Work Text:
It's late afternoon in the daycare, and the winter sun has already begun its descent to the horizon despite the relatively early hour. The first pickups are about to start, and Sun has been busying himself pulling the last of the group of squirming kids into their stiff winter coats. (You had offered to help, but he insisted he was much faster, and watching his robot digits fly over the legion of puffy coats, you have to agree.)
The children are chattering away to him excitedly, and it doesn't slow him down in the slightest as he bobbles from conversation to conversation, pausing occasionally to ask them questions. "And what are you doing when you get home today, hmm?" he asks a small girl. She's here with her brother, and Sun has been attempting to work on her perpetual shyness.
"It's s'posta snow today so Mama's takin' us sledding!" she says suddenly, spreading her arms out wide. (She looks both ridiculous and adorable in her enormous thick coat, more coat than child.)
"Hey, Mr. Sun!" her brother chimes in, tugging on his arm's exoskeleton like it's a sleeve. "Are you gonna come sledding with us? It'll be fun!"
"Oh-ho," Sun laughs, straightening up to grab another coat off the hook on the wall. "I'm afraid not, friends! My job's here at the daycare, and there's still kids to look after. Besides," he continues, abruptly gesturing sweepingly to you, "Starshine over here needs my help to get this place spic and span later today! Isn't that right, Starshine?"
You choke out a laugh, looking up from the arts and crafts table to wave softly to the gaggle of children. "Uh, that's right, we've still got a lot of work to do, I'm afraid!"
The kids give a whine of disappointment, cut short as the first of the adults comes to pick up and Sun turns his attention away.
---
The last kid was out the door ten minutes ago, and you and Sun are wrangling plushies back into the bins. "I think it's really cute that they wanted to take you sledding," you say, tossing a Bonnie plushie at range and hooking it into the bin. "They really love you!"
He giggles, rays softly twirling. "Yes! Oh, a part of me really wishes I could go with them, even just once! I've always wondered what the snow is like." He sighs, wistful. "I've seen so many movies!"
You laugh, a bit taken aback. "Sun, you've never seen the snow?"
"Well, we've seen it! On movies and in photos. But we've never touched it before. It looks so soft! And sledding looks like such fun. But I'm not allowed outside of the daycare."
There's a frown creeping in, plushies forgotten. "...wait, what? For real?"
"Oh, yes. Part of the programming, you see. Moon has an exception to do his security patrols, but even he can't leave the Pizzaplex." His tone is neutral, even light, like this was a rote fact he'd accepted long ago.
You're frowning outright, now. You knew, obviously, they were Fazbear's property. Nothing could really let you escape that fact. His face -- or a poor cartoon imitation of his face, anyway -- was plastered all over the daycare, in the gift shop, on the merchandise. He was a mascot, not a person, only an object without his own autonomy. That was bad enough, but not even allowing them the chance to step outside? "That's terrible."
"Oh!" He seems surprised by your words, looking up from the armful of plushies he's gathered. "...well, friend, that's not up to us! We don't get a choice."
It's a well-worn argument by now, after your months at the daycare working with Sun and Moon. There were certainly a lot of things they couldn't do, according to Fazbear and their team of programmers. You hated to see it, it was pretty obvious his intelligence was well beyond a simple AI. There was clear sentience behind those eyes, and you knew Fazbear knew it, too. They couldn't entrust the care of all of these children to one of the mapbots or something mindless like that. They needed someone thinking, reacting, feeling. Sun was his own person, but saddled with all of these arbitrary restrictions.
You didn't like that one bit. He deserved to have his own experiences, just like anybody else.
"...hey, I have an idea," you say suddenly, grabbing the bin of plushies. He cocks his faceplate at you, but says nothing. "If you can't leave the daycare, you wanna go sledding with me, right here, in the daycare?"
He pauses, considering. "...I'm afraid I don't follow, friend."
"Here!" You pick up the bin of plushies and run to the largest slide. You quickly dump over the pile of plushies into a mound at the slide's exit and look up to him. "Okay, so this won't be anywhere near the real thing, but it'll be as close as I can get it. Put those down and c'mon."
Wordlessly, he dumps his armful of plushies in with the rest of the pile as you run off to the naptime bins.
---
A few moments later, you've gotten all of the blankets in the daycare added to the pile of plushies, save for one large, stiff rug you've got thrown over your arm, and you're eagerly tugging on his hand to pull him to the top of the slide. He's obviously still confused, but he's laughing. "Starshine, what are we doing?"
"You'll see!" you say cryptically, finally reaching the mouth of the slide. You give him a once-over; he's large, you know he can fit in these slides, but easily? "You might have to retract the rays, bud."
"Will do," he replies, pulling them into his faceplate with an audible shff! You can't help but giggle.
"Okay, so here's the deal," you say, laying out the carpet into the mouth of the slide. "I'm going to get on here, and you're gonna sit behind me. It's going to be a bit cramped but --"
"Starshine, going two at once down the slide is against th--"
You grab his faceplate between two hands, pulling him in a little bit with a devilish grin. "Hey look, Sunshine, I know the rules, but those rules are for the kids, and we're a couple of adults going to get you a new experience, or as new of an experience as possible in here, and you can't have sledding without a little risk."
He's pausing, kind of staring off, as if in thought. (You're getting a bit better at identifying his internal conversations with Moon, and this looks like one to you.) "...Moony wants to try it," he says finally. (Yesss.)
"Great! Then hop on, and hang on." Quickly, before he can change his mind, you get yourself situated on the carpet, hanging onto the front edge as he awkwardly eases down behind you, long, gangly legs having to wrap around you to avoid touching the sides of the slide.
He looks down, gingerly touching the rug between his fingers. "Mm, Starshine, isn't sitting on this going to make us go...really, really fast?"
"Like I said, this isn't going to be perfect, but it's gonna be as close to the experience as possible." You glance over your shoulder at him, grinning devilishly. "And that means going really, really fast."
He suddenly giggles nervously, and if he was capable of sweating, you think he probably would be. "Uhhh, Starshine--"
But you're already wiggling forward on the rug, scooting forward to try to kick off. "C'mon!" He's too heavy for you to move him, but he pulls himself forward, mimicking your rocking motion. You can feel the rug start to give, one inch, another inch, until gravity starts to kick in and pulls you forward --
You cling tight to the front of the rug and Sun clings tight to you, both screaming as you rocket down the slide, faster than you've ever gone before. He's shrieking, and if you hadn't already asked him to retract his rays, you think they certainly would be retracted now, and the realization makes you burst out laughing,
You both land hard at the bottom of the slide into the pile of blankets and plushies, spilling off the rug and rolling through them. You steal a glance over to him; he's head over heels, jingly boots kicked up behind him and over his head, face down in the plushies. He reorients himself with a sudden gasp.
"Starshine!"
"I know, right?! Now imagine that, but cold."
He squeals with delight, bouncing in place. "That was just like riding the slide into the ball pit, but softer! And faster!"
"Yep, snow's really soft, so I wanted you to get the experience. Well, as much as we can. Fun, right?"
He's already up on his feet, tugging you eagerly. "Let's go again, let's go again!" He stops abruptly, bristling with a shake of the faceplate. "Let's shut the lights off this time, Moony wants a turn!"
You can't help but burst out laughing. "Okay, okay! But -- just a sec." You scramble off towards the supply closet, and it takes him a minute, but Sun follows curiously behind.
"Starshine? What are you up to?" he asks inquisitively as you pull out a bucket from the closet.
"I've got one more experience to give you," you say, hugging the bucket against your chest. "Be right back!"
Before he can protest, you're heading quickly out the doors, as fast as you can (partially in excitement, and partially to avoid being accosted by any staff bots or 'plexgoers). The staff (or more bots? You've never really questioned it) do an excellent job of keeping the snow cleaned off the premises, but it is indeed coming down hard today, and there's plenty accumulated already in the grassy walkway in the shade behind the building. It's cold on your hands, but you scoop up snow into the bucket anyway, doing your best to fill it mostly with the light and fluffy fresh snow before heading back inside.
He looks a bit distressed when you return, and even more distressed at the pink tinge to your arms and face. (Probably should have worn a coat.) "Starshine! Did you go outside? Oh! You look positively chilly! What were you doing?"
It doesn't take him long, however, to notice the white fluff filling the bucket in your arms. You hold it out to him with a grin. "I brought you some snow."
For a few aching seconds, he doesn't move, just staring into the bucket. Finally, much to your utter surprise, he makes a pained choking noise. "Starshine--!"
"What?" You're immediately frowning, lowering the bucket from between you, all of the worst-case scenarios flying through your head. Is he not waterproof? No, that's ridiculous, you watched him wash his hands just earlier today! Would the cold be bad for his circuits? That would be strange, most computer parts do better colder than hot. Is there some kind of programming limitation you didn't know about that's stopping him, and you showing up with this is just rubbing it in his face? That makes the most sense, given Fazbear's track record, but if they didn't even allow him to go outside it seems unlikely they'd add any kind of "don't touch snow" handling --
You start to stammer, worried. "I'm sorry, should -- should I not have -- can you not --"
But you can't even put the sentence together before you're being lifted several feet in the air, shrieking and kicking the whole while. "Sun!"
"Ohhh, our bestest-best friend! How thoughtful! How sweet! No one's ever done anything like this for us before, never, ever, ever!" he cries, spinning you so vehemently it's a wonder you were able to keep the snow in the bucket (or your lunch in your stomach).
You give a short, sharp gasp, trying to get the air back in your lungs, still kicking. "Oh! Sun! I'm -- I'm really glad you're happy but put me down!" Fortunately this time he listens, and once your feet are firmly plopped down on the padded floor, you hold up the bucket again. "All right, let's try this again," you tell him, laughing.
His rays are twirling with excitement, and it's with only a little hesitation before he plunges his hands into the pile of snow. Almost immediately he yelps, pulling them back out. "It's so cold! Well, we figured it would be! That's what all the movies show! But it's so cold!"
You can't help but laugh, passing the bucket over to him; he quickly cradles it with one arm, sticking his free hand in to run the flakes through his fingers. "Yeah. It's just snowed so this stuff's really light and fluffy, but it's not always like that." He gives a soft chirrup, clearly listening, but endlessly plunging his fingers into the bucket, giggling and now drawing with a finger in the flakes. "Sometimes it's hard, or slushy, or -- actually, wait, it's probably already really melting, Sunny, and we've still got to give Moony a turn! Do you want me to get the lights?"
Sun is giggling to himself, still running his hand through the snow before finally looking up to you. "Oh, right, right! Hang on, Starshine! I'll get it." He hugs the bucket to his chest, staring off for a moment to access the automated controls; the lights shut off quickly, leaving Moon standing in the middle of the floor.
As with most other times you've gotten to compare their reactions to something, he's not nearly as outwardly exuberant as Sun, staring at the snow, almost transfixed for a moment as he runs his fingers delicately through the flakes like sand. "...Starshine," he says finally, slowly closing the gap between you to rest his head atop of yours, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. "This means a lot to Sun and me. Thank you."
You quickly hug him back, wrapping your arm around his back. "Of course! You guys work really hard in here, you deserve to have fun new experiences too. Hell, Fazbear doesn't even pay you, the least they can do is let you play around a little bit."
He lets go of you to toy in the bucket a little longer, but finally turns his attention back to you, grabbing you around the shoulders and pulling you close to affectionately bonk you on the head again. "Thank you, Starshine." You can't help but giggle, giving him a little squeeze around the back before he lets go of you to turn back to his bucket of snow, plopping crosslegged on the floor with the bucket in his lap to be able to run both hands through it. He sprinkles some through the air, making a transfixed sort of giggle at his mocked attempt at snowing.
In the meantime, you start to gather up all the plushies into a pile again at the foot of the slide. When he's finally done appreciating the snow, you've still got a toboggan ride to take him on.
---
1 year, 21 days, 3 hours, 11 minutes and 56 seconds later {1734826316 [UNIX] >> Sun Dec 22 2024 00:11:56 GMT+0000 [STANDARD]} . . .
---
There's a piercing squeal of delight from the bottom of the hill as Avery tumbles off the toboggan and through the snow, Sun spilling behind her, head over heels. He pulls his head out of the snowbank and spins his rays in a flurry, showering her with light, fluffy snow.
"Brrrrr! A little easier on the left turn next time!" he scolds playfully, but he's quickly interrupted by a snowball to the back, courtesy of the other little gremlin running around. "Hey hey hey now, we can snowball fight later!" he promises over the sound of her cackles. "The sun's going down, and Starshine's still waiting for a turn!"
There's some complaining from Bailey, but Sun's already trudging back up the hill to see you, dragging the toboggan behind him. He scales the hill remarkably fast, even in the knee-deep snow, and he's at your side in only a moment.
The sun is just beginning to dip below the horizon, and the brisk winter wind is so cold you've even got him bundled up in a spare jacket and scarf over his usual hoodie and joggers. (Part of his outfit choice was, however, influenced by the knowledge you were going to go hang out with your friend's kids. "Got to be a good role model," Sun had said earlier, trying to pick out some outerwear he could actually fit into from your closet.)
"Hello there, Starshine," he coos when he reaches you on the crest of the hill, affectionately bonking his head against yours, and you try to decide if you should read that as a nuzzle or a kiss. (You decide on a nuzzle, since there was no typical exaggerated smooching sound this time, and you know how much Sun loves his kissy noises.)
He sighs and stares out at the sunset, looking wistful. "Oh, it gets dark so early, now!" he says to the breeze before turning his attention back to you, beaming a grin. "Fancy one last ride with me?"
You can't help but laugh, leaning against him. "Sun, you'll still be with me when Moon comes out! You're not going anywhere."
"Mm, yes, but these things are much more fun when you're in the driver's seat, so to speak," he replies, setting the toboggan down. Below him, the kids have started their own snowball fight in lieu of Sun's participation. (No matter. In a few minutes, Moon would surely be the victor of that fight, anyway.)
You get down onto the toboggan, crouched up and making sure to leave plenty of space for him to get behind you. He sits, wrapping his arms around you and leaning in.
"Okay, ready?" you ask, but there's a too-long pause behind you. Finally you turn back around, cocking your head at him. "Sun?"
"Remember that day in the daycare?" he asks softly, tightening his arms around you ever so slightly. "You rode down the slide with us on the carpet?"
You laugh. "Yes, of course. What about it?"
"Mmm. Your idea was great, Starshine, but you were right. It doesn't compare to the real thing. We like this a lot better."
He gives you a warm hug, grip tight and loving around your back. You can't help but melt into the touch, breathless and stunned, in the very best of ways. You drape a hand over his wiry arms, holding him affectionately.
Before you get a chance to do anything more than a loving murmur, Sun has already brightened up, looking out to the sky. "All right, Starshine, let's get a-move on! One minute and thirteen seconds before the light's too low for me!"
You can't help but burst out laughing again. "Okay, okay! Hold on...!"
And in only a moment you're barreling down the hill, the both of you screaming with delight as the powdered snow flies by, spraying up into your faces. Near the bottom you hit a particularly hard mound of snow and ice and bounce, flying off the toboggan and rolling into the snowdrift, laughing all the while. Sun picks himself up and shakes out his rays.
"Ohh! I'm going to be picking chunks of ice out of your joints for hours," you grouse playfully, pulling yourself upright.
"Worth it!" he beams, suddenly wrapping you up in a swift hug. He's holding you for only a moment before you feel something shift and roll above you and hear an eerie, villainous chuckle that is distinctively Moon.
You tense, but get no time at all to process what that could mean before Moon sticks his freaking hands down the back of your coat and oh oh hell oh god, that's cold!! He's cackling as you scream and jump away, trying to quell the icy sensation of his robot fingers on your spine. "I've been waiting two and a half hours to do that," he crows proudly.
"Augh! Deception! Lies! Trickery! That wasn't a hug, it was an ambush! Sun would be so disappointed!" you protest, still trying to shake the cold out of your coat.
"In cahoots," he states plainly, grinning all the while. There's a twinge to his face, and for a brief moment his head cocks at an odd angle and two rays jut out. "Sorry, Starshine!" Sun giggles playfully through their voicebox, clearly not really sorry at all, and oh you are definitely getting them back for that.
But your revenge will have to wait because Avery and Bailey have suddenly spotted the Moon-man, and snowballs are already hurtling in his direction. He lets out an excited cackle, hunched over and wriggling his fingers in anticipation before leaping into action and making snowballs of his own.
All you can do is shake your head in amusement, stepping back to get out of their firing range as Moon runs off to play with the kids. (You were right, you decide. He is most definitely about to be the victor, if that hurricane of snowballs he's just unleashed on poor, unsuspecting Bailey is any indication. But at least the kids seem to be having fun.)
After watching them for a few minutes, you pick up the string of the toboggan and start to trudge back over to their parents and the welcoming glow of the hot fire in the pit, looking to warm up and rest while he wears them out for bedtime. Much to your great surprise, however, you've scarcely made it past a greeting to Tim and Laura before Avery and Bailey come trudging up to the fire, snow covered and slumped with exhaustion. "I think we're ready to go home now," Avery says.
You can't suppress your snicker, feeling someone looming behind you. "That was fast."
He snickers too, drawn out and practically a whine, obviously quite pleased with himself. "Good aim."
"I can see that," you say, looking over the kids' splattered coats.
The kids are already hounding their parents, asking if you all can go out again tomorrow, while the snow's still perfect for more sledding and snowball fights. They want a rematch with Moon, and he's, of course, all too thrilled to oblige.
The wind kicks up and Tim and Laura get the fire put out as you all begin the trek back to your cars. You have work tomorrow but your shift ends early, and the kids are already asking if you can sneak Sun into the store with them to do some last minute Christmas shopping tomorrow afternoon before coming back to the park for sledding. (Probably not, you say, but you've been getting bolder with taking them out in public, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. The boys certainly seem excited about the prospect.)
As you wave your goodbyes to the kids, gripping the door of your car, a familiar hand settles around your waist and pulls you close. Moon affectionately rests his head against yours with a simulated sigh.
"It's everything we always dreamed it would be, Starshine," he says, "and more."
You laugh softly. "Do you mean the snow, the world outside, or being with me?" you tease, grinning.
"Yes," he replies simply, tugging you a little closer to plant an audible kiss on the top of your head.
Any flakes landing on your cheeks now must surely be vaporized from the sudden heat to your face. You swat at him playfully but lean into his hug, letting go of the door to wrap an arm around him. "Ohhh, you just -- get in the car, you big softie," you hiss, letting him go as he snickers at your flustered antics. It doesn't take you both long to get buckled in and on your way home, with a hot meal, a warm bed, and a cold but cuddly daycare attendant in your future.