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Being a handler wasn't easy.
Being the handler of a 7-foot tall animatronic, one that had the attention span of a goldfish wasn't easy.
Being the handler of said animatronic having a counterpart in the night that always scared the living daylights out of you with those red glowing eyes wasn't easy.
Though, surprisingly enough, you've toughed it out for what — nearly a year? No one had ever gone through this job for this long, at least that's what others around the Pizzaplex had told you overtime during lunch breaks away from the daycare when you could spare a few extra bucks for some oily, cheesy pizza.
Sun wasn't bad, in fact, he was one of the most caring... animatronic - nearly people at this point that you have ever encountered.
Sure, you can't meet their energy at times but you recognized how this was his code. This was what he was made for with the kids.
You would be lying if you didn’t think it wasn't endearing, after all.
Moon on the other hand, was devilish, coy, but was sincere with his words even if limited. Their actions at times were rather frightening but you think it's meant to have that effect to trick kids into sleeping.
The kids loved those two, and overtime, so did you.
It was not hard to like nor love them, Sun was the sweetest and cuddliest (you told yourself it was the silicon built into his body, he has to be kid friendly after all) while Moon ensured you were safe no matter what, holding you close when you were about to leave out to the door, wanting to see you leave the Plex safe.
In all honesty, it seemed like the perfect job for someone like you - but even you had your moments.
The kids were always loud, they often dragged you into things that Sun did that seemed way out of your paycheck at some point - like all the dirty laundry you had procured due to the paint one kid literally threw at your clothes.
You still remember the kid's face, grudges were (kinda) your strong suit with how the place had slowly whittled away at you. Though names of these little gremlins always slipped by you.
Sun sometimes was just too energetic, you loved the guy (way more than you're open to admit) but you couldn't say no to him, nor were you ever given the opportunity to do so.
That was probably your own fault, really. You couldn't hold your ground on Sun, no matter how much you tried.
You were, to say the least, the pushover in this one (one you have to grudgingly admit the longer you stayed in this line of work).
Moon was ok, though sometimes he got on your nerves, pushing buttons just to see a reaction appear. Sometimes you wonder if he only ever bothers you for the sake of it.
You doubt it, but still, you can't ever get mad at them with how much care he placed on bringing you to the door every single night you finish up your shift, no matter your insistence that you were safe and you had your bike with you.
Moon never was convinced, and you doubt that'll change.
Today was another day to your shift, but things were crumbling down around you more than you anticipated.
The morning was ok, minus for your prick of a neighbor - the couple who lived in front of your own apartment were to say the least, rather toxic to themselves and everyone around them. Though the husband always was one to poke fun at you for being alone, not having a partner or spouse.
Typically you shrugged it off, but you felt the slight pin prick of a sensation across your spine, but quickly shrugged it off with an indifferent look as you bumped your shoulders against his in a way to say 'I don't care and so should you'.
Riding your bike on the way to work, legs aching due to all the constant pedaling you had to do was making you feel a little on edge, but again, shrugging it off was the best thing to do. You had to get there early to help Sun around before the daycare opened its doors for tired parents wanting to drop off their kid for the day.
Arriving at the Plex and parking your bike by the employee's area was relatively quick, you doubt anyone would even steal this old rusty thing but you quickly handled that with a chain and a lock to secure it. You don't want to add any more headaches for the day.
Entering with your pass, you quickly took your Usual route across to the daycare - occasionally, you would see other animatronics here out and about. Sometimes a human co-worker who was either decent, didn't care, or was another grade-A prick.
The world truly needed its balance of all three, it seemed, because you had to come across one of those headaches you desperately wanted to avoid every time.
"... and for someone who has been working longer than me here. You don't seem to be getting any better positions than the daycare,” You only got half of what he had said, the start of his rambling lost from your thoughts - what was his name again? Ricky? Richard? Whatever it was, he was getting on your nerves. It was way too early for this.
You let out an exasperated sigh, "Is that how you greet all your fellow Fazbear employees?” You asked, sarcasm dripping onto your voice. "Look - I need to go.”
Richard - or Dick as some of your acquainted co-workers called him which you quite fondly remember (“It fits him too well for how sour he is being stuck here as a technician that can't even handle any of the animatronics and only the Mapbots”, one of them had told you during one of your lunch breaks) scowled, "Is that how all you handlers are? You fit that rotting daycare dump… Can't even afford to be the handler of the face of the place.”
Before you could even muster a retort, he went off without another spare glance as you rubbed your face, and you thought you had a bad start to your day. It seemed like his way was way worse than yours to let some steam off you.
That didn't matter though.
You approached the daycare and debated between the slide and large doors... The slide it is!
You needed a little pick me up after the two incidents this morning, duh.
You readied yourself to "slide into fun" and let yourself go down without much issue, minus for the small "oof" as you land into the ball pit.
It never gets easier for your poor back pain. But hey! It definitely made you feel a lot more perky, less sleepy, and probably can ignore your stomach yearning for some food besides that one coffee you drank earlier that was basically true-to-word dirty bean water.
Glancing up at the castle prop, you heard the subtlest jingle before Sun's loud laugh echoed through the empty daycare.
It doesn't register to you that he's about to jump into the ball pit until he is halfway down that you panic and swim across to not get whiplash from the amount of (probably dirty) balls to your face.
Too late, you got a face full of likely unsanitized balls to your face as you felt yourself get propped up, not even getting a moment to get yourself together with warm, soft hands picking you up.
Sun was in front of you at this moment, a wide smile ever present as his face plate turned, a sign of affection you have gotten used to over time, making you smile even a tiny bit,until you heard his loud voice.
"Sunshine! Oh wow, you are sososososo early today! Even earlier than the usual time you come around, that's just… wow! Are you so excited to see the kids? Because I am! I am so very excited!"
You can't help but cringe at the volume of his voice but quickly give a smile, "Hey there Sunny, got here early since | don't want to miss out on our prep every morning.”
Sun cooed at your comment, hugging you closer than before as he stepped out of the ball pit with you in their arms, "Oh you are so thoughtful as always! How did we ever get someone like you to be with us all the time!”
"Not always you dork,” You couldn't help but snicker a little before realizing how you were kinda dangling from Sun's hold and it starts to settle in how your feet were off the ground. "Uh... Sun, please put me down."
A gasp escaped the animatronic’s voice box at the mention, gently setting you down with a pat on the head to top it all off, “Sorry, Sunshine! I got so.. so excited! I don't usually have you here so early!”
You couldn't help but chuckle a little, warming your (cold and perhaps dead) heart, Sun always knew his way around making people smile. Especially kids, perhaps it was the jester disposition? You honestly have no clue even if you’ve worked here for quite some time.
“I know I've been doing night shifts more often lately but I'll be here the whole day,” You told Sun, reaching for their hand and squeezed it as a gesture to emphasize your point. Seeing the rays on their faceplate rise up before it spun around made you hold back a laugh.
How was Sun so... happy to have you here? It felt insane that this sweetheart, ball of energy and anxiety, adored you this much.
Ah, well, you knew it was likely due to the lack of interaction with adults or someone constant in a sense.
It wasn't that you weren't used to someone being nice to you, it just felt.. special to be treated in such high regard by someone, even if it took months to build up to where you were now with Sun and Moon.
Especially Moon, you still haven't moved on from how much distrust one animatronic had in its body. It was insane how much it took to get to where you are now.
But you are god damn proud of how far you have gotten, even if the word of Mr. D earlier echoed across your brain for a brief period, especially towards your efforts but quickly shook it off.
No one has ever gotten this far with these jester animatronics, and you continued to push that thought into your head. You can't let yourself go so easily with a few unkind words.
Life is cruel, but you have work to do.
Though, you didn't realize that all your thinking had Sun crouched down in front of you, a small sound of worry exiting his voice box as his pure white eyes were directly staring at yours. The wide smile turned into a frown, one that didn't settle well with you.
"Sunshineee… you were spacing out there! Are you doing ok? I know you want to hang out with me but oh oh oh… I don't want you feeling anything BUT good today!" Sun's words finally reached you, it seemed like he had been rambling on earlier while you were continuously reminding yourself how you had earned your place here.
You sighed and smiled, "Sorry Sunny, I was just thinking of something. Did I worry you? It's nothing big."
"You worried the both of US!" Sun corrected, wiggling his finger at you, making you sigh again. Right, Moon was listening in.
Weird AI and their advanced brains, too human and too understanding to shrug you off at times you spaced out. Too caring, a lot more caring than actual beings.
You took his finger, stopping it from his wiggling before taking in his whole hand and smiled, "See? I'm ok. I am fine. Was just spacing out and thinking of things. You two worry too much about me."
Sun's worried, as worried as they can get, with their sad expression fading at the touch and smiled, faceplate spinning again which brought you relief, "Ok! Ok sunshine, I trust you with my whole metal heart!" Sun drawled out in a singing tune, moving on from it.
You can only hope Moon thought the same.
The morning prep went as smoothly as it often did, with how it was just the two of you. It was insane to think that before, Sun was the only one who cleaned everything up. While he was a bit of a clean freak at times, it never made sense to you why they didn't push for a proper handler in the first place. Or assigned staff here.
Setting down all the remaining art supplies that Sun had insisted were needed for their finger painting today, you slipped in the security desk to handle all the paperwork for the day. Though it was just mindless checking to see who were the kids that were coming in today and the like.
Through the mindless, brain numbing checking, you snapped out of it when you noticed how a shadow was looming over you. Glancing up, you were greeted immediately by Sun, who seemed to be hiding something behind his back.
"Sunsunsunshiiiine!" Sun started, making you crack a smile at the sweet nickname. Gosh, how was Sun so endearing? "I got something for you! Well… Moony told me to get it but we agreed on it!"
You couldn't help but laugh, of course Moon would want to get in on being discussed, making you nod, "And that is?"
Sun started to rock back and forth on his heels, whistling exiting him, making you raise an eyebrow, "Weeeellllll…. We decided to do a scan on you and found out that you haven't eaten! The most important meal of the day! Like.. how could you?!"
Blinking once, then twice, you couldn't really come up with an answer on the get-go. Opening your mouth to speak, you felt one of Sun's fingers press against your lips making you give a slight glare at the jester who merely grinned and settled something on the desk.
A juice box (you have no idea what it is, but you see Glamrock Freddy's face on it), a cup of applesauce, and a sandwich. Sun is staring at you expectantly, bouncing on his feet happily.
"I care about you so much! WE care about you! So we want you to eat and be full of energy," Sun started to explain, his now free hands moving around in almost a nervous gesture. You smiled fondly at this.
You took the juice box, feeling Sun's eyes (even without the pupils, you still very much felt them) on you. Poking around with the straw before drinking from it, it's a little cold and very very sweet. Maybe it's the effort the two animatronics made it a whole lot sweeter?
"You didn't have to," You started, placing down the now half empty juice box. It was small after all, it was likely from the cafeteria where STAFF bots handled kid's snacks for the daycare. "But… this is really sweet. I appreciate it a lot, Sun, and of course you too Moon."
Feeling rather proud, Sun jumped a little from pure joy as his sun rays spun around his head, "Goodie! Oh, oh, how nice! Sunshine, you truly are like one! I best be off, the kids should be here very very VERY SOON!"
Not even getting the chance to reply, Sun hopped off with a skip to his step, as if he were the one that ate the food they set out for you. Knowing that parents will start to file in the place, you hid it under your desk. You just hoped management won't find out about it.
It didn't take too long before the doors to the daycare were opened for patrons, with one last sip from the juice box - your stomach yelling out at you for merely consuming coffee AND sweet, artificial juice. You went straight to the door to do security checks if they had passes for the Superstar Daycare.
Being an attendant to the Daycare was overall rough.
Your job included being an all around person for the daycare - technically also being an attendant like Sun and Moon. You also were technically the security of the place with Moon, ensuring the kids were safe and no creeps went in. Not only that, you handled maintenance work with how reluctant the two were involving getting themselves checked, becoming anxious and feral (that was more on Moon).
Perhaps that's why Mr. D said those things, as much as you were a handler of one of the animatronics, your job was a whole mix of things scrapped under one position to save money as well as resources with how Sun and Moon had a reputation towards new employees.
The amount of kids now pouring in with their loud voices calling out to Sun made your head reverberate, you could never get used to this no matter the time you've spent here. Greeting parents who checked to make sure their kids were in safe hands and informed them of their time of pickup.
You didn't expect things were going to get any worse from here.
It did though.
One of the parents decided to drop off a kid, and decided to talk your ear off for a brief moment on how this place was just so expensive.
"And those animatronics… such hazards. Who thought giving metal a brain would work?" They started off with a sigh. The conversation didn't seem that bad at first either. "And you… oh you poor thing. Stuck here, do you even have benefits? Look at you."
Pity. God, it was way worse than getting bad-mouthed, you concluded.
The parent didn't stop their train of thought though, "And your only workmates are.. those robots! Dear, I've seen you here for months. You should get a real job. I'm sure there's better places."
You felt your throat go dry and just gave your best tight smile to them, as they told their pickup time for their kid and left without much of a fuss.
If you could have a checklist of the things now weighing on your mind, you should really make it now.
Alone forever with no spouse? Check.
Couldn't even get a higher position or better pay and benefits after showing your efforts? Check.
Receiving a pity party with your job and how you indirectly got told you can't even find anywhere else better? Check.
The world felt heavy on your shoulders now, but you straightened up and closed the doors to start the day ahead. It was going to be mind-numbing work at the security desk in the meantime anyway. The kids don't normally bother you unless they need something.
Sun was very much preoccupied with handling all the little ones, some latching onto him while others remained surrounded. Others were doing their own thing, playing by the ball pit to coloring some of the free sheets provided that had Sun and Moon on it.
To say the least, if it weren't for your now heavy heart, the sight would always make you smile.
But right now, things are taking a toll on you and you'd rather distract yourself with work and forget about it once lunch rolls in.
Slipping behind the security desk once again with the countless of things needed to get worked on - from updates on Sun and Moon's maintenance that was coming up again, the thought made you inherently groan, knowing that you were likely going to stay here until midnight or later, if things drag on with Sun's hesitance.
Other things got cleared up like new applicants, to checking the security cameras outside of the daycare for any onlooking creeps or parents who wanted to get their kid a lot earlier than expected.
Tedious work, but it did get the job done on avoiding your negative thoughts.
But lo and behold, you felt a tug by your pants to see one of the kids beside you. You wracked your brain into trying to remember this kid's name - Emmie? Wait no, it was Emma. "Hey Emma! What can I help you with?" You asked with a smile, turning your swivel chair to face the little girl.
"Um…" Emma fiddled with her fingers, right - she was a sweet girl. Always follows the rules, shy, and tends to hide away. She was a total sweetheart though. "Mr. Sun said that you can join us when we um.. play make believe? Mr. Sun said you can be a good knight..!"
You can't help but feel your heart swell at the words, but your body didn't want to move. Your eyes shifted to look around to try and find where Sun was, finding him near a few kids and helping them put costumes on. You felt yourself droop more at the sight of Sun being in his element, it was just.. warm.
"Thanks Emma, but tell Sunny that I gotta pass in the meantime, ok? I wouldn't be a good knight anyways," You smiled, and kept at it even if the young girl seemed troubled by it and went off to do their own thing. Moving your chair back to face your computer to recheck the database again, you felt a little tense.
Someone was looking at you. And you knew exactly who it was.
Checking around the security cameras for an angle to where Sun was was relatively easy, even if the angle was a bit skewed and rather blurry. Sun was completely distracted from playtime. One of the older kids had taken up the role as knight, Sun was the witch keeping the princess locked up in the castle - it was your typical roleplay story for kids. It got old but it always made them enthusiastic.
Sun didn't seem to be having as much fun as usual though, and even if your gaze didn't turn away from the camera - how loud their voices were was enough to listen into how things were going.
"Oh ho ho ho! You can't defeat me! I'm the scariest witch, and the princess can never leave!" Sun acted, going with the most cartoony-esque approach to make them giggle. His smile remained but his faceplate had turned to the security desk's direction, spinning as a way to play it off as a little habit.
The kid-knight gasped, "Never!" With a balloon sword in hand, they poked Sun as hard as a balloon could get and Sun placed a hand to his chest, slowly falling to the ground after a few twirls. You bit your lip, trying to not look still.
You never really had that much self-control for long periods of time though.
Glancing over after some time, the kids surrounded Sun, some poking him with the balloon swords but his gaze was entirely fixated on you, expression only presenting one thing that you hated to see across the animatronic's features at any time. Especially if towards you.
Worry.
The animatronic was worried for you.
You don't understand, you haven't shown anything that would lead to that sentiment, you had just been working. Was it because of how you denied? Well, sure, you didn't often deny unless it involved a lot of mess due to how expensive getting those stains out were but it wasn't that bad of an occurrence for Sun to get worried.
Plus, it was starting to get awkward - he still hasn't gotten up from his position that the kids were starting to get worried. Your eyebrows furrowed and there was only the slightest bit of movement due to how his rays popped up briefly, only to motion for one of the children from his spot to whisper something to them.
It was amazing how Sun could even whisper with how loud his voice was, it almost seemed like an impossible feat to you. Although that's just an exaggeration on your part.
But after the kids got to hear what Sun had to say to them… he just laid there, and it confused you more. You felt the headache coming back again and the confusion wasn't helping at all. What was Sun planning? He knew you were watching, he was the one that started it after all. So watching one of the kids, you think his name is Dean, without much care for going to the security desk and motioned for you to go to his level.
You sighed out, not even bothering with a greeting in the meantime and leaned down, before he started to whisper, "Mr. Sun said that the only way for him to be alive again and live happily ever after as a good witch is through a hug!"
You can't help but chuckle, "Why does it have to come from me then?" You decided to ask, wanting to just play along.
"Because Mr. Sun said that you were the only one fit for him!" The way Dean had said it with full adoration almost made you reel back, feeling your heartbeat speed up. Ok, with your headache already going strong, it almost felt like you might as well have a heart attack right here, right now. What the hell did Sun mean by that?
Clearing your throat, feeling your ears go hot as you chuckle - playing along is the best course of action right now. Disheartened kids don't settle well with you, seeing how happy they looked at the idea Sun had provided them oh so eagerly.
Standing up and nearly tripping from getting pulled by Dean, the circle of kids that surrounded Sun were all waiting with wide eyes as if saying to get on with it already. Their poor Mr. Sun was still afflicted with… whatever it was.
"Alright you big baby…" You sighed out as Dean let go of your hand, rushing towards the other kids and watched as Sun did a more dramatic pose on the floor, it looked so silly with how long their limbs were. He had covered their face and made a sort of noise that you would often hear from dramatic dying.
Yeah, sometimes you wanted to just bonk their head, in an affectionate way that Sun knew well.
Kneeling on the ground beside him, you moved his arm away from his face and saw their expression all too clearly. Shaking your head, you went to wrap your arms around his frame - he was relatively skinny which made it a whole lot easier.
Still in his acting phase, Sun let out a loud gasp, which prompted the rest watching to gasp along. Before you could huff out a chuckle though, Sun quickly wrapped their arms around you and stood up, causing your legs to dangle from the floor.
Ah, this brings a little bit of deja vu with what happened earlier. Just very different circumstances.
"My hero!" Sun cooed out loudly, making the kids around the two of you cheer before the jester started to spin you around out of sheer joy and giddiness.
You groaned at the affection, but also at how the headache was coming back with his spinning which resulted in you leaning your head on his chest, grumbling.
Sun stopped. You couldn't see his expression but you knew he had turned to face you. And before you could speak up on them letting you go, Sun got to speaking up faster.
"Ok kids! How about you all play at the jungle gym first? It won't be long until it's lunch time! Moony would want you all full and happy before naptime!"
Oh.
With the kids giggling and saying their brief goodbyes to run across the daycare, this left you in Sun's hold, who still hadn't let you go.
Slowly moving your head up to look at him, you saw the look across his face. Worry, the same expression he held earlier.
"You haven't eaten the snacks me and Moony gave you, Sunshine," Sun started off, watching your expression closely for anything. "You've been acting out of it too! You normally would LOVE to play with us!"
Ah, so you declining did prompt his worry further. You let out an exhale through your nose, you need to keep your emotions in check better.
"I'm fine, Sunny," You started off, patting his arm to further ease him into believing and as a nudge to finally put you down. "Just a lot of menial work, you know how it is being the handler here. While I know you guys have access to these things, I have to do a good chunk of it too."
Sun didn't look convinced one bit. You couldn't help but start to feel nervous, you didn't let your feelings bleed through you. You've gotten good at concealing them, working with children and being the handler of Sun and Moon has brought that confidence in you to handle these things.
Perhaps you weren't the strong soldier you thought you were in these predicaments.
"Sunshine…" A loud whine came from the animatronic, swaying you a little but not enough to make you feel like you might as well hurl on him. "Even Moony isn't convinced…!"
Shaking your head, you're going to be strong on your stance, "Sundrop. I am completely and utterly fine. I feel fantastic. There's just a lot of work, and if someone sees me not doing it, especially a parent who'll go in without much warning, I might get reported."
It was half truth and half… something, you didn't think you were lying about how you felt but at the same time, you knew the words thrown at you were going to be like chains on your feet through the day.
Sun deflated, but remained quiet and didn't rebuttal. He seemed to be debating on something as they set you down on your own two feet without much of a fight. He likely was talking to Moon about it, how he knew you had a point in your predicament.
It hurt how this was indirectly what D talked about. How even if you manage to be in good standing as a handler for the daycare attendants, one wrong move will lead you down to something else - something lower in position. Or worse maybe get into probation and have higher chances of getting fired.
You took his hand, to further emphasize your point and squeezed it, "I'm a tough gum with all my work. You know that, I've been here for months."
Sun let out a whine after his silence, deciding to kneel down to your eye level. Before wrapping their arms around you - embracing you close to their body before leaning his face against your forehead. To anyone else, it would have looked silly due to the difference in size but…
You couldn't deny how comforting this was, the coolness of the steel of his faceplate, the warm hold he had due to his clothes. And the sheer warmth and comfort that came from the emotion of the hug itself. Sun was just… comfort, warmth, a fuzzy feeling that made you lean forward for more. Though, you cut those thoughts off.
"Ok Sunshine, promise me you better take care of yourself…!" Sun said, holding eye contact which almost made you cross eyed with how close you two were to each other. You felt your throat constrict, face warm still from the close proximity.
"Ok."
The one word answer was enough to satisfy them, cooing again at you before letting go. There was a certain vibe that you knew that Sun didn't fully believe you yet but left it behind to not push you beyond what you felt comfortable with.
That was where Moon would come in, you knew. It caused you to gulp down the feeling on your throat as you watched Sun skip off happily to the kids, yelling out loud how they should play tag around the jungle gym's maze which led to loud cheers and noises.
Sighing, you knew not to be bothered by this anymore. Work needed to be done, and while Sun's actions made you feel butterflies across you in a pleasant way, the harsh reality that the people around you had presented will continue to be pests around you.
—
You were so tired.
The smell of sickly cheese from pizza wafted around the room as you started to clean up around the area. Sun was prioritizing getting the kids cleaned up and ready for their nap time very soon.
Maybe you should have eaten the food under your desk, it wasn't like they would notice. Sun was often seen messing around and getting extra snacks for kids and management never seemed to catch up on it, and they would always say it wasn't breaking the rules since the food was for the kids!
And you weren't a kid, so you weren't getting the logic Sun was setting up for himself there. But you didn't really have the willpower to stomach anything. Though, the one thing you didn't expect was the door's opening, which also caused Sun to turn around to check who it was.
You recognized this person, she was the mom of one of the shyest kids the daycare had, you think their name was Ashley. You don't remember but you know how they often asked to get their pencils sharpened by the security desk whenever Sun set up their activity for drawing.
And typically, the woman (one you never got to know the name of, it was in the system but you aren't one to remember things, clearly) seemed to be a little irked. Probably a bad mood, which you understood - everyone had their days.
You just didn't expect you'd become the target of it with trays in your hand.
"You! You're.. whatever. A cleaner or janitor? I don't have time. Where's my baby? We have places to go! I don't want Ashley to spend or have nap time here today, we need to go somewhere," She quickly said, words flying fast. You saw Ashley quickly rush towards their mom, awkward and embarrassed with how loud she was being.
Sun was on their way to you at this moment, the napping area had already been set and he had already planned to help you out with the dirty trays before lights would be turned off. Though an unexpected visitor can happen at times.
"Good afternoon ma'am," You greeted, approaching her closer, shrugging off her earlier words without much thought to them. "We would be happy to let Ashley head off with you, we just need you to sign a clearance that you picked them up before the designated schedule."
The woman's expression changed to one of frustration, "You know who I am and you still need that? Who do you think you are in this daycare? Please, I don't have time for this. Just let me take my child already. You wouldn't understand these familial matters."
Ouch, there was no need to get personal with this. You were just following company policy in case a parent would say that they didn't get their money's worth for the whole day or that they got scammed for the price (Fazbear Entertainment was keen on their no refunds policy for a reason, and if you didn't get to do what was needed, you may as well get a good chunk of your salary gone.)
"Ma'am, as much as I do not know your situation at the moment, we need to follow policy. This is stated in the paperwork and application form you had signed for your child," You spoke, tone even as Sun was now a few feet behind you, head tilted and fidgeting their thumbs with what was going on.
"For the love of… fine! Give it already. I swear the staff here becomes more incompetent as the days go by from the servers and now the daycare, it wasn't even like this before! It was just the robot," The woman commented, starting their rant - you took in their words and soaked them up but tried to justify that they seemed to be having a bad day, the look on their face just screamed that they were just caught in the bad mood.
You merely nodded, as you saw a glimpse of Ashley's red face from sadness and embarrassment. You didn't notice Sun's expression though, rays drooped down, with his gaze trailing after you.
Going through the papers in your desk was quick, having memorized where each thing was before plucking the pen from the holder. Rushing back towards the woman, you lend these out to her.
She seemed to have calmed down a bit now, with a quick sign with wobbly hands. "Thank you," You merely said as Ashley was picked up by their mother, waving goodbye at you and Sun, who was just a few feet behind you.
"See you soon, Ashley!" Sun's cheerful voice reached your ears, hearing the slight jingle from his waving. With the large doors closed, silence enveloped the room.
You turned to Sun, and saw how he seemed hesitant to speak - so you beat him to it. "Sunny, you should get the kids ready for their nap time now. I'll be at my desk, alright?"
They seem to deflate on the spot, rays still drooped down and body crouched as if he didn't like that one bit, but quickly nodded and rushed off to the naptime area.
Sliding in your security desk, you waited for the go-signal to turn off the lights that Sun usually did. You waited for a moment, hand grazing the lights button before you heard it. Three jingles, a slight pause, then two more.
Clicking the switch off, it didn't take long before the whole place turned to its night phase for the napping kids. The dim lighting around the daycare during this time was soothing, and you felt jealous how kids were napping at this time of day.
You wished you weren't so picky about naps as a kid, now look at where you are now. You sighed and started to focus on making your report for the morning, as well as scan the copy of the paper you got signed. Despite all that, there had been no issues in the daycare today.
You were so focused that you didn't feel two red glowing eyes staring down at you, eyeing you as though debating what to do. Inner monologues thrown back and forth in their shared headspace as Moon watched you, literally looming in front of you thanks to the wire attached on his back. Yet you still didn't notice.
Even if Sun was unaware of why you suddenly started to act strange, it just happened so fast and out of nowhere. You were smiling to them in such a genuine fashion when you went down the slide even!
But you haven't touched your food, you didn't even eat lunch or used your break just yet. It worried the sunny animatronic, while his counterpart?
Moon knew, well, some of it. One of the moments where you were indirectly ridiculed for your job here in the Plex. Sun was so focused on greeting and scanning kids that he didn't recognize how one of the parents started to talk to you rather close by. Those words can and would hurt, no matter the intention or care behind them.
Moon reminded himself to not bring it up directly.
How you became more deflated from then on spoke volumes to him that there was more to it, or that you have been carrying some burden on your shoulders earlier before your arrival.
It irked Moon, the idea of not being able to do anything to help you while you had done everything to help them. Even if he showed utter reluctance to your presence, you were respectful of their boundaries and squirmed your way into their lives that the daycare wouldn't be the same without you.
Not that Moon would ever tell you that, of course. He'll do this in their own way.
Slowly reeling himself back up via the wire, your eyes still were focused on the computer - face illuminated by the light coming from the laptop. Everything was quiet, minus for the soft music to ease the children further into their naps.
Though, that peace was broken rather quickly. But in a way you never would have thought. Two soft hands were placed onto your shoulders, causing you to sit up straight and before you could even turn around to face the perpetrator, which you knew was Moon, you were suddenly swooped up from the chair and held close to him.
To say you almost screamed from how quick everything happened would be an understatement if it weren't for Moon pushing you close to his chest to muffle out your surprise. A chuckle coming from the animatronic as they held you close.
"Are you calm now, starlight?" Moon's voice now pierced through the silence, voice hushed yet held the teasing tone to it overall as if berating you for not noticing him sooner.
You slowly moved your face away from Moon's chest, glancing up at him and squinting your eyes at the red glowing eyes. You can never get used to them in the dark. "Maybe, but what was that about? And can you put me down?"
"Shhhhhh," They drawled out, "And are you sure you want me to put you down now?" He asked, snickering. You raised your eyebrow at this and glanced down. And what you saw made you clutch onto Moon tighter.
You were literally up in the air, you could see your desk from here. You immediately turned to lean against Moon's chest again, "No. Unless you want a bag of bones down below." You hissed out, causing another laugh to come from Moon.
"Where are we going, Moony? I need to get back to work," You told him, uneasy with how high up you are as Moon started to move. You had no idea where he was heading but you could hear the faint music growing a bit louder. Which likely meant you were close to where the children were napping.
Moon didn't respond though, not like he wanted to anyways. The two of you will talk once he finally has you settled down somewhere cozy then eat. And after that? Talking. Sun was already voicing out all of his concerns in his head, and Moon wanted it to end already.
Glancing down at you, Moon couldn't help but be amused, even with the predicament where you two were up in the air, you didn't yell at him. You trusted him enough that you wouldn't get hurt.
You should learn better than to trust someone who wouldn't mind dangling you somewhere to rouse a reaction out of you. But that was for another day.
Moon suddenly set you down, which surprised you but the surrounding warmth as well as the softness that enveloped you was welcomed even if confusing. Glancing up, Moon placed a finger by his wide grin before speaking, "Don't leave. Or else we're going to repeat what we did earlier."
You stared at him and glared, huffing knowingly that Moon wouldn't lie about something like that. So you nodded, which earned a satisfied hum from the night-time animatronic who had flown off again somewhere.
The sweet and soft tune of the lullaby was lulling you to relax, but not enough to get rid of the anxieties that continued to plague you. The very same anxieties that you managed to push off when you got distracted from tedious work.
Now it was coming back full force and was the only reason why you haven't fallen asleep in the comfort of the multiple pillows and blankets underneath you. Though these thoughts were enough to distract you from the rumble your stomach let out, eager for something other than the two drinks you consumed earlier on.
Though, you snapped out of those thoughts when you realized something was in front of you, that being Moon. How long had they been crouched in front of you? You blinked, as you noted how he looked.. displeased, worried. And it caused a pit to grow in your already empty stomach.
"Eat."
"Huh?"
Moon placed a handful of things in your lap. You couldn't clearly see what some of them were. One was a bag of chips, another was a hastily wrapped pizza slice, then a can of Fizzy Faz (one Moon reluctantly got but Sun insisted that Fizzy Faz always helped them feel a whole lot better).
"Moon… These are for the kids," You reminded him, voice soft and low as you picked it up to hand it back to him. But you paused, seeing the look on his face. It was one that spoke enough volumes and struck you more than words typically did.
The message was well received as you slowly took the food back away from Moon whose grin was wide. He settled himself in front of you, watching you intently.
"Well? Eat."
"... Ok, Moony."
Moon watched as you started to eat, going slow at first before eating at a relative pace that fit for your empty stomach. Watching amused as if you inhaled all your food in a matter of seconds (minutes, but Moon didn't think much of the details). You were now drinking the cold Fizzy Faz, feeling a waft of relief from finally getting something in your stomach.
Covering your mouth to burp, you glanced up at Moon, biting your lip a little before breathing out. "Thanks Moon… I didn't realize I was that hungry."
A low hum was his only response, eyes trained onto you which caused you to squirm a little from nervousness. You don't get why you're here and why they seemed so worried - it didn't make much sense. You just declined one invite from Sun and now even Moon was suspicious of you? Sure you've been so hyper focused on work to make sure your mind doesn't slip through the cracks of those negative thoug–
A soft touch halted your thoughts, the knuckles of Moon's hand grazing against your cheek, the expression across his faceplate was.. indescribable, but you couldn't help but feel your throat constrict under such a watchful gaze. You remained quiet, waiting for something, anything from Moon.
"Many, many troubles," Moon had finally spoken up again, but the start was confusing already. "Your head is filled with them, do you want nightmares Starlight? Thoughts that cause you to drown in those papers.. forget yourself."
His hand moved closer, cupping your cheek. It was warm, reminding you of the blankets underneath you and it made you lean against their touch without much thought. Though you let your gaze back at Moon's to show you were attentive to his words still, no matter how harsh those red lights were after such a long time of staring.
"You're bringing the nightmares into real life," He added in, dropping his hand, causing you to frown. Though you didn't expect the next few things to happen. "Those who are good.. deserve a reward, but I must reprimand first, tsk tsk…"
Moon moved without much of a sound, slipping behind you and lifting you ever so gently against him. Settled onto his lap before wrapping the both of you with one of the blankets. It felt so warm, it felt safe. It reminded you so much of Sun's hugs.
Sun and Moon's presence were the warmest you have ever felt in your lifetime. Or at least, that's what you thought, but you quickly shook it off. Your mind was muddled but you appreciated each gesture that made the darkness in your mind settle a little.
Your silence as an answer led Moon to continue speaking, voice hush for only your eyes, "Starlight, while people around you may look down upon you with where you are now, just remember that Sun and I are always an arm's length away." There was no teasing undertone in his voice, the scratchy tone of his filled with softness and pure truth. "People do not realize words hurt more than they appear, they act as though they know you for what they see in a matter of seconds."
Moon pushed your head back a little to look directly at him once again, "If words are going to push you into believing that, then know that you are better than those-" His voice became garbled, and it made you choke back a laugh at the way it was censored.
The grin across Moon's expression was enough of a sign that he felt confident and proud of his comfort towards you, "So rest now. You have done more than enough. Or must you be punished for avoiding naptime?" They asked, the tune of their voice back to his teasing which made you bite back a smile.
"Make sure to wake me up," You softly responded but remained in your spot staring at the animatronic. "Moony… thanks. To both you and Sun."
You leaned your head against his shoulder, the weight of your thoughts and the fatigue getting to you. Words were powerful, and you weren't always going to be the strongest soldier. It hurt that things weren't too great for you with everything you did to reach that position.
But there are things that.. just made it worth it.
You snapped your eyes back to Moon when you felt his hand again, wiping something off your cheek. You blinked, and recognised the blurriness of your vision. Tears, you weren't sad anymore. Were they tears of relief? Of comfort?
The voice that came from Moon sounded familiar to your ear, you could almost hear Sun through it, "Rest now, we'll be here." They had said, hands wiping away the tears as you relaxed in their hold and touch.
"Thank you, you two. I owe you both," You softly responded, closing your eyes - forgetting about everything, even for just this once. Just for now. Just in this moment.
With darkness enveloping you, your body relaxed completely against Moon's body. The animatronic watched as your breathing evened. Good, you were sound asleep. Everyone in the daycare, except for them, was asleep.
A voice pierced through his mind in all of the silence.
'Hey, Moony…'
'Yes?'
'I'm so proud of Sunshine.'
'.... Me too, it takes one to be strong and another to be vulnerable.'