Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This was probably the dumbest decision you've made. Probably ever. You should have realized the moment that it crossed your mind. Who tries to drive home during a severe storm? You shouldn't have been surprised when your car skidded off the road and got stuck in the mud. You check your phone. Just your luck; no service here. Well, no one would go out in weather like this to help you anyway. Checking the weather, it looks like things will get worse soon. Enough so that you should find better shelter than your car. You'll have to leave it here. There isn't much else to do except find the nearest stable building. Zipping up your jacket and pulling your hood up will only do so much. You open the door and slip out of the car, closing the door quickly to keep the water out.

You were already soaked, hair stuck to your face and rain spattering your face hard enough to sting. You could feel the water squishing out of your shoe every time you took a step. You grunt, shielding your face and trying to keep your eyes open enough to see where you're going. You push against the wind that sticks your drenched clothes to your skin, leaving you in a freezing prison as you search for a safe harbor. As your phone predicted, the storm is quickly worsening, and you curse yourself again for going out in this weather. Why did you think you could beat the rain? The rain which is so heavy now you're having trouble seeing where you're going. Maybe it would actually be safer to stop and try to get back to your car... No, bad idea. That could get you killed in more ways than one- better find the nearest building and shelter there like you planned. Surely anyone else in the building wouldn't be so cruel as to deny you.

Pausing, something catches your eye and halts your thinking. When you squint, you can see color in the distance. Probably a neon sign or something similar. Either way, this could be shelter. From where you're standing, there's a bit of a walk, but it's still the only thing you can see in this weather, which is getting progressively worse. You can hear trees creak, limbs snapping, and being swept away in the wind. Something flies past you and only misses your face by inches. The wind picks up pace alongside you as if chasing. You need to hurry. Your feet splash more water onto your pants as you all but sprint toward the flashing colors in your vision. Thunder rumbles the ground under you, and a static feeling in the air signals lightning is on its way.

Startled by the strike, you lose your footing on a slick patch of ground but manage to catch yourself with your hands. You feel rocks digging into your knees hard enough to surely bruise. You stumble back to your feet and continue to the building. You wonder how anyone will know where you are- powerlines are down, and you don't have service. You'll likely have to take shelter overnight at the very least- You're snatched from your thoughts by a creaking, grating sound near you. The building, not far now, seems to be making the noise. There is a clanging sound, and you see the silhouette of something flying toward you in the neon light. You face away from the wind and cover the back of your head, bracing. A sharp pain runs along your back as the metal bangs into you before being carried off by the wind. You gasp, curling your hands into fists and stumbling the last few yards to the building.

Realizing it would help to know where you are, you glance up at the neon lights that led you here and note you have ended up at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex. You had planned to visit, but not like this. You notice the shutter's lock is broken, and you don't need any more invitation. Gritting your teeth against the pain in your back as you bend down, you heave the shutter up enough to duck under. It slips from your hand when you make it inside and lands with a rattling bang. You stand there for a moment to relax and catch your breath. There was likely no overnight employees in a place like this. Maybe you could still stay overnight and just explain the situation to whoever you see first. It wasn't like you were going to go back out and keep looking. Stepping out of the puddle you'd dripped onto the floor, you pry off the jacket clinging to you. Before you get far, though, a sound catches your attention again. It's a faint jingling from somewhere above you, so you look up, turning slowly to find the source.

The sound stops.

"You shouldn't be here."

A voice from behind startles a yelp from you. A soft, raspy, and clearly angry voice, to be exact. Swallowing your nerves, you turn to see the voice's owner. It's.... not who you expected. You first notice that they are not a human but animatronic. He wears a dark blue nightcap and matching pants, both littered with yellow stars. His face looks like a crescent moon, tilted to the side with a strange smile. Your eyes trail to his hands that won't keep still, clenching and twitching at his sides. The bells on the ribbons around his wrists confirm that it was him you heard.

It isn't until he speaks again that you realize you haven't answered. "You're trespassing. Leave." You move to raise your hands in surrender, feeling a twinge of pain in your back as you do. He goes still when you speak. "I'm sorry! My car got stuck down the road, and I had to get out of the storm. This was the only building I could see and..." You trail off when you notice that his attention isn't on your words anymore. "You're injured." You bend your arm behind you and feel the throbbing spot on your back. The main lights were off, but you could still see the dark stain on your hand when you held it up to see. You'd hardly realized it was that bad in your rush to find shelter. "Oh. I am." His head clicks upright, eyes narrowing. "Shivering. Cold outside." You push wet hair from your face and answer with a soft nod, not saying anything more when you hear him growl softly. His optics flick from you to the door, then back to you.

"Fine... follow." He turns as you thank him. A wire descends from the ceiling and lifts him up. the bells are louder now, likely on purpose, as you follow him through the dim Pizzaplex. You bite back another shiver. From the cold or his intimidating aura, you aren't sure. Still, you try to be polite. He is helping you, after all, as begrudging as it seems to be. You introduce yourself and ask for his name in turn. He doesn't answer immediately. "Moon." You hum and nod your head. "It's nice. Suits you."

It seems wherever he was taking you wasn't far, as he drops down in front of you and a set of large wooden doors. "You'll stay here." You crane your neck to read the words 'Superstar Daycare'. By looking at how everything is decorated, you surmise he must be the daycare attendant you've heard mention of once or twice. You nod your head, and he pushes open the doors for you to enter. Moon points at a small chair near an equally small table. "Sit." You do as he says, watching him dig through a nearby cupboard and return with something folded in his hands. He unceremoniously drops them on the table. You look at it, then back to him, hesitant. He narrows his eyes again, head clicking sideways. He points to the pile again. His speech is curt, and there is no room for arguing. "Change. Sit. Wait."

Moon doesn't move again until you pick up what you now realize is a change of clothes and towel. "Okay, thanks.." You avoid his piercing gaze and see him move away from the corner of your vision as you scrub water from your hair. You wait until he's gone or at least not looking- it's hard to tell if he's still in the room when it's so dark- before you change into the clothes Moon provided for you. It's a pair of blue plaid pants, socks, and a pale yellow T-shirt with the daycare's logo on it. You aren't quite sure why there are clothes here that aren't for a child. Maybe they're merchandise or extra clothes for employees. Not that it really matters to you.

You bite back a groan as you peel the wet layers of clothing from your back. Now that the adrenaline of running through the storm has worn off, it's starting to really hurt. Once you slip into the dry clothes, you set your soaked ones and the towel on the table and drop back into the plastic chair with a sigh. You feel a little bad for bothering the attendant when he probably should be charging- why was he the one to meet you at the doors of all the animatronics? - but you're certainly grateful he hadn't tossed you to the mercy of the storm like you're sure he wanted to.

It takes you a moment to realize he's returned, standing next to you. "Oh! Sorry." You go to stand, but he places a hand on your head to keep you down. "Stay." You look down at his other hand when you notice he brought something back. It's a first aid kit. Moon sets it on the table and opens it with swift hands. "Turn. Lift your shirt." You don't know how comfortable you are with that. Besides, he's helped enough already. "You really don't have to-"

"Turn." He snaps.

Moon narrows his eyes, and you can tell he won't be patient with you for long. Any other protests die on your tongue, and you relent, doing as you were told. He lifts your shirt more gently than you expected. You aren't sure why you're so afraid. He probably patches up children all the time. Of course he knows how to be gentle. There is a rustling from the first aid kit, then a cold cloth makes contact with your back. You hiss, your back burning, and you feel the cloth pull away for a moment. "Stop moving." Moon scolds you, so you try to keep still and quiet as he cleans any blood from your wound. "Thank you. For helping me." You whisper, turning your head slightly toward him. "And sorry for sort of breaking in." He makes a static-like humming sound and doesn't respond further. But you can tell he's been appeased at least a little by your cooperativeness so far despite the intrusion.

Moon pulls away as he finishes, and you turn to face him. His faceplate had initially unsettled you- maybe that's what made you so nervous, aside from his irritation at you- but now you realized it's not that bad. It's actually cute in a strange way. "How bad is it? I only know something metal hit me." Moon's head tilts for a moment before righting itself again. "Debris. You'll need stitches." Your shoulders slump. "You wouldn't by chance, have anything to numb it in that first aid kit, would you?" He hums and shakes his head. "Afraid not. Turn." Sighing, you do as he says. His hand enters your view again with a plush toy. "For pain. Squeeze." You take the plushie in your hands, taking a few deep breaths, and steeling yourself. "Okay, let's get this over with." You feel the pain of the needle piercing your back, and you grit your teeth to keep from making noise and distracting him. Moon is, maybe not surprisingly, good at this. He works quickly but stays as gentle as he can. A few particularly painful stitches have you crushing the toy and biting your tongue. Well, until you're scolded for it and assured that making noise won't mess him up, as long as you stay still.

Everything goes smoothly after that. He places a bandage on top, and his hands leave your back for good as the shirt falls down. The tension leaves your body, letting the plush fall to the floor and adjusting your shirt. "Thanks again." You watch Moon put away the medical supplies as he hums an acknowledgment of your gratitude. You turn to take in the daycare as you wait for more instructions. There was nothing this size when you were a kid. You wouldn't deny that you'd be tempted to try it out if you weren't hurt. Moon steps into your field of vision, watching you intently. "You should sleep." You hum and nod your head. "That sounds great." He stills for a moment when you agree. You jokingly wonder if he thought you'd whine about it like a child in the daycare might. After the beat of silence, he moves away.

You wonder again why Moon is active. If it was a system alert, you would assume the other animatronics would have been notified too. But you hardly know anything about robotics, so maybe you're wrong. You don't think he'd be interested in divulging that information anyways. He returns with a pillow and blankets, dropping them nearby and preparing your temporary bed with skilled hands. "You sleep here." You open your mouth to ask, but he beats you to it. "Must monitor any intruders."

You feel slightly bothered at being called an intruder when you feel like you had no other choice, but you technically were an intruder, you suppose. You approach and thank him once again as you climb under the blankets. You're careful not to twist too much or lay on your back. Instead of walking away, Moon sits beside you, legs crossed. You feel him watching and wonder if you could even sleep with his eyes trained on you like this. You'd at least try, though. As if sensing your worry, he reaches out and pats your shoulder slowly, then closes his eyes. A soft melody drifts from his chassis, and a smile creeps onto your face at his efforts to make you comfortable. Once you relax, sleep comes quickly after the stress of the night.

~

The first thing to register as you emerge from sleep is the bright light and a voice. It takes a moment to remember what happened and where you are. When you do, you open your eyes and sit up, almost smacking your head into something. Another animatronic, noticeably not Moon, sits next to you and watches with concern. "Ah, there you are! I hope you slept well! I was able to contact some help to come and pick you up.” The rays around his head spin, and you take the chance to see who'd woken you. Moon's counterpart, Sun, you're assuming- you know next to nothing about the Daycare Attendant, so it doesn't surprise you there is more than one. He looks much like Moon, just with a different color palette. You rub the sleep from your eyes and nod. "Alright, thank you. What time is it?"

"It is currently 10:25 am! I would have woken you sooner, but I thought you'd earned some extra sleep."

You register how much brighter it is with the lights on. You catch the sound of the doors opening and find a few people entering- paramedics, judging by how they're dressed. Sun taps your shoulder and bends down, whisper yelling. "I need to tidy up, but I put your things on the table. I also left a few surprises for you." You face him again and smile. "Okay, thank you so much. Pass my thanks to Moon again, if you could." Sun's rays spin, and he taps the side of his forehead. "Message received!" You raise your eyebrows for a moment and watch him rush away to clean up your makeshift bed. You supposed it would make sense for them to be able to communicate if they're both Daycare Attendants.

You take the bag from the table, noting its weight, and approach the paramedics, who quickly check you over. The woman who seems to be in charge pauses when she checks your back. "What happened here?"

You look over your shoulder to meet her gaze. "Oh. Some debris cut me while I was getting inside. the um, Naptime Attendant, Moon, patched me up." It only made sense that he would be in charge of naptime based on his design and last night's experiences.

She doesn't comment further, only checking the bandage and stepping away. "Well, it did a good job. You won't need a hospital visit. Just go check with your doctor for any medications."

You sigh through your nose, relieved, and nod. "Alright, I can do that. Also... would you guys' mind giving me a ride back to town? My car kind of got stuck." You pick at the plastic bag in your hands, and the woman nods. "Sure. We're heading back that way. You can stay in the back as long as you don't mess with anything." You nod back and follow them to the door but pause when you feel eyes on you.

Turning, you see Sun is watching you go. When you lock eyes, he raises his hand and waves happily. You laugh, returning the wave as you step through the large doors.

Once you reach the ambulance, you climb into the back and sit on a back against one wall. The doors close, and you check your bag for those surprises Sun mentioned once the ambulance starts moving. You find a bottle of water and a pack of cookies. Next to it is the little stuffie Moon had given to you last night while stitching you up. Checking your clothes, you find them dry and clean smelling, folded neatly with a folded paper on top. You open it to find a handmade get well soon card. One side is written in orange pen, and the other in blue. Doodled in the respective corners are Sun and Moon. They ask you to be more careful in the future, in their own ways, and ask you to come to visit again when you heal.

You think you'll take them up on that offer.

Chapter Text

It has been at least a week since the incident that left you sheltering in the Mega Pizzaplex overnight. You have yet to make good on your plan to return and properly thank the Daycare Attendants for helping you. Your family, of course, had been very worried, but you convinced them everything was alright. Your back is healing well, and you've managed to get together enough money to fix any damages to your car. You should probably find a job soon. You're over halfway through college, and you left your old job a little while back, so you need to find a new place to work so you can keep paying rent.

You gather your weekly mail from its box and return to your apartment. You drop the mail on the counter and begin sifting through it. Bill, junk, magazine, junk, letter…

Wait.

You blink and flip it over to see it's from an address you don't quite recognize. Tearing it open reveals a birthday party invite at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex. A party for your younger cousin, apparently. You think they could have just called, but shrug and assume invites are part of whatever birthday package they bought to have a party there. Either way, it's convenient for you. Since you plan on returning to the Plex already, you can visit Sun and Moon while you are there.

You look at the plush they gave you, which sits on a small table beside the couch. Maybe you should bring them something as a thank you. Sitting on the couch, you decide to think over some gift ideas for your cousin and the attendants while finishing some assignments.

You stand in the empty aisle of the store, browsing over the items on the shelves. You pick up a book for your cousin and tuck it under your arm. After journeying to the craft section, you gather some fabric and other materials. It's been a little while since you made something, and it feels good to get back to it. Laying the book on the stack of material, you carry it all to the checkout. You hope that they will like what you make. One thought gives you pause as you take your bags to the car. Will you even be able to give Moon his present in person? He wasn't there when you woke up the morning after he helped you. You suppose you would have to ask Sun to deliver it on your behalf. You spend the next few days preparing the gifts in between classwork and other errands. It may be your need to return the favor, but you look forward to seeing at least one of them again.

Standing at the front of the building gives you an odd sense of déjà vu. It looks different in the day, of course, but the feeling is still there. Your back twinges in pain at the memory, and you adjust the bag containing the gifts in your grip. Then, shaking the unpleasant feeling away, you give your pockets one final pat down to ensure you have all you need. Gifts, check. Phone, check. Wallet, check. Keys…? You panic for a moment, then sigh.

Other pocket.

Okay, you have everything. Following the herd of families toward the front doors, you're immediately taken in by what the inside looks like during the day. If you had to choose a word, you would say… colorful. You take the time waiting to soak in what can be seen from the lobby. You wonder how you missed the gigantic golden statue, but you suppose you had been a bit distracted then. Pulling out your wallet and a photo of the invite on your phone, you show it to the slightly unnerving Staffbot when it's your turn. "I'm here for a birthday party."

The bot never even glances at your phone. When it speaks, it's in a bland, monotone voice. It welcomes you by name, tells you the entry fee's price, and holds out a hand.

You cringe at the cost, mentally rolling your eyes at the apparent 'three-dollar birthday guest discount.' You pay the amount with a sigh before tucking away your phone and your probably crying wallet. Stepping through the turnstiles, you duck out of the way of shouting children tugging their parents deeper into the financial death trap. You retrieve your phone again and pull up the map your aunt had sent. You get your bearings and find a route to the room where the party is being held, mentally noting where the Daycare is. Looking up from your phone, you nearly trip backward with a yelp at the Staffbot inches from your face. After catching yourself, you turn to face it. "Uh, can I… help you?"

It shoves something toward you. 'Take a map."

You raise a hand and shake your head. "Thanks, but I already-"

"Take a map."

You sigh and look at the map nearly touching your face.

It won't leave until you take the map, huh?

Gingerly, you pull the map from its grip, adding a half-hearted thanks. It simply rolls away, and you watch it shove a map in someone else's face for a moment before walking further into the Pizzaplex. You only have to check your map once or twice to find your way to the correct party room. Stepping inside, your aunt hugs you and asks the typical 'how have you been' and such. Not in any rush, you chat for a minute, setting your cousin's gift with the others and keeping the bag with the other two gifts.

Your aunt gestures to the bag. "What's in there?"

You mull over your explanation momentarily, not wanting to go into much detail about your dumb decisions. "Oh, someone who works here helped me out with something a little while back, and I just wanted to thank them. Figured I would give it to them while I'm here." You shrug.

Before you can finish the conversation, your cousin takes notice of your presence and drags you over to their table of friends to show you whatever game they're playing. You entertain them for a bit, playing a few rounds yourself when asked before excusing yourself.

You let your aunt know you're stepping out, and she tells you they are waiting for the meet and greet anyway. With who, you aren't sure, but you can find out when you get back. You recheck your map and find a route to the Daycare, making your way down the stairs toward the entrance of the Pizzaplex. You make your way down another set of stairs, seeing the inside of the Daycare through the glass walls.

Sun runs around inside with a group of children as they play a game, tag it looks like.

You smile. He looks happy.

You arrive at the large wooden doors Moon had led you to that night. Then you hesitate. Were you allowed in there right now? You weren't picking up or dropping off anybody. Would you just be interrupting them? You shake your head. He asked you to visit. Besides, he would recognize you. Only one way to know. You shift the bag in your arm and knock firmly on the door.

The playing inside audibly dies down for a moment, and you smile. You can hear the sound of bells getting closer. The door opens after you tuck the gift behind your back. You are greeted by Sun's smiling face, brushing away the shadows of doubt that were crowding your thoughts.
"Oh, hello friend! What brings you by? No further accidents I hope?"

For a split second, you worry he doesn't remember you, but his last question answers yours. You chuckle at his tease and shake your head. "No, thankfully. I don't mean to interrupt your job, but I wanted to stop by to thank you and Moon for helping me." You hold out the gift bag in your hand with a small smile. "So, I made you both something. I figured you both deserve a proper thank you. Especially considering I… probably wouldn't have survived without guys."

Sun is quiet, head tilted down to the bag.

You wonder if he moved his head that far to let you know where he's looking. A thought crosses your mind as the both of you stare at the gift. Could he not take it? Was he only allowed to accept things from the parents or children in his care? Oh, you should have thought about that.

You take a step back, lowering your arm. "Ah, maybe this wasn't…."

Sun's head snaps up to you, and he's back to his animated self again. He shakes his head quickly. "No, no, no! It's okay! I just didn't expect such a kind gesture." He reaches for the bag, so you hold it out to him. When he speaks again, his tone is softer. "Thank you, friend." Taking the bag in one hand, he reaches toward you with the other. He hesitates.

"What is it?"

Sun pulls his hand back and holds the bag with a chuckle. "You have a little something..." He taps part of his cheek.

Frowning, you reach up and feel something stuck to your face. When you pull it off, you find a smiling face of a Freddy sticker staring back at you. A mix of amusement and embarrassment brings a sigh to your lips. "Those darn kids. Walked all the way over here with a sticker on my face."

Sun brings a hand to his grin, and his shoulders bounce as if stifling a laugh at the idea. A scream comes from inside the Daycare, and his head rotates backward to find the source. He slumps just slightly and turns his head to you again. "I should get back to the little ones. Thank you so much for your gift!"

You smile and nod. "Of course. When you give Moon's to him, let him know I said hi!"

Sun nods happily and just like last time, he waves to you as you depart.

As you walk back to the party, you feel your face to check for any missed stickers. Thankfully, you don't get lost this time. As you walk, you look at the posters and decorations on the walls. Countless images of the main four and the DJ catch your eye. However, there are noticeably fewer depictions of the Daycare Attendant. There are still plenty of posters, but most of them seem only to depict Sun specifically. You suppose most visitors that aren't parents wouldn't be interested in the Daycare.

You shrug, deciding it probably doesn't matter much. You approach the party room again and open the door, only to nearly run into something orange. Stopping, you take a step back and look up.

Oh.

It's Freddy Fazbear himself, and you nearly slammed into him. You blink and step to the side, squeezing around his tall frame and back into the room. It isn't until you are past him that he seems to notice where he is standing.

"Oh! Pardon me!" He steps to the side, and all the children surrounding him move as well.

You can only just hear over the shouting. You smile and wave your hand dismissively. "No worries!" You sit in a chair nearby, watching the kids interact with the animatronic.

Despite how big Freddy is, he has a gentleness to him as he pats one of them on the head or signs an autograph.

You smile, enjoying the scene, until your aunt walks over.

"Hey! Can you help me set up with the cake?"

You stand, following her to the cake. You count how many plates and forks you need as your aunt pulls out a pack of candles and drink cups. It seems Freddy notices what time it is as you feel his heavy footsteps approach the table. The gaggle of children around his legs follow suit, still chatting away at him as he addresses you both.

"If you are ready for cake, I can give it to you now."

You look to your aunt, who nods. Then, turning, to your surprise, you find Freddy's stomach begin to move and then open. Inside his stomach sat a Pizzaplex-themed birthday cake, perfectly intact. You have no idea how it hadn't been messed up at all, but the mechanics were way beyond your understanding.

You help your aunt move the cake to the table and put in the candles while Freddy rounds up everyone for the cake. With everyone in place, you light the candles on your cousin's cake, and everyone (including Freddy) sings happy birthday. You and your aunt cut pieces for everyone, with Freddy handing them out at his insistence. You take your own piece after.

It isn't until Freddy speaks that you realize he is still beside you. "I take it you are not quite interested in this party."

You laugh. "Well, a little. It's my cousin's party, so I'm a bit too old."

Freddy hums and nods. "Yes, that makes sense. It is nice of you to still come to the party though."

One child runs up to him to hand him a drawing, which Freddy takes before thanking them and patting their head.

You smile, glancing at the drawing for a moment. "They really love you, huh? Do you ever get overwhelmed?" You cringe inwardly at the question that escaped from your thoughts.

However, Freddy doesn't seem to mind it. "They do. I will admit... It does feel like a bit much sometimes. But it is worth it to make the children so happy."

You nod, throwing away your finished plate. He was surprisingly easy to talk with, giving off a comforting energy that made it hard to dislike him.

Before you can continue the conversation, you feel a small hand grab your own. You look down to see your cousin's younger sibling staring up at you. You kneel down to her level. "Yeah? What's up girlie?"

She glances up at Freddy for a moment, then back to you. "Need to potty."

You look up. Her mom is distracted with presents and the other kids. You'll just take her yourself, not that you mind. Standing and still holding her hand, you let Freddy know where you're going.

Freddy waves you off as the two of you leave the party room. You pause for a moment to check your map and find the closest bathroom. As you walk, she tells you of whatever comes to her mind. You nod along and are about to answer her comment about a cartoon she likes when you are cut off by yelling.

Not the excited kind, or the yelling of trying to talk over others, but an angry sort of yelling. You turn to find the source, stopping your little cousin beside you. "Hold on hon." On your right are two people in uniforms, both different.

One is rushing after the other as they should back and forth, one desperate and one angry. As they got closer, you could hear what they were saying. "You can't leave without a two weeks' notice! You can't just quit on the spot!"

The younger person in the front, with a brighter uniform, turns on the other angrily. "Well, I am! What, are you going to fire me? Give me a bad review? I don't care! I'm done working here!"

The older man sticks out his hands desperately. "Look, we'll raise your pay! If you stay, you'll get a raise! For the next two weeks! If you just wait until we find another hire!" 

"No, there's nothing you can say or do that will convince me to work in there for another minute! I wasn't even supposed to be working in there! I was supposed to do repairs!" The younger employee shakes their head. They pull out a badge of their shirt and toss it in front of the man before storming off.

Hmm, looks like someone had just quit. Well... you are looking for a job. It couldn't hurt to ask, right?

You tell your little cousin to wait just one more minute. She whines but nods and follows you to the man who stands dejectedly near the wall. "Ah, excuse me, sir?"

The man jumps, fumbling with the badge that he had picked up. "Oh! Yes? How can I help you?"

"Well, I couldn't help but hear your... Conversation, just a moment ago. I just wanted to say that I'm in the market for a job, and I'd be willing to take the position if you'd let me." You hope that didn't come out the wrong way. It seems like it would benefit both of you, right?

He perks up at your comment and starts to dig through his pocket for something. "That's great, actually. Would definitely get me out of hot water with the higher ups... I'm pretty busy right now, but here's my card. Email me later and we can talk." He hands you a card, nodding with a curt smile, and walks briskly through an Employee Only door.

The tension in your shoulders drops, and you lead your little cousin to the bathroom. While you wait, you check the card. David Orville, it says. According to the card, he's more of a supervisor than a boss, but it must still count for something.

You tuck it into your pocket. When your trip to the bathroom is finished, you return to the party room. Seems Freddy has already left.

He must be pretty busy. You hope he at least gets a break; he deserves it.

You join the others at the party, chatting and enjoying seeing your cousin open their gifts. Thankfully they like what you got for them. You spend another hour or so there before checking the time and deciding to head back for the day. You thank your aunt for inviting you and give her a quick hug. You make your way down the stairs, feeling lighter in your steps than earlier.

Things seem to be going your way today.

You check to make sure you still have what you need, slipping between the groups of friends or families milling through the main atrium. You pass by a few staff bots, but none look your way, though you do spare a second glance at the map bot hilariously chasing a teenager who wouldn't take a map. You turn forward again with a small laugh and exit the building.

At home, you cook yourself a quick dinner and sit down to write that email. You wanted to get your chance for that job as early as possible. Maybe you should have at least asked what the position was, but… that's what these emails are for.

Hopefully, you wouldn't get too in over your head.

Chapter Text

You meet with that employee, David, today. You check the last email you received from David the previous day about where to go, what time, and all the necessary information. You grab your bag and keys before heading out the door. Your drive is easy, and the crowds of people are the same, if not greater, than the last time you came to the Pizzaplex. The email said to wait in the lobby until someone came, so you do.

A few people bump into you, only a few excusing themselves as they pass. Then, you feel another brush on your shoulder until you realize it keeps happening. You turn to see who is tapping your shoulder and find a staffbot staring at you.

"Please, follow me."

It turns before you can ask anything, so you have no choice but to just follow them. You weave between the families and groups of kids before the staffbot leads you into a more off-limits area. You see a row of doors with names on them until it reaches a name you recognize- David Orville. The staffbot stops momentarily, bids you a good day, then rolls off down the hall. You look at the door for a moment and shrug. David calls for you to come in when you knock, and you close the door behind you after you walk inside.

His office looks a little messy. There are papers scattered across the desk, and the phone lies next to the receiver instead of on it. You spy a few sentimental items on the back wall between some posters for the Glamrocks. You sit down in the chair across from him with a hello. He bends down behind his desk and sits up with a bag, which he hands you.

"These are just a few things you'll need for working in the Daycare. You don't have to start today but it would be appreciated if you could at least stop by to see how things work today."

You nod and check through the back for a moment. "Yeah, I can do that. I was gonna ask, since I sort of forgot last time, what the specifics of the job are."

David nods, gesturing to the bag in your hands. "There's a manual for some basics in there, and I can email you specifics this afternoon. Essentially just help the Attendant keep an eye on the kids. There's a lot of them in there with it so we need someone to lighten the load a little. Plus," he lets out a nervous laugh and glances away. "Some parents don't love the idea of there not being a human person watching their kid. So partly just to keep out of trouble there. We might also ask you to help out in a few other areas from time to time."

You take a paper he hands you- a contract. "You'll get pay and a half for those days, but sometimes it will have to be a nightshift thing if it's something we don't want to deal with when guests are around." He taps a paragraph near the bottom. "Obviously I'll give you a minute to read that."

You pick up the paper to read closer. While the pay isn't fantastic, it's still better than other places you've seen. The requirements for the job are like what he described. Help Sun and Moon run the Daycare and occasionally do restocks or minor repairs, some of which are done during a night shift. Everything looks okay, from what you can tell. So, you sign your name in the blank at the bottom.

David takes the form from your head with a curt nod. "Great. Your shirt should be inside, there's a map in there that will highlight employee areas, and I'll email you about your first day and all that later." He stands to see you out and bids you goodbye.

You take a deep breath and release the tension in your shoulders. Looks like you got the job. You wonder if Sun and Moon know about your new position. Then, deciding to head home for the day and do some reading up on the establishment you'll be working for, you retrace your steps back out to the front lobby. On the way home, you stop for some dinner to take home.

Doing your research on the establishment reveals mainly a lot of rumors that feel much too outlandish to be true. You find some other establishments that the company built in the past, but there isn't much information on why they closed aside from some being accidents of some kind. You find it odd that there is such little information on a company that has existed for so long, especially about their animatronics that were claimed to revolutionize modern robotics. It seems that unless you do some more digging, you won't find much else. So, you leave that venture for another day.

You take your time the next day exploring the massive building. Thankfully, you managed to get one free day pass thanks to your new employment. You take a quick peek around the service tunnels but spend most of your time in the public areas of the building to learn your way around before you join Sun and Moon. It's still early in the morning, so the Daycare hasn't opened yet anyway.

You pass through the main atrium for a quick snack. Unfortunately, you're only allowed a free lunch break while on shift, so whatever you get today will be from your own pocket. You are deciding what you want to get when a voice calls your name. To your surprise, it's Freddy.

His heavy footsteps approach your position near the counter. "It is good to see you again. I was told we had a new employee starting soon, and I do my best to get acquainted with all of our employees. I am glad to see it is you!"

You give him a smile and nod. Wow, he's too pure for this place. "Yeah, I'm gonna be working in the Daycare mostly, but I'm sure I'll see you and the others around. I haven't actually met any of them yet."

Freddy smiles with a hum. "I am sure they will be glad to meet you. It is not your first shift today, according to my schedule. Are you here for another birthday party?"

You chuckle and shake your head. "I'm just learning my way around today. "

Freddy nods. Looking over at the food you're going to order, he slides a discount coupon into your hand. "As a welcome present." You have no idea where he keeps these things, but you take it anyway. "Oh, wow. Thanks, Freddy, that's really nice..!" Somewhere behind you both, a child yells Freddy's name. He starts to turn but waves to you first. "I will see you later. Have a good day!"

You watch him leave for a moment, then the staffbot behind the counter asks for your order. You give them the coupon along with your payment. In return, you get an overpriced sandwich and drink. It will do for now. You scarf it down on the way toward the Daycare. The closer you get, the easier it is to hear the music that always plays inside.

You rap your knuckles against the large wooden door before you push it open. Upon entering, you find it completely empty, including the Daycare Attendant himself. "Sun? Moon? Either of you here?" You briefly wonder if they know you've been hired, but if Freddy knew, they probably would too, especially since you'll work with them both.

You hear a large gasp and turn to see Sun standing on a balcony in the wall across the room. He jumps down, vanishing into the ball pit. Now you are the one gasping. You walk quickly over to the edge of the pit. "Wow, uh, Sun, are you okay?"

Sun bounces out of the ball pit and lands next to you. "Just wonderful, thank you for asking! You're here early! Just couldn't wait to start playing assistant, hm?" His rays spin once, and he bends a little closer to your level. He is… much taller than you recall. And a lot more teasing to you now that he isn't watching the kids.

You hold back a laugh and push his face from yours gently. "Sounds like you might be the one who couldn't wait. I don't start today, but they asked me to come in and watch at least once so I can learn." You walk back to the desk and set your bag down, Sun jingling behind you. "Hmm, I suppose I'll allow it, if it's for work! We don't normally allow visitors, you know." He skips over to a cubby to pull out some craft paper and scissors. "The Daycare will be opening soon! Feel free to watch and learn."

You roll your eyes but smile anyway. "So, where is Moon when it isn't naptime? Is he up in the balcony?"

Sun pauses in his process of laying out the paper. Though his back is to you right now, he turns his head to face you properly. His grin widens. "Not quite! He is here, though, don't worry." His rays spin back and forth once before settling.

That was... vague.

You're still wondering what he meant by that when he speaks again. "By the way! We loved your gifts! Thank you so much, they were lovely."

You round the counter to help him. Just in time, because you hear a knock on the door.

Sun stands and skips over to the door to open it with a bright greeting. A glance tells you it is a parent dropping off their child. You keep setting out the paper and anything else Sun asks for the next few minutes as children begin to pour in. A few kids ask Sun who you are, to which he responds, "Our new friend who will be helping me in the Daycare!"

For most of the first hour, you stay back to watch. Most of the children don't seem interested in you, understandably so with Sun in the room, or they're too shy to approach you yet. Sun stops by every so often to check on you.

One child approaches you after some time, on the verge of tears. Even though you aren't technically working yet, you aren't about to turn them away. She has short, curly blonde hair that she keeps tugging at nervously. Without looking at you, she holds up some paper that has a tear in it. "My drawing ripped.."

It's not a significant tear, but still enough to upset her. Digging through the desk drawers, you find some tape and put it back together for her. "There. How's that?" She looks at it for a moment, then smiles and looks at you for the first time. "Mhm! Thank you!" She turns and runs away straight to Sun to show him.

Not much else happens until Sun calls for snack time. He calls you over to help pass out some snacks, which he tries to offer you as well. You pass with a small laugh, letting him know you're going to step out for some food outside. He waves you off as usual.

You weigh your options at what is closest and pick the Fazpad. You don't have a coupon this time, but this does mean you have a little more money to spare than you had assumed. A scan over the menu doesn't leave many options. Some don't sound very appetizing to you, and some are out of your price range. You settle on the 'Freddy Fried Rice,' take your food and start to walk toward the tables outside the Daycare.

Halfway out of the Fazpad, you groan and realize you forgot a drink. You turn and almost run straight into Chica herself. You seem to have a habit of literally running into the Glamrocks.

Chica squawks in surprise and turns to you as you fumble not to drop your lunch. "Oh! 'Scuse me hon! Didn't mean to knock into you."

You shake your head quickly to reassure her. "No, it was my bad. What are you uh.. doing over here?"

Chica blinks as if the question surprised her. She stares at you for a moment. "Hey, you're the new employee, right?" The subject change isn't subtle at all, but she seems embarrassed to answer your question, so you let it go. "Oh, yeah! Just making sure I don't get lost my first day, you know." She giggles at your joke and waves her hand. "It gets easier the longer you're here! What do you have there?" She eyes the fried rice in your hand while you quickly pay for a drink with your other. "Just my lunch. Wasn't sure what to get, so I went with the rice."

Chica nods, then winks. "Call me biased, but the tikka masala is amazing too." You aren't sure how she would know that, or maybe she's just saying so because her name is on it in the menu. You smile anyway. "I'll definitely try that one next time then." You take your drink from the staffbot with a quick thanks. "I gotta get back to the Daycare, but I'll see you around!"

You wave to her as you walk away, and you see her greet a few kids at a table eating pizza as you turn around. You walk quickly since you were gone longer than you meant. It's a feat in itself making it back without someone making you spill something, but you manage.

Sun welcomes you back as you sit at the desk to eat. He moves between tables with ease, keeping the kids entertained. He makes sure the children clean up after themselves, and you wonder if David really meant it when he said that half the position was just satisfying parents. The children that finish early are allowed to keep playing until everyone is done.

You toss your trash in the nearby trashcan when you finish, then go to help pick up some of the tables' trash as well. Sun calls your name before you get very far. "Do you mind laying out the naptime mats while I round up the kiddos?" You agree and walk over to the cabinet he directs you to.

The children pick out their mats to lay on as you place them down. Some of them whine about going to sleep or not getting the spot they wanted, but Sun expertly eases them with promises of next time and rewards for sleeping.

You step back to let him handle things for now, looking around for Moon. Sun seems to catch on to your search at the same time that the children start calling for Moon as well. He raises a finger, one hand on his hip. "Alright, alright! You know the rules, cover your eyes! And no peaking, or no bedtime story!" He walks backwards toward the light switch, catching your wrist on the way and pulling you with him. "That means you too friend!"

Sun places one hand over your eyes as the children giggle and cover their own. You hear the light click and some mechanical noises you can't quite understand. The hand moves away from your eyes, and you feel like your jaw may hit the floor. You know for a fact Sun's hand never moved from your eyes, yet instead, Moon stands before you. You raise a finger to ask the question on your tongue, but he places a finger on his faceplate's smile and winks before stepping away toward the children.

"Alright, little ones, are you ready for Storytime?" He sits cross-legged in the middle while you still stand rooted in shock. Your brain doesn't even process the story he is telling them.

Somehow, the two of them function in the same body. And you hadn't realized it in the last two times you saw them. The concept and its mechanics amaze you even if you don't understand it, but you're also incredibly embarrassed you hadn't figured it out or even read up about it somewhere. You're sure they both got a kick out of it.

Maybe not so much when you get to ask them all your questions.

You watch Moon with a renewed fascination. Robots were always interesting to you, but these two were something completely different. You wonder how it works, how the colors change. You could always ask them later you decide.

Sitting down at the desk, you pull a book from your bag. As much as you would love to hang out and have fun, you do still have classes to keep track of. You're reading for a few minutes when you hear the sound of bells approaching. You look up, yet Moon is nowhere to be found. He's not with the kids, who are all now asleep. You narrow your eyes with a small smile and look back down at your book.
Not even a minute later, you hear bells again. You whip your head toward the noise, catching a blur of yellow and blue before it disappears. You have to bite your lip to keep from laughing and turn back to the textbook to wait. When you hear him a third time and look up, he is leaning on the desk a foot from your face. You gasp and lean backward, only just remembering to whisper as you open your mouth. "What was that?"

Moon's head spins. You notice that they both tend to do that when they're in a good mood. He pulls the textbook toward him to look at it. "I don't think you're supposed to be here. No storm outside."

You scoff and pull the book back toward you. "I work here now, for your information. But I'm sure you already knew that."

Moon snickers. "I have no clue what you mean."

You have half a thought to spin his faceplate yourself. "Don't play dumb with me." You pout for extra effect. "Why didn't you tell me, that's so cool..! How does it work? Can Sun still hear me or anything?"

You sit up a bit more to study his face.

Moon shushes you and closes the textbook. "It's naptime. You need to take a nap too, I think." He drums his fingers across the desk.

"Ah, no thanks. I have some work to get done. Unless you can make me." You open the book with a smile.

Moon hums, looking between you and the desk before sliding a candy toward you wrapped in blue. "Have some."

It isn't until now that you realize neither of them have gone behind the desk. Maybe they weren't allowed. You chuckle and pocket the candy. "Thanks. I've seen the posters though buddy. Nice try. I'll eat tonight though."

Moon's head clicks sideways, and he huffs in defeat. He points to a paragraph in the textbook. "That looks like a good test question we think."

You blink, looking at him, then at the paragraph. He isn't wrong. You mark it, then look at him for a moment. You know he was made for children, but it hadn't occurred to you what all that involved. "What, do you quiz the kids?"

Moon chuckles and rolls his eyes. "No, but kids do ask a lot of questions, you know. We have to know a lot of things to help them learn. Daycare is a little more than just playtime. But don't tell them that." He jokes and turns his gaze back to your book.

For the rest of the naptime, he helps point out good topics to study, much to your appreciation. Thirty minutes into naptime, he stands from his spot at the desk and 'stretches.' "Naptime is over now. It's time to wake up the children." He walks over to the switch and gestures for you to close your eyes.

You cross your arms. "No fair, I want to see. Do the kids know you share a body, or- "Before you can finish your question, you catch Moon tossing a blanket over your head. You hear him flip the switch and scramble to get the blanket off your head. When you do, Sun already stands in front of you. He winks. "You have to earn that! And no, we like to let them think it's a magic trick. So, no spoilers please!"

You huff at missing out on the switch, but you know you'll see it eventually. You help Sun wake up the children and pick up the mats while he gathers them for some craft time. Apparently, they're going to make paper chains. After you put away the mats, you join Sun and the children in case he needs you. A smart move because he asks you to help supervise the kids using the scissors, even if they're safety scissors.

One child wants to make a chain of stars, so you help him until they are ready to cut them out. Then, to your surprise, he hands you the paper to do it for him. "Mom says to let the adults handle sharp stuff."

You hum, a bit surprised, but take it with a smile. "That's very responsible of you. Okay. Let's see what I can do." It isn't quite as challenging as you thought, considering you had never made one this way. As you hand the chain back, ready to be unfolded, he gasps and points at your finger. "Oh no!"

You look down to see what's wrong. Somehow you had managed to nick your finger with the scissors without noticing. "Oh. Don't worry. It's just a little cut. I'm okay. Check out my handiwork while I go get a band-aid, alright?" You pat his hand gently and walk over to the desk. Oddly enough, you don't see any Band-Aids back here.

"Need something?"

You turn around to find Sun leaning on the desk, head in one hand. "Jeremiah said you got an ouchie." He teases. His other hand on the desk turns palm up, and he holds a band-aid between his fingers. "Here. Do be more careful, please!"

"Oh, thanks. Where'd you have that?" You wrap the band-aid around your finger. It's light blue and has a pattern of clouds on it.

Sun winks and turns away, skipping over to the crafts tables.

You purse your lips. These two seem to like messing with you. Well, you'll get them back for it. You have plenty of time now that you work here.

Crafts last for another twenty minutes, then it's back to playtime until the parents come. You let Sun handle most of it when they do since you haven't learned most of the names and parents yet. Instead, he asks you to help clean up the mess from crafts time. Some kids decide to help you out, which Sun rewards with a sticker and entice more kids to help clean to get their own sticker. It doesn't take long for the tables to be cleaned up.

Once that's finished, you return to the desk to do a little more reading before the Daycare closes. You know everyone has left when you hear the heavy double doors thud closed and Sun's bells approach the desk. "So, how was my training day?" You joke and look up from your book.

Sun's head does a full rotation, and he claps his hands together once. "You did wonderful, thank you for all your help sunshine! The children already love you; I can tell."

You smile. "That's good. Maybe they'll tolerate me when I start working next week."

Sun nods and turns, walking into the Daycare to clean up. His head faces toward you with his body in the opposite direction, a sight that makes you chuckle.

You help him pick up the trash, deciding maybe he will answer some of your questions. "So, how does it work? Sharing a body, I mean. Can Moon hear or see when you're active? Is it weird?" Intrigue is evident in your voice, making Sun chuckle in amusement. "Well, it's all we've ever known, so it isn't weird to us. Moon can't access any visuals while I'm using them, but he can listen in if he wants! Not that he does so often." He hums, plucking some trash from your hand to throw it away.

"How do you two change colors?"

Sun winks. "Let's not spoil all the magic!" He stands straight, placing his hands on his hips. "Well, I think everything is cleaned up for the day. Thank you for all your help, friend!"

You nod and pick up your bag from the desk. "No problem. Next time we meet They'll be paying me to put up with you." You tease, taking one last look around the Daycare. You push the door open with your hip and wave. "See you soon!"

Sun waves happily as you leave. "Bye bye! See you next week!"

The door thuds closed behind you, and you make your way back through the lobby. It's near closing time, so many people are headed toward the exit. You hear the Daycare lights turn off, and the music fades out behind you. You turn to give a wave to Moon even though you can't really see him, then keep walking.

The last employee must not have liked kids much. Today was nice. You hope the rest of the job will be just as fun.

Chapter Text

You enter Gator Golf, senses quickly attacked by green and the ambiance of a swamp shoved in your face. You were asked in your morning brief email to make a quick stop before starting your day at the theatre. Unlocking a staff closet, you dig around the unorganized shelves until you find the bucket and old net. Part of the netting had torn from the frame slightly and would certainly rip if you pulled too hard. 

Noting to mention this next time you have to place restock orders, you continue on your way. Occasionally the pond in the golf course needed to be checked for stray golf balls, lest the drain clog and flood the course. A duty which had now fallen to you. Briefly, you wonder who had been doing this before. 

The thought leaves your mind as quickly as it enters, focused on weaving through the crowd to the particular hole in the course where the pond is located. Up ahead you spy it tucked away by Hole 8. You excuse yourself through a particularly stubborn group of teenagers before circling to the emptier side of the pond. You set the bucket down near the edge and roll up your sleeves. 

A wet floor bot rolls up next to you. With a small hum and a smile, you pat the top of its head. “Hey there. Keeping me company?” It gives you a gentle chirp in reply. 

The humidity in the area makes sweat bead across your skin in no time at all, scooping up golf balls from the pond and dropping them into the bucket. It’s difficult to tell how close you are to being finished; the water is murky but it’s unclear if that’s on purpose. 

Shouting and laughing is your only warning before a child running past accidentally knocks into your back, and then keeps running. You inhale sharply and windmill your arms as you fight to push your center of gravity away from the pond. Unfortunately it doesn’t work. With a sigh, you accept your fate as you begin to plunge forward toward the water. 

There goes your dignity. 

Suddenly you are jerked to a stop, held by the back of your shirt as you stare down into the water. 

“Woah! Careful. Don’t need ta fall into that nasty stuff.” A gruff voice chuckles. 

You turn to look over your shoulder to see who has saved you. 

Montgomery Gator himself stands behind you, tugging you upright and letting go of your shirt. “You all good? That would have been embarrasin’.” He hums, southern accent pushing through as he flashes you a smile. 

Sighing, you brush your shirt off. “Yeah.. only slightly more than being saved from falling in.” You joke. 

Monty waves his hand. “Nah, ain’t no one payin‘ attention to employees ‘round here most times.” He reassures before squinting at you over his star-shaped glasses. “You’re the newbie ‘round the Plex yeah?” 

“Yeah.” You slump dramatically, “that would be me. Great first impression I must have.” 

Leaning his head back, Monty barks a gruff laugh. “Don’t worry about it short stuff, the kids knock everyone around.” 

For a brief moment you frown at the name before realizing literally everyone is short to him. He likely uses it as a term of endearment when interacting with kids, so maybe this is a sign he likes you. 

Sighing, you pick up the net you had dropped in your flailing. “I should probably get this done before I actually get pushed in.” 

Monty snorts and inclines his head for a moment. “Fair enough,” he chuckles. “I won’t hold ya up then. See ya ‘round.” He turns to walk away, waving a clawed hand at you over his shoulder. 

You blink and wave back. 

That could have gone… worse. You’ll take what you can get, you suppose. 

With a small huff, you return to your task. It doesn’t take much longer to dig out what you think is all of the golf balls. 

The wet floor bot beeps goodbye, so you wave back as you go. 

You pause at a drop-off station, handing the bucket to one of the staff bots behind the counter as you had been told, then return the old net to its closet. 

Now that the only chore for the morning is finished, you need to head to the daycare for your first official day. You weave through the crowd with increasing ease. 

Chica catches your eye while walking through the main atrium, giving you a friendly wave that you return. They must be allowed some free roam between events, you think to yourself. 

It doesn’t take much longer to find yourself at the double doors you are quickly getting used to. You nudge it open to squeeze in. Children sit in a circle on the mats, Sun towering over them despite sitting as well. One child stands, walking around the group. Ah, ‘duck, duck, goose’ seems to be the game for the day. 

Sun gasps and looks in your direction at the sound of the door thudding shut. “Our new friendly helper has arrived! I think”, he hums, “that they should come and play too. What do you think?”

The circle cheers and pleads, excited for another player. 

You sigh with a laugh and hold your hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. One second.” You place your bag on the security desk and join the circle, wedging between two of the kids. You recognize the child standing as Jordan. He walks around the circle, tapping each person with a confident “duck”. He taps the back of Sun’s faceplate, earning a giggle from the kids when he spins his head. 

Jordan stops and taps one kid, yelling “Goose!” The child jumps to his feet and chases. The circle is large because of the amount of children present today, but that makes things interesting. Jordan makes it back to the space before being tagged, leaving a new person to be ‘it’. 

A laugh almost escapes you when you note their eyes dart to Sun. It only takes them a moment to tag Sun as the goose. You aren’t surprised when he allows them to take his spot. And you still aren’t surprised when he ends up tagging you as the goose next. 

“Oh no!! I’m too slow!” He cries dramatically and he lets you tag him with ease. You smile and roll your eyes at his antics. He does a little jump into the middle of the circle, settling down with his legs crossed and a happy jingle of bells. 

You get in a couple more rounds before Sun deems it naptime. Per his request, you step over to a storage bin with some plushies in it. 

He turns off the light when your back is turned. In Sun’s place, you see Moon, snickering at your betrayed expression of not getting to see their switch. 

Begrudgingly you help him settle the kids before settling yourself back at the desk to try and study again. The soft music floating through the room during nap time is calming, focusing your mind. 

Unfortunately, the section you are reading through does not become any clearer. You run a hand down your face in frustration. “This class is going to put me in a mental institution, I’m losing it..” 

“That would give you the record for fastest turnaround in the Plex.” Moon grins from over the edge of the desk at you. 

There is a soft thud as you let your head fall onto the textbook. “I wish I could just upload knowledge to my brain like you guys.” 

Moon pokes the top of your head. “We may know factual knowledge, but there are still plenty of things we have to learn like any person.” He watches you for a moment, your face resting over the pages, before standing. “I’m going to get something. Be right back. Watch the children.” 

The sky wire descends and connects with his hook. He jumps into the air, the only sound the soft jingle of bells as he disappears into the rafters above you. 

With your small pity party over, you return to reading the passage in front of you. To your surprise, a silver and navy hand enters your vision with a drink. You take it, looking at the flavor- pink lemonade Fizzy Faz. “Thanks.. are these good for study sessions?” You joke, looking at Moon’s satisfied expression. How or where he got this you don’t want to ask. 

“Hmm, let’s find out together.” He tilts his head. 

You groan softly and shake your head, closing your book. “Listen, mister, you do your job so let me do mine, yeah?” Huffing quietly, it’s hard to keep your angry facade up. 

It cracks easily and you stand up. Your chair knocks into you and you stumble, knocking the can off the desk. 

Moon grumbles at the loud noise and quickly turns to see if any children wake up. When the coast seems clear aside from a little shifting, he stares at your grimace and snickers as you pick it back up. 

“Clumsy.” 

“Oh hush, you’d be clumsy too if you were-“ 

The can explodes in your face, a loud hiss accompanying the bright and sticky drink that suddenly drenches you. It dies away and leaves both you and Moon in a stunned silence. 

Static explodes from Moon and he slaps a hand to his faceplate as if that would stop the sound. 

On the other hand, you are much less amused. You whine softly, already feeling your shirt and hair sticking to you. How were you meant to finish the rest of your shift? 

“Sorry, shouldn’t laugh,” Moon finally manages out, “let me go and get something.”

“It’s not more soda is it.” You grouch.

He grins at you. “Not soda, promise. Wait here.” He gives you one last look before disappearing into the rafters again. 

You watch the children, a couple shifting but thankfully none wake in Moon’s absence. 

It doesn’t take him long to return, placing on the desk what he had in his arms. “Can’t help your hair, but can help you clean a little. Towel, shirt, wet wipes.” He gestured to them and then the bathroom. 

At his insistence and the increasing discomfort, you relent and take the things to the nearby bathroom. You’ll have to wash your hair and shirt when you get home tonight. While not perfect, changing clothes and trying to dry off did help. 

Moon squats on the desk when you return. He climbs down as you shoo him off to set the towel and shirt down for later. Mid conversation he points behind you with some kind of shock. “Look at that!”

In confusion, you turn to see nothing. It’s not until the light flicks on do you realize what Moon has been doing. You narrow your eyes at Sun as you turn. 

“Sorry Sunshine! We'll let you see it eventually. Promise.” Sun assures you as you both go to wake the children. Many of them end up leaving a little early for a school night. 

Not that you mind, more time to hang out before closing. You’d been asked to stay after closing to fix a bulb in Roxy’s green room and do some restock. In mentioning it to Sun, you accidentally bring up the earlier run-in with Monty. “Honestly, if that had happened after getting sprayed with Fizzy Faz”, you laugh, “I probably would have told him to let me fall in.”

Sun tsks but chuckles at the comment. “That water would be dirty! And full of random things children drop or throw in. I don’t think it would help. Other than make you stink.” He pokes your nose with his free hand, the other organizing some drawings from the day. 

“Yeahhhh sure.” You put your things in your bag and nudge Sun. “Normally I would stay until full close since I have a night shift, but I’d rather go get this soda out of my hair sooner than later.” 

You wave goodbye to Sun for the afternoon and head home, taking a quick shower and dinner break before returning to the Pizzaplex. 

People file toward the exit as you walk in, having to push between them to reach Rockstar Row. You’d rather get Roxanne’s lightbulb fixed now so you can hang out with Moon. Well, that and you heard she can be a bit impatient. 

It isn’t difficult to tell which room is hers. You pause to stop at a work closet and grab the lightbulb you need before heading to her door. With a quick swipe of your card, you step inside as you look around. With the curtains closed over the glass you only now get a good look. It seems well-kept, at least compared to what you’ve heard about some of the others. 

The broken bulb is on the top right corner of her vanity mirror. It isn’t hurting anything but you suppose you can see why it would bother her. Perfect lighting and all. So you get to work. 

Turn off the mirror, and unscrew the light bulb. This doesn't really seem like such a big deal that it needs to be done after hours, but maybe Fazbear doesn’t want an employee doing repairs around children. You huff a laugh; considering what you’ve read about their safety protocols in the past it’s a bit hard to believe. 

Mid switch of the bulbs you hear the door slide open behind you. Roxanne struts in, pausing to give you a once-over before settling down in her chair. “Didn’t expect them to hand out green room tasks to the rookies so soon”, she hummed, tapping a claw on the table as you screw in the new bulb. 

“They seem to think of me as kind of a fill-in. Pick up where other employees can’t or something “, you shrug. “But to be honest, I’m supposed to just work mostly at the Daycare.” 

Roxy inclines her head as if that answers some question of hers. “Oh, I heard about you. Came in during the storm a week or so ago and then suddenly you work here.” 

You laugh softly and nod. “Yeah, you caught me. You’re actually one of the only people I haven’t met until now, other than the DJ I think? Haven’t been near the Arcade yet.” 

Something you say seems to make her rethink her next comment. Instead, she just nods. “Well don’t let me keep you from your important business.” She says teasingly. 

It doesn’t take more than a minute or so to install the bulb and make sure it works properly. Not wanting to intrude further you bid her farewell for the night and head toward the Daycare where you’re sure Moon is waiting. 

You check your phone for any new tasks. There isn’t much other than restock and running inventory in the daycare to mark if anything needs to be ordered. 

As your thoughts wander, a metal clang catches your attention. Knowing Moon, he’s probably hanging around; literally in his case. A jingling noise makes you smile and glance up at the ceiling. “Moon I know you’re up there. Nice try.” 

No response. Shrugging, you turn back and bite back a gasp. The white of Moon’s eyes peek out at you from over a trash can. “First night shift. Excited?” He teases. “No storms this time.”

He’s never going to let that go, is he? You hum. “Oh yeah, I’m ready to bother you even more than last time.” 

Moon picks up a plush, picking at a loose thread as you both enter the daycare. “How are you enjoying your job?” 

You take the plush from him, wiggling it in his face. “It’s like being at Disneyworld! I wanna live here alllll the time!” You answer in a silly voice. “Okay, but actually.. it’s pretty good. A little more.. I dunno, tiring? But good. Met all the main Glamrocks, except DJ. You’re all much more normal than I expected.” 

“Oh? Normal?” His head clicks to the side once. “In what way?” 

“You know?” You gesture, “You’re not all really… ‘beep boop, would you like a toy small child’?” You do little robot hands. 

For a moment Moon doesn’t respond, and you worry you’ve broken him with some kind of sentience crisis. Until he speaks. “That is so rude. Naughty. I think, in fact, you should be put in a time-out for saying such mean things.” 

A half-amused sigh leaves you. “Moon, once again, I’m an adult, I don’t need stuff like time ou-WOAH” You duck just in time as Moon lunges to grab you, throwing the plush at his face in a panic. In a moment of instinct, you turn and run back behind the security desk, ducking down. He can’t get you back here. 

Just as the relieved sigh leaves you it turns into a yelp of surprise, yanked upward by the back of your shirt. 

Moon holds you up with ease as he hangs from his wire, adjusting his hold on you. 

“I thought you guys weren’t allowed back here!” You sputter. 

He snickers, proud of himself as he lifts you a bit higher. “Our protocol forbids walking behind the desk. My feet aren’t on the floor, are they? Now, for your punishment.”

Arms flail and you shout panicked apologies as he carries you across the Daycare, dropping you into the ballpit. You sink several inches, laying face down and unmoving. 

“I can read your vitals you know. You’re fine, stop pretending.” He pokes your head. 

With a groan, you roll over and glare at him. “This ball pit is probably disgusting. Now I’m all… blegh.” 

Moon spins his faceplate as a response before helping you climb out. “Don’t be fussy. It’s cleaned every week.” 

You huff and wipe imaginary dust off your shirt. “So is this what you always do? Just mess with the night workers?” 

“Of course not. Most of them don’t patrol this area, I do. So you’re just lucky.” He teases as he turns to dig into a box. He holds up a few posters, gesturing to the blank part of a wall and rolling his optics. “We’re supposed to hang these up. But they store the hammer inside the desk.” 

Taking the posters, you laugh and walk toward the desk for the hammer. “They didn’t think that through huh? I’m guessing you want me to do it then. Are you guys even allowed to mess with tools like that?” 

Suddenly Moon appears in front of you again, hanging from his wire. “That’s why it’s your job and not ours.” He squints at you and grins as he watches you retrieve tools from under the desk. “You know how to hang a poster right? You just hit the nail with the hammer and-“

He makes a startled noise as you push his faceplate and walk past him to the empty wall, leaving him swinging for a moment. “I’ll hit you with the hammer if you don’t hush.” 

With your back to him, you smile fondly at the sound of his snickers. You glance behind you where he watches over your shoulder. Off to the side, the tower on the wall catches your attention. “So what’s in there?” You ask as you return to your task. “I don’t think the way up is on my map.” 

Moon’s face clicks to the side, then to the other as he thinks. “Our room. Technically. No one really goes up there but us, mostly to charge.” 

You hum and nod, nailing one of the posters up. “Can I see?”

“No.” His answer is quick and without hesitation. 

“Aw come on, why not?” 

Quiet passes for a moment and he watches you hang another poster, debating his answer. “We’re animatronics. Robots. Only property to Fazbear. Our room is..” He pauses to look for the right words. “The closest thing to being ours alone. Something we own.”

A melancholy feeling settles in your stomach. You study him, in a different light than before. They’re both more than simple machines to you in such a short time of knowing them. Until now you hadn’t given much thought to other people not feeling the same. 

You pat his arm gently as you pass to return the tools. “I understand. Don’t worry about it bud.” 

Behind you is the clicking sound that indicates Moon tilting his head. “Though..” He seems to reconsider, “Maybe one day we may show you. No assistant has been interested before.” 

“Well, it’s their loss.” You shrug. In the time it takes to pull up your email and check your next chore, Moon crosses the space to watch. “I have one other thing I need to get done tonight since it doesn’t look like anything needs to be ordered in here. Mostly some restock I think. Want to come with?” You offer with a small smile. 

Moon taps his faceplate. “Well, things are clean here… so I suppose I can accompany you for a little bit before I patrol my section.” He relents finally, calling his wire. 

The two of you walk together in comfortable silence for some time while you look for the closet with the restock supplies. “So,” you start, “this place has actual security guards. Yet they have you do rounds as well? I don’t get it.” 

You glance behind you, watching Moon duck out of the reach of the light as you flip the switch to the closet. You slip him a quick apology as you turn away to gather supplies. Going to have to remember that you can’t be so careless with light around them. His voice drifts in from around the doorframe. 

“Save money. Having us patrol areas means fewer people to pay. I don’t mind. Keeps me busy. It’s quiet here at night.” Moon’s voice seems to drift slightly in thought before his voice returns. “Don’t get intruders often. Sometimes though we get people wandering in from storms.” 

The teasing tone is hard to miss. You roll your eyes with a small smile. “You’re never going to let that go are you?”

Moon hums. “Probably not.” 

With a fondly exasperated huff, you lug the box of supplies out of the closet, turning off the light and nudging the door shut behind you.

 It takes a moment to find Moon until you notice him perched above the doorframe like some odd gargoyle. He snickers at your raised eyebrow, then hops down to be slightly more on your level. He’s taller than you either way. “So where to?” He peeks over the edge of the box to look inside. 

You wave him off and shift your hold on the box. “I just need to restock a couple of gift shops and prize counters. Nothing too hard tonight thankfully. I have to run by the daycare gift shop anyway, so I’ll see you again later if you have to leave soon.” 

“Hmm, alright. Lead the way.” Moon gestures for you to go first. You huff and walk through the neon-lit pizza plex, passing through Rockstar Row. You wave at Monty as he walks into his green room, curtains currently shut. You turn to ask Moon if he ever visited the Glamrocks. Instead of Moon though, you find a blonde woman holding a flashlight approaching you. When she got close enough you manage to read her name tag- Vanessa. 

It takes a moment for your brain to move past Moon’s disappearance. Maybe he realized he needed to do patrol. “Oh, hi. This is uh, my first night shift so I don’t think we’ve met before. I’d offer to shake your hand but..” you glance down at the box in your arms. 

Vanessa glances at your own name tag before saying your name, testing it. “Doing restock I see. One of the lighter night shift tasks for non-security. Unless you’re headed for the daycare. The attendant can be.. picky.” 

You tilt your head, confused. “Actually, Moon was just with me. I’m.. not sure where he went honestly. He was going to help me.” 

With a huff, Vanessa shakes her head. “It’s not very fond of the other night guards. Tends to avoid us. Though, it’s always been particular with most adults.”

“Well, I’m also the Daycare Assistant so.. that might help.” You laugh. “I don’t mean to hold you up on your work though.”

Something seems to catch Vanessa’s attention for a moment before she looks at you again. “It’s fine. I was just going to warn you. This place may be fun during the day, but it can be dangerous at night. Be careful.” She starts to walk past you but pauses. “The animatronics aren’t always available to help you.” She adds. With that, she continues down Rockstar Row and out of view. 

You stand there for a moment, processing the strange feeling her words left in your chest.

Chapter Text

Several days have passed since your encounter with Vanessa, and her words still cling onto you like cobwebs. Yet you still find no real basis for what she had told you.

Sun and Moon noticed your nerves the day after, but you assured them it was nothing major.

Tonight though, you have bigger things to focus on. A couple of arcade cabinets are on your list for this coming night shift. Technically, you could get it done alone, but where’s the fun in that?

You nudge the door to the Daycare open with your side, hands too full of tools. “Moon! You still in here?” Hopefully, you got here early enough to catch him before he left for his own rounds.

Something light lands on your head and bounces onto the floor next to you. It rolls some distance until it bumps into the desk and stops. Squinting, you realize it’s a plastic ball from the ball pit. You look up with a huff. “Couldn’t you just say ‘yes’ and greet me like a normal-“ Another one drops lightly on your forehead. “Moon!”

The sound of static laced snickering meets your ears. Moon drops down in front of you with a couple more of the ball pit balls in his hand. You raise an eyebrow at him. “What were you doing up there with those? Juggling? Because I think you need more practice, you’re dropping them all over your audience.”

Moon spins his faceplate. “Maybe. Or I’m cleaning.”

With another sigh, you drop the tools on the desk to rest your arms. “What, they make you clean each of those yourself every week?”

“No. A kid got sick.” He answers, picking up the one that bumped into the desk. You cringe, not needing any more information as you bend down to pick up the other for him. Thankfully, he seems like he’s just finished cleaning. It must have taken a while if Sun couldn’t finish it after the Daycare closed for the day.

You sigh, walking toward the ball pit to drop the one in your hand back in. Moon follows close behind, the bells on his costume jingling softly. “Anyway, I came to see if you wouldn’t mind helping me with one of my tasks for the night. I have to install a couple game cabinets and… well, they’re going to be pretty heavy doing it by myself.” You drop the plastic into the sea of colors before turning to face Moon.

He flexes the invisible muscles on one arm as he tosses the last two plastic balls alongside where yours landed. “So, you need some extra skill..”

“Whatever you say scrawny.”

Moon narrows his optics at you, watching you snicker at his face while you go to retrieve the toolbox from the desk. He creeps up and snatches it from you. “How’s this for scrawny.” He calls his wire and vanishes into the rafters. With your tools.

You groan. “Moon! I was joking, come on. Can I have my toolbox please?”

“No. But you can have this.” Something falls from the area his voice came from, and you fumble to keep it from hitting the ground and potentially breaking.

A flashlight.

Well, better than nothing you suppose. Flicking it on, you walk toward the arcade. You have to stop once or twice to check a map, but Moon corrects you from overhead before you find where you are.

The arcade is big. Bigger than you expected. A large stage sits in the main area, and odd, giant holes litter the walls. You glance between the rooms, searching for the unplugged cabinets you were told would be nearby. Climbing to the second floor, your mind returns to Vanessa’s words again.

“So, Moon,” you start, “when I met Vanessa the other day, she said you two don’t normally like the human employees. What makes me different?”

Moon drops down next to you and places the toolbox on the floor. He looks toward the offline cabinets, considering his answer. “You treat us well. Like normal people.”

You frown, that old sadness from the conversation about their room returning for a moment. “There’s gotta be at least a couple of employees that you got along with.” With a hand you guide him to help scoot one of the cabinets into place while you dig out the tools you need.

“Some were nice.” He nodded, pausing to move the game where he was directed. “Nice, but didn’t talk more than they had to. Didn’t seek us out after hours like you do.”

It makes sense but doesn’t make it much better. You nod in understanding. “Well, they’re missing out then.”

Moon draws a small laugh from you when he pats your head, squatting on top of the game cabinet. He watches you work without much else interruption until you’re ready to test the game. “Have you met the DJ yet?”

It takes a moment for you to fully answer, trying to make sure the game functioned properly. You only needed to really play through the first level, or as long as you felt you needed to. A Staff Bot provided you with a few arcade coins when you checked in. Your eyes dart to him for a moment, letting Moon know you heard his question. “Not yet. I know he hangs out around here though. Thought I’d get first introductions to night if we run into each other. What’s he like?”

“Why don’t you find out?” Moon points behind you.

Pretending like you were scared- though maybe you are a little- you give Moon a pretend scared face. “He’s right behind me isn’t he?”

Groaning, Moon climbs down from his perch to go move the second cabinet.

You finally turn, mouth dropping open slightly in surprise as you have to raise your head to make eye contact. The DJ is huge. A white spider-like body, teeth like piano keys, while headphones and a top hat sit on his rectangular head.

DJ lifts a large, gloved hand to wave at you, music playing as he climbs down from the hole in the wall he is half perched in.

“Ah.. hi.” You pause, a little speechless. “You’re much bigger than I thought you would be... It’s nice to meet you though.”

With a gentle nod the DJ points to Moon, then you, and tilts his head.

Moon peeks over your shoulder to address the larger animatronic. “The new Daycare Assistant I told you about.”> A thunderstorm sound emits from the DJ and Moon snickers. You groan. “Do you have to tell everyone about that?”

“Yes.”

Waving his hand in dismissal, DJ gives you a thumbs up and points to you. Then he points to the game cabinets. He raises one hand flat to touch his chin, then tilts the hand toward you.

Though your knowledge of sign language isn’t perfect, and though not all of his motions really are that, you know what he’s trying to tell you.

You laugh lightly. “Oh, it’s no problem. Just doing my job. You’re cool too.”

DJ points to moon again. He puts out a flat hand, palm facing toward himself, and pushes the back of his hand toward you as he touches his thumb and middle finger together. Then he points to you.

A burst of static comes from Moon and makes you jump. You grin and turn your attention to the animatronic next to you, who was currently about to scale the wall to leave the situation.

“You do, huh?”

“Go finish your cabinets.” Moon hisses.

DJ beeps softly and raises a pair of hands, as if to say ‘oops.’

With a sigh you return to the second cabinet to finish installing it. “Oh, don’t worry. He’s probably just embarrassed.” You smile as DJ plays a calm music beat for you. The volume goes up and down, so you assume the DJ is moving around the arcade while you work.

You dust your hands off and climb to your feet, tucking away your tools back into the box. Something skitters across your foot, and you look down.

A tiny version of the DJ stares up at you, a pair of cymbals in its hands.

“Oh! Hello there!” Bending down, you let it crawl into your hands and hold it up closer to your face. “You’re very small. Are you a baby DJ?” You smile.

Mini DJ clamps its cymbals over your nose lightly and beeps before jumping down and tapping its way down the stairs. It stops once and looks at you.

Realizing you’re meant to follow, you lift the toolbox into your arms and follow it. “Where are we going little guy?”

The only response is another set of beeps as the small robot leads you to the stage you saw when you first arrived. The larger DJ sits on it now, a large turntable set in front of him. He lowers his hand and the mini-DJ climbs on, disappearing up onto his back.

“DJ must like you if he’s introducing you to the minis so soon.”

You jump and turn, finding Moon sitting cross legged on the floor nearby.

He pats the floor beside him for you to sit. He seems to have gotten over his embarrassment from earlier. “Sit. DJ wants to do a show. Wants to know what you think of his new song.”

A private performance huh? Sure, why not?

The toolbox thuds against the colorful carpeted floor as you set it down beside you. You cross your legs too and give the DJ a big thumbs up, ready to hear the song. The music starts, base vibrating through the room and settling a low hum in your body. It isn’t uncomfortable though. You nod along to the beat, glancing at Moon who taps his fingers idly.

After several minutes of enjoying the DJ’s show for you, the song ended. DJ raised his front two hands in a ‘Tada’ motion. You clapped and smiled as Moon did the same.

“That was really good! I’ll have to come by during the day sometime for more shows. I haven’t even gone to any of the Glamrocks’ shows yet either.” You sigh.

Moon helps you to your feet. “I think they’d like to see you there.”

With a grunt you lift the toolbox, ready to put it back in the proper utility closet. You wave goodbye to the DJ and promise to visit again. As you and Moon walk, a conversation starts again.

“So do you hang out with the Glamrocks at all?” You ask, glancing at your robotic shadow hovering over you.

It takes a moment to receive an answer, as it normally does with Moon, but you don’t really mind.

“Sometimes. Not often.”

“Why not?”

“Schedules are different now.,” He explains, “I can’t leave the Daycare until closing. Most of them are charging when I get here during rounds.”

You nod. That makes sense. They just tend to miss each other. Suddenly, another thought comes to mind. “Does that mean you guys have never seen their shows?” You look up to see his face this time.

Moon shakes his head and drops down next to you upon reaching the utility closet. “No, the Daycare is normally already running when their first show starts for the day.”

He helps you put away the tools and watches you pick up a cardboard box instead.

Shifting it in your arms, you push the door shut again with your foot. “Well,” you start, “Since I plan to go to one anyway, do you want me to film some for you guys? I know it’s not the same as being there yourself, but…” Unsure how to finish, you shrug.

“Sure, if you want to. I don’t really care. Sun may enjoy it more though.” Moon takes the box and gestures for you to lead the way.

The box is labeled for one of the small food stops nearby. Probably some food restocks.

You hum in response with a small smile. The two of you walk in a comfortable quiet the rest of the way from the fourth to third floor. The only noise is the hum of electricity still on and Moon’s bells chiming softly as he walks. It’s odd to see him walk normally, being so used to him climbing things or using his wire.

Finally, you reach the name on the box: El Chips. You squint at the cheesy mascot- cheesy compared to the actual animatronics here at least. Oh well.

Squeezing into the back to reach the kitchen is a feat between you both. The sound of noise already in the kitchen makes you pause, meeting eyes with Moon.

“Is there… normally noise in the kitchens at night?”

An expression crosses his faceplate; one you hadn’t seen since the first night you entered the Plex. His blue pupils change to red. Security mode, you guess.

Moon places the box on the counter as softly as possible and climbs over it. He only pauses for a moment before he jumps up and climbs into the vent on your left, exiting in the kitchen next door if you have to guess.

You shuffle closer to the door. Despite knowing security is part of Moon’s job, you still are a little worried. The noises that meet your ears confuse you for only a moment.

A squawk sound, clattering, muttering, then silence.

With a heavy sigh you heft the box into your arms and push the door open with your side. Entering the kitchen, the sight makes you bite back a groan and a laugh at the same time.

Chica stands on one of the counters, pots, silverware, and plates scattered everywhere as she holds herself in a position that you can only assume she was trying to stop from falling off. Above her in the space between the ceiling and the top of the cabinets is Moon, peeking over the edge. He must have scared her.

For a moment, your eyes dart between them, then you speak. “So… midnight snack?”

The box is getting heavy, and Moon notices this. He slips down from on top of the cabinets and approaches you. His eyes shift back to Chica, ever aware of her presence in the room, and takes the box from you.

Something about the action snaps Chica from her startled daze and she looks at you both. She climbs down from the counter. “Well, you caught me. Guilty as charged.” Through a clucking laugh, she points to a shelf in the top cabinet. “I get a little hungry sometimes, they keep the good stuff on the top shelves. But I have to climb for it.”

You hum and nod, eyes darting at the mess on the floor. You’ll have to clean up the few bottles that spilled and whatever got on the cookware that had fallen. It won’t be as short of a stop as you hoped.

“You don’t have to stay and help if you have things you need to do Moon. I can come find you when I’m finished.” You can tell despite his earlier explanation; he doesn’t feel as comfortable around the other animatronics. You suppose you can’t blame him after what you’ve learned about how he and Sun were treated by staff.

Moon shifts his weight between feet and his eyes dart around in thought.

“…Alright.”

Slowly he places the box on an empty space of counter, and you give him a small smile. Instead of going through the door, he jumps back up into the vent he had come in through. You roll your eyes with a laugh as the thuds of his movement get quieter. “Can’t even leave the room right.,” you joke to yourself.

“He’s always been that way.” Chica adds.

“What way?”

There’s a pause as she decides her words and you pick up a pan to put in the sink for now. “Maybe it’s because he’s normally with the children or the staff, but I don’t think Moon has ever been entirely social with other animatronics.” She hums and tacks on, “Except for DJ.”

You nod. Dumping a few more things in the sink to clean after, you pick up a folded rag from the stack nearby. “Yeah. From what I know I don’t think previous staff or assistants have treated him super great. Parents too if I can gather anything from the day shifts. Kids are pretty different, less judgmental of them. I’m glad they both at least seem comfortable around me.”

Oops, you started rambling.

Chica doesn’t seem to notice. She bends down to try and help. “I’m glad too, they could use a good friend.”

Time passes in a comfortable silence. Eventually Chica has to leave before her battery drops too low. She apologizes that she can’t stay to help with the dishes, but you wave her off and say it isn’t a big deal.

It’s quiet in the kitchen. The only sounds are a clock somewhere in the room and the idle sounds of you cleaning. Your mind wanders. Thankfully, it doesn’t take as long as you thought it would to clean the dishes. You have to make a stop to laundry now for the rags you used, but that’s alright.

Finally, you are able to do what you came in for and put away the packages of food and toppings and whatever else was needed.

The rest of the night passes quickly, though it is almost the end of your shift anyway by the time you finish in the kitchen. You don’t run across Moon again that evening.

Sun greets you as you enter the Daycare for your next shift.

“Good afternoon sunshine! How are you today?”

You smile and give him a quick hug. “I’m alright! Finals are soon so I’ve been trying to study between shifts.”

On the desk today is a stack of colorful paper and foam stickers in a bin. You set your bag in one of the cubbies on the underside like always.

“What’s on the agenda today?”

“General crafts today! I got out what is normally the most popular, but don’t be surprised if you have to make a couple of runs to the storage closet.” Sun winks and turns to tidy up a few more things before the children arrive for the day.

There isn’t a considerable number today, around sixteen. The Daycare isn’t extremely popular as it is, but you always appreciate a slower day.

You make a few trips for more supplies as predicted and patch up a few scrapes. Sun is able to keep them fairly entertained for the most part. It gives you a little extra time to study. When the Daycare closes for the day, Sun retreats to his room in the balcony to put up his new pictures.

While you wait you put in your earbuds and turn on some music, humming to yourself. The songs help your cleanup move faster. The final task of sweeping the last crumbs and broken pieces of crayon approaches quickly. You dance through the motions when one of your favorite songs plays.

It isn’t until the song fades out and you pause your music to dump out the dustpan that you hear clapping. Your face heats up before you can even lay eyes on the Attendant. When you do find him, you stare for a moment to consider what you should say.

Sun sits on the edge of the balcony, legs hanging over the ball pit and swinging idly. He does his usual somersault into a dive and pops back out in record time.

“That was a lovely little show! I have to say I like your moves. What song were you listening to?” He leans forward to poke at your phone and nods at the selection.

“Yeah, well.. maybe next time you could join in instead of watching me do all the work yeah?” You try to play down the embarrassment with teasing. Thankfully if Sun can tell you’re flustered, he doesn’t tease you for it.

Sun waves his hand. “I couldn’t possibly. I don’t have any songs! We aren’t exactly licensed to play anything but the Daycare theme on the speakers. Plus,” His faceplate tilts in that teasing manner. “I wouldn’t want to outdo you with my fantastic dancing.”

The statement pulls a laugh from you. “What, are you gonna do the robot?”

He responds with a dramatic gasp and a hand on his chest, as if offended. You don’t dignify his theatrics with more than a playful eyeroll.

You return to the first half of his statement. “We don’t have to play anything through the main speakers. I can bring a little portable one and play my phone through that. If you want I can.. make you a playlist?” The offer ends up more as a question than a statement.

From the other side of the security desk Sun can’t reach you, so instead he opts to lean over and peer at you. His rays twitch in excitement.

“Really? That would be lovely! If I get one, I think Moon should too.” He taps the desk, faceplate resting in one hand.

“Sure, I don’t see why not. Would Moon like that?”

Sometimes it’s still difficult to tell exactly how they operate- how aware the other is, where the line between them is drawn. They share so many traits, as siblings tend to do. That’s all they are really, to you. An incredibly unique pair of siblings.

Sun hums, a long and drawn-out sound. His fingers stop their tapping and his whole frame stills for a few moments.

You start to worry if something has gone wrong until he moves again. “He says he’d like that! Some new songs for naptime would be nice.”

Grinning, you type a reminder in your phone to put together some songs.

“Yes sirs. I should have something ready in the next couple of days. I might be gone for most of the week for finals.” You warn.

Sun sprawls dramatically over the desk. The back of his hand lays on his forehead. “How will I ever manage! I could never go back to the way things were before!”

Before he can react, you slap something over his eyes. His movements pause again until the hand on his forehead flips to feel what you placed there.

“Did you- “

“I wanted to see how you’d look with googly eyes.” You shrug.

The laugh you bite back finally escapes when he stands and faces you properly. The eyes wiggle around in a way that can only be on purpose. He tilts his faceplate side to side. “Do I at least look more handsome?” He hums.

You can’t form words just yet, so you nod.

Sun slides his hand across the desk, just to the side of your hand. “Unfortunately, your attempt to make me more beautiful has partially blinded me. So, I will have to go without them.” He sighs.

Even after the theatre they can’t stop with the dramatics, either of them. But that’s part of the charm you suppose.

Through laughter you pat his hand. “If I must, for the greater good.”

He brings his faceplate lower so you can reach without straining too far. “I will stay strong, for us.”

The phrasing gives you only slight pause. Carefully you slip your nail under the edge of the adhesive and lift it off. You make sure nothing is actually left on the lens of his optics before doing the same for the other. Taking him to parts and service with adhesive on his face, or worse, the whole googly eyes would be a bit embarrassing. Not to mention management may not love the two of you goofing off so much after hours.

Either way, they come off with ease and you give his hand one more pat.

“The operation was successful.” You drop the little plastic things into the trash, pulling out your phone from your pocket.

Sun watches you round the desk and lead him to the bean bag chairs. You sit close enough that you lean against the side of his frame, but he seems to enjoy the contact and moves his arm for you to be more comfortable.

“So, what kind of songs do you want in your playlist?”

Chapter Text

True to your word, the next chance you have you use it to go and see one of the Glamrocks’ shows. Thanks to your employee status you get a spot closer to stage. You take a couple of photos and sneak a minute or two of video. After that you put away your phone to enjoy the show.

If you had been honest, you didn’t know what to expect. But they didn’t disappoint. Each of them having small solos through the thirty-minute show or getting the audience to participate. You even found yourself joining in a couple of times.

Near the end of the show Freddy spotted you and gave you a quick wave and wink. Laughing, you wave back then give a thumbs up.

After the show you slide backstage to say hello. Chica, Freddy, Monty, and Roxy are all behind the stage being checked over or getting touch ups during their ten minutes before their own schedules between shows begin.

Freddy is unsurprisingly the first to greet you. “Hello there Superstar! How are you? Did you enjoy the show?” He opens his arms, and you can’t help but indulge in a quick hug with the bear.

“Yes, you guys did awesome! I’m so glad I got to come and see one.” You nod.

Monty picked at his guitar, turning a string or two back into place for the next show. “Should come to another show if ya get a chance. Roxy got a lil’ sloppy on those keys the last couple songs.”

“It’s a shame no one asked for your opinion.” Roxy retorts, no real malice in her tone.

You laugh as it hits you how much these four are like siblings themselves. With a wave of your hand, you shake off the comment from the Gator.

“Nah, I thought it was great. I wouldn’t have noticed and I’m sure the kids don’t either.”

Movement to your left catches your eye and you spot Chica sneaking a slice of pizza into her beak. You raise an eyebrow in amusement but don’t call her out for it. Freddy pulls your attention back anyway.

He adjusts his hat and looks at your more casual clothes. You’d come on a day off and stopped by while running errands.

“So,” he starts with a tilt of his head, “how is your job with the Daycare Attendants? Are they treating you well?”

Chica giggles noticeably and you cut your eyes at her. What has she said?

Using a moment to clear your throat, you nod. “Oh yeah, it’s really nice. They’re both good company. The kids can be a lot sometimes but, that’s kids.” You shrug.

“I’m happy to hear! It sounds to me like you may be a quite permanent resident in the Pizzaplex. I’ve heard from the little DJs that the Attendants both really like you.”

Something about that comment makes your cheeks warm. Somehow hearing it from one of the other animatronics, again, settled in your mind how much of an influence you seemed to be having with the two. “Oh, I uh- “

A banging cuts you off. Your shoulders drop in relief- you had no clue what you were going to say to that. Probably something mildly embarrassing.

Roxanne bangs the wall space next to an outlet with her foot. Apparently whatever she was holding wouldn’t turn on.

“Kicking it won’t help.” Monty snorts. He only receives a glare in response as she tugs the plug out of the wall.

With a tired but fond expression, Freddy sighs. “We will have to leave soon, but it was lovely to see you Superstar.”

“You too! It’s great to see everyone.” You nod and smile. Then an idea occurs to you. “Actually, if you guys are okay with it, could I get a group photo? I have a friend who would love to see it I think.”

To your delight they agree- though some a little more reluctantly than others. Quickly you snap a photo and bid them goodbye.

On your walk out of the building you look back at the photo. You stand in the center, Freddy on your right with an arm around your shoulder. Chica stands on his other side, making a heart with her thumb and finger. On your right Monty makes a rock and roll sign while Roxy gives the camera a simple wink.

This was definitely going to be printed and kept in your wallet.

You push the Daycare door open, greeting Sun. In your bag today you have a few books you don’t need anymore that you know the kids will like. As you take them to the shelf in the corner you fill him in. “I went to one of the shows like I told you guys I would! Took a few pictures and videos to show you, and I got a really cute picture with the four of them before I left.”

Sun hums and taps his fingers together. His rays do that little spin they do when he’s excited. “Oh, please share! Is that why you’re extra early today Sunshine?” He leaned over to see the new books you brought in, nodding his approval.

“What, I have to have a reason to come spend extra time here?” You tease. “But yeah, just a little bit. Wanted to make sure you had enough time to see them before we open for the day you know?”

Slipping your phone out of your pocket, the camera roll is still open when you turn it on.

Music blares from the speaker as the first video plays and you have to quickly turn it down before you turn the screen to Sun.

He watches in awe, eventually humming along when he catches the tune. His eyes don’t leave the screen as you scroll the next video or two and give him a chance to look at the pictures. At the group photo you took Sun lets out a soft ‘aw’ and nods. “That’s so wonderful! I’m glad you had such a good time Sunshine! Thank you for letting me see a little bit of the show!”

You smile and pat the side of his faceplate. “It’s no problem. I hate that you guys are stuck in here so much, but.. I guess I can understand they don’t want the children unattended.” With a small shrug, you tuck your phone away again.

Now that was done it was time to prep the daycare to open. Today Sun had picked out some washable markers and a whiteboard. It wasn’t often that he did any sort of little lessons, but keeping the kids’ brains active was good. Sun knew how to make it fun anyway.

The day passed idly, after a few spelling and math lessons. Sun was happy to answer any questions or gently correct any mistakes. You jumped in to help when you needed to. As naptime arrived you helped to put the children to sleep. Maybe this was a good time to clean up the boys from the eventual marker mess the children made on Sun before naptime.

Moon was covered in graffiti of scribbles and little drawings. He ignored them until all of the children were asleep. Sitting down near the security desk, he huffed in annoyance.

“Not as fond of the impromptu art project huh?” You drop softly to sit next to him as he shakes his head.

“Not particularly.” He rubbed at a drawing on his forearm.

You point at the drawings. “Do the kids draw on you?”

A quiet pause.

“No.”

“What if I did?” The question is a gentle tease but still genuine. The two of you have been together enough that it would not surprise you if Moon dwelled on how Sun gets more activity with the children.

A snort leaves Moon’s faceplate. “That would be ridiculous.”

Standing, you walk back to the other side of the desk for a pack of wipes before returning. You keep your voice soft. “Either way, you know these kids love you right? Both of you.”

Gently you reach for Moon’s hand and pull it toward you to clean. If he didn’t want it you wouldn’t be able to make him do what he didn’t want to.

It’s difficult to see clearly in the lowlight, but Moon guides you to any missed spots. “Sun is pouting about his art being erased.” He snickers.

“Look at it this way.” You offer, “This means he can get even more art done later. You know what would be kinda cool for you Moon? Glow in the dark… paint? Do they make markers that do that?”

Moon nods. “Blacklight or fluorescent markers are more common. But yes.”

A mental note is made to buy some for him later.

Naptime ends and the kids wake, and you still haven’t seen their transformation yet. It’s not as annoying as it was at first- they’ll show you when they’re ready and you trust them. Sun passes out a small snack for the children and free play begins. By the time the daycare closes for the day only one child visited timeout for throwing things. At least he apologized after.

Some time is left between the end of cleaning and closing for the day, meaning you get to bother Sun for a while longer. To his annoyance and your amusement, you have found a bag of rubber bands.

You sit cross legged with the bag in your lap, trying to shoot a band at the empty water bottle you set against a wall. Half the bag had emptied and while hitting it, somehow it hadn’t fallen.

To your right Sun sits playing with a small puzzle toy. He huffs when a rubber band hits his chest plate. “Yes sunshine?”

“I’m bored.” You whine, laying on your back and playing with the band hanging on your finger.

“Well,” he hums, “you could pick up the rubber bands you’ve sent all over the daycare.” Though he is only half joking you know the mess bothers him.

It would be something to do at least. You should join one of the little drawing sessions he does sometimes.

You respond with a dramatic sigh. “I suppose, if there’s nothing else to do.”

“You could always come join me.” Sun offers.

Why hadn’t you thought of that.

After picking up the rubber bands and putting them away, and kicking the bottle over for your own satisfaction, you join Sun at one of the little tables that the children use. Looking at the way Sun has to squat and bend over just to sit in the tiny chair always made you laugh. “You know, you don’t have to use the chair. We’re both big enough that I think we can just sit on the floor and be fine.” He simply dismisses it as always, telling you it’s bad manners. Whether he keeps it up as a joke or actually thinks you can’t sit on the floor, you don’t really know.

A few extra papers and drawing utensils lay on the table. Slipping your phone from your pocket, you turn on Sun’s new playlist for the first time and slip him a proud smile.

Sun gasps and pauses to look at your phone as if to make sure. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Yep! I hope you enjoy buddy, making the playlist was super fun. Next dayshift I have I can bring that little speaker, give you and Moon a chance to play something different. Our little secret.”

A calm lapse in conversation settles as you pull a paper toward you and decide on what to draw. You may not be Claude Monet, but you can make a decent little doodle when you want to.

The next song has you tapping your foot softly. Curiosity gets the better of you and you lean to see what Sun is making, but he slaps a hand over it. With how tall he is, he only needs one hand to do so.

“No peeking!” He jabs playfully. “You’ll see when I’m finished!”

You purse your lips then nod. “Then you can’t look at mine until I’m done either, how’s that?”

Sun’s faceplate spins once and the little noise he makes confirms your suggestion.

With the deal made you shift to better hide the paper. Now you really want it to look nice. It hadn’t occurred until now that Sun will probably keep this, and you at least want it to look nice.

After a few more minutes you set down the colored pencil in your hand, satisfied. Sun isn’t quite finished, so you flip over your paper and listen to the music until he finishes.

Tapping on your arm makes you open your eyes. “You done Picasso?”

His voice box lets out a laugh and he nods.

“Show each other on three?”

You nod.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

At the same time, you flip over your now traded drawings.

Breath catches in your throat as you take in what he’s drawn. It’s you, between him and Moon. And it’s.. so well-drawn. Though you suppose you shouldn’t be surprised. “Sun, this is…” You shake your head and look up to meet his optics. “It’s so pretty. I can keep this, right?”

Sun chuckles and nods, patting your hand gently. “Of course, Sunshine. Moon and I thought, since we can’t give you a picture of all three of us, this was close enough, yeah?”

You nod quickly. This was going somewhere special.

“I take it mine is going on the hall of fame?”

“Oh of course!” He beams. “Putting it front and center! It looks so lovely! Thank you Sunshine!” Leaning over with his long frame, he pulls you into a soft hug.

“I do want to snag a selfie with each of you now though. Maybe I can do some editing.” You laugh as you pick up your phone.

Sun hums and rests his faceplate on your head playfully for the photo. “I think I would like that.”

It takes some time to locate Moon on your next night shift. While you search for him you continue to do your job. The next task on your list is to check the bathrooms. You dig through an employee closet and find the boxes. It passes your mind that it will be pretty annoying if you have barely any refills to do after carrying this box around for a while.

You check the map to see where all the bathrooms are and grab what looks to be enough. At least the box isn’t too terribly heavy. You close the door and turn, almost slamming your face right into Moon’s faceplate.

“Moon!” You gasp and lean back with your hand on your chest. “You scared me.. Where have you been?”

Moon spins his faceplate and jumps down from where he had been hanging from. “Went to do patrols. Must have missed you.”

Shrugging, you tuck the box under your arm. It’s happened once before, and to be fair, you were running a little later than normal tonight anyhow.

“Makes sense. I have to check some bathrooms. Wanna come with or do you have other security guy things to do?”

With a nod, Moon calls his wire and hangs above you. He follows along, poking at the contents of the box.

You check the bathrooms on this floor. Most of them don’t need much restock except one. When you exit you roll your eyes at Moon, who is hanging loosely on the wire and has ‘died of boredom’ according to him. In response you tug at his hat as if you’ll take it off. He doesn’t find the image as funny.

Finally, the bathrooms are done, and you tuck the box into the nearest employee closet. With your hands free you pull out your phone and open the camera app. “Selfie time?”

Moon releases a sigh that fades into static. “I can’t. Sorry Moonlight.” He gently lowers your wrist.

The nickname gives you pause enough that you don’t resist. Then your mind catches up. You would be glad it was dim enough to hide your embarrassment if you didn’t also know that Moon could read your vitals well enough to know.

“No, I know,” you reassure him, “I wasn’t going to use the flash. That would probably hurt. I was thinking we could just use the light from one of the neon signs, you know?”

For a moment you worry he’ll still say no, but then he nods. “Alright. Just not too close.”

You walk toward one of the signs nearby until he decides to stop and waits for you to take the photo. A weight falls onto your shoulder, and you realize it’s his hand. It squeezes gently, and you take the photo.

It looks just as nice as Sun’s. You’ll probably print both of these as well.

Tucking your phone back into your pocket, you step back to look at him. “What do you wanna do now? I think my last thing for the night is in the daycare, so if you’re done we can head back together.”

Moon nods. Instead of calling his wire he decides to just walk with you as you talk and show him the footage from the Glamrock show.

Both of you have just reached the Entrance to the Daycare Pickup area when Moon stops.

Confusion crosses your face. “What’s up?” You look at him standing eerily still. His head ticks to the side once, then his eyes change- blue pupils turn red.

“What? Moon, what are you sensing?”

Slowly, Moon turns back the way you had both come. “I just got a motion alert from a Staff Bot..”

“Well let’s go check it out. Come on.”

You job after him away from the Daycare, searching for anything off from what you normally see. It’s harder to tell with the lights dimmed. So focused on making anything out, you nearly run into Moon when he’s stopped again.

“It was around here..” His hands twitch and he seems unsettled.

Taking a second look, you finally notice something odd on the floor near the wall. You walk over to pick it up. It looks like… you aren’t sure. Something electronic.

In the corner of your eye motion catches your attention.

A pair of very human green eyes look back at you.

Before you can alert Moon the figure shoves you, but that alerts him anyway. You fall back. As they jump up to run you roll and reach for their ankle, but they block you with a swift kick and swipe up the object.

Moon is on them in seconds. They scramble against him and kick a foot against his chest just enough to make room, and they swing their arm up. A crack and a large burst of static reach your ears as he reels back. That can’t be good.

You jump to your feet to grab the intruder when Moon loses his grip. They are a few steps ahead but don’t leave the room before you catch up. Grabbing at the jacket, their mask, whatever you can grab.

Instead of continuing to pull forward they suddenly push back. You stumble from the change and are shoved harshly into the corner of the nearby vending machine. Your cheek collides with the metal.

The breath almost leaves you and you see stars for a moment. By the time you regain yourself the person has vanished.

Groaning, you lean forward. Your back would definitely hurt for a while, and you could feel the headache. After you blink away the last of the blurring in your vision, you turn and sprint back toward Moon.

Choosing between Moon and the intruder was.. hard. You didn’t know which one management would be more concerned with. But anything stolen could probably be tracked or replaced. For less than a new Daycare attendant surely.

“Moon! Moon, are you okay?!”

Moon is still where you had left him when you reach him. One hand clawing into the patterned carpet and the other over the left side of his faceplate. His hat is crooked. You can hear him making small grunts of discomfort, but he doesn’t answer.

“I need to see how bad it is Moon. Can I look?” You reach up to the hand on his face, the other gently lifting his face up to see him better. There is hardly any fight when you pull his hand. Not a great sign.

Neither is what you see underneath his hand.

The side of his face is dented, the glass over his eye cracked. A little of what you guess is oil drips down his face from the splits in his faceplate. You can hear the glass that fell out of his cracked optic tinkle into his hand as you pull.

This is not good.

“Answer me buddy.. can you at least still hear me?”

A nod.

“Can you see out of that eye still?”

Moon shakes his head.

You take a breath. “You can talk right? Just don’t wanna?”

Relief eases your shoulders slightly when he nods again.

“Okay,” you sigh. “I can work with that. I need to call a technician and take you to parts and service.. and I need to contact management.”

Together you both get to your feet. Even though he probably doesn’t need your help or would be too heavy for you to really help carry him, your arm wraps around his waist and he grips your shoulder again in turn.

During the walk to the elevator you pull out the walkie you had never actually needed before. You play with the settings until you find the right frequency and press the button. “Hey, um.. This is the Daycare Assistant. Moon got damaged a little and I need a mechanic in Parts and Service within the next couple of minutes.”

In the minute it takes to get a response, you dig out a cleaning rag from a closet nearby and wipe off some of the oil on Moon’s face.

“On my way! Head down and I’ll meet you in there.” A voice answers.

Moon lifts his hand and points to your aching cheek, then the cloth.

You lift your hand as you lead him into the elevator and feel your cheek. You grimace and sigh when you find blood on your finger. “I’m alright buddy, just a little cut.”

The hand resting on your shoulder slides down and rubs the soreness in your spine. It’s a similar ache to when you were healing after your first meeting with Moon. You sigh and rest your uninjured cheek on his chest. A big nap was in order after all of this.

The elevator doors open and you tug the animatronic along gently, following the signs for parts and service. The closer you got, the more you felt Moon grip your shirt tighter.

“Don’t like coming down here, huh?” You glance to check on him and he shakes his head. “That makes sense. It’s like surgery for you guys huh.. I don’t love the doctor either. It’s okay, I’ll be here with you this time okay?”

Footsteps approach the doors to Parts and Service as you do, and a figure rounds the corner. A girl with short hair tied up messily into a ponytail and wearing overalls over a T-shirt waves her hand.

You lift a hand briefly, but Moon doesn’t really react.

She frowns as she gets closer, noticing the injured state of both of you. “Oh my gosh, what happened? Come on, let’s get both of you checked out.”

Holding the door open, she follows you both inside and clears a table to let you both sit on. She brings a first aid kit in one hand and a toolbox in the other.

“Can you tend to that cut, or do you need any help?” She asks as she opens the toolbox and picks up a rag laying on top. To clean the leftover oil, you assume.

“No, I think I have it for now, but I’ll let you know.” You shake your head.

With a quick nod she leans forward to clean the oil from Moon, who hasn’t let go of your shirt. That’s okay. Until your done and can hold his hand properly, you’ll let him.

The girl throws an occasional glance your way just in case. “I’m Alexis by the way. I’m one of the mechanics, but you probably figured that out.” She smiled as you introduced yourself.

The split skin on your cheekbone is still tender, but the bleeding has stopped. A quick band aid and some antibiotic take care if it for now. Moon is your bigger concern. You shift to face him better and untangle his claws from your shirt. Gently you put his hand in between yours. He squeezes.

Alexis takes a step back now that the oil is gone and gets a better look. “Okay… Unfortunately, this isn’t something a quick buff or some paint can fix. Not enough to require the cylinder,” she gestured to the enclosed chair in the middle of the room, and you feel Moon’s grip tighten for a moment. “But enough that I’ll need to get under the faceplate. Would have to come off to replace it anyways. And it would be easier while turned off. For both parties probably.”

You look at Moon, who meets your eyes for a moment.

“Moon, do you want to be on for this? It might hurt.” You speak gently. He’d helped you through your injury before and now you’ll help him. “I know it’s scary, but I’ll be here. I’ll make sure nothing happens. Nod for off, shake your head for on. How’s that?”

A few beats pass as he decides. His shoulders drop slightly and finally, he nods.

“Okay, off then. I’ll hold your hand the whole time, and let you know how long it’s been when you get back, yeah?” You smile when he gives you another soft nod and leans forward slowly.

Alexis, who had been thankfully understanding and quiet for that exchange, stepped forward. One hand braced against his chest plate and the other reached around the back of his head.

It was hard to tell from the angle you sat, but you heard the press of a few buttons before Moon’s eyes dimmed, and he slumped forward. The sudden weigh increase made Alexis grunt in effort to keep him from falling.

You shift his hand into one of yours instead of both, using your free hand to help lay him down. The first aid kit is pushed to the side, and you climb off the table to give more room to work.

“Um,” Alexis starts, “You sure you want to watch this? Might be a little… weird.”

“Yeah. I said I’d keep an eye on things until he comes back on.”

She nods. “Fair enough. He’s pretty quiet most times.” She pulled out a few tools and got to work. Not paying too close attention to what she was doing might be for the better right now. “I won’t lie, and maybe this is a little weird, but this is my first time getting to work with the Attendants unsupervised. Got promoted and stuff. You said on the radio, you’re the new Daycare Assistant?”

“Guilty.” You hum. “Yeah, I am. They have me do nightshifts though sometimes. Get a little extra pay to do some after-hours stuff. Which is fine, it gives me more time to hang out with the boys. And yeah, he.. isn’t normally this quiet but I can’t blame him.”

With a loud click, Alexis lifts the faceplate off. She bends down to pull a box from another shelf and, bringing it over, looks at you for a glance as she sifts through it. “So, what happened, anyway? Shouldn’t you tell management?”

You sigh and nod. “I will after everything is settled. There was a break in, I think.” Absently you rub your cheek.

Alexis looks up, alarmed.

“It didn’t look like they stole anything, I think we caught them in time. Had.. I don’t know, a wrench or something and hit him. I went after them.” Sighing, you watch her lift out a new faceplate.

It’s odd, seeing their face but not on them. Briefly you appreciate the lights being dimmed enough that the boys didn’t have to switch out.

The faceplate goes on. With a few more clicks and presses and tools, Alexis steps back and sighs. She wipes her hands on the pants of her overalls. “Okay, I think that should be it..”

You nod, helping her sit Moon back up and smiling at his face good as new.

Alexis presses the buttons on the back of his head again. His eyes flicker to life and the mechanics inside his chest start up.

Moon’s hand twitches in yours. He looks around, then turns to you.

“Hey buddy, what’s up? Told you I’d keep an eye on things.” You glance at your watch. “Only took about five or so minutes. Not long at all.”

His faceplate clicks to the side, and he turns his gaze to Alexis who waves. “You were a great patient.”

Laughing slightly, you nod and help him off the table.

“Thank you.” Moon speaks.

“Of course! My pleasure. Here.” She digs into her pocket for some paper, jotting down her number to give you. “If there’s any problems let me know, yeah?”

You smile, starting to tug Moon toward the exit. You didn’t want to keep him here longer than he needed to be. “Sure. You were a great help, thanks again.”

With Moon in tow, you both take the elevator back up and return to the Daycare. You plop down in a beanbag chair to type up an email to management on your phone. Sleep chases you away not long after you press send.

The last thing you register is Moon lifting you to his chest and walking through the curtains on his balcony.