Work Text:
Despite the lack of people during night shift, Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex was still an assault on the senses.
It was rare the lights were ever fully shut off, the place automated and roamed by robotic workers, a constant hustle and bustle even without the human crowds.
And today, it was too much.
You'd slept terribly, tormented by anxious thoughts that bred anxious nightmares, finding no rest in sleep. But you still had a job to do, and work didn't care that your mental state was stretched thin.
You couldn’t afford to lose this job, not when it paid enough for more than just rent.
So with a headache pulsing through your skull, tightness still gnawing in your chest, you clocked in for your shift.
There was a small relief, when your wondering gaze caught no sight of human co-workers, no one to bother you. Still, the lights grated on your nerves, and as you reached to pull down the brim of your hat, your fingers met nothing but your hair.
Oh, you'd forgotten your hat at home. And as the front doors locked tight as the clock struck midnight, your sunglasses too were out of reach.
Shit.
Standing there momentarily, you did your best to sturdy your resolve, your deep breath shaky. With a hard mental shove to push the gnawing panic away, you hoped the night would be merciful to you.
It wasn't long before that mercy was lacking.
A few of the overhead lights were having issues, blinking with an inconsistent pattern, more jarring than if they’d just been at their full brightness.
Blink. Blink blink. Blink. Blink. Blink blink blink.
Your headache worsened. Your surroundings became a blur, only focused on the lights.
Every room was bright, walls coated in neon light, with the sound of their constant buzzing.
For a moment, you shut your eyes, but kept your gait, a brief relief.
Until you suddenly stumbled into one of the wandering security bots, an alarm sound erupting from it, but only for a moment.
“Watch where you are going, it is unsafe to work without looking.”
Overwhelmed with the suddenness of it all, you simply just nodded, words lost in your mouth as it watched you before rolling away.
Your heart was still pounding in your chest, breaths short, the sound of neon lights buzzing all around you like a swarm of insects. You turned your gaze to look away, but they coated every wall with bright colorful light, the floor the only safe place.
In and out. You focused on breathing, boring a hole into the carpeted floor with your gaze, but neon still assaulted the edges of your vision.
The light above you flickered, breaking your concentration and overloading your mind with stimulation, your head filling with static as your breaths shortened once more.
A quiet whimper escaped your throat.
Too much. It was all too much. The lights were too much, too bright, too loud. You needed some relief.
You couldn't let yourself have a meltdown at work.
Moving on instinct, you bolted out of the main lobby, to the one place you knew would be nice and dark and quiet for the night.
The Superstar Daycare.
You only had to tolerate a little more before you got there.
You grew antsy in the elevator, the sounds and sensations grinding on your nerves.
Just a little longer.
The lobby area of it was already darker than the rest, and despite the temptation, you resisted the slide into fun, already getting a warning the one time you tried it. Your feet moved quickly down the steps, nearly stumbling in your haste, but stayed on your feet.
It wasn't long before the tall doors stood before you.
With a quick swipe of your security badge, it unlocked, giving way as you pushed them open, and stepped into the comforting darkness inside.
The daycare doors clicked close behind you, as you allowed yourself to slump to the floor.
It was nice in there, when the lights were out. The ceiling was illuminated with glow in the dark stars, the floor was soft and padded, and the daycare was quiet.
Maybe you'd finally have a moment of peace, be able to recollect yourself enough to finish your shift. You didn't want to breakdown and cry in front of the animatronics.
Your moment of peace was broken however, as you heard the sound of jingling bells, and quickly sat upright. You hadn't forgotten about the attendant, but you had hoped he would leave you alone, or at least be gone on his rounds long enough for you to recuperate.
Not wanting to deal with him, you quickly got up, beelining it for the door as the jingling got closer. Pushing against it, you found it locked, your breath stuttering for a moment.
It was fine, you'd heard it click behind you when you entered, so it must’ve just auto-locked itself.
Taking a second to breathe in and steady your breaths, you took a few steps to the card reader, swiping your security card to open it up.
DENIED.
No, that, that must've been a mistake.
You tried again.
DENIED.
You'd lost control of your breathing, now rapid and uneven, as you tried again and again and again, before large hands suddenly grasped your shoulders, making you freeze.
“Having card issues?”
Words got tied up in your throat as you tried to answer him, as you felt his fingers flex. You knew he was looking right at you, your shadow visible on the wall as his eyes illuminated your figure. You didn’t turn around to face him though, not wanting him to see your panicked face and mock you.
“Don't worry, Moon will help you out. You just have to win a little game.”
Fuck, you should've known this was his fault. Of course he wanted to fuck around and play with you when no one was there to stop or reprimand him but you.
For a moment, you considered making a break for the light switch, but seeing as he was already right on top of you, hands on you, you knew it would only make things worse.
“Just a little game of hide and go seek tag. I’ll count, you hide. If I catch you before ten minutes is up, well…”
He only giggled, and you wanted to cry, knowing that no matter what he had in mind, getting caught meant he wouldn't let you leave.
“Ready?”
He let go of your shoulders, taking a step back.
“One… two… three…”
You bolted, not even glancing behind, making sure he never saw the look on your face as you clambered inside one of the nearest playstructures. The mats were clean, thankfully, not wanting to imagine how much worse you’d feel if they weren’t.
At some point, you realized he'd stopped counting, as his bells rung somewhere nearby, the sounds of movement and shuffling coming from unknown places. Your breath hitched as you realized you couldn’t see where you were going, or where he was, the sound of him moving around and looking for you all too much, and with a malicious giggle from somewhere beneath you, you broke.
You couldn’t do this.
You collapsed, curling into a tight ball, and started to cry.
“Starbite?”
His usual teasing tone was gone, replaced with what sounded like possible concern.
You could hear him getting closer, rapidly, and instinctively curled in on yourself tighter. You knew he was going to catch you now, having given up on running, and braced yourself for being grabbed.
But the hands never came, as you heard him stop right next to you.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”
Oh.
His apology caught you off guard, and your sobs stopped with a sniffle, as you cracked open your eyes.
He was filling up the space in front of you, eyes lighting up the surrounding area with their soft red glow. His tall body fit into the small tunnels just barely, but you could tell by the way he held himself that he knew how to slink himself through with ease.
Currently, he was laid on the padded floor, lying on his stomach, watching and waiting quietly for you to reply, catching a smile on his face as he realized you'd opened up your eyes. You said nothing though, as you found yourself unable to pry your eyes away from him, head still swirling with emotion.
“No more game okay? No punishment for loss.”
You sniffled and nodded, appreciative that he seemed to catch on and acknowledge your fears. Letting out a sigh of relief, you unfurled slightly, no longer holding yourself tense in a protective ball.
Moon too, seemed to loosen a tension in his own body at the sight of you doing so, his posture relaxing slightly. Slowly, he reached a hand out towards you, before he paused, leaving it outstretched in the air.
“Touch?”
It took you a moment to reply, to gather up your frazzled mind enough to figure out if you were okay with it.
And you were. With the fear of being forcefully grabbed gone, you realized you did want to be touched, softly held, as you nodded your head without a word.
Moon was the naptime caretaker after all, wasn’t he built to be gentle?
A large hand gently cupped your cheek, as his thumb wiped away your drying tears. Eventually, it left your face to gently rub your back, the animatronic shifting closer to do so with more ease.
Your body relaxed under the touch, eyelids growing heavy as you lay there, body worn out from stress and anxiety.
Your fazwatch chirped at you, and the peaceful moment was shattered.
You still had a job to do, but you didn’t know if you had the strength or energy to do it anymore. You buried your hands into your face, as you realized you couldn’t lie here and de-stress all night, not without the threat of being reprimanded for “slacking off”.
Who knew how many breakdowns you’d have before your shift was finally over?
You let out a muffled curse, as the hand on your back stopped, unable to see the animatronic’s expression with your eyes behind your fingers.
“I can help.”
You lowered your hands enough to look at him, glowing optics half lidded with a soft look of concern, as he laid there, hand hovering just above you, patiently waiting to make sure he had your attention.
“I have a place I can hide you away, without you getting in trouble, if you're interested.”
After a beat of silence, you gave him a small nod. It’s not like you had any better options, so you were open to his suggestion.
“Now please don’t be frightened, I promise, you will be safe.”
You gave him a mildly confused look, unsure why that would be the case, but made a slight motion for him to elaborate.
Lifting himself up slightly, he tapped his chest, only making you more confused.
“I could swallow you up and store you inside me.”
Instinctively, your pulse quickened and breath hitched, as the thought of being eaten hit you. He seemed to have expected the reaction though, waiting for you to catch your breath.
“I won’t hurt you, I promise, I’ll let you out when you want. It’s nice an cozy inside, safe, unlike your stomach.”
Slowly but steadily, your breaths slowed, the primal panic subsiding. It didn’t sound too awful, but—
“Management will only get annoyed at me, and they'll think you're an unwilling participant in my shenanigans. You won’t get in trouble.”
As reluctant as you were to the idea initially, you realized he made a good point. Management certainly wouldn’t think you'd willingly let yourself be gobbled up, and it would be the perfect place to hide away, with only Moon to bother you.
“…Okay.”
Moon's grin stretched wider with a suppressed eagerness, seemingly trying to not look excited, as he carefully shuffled closer. Gently, he took your hands, shifting himself into a more seated position, back pressing against the roof of the structure. With a quick but tender motion, he unstrapped your fazwatch from your wrist, placing it aside so it wouldn’t bother you anymore.
“Let me know if you change your mind, and I’ll stop, okay starbite?”
You nodded, before he opened his mouth, and carefully guided your hands inside. You shivered as you were met with a cool dampness, not too unpleasant, but unexpected. His mouth was oddly soft, softer than you'd thought, padded to feel like a real mouth, the tongue licking your palms.
He paused, watching your reaction, before with a swallow they were pulled into his throat. Tighter than the mouth, but still fit your hands so easily.
Slowly, gently, he pulled your arms deeper into him, and it wasn’t long before your head met his.
This was it, your last moment seeing outside, unless you backed out. Yet, as it went on, you found yourself less worried about the prospect of being eaten, and more about if his eyes were bigger than his stomach. Would you even fit?
His mouth opened wider, before he gently guided your head inside, and swallowed. His body shifted to accommodate your size, a few quiet clicks and whirrs sounding, as you were pulled deeper.
You did fit.
Your heart beat a little faster, as you were pushed into absolute darkness, the light of his eyes no longer giving you sight. A great contrast to the noise and bright light of the pizzaplex, and so despite the residual fear, you found yourself relaxing more, as your head entered his throat.
Moon hummed as he licked at you, tasted you. You weren't sure how to feel about the fact that you seemed to taste great to him, but the way his body rumbled slightly with the sound was not unpleasant.
Your hands soon reached an opened space, as more of you was pulled inside with each swallow. He lifted his head as his metal teeth gently held around your middle, your legs leaving the ground, as more of you slid inside.
With gravity to help, it didn't take long for the rest of your body to spill it his stomach, the space stretching and shifting to fit you comfortably. It was soft and warm inside, the space gently moving with mimicked breaths, as Moon let out a long and satisfied sigh. You could feel him press a hand against his stomach, a slight added pressure on your back.
“You rest and recover my little star, I’ll keep you safe for the night.”
And maybe you would, the soft guts and darkness soothing, lulling you to submit to your exhaustion.
This, this was the kind of space you'd been seeking, quiet, dark and secluded, somewhere to recover. And while you'd been hoping to be alone, knowing you were tucked away inside a friend chipped away at that anxiety more than you’d expected. You felt safe.
Moon hummed quietly, sounding pleased, likely taking your silence as a good sign, as he shifted slightly to a more stable position.
“Rest well starbite.”
You let your body go fully limp, as the sound of a heartbeat began to play, your mind latching onto the soft and steady thumps, your heart slowing to match them.
Maybe, tucked away safely inside the naptime attendant, you'd be safe from your anxious nightmares, and finally get some rest.