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The night was cold, as most nights are. A cool breeze chased stray moonbeams around the dark room, disturbing the curtains and brushing across the face of the small animatronic that slept within. Their bronze eyelids fluttered open, a soft, yellow light emitting from their eyes. They scanned the room, searching for the source of their rude awakening. Ah! The window, of course. They had been studying by the window before bed, enjoying the day’s last few rays of light, and must have forgotten to close it.
The small bot crawled out of bed and padded across the room, yawning and rubbing their sleepy eyes. Just as they reached the window, however, something caught their attention. A haunting, unfamiliar tune drifted from the grounds below, piquing their curiosity. Craning their neck, they leaned out of the window in an attempt to spot where the music was coming from. No such luck, they could see nothing below but the billowing, silvery grass of the lawn.
Softly shutting the window, the animatronic turned away, tossing on a baby blue dressing gown studded with bronze stars and slipping their feet into a pair of navy slippers.
Y/n fumbled their way across their now-dark room, over to the door. They turned the ornate handle and opened it a crack, peeking through into the softly lit hallway. All was still, and the music wasn't coming from anywhere up here. They heaved the door open the rest of the way and stepped out into the vast hall. The thick carpet muffled their steps as they traversed towards the stairway, the numerous tapestries and paintings hung on the walls seeming to watch with bated breath as the bronze explorer made their way through the silent palace.
Down a smaller flight of stairs and through another hall they walked, the music progressively growing stronger as they went along. They reached the top of the grand staircase, rising up on their toes to peek over the rail- nothing seemed amiss here either.
They then began to make their way down the sprawling staircase, trailing a hand over the wooden railing as they went. Their bright fingertips measured out a steady beat as they made contact with the wood, blending with the music that was still softly playing somewhere below.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the animatronic moved across the foyer and towards the kitchen, their slippers tapping softly against the black marble floor. They pushed the kitchen doors open- no lights were on in here, but the music was getting louder.
They stumbled through the dark kitchen, guided only by weak moonlight flitting through a window and the mysterious song drifting around them. Finally reaching the back door of the kitchen- impressively, with no crashes or accidents- they pulled the door open and stepped out into the cool night air. The song they had been chasing swelled around them, haunting and sweet. It beaconed them and they followed, weaving through the hedges and flowers before reaching a large, open plaza.
The ground was done with large tiles, a mosaic patterned like a white and cream sundial. Gold filled the cracks in the floor and the perimeter was surrounded by curved obelisks, dripping with flowers and vines. Fireflies glowed as they silently drifted through the sweetly scented air, mimicking the path of the glittering stars traveling through the night sky above them.
Water softly burbled from a fountain nearby, the sound masking y/n’s footsteps as they approached. They crouched down next to a hedge, peeking around the edge and peering into the clearing.
Out on the floor, two tall clockwork animatronics were locked in each other's arms as they lazily waltzed around the dial- one, a broad-shouldered bot with golden rays surrounding his face, and the other, a slender individual in a sparkling nightcap, half of his dark face highlighted by a silver crescent moon.
The smaller of the two's gauzy, starry robe swished softly as his larger, golden companion gracefully spun him around. His pale yellow eyes illuminated his partner's face, and their silent watcher could see the look of pure rapture that resided on his face all the way over from where they were hiding. Y/n ducked further behind the hedge, feeling like an intruder- but they couldn’t bring themself to look away.
The larger bot spun his lunar companion in one last graceful turn as the music faded out. They bowed to each other, and then-
"Chickadee, we can see you hiding"
The Sun's booming voice rang across the plaza, startling the bot that had been hiding there. They hurriedly picked themself up off the ground, dusting off their clothes and flashing the larger bots an embarrassed grin.
Y/n raised both hands in a motion of defeat “Ah! I’m sorry, I was just-”
Sun laughed warmly, cutting them off mid-sentence, and gestured for the bronze bot to join them. They obeyed, trotting across the plaza and over to their two partners.
The Moon reached out to them, taking their hands in his and tenderly brushing a thumb across their knuckles. "I hope we didn't wake you" he muttered, leaning down to plant a kiss on their forehead.
Y/n smiled, thin streams of steam emitting from between the plating on their neck. "Not at all" they breathed, tugging one of Moon's hands to their face and nuzzling the back of it. He let out a pleased hum in response, clockwork whirring.
Moon crouched down next to his smaller partner, motioning for the Sun to follow suit." You actually showed up just in time" he cooed, pointing towards the sky "Look up"
Y/n followed his hand with their eyes, slightly confused- but then they understood.
The planetary moon hung in the sky, its cratered surface spilling rosy light across the blanket of stars below it.
"An eclipse" Sun murmured, moving in closer and wrapping an arm around both of his partner’s shoulders.
He had never been much of one for things like this, but Moon had insisted they spend a night in the garden to watch the celestial event- and Sun was nothing if not weak for his partner’s pretty face.
He hugged Moon and his little Star closer, admiring how their eyes shone as they scanned the sky together. Moon noticed him staring and flashed him a coy look over y/n's head. Sun chuckled quietly, turning his pale eyes back to watch the sky above.
It was there that they stayed, huddled together until the eclipse started to wane. Moon was the first to stir. He looked over at his partners, both of which had sleepy, glazed looks on their faces. He laughed inwardly, scooping his smaller partner up in his arms and reaching over to plant a kiss on Sun's cheek. He stood and turned, walking back down the garden path towards the palace.
The drowsy bundle in his arms stirred, letting out a grumble of protest. He hushed them softly, bundling them closer to his chest. Sun followed close behind, yawning and stretching dramatically. He followed his partner into their home and up the stairs, looping a tired arm around his waist.
They approached Moon's bedroom, Sun stepping ahead to open the dark door for Moon and his precious cargo. Once inside, Moon handed the sleepy animatronic over to Sun. He then walked over to the bed, turning down the dusky indigo covers and pressing a hidden button near the headboard. At his touch, thousands of tiny lights flickered to life across the ceiling and throughout the drapes that hung around the bed itself.
Moon gracefully lowered himself onto the bed, motioning for his partners to join him. Sun stepped over to the bed, carefully laying the bot he had been cradling onto Moon's chest. They stirred, propping themself up and peering blearily around.
"'s not my room" they muttered, rubbing one of their eyes.
Moon hushed them, gently pushing their head down to rest on his chest once more. “Don’t worry about that, Nightshade, just go to sleep.”
Sun settled in next to the both of them, pulling up the covers and wrapping his arms around his partners. He pulled them close to his chest and brushed a soft kiss across both of their foreheads. Moon returned the kiss, snuggling into his partner’s chest, but the smaller bot in his arms was already deep asleep.
The night was cold, as most nights are- and as the wind chased moonbeams in the chilly dark, three robots slept, wrapped up in each other’s arms.