Chapter Text
As a child you were hyper aware of the complex relationships around you. From your parents, to your family, eventually to your friends and peers, everyone, it seemed, was so wrapped up in the idea of love.
And the strangest thing about love (or what you had realized in all the years you had observed), was that it often made us want to hurt ourselves in the pursuit of it.
Bit silly to you, as all humans are creatures of self-preservation. We go out of our ways to avoid things that may even potentially cause us harm. And yet, when it came to love- “arguably the most profound, life-changing experience we will ever encounter.” we run head first into the flames.
You had assumed you would have seen it coming then-
Unfortunately, the problem for you was that you were already far into the fire before you even realized you were being burnt.
You couldn’t even remember exactly when you started to have these feelings, when the first spark happened.
As you laid in bed at night, with nothing but your thoughts as company. You sorted though the memories to try and pinpoint where you went wrong, where you accidentally fell in love.
It could have been when Sun began to secretly steal single crayons over the course of a few months.
It went under your radar for the longest time until you sat down with the roster and counted them one by one. You may have even excused it as natural wear for the art supplies but the pattern quickly emerged: Never the same color twice, always in the beginning of the month and seemed to be going down the hue spectrum.
When you confronted Sun, he immediately admitted to being the thief. Anxiously jittering from foot to foot as he apologized excessively. It took several hours for you to calm him down.
Once you walked him from the metaphorical edge, and assured him he wasn’t going to be decommissioned over something so small (you weren’t even going to write an official report), you asked him why he did it.
You remember how he stopped moving, such an unnatural state for him after all the time you had worked alongside him. You had never seen him stand still before that moment.
The way he looked at you, his eyes were softer despite the way they were designed, still wide and off-white but their light dimmed as he shifted through the words to explain.
He had wanted something to belong to him.
Not to the Daycare, not to FazCo, not even to Moon… Just something that would be waiting for him once the day was over, and he was left alone- something that was Sun’s.
It was a similar moment with Moon.
During the working months when you were doing online schooling while also at the Daycare, you often studied at the Security desk.
You had an English class, and so you brought in a small collection of books that were assigned over the entire semester.
You had left them in a neat pile next to the computer.
One night as you were leaving, you realized you had left behind the most current assigned title and had to go back. Once you entered the darkened Daycare, you were surprised to see Moon trying to slip from the ceiling above the desk-
His coding made it so he couldn’t get too close, but he had found a small loophole to come in from above. His long fingers reaching for the top book, trying hard to snatch it while obeying the protocol.
When he noticed you had come back, he sheepishly hid… You never knew him as shy about anything before.
After that moment you started to leave books at the end of your shift. Classic titles, adventures, science fiction, anything you thought would interest Moon.
One night as you were preparing to leave, the lights went off prematurely- Moon was waiting for you at the door.
As you reached him, he had asked you a single question: ‘Why?’ … You told him he seemed to enjoy reading, and that you had more than enough books to share with him… then, he did something that still shocked you to this day, he hugged you and silent slipped back into the darkness.
They quickly stopped being animatronics to you, it was impossible for you to see them anything less than actual people.
A very peaceful year passed like that. You were so unaware of your own feelings that you were only struck when someone new came into the picture.
A co-worker hired into the Daycare.
It wasn’t her fault. She was nice enough- pretty, curious, even a bit clumsy.
-In another situation, you could have easily been her friend.
However, you could only now wish to push away all the hateful things you felt for her, knowing she did not deserve that.
It was another exhausting day, but to your delight you managed to find an open spot next to Moon during naptime.
All the children were already fast asleep, Moon had his soft music playing lowly in the space between the two of you as you passed the time by speaking in idly whispers.
“I liked the story you picked out,” you smiled, “-had a decent moral despite the ending.”
Moon reached over to the book at his side, clicking his claws on top of the hard cover to the tune of his lullaby. “Teaching them is important,” he leered over at you with a sly smile, “-even bad endings can be learned from.”
You wanted to tease him but something shifted. Despite his conversation with you, you could sense his attention was pulled away elsewhere. His crimson gaze occasionally flickered upward, over you, and towards the distance- to the security desk- to her.
A falling feeling settled itself somewhere in your stomach but you did your best to ignore it. You wanted to keep the atmosphere light. You were still not ready to let it slip how jealous you felt- scared of that ugly side of you. Terrified that if you spoke up and were wrong, Sun and Moon would pull away from you in the little ways you still had.
You leaned your shoulder against his, reminding yourself that you still were able to do that- have contact with Moon.
This small action reclaimed his attention.
“Your heartbeat-” Moon spoke up, suddenly, his gaze on you felt heavy as his static smile faltered, “…scared?” he asked.
It was hard to control yourself, to stop yourself from jumping away but you managed to lean backward and smile casually.
“Gonna clean-up-a-bit…” you whispered quickly while getting to your feet. (That had been too close).
You avoid looking back at Moon as you make a retreat, stepping into the open space of the Daycare.
It was getting harder and harder each day to just talk to them.
Any time you tried, you felt your body betray you, your heartbeat would get too high or too low, your expression twisted depending on their proximity- or heaven forbid if you catch a tender moment between them and her.
… It wasn’t fair. To them. To her… to you.
You distract yourself as you pick up loose stuffed animals from the floor, cradling them in your arms before placing them back in the proper bins. They eventually lead you to the crafts table.
As you approach the table, you, by habit, began to look over the leftover drawings.
Typical kid scenes: drawings of animals, flowers, families, and even portraits of your favorite Daycare Attendant, all thrown chaotically across the tabletop. As you began to stack them in a neater pile, you pause, noticing a drawing style that was too good to be that of a child. You knew who the artist was…
Sun had drawn the Daycare, which was typical for him. The children were all holding hands, and he was in the front holding hands with - … your co-worker.
… you were in the picture too, on the side you stared ahead with a smile and what you saw as dead, lifeless eyes.
You looked hard at the figure that was supposed to be you and pitied them.
You tucked the picture at the bottom of the pile so the urge to rip it to shreds would subside, pushing down the soft stab of agony that pierced your heart in the process.
Luckily for you, you managed to avoid any more slip-ups until it was the end of your shift.
The children were being picked up, and you had taken a full tally of the art supplies to keep you busy (and away from the security desk and her). You had just rounded the corner as Sun was happily watching the small group of remaining kids; you saw a rare opportunity for a moment with Sun.
You managed to ‘sneak’ right up behind him.
“SUNNY!” you all but cheered/yelled, making him jump. (You knew it was highly likely it wasn’t a genuine reaction, but you appreciated the theatrics).
“Oh! Sunflower! You snuck up on us!” he pressed an oversized hand to his forehead and swooned, “We fear we may faint!” and he play acted just that, allowing his body to neatly crumble to the floor dramatically.
Emboldened by his reaction, you puffed out your chest and playfully threw yourself on top of him as if you were a proud predator with a fresh kill, “Mwhaha! Yes! T’was I who slayed this here, Daycare Attendant!” you harked on in your best fake old world accent.
Sun giggled from below you and carefully began to tickle your sides. You did try and fight the laughter and his hands, but Sun was an expert, and soon you had no choice but to roll away in a stealthy retreat.
As you caught your breath and looked up, Sun was already standing above you with a helping hand extended. “So close, and yet so far~” he teased.
You smiled. He was actually looking at you like he had before. As you took his hand he brought you to your feet, and you let the contact linger, enjoying his subtle warmth.
It felt like you should say something to him, to help him understand what you were feeling but as you look at him, you see he was no longer looking back at you.
Following his gaze, you see your co-worker walking towards you both.
Sun immediately dropped your hand; your heart ached in response.
Blissfully unaware of your pain, Sun began to fidget nervously while smiling and greeting her.
“Oh my! Leaving already?! Starlight?!” he asked, not hiding his disappointment.
She giggled while reaching out and placing a hand on his arm.
You watch as he stilled instantly under her touch.
“Sorry, Sun-bun! I gotta go a lil’bit early today- but I’ll be back tomorrow, right on time! Promise!” she reassured.
You could hear the whirl of his fans kicking up, and to save him from the silence, you stopped closer to her and redirected the conversation.
“Great work as always!” you forced the pleasantry. “We’ll see you tomorrow!”
She nodded at you and pulled away from Sun as she began towards the door. Sun, probably jarred from his inactive state by her moving away, was now loudly shouting ‘bye’ while waving.
Once she was gone, he gave a heavy sigh while shaking his faceplate.
“Sun, you should know-” you wanted to tell him he had hurt you by ignoring you so suddenly, but as soon as the thought entered your head, you pushed it aside to say: “-ah, you should just tell her how you feel.”
You didn’t wait to listen to what he may have said next, walking back towards the desk in what you hoped looked calm rather than you sulking.
Cowardly, you hide from beyond the security desk for the rest of your shift, until the last child was being picked up- slipping out as Sun spoke to the parent about the day’s activities.
You could sense he was looking at you as you passed though-
The second you were far enough away your shoulders dropped, all the sadness, frustration and hurt you had bottled up for the day came rushing to the surface in the form of tears that welled in your eyes.
Thick, wet, tears rolled down your hot cheeks as you began to weave your way through the hallways.
“Runt!”
You quickly wiped your face with your sleeve as discreetly as possible. "Monty!" you tried to act chipper, but you knew the other animatronics suspected something... one always seemed to be around whenever you were clocking out now. Trying to lighten your spirits as you left for the night.
It appeared it was Monty's turn.
"Leavin' for the day, huh?" he asked, taking wide steps to catch up, stopping when he was beside you. "Uh... is something bothering ya?" he sounded uncomfortable, staring at your watery eyes.
You had a good relationship with the other animatronics, having earned a reputation for seeing them as sentient for awhile now.
With your best smile, you winked at him, "Living the dream!"
You may have been pushing your luck with Monty though.
Displeased with your blatant lie, you felt a swift poke to your forehead as he gently but firmly sent you stumbling backward with his claw. "Don't be a smartass," he warned as you steadied yourself.
You openly frowned at him and sighed.
“I don’t know what you want me to say-” you admit, walking in a wide circle around him and continuing on your way.
“Ya can start by bein honest.” Monty said, walking a short distance from behind you.
This time you shrugged, fishing your keys from your pocket as you let the silence settle.
“Ya never know.” Monty continued as you both reached the shutters of the main entrance, “-you might be surprised with the actual answer.”
You hated how he was trying to spare you the actual message behind his words. It made you actively angry that everyone seemed to be in on how you felt- if everyone was so smart then perhaps they could just solve it for you.
“Goodnight Monty.” you bluntly say as you slipped out for the night.
It wouldn’t matter anymore anyways…
A few weeks ago, when you could no longer ignore that they all had feelings for one another- you had put in a request with management to be reassigned somewhere else.
Your response email had come in that morning, alerting you that if you wanted, you could take a demotion to the main ticket counter. You originally wanted to think about it- but after that humiliating walk with Monty- you just couldn’t bear it any longer.
The next day, you sent in a quick response saying you’d take the position. The reply was instant, a congratulations email on the ticket counter role, along with something else you had forgotten about.
Noted on the bottom was a response to a request you had submitted MONTHS ago.
“Live Flowers Status: Permitted”
You stared at that line for what felt like hours. Now?! Now they were allowing you to do this, only after you resigned?!
This request wasn’t something you had asked on a whim, no, you had been carefully considering it for the longest time. Ever since you saw Sun drawing flowers in almost perfect detail, lamenting how he wished he could compare them in person- to feel them.
Moon too, in his stories that he read to the children you had caught him looking at the pictures of open meadows in such a dreamy way…
Plus. What would be better to give them, then something of the natural world that their celestial counterparts had a hand in raising.
It was your perfect gift to them…
Now you were in the employee locker rooms, carefully trimming the leaves on both of the bouquets. You wanted them to last for a bit, so you bought a vase for both of them.
One was an assortment of dwarf Sunflowers and white daisies, mixed into the bunch were vibrant yellow roses that were still tightly coiled.
The other was white roses mixed with lavender bundles and purple-white calla lilies. Both of them were beautiful, full and represented their respective recipient to a T.
As you finished the final touches on their shapes, you felt yourself crying.
This was it. This was the last gift you would give them. You didn’t think you could be around them anymore without your feelings getting in the way.
And you did want them to be happy, almost painfully so, you want their happiness more than your own- their happiness, though, did not need to include you.
You try to convince yourself it was for the best- that this was all you could do for them. Stand to the side, let their love grow and these flowers- like your memory- would eventually fade too.
Soon it was time for your shift at the counter you had to leave but you also didn’t know how you’d gift these to Sun and Moon without it being awkward now that you were clearly assigned somewhere else.
You didn’t want to have that conversation…
So instead, you waited in the hallway until you saw your co-worker trying to get to the Daycare.
“Hey!” you shouted at her as she was passing.
She paused and blinked as if distracted before walking up to you, openly staring at the change of uniform and two vases full of flowers in your arms.
“Hey-… uh, did I miss something important?” she asked, looking startled and confused.
You laugh away the question, trying to keep it casual. “Yeah, reassigned. It happens sometimes if you’re here as long as I have!” you smile, “Look. I got a favor to ask you.” you extend your arms.
“Can you give these to the boys for me? The approval just went through!”
She looked hesitant and looked at the vases and back up at your face, “…Wouldn’t you rather give them to the boys?” she asked, “I’m sure there is still time before we have to clock in…”
“No. Sorry. I gotta do first day stuff ASAP!” you lie, not waiting anymore as you toss the vases into her arms. “Thank you!”
You run out of there as fast as you can, getting to the ticket counter in record time.
… The job was different. It felt like busy work if anything and kept your mind far from Sun and Moon.
Occasionally you had questions from clients, calls to answer, the occasional fraudulent ticket even!
All too soon your shift was over-
Standing up straight you reach for the ceiling, stretching out the tense muscles in your back.
TAP.
Even though it was a pay cut, this job was at least going to keep you busy and distracted from those pesky emotions.
TAP.
It felt like you were given a cheat code at avoiding the ugliness you had been dealing with- in fact you wonder why you hadn’t done this sooner!
TAP.
You narrow your eyes at the strange tapping noise you hear around you. Looking left and right, trying to guess if someone was messing with you or maybe someone was lost? You see no one and try to ignore it as you gather your belongings.
TAP.
A sigh leaves you as you push from your counter and walk into the atrium of the entrance to see if you can find the source of the sound.
You look behind trashcans, cardboard cut-outs and anything else that could reasonably explain the sound but find nothing-
(Probably just a leak somewhere?) you think to yourself as you return to your area, set on just getting your bag and leaving until you take one last look at the counter; a single white petal was almost blending into the surface.
You frowned and reached out- perhaps you getting your bag shook this free from the flowers from earlier?
“…liar”
Startled, you look around wildly- the word sounded like an amalgamation of voices.
“Hello?” you ask into the open space ahead of you.
“-liar”
You look above you, a darkened vent sits open and you can barely make out two glowing red eyes.
“YOU LIED!” Moon hissed as he reached out from the vent.
You gasp as you watch him extend himself from the darkness, the light from the room making his arms shift from blue to yellow as Sun begins to speak in tandem with Moon.
“YOU LIED! YOU REQUESTED THE REASSIGNMENT” They howled at you- you had been caught.