the rest of the cleaning bots come online soon.
You grunt as you wipe down another arcade cabinet’s screen from the silly string followed by a wipe down of the control pad, glad that the unit hadn’t suffered more damage. It took an hour and a half to get all the destroyed decorations in order, and for the last two hours you’ve been wiping down the arcade cabinets, getting the wonderful break in the monotony of cleaning them off to fix the broken ones you’ve come across throughout the upper floor.
You are crying a little on the inside that you still have to do this downstairs. At least this is one of the last cabinets on the second floor… Just five more to go.
“Rhythm, Music, are the other’s charged yet?” You call out, waiting for your watch to ping their responses.
MU51C: [Negative. Charging has progressed to 69%.]
You let out a small snort and a quiet ‘nice’ under your breath. Maturity does not have to be a thing tonight. There’s too many arcade cabinets to clean and fix for that. “Cool, keep me posted!” You call back.
RY1HM: [We will.]
Your arms ache from the repetitive motion of wiping the screens and controls down. You would have thought you were used to it by now but apparently not. You’ve been at this for six hours now. Thankfully Music and Rhythm have been taking care of the stains on the floor.
The only task you still have is cleaning up DJMM.
“More wiping… Yay.” You say sullenly as you prep the buckets to try and wash off the spray paint. Thank Fazbear that management had DJMM coated with a paint that doesn’t allow other paints to stick unless it’s a fresh coat of the original paint.
You haul your wagon of cleaning solution over to the DJ and the huge squeegee. “Let’s get this done big guy.” You pat DJ’s side, getting a questioning series of notes.
“Hmm?” You glance up at the animatronic’s face. DJ play’s you a few notes of Moon’s go to lullaby. “Not yet bud, I’ve gotta get you cleaned up. Then I totally plan on passing out.” You chuckle. “I’ve still got four more hours to go.”
Your watch dings, drawing your attention to the device on your wrist.
DJMM: [You can take a break you know. I’m okay waiting to get cleaned up.]
“If I stop I’m gonna collapse in a heap, big guy.” You start getting the squeegee wet and rubbing it against the DJ’s side.
DJMM: [Did you have food? Water?]
You sigh, “I had a few snacks while I was working, and I made sure I had water too.”
DJMM: [Good. Promised Moon I’d keep my eyes on you.]
“Mhm. Just because I fell asleep standing up in the kitchens doesn’t mean I am gonna fall asleep again.” You grumble, watching as the spray paint slowly gets washed away.
DJMM: [We care about your safety.]
“I know. And I appreciate it. But I’ve been caring for myself for ages. I’m good. Promise.” You sigh, “…Mind playing some music?” You ask. “Don’t have to if you don’t want to, but some tunes beyond arcade cabinets would be nice.” You chuckle.
DJMM: [Requests?]
“Something that’s peppy and upbeat.” You say, grinning as DJMM starts blasting some tunes.
“Alright… You’re done.” You smile tiredly up at DJMM before flopping to the floor, lying with your limbs out like a starfish on the dance floor. “Ni-night…” You hum and pass out despite the glowing lights of the floor underneath you.
DJMM: [RY1HM and MU51C can you please collect the janitor’s cleaning supplies? Be careful they are on the floor.]
MU51C: [Are they alright?]
DJMM: [Tired. Did they eat at all? Drink water?]
RY1HM: [Did not see them eat more than a small bag from a vending machine. Then they cleaned that machine.]
MU51C: [They finished their water earlier in the night. Offered to refill but they declined.]
DJMM: [Well… At least it’s almost the end of the hour. I will contact Moon.]
MU51C: [Please do. Food and water will arrive for them from CH33S3 and CR4KR5 in a moment.]
DJMM: [Glad we were all thinking the same thing.]
— 🎧🎵🌙 —
DJMM: Hey Moon, when you do your next patrol,
you have something to pick up in the West Arcade.
Moon: What? Oh the janitor?
DJMM: Yeah.
Some of the STAFF bots are getting them food and water,
they are passed out on the dance floor.
Moon: WHAT?!
DJMM: They had food and water earlier,
definitely not enough though.
Make sure they eat what the STAFF made.
Moon: I certainly plan to.
Along with a stern talking to about breaks.
DJMM: Please do.
Was quite concerning, but they are sleeping peacefully.
Moon: Be there in ten minutes.
DJMM: Thank you.
You are confused waking up in the daycare again, Moon’s face hovering over yours in a scowl. You blink groggily and press yourself down, finding that you are in Sunny’s lap.
“Starlight, care to explain why you hadn’t taken your breaks?” Moon’s voice cuts icily through the air.
“Uh… I was saving them? To come hang with you guys?” You rub at your face, blinking up confused. “How’d I get here? I don’t remember walking to the daycare…”
“You didn’t. I carried you.” Moon glares.
“Oh.” You shrink down a bit further.
“Moon, this can wait until after they have eaten something.” Sun sighs softly. “Here, Sunshine, some of the STAFF bots made you lunch.” He pushes a take out bag into your hands.
“They did?” You tilt your head in confusion causing Moon to slap his hand to his face.
“Yes, of course they did.” Moon just barely refrains from growling at you. “They were worried when you didn’t take a proper break. You’d been cleaning for seven and a half hours straight.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun?” You try to joke, earning yourself glares from the two celestial jester animatronics. “Ooookay I’m- I’m gonna eat this then. Yep.” You take out the food from inside along with the water bottles packaged in the bag.
You end up getting chewed out while you’re chewing…
Roxy
After the chewing out you got from Moon and Sun about taking breaks they’ve been sending STAFF bots to you on your shifts to make sure you take a break while also pinging your watch. While you appreciate the attention and care you are also finding it incredibly difficult to actually focus on your tasks. Every time you find yourself in the rhythm of your work, music playing on the side, you get interrupted by a STAFF bot chirp to remind you to take a water break or stretch or any of the myriad of things they ask for you to do every 20 minutes.
It is driving you absolutely bonkers.
But apparently now you’re not trusted to actually take care of yourself. So the celestial animatronics have most of the facility watching you like hawks in case you don’t drink exactly 8 oz of water or have a bag of cheese crackers.
God forbid you don’t take a ten minute cat nap.
And you know it doesn’t help your attitude at all but you slept for absolute shit during the day. A certain sunshine-y animatronic had poked and prodded you about eating a proper meal and the moonlit one decided to punish you if you didn’t properly sleep. How the fuck did they expect you to do that if they kept messaging you!? You had eventually shut your devices down completely, only to wake up groggily just before you were in risk of being late to drive to the Plex. Needless to say you slapped clothes on as fast as you humanly could to skip everything else you would normally do at home to make it on time.
You glance down your checklist for the night and grimace at the new ‘tasks’ for your breaks added by Sun. With a huff through your nose you start making your rounds through the building.
You would never actually do it, you love them all too much for that, but you really want to do what Roxy did and smash the next set of STAFF bots that come your way. You are beyond pissed at the interruptions now and it has only been three hours into your shift. Even Moon visiting you during his patrols has put your hackles up as you growl at anything that gets close to you.
You knew you were being a bit unfair to them. But weren’t they also being unfair to you? You had a handle on all of this adulting stuff! You’ve been doing it for long enough haven’t you? Just because you fell asleep in some unconventional areas doesn’t mean you’re bad at life!
You sigh heavily as you look at your task list again. Seeing an upcoming ‘nap’ break on the schedule.
“Fuck that shit.” You grumble to yourself, scrolling until you find the next actual task.
Hmm… If I remember right… The go kart garages have manual locks… Your thoughts spin slowly as you wander towards Roxy’s Raceway, glancing over your shoulders for any animatronic around you. With a grin you realize you’re currently unattended and make quick work of your plan.
Roxy was busy tending to the Glamrock Salon, making sure the floor was properly swept up and that all the products were fully stocked. She knew she could have the STAFF bots do the tasks for her, or even make it a task the janitor had to do, but she preferred as few noses being poked into her salon as possible.
Her tail swings to the beat of the music playing softly on the stereo system as she works through the chore list. Speaking of the janitor, or in this case just thinking about them, causes a series of dominos to fall for the wolf animatronic.
The first is a series of pings from G34RS and WR3NN asking if any bot had seen the janitor in the area, which piqued her curiosity. It’s not often the janitor is hidden from view from the STAFF bots or any of the main animatronics. She rolls her eyes, figuring that the janitor is probably on break or working on a bathroom out of view, focusing back on the task she was working on.
Her HUD is taken up a few minutes later by a flashing notification to a group chat which she brushed away, trying to make sure her inventory was correct. Except it doesn’t just go away, much to her annoyance, instead it keeps popping up with a new message icon. Groaning audibly she clicks in trying to figure out what on earth is so important.
— 🍕Plex ⭐️s —
Freddy : I’ve not seen them near Fazerblast or Bonnie Bowl.
Neither have the STAFF at those locations, I’m currently checking the atrium.
Chica: Not having luck in the kitchens or my bakery.
AND NO I’M NOT SNACKING SO DON’T ASK MONTY.
Monty: I wasn’t gonna.
I don’t have ‘em either.
Golf course is cleared.
DJMM: They didn’t have any tasks in the West Arcade tonight.
Moon: I don’t have patrols for another 45 minutes.
I can’t look for them.
And the next cycle is a 15 minute one.
Barely enough time to properly look.
Sun: But they have to be somewhere!
Roxy have you seen them?
Roxy: I’m sure they are alive or whatever.
Haven’t seen them.
Been busy.
Moon: Well get off your ass and look!
You got those upgraded eyes.
Roxy: Do you want me to destroy your face plate again?
Why are you all freaking out anyway?
Freddy: Daycare Attendant Moon and Daycare Attendant Sun
have been trying to make sure they do not have another incident.
Chica: They fell asleep in the kitchens standing at the sink.
DJMM: And passed out in the arcade a few days ago after having to clean it.
Moon: Freddy.
It is just Moon and Sun.
Our full titles are stupidly long.
Please.
Sun: We just want to make sure they’re taking care of themself!
Roxy: So let them do it.
Hovering over them is stupid.
Let ‘em fall and get knocked around.
They’ll learn their lessons and junk.
And with that Roxy exits the chat, watching the message count quickly explode. Shoving it into a corner of her HUD she sighs and sends a quick ping back to the STAFF bots in the area.
Roxy: [Any sightings?]
WR3NN: [No. However none of us can get into the kart garages. All doors are locked.]
Roxy: [Kay. Keep a look out I guess.]
Roxy groans slightly before fishing out a set of keys from the back desk of the Salon. These were her personal set in case of emergency. And while she didn’t believe this was in any way an emergency, she figured she might as well bother the janitor if they were where she thought they were.
She easily ambles up to the door, checking for any other bots before unlocking the door and quickly entering, locking the door behind her so that no one else can enter. She has to have a little fun with it. Her ears flick as she tries to figure out where exactly the janitor has ended up in the large garage, catching the faint sound of soft breathing after a moment.
She has to hold back a laugh at the position the janitor is in when she finds them.
Their legs over one side of the kart while their arms drape in an incredibly uncomfortable position on the other side, neck craned back with their eyes shut tight. They look exhausted. She snaps a picture for posterity and blackmail later.
“Alright pup, you can’t be comfortable.” She chuckles, carefully picking them out of the kart to a back corner of the garage with some couches, tossing a lightweight blanket that’s only a little grease stained over them. Fetching a water bottle from the mini fridge in the semi-staff room she sets it on the low table next to them, raiding the small stash of protein bars next and setting it nearby as well.
“Don’t say I never do anything for you.” She snorts.
You wake up with a groan, squinting at the room that you don’t remember entering. Rubbing your face before spotting the water bottle and protein bar near you. “Huh?”
“You passed out in a kart.” Roxy speaks up from the doorway, before walking over to join you. “Mind telling me why you locked all the doors up?”
“…Wanted to be alone.” You grumble, taking a bite of the protein bar to stop you from saying anything else.
“Figured as much. The others are flipping their shit, just so ya know. Haven’t told them you’re here. Though I think the clowns in the daycare are gonna lose their heads at this rate.” She snorts. “Buncha overbearing mother hens. The lot of them.”
“Yup. Everyone is watching my every move. Interrupting my job. I know I don’t take breaks frequently but I do make sure I’m watching myself! I know my limits!”
“I know you know them but the others don’t, it seems. Have you told them all?”
“I tried to, but I think Sun and Moon are convinced I don’t know how to take care of myself.” You grouse, leaning back as you slug down some water. “…I mean yeah… I get they’re worried. And I really didn’t mean to worry them. But geez…”
“Well… Next power cycle is in five minutes. I recommend you flag down the lunatic and chat with them.” She huffs, waving a hand as she leaves. She quickly pokes her head back in. “Also this didn’t happen. Okay?”
“Okay.” You snort, giving her a nod and watch as the wolf disappears from view again. You finish your snack before sending a message off to Sun and Moon, asking them to talk with you.
Monty
“The kid didn’t do it on purpose.” Monty snorts, “Just flung outta their hand.”
“And directly into the screen of the arcade cabinet here.” You roll your eyes, “Forgive me, I really have a hard time believing that’s the truth.” You wipe at your forehead, already annoyed by the humidity of the golf course as you stuff your head back into the arcade cabinet. “Also why the heck is this here? It doesn’t make sense for a cabinet to be here.”
“It’s golf themed?” Monty shrugs, “You gonna be a bit?” He flicks his tail.
“Yeah this is gonna be a while.” You lean back on your knees with a sigh. “I don’t think we’re gonna get to golfing any time soon, man.” You huff out a breath.
“Aight, I’ll be around if you need anything, shortstack.” Monty waves a hand before wandering out of the area you’re in.
“Mhm.” You reply absentmindedly before getting back to working on the repairs.
It’s grueling work to be doing in the humidity of the golf course. The delicate precision you need for the soldering of wires that have been yanked out of place is hard to get with the sweat on your hands. The arcade cabinet you have to shove your face into feels even stuffier than the room around you. You honestly just want to lay face down in the water features of the golf course for a bit.
But you don’t. You have a lot of other things to do tonight. So you just keep working. Even the power cycling doesn’t stop you, just flicking on the lantern at your side to continue on. You don’t get interrupted by Moon, he had agreed to give you your space after having chatted with him and Sun. You really hadn’t enjoyed the feeling of the whole Pizzaplex watching for you to screw up something. You had also gotten agreement from the Glamrocks and DJMM that you were capable of handling yourself as well. Everything had been on a pretty even keel for the last few days.
You swipe for your water bottle but find it’s not with you. You must have left it in the break room. Sucks but you need to keep working. You’ll just grab it later.
Leaning back on your knees you groan and stretch, back cracking as you raise your arms above your head. Checking the time you groan and find it’s been over an hour and a half of you futzing with the arcade cabinet. It may be up and running again, new screen playing the game demo at a reasonable volume, but being crunched up inside of it has not felt good.
You glance around, snorting at the little ‘cabin’ next to the arcade cabinet and get up to stretch your legs, grunting as you feel your knees pop a bit and you wobble unsteadily. Your head feels like it’s pounding as you sway unevenly to the cabin’s doorway. Entering the little shack you are surprised to find a big couch against the wall, long enough that you can lay across it and be fully supported. You shuck off your coveralls and peel your boots off trying to ignore the churn of your stomach as you lean over, before flopping down on the cotton fabric covering the couch with a pleased sigh as it takes away the heat from your skin.
It really doesn’t take long for your eyes to shut, the humidity and soft noises of the ‘swamp’ make sleep hit you quickly.
Monty glances at the time on his HUD, the janitor has been working on that arcade cabinet for over two hours now, which doesn’t seem quite right. They’re usually pretty fast, he’s seen them fix one over in the West Arcade in under forty five minutes, and yeah the one on his course is a bit more smashed up than their usual purview, but he’s pretty sure they should be done. They haven’t messaged him either, which is a little bit concerning as well.
“Hey, ya done yet?” He calls out as he gets closer to the arcade cabinet finding the game demo playing and janitor gone. But what’s weird is their tools are still scattered around the cabinet. He knows they clean up after they finish up tasks normally, so this is strange.
He glances around trying to figure out where they could have gotten to when he spots a lone boot inside the cabin a little bit away. Huffing he makes his way over and grabs it, finding the second and the coveralls that have been dropped on the floor. He has to cover a snort at the passed out janitor on the couch inside.
“Geez kid, ya gave me a scare. Couldn’t find ya for a sec.” He grunts, shaking their shoulder lightly. He frowns as he doesn’t get a response. “Kid? Yo? Come on, there’s better spots to take a break.” He shoves a bit harder.
They groan and lean toward him, cracking open an eye before it slips shut again. He frowns, doing a bio scan on them, finding their pulse is far too quick, temperature too high, and a warning popping up that they are dehydrated. He’s definitely feeling a bit panicked now, they aren’t looking good.
“Shit kid, why didn’t you message me? I’m gonna get you some help.” Monty grumbles as he lifts them up into his arms, trying to not jostle them too much as he nearly sprints to get help.
You hear low, concerned voices as you wake up. You can vaguely make out your name being said and something about finding you passed out, but can’t make out much else. A cool cloth connects with the skin on your arms, sliding gently over you. It feels both good and also bad at the same time. A whine tries to crawl out of your throat but a wave of nausea and a cramp in your stomach reduces it to a whimper as you scrunch up your face.
“Sunshine? Sunshine, can you hear me?” Sun’s voice is panicked as he speaks. “I need you to wake up.” He keeps his efforts up with the damp cloth, passing it over your face and then chest.
“Starlight, you need to wake up.” Wow, you never thought you’d hear Moon tell someone to wake up, is something wrong? You feel a hand ever so gently press to the side of your face, thumb rubbing your cheek lightly.
Your eyelids feel as heavy as lead but eventually you manage to slowly blink them open, glad to find the daycare’s lights are not as awfully bright as they normally are. Blue and gold eyes watching every little movement from you with a tension you’ve not seen before. Nausea hits you like a wave, causing you to clutch your stomach with a whimper.
“Oh thank goodness.” Sunny mutters with a faint bit of relief. “Sunshine, I need you to drink this water bottle okay? Go slow.” He pushes the open water bottle toward you, and you shakily lift your hand to take it. When it’s obvious it will slip from your hand if you hold it, Sunny wraps their hand around yours to steady your hold. He lets you lead it to your lips and has you sip it slowly.
When it’s completely drained you let out a small sigh. “How’d I get here?” You ask, feeling drained just from getting those words out.
“Monty brought you. Found you passed out in his golf course, you were overheated and dehydrated.” Moon frowns at you. “Didn’t you have your water on you?”
“Forgot it. Meant to grab it.” You mumble, feeling Sunny place another water bottle beside you.
“Well. You aren’t in any state to continue work tonight. You are staying here and resting.” Moon crosses his arms.
“We need to keep an eye on you and make sure you get water and something to eat.” Sunny adds.
“Mkay…” You nod, shakily grabbing the water bottle. “Can you make sure Monty knows I’m okay?”
“We already told him, silly.” Sunny huffs a nervous laugh as he helps you again. Neither animatronic leaving you alone for long as they monitor you until your shift ends.
Freddy
You had been forced to have a mandatory two day ‘health’ break from work by Vanessa, the animatronics, STAFF, and Colin. You didn’t need a break, you were fine. Yeah you kinda had a bit of heat exhaustion but you were fine now! You were rather pissed that no one would believe you. But now you’re back on shift so they can’t kick you out.
Okay you’re lying to yourself a little bit. You feel like you’re a bit short of breath just walking to the front entrance of the building but you aren’t going to let it stop you from doing your job tonight. And maybe there’s a dull ache in your arms but shhh, none of the animatronics need to know. There might also be a slight scratchiness to your throat but again, you aren’t going to say shit.
Freddy is waiting near the front entrance just past the turnstiles, he waves at you and you see him run a scan of you before you can even deny him.
You cross your arms, leveling a light glare in his direction. “Freddy. Did you really just scan me?”
“Indeed I did! I am here to make sure you are fit to return to work. It seems you are doing alright, but I would like to make sure you are not feeling under the weather in any way.” Freddy’s ears wiggle as he speaks.
“I’m fine, Freddy.” You grouse lightly, starting to walk past the animatronic bear.
“It is not good to strain yourself after what happened.” Freddy frowns lightly. “We do not wish you to cause yourself any harm.”
“I’m not harming myself.” You grunt at him, “I’m fine, seriously, Freddy.” You start walking to the daycare break room only to feel Freddy’s heavy footfall following behind you.
“If you feel unwell at any point, please alert STAFF or one of us, we are merely concerned for you. We would hate for you to be put out of commission for long.” Freddy says sincerely. He is such a dad it’s not even funny.
“I will, Freddy. But nothing’s going to happen.” You wave before speed walking, leaving him behind at the gates to the daycare.
You have been having a very annoying shift. Every ten minutes you get interrupted by any bot in the area. You just want peace and quiet. You consider hiding in Roxy’s Raceway again just to not get interrupted again. But you can’t, all your tasks are outside the Raceway for the night. So you just keep getting interrupted.
It doesn’t help that you keep feeling more and more tired as the night goes on. Snapping at the STAFF bots as they come up to you to try and get you to rest or remind you to drink water.
“I just want to be left alone to get my job done! I’m not going to keel over in a light breeze!” You growl at MU51C after they came up to you with a water bottle that you had snatched up roughly.
MU51C: [We are concerned.]
“I know! I know!” You rant, pacing back and forth before having to stop because you feel a bit dizzy. “I am fine. I’ve got to get my tasks done though! If I get fired then I can’t come back!” You crack the water bottle and chug it down just to get them to leave you alone.
DJMM: [You had heat exhaustion. That is quite dangerous. We were very concerned. You certainly gave Sun and Moon a fright.]
“I know.” You grumble heavily as you wipe down the arcade cabinets. “Believe me I know.” You scowl working harder to get out of the area. “I’m fine though. For real. I’m fine.”
You are not fine.
You lean on the cool metal of the security door heavily, your whole body feels tired. A rough cough leaves your throat which ends with a dizzy spell. You feel like hot garbage, and that’s putting it lightly.
You bite your lip before messaging Freddy to come and get you, not trusting your limbs to make it to the daycare because you feel like spaghetti.
Heavy rumbling footsteps approach you before pausing. “Hello, Superstar.” Freddy kneels next to you. “You’re not looking too great.”
“I feel like crud.” You chuckle weakly before coughing into your elbow. “Ughhhh…” You watch a faint blue glow trace over you.
“Your temperature is elevated. I believe you may be ill.” Freddy puts a hand on your shoulder. “Do you think you can walk to the daycare with me?”
“I haven’t been able to stand.” You mumble, feeling dizzy just at the suggestion of walking. “Sat down a couple minutes ago, haven’t gotten back up.”
“Alright, I’ve got you.” He nods, gently wrapping his arms around you and lifting you up. You don’t even bother attempting to cling to him, too tired to wrap your arms around his neck. Just leaning your head on the cool plastic of his chest. He heads to the daycare, Freddy’s heavy footsteps are the only noise in the silence through the journey to Sun and Moon. You have no doubt that Freddy has already messaged the celestial animatronics about your condition.
As soon as the gate to the daycare opens up you are greeted with Sun and Moon’s worried faces. Sun tugging on his ribbons as Moon regards you with a calculated look, obviously scanning you to confirm your condition.
“Hey.” You croak.
“Oh Sunshine…” Sunny sighs, stroking your hair away from your forehead before taking you from Freddy’s arms.
“I didn’t feel bad when I started tonight…” You grumble, snuggling into his arms before falling asleep as he heads toward their room.
Sun and Moon
Sunny sighs as he sets them down onto the huge pile of pillows and blankets they’ve been using as a bed, gently covering them up with a blanket before sitting down next to them.
“What are we going to do with you, Sunshine.” He sighs softly. “Always working yourself to exhaustion…”
“I brought water and some snacks.” Moon says quietly as he comes to Sun’s side. “They definitely look sick…”
“I hate that they keep working themself to collapse.” Sun grumbles.
“Same.” Moon leans against his side. “I thought we would have gotten it through their head by now that we don’t want to see that happen to them.”
“I know they don’t want to be fired…” Sunny sighs.
“But they run the risk of really injuring themself.” Moon finishes.
“Mhmm…” Sunny hums, watching the janitor rest. “Scolding didn’t seem to work.”
“Nor did sending the Plex on their ass to make sure they are alright.” Moon nods.
“We’re keeping them here to rest right?” Sunny asks.
“Oh yeah, they aren’t getting away from resting.” Moon immediately responds. “Shifts tomorrow for the daycare to keep them put?”
“I’ll take from 8:30 to 10:30 with the kiddos.” Sun nods. “Swap every two hours?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Moon agrees easily.
“Sounds like a plan.” Sun parrots with a nod.
You woke up with a groan, earning yourself a small chuckle from Moon. “I take it you aren’t feeling all that great.”
“You’re the one with the bio scanners.” You grouse, rolling over to face him. “I feel like crap.” The noise of the daycare below finally hits your ears. “Shoot, why didn’t you make me go home? I don’t wanna give the kids this.” You slowly sit up before coughing into your elbow.
“Relax, Starlight, Sunny and I are making sure we wipe down before we go out to the kids.” He shakes his head, passing you a water bottle and a mini cereal bowl. “You’re not going to make anyone sick.”
“You don’t know that.” You roll your eyes before snatching up the food and water feeling how dry your throat is and how hungry you are. “I do need to get out of here though.” You say after chugging down some of the water.
“Absolutely not. You are in no state to drive yourself home right now.” Moon immediately squashes the idea of you leaving.
“Moon. You know I can’t stay. What if-”
“Starlight. No. You aren’t fit to go home.” He shakes his head before pulling you to lean against his chest, lightly rubbing your arm. “You’ve been doing far too much…”
“I’ve been doing my job?” You meant it as a statement but it sounds more like a question to your own ears.
“Your job isn’t to work until you break down.” He frowns down at you. “Everyone has their limits, you need to listen to your body better.”
“I don’t have a fancy HUD telling me all the status effects life has hit me with.” You say, taking some of the dry cereal and crunching it a little rougher than you probably should.
“…Star. Why do you feel like you have to fight this?” He asks softly.
“What do you mean?” You scowl at your cereal.
“You passed out in the kitchens, West Arcade, raceway, and the golf course. And I have no doubt you were close to passing out last night before you messaged Freddy and you ended up doing so anyway when he passed you to Sun.” Moon lists off causing you to wince slightly. “You are refusing everyone’s help until you have to accept it. And on top of all of that you had to literally be forced to take a break after the golf course incident, which I have no doubt that if we hadn’t pushed for it with both Vanessa and Colin you would have been back immediately the next day.”
“I have to do my job, Moon, I have bills and I don’t want to suddenly lose you all.” You glance up at the lunar animatronic looking down at you, finding a pained expression on his face plate.
“And we don’t want to lose you.” He whispers.
“And you won’t if I do my job-”
“And if you keep doing what you’re doing for your ‘job’ you are going to run yourself into the ground!” He snaps. “You are damaging yourself each time you do something like this!” He sighs, saying your name softly as he deflates, “Please… You are hurting yourself… And it hurts us to see you do it. Not just Sun and myself, but the whole Pizzaplex. You mean so much to us, you care about all of us and we see it. So why are you not letting us show you how much we care about you back?” He asks, brushing your hair from your face gently.
Your mouth opens and closes a few times as you flounder for words. Your voice comes out weakly when you do manage to speak up. “I- I don’t need to be babied or treated like glass…”
“I assure you that is not our intent. Why do you think that we are treating you like that?” He asks, voice strained in confusion trying to understand why you keep shooting him down.
“I am- I don’t- I can do my job. I can do what is expected of me. I have to do it. Otherwise I give people the impression I can’t and then I could lose my job. I don’t want to lose you all. I can’t give them the opportunity to ruin things. So if it means a few more hours of work or if it means I come in not feeling one hundred percent then it’s fine. I’ll be fine in the end. And there won’t be a reason for them to get rid of me.” You breathe heavily after saying it all out loud.
“Starlight,” He whispers your name immediately after, “You do not need to do that. Not even the day shift does that.” His thumb rubs your arm.
“Well they don’t have to because they aren’t the only night shift janitor.” You grumble.
“And you don’t have to either. You know what would happen if Colin tried to fire you?” Moon asks softly, speaking before you can answer some snappish response, “The Pizzaplex would riot.” He gives a tired chuckle. “Between all of us main animatronics and the STAFF bots, I think we would force Colin and any of the upper management to return you to your position effectively immediately.”
“I-”
“You are important, to more than just Sun and I, and I don’t know how to get it through that thick skull of yours.” He gently pokes your forehead. “Monty, Chica, DJMM and Freddy were utterly terrified when they found you, Sun and I were more than a little distraught as well. I don’t know about Roxy but I’m sure she was… Whatever is as close to worried as that wolf gets.” He rolls his eyes.
You fall silent, eyes falling to your lap as you play lightly with the blanket still spread across your legs. A faint sniffle surprises Moon before you quietly speak up, throat tight and words watery. “D-do I really mean that much to all of you?”
“Starlight, you mean the world to us. Why would Sun and I agree to a relationship with you if we didn’t?” He asks with a tired laugh. “You are loved. Let us care for you. Please. It is okay to ask for a hand when you are struggling. It is okay to take breaks when you are tired. It is okay to turn to us when you need to.” Moon presses his face plate to your hair, gently kissing the top of your head. “We love you, please don’t mistake our care for saying that you cannot handle something yourself.”
You sniffle again before the water works start, twisting around and wrapping your arms around Moon’s torso as you hold on tight to him. “I- I’m sorry.” You whimper.
“Apology accepted, Starlight.” He hums, rubbing your back and rocking you gently. As soon as the tears dry out you fall asleep in his lap, too tired and sick to stay awake much longer.
“-and some warm soup!” Sun smiles, rays rotating around his head as he presents you a huge tray of food that Chica and the STAFF bots had put together for you. “How are you feeling, Sunshine?” He asks gently, sitting beside you as you start to slowly eat the hot meal.
“I’m… Feeling a tiny bit better. And um… I wanted to say sorry-”
“Moony explained to everyone.” He cuts in, putting his hand over yours for a moment. “I’m… I’m sorry if it felt like too much, I know that it probably was a bit intense from all of us…” He sighs, rays drooping.
“It- It was.” You admit, “B-but after talking with Moon… I understand… So… um… Apology accepted. And- And I’ll try to be better about asking for help. I- I guess I’m still not used to having so many people in my corner…” You say softly. “It- It is really nice… Having all of you care…”
“We do. So much, Sunshine.” He gives you a soft smile, “Now, no more talking I expect you to eat all of that soup up.” He points at the bowl making you chuckle lightly.
“Sir, yes, sir.” You joke, starting to properly eat the soup under Sunny’s watch.
It was nice… Being cared for. It had been hard to accept it. You’ve been so used to doing things on your own, but Moon had been right, the Pizzaplex robots like you a lot. More than you thought they did. And it made your chest warm, having not just Sun and Moon care so much about you, but the Glamrocks, DJMM, and all of the STAFF bots. So many voices that would cry out if something happened. It was rather overwhelming… But it in a good way.
You honestly couldn’t ask for a better family.
You just wish you weren’t sick right now.