Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Where is it?” Nexus hissed, swatting at the metal desk with his hand, the cheap bells jangled from the momentum. He threw some papers to the ground, they scattered and slid, some documents were more important than others. In the doorway; Ruin was fidgeting with his hands, the soft cotton of the fabric ribbons on his wrists that adorned his design calming him, a worried expression on his faceplate.

“Uhm.. Nexus? Do you need something?” He spoke up. His tone was wary, I mean, the man before him whilst an asshole, still held power over him. So he was forced to show minimal reluctance to carry out commands. Unfortunately for him, as much as he would love to see Nexus writhing in anger due to his misfortunes, he wasn’t going to be spared from the wrath of the dark star power wielder. “Funny thing is Ruin.. I don’t think I called for your services.” The much taller, and uglier animatronic snapped, standing up straight and looming over the indentured robot.

Ruin backed away slightly before speaking once more, “I just thought you needed something, you seem irritated.” He refused to make direct eye contact, only the stars know what happened last time he did that. Nexus sneered, before rubbing his metallic temple. “My god you are absolutely useless, British Boy.” Ruin looked down, before glancing back towards Nexus. “Then why keep me around-? Can’t I just go home?” He stuttered.

Nexus turned back to the bot, glaring. “Because you still have access to the family. Well, I do, however I’m essentially kill on sight.” He scoffed, as if irritated by his exemption from his former family, before looking at his computer. “I-I don’t mean to question you, Nexus sir.. But as far as bonds and trust goes, I don’t believe I’m exactly.. Er.. How would I word this..?” He paused, tapping one of his digits to his chin softly, before continuing, “ Ah! Welcomed.. by the Celestial family?” The taller scowled, and angrily slammed his fist down onto the desk. The metal made a reverberated boom sound in the small closed off lab.

“Oh I don’t know Ruin… maybe if you were FUCKING LISTENING TO ME, or had a GODDAMN BRAIN, you would’ve been able to gather the fact that because you’re not kill on sight, you have the slightest chance to get the supplies I need. Of course, someone as incompetent as you wouldn’t be able to figure something like that out.” Nexus sneered, turning to Ruin with a burning gaze.

Screeching pierced Ruin’s ears as Nexus turned to approach the forced helper. Scraping his metal fingers along and off the edge of the iron lab table. “N-No that’s not what I meant at all! I just thought that-” Ruin didn’t even get a chance to finish explaining himself before he met a face full of metal. He collided with the floor as a fog clouded his servos, he lifted a shaky hand to his cheek and chuckled softly.

He could feel the dent on his cheek, the worn paint flaky and fresh oil dripped slowly off. Was it his? Great heavens no! Nexus had been working with machinery hadn’t he..? Right. It was oil from his gloves.

Nexus wasn’t wearing gloves.

His smile wavered slightly, no matter. “Next time, shut the fuck up and speak when spoken to.” Nexus shook the small amounts of oil off his fist, small droplets splattered onto Ruin’s face as he did so. “R-Right, my apologies Nexus.. It won’t happen again.” He looked down at the floor, he had to make it harder on himself didn’t he? Well.. he supposed it was good to see where the boundaries lay. However he knew better than to continue pushing Nexus’s limits, for now.

“I’ll take my leave now..” Ruin’s shoes jingled from the sewn on bells as he stood up, only to have a firm hand grasp his shoulder as soon as his back was turned. “Did. I. Dismiss. You?” Nexus grumbled in a warning, Ruin could practically feel the death glare that was bearing the back of his head. What a complete load of tosh. “Right right.. May I leave you to you’re.. Bits ‘n bops? I’m sure you have better things to be doing than speaking with me.” He shuffled nervously, the tension was killing him. As much as he loved seeing Nexus in a fizzle, he doubted he could keep his composure much longer.

“Get the hell out of here.” Ruin’s superior scowled, shoving the eclipse forward harshly before turning to return to whatever meaningless work he supposedly had to attend to. If Ruin could guarantee anything truthful to his name, that was that he was a key witness to Nexus having the mouth of a sailor. He meant it too! Nexus swore like a middle school boy who sags his pants and thinks that showing his rear wasn’t queer!

However, Nexus didn’t have to tell him twice. He high tailed out of there without complaint. Rubbing his arms to calm himself as he walked through the empty labyrinth of Solstice’s, ah.. No. “Sun’s” made home, the hallways were bland shades of white and gray, with a decent width. Enough that you could fit a decent sized car through, and it made his footsteps softly echo. Ruin pretended that he didn’t notice the hidden cameras in the walls, hidden in the fake plants, which even though they were green somehow still dull and lifeless. Cameras were hidden well.. Everywhere. Most of them he knew were Nexus’s, the fool didn’t care to hide any plans regarding security around him.

Unfortunately for Ruin however, there wasn’t a place he could tamper with the cameras without the possibility of getting caught. Therefore meaning he never had a place or time to drop what you would call.. His charade, his act. Not like it would matter anyways, he swaps it up depending on which side he was on. Anything it took to survive really. Shameful? Perhaps; it’s kept him alive this long though.

He said he didn’t have time to tamper with the camera’s, he didn’t say anything about potential blindspots. Of course, even a stronghold this complex would have it’s… flukes persay. He rounded the corner, before pausing and jumping up to clamber into the ductwork ventilation system. Why this specific place?

Well, it’s right at the beginning of the blind zone where “Sun’s” residence is. The camera’s stopped right before the entrance, so if anyone checked it could be assumed that he was summoned by “Sun” at some point, and went to tend to those matters. He also doubted that the creator of this maze would bother to check Nexus’s cameras. After all that would cause unnecessary conflict between him and Nexus that he could guarantee “Sun” didn’t want at the moment.
Stifling an artificial sneeze as he clambered through the vents, he eventually ended up at a decently large intersection. The corners rounded to two other openings that led to different places in the facility, and now I know what you might be thinking, if you know what ductwork vents are, you’d know for a damn fact that they couldn’t support a human's weight, much less an animatronics. Or you’d have the intelligence to know that animatronics don’t need to breathe, so why the hell would there be a ventilation system in a place like this?

Well to answer it simply, the way the newer models for Fazbear thought the comfort of breathing would help the animatronics know whether or not a child was suffocating. Oh how he wished that applied to him as well, no. He knew better, he knew his creator added that for the same reason why he’d add two sentient AI programmings in one animatronic body.

To see them suffer.

He sighed, before leaning back against the wall of the vent and relaxing. Essentially the whole air conditioning thing was a comfort factor for the wretched place. As for why the vents are collapsing; this entire pocket dimension was beyond comprehension, and shouldn’t exist on its own. So he assumed that “Sun” demolished the concepts of physics entirely so he wouldn’t have to worry about having to repair the vents. Thin blankets were strewn about the small, cramped opening, along with torn books and a singular crappy laptop that couldn’t connect to the internet.

It was all he had, and it was better than nothing.

He slid down the wall and held his head, tugging at his rays slightly before pulling knees to his chest. “God.. Ruin, get a hold of yourself.” He breathed. The bot let out a groan, looking around. “It’s fine. You will do this, it’s not like he hates you. What am I talking about? Of course he does..”

The “night” came and went, this pocket dimension didn’t really have day cycles. So Ruin had to resort to setting a timer for himself to know when he needed to leave the vents; approximately 5 minutes before he must be called upon for whatever wretched tasks Nexus had planned for him that day. Falling lightly from the air ducts, which is surprising for a metal animatronic, Ruin dusted himself off before awaiting for the inevitable holler beckoning him to do it’s bidding.

Needless to say he didn’t have to wait long as the horrific screeching of his name echoed through the white, dull, barren hallways of the base. Ruin swiftly brought his hands up to his audio processors; rays shrinking back a little as he began to trek over to whatever Nexus planned for him today. The hallways smelt of cleaning alcohol and disinfectant, it made Ruin wonder if “Sun” had something cleaning the place, or if he had built the place and purposefully left the scent because it was comforting. It didn’t matter anyways as he hesitantly entered Nexus’s designated laboratory, doing a small bow of faux respect as he awaited instruction. After yesterday, he might have to wait awhile before attempting more “small-talk” with the menace before him.

“It’s your lucky day, you get to see why I keep you around. For a little while anyways. I’ve determined you’re not exactly.. Useful in the technical areas. You’re also really fucking annoying. So, you’re in charge of fetching me an assistant who is better suited for the things I have planned.” Nexus was boasting again, the documents from the day prior were neatly sorted and stacked. He doubted Nexus cleaned it up himself. Perhaps “Sun” did? As a partial Sun himself, he understood the need to keep things tidy, but he doubted this “Sun” would bother with this. Perhaps Nexus made an animatronic to clean up his messes for him, but if that was the case why would he need a sentient one as a replacement?

“Ah, well.. What makes you think they would come willingly? I mean, a-afterall I doubt with our current.. Repertoires, that someone would work for you of their own volition?” Ruin slowly rose from his bow, the bell on his nightcap jingled as he did so. “Oh.. I said nothing about them having a choice in the matter. I have someone.. Specific in mind. His tech savvy, while not as good as mine, can potentially keep up enough to assist me. On another side, he’s not as annoying as you are, and can actually form a damn opinion. He’ll work for me whether he likes it or not, but since I’m merciful, I’m sending you to collect him so he has the illusion of choice. If he declines.. Heh.. well I think you know what’s going to happen.” Nexus chuckled, his eyes gleaming dangerously, he may not be able to collect Sun to track down the shards quite yet, but with the addition he was planning on adding to his team and resources he might have a chance yet.

“Nexus, who exactly do you wish for me to get for you?” Ruin tugged at his rays nervously. Nexus smiled before picking up some papers. “Solar.” the tall animatronic snarled maniacally.

Chapter Text

Solar was sitting on the couch, the rest of the family except for Lunar, who had gone on another date with Gemini, had gone off to take Jack and Dazzle on a trip to the zoo; mainly to give Solar a break and some alone time. I wish I was exaggerating, if Earth wasn’t asking to hangout, or Sun wasn’t checking in on him, Jack and Dazzle were coming up with elaborate games for them to play to help him feel better. While it was a nice offer, and heaven bless those kids, he needed some quiet. It wasn’t that he hated being coddled, it’s nice to know people care about him. However, it’s too much. I mean, why do they all seem to suddenly care now? They didn’t before, sure they occasionally played a game or two, but he mostly did maintenance around the daycare and kept to himself.

Yeah, it wasn’t being coddled that was the problem, it was the sinking feeling that they’re only expressing this much care now because of how much he did to support the workplace. Which shouldn’t bother him, it’s nothing new; but the feeling of something he wants to believe is real when he knows it is smoke and mirrors that’s the problem. Or maybe he’s just developing trust issues. I mean, after the shit he’s been through could you really blame him? Maybe he shouldn’t have been revived at all.

Just as he was getting comfortable on the leather couch in the living room, the irritating ring of the front door's doorbell rang throughout the home. There shouldn’t have been anyone here, they weren’t expecting any guests and this was a really remote place. Maybe Sun ordered a package of craft supplies for Dazzle and Jack again, that’s the most feasible solution. Or something came up and Lunar had come home early. It didn’t really matter because he had to get up from the couch anyways.

He groaned, before reluctantly standing up and stretching, grabbing his other forearm with one hand and arching backwards, before falling back to his usual slouched posture. He walked over to the front door in his socks, usually he’d wear his shoes in the house like everyone else who couldn’t remove their shoes, but Sun had just mopped and he wanted to be considerate.
He grumbled curses under his breath as he lazily turned the doorknob to open the front door. “Hello Solar..” Ruin stood in front of him as the doorway slowly swung open. Solar immediately tried to shut the wooden door, but Ruin managed to catch it before it closed. “Yeah- I knew it wasn’t gonna be a warm welcome.” The traitor let out a small nervous chuckle. “What do you want?” The mechanic scowled, standing his ground and crossing his arms.

After everything that’s happened, this is the third time Ruin dared to show himself to Solar after the.. Event. He’s lucky that he was home and no one else, only the lord knows what Jack would’ve done if he’d caught the mish mashed sun/moon animatronic knocking. It kind of hurt honestly, but then again it wasn’t as if people who wanted or have tried to kill him and his family appearing at their doorstep was an uncommon thing unfortunately.

“Now, I don’t want to be here as much as you do. I’m truly, truly sorry that I.. that you died. I’m not hear to ask for your forgiveness though.” Ruin made direct eye contact with Solar as he addressed him, fidgeting with the bells on his wrists. He wasn’t buying it, with ruin there’s no line for when the truth begins and the lies end. He had learned that the hard way.

“Cut the bullshit Ruin, you’ve only ever appeared when you’ve needed something. Tell me what it is so that you can leave.” Solar tapped his arms impatiently, something was off here. Then again he shouldn't put his own bias before logical decision making. Not like that wasn't what he was doing anyways…

Ruin seemed to stall for a bit, muttering inaudibles to himself. “Well, I wanted to see you. I know our first few interactions haven't been.." He trailed off, seemingly looking for the best phrase he could use to sugarcoat the situation. “Awful. All of them." Solar wasn't wrong was he? Anything, their friendship, any.. Anything, anything they had before this was fake, all of it. It must've been.

If they ever had a baseline to have in the first place.

“Unpleasant.” Ruin “corrected” before continuing, “Our interactions have been unpleasant and I deeply apologize for that, however I am in need of a place to stay for a while and thought I'd let you know that I would be lingering around and.. Meandering near the Pizzaplex and such. … It would be nice if you would stop by and say hello every now and then.” The animatronic before Solar gave him a weak smile.

No, something was still off. Why go out of his way to announce his presence..? He's done so before in the past, yeah, but the likelihood for him to appear when Solar was home alone and instead of with a group..

“You don't have a place to stay, do you.” He sighed as Ruin’s rays seemed to grow slightly. Of course there was an ulterior motive. “Ah well, let's just say with my current circumstances, housing wasn't a top priority eheh.” Ruin waved his hand in a small circular motion in emphasis. He was probably going to regret this wasn't he.

“Get in here.” He grumbled, cursing himself under his breath. Then again, they were both killers in their own right weren't they? The only difference being was the body count, and he only had to kill in self defense. He knew he wouldn't have had to if he hadn't been selfish. He and Ruin weren't that different after all were they.

He stepped away from the doorway, allowing his killer entry into his home. He wasn't all that surprised that Ruin got past the barriers Moon had set up. I mean, the man had kept them all aloof up until he committed mass genocide on the creators, destroying five thousand dimensions in the process.

Ruin’s smile grew as he stepped into the home, Solar could only guess that's because he knew that Solar would give him entry. “This is a really nice place I must say. I'm surprised that you didn't crush my fingers with the door.” Ruin chuckled, his nervous fidgeting seemed to have lessened as he entered the modern esque house.

“Should've done that, but I didn't feel like cleaning up the oil. Don't think I'm letting you out of my sights either, this is temporary. Got it?” He snapped, escorting Ruin to the couch and gesturing for him to sit down. The TV was showing previews for random Netflix shows under Moon's account.

“Ah yes, I didn't expect anything less. You're more of a.. Get things done kind of lad aren't you Solar.” Ruin hummed, sitting on the edge of the leather couch. It cracked slightly as he did so, the texture was rough yet the softness of the cushioning made it comfortable. “Yeah, sure.” He rubbed his eyes, he needed to figure out what to do with Ruin before the others came home. On top of that, there's several play structures in the daycare Sun had requested him to do maintenance on.

He didn't like the idea of keeping Ruin’s presence a secret but hell, maybe having a temporary place would get him to leave faster. That's what he wanted anyways. Right? He groaned. “We can't keep you out here, the others aren't going to approve of you staying here for obvious reasons. So, you're coming with me for now to my workshop in the pizzaplex, there's some equipment that needs repairs and I have to order some supplies to do so.” He walked back over to the front door to grab the new pair of boots he went out and bought with his own salary, before slipping them on over his cotton socks. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Ruin didn’t try anything.

“Well, if it’s too much of a hassle, I could just reside in your workplace until further notice, I truly don’t wish to bother you.” He could hear Ruin shift on the couch as he spoke. “You’re already bothering me by showing up to our house uninvited.” The shuffling stopped. Solar stood up and turned around to look at Ruin who sat idly on the couch, before the other hopped up and turned to face Solar, a soft smile still on his face. “Ah, well my condolences then, Solar.” He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes, doesn’t matter. The back and forth banter was calming the tension and that was good enough for him.

Solar opened the front door again, gesturing for Ruin to go first as the other animatronic practically skipped out the door. Odd, Ruin seemed more… calm? Tame? Not this energetic before.
It rubbed him the wrong way, it didn’t feel natural. He wasn’t one to question things though as he followed Ruin out of the house to make their way to the Pizzaplex. They got into one of the spare cars Sun and Moon kept at the front of their house, those rich idiots. Solar got into the driver's seat and started up the car, he had been given the keys to it for cases similar to this, before backing out of the driveway. It was about 8pm when they departed, the sun was almost done settling into nightfall. He sent out a text to Sun letting him know that he was leaving to go do work on the maintenance the daycare needed.

The car ride mostly consisted of Solar telling Ruin to stop changing the channel on the radio to find songs he liked. They eventually made it to the Pizzaplex and snuck their way into the daycare. Well more like Solar walked, and Ruin stuck to the shadows like some kind of walmart batman.

As they entered the daycare, Solar left Ruin by the entrance as he went to go look at the damaged equipment. As he rounded the corner to check one of the slides from the large play structures. “You have got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME.” Solar cussed, the slide had been caved in by one of the tumble barrels the kids played with. He was going to have to remove the barrel if he wanted one less thing to have to replace.

“Are you alright Solar?” Ruin gently called from the entrance of the daycare, it was.. Nice that he thought to ask. “I’m fine!” He shouted back, before returning his focus to the broken slide. He pulled down his goggles in case stray plastic tried to jump into his eyes, as he grabbed the top rim of the barrel to remove it.

When it didn’t budge, Solar adjusted his grip to grab the barrels by its sides from where it was stuck, and yanked as hard as he could. In hindsight, he shouldn’t have left his gloves at home. As soon as the barrel was loose it flew over his head and the plastic from the slide upturned. Scraping a deep gash into Solar’s right palm. “Shit..” Solar muttered, before looking up to see Ruin rounding the side of the play structure looking at him in concern.

“Oh dear- Solar you said you were fine! If you needed help you should’ve just said so instead of getting yourself into… whatever this is!” Ruin immediately tugged onto Solar’s hand to view the damage.
Taking in what seemed to be disappointment before dragging him to the front desk. Oil dribbled from Solar’s hand onto the floor as Ruin stopped, knelt down and grabbed a towel from one of the drawers. “Put this on it.” He said, tossing the towel onto Solar’s face. “..Thanks” He winced as he grabbed the towel with his injured hand and wrapped it around it. On the bright side, he knew that they needed to replace the slide entirely so there wasn’t a reason to stay in the daycare any longer.

Leaving the empty daycare behind, they rounded into the theater. The giant sliding doors shutting behind them as Solar led Ruin to an employee's only door hidden behind the theater’s stage. Upon entering, the walls and floors were made mostly out of concrete and cement. The lingering smell of machinery and oil was ever present as Solar pulled out an inflatable mattress from the side closet. He bought it because he found himself staying after hours for things like this, and Earth kept berating him for sleeping at the workbench on the opposite side of the room. It had several blueprints scattered on it, along with a board for hanging up his tools.

After inflating the mattress, he grabbed some of his favorite blankets out from the side closet. The ones that were heavy, and would stay on you even if you turned in your sleep, yet breathable so you couldn’t overheat. He found these were useful due to his continuous night terrors, so he wouldn’t get uncovered in the middle of the night.

The mattress laid right next to a good outlet for charging, Solar had tinkered with it before to improve the speed of charging. Along with another charger by the workbench itself, which is what he had been using when he was working before Earth insisted he got the mattress to get some “proper rest”.

“There, get comfortable.” Solar gestured for Ruin to sit on the mattress; Ruin, who had been looking around the small workshop, obliged and sat down on the surprisingly stiff air mattress. “Ah, well.. Thank you.” Ruin hummed, poking at the bedding Solar threw beside him. Before laying down and wrapping himself in the covers.

Seeing this, Solar walked over to the workbench and sat down in the office chair in front of it.
Opening up one of the drawers underneath the table, he pulled out some bandage wraps for his hand. It again, wasn’t uncommon for him to injure himself with the heavy machinery he operates. So with Ruin sleeping soundly behind him, he started placing orders for a replacement slide in the daycare.

Chapter Text

“You want to force Solar t-to work with you? Nexus you- I-I couldn’t possibly..” Ruin trailed off as Nexus gave him a warning glare. “I-I’d need at least a couple of w-weeks to try to convince him-” He stammered. “One week.” Nexus scowled. “P-Pardon..?” Ruin blinked, that’s not nearly enough time! He didn’t want Solar to get hurt, but he surely wasn’t going to welcome him with open arms, much less hop onto a merry adventure of working with the men he once considered a friend and a brother.

“You heard me. You get a week, if you can’t get him to come here on his own, then I’ll intervene and make him.” Nexus flicked his wrist, and Ruin found himself within the property lines of the Celestial family’s new residence. He could’ve sworn he heard the other cackle in mania as he was sent away. Great heavens, he doubted Solar would even let him get a few words in. They’d only spoken a few times before after all, and he didn’t receive the best reactions showing up unannounced in what was supposed to be.. hidden places.

He took a sharp inhale before pulling his hand up, hesitating before knocking on the maroon door. Ruin scoffed, muttering to himself. “You are fine, Ruin. It’s not like if you fail to do this that bastard will have your head on a stake.” The animatronic retracted his hand, just waiting for the mechanic to open the door. Ruin tilted his head when he heard an annoyed groan from behind the door. The wooden door made a creaking noise as it opened.

~Timeline Jump to the Present~

Ruin huffed, awaking from his rest and laying down on his side. The mattress wasn’t… comfortable per say, but it was better then what nexus has, or say hasn’t provided him. He glanced at Solar before covering himself.

Why is he helping me?

Ruin shook his head, trying to calm his racing thoughts. He took a few deep breaths. His rays shrunk into his faceplate as he brought his knees to his chest. He tried to calm himself.

God.. I’m just going to betray the man again. Who else is going to go insane if Nexus kills the one I killed before? Solar doesn’t deserve this- he didn’t deserve that. Now he was kindly giving him residence without questions and-

He started hyperventilating. Animatronics didn’t need to breathe, yes, but it brought a sense of comfort. He shut his eyes and clung onto the blankets. They had the lingering scent of metal. Like Solar. The same Solar who was in this room with him. He felt someone lightly place another blanket on top of him, this one was warm. A heated blanket…? He slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them with his hand. Water..? Why were his hands..? He was crying. Oh, oh. Solar sat in front of him, with a look of concern on his face.

Solar had put a heated blanket on him, was he saying something? It was hard to tell. Why is it all garbled..? It didn’t make sense. He reached for the man he so desperately craved forgiveness from, to surprisingly be met with welcoming arms. Using Ruin’s body language as consent, he gently sat down next to the tortured soul and pulled him close. Gently caressing his face and rubbing his back soothingly. Why? He didn’t deserve it. It didn’t deserve any of it. He wanted to tell Solar so badly, but nothing would come out of his voice box. It felt tight- compressed, and his eyes burned from the crying.

“......-ts okay now. You’re safe. Are you here with me now?” Solar didn’t make eye contact with him as Ruin looked up to the other in confusion. It didn’t matter, he was already asking too much of the other for everything, the place to stay, the freedom to speak. Everything anyone else would deny him or take for granted, the man he had mercilessly slaughtered with trillions was the one to provide him with basic necessities without complaint.

His breathing slowed as the other’s comfort soothed him.

“T-Thank you Solar. My sincerest apologies, I-I don’t know what came over me.” Ruin sniffled, wiping his eyes again as Solar moved away from him to stand up. Why did it hurt for him to go…? He knew he was being selfish, he knew he was getting more than he could ever ask for, but was it so wrong for him to want more? His faceplate heated in embarrassment.

“Yeah.. No problem.” Solar cleared his throat, dusting his shirt and pants off. Understandably so, if he had to tolerate someone like himself he would do the same. “How is your hand..?” Ruin said, looking away. Partially out of genuine concern, and partially to redirect the topic.

“It’s fine.. I’m used to helping with things like this whenever Jack is overwhelmed.” Solar shrugged, rubbing the aforementioned hand and wincing slightly. “You just wrapped it up- you need to weld the metal together. That’s not a proper repair.” He frowned, he knew Solar put others before himself, but he should’ve had time to fix up his hand before or after ordering the new things for the daycare.

Ruin stood up, walking over and undoing the wrapping on the hand, with surprisingly minimal protest from the other. The metal was torn upward and a little bit of the exo-skelton for the palm was visible through the dried oil. When the “bleeding” was fresh he couldn’t see how deep the wound was before, but the cut was deep. Plastic was really sharp when it wanted to be. “You’re so stubborn sometimes.” Ruin huffed, before taking some of the tools from the workbench and did messy repairs on Solar’s hand. The mechanic simply looked away, avoiding eye contact. He couldn’t blame him though, it must be hard trusting someone who killed you.

“And done. Please, don’t delay things like this again.” Ruin sighed, putting the tools back into their places. Solar simply grunted in response, before moving away and shaking his hand slightly. “Thanks..” Solar murmured; in which Ruin smiled in response.

“Why of course! It’s the least I could do for you.” He hummed, making sure to keep a distance from Solar as he knew the other didn’t like physical touch.

“Well I’m going to get something to eat, do you uh, want anything?” Solar asked, shuffling to the door. “Mm.. can we get McDonald’s?” He walked up right next to Solar, he needed to stay with him for as long as he could. Maybe he could make things right before he betrayed the other again.

“You’re coming with me?” Solar blinked in surprise, Ruin should’ve known that Solar wouldn’t have wanted him to tag along. “Is there a problem with that?” He questioned, only for Solar to shake his head in response. “No, you’re more than welcome to. Just thought you would’ve wanted to stay here.” The mechanic shrugged as they both stepped out of the work room, they snuck Ruin out of the Pizzaplex, and into the car. Driving out to McDonalds. He flicked through the radio channels as they drove, the music helped him forget how awkward it was to be in the same vehicle as the man he had killed.

They pulled up into the parking lot, before getting out of the car and going into the McDonalds. “I’m still not sure why we don’t just go through the drive through Solar.” Ruin hummed as they entered the fast food restaurant. As most of the places they went to, it was practically empty except for two workers, one with beautiful dark curly hair tied up in a hairnet in the back, wearing glasses, and the other with medium length brown hair standing at the register in boredom, humming and looking up at the ceiling, zoned out.

Ruin and Solar walked up to the counter, Solar had to wave his hand in front of the workers face as she snapped back to focus, falling backwards onto her butt and looking up at the two animatronics. “Are you alright ma’am..?” he giggled, and Solar sighed as the worker stood up, straightening her uniform. “OH- YEP. HAHAHA! FINE. I’M FINE.” She glanced from the animatronics to the worker in the back, then back to the bots, “What can I get for you today..?”

Ruin smiled, looking up at the menu. Would Solar think he’s childish if he ordered a kids meal? Did it even matter? Solar probably thought so lowly of him already. “Can.. can I have a happy meal with a cheeseburger, no pickles! And apple slices..?” His rays shrunk back into his head in slight embarrassment and he rubbed his arms. Solar didn’t seem to pay him any mind.
“Oh! Uh, sure! Would you like a toy with tha-” The worker started, before Ruin immediately interrupted with a “YES.” The brown haired worker blinked, before typing it into the register. “And for you sir..?” The worker turned to Solar. “Uh, I’ll also take a kids meal too. nuggets, apple slices, and a coke.” Well that took Ruin by surprise. Solar seemed more of.. Well not someone who would order something like that. It was kind of endearing…

The worker nodded again, “Your total is… holy mother of waffles- 19.76$?! What in the inflation- HONEY COME TAKE A LOOK AT THIS-” She called to the worker in the back, “I’M COOKING I CAN’T.” The pretty curly haired worker shouted back. In which the brown haired worker rolled her eyes. “Gimme cash.” She made grabby hands as Solar handed her a 20$. “Oh- change uh.. SWEETHEART WHAT’S- Wait, hm.. Would that be like a- would you subtract a hundred from that? Wait-” The brown hair worker squinted at the numbers, grabbing a stray napkin and pulling a pencil from.. WHERE DID SHE GET A PENCIL FROM?!

“I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT-” The worker in the kitchen called back, the one at the register grumbled, before opening the register and handing Solar back his change. She proceeded to pocket the 20$ Solar handed her, that definitely wasn’t legal. “Your orders will be done soon! Please go ahead and sit down.” She waved them off.

“Alright..” Solar narrowed his eyes in suspicion, before walking to a booth near the registers. He followed and sat on the opposite side of the Mechanic. Shouting could be heard in the back, before their order was called up. Solar got up and grabbed the food from the counter, then walked back to the booth and sat down with Ruin.

“OH SHIT!” A holler came from the back. “HONEY-! THE ICE CREAM IS ON FIRE!” The brown haired worker whipped around and skidded into the kitchen, more yelling ensued.

“HOW THE EVER LIVING SHELL DID YOU SET THE ICECREAM ON FIRE?! WHY ARE YOU ANYWHERE NEAR THE ICE CREAM TO BEGIN WITH?!” The cashier worker ran to the back to help with whatever crisis was going on in the kitchen.

A few moments later the cashier came back with their food, covered in ash. “Enjoy.” She said, tossing it onto the table in front of them and walking back behind the register. “Solar.. Are- are they alright..?” Ruin questioned, Solar was smart. Maybe he knew more about potential physical injuries than him. “Not any of our business.” The other shrugged in response, eating his meal. Ruin unboxed his and took out the toy, which was the main reason why he wanted the happy meal.

McDonalds was doing a collaboration with squish mellows and they gave out little plushies in the kid meals. Solar continued eating his meal, taking out the plushy he had in his and setting it aside so he could put the trash, like wrappers, back into the box. Wait- did Solar get the Lioness one? Oh my goodness he did! He wouldn’t mind if he had it would he..? Ruin looked down at the Lion plush he got, he bet that the Lion and the Lioness were mates in a long 4 year love, and they fought lions from other prides together…

“You can have it, I didn’t want the plush anyways.” Solar pushed his lioness plush across the table over to Ruin. Oh dear lord, he probably caught him staring at the thing. “Are you sure? I mean you did pay for the meals you should get to-” Ruin tried protesting, only to be interrupted, “I don’t want the damn thing. I get the happy meals out of habit because Jack likes playing and sharing the toys with Dazzle.” Ruin didn’t argue anymore with that as he unwrapped the plushies smiling. He could probably sneak them into his little room, he had the perfect spot in the corner for them to go in.

Oh.. right. He had to convince the man who was kind enough to let him have the lions straight into what could easily be described as hell. Maybe Solar didn’t have to know where they were going so that way he wouldn’t get hurt fighting back.

Chapter Text

Solar entered his workstation, breathing in the garage scented air with Ruin trailing behind after their outing to McDonalds. The other followed him closely, giving paranoid glances outside while holding the lion plushies, who had their tails intertwined before Solar closed the staff only door. He watched as Ruin sat down on the makeshift bed and fiddled with his hands. “Thank you, Solar.” Ruin mumbled behind him as he sat down and tinkered with some old mechanical parts on his desk. “…Your welcome.” He hummed back, it wasn’t that big of a deal.

He also knew it wasn't the best he could do, that mattress wasn't all that comfortable. “..Solar I-“ Ruin was cut off by the subtle brrrring of Solar’s ringtone. He was getting a call from Sun. He internally checked the time, 2pm, he’s usually back at the house by now. Or at least texted them when he’s gone for this long. He gave Ruin a sheepish nod of acknowledgment, noting the way the other’s rays shrunk back into his head slightly, and stepped out. He couldn’t blame Ruin though, for all he knew Solar would rat him out. That’s what strikes him as odd about this whole situation.. the other seemed so confident when he entered his home but now.. he seemed timid, scared.

Solar just chalked it up to past traumas, after all he saw what Ruin’s dimension looked like when he was rewatching past videos on Sun and Moon’s YouTube channel. Speaking of which, it was Sun dialing him. He answered the call, “Hey Sun. Did you need anything?” He could hear the other animatronic breathe a sigh of relief when he picked up.

“H-Hey Solar! So uhm- Jack and Dazzle are trying to climb the walls and Jack’s tearing them up with the daggers you put in hi- OH MY GOD HOW DID YOU-“ The call abruptly ended with the sound of crashing and mayhem in the background. He grumbled and tugged at his rays a bit, he was a dumbass for thinking they’d care about his safety. When did he get so narcissistic? It didn’t matter, the kids were destroying the house and he was here moping like a child because he’s not getting attention. He relaxed, before cracking open the door to his workspace.
A Yelp and crash sounded from Ruin as he did so, the dramatic fool was upside down on the floor, his chair was tipped over and blueprints were scattered on the floor. Ruin moved his hat out of his face and gave a nervous smile at him. “Right… so I need to get home, and I’m trusting you aren't going to make a bigger mess or do something stupid while I’m gone.” Solar narrowed his eyes at Ruin in suspicion, he left for two seconds what was he doing while he stepped out?!

“Ah, I see. Alrighty-o! I’ll uh- clean this up before you get back. …you are coming back, yes?” Ruin shuffled and stood up, brushing himself off and gently setting the chair back up. “Yeah, I’ll probably be back sometime tomorrow- anyways I have to go.” He slammed the door and started speed walking away, accidentally cutting off Ruin’s goodbye. He felt bad, but god knows how much damage Jack can do in under a minute. He got into his car and started it up, beginning the drive back to the house. As the lulling rhythm of driving caught up to Solar, he couldn’t take his mind off of Ruin’s panic attack last night..
~Timeline Jump to the Past~

He was calculating the costs for replacing the equipment, his hand aches from the cut but he ignored the pain because there were more important matters at hand. He worked diligently until he heard ragged articulated breaths behind him. He turned around to see Ruin with his rays practically fully retracted into his head, and clutching the blanket like he’d die if he let go. He’s seen this before, not with Ruin specifically but- he wanted to help. He got up and opened a drawer, taking out a heated blanket. A weighted one would be better but they didn’t have any in his work station, primarily because it would encourage Jack to waltz in and cuddle up with the blanket, and he didn’t want him to hurt himself on any equipment he had out. He plugged it into a nearby outlet, carefully wrapping it around Ruin.

“..It’s okay. I don’t know what’s going on- but I know you’re running from someone.” He kneeled in front of the panicked robot in concern, he hated this. No one should be this affected by something that’s troubling in a safe space, and despite Ruin killing him he wanted to be his safe space. Which.. it’s a naive thought.. but it’s something he knew his Sun would’ve done, and he should aspire to do the same for others in need.
It took him by surprise when Ruin let go of the covers to reach out for him. He moved closer and hugged Ruin, rubbing his back comfortingly. With Ruin’s rays shrunk back in his head he could hold the other boy's face and lean into the crook of his neck. He felt the fabric of the others hat on his face as he closed his eyes “It’s okay now, you’re safe.” He gave a soft smile as he felt Ruin calm in the warm embrace.

~Timeline Jump to Present~

Solar entered the house to see Jack dangling from the railing on the stairs. He rushed over and looked up to him in horror. “JACK WHAT ARE YOU-“ he was cut off when the boy dropped onto him, sending them both crashing to the ground. “FATHER YOU’RE HOME!“ Jack squealed as Solar pushed the end of his child’s hat out of his face. Jack took Solar’s goggles off his head and put them on, he looked silly with them over his eyes. “Get- Of me-“ He sat up and gently set Jack to the side, taking back his goggles. Jack’s energy seemed to die down a bit as he sat cross legged looking at his dad happily.

Dazzle trotted down the stairs, toy in hand. “I heard you two were causing trouble.” Solar narrowed his eyes as the children glanced at each other, and his suspicions were confirmed when the arrival of Sun was announced by the jingling of bells, he walked down the stairs panting. Earth’s yarn dangling long from his wrists and ankles and a tiara on one of his rays, glitter and glue clung to the man's jester pants. “Don’t. Even.” Sun glared at him as he sniffled a snort. “Dazzle wanted to have a tea party but Sun didn’t want to be a princess.” Jack explained calmly, Sun got the tiara and yarn off. “You pepper sprayed me.” Sun scowled, “I was making Dazzle happy.” Jack retorted, Solar groaned and stood up.

“Jack, I took away your rusty nail gun I will take away your pepper spray breath too. You shouldn’t even have that in the first place!” He scolded, his kid needs to learn violence isn’t the go to solution for problems. “Nuh uh.” Jack crossed his arms and turned away. “Jack.. pepper spraying Sun isn’t nice!” Dazzle frowned. Jack whined, reluctantly walking up to Sun and apologizing. Sun sighed and forgave him, offering a handshake which Jack refused. He sighed and went to the kitchen, the problem had… mostly, been resolved.
The kids weren’t climbing the walls, that was good enough for him. He stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water, taking a sip and sitting down at the dining table.

“Sneeeaakkkkkinnggg..” Solar looked up and over in confusion as Jack and Dazzle were army crawling closer to him across the kitchen floor. He could hear Sun going back upstairs so he assumed he had excused himself to go up and clean whatever mess that the kids made upstairs. Unfortunately for him, that means they’re his problem now. “I can see you two.” He deadpanned, in which the children gasped in shock. “DAZZLE! QUICK! WE’VE BEEN CAUGHT!” Jack exclaimed, followed by screeching from the deer as they both ran out of the kitchen.

He set his water bottle down and followed the sound of their footsteps to the basement, where they weren’t supposed to be. While Lunar probably wouldn’t mind it, Solar would assume he wouldn’t be too pleased if the kids made a mess down there, or got into his Nutella stash. As he walked down, he saw Lunar flusteredly hiding behind Gemini as they were talking to the kids. “Jack, Dazzle, come back upstairs.” Solar picked Jack up by the scruff as he flailed around, Dazzle pouted. He’d rather not involve the children in any star power business.

“Hi Solar! Lunar was showing us what you earthlings call.. a kiss!” Pollux said, Gemini was happily smiling as Lunar whined and pulled his nightcap over his face in embarrassment. “I see…” Solar blinked, there was lipstick on the coffee table by the couch and lipstick stains on both lunar and Gemini’s face. Jack still struggled in his grasp and Dazzle tried to calm the restrained child down. “And I’m assuming it went well?” He grinned in amusement as Lunar buried his face in Gemini’s leg.

“we… believe it went well. Judging by the way Lunar’s emotions felt warm.” Castor shyly spoke up, Pollux giggled. Dazzle managed to wriggle Jack out of Solar’s grasp and they both ran upstairs. Solar watched them leave, content with the environment of the household. “…where have you been anyways.” Lunar mumbled, face flushed as he tried to change the subject. “I was doing some work in the daycare and I fell asleep.”

Solar white lied. Because it was true, he replaced the slide and fell asleep at his workstation. Gemini narrowed their eyes at Solar, they knew something was up. Damn astrals… “and that’s all you did..?” Castor prompted, taking the primary front. It was weird how they could switch up so fast, and what was even more terrifying is that they were both staring him down. Without Pollux lightening up the mood, the air was thick with tension.

“I also went out to eat, why is this of your concern? Sure I cut my hand open on the broken slide but..” Solar trailed off, Lunar glanced at his hand. “Is that why you were gone for so long?” Lunar questioned, more of a statement to himself phrased as a question though. “Yeah, I wrapped it up though and it’s all good.” He shrugged, showing them his bandaged hand Ruin so kindly helped him wrap, it was embarrassing but… a kind gesture from the other animatronic nonetheless. Gemini was still seemingly suspicious but didn’t comment on anything further.

He grumbled, ”I should go make sure the kids don’t flip the tables over while Sun is occupied with cleaning himself up.” Gemini and Lunar gave a glance to each other before Lunar gave him a thumbs up. Solar walked up the stairs and out of the basement, barely hearing Gemini whisper something to Lunar as he closed the door behind him.

Solar begrudgingly sat down on the living room couch observing Jack and Dazzle play heroes, “Do you two want to watch dancing fruit?” He asked, he wasn’t keen on walking around the house to make sure they don’t get themselves hurt. “YES!” Dazzle squeaked in excitement, sitting down on the couch and tugging the small ribbon on Jack’s arm to get him to sit down next to her.

Solar had time to think as he put on the video, he didn’t understand why Gemini was so interested, maybe it’s because he was Lunar’s family and they wanted to show their care for Lunar by caring about the people he did. Solar didn’t like lying to his family like this, even if it was only white lying. Hell he doesn’t even know why he is. Maybe he really is an Eclipse.

Chapter Text

He followed Solar into the employees only room in the theater, where the mechanic had made his garage-like workplace. It was quite bland, perhaps a few decorations or well, anything that doesn’t fit the whole “this is an auto repair shop I’ll steal your money by faking your cars problems” vibe. It reminded him of Nexus’s lab…

He glanced back out at the theater, stepping aside as Solar walked past him to close the door. He was so kind… Ruin held the lion plushies tighter. After everything he did, this man… “Thank you.. Solar.” He dipped his head in respect, before proceeding to sit down on the mattress. However the mechanic had his back turned to him and was working on lord knows what. The other animatronic hummed back a “You’re welcome”.

He couldn’t take it anymore- he had to tell him! He’s lived this long, there’s no way Nexus would kill him yet and perhaps the two could find a solution to stopping Nexus for good. It was better than being a dodgy fellow and continuously taking advantage of people’s trust to manipulate them to give him what he wanted, just like… he would. He would NEVER be like the creators.

“Solar I-” He was interrupted by Solar receiving a call.

Ruin shut his trap and looked away, glancing at Solar as he gave him an apologetic look as if he was genuinely sorry that he was interrupted before walking out to take the call. Someone… wanted to listen to him. Solar wanted to listen to him. What has he done… He scrambled upwards and walked over to Solar’s desk, perhaps there was a way he could leave a subtle note, a visual cue that the intellectual would pick up on to warn him.

He wasn’t helpless, no one else had to die or suffer because of him. He leaned against the nearby office chair, it had wheels on it and was able to spin around! Oh how he loved those. As he examined Solar’s work desk, he paused. Turning his gaze towards some animatronic blueprints. There was Solar’s, and what looked to be some beta designs for Jack.

He blushed slightly at Solar’s design, clearly there had been a few tweaks Solar wanted to add himself. Such as extra storage compartments for fidget toys for Jack and Dazzle, blankets and other comforts. Of course, the man he had killed had been so kind as to make modifications so he could care for his family with his new body. He heard that Eclipse of all people was the one who brought him back, so he supposed it would make sense that the two had their own preferences when it comes to the capability of animatronics.

Ironic considering they’re both near identical variants of the same person; they act so different but the only change really was how they were received. He sighed, moving the blueprints out of the way and looking for anything else that could be helpful.

He squeaked when he heard the door open, he completely forgot that Solar was outside as the chair gave out from under him and the blueprints he had his hands on went everywhere. He looked up at Solar from the floor in embarrassment.

He scrambled up in embarrassment as he put Solar’s chair back up. “Right… so I need to get home, and I’m trusting you aren't going to make a bigger mess or do something stupid while I’m gone.” Ruin got up and looked to the side in shame, gaining his composure.

“Ah, I see. Alrighty-o! I’ll uh- clean this up before you get back. …you are coming back, yes?” He chattered as he promptly set the chair back up on its wheels. “Yeah, I’ll probably be back sometime tomorrow- anyways I have to go.” The mechanic sighed in irritation, nearly slamming the door shut as he left Ruin alone in the workshop.

The British one sighed and crouched to put the blueprints back up onto the desk with care. Making sure none of them were wrinkled and dusted them off with the back of his hand. He needed some kind of system to track the days past, what were the technicalities any how? Did a day pass at specifically midnight? Nexus loved giving vague orders. The bastard probably just wanted to see him suffer while having a justifiable reason for “punishing” him.

Opening the top left drawer of the desk, he pulled out some scratch paper and a pencil. He needed to keep it vague in case someone found it, a tally score should do just fine. He marked down a single line on the paper, it was relatively wobbly but he wasn’t looking for neatness in his markings. Just legibility by him and him alone.

He stuck the scratch piece of paper up on the bulletin board Solar had on the wall in front of the desk. The mechanic seemed to be one for organization, it was quite admirable really.

He blinked as his internal phone started ringing, incoming call from Nexus. It had only been a day! Good lord, couldn’t this scumbag of a Moon leave him alone for a moment? Sure an update mid week would be reasonable but-

He’s taking too long to answer.

“Ah! Nexus, to what is it I owe the pleasu-“ His rays shrunk into his head slightly when he was cut off but Nexus’s pathetic caterwauling. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? It shouldn’t take this long for you to answer me. I need updates, and now.” Nexus was like a spoiled brat that had been left without attention for more than a few seconds.

“Apologies, I was setting things up over here. You, ah, didn't really give me any places for residence.” Ruin grit his teeth, however his tone remained chipper. He could hear Nexus cackle from the other side of the line.

“Yeah, not my problem. What's the progress on Solar.” Ruin rolled his eyes, this man wouldn’t let him end the call unless he gave more specific details.

“Solar is fine, he was kind enough to allow me to stay in his workshop.” Ruin crossed his arms and kept a close eye on the door. Heaven forbid someone came through the door, then he’d immediately get kicked out and Nexus would mount his torn off head on the wall.

“Good. Remember, I'm watching you. No funny business.” Ruin heard tapping from Nexus’s side, the man was probably sitting at his desk. “Of course. I would never dream of betraying you.” Eat shit Nexus, he thought immediately after his smooth lie.

“Good boy.”

Then Nexus hung up. He sighed in relief and disgust, he was no one’s pet. He hated this, all of this.

Solar.. treated him like a person! Why couldn’t anyone else see that..? Perhaps it was because throughout this entire arc of hospitality, he really did have ill intentions in the end.

Whatever it took for survival he supposed.

He needed to have a plan, he wanted to prolong Solar’s kidnapping right up to the deadline, the man surely deserved at least that bit of sentiment. Perhaps the two could even mend their broken relationship, while he’s sure he’s thrown out any chance of a romantic pursuit. He could surely keep a platonic “I don’t really like you but I’ll tolerate you” ordeal. He didn’t even know if Solar liked men like that.

Ruin held his arms and rubbed at them with discomfort. Looking around, he walked up to a side closet that seemingly had employee’s uniforms and fazbear merchandise, or at least that’s what he assumed because they were all some sort of fazbear branded. He took one of the superstar daycare shirts, now this was a throwback to when he was a daycare attendant.

It was.. a little too loose for his taste. Call him cunty; but he liked the feeling of security when his clothes were fitted around him. But there didn’t seem to be any hair ties around to tie the shirt tighter. Makes sense, most of the residents here don’t have hair, him included.

Perhaps he didn’t need it close to his body, it was identical to Solar’s work shirt. Come to think of it, he's never seen Solar without it.

Without his.. OKAY!

Does Solar even own pajamas? Throughout his years of living he knows that sleeping in puffy pants is not the most comfortable thing in the world, and believe him, he knows discomfort.

Why would fazbear think the whole jester gimmick was a good idea anyhow? The daycare is the only mid evil themed place in the whole pizza plex, and the glamrocks look like absolute rock stars!

..He missed his friends.

Well at least he knew what he was going to do today! He would buy the man some good pajamas. Might as well let him rest comfortably as the last few weeks of him having free will depletes evermore. He just hopes he can help let Solar down gently.

He crept up to the door, he paused, the jingling of the bells in his hat and poorly designed shoes could give away his location. He pulled the tail of his hat around and wedged open the cheap metal, taking the ball of the bell out before bending the metal back into place.

He repeated this process with his shoes, walking over to Solar’s work desk before putting them safely in a drawer. While he was there he took note of Solar’s sizing. He didn’t want to spend cash on a gift the mechanic couldn’t wear after all.

Sneaking out of the pizzaplex was a tad bit more difficult then he was used to, while there weren’t any children in the daycare; there were plenty of employees and staff bots doing maintenance in the common place.

He eventually made it out and went to the closest store with potentially good clothes in the area- target. This dimension was weird in the sense that there were hardly ever any humans in the stores, but beggars can’t be choosers. He’d rather not have to deal with a bunch of humans staring at him like a deer in headlights.

Walking over to the men’s section, he looked at the pajama choices. He looked over at the clearance section and giggled to himself as he saw old pajamas from Halloween on sale. They were just Solar’s size.

He grabbed the pajamas, as he was heading out he glanced over at the woman’s section for clothing. They were.. so much prettier than men’s clothes. Not that he didn’t mind them, the woman’s clothing options just seemed more fashionable.

More like.. them?

What was he thinking. He pondered for a moment, spotting some shark pajamas on the other side. Oh well, he wouldn’t have time to wear them anyways. The only alone time he had was in the vents, and that was quite limited.

He wondered what would happen to him after Nexus has Solar, he doubts “Sun” would let him kill him. But, he could never be confident on that.

He walked up to the register. Well, the only one with a worker at it, and purchased the pajamas. “Will that be all today sir?” The worker asked. It felt like rakes against his metal skin, Ruin wasn’t quite sure why though. He was a man, and he did many manly things.

“Yes! That will be all.” Nevertheless, he kept his tone quite upbeat and left after the kind worker gave him his change. He made it back to the pizzaplex swiftly, entering the workshop with relief when he found Solar hadn’t returned quite yet.

Now that he thinks about it, would the man be angry at him for leaving without a word? Well, he supposed Solar did do the same to him so he’d be quite hypocritical in that regard.

He took the pajamas and laid them out neatly on the inflatable mattress. Would Solar prefer them folded when he received them? Well he didn’t even know if Solar wanted pajamas at all in the first place.

Perhaps he was being too kind, he needed to be harsh so Solar wouldn’t be absolutely crushed when he hands him over to Nexus, but at the same time he can’t be so rude that Solar rejects his presence entirely!

He was overthinking it. He left the clothes laid out on the mattress, grabbed a broom out of the closet and cleaned the place up. Or at least the floor.

Sweeping up the dust and discarding it into the trash can Solar had in the room. He turned to the door entering the room when he heard a click and the cream of it swinging slowly open.

Chapter Text

Solar walked through the pizzaplex and past the daycare, making his way to his workshop. It took forever to convince his son, Jack, to stay home because he couldn’t risk having him find Ruin.

Why was he making such an effort to hide the guy who killed him? He didn’t know. It was someone who needed help, and helping was his job. This way of thinking probably first developed after… It didn’t matter, he would make his Sun’s sacrifice worth it. He wouldn’t make his Sun regret giving his life up for his.

However didn't matter, He couldn’t keep Jack away from his workshop forever considering he’s never declined his kid from hanging out with him when the rare occasion occurred, and he didn’t want any suspicions to rise.

He opened the door to his workshop to find the theater themed turning to face him, broom in hand. However that wasn't the weirdest thing about him at the current moment.

Ruin immediately straightened his posture, prancing over to the wall to set the broom against it, before walking over to the mattress. Pulling up pajamas with candy corns and purple wrapped candies before presenting it to Solar.

“So I got you these because I absolutely can’t stand sleeping in the clothes that Fazbear issued to us! And I assumed that, well, since you are always wearing the same thing you could use something else to sleep in- The candy corns aldo reminded me of you because of your color scheme and-“

Ruin just kept talking in an endless chatter that never seemed to end. Seriously though, candy corn? The gift was thoughtful but- WHY???

“Thank you, Ruin. This is very thoughtful. Though on the topic of clothing, I would like to ask you just where you got the shirt you’re wearing.” He cut Ruin off, the other bot seemed unfazed as he kept smiling and folded his hands together after handing Solar the pajamas, which he tucked under his arm to hold with care.

“Ah! I got it from the closet over there, I assumed that since there weren’t any other employees that it would be okay for me to wear them.”

“Is there a problem?”

Ruin tilted his head, odd that the gesture was silent considering the bell at the end of his hat, but never mind that.

“That’s my shirt. That closet is where I keep my extra clothes when I stay the night here.” He grumbled, he supposed it was okay but it didn’t quite like the fact that the other was snooping through his stuff while he was gone.

Ruin seemingly froze, before looking down at the shirt and looking away for a moment, his rays shrinking back slightly. “Oh my! I’m so sorry Solar I had no idea.” The other apologized, Ruin covered his face with his hands and muttering things along the lines of, ‘how embarrassing’. Solar sighed.

“It’s alright, you can keep it. I just want to know why you took it in the first place.” His face felt hot, damned fool. He got over this months ago.
“W-Well I…” Ruin paused before continuing, albeit in a much softer tone. “I felt exposed. I don’t have much money so I can’t get my own clothes- so I thought if I just borrowed this I wouldn’t have to worry about it.” Ruin slowly looked back at him.

“But these pajamas..?”

“On clearance at target. I.. thought you deserved something nice.”

Solar looked down at the pajamas he was holding in slight shock, Ruin went out of his way to get him something to help with his comfort despite the fact he didn’t have much.

“Thank you, Ruin. Really, I’ll wear them tonight. How about tomorrow we go to the store and get you something nice.” After he said that, Ruin’s eyes seemed to light up, and ever so slightly his rays extended out of his head. Though if you weren’t paying close attention, you’d probably miss it.

Solar was in fact paying a bit too much attention. The way Ruin slightly shifted and through excitement was still somewhat modest, kind. Something he didn’t think he’d describe someone who committed mass genocide on trillions of innocent people.

“Oh Solar I couldn’t possibly ask that of you!” Ruin nodded respectfully in an attempt to decline. “Good thing I offered then. We’ll get you something nice tomorrow.” Solar smiled. Ruin’s smile softened, into something more.. genuine.

“Thank you Solar.” The mechanic nodded in response before looking down at the pajamas he was gifted.

“I’ll be back, I’m going to put these on” There were the bathrooms he could use to change in. “You’re staying?” Ruin questioned, well he supposed he didn’t have a reason to stay the night. Considering the order he put in to replace the slide would be arriving next week.

He also needed to buy new gloves, the old ones were too thin and that ended up with him slicing his hand open on the broken slide. “Well I don’t think I'm needed at home, I’ll be back.” He smiled at Ruin before walking out, changing in the bathroom and walking back. For supposedly cheap clothes, these were pretty comfortable.

Of course it was embarrassing as hell and rubbed in his recorded transformation from the portal. Was this intentional..? Ruin probably was taking advantage of his kindness to mock him. However, he would choose to ignore it for now. The gesture was.. Nice.

He paused outside the door to the workshop, something felt… wrong. Shuffling, clattering. There was clearly a commotion inside, he abruptly opened the door to find his son, Jack, on top of Ruin holding one of his daggers to the actor's throat.

Ruin’s eyes darted from Jack to Solar, his demeanor surprisingly calm. Despite the fact that Jack was about to slice his throat open. Seeing Jack so angry, and looming over someone with the faint trace of vengeance, it reminded him of his Moon. That, just that alone was enough to put Solar on edge.

“Father. Why is Ruin here?” Jack snarled, not taking his eyes off his father’s killer/the man who committed mass genocide against over five thousand dimensions.

This wasn’t good, there wasn’t a guarantee that Jack wouldn’t tell the rest of the family, and his kid will be furious about him willingly allowing his killer to stay in his workshop. Much less sleep in the same room as him. “I’m letting him stay here Jack, now please get off of him.”

The boy reluctantly obliged, however didn’t retract his weapons and kept a close eye on who he perceived as the enemy.

“Ah, thank you Jack. I really appreciate-“ Ruin abruptly shut up when Jack took a threatening step towards him. Solar stepped between the two, “Jack, stand down. Ruin isn’t here to hurt anyone.” Jack didn't like that. “Last time you thought he was safe you died!” He flinched slightly, his son wasn’t wrong but that… wasn’t the most pleasant experience to remember.

“I assure you I have no Ill will to Solar, what I did was simply for the good of the multiverse as a whole.” The guest stated in defense. “Not helping Ruin, you still killed people. The motive doesn't change that.” The mechanic snapped.

He sighed, pinching his… well, rubbing his face where his nose bridge would be if he was human, in irritation.

“Ruin is staying here temporarily.” He explained, however that didn't seem to ease his child’s… blood thirst, for lack of a better term. “Why, can’t he just sleep outside? Or stay in another dimension? He doesn’t have to stay here!” Jack protested.

However, he has a point. He himself didn’t know why he let Ruin stay. He did know, and he knew well that he needs to get over his own feelings.

“Just because he can doesn’t mean he should have to Jack. It isn’t forever, just until he can have a place of his own to stay.” He explained, because Jack probably wouldn’t understand the complexity of the situation. “I don’t plan to stay long, I swear.” Ruin emphasized with a nervous smile.

“Father, what are you wearing?” Jack asked, guard slightly lowering since Solar stated that Ruin wasn’t a threat. His face heated up and he looked down at the pajamas, now this was embarrassing as hell. The tension from earlier seemed to vanish in an instant and all eyes, well the eyes of the two in the room were on him. Solar never did like having the spotlight on him.

“The man you tried murdering over there bought them for me, they’re pajamas.” He muttered, rubbing the back of his head as his kid side-eyed Ruin with lingering suspicion. “Why didn’t you tell anyone he was here.” Jack scowled and asked, flexing his hands “Because I knew you’d react like this, along with the others.” Solar replied, he felt Ruin’s hand gently rest on his shoulder as the other walked to stand beside him.

Solar’s rays shrunk ever so slightly, but not out of fear of Ruin- no; but out of the dread he felt because he felt comforted and soothed by the contact. “Jack, I promise that I have no ill will towards your father. I recognize my actions are unforgivable, however I will admit that if presented with something like that again- I still would’ve made the same choice.” Ruin explained, though that didn’t help with any progress to diffuse the situation. Morally anyways.

Surprisingly Ruin’s words calmed Jack’s suspicion, but not the kid’s aggression. It made sense, if Ruin was telling the truth then there’s no reason to assume the “british” animatronic was lying about anything.
“If you hurt father again, I will kill you.” Jack threatened, before slowly slinking into the darkness corner of the room, murmuring, “returning to the darknessssss……” and turning invisible.

He turned to look at Ruin, the other had a shaky smile on his face, but his eyes looked solemn. That was until he realized Solar was staring, went wide eyed and looked away. “Sorry, again. You have to understand where Jack was coming from though.” Solar explained, the other daycare attendant couldn’t catch a break, could he.

Solar could sympathize with Ruin on the account of doing things- horrible, regrettable things that there wasn’t any apparent work around for. The difference between him and the other robot is that Ruin.. Ruin could forgive himself.

He could never do that, not after what he’s done. Solar admired that he supposed. Being able to go through something traumatic yet.. Remaining seemingly unaffected. “It’s okay, let’s just.. We don’t have to think about that right now. Jack give us some privacy.” Grumbling from Jack, and the opening and closing of the door into the workshop signalled that the kid had left. “Thank you for the pajama’s Ruin.”

“But of course Solar! It was my pleasure.” Ruin quickly snapped back to his usual happy-go-not-so-lucky demeanor. “How about tomorrow we go back to target and get you some clothes?” Solar suggested, it was the least he could do to return the favor;

And quite frankly he didn’t want to run out of shirts anytime soon.

“Ah, Solar- there’s really no need!” The other one anxiously waved his arms around in protest. It was pretty cute actually, the way Ruin’s ribbons lagged in motion behind his hands. “No, it’s okay. I want to, besides. I don’t think you can swap between wearing my clothes and your old clothes everyday, well, not until I end up having to wash them and- you get the point. It’s not sustainable.” Solar insisted, and with that Ruin didn’t seem to protest anymore.

The other robot sighed, and sat down on the mattress set out in the workshop. “Well, I suppose I’ll be heading to bed then, thank you Solar. You’re a good lad.” Ruin smiled softly, before walking over to the air mattress laid out in the room and laying down.

Solar smiled and walked up to the other robot, pulling the covers gently over Ruin before walking back to his desk and sitting down.

Regardless of life, at the end of the day there was still work to do.

Chapter Text

  Morning came, and Ruin being the early riser he is, yawned and stretched as he sat up on the air mattress. He looked to the mechanic that had seemingly passed out at his desk sometime during the night working.

  That can’t have been comfortable.

  Ruin looked down and flushed realizing that he was still wearing Solar’s shirt, he was lucky the mechanic let him keep it. He rubbed his wrists, he ached from when Jack had tackled him the other day. Solar’s child could cause problems with Nexus’s plan to retrieve Solar…

  Speaking of which he needs to mark another tally down on that tiny paper he had stashed, he didn’t have time to do it the other night considering the riot with Jack showing up and just being blatantly exhausted from the day.

  He quietly gets up, walking next to the mechanic that was resting his head on the desk and carefully retrieves a pencil and the small paper to add another line.

  He only had 5 days left before Nexus would take Solar by force, he had to think of something soon.

  Seeing as the other was still sleeping, he walked back to the inflatable mattress he’d been sleeping on and grabbed a blanket, walking back to Solar and gently draping it over the man’s shoulders. He was quite the hard worker, the amount of improvements he can make to something with such little funding or resources.. Take the time he fixed molten for example. 

  He must’ve been staring at the mechanic for too long, because Solar grumbled and nuzzled his head into his arms as he stirred. Adorable quite frankly, he was quite the grafter. Solar opened his eyes and they both made eye contact for a moment.

  “Can I help you…?” Solar grumbled, Ruin hopped backwards awkwardly, and waved his hands around as he responded, “Ah-! No no no- I was just, uh, admiring your utmost diligence when it comes to projects! I mean… This is the second time I’ve seen you fall asleep at your desktop, my good sir!” 

  Solar smiled at that. Solar… Smiled at him! Ruin could swear he felt his heart flutter in his chest, which is total bonkers because he’s a robot! He doesn’t have a heart. “Well I don’t really have any other place to sleep, that was the only mattress in here.” The mechanic explained, however Ruin felt like Solar didn’t even use the mattress when he was alone working anyways. 

  “Oh, my apologies. I do say it would be quite alright to share the mattress though, only if you were comfortable with it of course.” He offered, it was the least he could do for Solar to ensure the theater attendant got a good night's rest. Perhaps he was too forward though, because the other man seemed to do a double take. Solar sat up fully and the blanket Ruin had draped around his shoulders slid off and behind the other man's back and onto the chair.

  Perhaps he said something wrong? It made sense for the other to be disgusted and full of destain by the offer-

  “Are you- sure?” Solar was looking him dead in the eyes, Ruin was so taken aback that he had to pause before responding. “Oh, well why yes of course! I couldn’t possibly intrude into your space after what..  I’ve done.. And expect you to suffer from inadequate sleep because of me! I’ve been so impolite this entire time.” Ruin knew he had been rambling again, a poor habit he carefully designed so he could play koi in times of need.

  However.. This time his ramblings felt more genuine. 

  Solar looked towards his desk, sighing. “I appreciate it, I’ll consider taking you up on this offer.” Ruin smiled with joy, this was perfect! It meant Solar trusted him more and maybe- Maybe Solar will understand why he has to do what Nexus ordered him to do.

  “Splendid!” Ruin exclaimed with joy.

  Solar rubbed his eyes and straightened his goggles before standing up, the chair he had been sitting in rolling backwards slightly as he did so. “So, should we go buy you some new clothes now?” The theater attendant asked. It surprised Ruin really, Solar remembered yesterday's conversation..? He lightly smacked the sides of his own faceplate. He was a fool! Of course Solar could remember something that quite literally happened the other day!

  He just hadn’t expected Solar to actually go through with it. The last time someone treated him with this much care was… His Monty. Before his entire world fell into the hands of the virus..

  He could feel his shoulders drop and his smile that he had worn before waver, sure he was sad but, he usually had an easy time not showing it. He was quite the splendiferous actor afterall. However, here.. Alone in the workshop with Solar, for the first time in a very long while, he felt safe .

  The next thing he knew, the other man was in front of him with a hand on his shoulder, with a worried look on his face. “Are you okay..?” Solar asked, and he felt the world center at this moment. Was he okay..? No, no really.

  “Ah, w-well- I’m not the one to pull for pity points however.. The last time I remember being treated this kindly was with my ex boyfriend back in my dimension, before the virus of course.” He explained, which caused Solar’s eyes to widen slightly, before returning back to normal. Had the mechanic not realized he was gay? Ruin’s whole demeanor screamed it so it felt unlikely, perhaps the other just didn’t think too fondly of the queer community.

  Solar did give the most heterosexual man he’d ever met afterall. “Oh, I see- uh.. Who was your ex boyfriend..?” Ruin blinked, that was quite an odd question. “Ah, it was my Monty! Quite the charmer really, however I’m sure he’s long gone by now. By your reaction I thought you had something against the LGBTQ+ community-”

   Ruin smiled softly, “What? No, I’m bisexual. I just, it was obvious you were gay but without the direct say so I just didn’t want to assume.” 

  Oh that made so much more sense! Solar was definitely the polite guy that would be as considerate as to wait until someone told them their sexuality! And this dimensions Moon was aro ace.. And this dimensions Monty was genderfluid. He paused as he lingered on that thought. Was he really so scatterbrained as to think that Solar could be homophobic?? He really was a nincompoop. WAIT HE’S BI-

  “Oh.” Ruin said simply, staring at the other like a deer in headlights. “I don’t look it, do I.” Solar said simply. “No.. not at all.” Ruin confirmed. Truth be told, before the whole dimensional collapse, one of the main reason he didn’t ask Solar out was because he didn’t think the other would have any interest in him! Maybe he might’ve had a chance if he had back then,

  He knew that now that would never be a possibility.

  “Anyways, shall we get going? I’d prefer to keep my shirts to myself sooner rather than later.” Solar remarked, walking and gesturing towards the door. “Right! Right. Let us traverse!” Ruin felt happier about this trip, sure it didn’t get rid of the overwhelming feeling that he was burdening Solar and causing the other more issue… and that he was using him and that he’d betray him-

  He’s overthinking this. Just for this outing, Ruin wanted to clear his head. 

  After much scrambling to sneak Ruin out of the pizzaplex undetected, they got into the car that was waiting outside and started driving to the local Target. It was just as empty as it was last time Ruin went when they entered the establishment.

  Solar paused by the entrance as the sliding automatic doors closed behind them, and the mechanic took out his wallet from a hidden pocket. “Alright, I’m not rich but I can definitely buy you at least three outfits with the pay I get from fazbears.” Solar informed, in which Ruin nodded in return. That was logical, actually.. That was more than ruin would’ve asked for.

   All he truly needed was one good one.

  “Thank you Solar, I truly appreciate it.” Ruin smiled, and they walked over to the mens section together. “Yeah, no problem.” The theater attendant responded, Ruin scanned through the clothes that were there and Solar looked at some shoe boxes that were off to the side; leaving Ruin to scan the clothes.

  A lot of the clothing in the men’s section were hoodies, blue hoodies.. Grey hoodies. Honestly, it wouldn’t be too bad for sleep wear. He kept browsing, occasionally glancing at the women's section. He.. he didn’t want Solar to think of him differently. But knowing the way the clothing for girls would fit at his waist and give him more of a figure, it felt nice.

  Ruin was a man of fashion after all! He’s free of the creator, so he should be able to express himself. If Nexus asks about it, he could just say he and Solar went shopping as a way to.. Gain trust!

  He felt the twinge of guilt, no.. that wasn’t true. He could feel the guilt eating him alive as he questioned his own gender expression yet was about to damn the one man who showed him an ounce of just- basic respect . Solar saw him as a person, despite his past. Despite his actions .

  “Find anything you like yet?” Ruin practically jumped as he heard Solar call out to him. “Ah, well. Nothing here really.. Suits my fashion taste.” He admitted, fidgeting with his wrist ribbons. He hesitantly pulled a brown flannel off of the rack, eyeing a graphic tea that was a nice beige color that was over in the women's section.

  Solar followed the other’s gaze, and a soft smile formed on his face. “You’re not confined to shopping just here you know, get something you want.” Ruin’s face flushed instantly . “Ah- right! Right of course.” With new found confidence, he walked over to the females clothing and immediately went on a spree, grabbing the beige graphic tee he saw and pairing it with some nice fitted waist wide-legged jeans. 

  By the end of it, Ruin had gathered three new outfits for himself. 

  The one described earlier, paired with some additional accessories and shoes. A comfier outfit with a blue shrug, ruffly sweatpants and a baseball cap, and lastly something a bit more experimental; a dress that  came in black and had gold detailing, paired with a cute sun themed cropped hoodie.

  He hadn’t ever worn a dress before, but he wouldn’t mind trying it out. “Those look nice, are those your picks?” Solar commented, walking up to Ruin. Oh dear- he must have been running around too fast in his excitement for Solar to keep up. “Why yes! My dearest apologies Solar I didn’t mean to get ahead of myself.” he apologized. Solar just chuckled in return.

  That man's laugh was everything.

  “Thats nice! Alright then Lets head up to the front.” Solar said, but as they started walking, Ruin paused to look at the shark pajamas he had wanted last time he came, he didn’t need them but.. He flinched as Solar put his hand on the other’s shoulder. “Do you want the pajamas too?” The mechanic questioned.

  “Wouldn’t that be going over your limit of three outfits..?” He inquired. “Yeah, but I think you could use them. I mean, you got me pajamas after all so I suppose getting those for you would just be me returning the favor.” Solar responded. Ruin didn’t need any more prompting because he happily skipped over and took the pajamas.

  They checked out, and Ruin sat in the car with Solar on their way back to the pizzaplex. “Solar.. Do you think that perhaps, you could mix up the pronouns you use when referring to me..?” Ruin stared straight forward at the road ahead, this felt so awkward. Thinking about small pleasures such as what your called by when he-

  “Yeah, sure. Which ones?” Solar hummed in reply without hesitation, without judgement. “ Just, he, she, they? Just.. interchangeably?” Solar nodded.

  “Sure thing.” And that was.. That. Ruin felt some of the impending doom they felt in their chest lighten. No yelling, no over the top questions. Just, indifference. She didn’t know she needed that.

Chapter Text

   The next few days went by in a blur, Solar took small notice of the newest sticky note that had showed up on his bulletin board, now tallying 5 marks. Ruin probably put it up there to keep track of the days. He should really ask them if they just wanted a calendar instead.

   He enjoyed sitting down at his desk the past week and working while Ruin hummed show tunes in the background, doing whatever seemed to come to his mind. It.. really felt like she was opening up to him. Before he died, they had hung out every now and then, and while it did feel genuine; it always felt like they were keeping themselves in check.

   Of course it made sense now, considering she had killed him, but in the grand scheme of things he was glad that his family didn't have to deal with another creator threat other than their own. He put his stuff away in the drawers. “I’m going to go home for the day, I’ll come back tomorrow morning.” He stated, walking to the workshop door.

   Solar turned to look at Ruin, who seemed like they wanted to say something but then shut their mouth, opting for a simple smile and curt nod.

   In response, he just stared at the other animatronic. Before awkwardly waving bye and shutting the door behind him. He walked through the empty pizzaplex, it was pretty early in the morning and it would take awhile before opening.

   As Solar walked to the car to drive home he thought about him and Ruin going out shopping together, the trip to get food. It was nice, the company. As he was driving he found himself longing to hear her humming songs from various musicals, looking out the window.. He needed to focus. He pulled up into the driveway and unlocked the front door, immediately walking into the kitchen to make himself some coffee. He hadn’t slept at all last night. The daycare’s funds had been off for a few days and he had to sit through and sort through a bunch of bank files that fazbear refused to tend to.

   Just as the coffee finished brewing and he was pouring it into his cup, he felt two tiny arms latch onto his leg. He set the coffee pot down and placed a hand on the child’s head. “Good morning to you too Jack.”

   He looked down at his kid as his son huffed in irritation. “You’ve been gone all weeeeekkkk” Jack whined. “I’ve had.. work stuff I needed to do Jack. You know this.” It was too early for this.. Solar took a swig of his bitter coffee.

   “Stuff like hanging out with the killer.” Jack scowled, “he’s on the kill on sight list! You won’t let me eliminate the threat-“ Solar interrupted, “Jack. Ruin isn’t a threat anymore.” The kid looked up at him, bewildered. “But he killed you!” The jacko-themed robot had let go of his leg at his point, backing up slightly with a look of betrayal on his face.

   “I’m well aware Jack. Ruin isn’t excused for what he did but-“ Jack wasn’t having it. “THERE AREN’T BUTS! Ruin killed so many people. He killed you! I don’t- I don’t want to lose you again dad. If he’s threatening you I can take care of him.” Jack was pouting, and pacing in a very anxious manner. Probably a habit he got from Solar, but what could you do?

   The mechanic took another chug from his coffee mug and set it down, turning his back to the counter so he could see his son in full. “I’m not being threatened. Ruin needed a place to stay, and it’s temporary. They haven’t hurt me, and they aren’t planning to.” That response didn’t seem to ease the kids worries because more unhappy grunts and huffing came from him. Jack stamped a foot on the ground. “I know it’s hard to get used to, people can change. Jack, if anything happens you have full authority to uh, defend. However, Ruin doesn't have malicious intent right now.”

   Jack seemed to calm down, slightly. “How do you know..?” He asked Solar, his voice quieter. “Let’s go with.. intuition. I’ve been around some bad people before, and Ruin’s not one of them.“ Jack just.. nodded and walked back over to hug his father’s leg.

   “Do me a favor Jack, I still need you to keep Ruin a secret. I’ll tell the family eventually just- not now.” His kid hesitated for a moment, before slowly nodding. Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs and Sun peeked into the kitchen. “Oh! Solar you’re back. I was expecting to see you still at the pizzaplex.” Solar picked up his coffee mug and shrugged, taking another sip to avoid an immediate response. Lying came naturally, it didn’t mean he enjoyed deceiving family.

   “Yeah- the finances are shit and I didn’t get any sleep last night. So I’m probably going to take the day off.” Sun simply nodded in understanding, Solar moved out of the way when Sun walked up to the coffee pot to pour himself his own cup. Albeit somewhat awkwardly because Jack wouldn’t let go of his leg- the damn kid was clingy. “Try not to overwork yourself. You’ve been spending a lot of late nights in your workshop.” Solar just chuckled in response. “Well that’s what happens when fundings short and one of the slides in the daycare breaks.”

   Sun just gives out a tired sigh and pulls some creamer out of one of the drawers to mix into his coffee. Solar took the time to notice how tired his brother looked as well. Seems like nobody could catch a break. He looks down at his son, “Can you let go now..?” Jack just aggressively shook his head.

   He looked back up at Sun, who was busy preparing breakfast for when the others woke up, he glanced at the coffee mug his brother was using earlier and well… There wasn’t coffee in it anymore. Had Sun really chugged it that fast? “How’s Dazzle doing?” He asked, maybe some small talk would relax things. Sun was heating up the oven top to fry eggs when he responded, “Oh- she’s been doing great… you know how she is. The other night the kids wanted to watch Bluey, and I had to make them popcorn and Dazzle insisted I sit down and watch with them. It was nice!” The jester rambled on, plating the finished scrambled eggs and dabbling some salt and pepper on them.

   Solar simply hummed in acknowledgement as he popped some toast in the toaster for himself to eat. “Jack, can you wake up Dazzle?” Sun asks as he put the plates on the dining room table. Solar saw how Jack snuck a quick glance at him before responding to Sun, “Okay!”

   Solar sighed as he heard the pitter pattering of Jack going upstairs to wake Dazzle, and grabbed the toast that had popped out of the toaster. He finished his own cup of coffee before eating his toast. He watched as his brother, Sun, came back into the kitchen and made a sandwich. Presumably for Moon.

   Solar sat down at the table, Sun came over with the sandwich and sat down next to him. The other put the sandwich down in front of one of the chairs and pulled his plate of scrambled eggs towards him and started eating. The kids came down from upstairs and sat down at the table, Jack chose to sit on the other side of Solar rather than next to Dazzle like he normally would.

   “So Earth is going to be coming over to watch the kids- we thought you weren’t going to be home so we had already made arrangements. “ Sun explained, setting his fork down beside his half eaten eggs. “Oh, I see. Alright then.” He nodded, finishing his toast. Moon came into the kitchen and grabbed the sandwich Sun made him. “Good mrronrning.” Sun’s face contorted with a mixture of disgust and amusement when Moon greeted them whilst chewing. “Moon- That’s disgusting don’t do that!”

   Dazzle giggled as her dad scolded her Uncle and Solar just sighed with slight irritation. After they had all wrapped up eating, Solar decided to help Sun wash the dishes. He scrubbed them clean while Sun dried them and put them back into the cupboards. He glanced behind him occasionally and wasn’t surprised when he saw Jack peeking from behind the island staring at him. The last few dishes were put up when the front door rang.

   “That must be Earth!” Sun stated as he went to the front door, grabbing the car keys on the way. Moon was already there and had opened the door for their sister. “Thank you so so so much for watching the kids on such short notice-” Sun thanked as he hugged Earth to greet her. “Oh it’s no big deal at all!” She said in response. “Oh yeah, Solar’s home now-” Sun explained, “Really? Alright. That’s nice! It means we can watch the kids together.” Earth smiled in response, Solar walked out of the kitchen and waved at her before sitting on the couch in the living room. Jack followed closely behind him.

   Dazzle came out of the kitchen and walked to the front door next to Sun. “Bye bye daddy!” She hugged her dad, and Sun returned the hug before turning and giving Earth a hug. Then, Moon and him left to go work their shift at the daycare. Earth took Dazzle’s hand and walked over to the couch and sat beside Solar.

   “It’s been awhile! It’s nice seeing you again Solar.” Earth commented, Solar shrugged before responding, “Yeah… Sorry I missed our last craft get together. I was… busy.” Dazzle looked over at them. “Crafts? I wanna do crafts!” The doe giggled, “I mean.. We probably have paper in the house. You could do crafts.” Solar reluctantly got up, and the deer child clapped her hands happily. He went upstairs and collected the craft supplies, and to his surprise Jack didn’t follow him this time.

   He came back downstairs and set up the paper and art supplies, for both Jack and Dazzle because he assumed his son would want to draw too. The kids sat down on either side of the coffee table and happily played with the supplies provided to them. “You know Solar, you seem…. Different. Happier?” Earth noted aloud. “Happier?” He questioned, but when he thought about it, he did feel happier. Thinking about seeing Ruin again, and being able to have normal interactions like they used to. Their smile… the thoughtfulness. When they helped him tend to his hand, sleeping on the same mattress.

   “Oh my god. Solar you’re seeing someone aren’t you!” Earth gleefully exclaimed and he felt his face flush. “WHAT- No- I’m not-” He tried to explain but Earth interrupted him. “That’s why you’ve been gone this past week! Oh my gosh, who is it??? Are they cute?” Solar buried his face into his hands. “We- we aren’t together.” He grumbled, his gloves muffled his voice as he spoke through his hands. “But you have a crush on them?! For how long? You should ask them out!” She was practically squealing with excitement.

   The kids had by now, looked up from their drawings and were staring at Solar. He felt his face heat up, did he… He did, he had a crush on Ruin. He should’ve been over them when they killed him but- He saw as his son was staring at him in pure horror, Jack knew, and Solar knew, that this was not going to end well.

    “I- well, It’s not the best idea. I mean, I don’t even know if he likes me back!” Solar explained, that wasn’t all there was to it though. He wasn’t lying, just withholding some information. Maybe there was something wrong with him. That had to be it right? He couldn’t explain to anyone, or even to himself how he had developed a crush on the man who killed him.

   Correction, how he hadn’t gotten over Ruin. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt to tell him how you feel.” His sister said, smiling at him, and he found himself thinking that… maybe she was right. Just get it out of the way, get rejected and he’ll finally be able to get over him. “Alright- Alright. I think I will… I just don’t know how.” He admitted, looking sheepishly to the side.

   He couldn’t believe he was considering this, how deep down he wished that the other animatronic would reciprocate his feelings. “Well! I could help you out with that, we could get you a nice new outfit instead of your work clothes! And you could buy him a bouquet.” Earth offered. Solar could feel Jack giving him concerned glances filled with confusion. “Yeah, that would be nice. That’s a good place to start.”

   Next thing Solar knew he was out on a spontaneous shopping spree with Earth to get him new clothes. His sister was dashing around the clothing store she’d brought him to. It had a mix of a bunch of different outfits, ranging from formal to sleepwear. Like really, how does one find a place like this? Pulling out different sets of dressed up casual outfits, to more formal suits, Earth pushed him into the changing room in the shop. If any of the humans minded two giant animatronics in their store, they didn’t pay them much mind.

   Solar grimaced at the suits, there was no way in hell he was going to wear something like that. It would make him seem desperate, and the suits looked itchy. So he turned his attention over to the more casual outfits Earth had picked out for him. Honestly, he felt like he dressed himself fine so he didn’t know why his sister felt the need to find him a bunch of outfits.

   He decided to put on a white button up shirt with a black sweater and brown pants. He turned to look at himself in the mirror in the dressing room, and he looked nice.
He did one more spin around while looking at himself in the mirror, before stepping out of the dressing room. “What do you think…?” He asks. Doing yet ANOTHER spin for Earth. “You look great Solar!” His sister did a little clap for him. “Thank you.” He smiled, now that he thought about it, he never really wore anything different, so this was a nice change.

   He goes back into the changing room and changes out of the outfit, Earth and him went up to the front and she bought the outfit for him then he went back and changed back into it. He’d have to think about how he’d make this up to her later. As they left the store, Earth got a call from Monty and she had to go back to the house. Apparently she and her partner had scheduled a date night. He waved her goodbye and started walking down the streets.

   There was a nice beach nearby, it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle to get Ruin there. He sent them a text, saying to meet up at the beach with the coordinates to the location of it. It didn’t take long for Ruin to respond with a charming ‘see you soon’, and Solar felt his mechanical heart racing.

   He turned a corner, walking down the next street. He appeared to have found himself in the shopping district of this town because there were shops lined up on either side of the street, probably a popular tourist area. It had an older feel, and the architecture varied from each of the buildings, most were made out of brick. However, a flower shop caught his eye as he walked past the various stores. Sure he had a new outfit, but maybe he should come with an extra gift for Ruin…? It might make it even more awkward though.

   He walked into the shop against his better judgement. He didn’t even know what flowers Ruin liked, maybe he should go classic. Roses? Maybe, he could just get one of the already made bouquet assortments but that feels like too much. Especially when he’s just setting himself up for a rejection.

   As he scanned the flowers, one specific one caught his eye. He walked over, examining it. It was a black dahlia, it reminded him of Ruin because of the faint red on the edges of the petals. It made him wonder why a flower called a black dahlia was called black when it had red on it, but he wasn’t any kind of florist so he wouldn’t question it.
He got the flower in its pot and went to the front of the store to pay for it. Once he did, he stepped outside and removed the flower, cutting off its roots and discarding the pot. It wasn’t like Ruin would want to keep it anyways. This was so stupid, he was so- stupid! However, he knew how much he wanted this, how much he had wanted this before everything fell apart. He waited by the side of the road and called an uber so that way he didn’t have to walk forever to try and get to his destination.

   It didn’t take long for him to arrive at the beach. The sun was already going down and he could see Ruin sitting by the shore. Solar walked up and sat down next to them, looking out at the sparkly ocean water that reflected the breath-taking yellow-orange sunset.

   “The view is beautiful, isn’t it?” He said, feeling the sand underneath his hands. “Yeah, I don’t really get out much anymore. The sunset is stunning, and this is… a nice change of pace from what I’m used to.” Ruin responded. It took them a second before they turned to look at him. “You look quite dashing this evening, Solar.” They added, and he could feel his face heat up.

   “Thank you, I uh. Went out and bought a new outfit.” He sheepishly looked back out at the sunset as he spoke. They both sat for a few moments in awkward silence before, “I ha-” “I have something I wanted to-” They both paused as they interrupted each other. “I’m so sorry you can go first.” Ruin said hastily, “No- you started you can go first.” He responded. “I insist.” the other argued, and he realized there wasn’t a point in bickering about it.

   He slowly held out the black dahlia and held it out for Ruin to take. “We’ve… known each other for quite some time. And every time I look at you, I can’t help but think about how handsome- beautiful? You are… I know this is straightforward, and it’s wrong. But before you, killed me. I really liked you, and even now after everything I can’t… stop the fluttering feeling in my chest whenever I see you.” He avoided eye contact as he spoke, but he could hear the other’s lingering gaze on him. “Solar… I…”

   Ruin was interrupted by slow clapping from behind them.

   “Well isn’t. This. Interesting.”

Chapter Text

Ruin sat on the chair in Solar’s workplace, this was the last day Ruin had to convince the other animatronic to come with him willingly to work with Nexus. He thought about all the kind things Solar had done for him in the past week, Solar didn’t deserve what was about to happen. The least he could do was warn him, and… maybe he will.

He kept glancing anxiously at the sticky note, maybe things will work out if he warns the other about Nexus. However he knew that would result in him being either severely punished or the more probable outcome, getting killed. He paused as he received a text, it was from Solar. Asking if he wanted to go to the beach, it was later in the evening… and he supposed a nice outing was the least he could do for this poor man before- before Nexus came.

He sent a text back saying that he’ll meet Solar there, and headed out of the pizzaplex, albeit a little difficult getting past undetected by the staff bots. He got the address and got an uber to drive him.

Once he arrived at the scene, he took a seat down on the soft sand. The sun was starting to set, the car ride there was lengthy he supposed. He… couldn’t keep doing this. Solar deserved to know.

It wasn’t soon after when Ruin heard footsteps behind him, and shuffling. They didn’t have to look over to know it was Solar. “The view is beautiful, isn’t it?” The other said. “Yeah, I don’t really get out much anymore. The sunset is stunning and this is… a nice change of pace from what I’m used to.” They looked out over the glittering water.

Ruin thought back to Nexus’s lab, the mind torture and mind games. The absolute hell they went through their entire life. Is… that the future they’re about to damn Solar to?

Ruin looked back over at Solar, the nice new clothes the man wore that seemed to suit him perfectly. “You look quite dashing this evening, Solar.” 

They complimented, blushing slightly from their own bluntness. Solar’s face seemed to soften in a way that made Ruin’s heart melt. “Thank you, I uh. Went out and bought a new outfit.” Solar averted his gaze to look at the ocean. 

Then they both went silent, and Ruin couldn’t take it anymore, “I ha-” “I have something I wanted to-” They both paused as they interrupted each other. “I’m so sorry you can go first.” Ruin said hastily, after all after they told Solar what Nexus wanted them to do, they were sure the mechanic would want nothing to do with him.  “No- you started you can go first.” He responded. “I insist.” Ruin argued back, and Solar gave in.

They watched as the other man slowly held out a beautiful black flower and held it out for Ruin to take. “We’ve… known each other for quite some time. And every time I look at you I can’t help but think about how handsome- beautiful? You are… I know this is straightforward, and it’s wrong. But before you, killed me. I really liked you, and even now after everything I can’t… stop the fluttering feeling in my chest whenever I see you.” Ruin stared appalled at what they were hearing come from Solar’s mouth.

This isn’t- it couldn't be… there’s no way Solar would share the same romantic interest in him. “Solar… I…” Ruin froze in horror as the familiar haunting voice interrupted him.

“Well isn’t. This. Interesting.”

Ruin stared straight forward as he saw the sun had just gone down below the apparent sealine, he ran out of time. Ruin promptly stood up and avoided looking at Solar, who he could feel staring at him. “Nexus-?!” Ruin heard the sound of sand crunching beneath feet and a loud CLANG, followed by a soft thud landing in the sand.

They turned around in horror to see Solar unconscious on the ground, with Nexus standing over the mechanic. “It seems you ran out of time to come with us willingly.. The only thing you were useful for was getting his guard down. Now be a good little boy and carry him.” Nexus grinned maniacally, opening up a portal back to his lab.

“Y-Yes! Of course-” Ruin didn’t need any more prompting as he grabbed Solar and dragged the man through the portal behind Nexus. Leaving the trail of push aside sand as Solar’s limp body was drug through it. The lab smelled of cleaning supplies, and he had to force himself not to look back at the beach and to not dwell on the fading smell of salt water.

Ruin shuffled around to get a better hold of Solar’s limp body, lifting him up so the theater attendant’s limp arm hung around his neck. They put a hand around Solar’s waist as they followed Nexus to what appeared to be some kind of holding cell. “Put him in there until he wakes up. It’s humiliating how I used to call someone so weak my brother.” Ruin had to bite his tongue from saying anything in response.

He dragged Solar into the cell room, it was pretty small. The walls were all white with a smooth white tiled floor. The only difference being the wall with the door which was a clear bulletproof glass, Ruin knew Nexus probably had extra precautions for the glass so there wouldn’t be a way to shatter it. There was a charging port in the far corner of the room, and a large desk on the opposing wall with a wooden chair to sit on. Ruin frowned, at the very least Nexus could’ve put in a bed for the man to sleep on.

Ruin gently set Solar down against the wall and walked out of the holding cell. “Now get out of my sight. I don't want to see your useless ass until I call for you.” Nexus snapped, and Ruin moved as fast as he could to get out of there.

His mind was racing, he betrayed Solar again. Solar- he… he liked Ruin the same way he liked him-! If he didn’t destroy the potential for a relationship before he certainly had now. He went as fast as he could to the entrance to the ventilation system that led to his little hide away. He couldn’t face Solar again, he just couldn’t. He was- Ruin was a monster, but all he wanted was to survive. 

He deserved to die. He should’ve stayed in that collapsing dimension- Sun and Moon should’ve killed him when they had the chance. He wouldn’t have stopped them, not then and most certainly not now. 

His breathing quickened as he finally finished crawling to the opened part of the ventilation system and curled in on himself. Laying down pathetically in the fetal position. However, this time Solar wasn’t there to comfort him without asking questions. Solar wasn’t there to take him out to get food or anything like that.

The other man would never want to see him again. He already didn’t, Solar saved his life from Jack and this is how he repaid him.

Ruin deserved this. He should’ve just let Nexus kill him.

Ruin stayed there for a while, he might’ve fallen asleep at some point but he wouldn’t know. Hours passed, and his breathing slowed and he recollected his thoughts. Maybe it wasn’t too late, if it killed him so be it, but if he found a way to let the celestial family know about Solar’s whereabouts they were sure to come and save him.

He looked down at his hands, uncurling and sitting up. He hadn't done something that wasn’t for his survival in… ages. This could kill him, but… The way Solar looked at him, that man had a family.

A family he deserved to go back to.

He just needed to come up with a plan, he loved Solar. He was finally ready and decided that he would be willing to die for this man. He knew that Solar would hate him for betraying his trust, and he had every right to. If he was lucky perhaps he’ll get to tell the man how he really felt as well. If he lives long enough anyways.

He was getting ahead of himself though, wasn’t he. He’d have to be a total loon if he thought that any of the Celestials would trust him enough to work with him to get Solar out. So, he would keep thinking. Perhaps for the meanwhile he could focus on ways to make sure Solar was as comfortable as he could be. For instance, getting a bed in the man's poor cell. It just seemed like a little bigger cell than the ones that were in the parts and service room really. He reached to gently tug at his rays.

From Ruin’s personal experience and time being trapped in one of those holding cells, it was not fun. He supposed it wasn’t meant to be fun but it didn't change the fact that he deserved it and Solar most certainly did not. If he talked to ‘Sun’, it was far more likely to happen as long as he had something to offer in return. Talking to Nexus upfront would be a death wish when it came to questioning his actions, especially now when the man made it clear that he had no use for him.

But what did he have to offer the man? He supposed he was half-sun per-say, and so was Solar, him being an Eclipse and all. So maybe ‘Sun’ would still feel inclined to help because of that. He knew that the creator of this in-between dimension wasn't fond of Moons, so it might turn out in his favor.

He’d consider that, but maybe he could sneak Solar small things and trinkets so long as the animatronic was still willing to talk to him. Right… would Solar even want his help?

Ruin stopped tugging at his rays and opted to fidget with the ribbons on his wrists as he thought. If Solar could forgive them for killing him, maybe he could forgive them again. It was naive, foolish even but- it was the first time in a long time Ruin dared to hope that something would turn out his way.

Even if he died, at least he found another person to love. Right? Maybe, maybe he didn’t have to die. Maybe he and Solar could make it out of this, Solar would forgive him and… Ruin could have a life again.

Ruin had finally calmed down fully, his dread now replaced with a new found hope for a life he thought he’d never get, never deserve. He crawled through the vents and out of them, back into the blinding white hallways that made up the labyrinth of a laboratory.

This place could really use some decorations. Ruin didn’t dwell on that as he walked through the hallways, with purpose and intent. He knew the layout of the cameras throughout the lab, and he knew where to  go to travel through all of their blind spots.

Nexus claimed to be a genius, however Ruin knew he had the intellect to outsmart the deranged power hungry animatronic. What Ruin needed was a document of Nexus’s plans, whatever they were, and hand them over to the Celestial family with a way for them to track their location.

He slinked into Nexus’s “office.” moving over to the man's desk, he grabbed a paperclip from the desktop before crouching down to the locked drawers in the desk. He bent the paperclip and pick-locked the drawer with such precision and swiftness that had anyone been watching, would immediately know this wasn’t Ruin’s first time picking a lock.

He opened up the drawer, tossed the paperclip aside, and scanned through the papers. They were surprisingly unorganized and it took him a while before he found anything related to Solar in the documents. It seemed to be a journal entry for Ruin’s mission to retrieve Solar, and that should be good enough to give to his family so they could find him.

He took the paper and grabbed a pencil from the desk, writing down the rough coordinates that would be needed to track the dimension they were in down.

All he had to do now was give the information to Solar’s family.