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“Freddy. You can’t leave me there!” Gregory yelped out. He was unfortunately stuck in the star’s belly. Freddy was speeding his way to that gosh darn… Daycare…
“I’m sorry, superstar. But you don’t have an official room in this plex that is safe to stay in and I can’t keep you in my compartment when I need to hand out cakes or pinatas.”
Gregory groaned and put his head into his hands. He really didn’t want to go back to that Daycare. He was aware that the virus was gone now, so the attendant that worked there wouldn’t hurt him at all. But, he was still tense.
“You.. You do remember I was banned, right?” He tried to say.
“I talked with Sun beforehand. They understand the circumstances were very bad and they wish to make a better impression with you. So you’re no longer banned!”
Gregory curled more into himself as he stopped trying to stop Freddy. It was only a few more minutes until he heard the bear knock on a door. Gregory winced to himself when he heard the door open.
“Hey there, Fredbear! … Where’s that kiddo you talked about?” The cheery robot said. Gregory felt a knock against the bear.
“In here! Can you come out, superstar?”
Gregory slowly pressed against the door, and he looked up to see the smiling sun part of the attendant. Sundrop made a little wave, but he turned away from them. He carefully put his legs out, one by one, onto the floor before he was completely out of Freddy’s belly, facing the bear.
“Ok, I have a couple of birthday parties to look over. So, I just ask you to stay here until I can bring you to my showroom for the night.”
“If I can sleep in that room, why would you leave me anywhere else?”
“Because no one would look over you over the day if you’re in there while I’m at a show. Sun and Moon can look over you here.”
He sighed and gave the bear a hug.
“I’ll see you later, then.”
“Bye bye!” Freddy petted the kid’s hair before he left the hug and walked away.
Gregory tapped his pointer fingers before he turned back to the other animatronic, who had a small smile still on their face. Sun got on one knee to face Gregory more properly.
“It’s nice to see you again, kid. I’m sure you know my name is Sun. But I never heard of yours. Would you like to tell me?”
He was actually a bit taken aback. Sun was so much more excited to grab him and rant, but now he was being a bit more like Freddy.
“Well, I’m Gregory…”
“Gregory! What a nice name!” They clapped a bit, which made Gregory jump a bit. Which they noticed, making their more energized face soften up.
“Hey, I hope you have a better time here than what it was like last time.”
Gregory sighed, “thank you. I doubt it’s that bad here normally..”
Sun opened the door and left it open for the child.
“Well, I won’t be able to really talk to you that much, though, since you’re here during my work hours. So, you can interact with some other kids or you can find a table to be by yourself.”
Gregory made a small smile as he walked in. He felt really calm with what Sun said. While the tall robot closed the big door, Gregory looked over the room. It felt a lot less terrifying with all of these younger or same aged kids playing in every corner. Well, the lights on in the room the first time he came here made it feel nice.
But this was just… more alive.
Gregory turned back to Sun behind him, who was looking at the many kids before looking back down at him. They made a little smile before they spoke to him again.
“I do trust you wouldn't need to do it, but don’t go behind that desk again.” They happily, but firmly said.
Gregory looked to the desk that was pretty close to the door -who actually had a person on the computer- and he tensed up before nodding quickly.
“Of course.” He said as fast as he could before running out into the main area of the room.
He didn’t want to think about what happened last time he was here.
He ended up on the underside of the playplace’s bridge before he slowed down and stopped. Sun didn’t follow him, but went to a couple kids at the plastic tables that were set up. Gregory didn’t really know what to do so he just walked to the ballpit and sat right before it. He continuously grabbed a ball, threw it to the other side of the pit, before grabbing another one and doing the same thing.
He threw about four balls before one of the kids -who seemed a bit older than him- in the ball pit caught the fifth one. Then a game of toss started between them, simply tossing a yellow ball before a voice Gregory didn’t recognize was on a speaker.
“Hey kids. Naptime is coming up in a couple minutes, so please grab a sleeping mat and pillow.”
“Naptime..?” Gregory thought about it for a moment. Then he inhaled sharply.
Moon was going to be around…
Gregory shakily got onto his feet and he ran to the entrance of one of the play places, and stood right next to it. He was out of view of the security guard at the desk and the attendant robot. His breath was uneven as he kept looking around him, waiting for the lights to go out before going for any generators.
He didn’t want these poor kids to be stuck in a dark, locked room with a virus killing robot like he was.
Multiple times.
He shook his head as he groaned and took a few steps into the playplace, looking up as the lights started to turn off one by one. He scrambled into the area and started to crawl as fast as he could to the generators. He didn’t have the best memory on where they were, but the wires along the walls helped. He found one after a bit and pulled the lever, but it made a big clunk noise. He tensed up and stopped breathing to listen for anything.
“Is there some kid in the playplace still?”
That was Moon. That was Moon!!!
Gregory gasped and clasped a hand to his mouth before he ran to a higher level of the place. He hid on a floor with a roof and curled into himself in a corner. He tried to wait out the time until Moon would normally leave to look somewhere else. But he heard shuffling somewhere close.
No no no no….
He hid his head into his knees and started to sob because he didn’t know where to go that was safe. What would Moon do? He was always able to avoid them. What’s going to happen to him?
…
“Kid.”
Gregory jumped and yelped, looking for where the voice was. But it wasn’t Moon’s voice. It wasn’t even Moon in front of him. It was that guard at the desk, crouched down in front of him now trying to fit in the crawlspace that was the playplace. The kid sighed and laid against the floor in relief. The rest of his tears started to absorb into the soft floor.
“Oh kid. Come here. Let me get you out of here.” The guard offered.
Which Gregory happily took.
He crawled a bit in the adult’s arms, who started to maneuver the two down. The adult took a slide to get them out of the place and the adult stood up, rocking the kid a bit. The two stayed there and silent for a bit while Gregory was held, before he recognized a certain zipping noise.
It was the attendant’s wire that they use to move around the air. Gregory instantly remembered the bad memories of Moon dropping on top of the roof of the playplace as he turned the generators on. He hid his face into the adult’s chest as he heard the robot land so close to the two.
“Who’s the little kid that was in there?” Moon asked the guard. Their voice didn’t sound as glitchy as the last time, but it was still that deep voice that had those threats that Gregory remembered.
“It’s the new one that Freddy dropped off here himself.”
“Oh! … Well … um … maybe take him to an empty party room and turn those lights on. He might be able to relax a bit by himself.”
Gregory sighed with hearing that idea. He didn’t really wanna be around the robot right now.
“Alright then. Let’s go, little kid.”
The guard started to walk, rocking Gregory along the way.
“Just a few more steps and you can lay down or do something nice for a bit. Alright kiddo?”
“O.. okay.”
The adult grabbed a door to the party room across the door to the Daycare and brought the two of them in. Gregory was set down on the ground and he stood still for a bit, taking a couple deep breaths. He wasn’t used to this thing of deep breathing, Freddy suggested it a bit after the whole Afton Virus situation and it was hard to remember that it’s gone. The guard walked to a switch against the wall and turned one light on -making it dim- and went back to the kid and got on both of their knees to face him.
“Well, kid. Do you wanna tell me what’s bothering you?”
He looked up to them, very teary-eyed.
“Am I banned..? I like this place, I wanna stay…”
“Kid, you aren’t going to be banned over this. I’m surprised you actually found one of those machines so quickly, but it’ll be okay. You didn’t even get to all of them and make it that big of an issue. If you were that scared of the dark though, you can always talk to me or the attendant then.”
Gregory’s eyes widened.
“Will.. will Moon be mad about this?” He sobbed out.
The guard shook their hands around in a slight panic. “Of course not. They’d never be mad at little kids like you.”
Gregory hugged himself before leaning into the other one.
“Ok..”
It was the Virus that was mad in all the robots. It was the Virus.
“Could..” Gregory looked back up at the adult. “Could I see them for a bit?”
They looked a bit surprised, but they nodded. They stood up and pat Gregory.
“Stay here. Moon will be here shortly for you.”
Gregory started to walk to one of the tables and climbed onto one of the chairs to sit in. He laid his head and arms on the table, kicking his legs under the cloth of the table. Then he heard the door open. He didn’t look to the right for a bit.
“Hi there, Gregory.” He heard, recognizing the deep and calm voice of the nighttime side of the attendant.
Gregory just lifted a hand to wave silently, keeping his head on the table. He heard the footsteps of them coming over before a chair sliding against the floor and stopping. They sat next to each other for a bit before the kid spoke first.
“I’m.. I’m really sorry f-for trying to bring Sun back, when it wasn’t needed. The stupid darkness made me.. nervous.”
“You went through quite a lot that night. I really don’t blame you for trying to do something that made you safe last time. Besides, I had worse kids who turned off all the lights not even because they were scared. They were just being a bit of a bully to the other kids that day.”
Gregory chuckled, “some kid being ruder than me? So weird.”
“Greg. Look at me.”
He did it slowly, looking up to the robot that sat next to him. They looked like an actual toy than the monster Gregory first met. Their eyes had a pastel blue glow, not that black and red one, and their teeth didn’t look as sharp. It made him smile with a bit of relief.
“You’re not rude. You were acting in self defense and you helped all of us in the plex, which is pretty cool.”
“I mean, thanks? You are aware of what else I did to.. the main stars… right?”
Moon’s face went a bit stern.
“You seriously don’t believe me, don’t you?”
The kid rolled his shoulders and turned his head away from the tall robot. Moon pouted behind him. They stood up and tapped the back of the chair that he sat in.
“Could you get off the chair for a little while?” They politely asked.
Gregory tensed up a bit, but he slowly got off the chair and looked further up to face the other one. He noticed a saddened look on the plastic face of the attendant, with their hands politely behind their back.
“You probably don’t know this, Gregory, but I have been considered… a monster before you even came here..”
“WHAT?! Why would anyone else call you a monster?”
Moon sat unto the floor, crossing their legs and Gregory came over and hugged the robot from the side.
“They’re jerks for calling you a monster!”
“But do you know what type of monster?”
Gregory looked up to the robot, whose arms were gently holding his body in a hug.
“They made you into a specific monster?” He asked, confused.
Moon smiled, moving their hands back in front of themself. They showed their palms forward to the kid, but kept them still as they spoke again.
“More like I did. See these hands of mine? I want you to watch them for a moment, then I'll tell you what kinda monster I am called the most.”
Moon moved their hands up and down, wiggling the fingers a bit, but Gregory tilted his head and stared at the hands. He maneuvered himself a bit to sit in Moon’s squishy pant legs. He didn’t connect any dots yet. Moon then quickly placed their hands on the kid’s sides, which made him jump. But he kept an eye on their hands like instructed.
“Have you figured out what kinda monster I am?” Moon asked with a wide grin. Gregory looked back to the other and raised an eyebrow.
“No.. Did I do the following long enough?”
“Of course! Now… the type of monster I am..”
Moon made a small pinch on both sides of the kid’s sides, which made a startled laugh leave him.
“Whahah??”
“..is a tickle monster!”
Gregory’s expression still showed his confusion, but he did have a smile stuck to his face.
“Wait. Then what are you gonna doHoO?!” Gregory squeaked out as the robot squeezed both sides of him.
“Ah. Just what my job is. Cheer little grumpy kids like you.” Moon answered with, stopping the squeezes and started to scribble their fingers in the same area. Gregory kept laughing sorta quietly while Moon started to tease.
“And it seems like you are the grumpiest kid I’ve ever met! Says he’s such a bad kid! And here you are, with all of your giggles~”
Gregory closed his eyes tightly and managed to turn his body around, but he was still sitting on Moon's crossed legs. He kicked and hit his limbs around while the other kept wiggling their fingers up and down all of his sides. Then Moon went a bit too far up, close to Gregory’s armpits.
“WhHAhAATAT!! MOVE MOVE HAHANDS!!” Gregory let out a belly laugh and made Moon freeze for a moment.
“Ooooo! Did I already find a ‘bad’ spot of yours?” They asked.
“MOHOON!!!”
Gregory leaned forward and fell onto his chest, but Moon stayed connected to him. They uncrossed their legs and moved them to either side of their victim. They stopped moving their fingers, but they kept them in the kid’s pits. It gave him a breathing break.
“Are you hurt, Gregory?”
“Noho.. I’m alright.. What… what exactly are you doing to me?”
“Tickles. Tickling. Do.. do you not know that word?”
“I never had someone force me to laugh like this…”
Gregory moved his arms to his face and hid his exhausted, red face. The other noticed how tired he seemed, though, so they just started to rub the kid’s sides. It made a couple giggles leave him, but he didn’t get into a fit.
“I have never met a kid who’s never been tickled before. Have you heard of the word I've been using?”
He shook his head.
“You haven’t, oh. Well, tickling is the action I’ve been doing to you. And just tickles are kinda used in the same way. Oh, and one more word. Ticklish. It’s a word to describe someone who can react to tickling.”
The kid made a chuckle.
“I wasn’t expecting a lesson while I was here.”
“And I wasn’t expecting you to be so mean about your achievements! So both of us were surprised today.”
The two stayed silent for a bit. The two didn’t move, except for Moon rubbing the sides of the kid. But it was only a half minute before the robot spoke.
“Would you like me to tickle you more?”
“Wait what?” Gregory kinda squealed out, dropping his arms to his side. Well, he tried. His arms hit Moon’s hands.
“I asked if you wanted more tickles. Would you be fine with that?”
Gregory stayed silent for a moment before he made a nod. But he hid his face in his arms again right after.
“I know you started this because I was grumpy or whatever.. But please don’t tease me like a moment ago..” He requested.
“Alright then! I’ll make sure not to tease you badly.”
Moon moved their hands back up to the other’s pits and they started to tickle again. He started to laugh instantly the moment Moon wiggled his fingers. Gregory moved his right hand to Moon’s arm on the same side and gripped it tightly.
“ComHohoN!! RighihiihIHIt thehere?!”
“Coochie coochie coo!”
“MooHoHonn!!”
“I didn’t think you’d mind so much if I tickled here~?”
Moon smiled to themself while they held Gregory as he laughed in delight. They decided to stay silent, besides a few chuckles, leaving the two with only the kid’s infectious laughter. Which definitely made him somehow so flustered, hitting his left fist against the ground and gripping the animatronic’s right arm with the other one.
Their activity lasted about a minute more before Moon stopped moving their fingers in a tickle manner. They rubbed the kid’s underarms before pulling back and getting off him. He giggled as he sighed, turning to his sides and hugging his pits.
“You feeling better, kiddo?”
He nodded his head, closing his eyes and sighing again with no more giggles. The attendant stood up and lifted the kid off the ground and held him. Gregory looked up at Moon and asked a question.
“Did… did you have to stop so quickly?”
“Aww. Kid.” Moon cooed.
The kid’s face burned and he hid under the other’s striped collar. They made a quiet giggle with the kid’s hair brushing against their neck.
“Well, I am sorry kid. But Sun does need to come back in five minutes with naptime finishing up soon.”
“Darn it.”
Moon rocked the kid a bit as they started to walk back to the daycare.
“Hey. I can guarantee that Sun would love to have a turn tickling you. They just need to wake the other kids up and check up on them a little.”
“... okay…”
The duo got through the door and it was closed by Moon’s kick. They waved at the guard that went back to the desk, who waved back. Moon set the kid down on the floor and started to walk to the napping area.
“I hope to see you soon, Gregory.” They exclaimed.
He smiled and gave a wave, making them wave back before turning around to go forward. Gregory tapped his fingers a bit before he walked to one of the nearly plastic tables and chairs. He sat for a while before making a wince as the lights turned on, closing his eyes quickly. It was a sudden change he didn’t like, but adjusted to it.
He laid his head into his arms, not knowing what to do.
“Hello♪”
He jumped in place and lifted his head quickly to see the smiling attendant over him. He sighed and made a wave.
“H-hey Sun. You kinda scared me.”
“Oh. Sorry, Sunshine. I just wanted to talk a bit.”
Gregory put his head on his hand while the other sat down on another chair, facing him. He tapped a finger against the table and brought his gaze down.
“Did… did Moon tell you about what happened during naptime?”
“Which parts? You wanting me back with the lights or you wanting more tickles?” They smugly said, but with an innocent smile on their face. Gregory’s face brightened up a bit and he tapped the table in a faster beat.
“Bo-both.. Look.. I.. I’m sorry-”
“Hey. Hey. Moon already said you didn’t need to apologize. I thought you learned your lesson!”
Gregory rolled his eyes and made a couple grumbles under his breath. “I still destroyed the star animatronics...”
“Gregory! Self. Defense.” They emphasized with some claps. “You should be happy to know defenses like that!”
“Blah blah. I get it..” He threw his head back and groaned.
“Hmmp! I see why you want more tickles. You really are a grumpy guy! And so much sass too!”
Gregory giggled to himself before speaking. “I got sass all the time. Get used to it!”
Sun gasped dramatically, placing a hand on their chest. They brought both hands to their hips and stood up in that position, before sitting on the floor and raising their arms towards the kid.
“Gregory. Come over here.”
Gregory gave an eye roll, but got off the chair and walked to the robot. He stood in front of them, trying to make a grumpy face, but an anticipating smile he couldn’t help.
“Sit here, please.” Sun said, pointing at the floor right before themself.
Gregory sat where they pointed, facing Sun. But they turned him around so the two of them faced the same way. They gently held the boy’s sides and pulled him a bit closer to their torso. It made him giggle a bit with the light squeeze on his own torso.
“Hey, sunshine?”
“Yes?”
“Could I tickle your tummy? I would like to lift your shirt halfway to tickle you better there, though. Would you be okay with that?”
Gregory’s hands went to his shirt as he considered the offer, keeping his gaze to the ground.
“I think I can handle it?”
“I won’t tickle you there if you don’t like that idea.”
“I don’t hate it! I just.. You won’t take my shirt OFF.. right?”
“I wouldn’t do that. Especially if you don’t want me to. I can just do it through your shirt, if that’s better.”
“..yeah.. I’d like that more..”
“Ok then. I’ll get started now!”
They lowered their hands down and pressed a finger into the kid to test the ticklishness. Even through the shirt with one finger, it made him giggle kinda loudly.
“You’re so squishy!”
“Suhun! Dohon’t say that-at!”
Sun smiled to themself and started to use both hands to tickle the other’s little stomach. Gregory lifted his arms up in response, laying them against the robot he already laid against. He closed his eyes as he laughed.
“You have the cutest laugh ever! I just wanna hear more from you!”
“I-hi-I’m nohot cute!! I’m coooool!”
Sun made another dramatic gasp and they started to squeeze the kid’s tummy again, a bit harder.
“HAH!”
“You are still cool, even with a cute laugh!”
“UhUHhuGh!! SH-Hut iHIhiTt!!”
“I shall not be silenced!”
Sun slid a hand under Gregory’s shirt out of habit and started to poke his belly button. Gregory squirmed and let his arms fall as he laughed intensely to it. They wiggled their finger a bit in his button and it made him squeal.
“SHUHUN!! HAHAHAHA!!”
“Awww, You have a giggle button! So adorable!”
“SUHUN PLEHEHESE!!”
“Come on~ I can’t help it, kid. It’s just so cute to do this!” They somewhat teased.
“I wonder if he’d like some raspberries?” They thought themself.
Sun never went with that idea, but they continued to tickle for a couple minutes. Gregory kicked his legs, hit his arms, and shook his head with closed eyes as he squirmed and laughed. But he never tried to leave. After a bit though, Sun removed their hands off the kid. He curled into himself and laid on his side into the robot. He started to get the last of his laughs out as he nuzzled into them.
Sun started to rub the other’s back slowly to help him relax a little. It worked well, with his breathing getting less giggly. It took a bit, but there were soon no more giggles. He let out one big sigh before he hugged the robot.
“Thank you, Sunny.”
“Of course, Sunshine! This was fun!
They rocked the kid for a couple minutes before they perked up to some yelling a bit aways. Sun’s rays went into their head in panic and quickly set Gregory down, before standing up and running to the ball pit.
“Kids! Kids!! Stop fighting each other!?!”
Gregory sat on the floor as he watched the robot run away. He got off the ground and went in the same direction. He stopped a couple feet away from the ball pit, watching Sun scurry through it. A couple moments passed before they picked up a toddler from underneath it all. Their rays popped back up - but weren’t fully out - and they had a look of relief.
“Oh kid. Are you okay?”
The kid said something that Gregory couldn’t hear where he was but he noticed the attendant smile and hug the child close to them as they took them out of the pit. They set the kid at a table and sat next to them, talking to the kid. Gregory walked over and stood next to Sun, who gave him a wave before talking with the kid some more.
“Now, just don’t go in there until you're tall enough. Remember that, okay?”
The littler kid nodded before they got up and walked to a couple kids near the playplace. Sun sighed and hit their head onto the table and kept it there. Gregory reached over and rubbed the back of their face plate.
“What exactly happened?”
Sun sighed again. “That poor kid was so short they got stuck under all of the toys and when they screamed, it just scared me. I didn’t know if they were hurt or fighting or or....”
They slowly stopped saying things around the kid.
“Well, they look okay. They might have been disoriented?”
“Maybe.. Most likely, actu-lllleeee.”
Sun lifted their head up and looked at the other with a giddy smile, their rays popped back out all the way. Gregory’s eyes widened in a bit of surprise, before changing to confusion, his hand still connected to the back of the robot’s face plate.
“Sorrehehe. I’m ticklish like youhohuu.” They giggly explained, pointing to the kid’s hand.
“Oh!”
…
“Aren’t you going to move your hand?” Sun asked.
Gregory smiled. No. Smirked.
“I think I deserve a turn too~”
Sun’s eyes widened a bit, but they relaxed a moment after.
“Just don’t do it too long. I don’t have the highest endurance…”
“Alright, Sunny.”
He started to tap the metal, which instantly made Sun let out a burst of laughter. They laid their head down for the other to reach more spots. He started to tickle the part of their head that connected to their neck and they instantly lost it.
“GREGOHOHORY!!”
Sun’s body shook while Gregory stayed in that one spot for a while. But they were in a more open area of the daycare this time. Gregory was about to move to other spots, but a couple kids came over.
“Sunny? Are you okay?” The taller girl asked.
“ChildREHEHEN!! DOHOHON’TT WOHORY!! I’MI’M OAKOAKAY!!”
Gregory turned to both of the kids with a smile.
“I’m just tickling them. Wanna join?” He offered.
The two cheered and came over on the other side of the table where Sun was. They lifted and shook their head at the new ticklers, eyes tightly closed with a yellow colored blush taking over their face.
“KIHIHIDS!! YOHOU DON’TT NEEHEED TO JOIN!!”
The two didn’t listen, only starting to push the individual rays on their head. If they didn’t lose it before, they definitely did now. The simple touch from both kids, along with Gregory tickling their neck made them start to squeal and squeak.
“SQUEEEEE!!!! PLE-HAHAHA AHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!”
Sun started hitting their fists against the table as the kid trio just kept tickling and pressing and poking everything on their head. The activity lasted only three minutes before the two additional kids backed off.
“I’m bored now.”
Gregory stopped moving and gasped at them. “But this is so much fun!”
“No. Can we go up?” The shorter kid asked the taller one, who nodded in response.
The two left to the playplace and Gregory groaned, stopping his tickles as well. Sun made a big, giggly sigh and stopped hitting the table. Their breathing slowed a bit before they brought their head back up, a light blush left on them. Gregory had set his hands on the table and leaned against the taller one.
“Are you alright there, Sun?” He asked.
“Of course, Sunshine. It was quite fun!”
They turned and hugged the little kid, who hugged back. They placed a hand in the other’s hair and started to rustle it up, which made him chuckle softly.
“Hey, Sun?”
“Hmm?”
“You have a sweet laugh.”
“Awww, like yours?”
“Mine’s not sweet!”
Sun left the hug and raised their hands in front of the other, threateningly wiggling their fingers.
“Do I need to prove you wrong again?”
His face burned a bit and he shook his head. Sun giggled and rolled their eyes.
“Ooookay”
The two talked with each other for a few minutes before Sun got up. Gregory stayed in his seat but looked up at them.
“Sorry, again kid. But I can’t stay with just you during all of my work hours.”
“Oh, well. I can live without you for a few hours.”
Sun made a short twirl, “thanks for understanding. We can talk a bit before Freddy comes back, okay?”
“Alright.”
The two of them waved at each other while the taller one walked away towards the playplace. Gregory tapped the table a bit, not knowing what to do immediately. But he looked around and saw a shelf with drawing supplies close by. He got up, grabbing a couple spare, printer-quality papers and a box of crayons.
He drew a couple random things on every paper; small animals, a few shapes, Freddy a couple of times on one paper where he even drew himself with him. But he got to his last paper and wanted to draw all the animatronics he knew. Freddy was first, like it was supposed to be. Then the other three main stars came right after; in fixed forms. He really did like the DJ dude. But they were too hard to draw. But the staff bots were easy! So were those wet floor sign dudes.
And he couldn’t forget the two who were taking care of him now. But he ran out of room on this side, so he flipped the paper to draw the two of them individually. He started from their circle heads and worked down for a while. He got to drawing their twirly shoes, but the speakers went off again for an announcement for the second naptime of the work hours.
Gregory felt himself tense up, but he took a deep breath. He was feeling better, and safer in this place. He tried to focus on the paper, but made a yelp when the lights went off. He stood up from the chair; but he stayed at the table, gripping the edge of it tightly. He stayed there, trying to slow his breathing, not succeeding. He looked around and saw no one very close.
He fell onto the ground and quickly hid under the table. His poor head was torn on feeling safe or not now. He started to cry and sniffle, hiding his face against the padded floor. He tugged his hair and curled into himself. He didn’t even stay there for a minute before he heard softened footsteps and Moon’s voice.
“Gregory? Weren’t you over here? Where are you” They lighty inquired.
It made him make a loud sob before covering his mouth, not wanting to wake some other kiddo. He lifted his head, getting to see the attendant’s shoes right next to the table. He closed his eyes - making a few more tears fall - when he saw the other start to bend their legs.
“Oh, Gregory... Can you come here?”
The kid opened his tear filled eyes to see Moon looking back at them, quite saddened, and offering a hand to him. Gregory crawled quickly to them and hugged the lower part of their body immediately. Moon wrapped their arms around the kid, lifted him into their chest - having his legs swing - and started to rock him.
“Deep breaths. It’ll help you. I promise.”
He did start to focus more on his breathing, turning his face out of the robot’s metal chest. They kept rocking him slowly, starting to stand up. But they stayed near the table, just moving foot to foot. It was a bit silent for a moment before the kid spoke.
“Ok… ok.. I feel… a little better..”
Moon turned the other in their hands to face them. “Are you sure? You look like you will cry again.”
Gregory’s eyes widened before he shook his head quickly, bringing it down.
“Don’t set me off…”
“Oh. okay.. I just wanted to be sure.”
Moon didn’t set the kid down just yet, looking at the table he had sat at.
“Hey, did you… you draw me?” They asked in awe.
He stayed silent, only nodding against the robot.
“Oooo and Sun! They’d be so happy to see this!”
“Come on… It’s not that great..”
“I think it’s great since you made it. Please don’t be rude to yourself like that, please?”
“...okay…”
“Thank you. Now, would you like me to get you a mat and blanket to sleep with?”
He shook his head, raising his hands to hug around the taller one’s neck.
“Let me stay. Please.”
Moon sighed, bringing one hand down to grab the drawing before using it to hold the kid again.
“Please rest, at least. Alright?”
“I’ll…. I’ll try..”
“Thanks, Gregory.”
Moon started to rock him again, but started to walk to the naptime area of the daycare. They started to look over the sleeping kids, and making very short, small talk with the couple of kids in mats who weren’t tired. By the time they made one lap around the place, Gregory dozed off. It made Moon happy to see the kid rest, especially having spent a whole night awake once.
They stood near the main desk after doing another lap, still keeping Greogry in their arms. They simply watched over the kids for a while, before there was a couple knocks against the door right next to them. They maneuvered the other to be held in one hand - with his drawings - to open the big door with the other.
“Oh!” Moon exclaimed, before going back to a whisper-like tone. “Hi there, Freddy.”
The bear waved with his smile and looked down at the attendant.
“Hey, Moon.” He looked down a bit more. “Aww. He fell asleep?”
The attendant merely nodded.
“Yeah, it took a bit, but he’s resting well now.” Moon happily said.
They lifted their free hand to the other, showing him what the kid made, waving it a bit.
“He made this during his time here. It looks really good!”
“Awwww.”
Freddy grabbed the paper and looked at the side with Sun and Moon, which made Moon notice the other side.
“Ooo. He drew more than I saw.” They pointed at the paper, having Freddy turn it around.
“I’m so happy he’s so talented. I can’t wait to see more.”
“Maybe tell him that when he is awake.”
“Yeah..”
He put the paper in his chest compartment and held his open hands out to grab the kid. Moon’s hands went to their side when they were empty
“Thanks for taking care of him for my parties. You and Sun are really nice.”
Moon chuckled, “hmmp. Thank you…”
The two stayed silent for a moment before Freddy spoke.
“Is something on your mind?”
Moon raised their hands and tapped their pointer fingers.
“Well… Do you think he can come back tomorrow? He’s quite fun to be around.”
“Of course! I do have shows quite often, so he’ll be here a lot.”
Moon grinned. “That’s nice to hear. Well, I hope the two of you have a good rest of your day.”
“Same to you and Sunny.”
Freddy rocked the sleeping kid in his arms as he started to make the journey back to his showroom. The attendant waved goodbye and waited until the others left the general area. They walked back into the daycare and stood against the now closed door.
The two parts of the attendant were already so excited for next time taking care of that little kid.