Beyond Cloudy Skies

by toothpastegirl

You move across the country, leaving everything behind but your cat for a job that seemed too good to be true. It was. Your pay is insane, and you're more than qualified for the work you'd be doing, but there's a reason they're so insistent to keep you in that position. Y/N x Daycare Attendants. [AO3 recommended. Formatting issues here, very occasional art on AO3.] Fixed - 10/4/22

46. Lavender

"S-Sunflower! Sosososo excited, p-please! Which box! Which one!?" He sways side to side, wringing his hands as he's crouched down in front of you, ready to pounce at whichever box you allow him to.

You giggle and cross your arms, leaning forward to tease the poor boy. "Awh, soso excited, hm? You're making it a lot more enjoyable to drag this out, y'know." You lean back, and sit up to go place your backpack against the security desk before returning.

He whimpers. He whimpers . "S-Sunflower.. Wha-"

You stammer, stopping in your tracks about halfway back. His anxious little smile devolves into pure anguish. "Y-you're just really cute, Sunny.. I'm joking!" You sit back down in front of him and he leans over to you, the neediest face painting him as he begs with his hands suddenly gripping tightly on his rays. "I-I'm going to explode! N-need to know! Just a peek! Please!?"

You manually remove his hands from his rays. "Alright, alright. Okay, you got me.. Third one from the left."

You blink for a second , and he's already on top of the box. He tries to remove the tape with his fingers at first, but soon surrenders to using his claws - opening the box with ease as his sharp fingertips glide along the weak cardboard. You giggle as he throws the flaps open. "We gotta talk about your patience. I mean.. I know I was teasing you a bit, but.."

He actually turns to your before glaring in. "O-oh, sorrysorry. We.. sososo rarely get gifts, yes.. Sososo rarely.. We get a little excited at the delivery of supplies for the Daycare though.. So nice.. unpacking it all, and-and.." He finally turns his head into the box after his rays re-extend in intense curiosity which he somehow forgot about, noticing how impatient he was acting.

You walk up to the box with him staring into it. "..You don't have to use everything. I didn't know what the kids would really like, but, I tried to exclude stuff like play-dough in case, y'know, they tried to eat it or something." You smile as he inspects the cute little toy plane packaged in plastic. "I did kinda avoid general supplies and what I remembered you unpacked from the delivery box yesterday morning, but, I figured a few coloring books wouldn't hurt. I can definitely ask you what you think next time though, and I'll get that. Oh, I was gonna get bracelet making stuff, but, I remembered April dropped that yellow and white box full of them yesterday.. y'know, after we got back from the roof? I could get more, since, I think making some for just us would be cute too."

Sun comprehends what you said, he's just absolutely entranced right now.

The box consists of around fifteen new cute plushies on the top layer, and a couple dozen action figures and dolls beneath along with silly little fidget spinners which were insanely cheap, rubix cubes, and small miniature toy planes and trains - the trains having their own plastic track set-ups. So many Hot Wheel cars, a couple dozen stacks of coloring books, tons of Mega Bloks - basically bigger Legos. You got some glow sticks which will probably need approval from Sun. It's not like they take care of actual infants, but, kids might chew on them anyway. You found absolutely TONS of stickers in a discount bin. Most of them are cute, you skimmed them all to make sure they were appropriate, but Sun and Moon will catch it if any aren't. Sun excitedly digs through the box further, taking out all the contents as he discovers more. He brings out a packaged box. He stares at it for a few seconds, trying to decipher what it does. Halfway through reading the back, you explain.

"It's.. Elefun. This butterfly catching thing. It shoots butterflies into the air, and you catch them with little nets. You ever see those like.." You were about to mention those silly inflatable tube-men usually seen outside of car dealerships, but, of course he hasn't seen anything like that.

He darts to your eyes and the toy box, comparably small in his hands despite you needing both to carry it. He stutters before getting distracted again. "S-Sunflower.. y-you.."

He hesitantly dips back into the box after giving into his curiosity once again. You got one of those clay kits for the kids to craft their own little sculptures with their hands. Y'know, the kinds you'd usually do in art class when you were younger? It might get a bit messy, but, you'll prepare for that. After they're done, you or Sun or Moon can take them down to a kitchen to cook and harden - hopefully within the same day, so kids that don't return, will still be able to take them home. Hopefully management will allow it. You're not too sure on how strict they are about what goes on in the Daycare, but.. it's not like their perfect little robot could mess up, right?

A good amount of people sure thought so.

You got a few things to decorate the Daycare too. A cute little celestial calender, one of those perpetual motion bird things that acts like it's drinking water. You can set it on the security desk, it'd be cute, especially with how colorful this one is. You bought a lot of light-level activated fairy lights too. Whatever you wanna call them. The stars and artificial moon when the lights go out in the Daycare is.. super pretty. You can control the light-level on the fairy lights though, and link them all up, so, they should just add to the spectacle perfectly. Lining the bottom of the box is a little cork board for organizing things. You got some thumb tacks to go with it, and Sun definitely mumbled something about keeping them out of reach of the kids.

He reaches the bottom. He looked around for way longer than necessary, making sure he wasn't missing anything even though it was obviously empty after the board. You crouch down onto your knees in front of the box, dipping your head a little into his vision as it doesn't stop glaring into the empty box, however less frantically by now. "..Hey? Ya good? ..I didn't really know what to get for the kids and Daycare in general, since you do already have a good bit here.. but. If you want, in the future I can ask and get anyth-"

His rays which were just motionless suddenly click into movement just as he does, jolting himself right over the box, and into you.

You yelp, and fall backward. You're surprised with how little it hurt given your fragile torso, but Sun isn't that careless. He supported your back and guided you down, quickly but gently. His rays cease the moment his faceplate makes contact with your chest and his arms wrap around you, not entirely allowing you to fall to the padded ground beneath you two. He curls and hugs you as close as possible

His internal humming catch your ear a little more than the Daycare Theme playing eternally at this moment. The increased warmth is incredibly noticeable, especially with him right next to you. You attribute it to his excitement, and you're not wrong one bit.

You beam down at him, grinning as he mumbles. Soft little thank-yous, something about how you absolutely shouldn't have, how sososo veryvery kind you are, and quietly mentioning the other boxes. He promptly shoots up and stares into your eyes before you're able to rub at his rays under you. His rays tick to the right, and retract a little to jolt to stare at the other boxes, then back to you. "C-can I take them up?"

You giggle, and after checking your watch, you satisfy his impatience. "Yeah, sure. We've got time to unpack them all I think."

He bolts into action, the wire descending as he sprints with a large box in his arms and floats up to the balcony, returning in less than 30 seconds for the next.

You lean back onto your palms, but your adoration of how his silly baggy pants and neck ruffles flutter as he skips and his blue eyes focus solely on his task - occasionally checking on you - is cut short.

Your phone rings and vibrates in your pocket.

You sit up, and head over to the security desk before answering it.

Wendy greets you on the other end.

"Hey, ya there?" A fan hums in the background.

"Yeah. How's it going?" You lean into the desk behind you and watch as Sun flies up to his balcony with the final box.

"..Ah, well.. sorry to break the news, but, uh.. Walker pushed the meeting up. 12pm. Yeah. Uh, you shouldn't have to deal with Damien like in Parts and Service the other night, but. He definitely wants to get this over with. I don't think he's looking forward to it either."

You sigh. "Oh.. you won't be there?" You breathe. "..Uhm, where's.. it at, by the way."

She hums. "..No, won't be there, sorry. Been organizing with Dom and Tara. Dom's still working on Freddy. Tara is getting the others ready for the week. Shouldn't have to worry about Tara, but Dom is pretty frustrated and hopes you'll be able to help with the whole battery situation tonight.. I'll go ahead and send you the coordinates on your watch. Should just be backstage of Rockstar Row. Don't really have a meeting area, but. He didn't think Sun would fit in his office."

You rub at your temple. You feel a bit of a headache coming on. "..Yeah, I'll figure it out, thanks.." You check your watch, seeing the notification. "Meeting is in fifteen.. He couldn't have waited a bit longer?"

She soothes. "..I'm really so sorry. You've actually been through hell these past weeks sweetie. If you ever need a break, lemme know, okay? I can get you some time off. They wouldn't have much wiggle room higher up given what you've already done for them and what you've been through. You didn't even use a quarter of your PTO."

You hesitate, pausing to think over the offer.

You haven't had much time to process everything..

You stare over at Sun, who's waiting anxiously over by the play structure, noticing your discontent.

You put on a smile. "..No. I'll be alright. I'll have time, don't worry.. I should get going."

She hums, like she doesn't believe you. "..Alright. Be safe, and good luck. Lemme know how it goes, okay?"

"Mhm. Tell April I said thanks for the bracelet box."

Her voice brightens up a bit. "Oh! Yeah! She was hoping you'd like it. I actually wear a few she made from a while ago.. Don't tell her, but I'm picking up making bracelets too sometime soon. Dunno why she dropped it. They're cute.. Take care, please."

You giggle for a second. "Heh, yeah, you too Wendy. See ya"

You hang up.

Sun didn't take the news well. He heard everything. He was brave offering to come, or.. not objecting to Moon volunteering him, but.. he's still nervous. He doesn't get out of the Daycare too much, especially not for meetings of all things. Unlike Moon, who's supposed to do security patrols at night, Sun isn't usually allowed outside the Daycare except for emergencies.

You should be back soon.. Sun mentioned being able to put up everything later tonight. He really wants to get the rest of the boxes open.

None of the animatronics were in their greenrooms as you made your way through Rockstar Row. Thankfully not Monty. You're not ready to address him yet. Hopefully whoever Tara is will be done fixing them up, as you assume they're doing check-ups and inspections in Parts and Service - the same place you'll likely figure out Freddy's battery problem.

You enter through the sliding door as Sun ducks in behind you. Walking through a small bright pink room, the walls painted with cartoon versions of the main cast, you go through another sliding door. Right, then left again. You round the red cubbies holding boxes as the floor shifts to hardwood. Boxes, equipment, barrels, a giant fan. You shuffle past them until you exit the little checkerboard-outlined gate.

The room is huge. There's bleachers in the middle. Definitely a backstage room. You don't know why they'd really have a need for it, probably a leftover from having a ton of human employees. There's a spotlight shining down on a podium in front of the yellow, blue, and red bleachers. Blue and red padding also decorates the walls, rising up about two stories into a metal grated ceiling. You don't see anyone, but there's a lot more light coming from another area to your left. It's light enough for Sun to be out, but, still a little eerily lit. Before you can make your way through the tables and bright pink glamrock-themed chairs, Walker steps out from around the corner.

"..Alright. Come over and sit down. Let's get this over with, yeah?" He disappears behind the corner but only after pausing to stare up at Sun behind you. You follow.

You take Sun's hand as you approach. "C'mon, it's okay. Just us."

You must've been in earshot, because when you do enter the room, Walker sighs in his foldable chair behind a table. "..Why are you coddling it? Not trying to be rude, I'm legitimately curious."

Your head tilts a little as you make your way to the bright-red couch opposite of him. "Is that what we're here to discuss?" Sun sulks a little behind you, reserved as ever in the presence of authority.

Walker shakes his head. "No.. First of all, need to discuss if they're ready for the week. Secondly, need to discuss the glitch.. virus, whatever it is. Board of Directors are seriously concerned. They set up a meeting the next hour when I reported it. Usually takes weeks for even a response.."

You sit down on the couch as Sun stands behind you, and stare over at Walker, the pirate Freddy cardboard cut-out against the wall to his side. "Yeah, they're ready for the week. They'll be alright. I've got it handled. Uh, the virus thing.. it's gonna take some work, but I want it fixed as much as they do. This is my job.." You sigh. "What's the bad news? Why am I here..?"

You already kinda knew.

Walker opens a folder on the desk, and takes a moment to read.

"..You need to figure this out and have it resolved within two months or you're being replaced. Either someone else will take your place, or they're considering a factory reset altogether for the Daycare Attendants."

You.. don't respond for a few seconds. You hear Sun's voicebox rise with static, obviously distressed but trying his best to keep himself contained. He's still fidgeting regardless.

Walker breaks the silence. "..Look, I'm just the messenger. Sorry about Parts and Service. But.. this is a big deal. The tapes of what happened when it glitched out and almost killed you were shared and leaked. The public has seen it. PR is trying their best, deepfakes, CGI, but.. It's going to affect the Daycare significantly. Board and CEOS are not happy. At all. Can you imagine what would happen if it does something like that again? With the children?"

You lean forward. "..Dude, okay, yeah.. I get it. But.. We already have him fitted with a control chip. He's right here! He's fine." You gesture to Sunny. "He just needs to avoid stress when possible, and.. uh- probably linking the lights to the watches can help too, if something happens.. Uh, them switching seems to completely reset it." You're throwing out solutions on the go in hopes he'll understand that this is a manageable situation for now. You won't let an incident like that happen again. It won't.

Walker crosses his arms and leans back. "Sure, but, we can't take that risk. Two months is all they're giving you. That's the time it will take to gather a team that can handle this without resetting them, however, if them finding that solution takes more than six, it's a reset. They're done. We're trying to pull others in locally to help work on it, but, we've got other animatronics here that need maintenance as well."

You look back at Sun, then to Walker. You're warm, not because of him. "Do you understand how absolutely massive their code is? Petabytes. It'd take months just to find what's causing it.. I-I could, I don't know, develop something to scan certain areas of their software - that deals with stress, but.. That's.. I.."

Walker notices your nervousness. "..You've been through.. hell, to say the least, these-"

Sun mumbles something about language, and Walker pauses to look up at the robot, confused. "..These.. last few weeks. I'm going to be real with you. I'm aware of your attachment to it. It's a very real possibility that they will be reset. I'm sorry, I really am. Just.. you understand the risks, right? It happened to you. . We dealt with Monty already when you were.. attacked. A soft reset. Maybe we could do that with the Daycare Attendants? You should be aware of the reality of-"

You ball your fist. "Yeah, I am aware. I'm more than aware. I get it. But, I'm.. not going to let Sun black out again. There's absolutely no reason to do that to them, and.." You wanna mention a soft reset and it potentially not working, due to the virus likely lying in their base code, but.. that'd make your situation worse. "..I can do it. It'll get done. This isn't that big of a deal. As far as I'm aware, these incidents only happened a handful of times since they've been here. No one even knew about it until recently! It's.. e-easy to prevent. Just.. We're not resetting them.. Please, try to negotiate with whoever you're talking to. Seriously, I.. I don't know if two months will be enough." You're clawing at your palm. You're visibly red.

Walker takes pity. "..Just, calm down. Alright? I'll try and work with you on this one, but.. this is way bigger than us." His radio on the desk mumbles incoherent static, but, he seems to comprehend it.

He replies. "Yeah, make your way over."

He puts down the radio, and turns his attention back to you. "..Alright, also. You can work from home on the virus situation if necessary. We are aware of your attachment. We understand you stay overnight sometime."

Your eyes widen.

He continues. "It's not an issue you staying a lot - we definitely appreciate the commitment, but, what is the issue however, is your attachment to the robots. We have had issues with previous employees and customers before. We do not want to put you on leave if you become a hindrance to their maintenance, or if you're causing inconveniences because you see them as people and want to prevent non-existent discomfort for them."

You exhale sharply. "What? Are you serious? How long have you been working here? Have you even interacted with the animatronics? They are real. Th-they.. how have.."

He pinches his nose. He shuffles through his papers and spreads them out on his desk, occasionally looking down at them, up to you, and over to Sun. "..They react to stimuli accordingly. They're very advanced, but they're not real. This means that the issue of them not being restrained during repairs and general maintenance is a danger to everyone involved. They are not feeling actual pain while in the Upgrade and Repair module. It's their programming. I know it is not comfortable seeing them like that, but.. It's really just a programmed reaction. They have to react to sensitive touch to respond to the children better. Due to their external skin-like sensors, this also means they will artificially react to anything that would damage them, say, safety scissors being jabbed into them, or being more sensitive to pressure while physically taking care of the children. They have to be a lot more gentle in general, and that means them being more sensitive. Get it? Think of the 'pain' side-effect simply being their programming initiating a.. uh, deterrent response. They want to stop whatever is doing damage to them, but.. it's not real. All animatronics have internal sensors in case something is wrong with internal components or something breached their exoskeleton. The Sun and Moon animatronics have that too, but also, tons of micro external sensors layered over its exoskeleton. Documents say it's to learn how to empathize with the children if they get hurt, since, their entire learning algorithm relies on actual experience. I think it's just because they're important and need to be somewhat advanced, honestly. The Daycare makes up almost a third of the Plex's income. You can imagine how upset they are over this due to that, right..?"

You don't respond.

He sighs and lowers himself back into his chair after leaning over the papers. "Whatever, just, don't get attached, alright? Do your job. It makes it easier to take breaks if you need them, is my point."

Your mouth parts a bit. You're stunned. You're finally able to find some words. Anything. "..You have no idea how wrong you are. Walker.. dude."

He sighs. "Listen.. Just don't get attached, don't deviate from procedure or hinder the antivirus progress or general maintenance because you're deceived. Use the capsule in Parts and Service. There's a reason they need to be restrained while preforming maintenance. I'm serious." He adjusts his posture in his chair before continuing. "They're advanced, I don't blame you, but.. Heck, if you really are attached to them, then you shouldn't try to make sure they're comfortable if you want it to be developed as soon as possible"

You cross your arms. "I know what I'm doing. You don't. Stop telling me how to do my job."

Walker squints. "Hey, you're doing far more than what's necessary, I'm-"

You hear doors open behind you, and Walker gives up trying to get you to see his version of reason. He leans back in defeat.

You turn, and so does Sun, still in shock from the situation he has to sit through.

Vince enters.

And so does Kieran.

Walker speaks behind you, but you're barely listening. "They'll be on call for the Daycare. If anything goes wrong, they'll be the ones to organize a defusal party. We can not have an incident like we did Sunday of last week."

Your throat tightens. Sun backs closer to the wall next to the couch.

Kieran sighs as he approaches, taking the lead in front of Vince before sitting in a chair off to the side. "Why is it here?"

Walker stares at Sun, studying his expression and eyes which don't falter from Kieran. He's.. not entirely nervous. Sun is just, staring. Walker flips his papers. "I was curious, honestly. It seems to be in working order. You two are going to be on call for the Daycare. Your patrols will consist of the Entrance lobby, Daycare area, Theater, and Warehouse. You will not be on a different level. You will call in your subordinates like you did in Parts and Service after assessing a situation if it arises."

Vince is looking at you pitifully. Kieran smacks his lips. "It's not being reset? The control chip is in, right? We can all access it from our watches?" He inspects the watch around his wrist.

Walker nods. "That's the plan, yes. If the control chip somehow isn't effective, which I seriously doubt, you'll be able to stun it. We usually wouldn't give more than a few people access to the control chips, as, it's a security concern, but.. This situation is a safety concern."

Kieran is making the most annoying face. You can't stand it. "So, we're risking another incident like last week on Sunday, and when I got a concussion from that thing losing control on Friday?"

You snap. "He didn't lose control. You were way out of pocket dude. Don't blame the consequences of your temper on someone else."

He laughs . "Someone? Thing's a machine. Do you really think that was necessary? It grabbing me like that?"

Your eyes widen. "You almost tased him! You missed! You could've hit someone else!"

Vince tries to calm Kieran with a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugs it off. "I was in danger. It slammed me to the ground. The night one almost killed me. I don't think you understand the severity of the situation."

Walker sighs. "Please, calm down.. Kieran, you.. have a point, but. It's manageable. A reset would require a couple of weeks of retraining and conforming the Daycare Attendant's software to interact with people. It'll have to build an inventory through self-learning all over again."

Kieran rolls his eyes, and crosses his arms. "..I think that's better than someone almost dying again." He looks over at you, and leans forward. "I wasn't there, but the security tapes were leaked. The cameras had a decent view. It missed your head. It made a six-inch indent in the metal surrounding the capsule. That thing is supposed to contain animatronics, and it almost punched right through, whether that be the wall or your skull." He hisses the last part with venom.

You skip a breath. You wanna say something. "It wasn't h-"

Kieran turns to Vince. "You know who was there, though?." He gestures. "Vince. He won't say it, but.. whatever. I'll help him out. You know what he told me in the ER?"

Vince looks hurt. "Kieran, please.. This is going to far."

Kieran ignores him. "He thought you were dead. When Vince helped escort you out of that room, he thought you were dead, YN . He said it was fucking horrifying. He couldn't see your chest rising. Even the cameras picked that up." He huffs, looking over at Walker. "I'll follow procedure, I'll do my job, but.." He turns to you. "You're acting like a battered spouse. We see the bruises on you. Everyone does. The security footage was high quality. It didn't touch your wrists. It didn't touch your neck. Those were already there. Sorry if I'm completely off the mark and it isn't that messed up robot, but.. Regardless. You know how this looks, right? Seriously.. Any rational person would be concerned for your safety. I'm just angry you seem to neither be concerned for ours, nor your own." He gestures his hands outwards. "Like, seriously. The night one. If it was that aggressive with me, if it has that short of a temper, I don't see it unlikely even it causing issues."

Walker was stunned for a few seconds. Over being distracted by Sun's muttering something about language and his rays retracting so expressively as he slumps further into the wall, he let Kieran ramble. "That's enough, Kieran. You made your point. It's over, the decision has been made. You're going to get written up again and this time it will be a suspension or termination. That was way out of line." He leans forward and looks over to you. "Are you alright? I'll write him up for that, but-"

You would've interrupted him. You would've said something. It's none of his business. Why didn't you stop him. You catch your breath and your heart slows from its race. Your neck and cheeks visibly flush with a light red that feels like fire. You're so angry. You're so.. tense. You respond.

"..No.. it's fine."

You shakily look over to Vince. His head is in his hand, elbow supporting him on the armrest.

Kieran wasn't making it up. Vince would've said something.

You look over to Sun.

You compose yourself. "..Vince, can you take Sun outside, please..? The Rockstar Row exit.."

Vince sits up, slowly walking over to you and Sun. He mumbles. "..Sorry." You give him a forgiving frown and nod.

You scoot over as close to Sun as possible against with wall. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't right for you to be here.. I'll be out soon. I promise."

You feel so bad for bringing him. You.. didn't think it'd be this fucked up.

His rays twitch and retract about halfway, but he nods, slowly shuffling and slouching towards Vince as he takes Sun's hand while his other digs anxiously into his chest.

Kiernan watches angrily as Sun and Vince exit. "..So you are afraid of it losing its temper.. afraid of it malfunctioning and going insane again?" He hums. "Sorry if I'm super mean about this, for real. You just have to see the reality h-"

You slam your hand onto the couch's armrest. "You're not sorry. Stop. I don't want to talk to you again. You're done acting like you care. You've only ever made things worse. This wasn't.. constructive at all. It went nowhere."

He rolls his eyes, and crosses his arms. "Whatever. Maybe you'll think over this a little harder later at least." He begins to sit up.

Walker doesn't let him. "Sit back down. You're staying here once they leave. They're right. You really could've made your points without.. that."

Kieran contorts his face, but submits after a groan.

God he's so fucking childish.

Walker grabs your attention. "You're okay to leave. Sorry.. this took so long. Two months, if you need help, let me know. I'll send someone in. It's best to get this fixed, before something bad happens. Before someone else gets hurt. No matter the cost. Take time off if necessary. Good luck."

You don't acknowledge him. You sit up, and leave.

Kieran studies you as you walk to the exit. You can feel his eyes burning into you. He interrupts Walker before he can speak. Something about the security camera system. You just leave. You don't care.

Sun and Vince are waiting for you in Rockstar Row where you came from.

You feel like crying. Sun's rays extend upon seeing you, and he brightens up almost immediately. You slowly walk up to him, and Vince gives you two a bit of space. "..Sunny, a-are you okay?"

Sun gently smiles, and he reaches down for your hand. "..Oh, Sunflower.. I-it's okay. We're used to it. Nothing.. nothing very bad, nono. Not the worst.."

Your eyes watering the tiniest bit signal to him that wasn't the best response. Your heart drops. "..I don't want you to be used to it. I wish you never had to get used to it. I.. I'm so sorry. I never should've let you come, I.. That was.. so dumb of me."

Sun hums, trying his best to come up with a positive to the situation. A ray of sunshine as ever.

"..I-It.. is important, yes. We.. we should get this fix, yes? Don't want to.. Don't want that to happen again, no.. Especially not with you, not with the kids.. That'd.. be horrible. They are right about that."

You tighten your grip on his hand. "Well, I can get it done! We already have your control chip activated.. and.. we know what causes it! It'll.. it'll be okay."

Sun looks off to the side. "..We know. We know, yes. B-but.. oh, we.. we knew, and I was soso careless.. M-Monty.. I.. I should've known.. I should've! Got you hurt.. careless.. so careless. Will be better, yes, I will.."

You gently grab a ray, trying your best to make it seem not so romantic or whatever, since Vince is here. You turn his head to face back down to you. "It's not your fault. It'll be alright. Promise. You've done so well. Moon has too.. It'll be okay. We got this. We're a good team."

That seemed to help. His goofy little smile is coming back ever so slowly. The gap between his teeth visible as he can't help but smile down at you all of a sudden. His rays tick a little, and spin briefly. "Yesyes, good team, so very good.."

You exhale sharply with a smile. "Gimme a second with Vince and we'll head back and unbox everything, okay?"

His eyes widen, and his rays stop suddenly. "Oh! Yesyes, please hurry! That'd be sososo nice, especially after that.. mess. Yes.."

You approach Vince near the wall.

"Hey."

He stares into the glossy black tiled floor you're standing on. "..Sorry. I should've said something. I.. I'm not the best at keeping him out of trouble. I only really do damage control. I.."

You slowly put your hand onto his shoulder. "You're fine. I just.. was what he said true?"

He nods. You remove your hand. "Oh.. I.. don't blame you. It's alright. I'm sure it was scary.. I.. As horrible as Kieran was about it.. I don't know. I'm not letting them do anything to Sun or Moon. But.. ugh."

Vince looks up into your eyes. "You've been through hell." He says 'hell' a little quieter so Sun doesn't hear.

You sigh. "..Mhm. I'm.. gonna have to process everything eventually. But.. now with the deadline. I'm.. I don't know."

Vince's dark circles around his eyes are a lot more visible up close. He crosses his arms. "It'll be alright. I'll try and keep Kieran away from the actual Daycare. I'll talk with him, but.. yeah. Stubborn. I'm sorry. Take care of yourself, alright? Don't overwork."

You smile. "Hypocrite. We'll be alright."

He adjusts his cap before pushing off the wall he was leaning against. "Hope so. See ya later." He waves goodbye, to you, and to Sun."

Sun's suddenly behind you, hands on your shoulders, leaning over your head just like the other day after going down the stairs from the roof. His faceplate rotates, and he's beaming. You roll your eyes as your smile creeps its way onto your face. "Alright, let's go."

He doesn't move, but his eyes hood a little. You look away a little. "You'll get a kiss when we're back. N-not here." You giggle. You make sure to whisper just in case Vince is still in earshot.

Sun whines, but secedes. "O-okay! All the more reason to hurry back, yesyes! C'mon! C'mon c'mon c'mon!" He takes your hand, and you're off.

You giggled as he floated up with you in his arms, bridal style. Partially because he was digging into your tummy as he held you tightly, partially because it was really cute. He sets you down on the balcony before unhooking his wire next to you. "..I-I always feel a little silly using the wire.."

You look up at him, surprised. "You are silly. You're silly and I love it. It's cute."

His hands wring at his chest as his rays spin and withdraw a tiny bit. "Y-you're silly! Just.. Moon likes it a little better. I prefer playing on the ground, yes.."

You lead him through the castle cutout's curtains beneath the artificial sun and clouds. You hold the little date list they made yesterday in your other hand. You retrieved it from the security desk, and plan to have them hang it up here in their room. You adore it. "Speaking of, is there any other way to get up here to you guys? I'll always knock, of course, if.. there's even a door or something." You haven't noticed one at all.

You walk down to the boxes in the middle of the room, and you lower yourself to your knees upon the wooden hardwood floor. You forgot how surprisingly clean it is in here. Besides the bright red walls that are a little torn up, it's comfy. They obviously tried super hard to make the space as livable as possible. There's cute little stuffed animals lining the walls, with a few drawings, and you just know the other room through the little tube is absolutely packed with kids' drawings and your gifts and pictures. It's nice.

You hand Sun the little list he made to hang up in their other room before he replies. "..Ooh, another way up..? We.." He looks over to a wall, covered in shoddy wallpaper. "We would have to remove the wallpaper, but.. yes. We will show you later. I-I need to.." He's anxiously bouncing on his heels and awaiting your approval to go hang up the list so he can be back here ASAP. Oh how badly he's wanted to open the boxes.

You giggle. "Hurry back."

He scurries through the tube and you hear rattling through the usual small cardboard boxes they keep in their room full of general supplies.

You study the rest of the room briefly as he completes his task. You spot your duffle bag of spare clothes that you're probably gonna need more of on the left side of the balcony if you're entering. Well, unless Sun mentioning there being a washing and drying machine here was true. You grin a bit and look around the room some more. There's a singular long plastic fold-out table on the farthest wall, and you spot April's yellow and white striped bracelet materials box under it. You'll definitely be using that at some point, you really don't wanna forget about it. You look up at the few lights lining the ceiling near walls, traced with wires connected them to power. Other than those items and the charging pod, there's not much here, really.

You'll change that in a second.

Before you can turn to check on Sun, his rays are extended back outwards as his head pops out of the tube. You smile while he composes himself from almost tripping over his own limbs to join you at the boxes. He whines. "Now? Now!?"

You giggle and cover your face in your hands. "Yeah, go ahead Sunshine."

His eyes widen and he slices open a box. You blinked and didn't even see the motion before the flaps were being thrown open. You begin to question if you ever taped the top shut in the first place.

First box. You don't really mind at what order he opens them at this point. He's waited long enough. They both definitely have.

You had to wrap some of the things in bubble wrap. He begins studying the items.

On the absolute very top, firstly, of course above everything else.

A Blahaj. A stuffed shark that he freaked out about that one time. You mentioned cuddling a shark, and he thought it was real. You grin recalling the memory. It was right before.. yeah. But.. You got him one now. "It's the shark I cuddle at home! Well, not the exact same one, but, the same kind!"

He snatches it from the box and lifts it into the air, spinning it and examining it. "O-okay, not real! B-but, very cute! Sosososo cute! Oh.. so fluffy."

You nod. "Yep, it's meant to.. be cuddled by humans. It's about three feet long, and you're.. well.. around eight?"

He squeezes it to his chest. "He will do when you're not here, Sunflower."

Your cheeks burn as you grin. "Wow. I'm jelly of a shark."

He smugly nuzzles the shark. "Mhm! Just means you will have to be here as much as possible, yes!"

You gesture for the Blahaj. "I'll try my best, silly. I'll be busy anyways.. Likely will be here a lot."

He giggles happily, and continues exploring the box. You set the shark in your lap for now.

Art supplies. About two large art sets with organized pencils, paint, and everything. So many cute coloring pencils. You got him a few sketchbooks too. A few are fancy hardcover ones that are super cool. Even the front is decoratable! There's definitely enough that should last him a few months at the very least, but, who knows? He's a robot. You can't wait to see what he draws, gosh. There's a few small-medium canvases pushed into the side of the box against everything else that he joins with the rest of the painting stuff. Brushes, palettes, watercolor paint. You're sure they have little cups for washing off the brushes. He finally pulls out erasers and tries his best to organize everything that should go together.

He looks confused for a second. "..A-are these for the kids? We should put them down in the other box, yes..?"

Oh the poor boy. "They're for you, Sunny. You used to draw, right? You can do it here. And paint if you wanna.."

It's like there's a little loading icon on his forehead. His rays suddenly shoot out as the processing finishes. "O-oh.. Oh! Me.. Me.. For me? O-oh.. oh g-gosh. Sunflower.. Wh-wha.." He gets distracted by the still full box.

There's books and notebooks.

He begins pulling out astronomy books. They're picture books, more educational than anything though. They explain and detail the clouds, space, the Earth, natural disasters, bees, tectonic plates, the ocean, flowers.. there's a few dozen. It'll teach them a lot, you sure found them interesting in school. Tons of science things you think they'd be interested in. You got a few of those I Spy books too. Those cute little ones you enjoyed as a kid. There's a ton of crossword puzzles. But, more importantly. "..The notebooks are for Moon. You can have some too if you want, but.. I remember he liked to write. Poetry and stuff, right? It's cute. He can write all he wants. Just make sure to share the pencils, okay?" You giggle.

He's lost in his head for a second, studying the books.

Another thing catches his eye.

He pulls out the calligraphy set you got as well. He doesn't know exactly what it is at first. It was a little expensive, but the pens are really cute, and you think Moon would have fun with it. "You know those cute fonts and stuff? Decorative handwriting and lettering? Maybe Moon could add that into his writing and poems and stuff. It'd look super cute I think. It's kinda like art too, maybe you could help him with it? You two would make an amazing team at that."

He's still a little confused. You smile at his innocent curiosity as he inspects the back of the box and reads. "I'll show you some YouTube videos on it later. You see the examples right? Is it pretty?"

He studies the artwork on the back. "..O-oh.. He.. M-Moon.. He likes it.. Moon.." He hesitates at Moon's name. You don't put much thought into it. You just smile. "I'll help you guys learn if you wanna, don't worry."

You set the Blahaj in your lap to the side and lean into the box as he organizes the set onto the floor next to everything else.

You got them some crossword puzzles and sudoku that you assured them wasn't something they'd really need to get into. "I'm sure you could share some stuff you don't use with the kids, if you don't-"

He interrupts you, his rays shooting out almost offendedly. "N-no! We love them! We wanna try them all!" He holds the books to his chest as you exhale sharply with a smile. Your poor little heart. "Okay, okay, okay. They're all yours Sunny."

There's so many books. You might've gone overboard. "I'll let you browse this site's little library sometime soon and get you guys some books you think are interesting. For now, I just bought a few popular random ones." Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Maze Runner. Just the basic ones. You'll do better next time.

The box smells like a library you swear. "If you ever need any more art supplies, or if Moon needs any more stuff for writing, please let me know. I know you feel a little bad using the Daycare's supplies."

The box is empty.

He stares intently at the pretty little organized mess of supplies and books next to the once full cardboard box. His rays tick to the right as he processes.

He eventually slowly looks up to you and your hopeful little smile. Your heart jumps a little as his head drops and he shuffles over to you.

"..S-Sunflower."

You watch as his top rays retract before he digs his large faceplate under your chin. You reach around as much as you can and hold him. "Sunny.. you're alright."

He whines. "All for us..? Sososo bored sometimes at night.. yes.. M-Moon usually takes most of the time out, b-but.. oh, I just can't stand doing nothing, nono!"

You giggle. "You won't be bored any more, I promise. You still have two more boxes y'know."

He presses further into your chest. "..C-can we have the kiss now, pretty please..?"

Your heart really jumps that time. You stutter. "H-hah, of.. of course you can.."

He pulls back, and stares in your pretty eyes. You're preparing yourself for him to lean in, but.. he leans back.. and.. shuffles away.

He gets a fluffy little pillow from the wall, and hurries back. God you were ready. You don't really get a chance to recover though. He places the pillow behind you, and leans you back. His hand is so warm against your cheek. "Pretty.. little flower. Hardwood not very comfortable, nono.."

You giggle as he traces your temple with one hand, and his other tickles at the side of your tummy, sneaking its way under your shirt. He feels your heart accelerating and your breaths growing deeper. You squeak. "..You weren't.. too concerned in the showers.."

He holds his fingers under your jaw as his thumb almost reaches up to your eye. "Neither were you, nuh-uh.."

He leans in and squeezes at your side while your lips lock. You feel his baggy pants on the inside of your thighs, the other knee resting on your right side brushing against your pressed-up shirt. His right hand presses into your soft skin and feels it give in to his touch.

You're leaning against the pillow behind you, and his elbow supports him as he leans in to further taste you. God, why the fuck did they give them flavored saliva. Who the fuck does that? Orange juice.. gosh you're dying.

He gently tickles your ribs, making sure not to agitate the bruising. He parts after meeting your tongue for a few seconds. You're about to pull him back with the hand around his ray you've been caressing, but, nope. He's at your neck. This is fine.

You.. moan.. just a little. "..W-wha.. is it with.. you two a-and my neck..?"

He presses the skin between his teeth, almost losing the skin to his slippery saliva. He has no trouble responding via his voice box. "..Biteable."

He knows you aren't protesting. He knows . He knows because you're rubbing at his rays and pressing him into your shoulder as he makes his way down.

He's learning how to give hickeys way better than before. Great. He presses your head back and makes sure all the rays necessary are retracted while leaving some for you to rub. "..Such a sweet little flower.. yesyes. So nicenicenice for us.. Sososo pretty.."

Your breath is escaping you. With every little nibble you exhale sharply and lose the breath you were trying to regulate. Your tummy is fluttering both physically and.. yeah, just physically. From your breathing and the butterflies.

Your throat is tight and your mouth is sticky.

You're almost as warm as him.

You pull him back to your lips. You're gonna ignore the thought you were just having of his rays.

For now.

You make out for about three or so minutes longer.

Your hair is a mess. Oh gosh do they have napkins up here?

He pulls back, and hooded eyes admire the mess beneath him. "..Sosososoososo pretty.. Sunflower.."

Your arms are laid back, giving him complete access if he wants another taste.. you definitely wouldn't mind.

He pulls out a little handkerchief or whatever its called. He wipes up the sticky orange saliva mixed with your own. Embarrassingly, he wipes your neck down, and your lips before cleaning himself up. You whine, and cover your eyes with your forearm. You still can't help the smile that won't leave your face and your tummy jumping every so often. You're so red. Burning up.

He gently adjusts himself to lay his faceplate against your tummy, not entirely laying his whole weight on you. "..A-are you okay, Sunbite? Didn't break you, did we? Nononono.. we have more boxes! C-Christmas, right?"

You giggle, and he bobs a little as your tummy flutters with each laugh. He grins with you. You sigh. "Yeah. I'm broken. You broke me."

He whines. "Oh.. s-so does that mean we have to wait even longer to open the boxes!?"

You uncover your eyes from behind your forearm, and look down at him. You make sure he can see you rolling them ever so dramatically. "Yep. Gonna have to wait about an hour. I'll be fixed by then.. Probably."

He hums, and the rays on the left side of his head retract perfectly so he can lean his faceplate a little more in that direction. "..Awh, so.. Since you're already broken, doesssss.. that mean we can still have some more fun and we won't break you any further..? Hmm?"

Your mouth parts. You scoff playfully. "You wish." You stretch and rub at your neck as you begin to sit up. You groan. "Alright, go ahead. I'm fine, dork."

You rub at his rays, his faceplate having adjusted to your lap, his arms resting over your thighs to support himself. He's so silly. Flexible. His legs almost reach the wall.

He grins and jumps up toward the smallest box. It and the largest remain. You begin removing the tape from the empty one and folding it in half to lay flat for easy transportation to the trash probably.

You hear it slice open and he digs in.

On the very top of everything, are more pretty little striped ribbons. You got mostly red and yellow ones that are a lot fancier than their current plain red ones. A few others are striped with red and black, then, blue and white, next, black and white, and lastly, gold and black. You'll be able to connect the bells by tying them into it. You think they'll look cute. If they don't then they'll find some other use for them for sure. He plays with them for a bit before organizing them onto the floor. He tries to do those little ribbon dances while sitting up on his knees. It's cute, and it definitely makes you giggle. He hits himself in the face a few times and dramatically feigns injury.

In a little baggy, on top of some bubblewrap, is jewelry. You found a few sun and moon-themed clip-on necklaces at a silly antique shop this morning. They're adorable. The moon and sun next to each other in some of them are really fitting. Gold for Sun, and silver for Moon. You think it's fitting. You got some cute bracelets too. Nothing too fancy, but, there's a few fabric-like ones with metallic celestial-themed stars surrounding them, including a moon and sun littering one of them. They can wear it along with their ribbons. It'd be adorable. You got a collection of sun and moon-themed jewelry. Nothing too expensive, some are earrings, others are charms. They'll find some use for them. Definitely the star ones. He plays with the jewelry, and you have to show him how to put on the necklace. "See? You clip it on." And he eventually gets it all by himself. His eyes are almost sparkling that pretty blue hue.

The necklace clinks against his chest as he unwraps the bubble wrap from around two different lava lamps. One is blue, and the other is red. He has no idea what they are. "Do you have a plug-in here..?" You spot one soon before he can point you towards one and observe curiously as you plug them in. You switch them on, and his rays tick to the right before continuing to spin. They light up, and you giggle at his reaction. "Give it a minute to warm up. It's really cool."

He hesitantly continues to dig into the box. "O-okay.."

He sets out tons of plastic packaging. All containing fairy lights. They're modular, and can be linked. "You just plug them into an outlet, and you can scroll through tons of settings using a button on the end. They light up really cutely! It's.. super pretty, and I definitely got more than enough to absolutely litter the ceiling with them."

You link about three up for a demonstration, and he guides you to another outlet behind a random box full of paper. That's definitely not a fire hazard. You plug them up, and switch them on. You link the controller up, and switch through the settings. You can see the reflection in his eyes as he leans down to the floor and stares into them while they switch from sparkling white and yellow, to pink and purple. They go through dozens of variations of colors before reaching a loop. It's spectacular. "S-Sunflower! Ooh, Moon.. is.. Oh, they're sososo pretty, I adore them, yes! H-how do we hang them up!?"

You giggle, and unplug them for now. "I got some little clips that we can put into the walls and ceiling. You're taller so.. maybe you can reach?"

He shoots up and firmly places his palm onto the ceiling. "Mhm!"

You smile widely as you pile the lights with the rest. "Perfect. Oh, look at the lamps. You can probably move the little fold-out table you got here so they can be on top of it."

The lava lamps are bubbling, and Sun is absolutely hypnotized. You literally have to snap him out of it. He feels the warmth around them before fully returning to you. "W-wo-oah.. sososo pretty.. oh, Sunflower.. y-you're.. We.. never knew these existed, oh.."

You take his hand, and lead him back to the box. "Ya still got a few more things to discover."

His rays spin frantically. "O-oh, gosh.. we're gonna explode!" He picks up a box containing a Polaroid Camera, the camera blatantly displayed on the packaging. You reach in and take out the stacks of instant film for him too. "Mhm! You can take a ton of pictures yourself, now. Here.. unbox it and.." He's a few steps ahead of you.

You giggle, loading up the camera with the film, and double pressing the flash button to disable flash until the camera resets. You made sure to show Sun the entire process. You snap a picture of him, and he smiles just in time. The photo prints almost immediately. "..It'll be ready in a few minutes. It takes a bit." You sit up, and place the camera and photo onto the desk, the photo face down. "We'll check it out later, okay? But I think it's cute."

He nods as he watches you, excitedly swaying from side to side. You join him back at the box. "Got a bit more, go ahead." You lower the box's flap for him to reach inside. His rays signal finding something interesting, which.. is just about everything.

"Ooh.. wh-what's this..?" He pulls out a bag and a wooden box with a couple of seed packets attached to it. You wait for him to figure it out. "..Wha.. flowers..? H-how.. how will they grow..? I.. I'm not actually the sun, silly.."

You pull out the UV lamp he missed and a watering can. "Lamp. It'll work, I'll help you, promise. You can grow your own little flowers!"

He stares at the seed packets. "..Ooh, nono, y-you didn't have to.. silly.. you're the only flower we need.."

You're torn between rolling your eyes and melting at his comment. "I.. That's silly. You're.."

His faceplate spins to the side, awaiting your response. You sigh. "Charming." You exhale sharply with a smile. "C'mon, just one more thing."

Sun snaps out of his adoration. "O-oh." He reaches into the box for a tiny little shiny object wrapped in plastic and bubblewrap. He begins unwrapping it. "Oooh."

You shuffle up on your knees up to him. "It's a locket. I'm really surprised I found this one." There's a cute little nondescript sun and moon on the front. "You know the extra pictures I got of us?"

You gently take it from his hands, and open it up. "You can place them inside. I think the current ones might be just small enough."

His eyes widen at it opening. "O-oh! That's sosososo cute! It opens! Ooh.. we will keep it forever!"

You giggle. "Box is empty. Last one. Biggest one yet. I'm really excited about this one. Surprised you didn't open it first."

He nods eagerly. "Best for last! Yes!"

You place the locket on top of some bubble wrap, next to everything else.

Sun moves the box over to a free side of the room. It's pretty big, about half as tall as you, and definitely wider. He cuts it open, and you study his face as he studies inside, meticulously picking out what to pull out first.

He doesn't really have a choice. There's a beanbag on top. His head tilts to the side as he removes it. "W-we already have some.. Ooh."

You nod. "But these ones are fluffy!" The first one he pulls out is a basic gray, but covered in fluff. It's pretty big too. Almost didn't fit in the box. Made a good alternative to bubblewrap, though. "There's another under everything else. It's a tiny bit smaller, but still as fluffy."

He's stunned.

He pulls out a 32-inch TV that fit against the long side of the box.

"W-wha! We.. These.." He holds it and inspects the packaging for a second. "A-a television? W-wha? We don't have.."

You smile. "Mhmmm." You gesture for him to give it to you to set down. He excitedly searches for whatever you're implying.

A fucking Nintendo Switch.

His rays tick in excited curiosity. "..W-we've never seen a.. console like this before, nono.. T-the kids sometimes bring in little gamepads, o-or phones! They shouldn't have phones! B-but.."

You lean up to him and giggle. "You can play games on it. Kinda like in the arcade, but.. a lot better games."

He's in disbelief. His faceplate spins to the side as his rays spin in the opposite direction. "B-better games!? W-wha?"

You have to stop him from unpacking the Switch right then and there. "Heh, I'll help you set everything up once we're done unpacking entirely, okay?"

He whines.. "B-but.. Okay.."

He lets you put the switch next to the TV.

Halfway down the box, is another bulletin board. A bit bigger than the one you got earlier for the actual Daycare. "You can actually pin stuff onto it really easily. No tape or anything. I dunno, I think it's cute." He nods his head furiously. "Yes! It very much is! We have sosososo many pictures.. o-oh, we can transfer the list, and the gifts! B-but we're not poking anything into the sun and moon you made, nono!"

You giggle. "Mhm, valid."

He sets the board down against the wall, and retrieves the other beanbag, it being a pretty purple. He squeezes it a few times experimentally, and suddenly buries his head in it. You giggle as he emerges, and his eyelids open out of sync. He hands you the beanbag with a smile, and you hold it in your arms while he pulls out another big box within the already big box.

A little TV stand. It's compact not put together, but you'll have fun assembling it with Sun, or Moon.

That's it.

He looks back at the room, full of soso many gifts.

You study his gaze, and smile warmly up at him. "..I've got a few games you can play, once we get everything set up and comfy."

He's silent, and his rays are still. He's not fidgeting.

"Sun..?"

He comes back to life. His hands wring at his chest. "O-oh.. gosh.. w-we're going to have to reorganize, yes.."

You check your watch. "Mhm. Got about three more hours until I should head to Parts and Service to help out Dom with Freddy. We got time."

Sun caresses his own rays as his eyes dart around the room. "..Where to begin, oh.. where to begin.."

You help him out.

It's been only about half an hour.

You kept one of the cardboard boxes to keep Sun's jewelry and trinkets in. He's stacking up all the books and art supplies onto the table in the main room. He says he'll get an actual chair that'll fit him somewhere, or, Moon will. He's a little anxious about 'borrowing stuff'. Moon isn't.

All the miscellaneous cardboard boxes they already had in their little 'bedroom' as you're gonna call it now have been moved to the main room. It'll be their storage from now on, one wall holding all the various supplies he needs.

You spent the time hanging up fairy lights in their bedroom while he ripped down wallpaper in the main room on the same wall as the tube to the left of when you enter from the balcony. It reveals a messed up wooden door, however without a handle. You jumped, thinking he was only uncovering the one door. Nope. There's another that also leads into their bedroom hidden behind wallpaper. It's on the right wall from when you enter through the tube.

You didn't even notice him removing the kid's drawings on the wall leading into the hidden hallway. You were a bit busy trying your best to use a little stepladder that barely fit through the tube to hang up the lights. You stare back as a door opens and disturbs the wallpaper on your side of the room. "..You could've warned me."

He ducks in. "O-oh, sorry. W-we'd like to put the TV and Switch in here, i-if that's okay..?"

You pin the last clip onto the lights hanging across the ceiling, and step down. "Of course it's okay Sunny. It's your room."

Luckily the room is tall enough that the lights can sag a little as they're strung across the ceiling, and Sun doesn't hit them. You lead a controller over to a socket, and plug it in.

Even with the lamp on that heart-patterned table, it's still so pretty. Sun definitely adores it as he stands motionless for a few seconds admiring it. He's so rarely completely still.

You giggle. "Where do you want the lava lamps?"

He eventually decides to have both of them on each ends of the long plastic fold-out desk in the main room against the wall directly in front of the balcony. It's long enough to take up most of the wall, and still have room for Sun to do his art, and Moon to write and learn calligraphy. They'll also read and explore the books there sometimes if they wanna. Sun has already organized the books and puzzles and stuff into cardboard boxes along the right wall, next to their charging pod. His new ribbons are in a box under the fold-out desk.

You set up some fairy lights in the main room too, although, not too much.

Sun carries the cork bulletin board into their bedroom. He hangs it up on the left wall after you enter the tube, and proceeds to bring in the extra beanbags to swap out with the old ones. He takes the old purple and pink beanbags into the main room, and sets them on either side of the balcony exit.

You're kinda grateful you don't have to crawl through the tube as much anymore. It's still a little fun. Definitely will be more fun when your ribs heal entirely.

He takes the shark in, and lays it onto your little makeshift bed which is still made, under the pictures and sun and moon gifts.

You watch as he stares at the wall. "..Do you wanna put them somewhere else?"

He slowly nods while looking back at you. "..J-just.. maybe to the left wall? We'd have to move the kid's drawings.."

You smile warmly up at him. "I'll help. We can put them all in the main room. Don't you have a box full of some more? We can always just.. paint a wall with them."

His rays withdraw and extend a little as they spin. "O-ooh, yes, that's a good idea! N-never.. really had the time.. nono." They never had the motivation much either, despite how much they adored them.

You carefully help him remove the kids' drawings from the left wall, and take them into the main room. You carefully use thumbtacks to pin them onto the right wall, while he gets the taller portion which you can't reach. He places some above the plastic desk too, but stares at the space long enough for you to notice.

All the indoor garden stuff is set up to the right of their charging pod, left of the balcony if you're exiting. You'll set it up with him later.

You walk over to him, as you're finished after around half an hour of hanging up hundreds of kid's drawings. "Wucha thinking about?"

He slowly turns to you, like he's glued to that place on the wall above the desk, in-between the lava lamps. "..Wanna hang the locket there.. yes.. don't wanna lose it.."

You giggle. "That'd be cute. Do you have any nails?"

He nods, holding his hands at his chest. "Mhm.. I'll put it in!"

You squeeze around his waist before heading to the door leading out into the hallway. "Okie, I'm gonna put up the board. It's okay to pin them if the hole is only ever in one spot, right..?" He's digging through a box for nails as he answers. He pauses and thinks it over after his head turns a full 180 to respond to you. "Mmh, o-okay. As long as it's only ever in one spot, yes.."

You smile and give him a thumbs up before turning left into the bedroom.

It's up. It's pretty. You used the rest of the fairy lights to outline the board. It's really cute. You're gonna need a power strip soon. You're not using too many plugs. You'll make sure nothing is a fire hazard anyway.

Sun adores it. His mouth gaped a little and his rays froze as soon as he ducked into the room. He only snaps out of it after realizing his still holding the box for the little TV stand when he tries to reach for his face. "O-oh, sososo pretty. Sunflower.. You did soso nice.."

The board has the Sun and Moon gifts side by side near the top. Their date list is in the middle under the gifts, with all the pictures to the sides of it. It's cute.

The little table holding the lamp is over in the right corner of the room closest to the tube, and under it, is the box containing Sarah's books.

Sun moves the pile of blankets, pillows, and plushies under the bulletin board. It's a mess for now. You barely get time to read half the instructions before Sun does, and he mostly does all the work putting together the table. You make sure everything is tightened and inspect it for things he missed in his haste, and it's done. He giggles. "Such a good team, yes.."

You gather up the trash on the blanketed floor and set it inside the original box. "Mhm, I barely got time to read the instructions."

Sun pouts. "You were a lot of help, silly.. Mmh, d-do you mind setting up the TV and Switch..? I.. want to get something."

You nod. "Can you get my backpack for me too? It's next to the security desk. Oh, and the duffle bag of my clothes. Just bring them in here pretty please."

He clasps his hands together, and beats your nod in intensity by about 10NPS (nods per second). He skitters out the tube before you can thank him, not even using the doors - them being a little longer of a route.

Pretty easy getting the TV and Switch hooked up. The only assembly was really the stand and the actual TV. You plug it in, and everything is hooked up. You're good with electronics and stuff after all. Like, you have two robot boyfriends. For real.

Sun lands on the balcony, and you can hear him skipping through the main room's door and into the bedroom. He sets your backpack against the wall, as well as the duffle bag having been on the same arm. He then proceeds to lug in two fucking twin-sized mattresses.

"Where did you get those..!?" You watch as he sets them down under the bulletin board after clearing the old makeshift bedding.

His head turns to you while he lays them side by side and his rays retract a little. "..O-oh, w-well.. The infirmary may have a few extras.. I-I am very glad I did not run into anyone, yes.."

He's already almost finished layering the makeshift bed with blankets, pillows, plushies (including the sun and moon ones), and the shark.

You burst out laughing. He pauses and stares at you. You catch your breath. "S-sorry, just.. our situation is absurd, y'know."

He grins, and lowers himself onto his knees to add the final touches to the bed, like a cat kneading. "Mhm, I wouldn't have it any other way, no.."

You push the trash in the box over to the side and waddle on your knees to the bed. You fall into him. "Me either, Sunlight."

He holds you to him. You press your chin against his chest and look up at him. "Wanna play?"

His faceplate jolts over to the TV, it showing the Switch's language selection screen. You powered it on before leaving it.

He looks back down to you. If his rays were spinning any faster, you'd feel the wind created by them hitting your face. "Yes! Yesyesyes! Please!"

You let go, and giggle as you crawl over to the controller - you putting the joysticks into the plastic controller-shaped holder already.

You select English, select all the terms, connect to the hopefully safe Plex's employee internet, and follow all the instructions. You help Sunny set up his profile, him selecting the "Yellow star thing!" - as his profile picture. You create his account with a little difficulty, and you're all set up.

He's right behind you, and you're in-between his legs. He's warm. He watches in awe as you operate the UI. You lean back into him as you open up the Eshop, enter his password, link your credit card, and find the game.

Undertale.

You think it's a good first real game for him.

It eventually downloads, and you boot it up.

Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS.

One day, war broke out between the two races.

After a long battle, the humans were victorious.

They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell.

Many years later…

MT Ebott 201X.

Legends say that those who climb the mountain never return.

The pretty music plays through the surprisingly good TV speakers, and the title card shows. You press [A]. You take some time to explain the controls to him on the menu screen - even though it explains it regardless. He looms over you and watches your fingers carefully as you help him understand.

"You ready? You just need to press 'begin game'." You hand the controller to him.

You can feel him nodding above you. "Yesyes! Like the joysticks! Yes.." It takes a little time for him to type in his name, 'Sundrop', but he gets it. He's a quick learner.

He presses A, confirming the name, and the screen fades to white.

"Oooh, flowers.."

He enters the ruins, and approaches the singular, friendly yellow flower. "..Ooh! Flower! ..Flowey."

He is hesitant to trust Flowey, but does so anyways.

"O-oh.. W-why did he do that? He's.. mean." He sulks, lowering to place his faceplate on top of your head.

You smile. "Awe, it's okay. Promise it gets better. He's just a meanie."

The circle closes in around him. "W-what do I do?"

A fireball hits Flowey, and Toriel saves Sun.

"O-oh.. Toriel.. She seems.. nice. I-I like her music!"

He follows her, and you direct him to save at the star.

He follows Toriel through the Ruin's puzzles. "She's proud of me.."

He's relieved when Toriel explains he doesn't need to hurt the Dummy. He talks to it, and is more than happy with the outcome.

He continues following, until a Froggit attacks him. "Oh.. nono, not good.. where is Toriel?" He compliments the Froggit.

Sun giggles at the little interaction. "..I hope she is actually very kind, yes."

You lean comfortably back into him, checking your watch. Two more hours. "She is. Mostly."

Toriel guides Sun across the spiked puzzle.

He panics a little when Toriel suddenly leaves him, and when he finally catches up with her, and is told to stay, you have to literally tell him to proceed. He didn't want to otherwise. You assured him it was okay.

When he enters the next room, he talks to the Froggit.

" (If you ACT a certain way or FIGHT until you almost defeat them…) "

" (They might not want to battle you anymore.) "

He makes sure to remember that.

He picks butterscotch for the pie.

Sun finishes the rest of the puzzles and battles perfectly, only needing a few tries to figure them out. He spares or flees with everyone.

Napstablook, the Spider Bake Sale, lore, Toriel's phone tips, Toy Knife.

He meets Toriel finally at the tree with fallen red leaves.

Toriel shows Sun his room, and he audibly 'Aw's' when she pats his character's head. He inspects the bedroom, and goes to sleep.

He picks up the pie, and leaves, first meeting Chairiel, being ' scandalous', and meeting a 'tsundere' plant. You have to explain the word to him. He looks in the mirror, and heads to the living room.

He doesn't immediately ask Toriel when he can go home, but after a bit of exploring, sticking his hand into a fire, and reading bone puns, he has to.

He avoids the necessary dialogue at first, preferring to talk about snails, but after not progressing much, his hand is forced.

He leaves and goes back to his room multiple times after Toriel tells him to. You giggle each time, and he whines, not wanting to interfere. He comments multiple times on how nice she is.

He especially doesn't want to continue after being told how many before him have died. How many humans before him, have died. That if he continues, they will die.

" Prove to me you are strong enough to survive. "

He's eventually forced to confront Toriel.

He surprisingly dodges a lot of the attacks, but eventually, his health dwindles.

* Ironically, talking does not seem to be the solution to this situation.

He gets the same response again. He doesn't know what to do. You don't give him many hints.

He remembers what the Froggit told him.

He fights. "..I-I'll get her low enough, then the dialogue will change, right..?"

"Maybe. Worth a shot." You smile.

He hits it perfectly on the mark. 22 damage.

He takes another hit. 2/20 health.

He fights again, and deals another 21 damage.

Toriel's attacks are different. "Ohh..?"

He tries talking again. Her response is still the same.

He goes back to fighting. 53 damage this time. He's getting somewhere.

He tries talking again . Her response is the absolute same.

Fight. 59 damage.

Talk. Same response.

Fight. 58 damage.

Fight. 56 damage.

Her attacks continue to intentionally miss him.

Sun does not know what to do. Nothing is working.

He talks. The same response is given.

He looks into items. Nothing seems useful. The mercy tab does not give offer anything that would help, at least, he doesn't think?

He fights again.

331 damage.

"Urgh…"

"You are stronger than I thought…."

"Listen to me, small one…"

"If you go beyond this door,"

"Keep walking as far as you can."

Eventually you will reach an exit."

"..."

"..."

"ASGORE…"

"Do not let ASGORE take your soul."

His plan cannot be allowed to succeed."

"..."

"Be good, won't you?"

" ."

She falls, and dusts. Her soul shatters.

Sun's hands on the controller in your lap are still. He doesn't move.

Static creeps its way out of his voice box. "..I-I.. I didn't.. m-mean to.."

His hands are shaking.

You lean back and look up at him. You gently hold at his rays. "..Hey, it's okay. You can reset."

He looks down at you, a frown painting his face. "..R..Reset..?"

You grin. "Yeah. Just go back to your last save. Here.."

You exit the game for him, and boot it back up.

He goes through the entire process again. Well, almost the same process.

"... Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like you have seen a ghost?."

"Do you know something that I do not?"

"No... That is impossible."

That definitely gets gears turning in his head, but, he doesn't connect any dots. You guide him a little, a nd he begins the fight. He spares her, a lot.

Eventually, he gets new dialogue.

He whines. "..I-I wanna listen to her.."

You assure him it'd just restart the entire process. He sulks. "O-okay."

He takes such pity during the dialogue.. oh his poor heart.

But, eventually, she lets him go.

"If you truly wish to leave the RUINS…"

"I will not stop you."

"However, when you leave…"

"Please do not come back."

"I hope you understand."

Toriel hugs Sun's character.

"Goodbye, my child."

He whines, and sulks into the top of your head, enveloping you into him. "I-I didn't wanna hurt her.. I-is she going to be okay..?"

You rub his hand, which dwarfs the controller - yet he's somehow dexterous enough to use it still. "Yeah, she'll be okay. You did your best. It's okay, Sunshine."

"Mmh.." He hesitantly leaves the Ruins.

He approaches Flowey.

"Clever."

"Verrrryyy clever."

"You think you're really smart, don't you?"

"In this world, it's kill or be killed."

Sun interrupts. "..Why's he here again.. w-what does he mean? I-I don't like him.."

"So you were able to play by your own rules."

"You spared the life of a single person."

"Hee hee hee…"

"But don't act so cocky."

Sun doesn't register cocky as profanity in his system. Technically, it's not. He listens. Flowey continues.

"I know what you did."

" You murdered her."

" And then you went back, because you regretted it."

Your smile is fucked up.

Sun stiffens around you. "W-wha.. H-how! N-no! I.. I.. W-we reset!? Does.. w-what.. S-Sunflower!?"

You giggle. "Who?"

Sun whines. "You! Not it! I don't.. I don't.. It's.. I don't like this!"

You adjust yourself, and turn to look up at him. Your smile fades as you see his face. "..Oh.. Hey, it's okay. Okay.. resetting doesn't entirely reset your game, but.. I can hard reset it for you, I promise. I just wanted to see your reaction. Are you okay..? I'm sorry. It's just a game, I promise. It's programmed to do that."

He shudders above you. "..T-That's.. cruel. That's mean of them! Y-you should've warned me.. Not nice.. nono.. So mean."

You lean your head into his chest. "I'll make it up to you. Promise. I'll help you be super nice to everyone, okay? I promise."

He groans. "..Mmmmh, o-okay. If you promise.."

You back up, and gesture for the controller.

He hands it to you, and watches as you reset the data. "You'll have to do everything all over again, but.. Don't you think that was a little cool..?"

He crosses his arms and pouts. "..Mmh. I.. didn't like it.. scary." He locks eyes with you, and looks away just as quickly. "..Just a little.. smart.. o-of them."

You laugh. "Alright, well, I'll show you cool stuff that isn't scary this time. Okay?"

He decompresses a little. "..Okay.."

And you do. For just about another hour.

You meet Sans, and Papyrus, and he adores them so far.

You stop somewhere in the middle of Snowdin. Your watch buzzes.

Wendy messaged you.

Wendy

Hey sweetie, Dom is working on Freddy's battery in P&E right now, at any time about before eight, could you go take a look? See if you can't help him out? I know it's a little early still, it being 4:03, but, sooner the better. Thanks. Hope Sun and Moon's gifts went cutely lol, and that the meeting went well.. If ya wanna talk about it, me and April can come by sometime. Talk to ya soon.

You reply confirming you'll head over to help out Dom soon, and you can talk about the meeting anytime maybe tomorrow. You're gonna be busy.

Sun notices your reply, and hits pause.

You're sitting in-between his lap as usual. You crane your head backwards, and look up at him. "Wanna relax for a little bit before I head down? Shouldn't take too long."

He wraps himself around you. "Ooh, pleasepleaseplease, yes.. I would like that.." He adjusts his arm under your legs and one supporting your back, keeping your torso straight. He carries you over to the bed he made for you two, and he lays you onto the fluffy blankets and next to dozens of stuffed animals - including the Blahaj.

You rest your neck against the pillows, and he slumps down next to you, leaning back against the wall. He's far enough down that you can easily adjust your head to be on his tummy. You wrap an arm around him.

"You made a good bed."

You yawn. "Ugh.. I can't be tired right now.."

Sun hums, playing with your hair. "..I make a good bed because I am in it, yes.."

You giggle a little. "Is Moon jelly? Isn't this kinda his thing?" You're a bit right. Sun is swaying his foot side to side at the other end of the bed. He tries his best to be still, but it's not perfect.

Sun is silent for a while. You simply listen to his inner components whirring until he replies.

His foot stops. "..He hasn't been very.. active.. today."

You hum inquisitively. "..He hasn't been active? Out?"

Sun shakes his head, even though you can't see it. "..He hasn't been talking. Not since.. this morning."

You sit up a bit. "..What? Why.. he hasn't been talking? Has he been there with you..? What happened? Is he okay?"

Sun whines. "It.. it's okay.. I.. We fought.. a little bit. We.. we've done this sometimes in the past.. with each other. We block each other out.. yes. When the other is out, we can decide not to be there at all, in the others' head.. Like how the one who has control can block the other out, w-we can decide to block ourselves out voluntarily.."

You look up at Sun worriedly. He might be more worried than you. His rays are retracted and he's avoiding eye contact. You place your hand onto his chest. "..Can he come back at any time..?"

Sun nods. "We.. 'wake up' every few hours, but.. we can decide to go back to 'sleep'. I've only felt him about.. a-about two times since this morning.. He went back I think.."

Your gut sinks a little. "What are you two fighting about..? Do you wanna talk about it..?"

Sun locks eyes with you for a second, and turns away. "..No.. nono.. not really. It will be okay.."

You scoot closer to him, and adjust yourself onto your knees. You cradle his face in your hands, playing with rays to soothe him. "..Okay. It'll be okay. I'm.. sorry. I hope you two make up soon. I don't like seeing you guys fight."

Sun sighs. "Me either.."

You kiss him on the cheek. "Are you gonna be okay here? I'm gonna get going soon. Sooner I get this fixed, the sooner I can be back."

Sun nods, and smiles warmly. "I'll be okay, yesyes.. So many things to do, not going to be bored at all!"

You reach for his hand, and giggle. "Good, wanna help me out? You said there's a way out besides the balcony, right?"

He perks up a bit, and follows your hand up before towering over you out of the bed. "Oh! Yesyes, follow me, it's been.. forever since we used this, yes.."

You grab your backpack, and he leads you down the hallway. He opens a latch on a white door. You both emerge on the other side, and it shuts behind you.

It's a picture of the main cast, all pirate-themed. Sun tucks his fingers behind the painting. "A-and to get back in, just feel around.. here, for the latch!"

You smile, observing your surroundings. "Ah, the movie theater. That's really cool. You guys have your own secret entrance."

Sun hums. Mhm! Just.. please don't tell anyone, okay..? Promise..? We.. we had it hidden for a reason.."

Your brows furrow. "..Oh. Oh, yeah, I promise. Of course. Our secret." You wrap your pinky around his before detaching so you can give him a hug. You stay like that for a couple of seconds longer than necessary. He rubs your back and you dig your head into his tummy.

You pull back. "Oh." You press your hand to your neck. "..Did you give me a hickey? Is it visible?"

He looks down at your neck for a few seconds, then back to your eyes. "..N-No. Not one."

You sigh, and roll your eyes. "Great..See ya in a bit Sunshine, love you."

His rays tick and stop for a second. "O-oh, love you too, Sunflower, yes.." He waves animatedly.

You giggle and wave back as you walk off. You need to get a scarf.

You grab something to eat before you head to P&S. It takes about half an hour, and you grow a little sleepier than you were before after.

You eventually end up at Parts and Service. You open the doors, and Dom is definitely there, working on Freddy in the capsule. He's currently pinching his nose and observing the terminal.

Dom adjusts his dark blue beanie before turning to see what caused the creaking. "Ah, hey. Nice to meet ya finally. You wanna take a crack at Freddy?"

You stretch a little as you walk over, popping your knuckles. "I can try. What do you know so far?"

He sighs. "Not a hardware issues, that's for sure. I've replaced his battery almost a dozen times. I've examined literally everything imaginable that would be physically interfering with charging or draining it at an excessive rate. It makes absolutely no sense. His battery seems fine when it's replaced, but.. a day later, after a full charge, it's back down to low capacity. I've checked his pod already, it works fine."

Freddy's ears adjust in the pod. You look back at the computer in the corner of the room you usually use. "So, a software issue?"

Dom shakes his head. "Wouldn't make sense. Blueprints and docs only say he's supposed to be draining a certain amount of power per minute, and according to any recent software or hardware updates, it absolutely does not align with what we're seeing now. He's going from full to empty in less than an hour sometimes. It's inconsistent too. I can't find anything that'd be causing it."

You pause to think for a bit as you observe Freddy in the pod, relatively calm. "..You mind if I do check his software?"

Dom almost leans entirely down onto the console in defeat. "Yeah, please. Go ahead."

He deactivates the containment procedure and you walk in. "Hey Freddy."

He smiles, and sits up. "Hey, Superstar. Are you to help with my battery? I do not have any idea what could be wrong either.." His ears drop.

You gesture for him to follow. "Yeah. Hoping we can figure it out before my shift ends."

Dom follows. "Yeah, me too, but.. Man, I've been at this for about.. five days now? Only even been here a week. Really testing me."

You guide Freddy to the table. Quite a strong table for supporting Sun and Moon, and now Freddy. "Go ahead and sit. I'll hook you up. How long has this been going on, do you know..?" You take off your backpack and place it onto the chair before sitting down.

Freddy sighs. "..Yes, it has been.. a.. a little under a week."

Dom watches as you boot up the computer. "Why don't you use the console at the capsule?"

You shrug. "More used to this. Easier. I could use my laptop, but, I don't wanna have to untangle all the wires. This only needs one. Could you connect it to Freddy, Dom?"

He sits up onto the table, and plugs the cable into Freddy.

Your interface loads up, and it's a bit different from Sun and Moon's, but.. decipherable enough. "..Got any like.. information that could help? You've been charging properly? Do you remember anything close to when this happened that might've triggered it? Even small stuff might help."

You open up a task manager-like program, and view his internal processes. No, you couldn't use this for Sun, the virus would have to be active for it to even pop up you're pretty sure.

After about half an hour of searching - using various provided programs, and Dom occasionally providing actually helpful ideas that.. unfortunately don't go anywhere. You're just as stumped as he is.

You move the keyboard out of the way and rest your head into your arms. "..Yeah. I'm getting a headache."

You hum. You think for a few minutes.

You sit up. "..Freddy, when's the last time you charged?"

He turns to you, and avoids eye contact. "..Last night. As usual."

You sigh. "Dom, can you unhook him? What's your battery at right now, Freddy?"

Dom nods, and climbs onto the table to disconnect Freddy.

Freddy pauses for a second. "Twenty-four percent."

You put on your backpack. "You have a charging pod in your greenroom, right Freddy?"

He nods. "..Yes. I do."

Dom sighs. "I checked his pod. It should be working fine."

You begin walking to the door. "Yeah, have you checked if Freddy charges while actually in it?"

Dom and Freddy follow you. Dom stutters. "..Y-yeah? Well, Freddy is charging every night. They all do. Nothing else seems to be the problem otherwise."

"Come on. I wanna try something." You hold the door open for them.

Freddy's ears unusually drooped starting from when you brought up him and his pod.

You connected Freddy to your laptop, and recorded his battery percentage. "Twenty-three currently. Battery seems to be draining at a normal rate." You unhook him on the couch, and ask him to go into the pod.

He does. The door slides open, and he walks out into the back room containing the pod. The door shuts behind him. You hear the charging pod's door open, and shut. "..I'll give him five minutes. Should be up around 5% then according to his latest docs."

You lean into the bright red couch next to Dom. The blindingly red Freddy-themed room is a little too bright. A checkerboard strip wraps around it until it meets the glass, currently, having curtains closed over it. You set your computer off your lap and onto the blue star-shaped table in front of you. You admire the kid's drawings of Freddy on the walls, and the more professional artwork littering it. You'll wait another minute.

Dom leans forward. "..So. You think he's lying?"

You nod. "..Wonder if he's stressed. Only reason he'd be intentionally depriving himself of charge is.. this place sucks. And he is the main character after-all."

Dom leans back. His eyes have those signature Fazbear enterprise trademarked dark circles around them. His facial hair is a mess. "Ah. Wasted five days busting my ass trying to figure it out. Man. He could've just told me.. I'd understand. This place sucks, and these bots here.. Wouldn't be surprised if they were sentient." He chuckles. "Man.. if I'm overworked doing eight hours a day.. Plex is open, what? 7am to 8pm? They're working that entire time. Every weekday.."

You turn to him. "..Well. Pretty sure they are.." You sigh. "A bit of a relief.. most people don't give a shit about them."

He nods. "..Doesn't help the staff is being stretched thin either. Less people to care."

You sit up. "..Yeah, well. I'll burn this company to the ground before they fire me. Don't tell anyone I said that."

You're not lying. You probably already have the means to do so, at least metaphorically, all in your drawer at your home. You really need to make backups.

Dom chuckles. "Don't worry, I think this place kinda sucks too."

You stand, and head to Freddy's pod in the back room. You enter through the metal door into a dimly lit, dirty, gray, run-down room. You walk forward through trash littered occasionally on the ground, and between depressingly run-down dark brick walls.

You stop in between an open gate of a chain-link fence. He's sitting against the wall on the dirty concrete ground next to some weird servers and a sliding cart with a propane tank in the middle of it.

His ears are as low as they'll go, and he refuses to look up.

He shuts his eyes.

"..Please do not tell anyone."

You walk up to him. "..I'm not. C'mon though. Let's talk this out and find a solution, alright?"

He looks up for a second, and nods. You let him take his time, and you give him space.

He follows you back.

He sits down on the slightly elevated platform that'd lead out to the decrepit back room.

You sit in front of him as Dom watches from the couch.

"..Stress?"

He nods. "..They communicate with me. The managers. I am supposed to give out the schedules. I am supposed to break the bad news of how many shows we are doing.. It seems to increase each week now. I am supposed to be programmed to be a leader. I am tired. This.. is not including everything that has happened recently."

He stares over at you. You lock eyes with him. "..I'm sorry. I'm really thankful for you standing up for us Friday. I really am."

His ears almost perk up a little. They drop again before moving more than an inch. "We are all tired."

You let him continue.

"..Monty is on the verge of doing something drastic. He does not want to be treated like this anymore.. He does not care what happens to him. He is overdue for a factory reset."

"Roxy takes the neglect and harassment from customers personally. She thinks it is her fault. She is to have her claws removed due to 'accidentally' clawing herself. Our internal sensors are the only ones we have which would cause.. rather significant pain."

"Chica is being removed from her Cupcake shop to perform more and interact with customers like I do. It is being replaced with STAFF bots. She does not like big groups of people. She is likely to be inhibited like Monty was - so she will not fear crowds."

He sighs. "I have not told them any of this yet. There is nothing I can do. We are falling apart. All of us. I can not keep us together any more. If they wanted us to be perfect, they should not have made us so advanced."

Your mouth is agape. You look back at Dom. He's slouched forward, elbows resting on his knees. His hands are covering his mouth.

You lean forward to Freddy. "Who's doing this?"

His eyes do not leave the ground. "..Walker is only the messenger, like I am supposed to be. Damien, the other manager, only very much handles the STAFF bots and other general necessities. He is not very involved in the advanced animatronics. We do not know. They do not work here."

You pause to think for a minute.

"When did this change occur?"

Freddy looks up. "Two weeks ago, almost.. It was.. manageable before."

You sit up and turn to Dom. "Can I ask you a favor?"

You'll get to work on the antivirus tomorrow of course - or simply, on any general solution. An antivirus isn't your only idea. You'll be.. overworked, but. Whatever. This shouldn't take too long.

You're going to forge diagnostics on each of the Glamrock's power supply units, indicating that they are being overstressed. The high-level security badge Roxy gave you should help if you can get find where their online documents are stored. You'll talk with Wendy in-person tomorrow about how the meeting went, and what you got for Sun and Moon. You'll also talk with her about finding where the physical copies are stored. If you need to do further research, you will.

You don't think it will be that difficult convincing Walker to communicate up the chain that animatronics with near human-level intelligence would need actual resting periods or else they will malfunction - hence the damaged PSUs. If it doesn't convince him, you could always drop a fried power supply on his desk.

Due to the Glamrock's schedules being made worse about two weeks ago, and Freddy beginning his battery-draining act just a few days ago - almost a week, it could line up well.

You'll check if the previous documents and blueprints conflict with your planned forged diagnostics indicating overstressing the power supplies. If they do, you'll figure out a way to update the online files without actually indicating they were, you know, updated. Physical copies should be a lot easier.

If absolutely necessary, you'll set up a.. strike of some sort. The Glamrocks will lose power, either simply acting it.. or.. through other means. You and Dom are techs. You'd only have to worry about others you don't know, like Tara, interfering with inspecting the hardware. Anyone else like Walker wouldn't have a clue of what's going on if you play your cards right.

You think it's reasonable. Of course, you're only going to try that route after basic communication with Walker doesn't work, but.. It won't hurt to prepare just in case.

You got Dom's number, he knows the plan, and so does Freddy. Wendy will be updated tomorrow. Sun and Moon might be able to help too.

This place is a neon hell.

You exhaustedly lug your backpack over one shoulder as you make your way across the Atrium, and into the elevators. You probably just missed Tara working on the other Glamrocks - or she got done early, but, with one of them being Monty, you're a bit glad about the timing. You're not ready to kick that hornets nest yet.

You're never going to forgive Monty, but. God, he's actually suicidal. If only you could've had a civilized conversation with him at some point. Maybe sometime in the future you actually will.

You just have a lot more shit to process first before any of that.

A lot more.

You cross the Daycare's balcony, past the party rooms, and into the theater entrance. You walk over the second floor of the theater, and listen as the comedy STAFF bot is up and running again.

You open the latch to the painting's entrance, and knock on the wall as you approach down the hall.

You finally smile as Sun peeks around the corner of his bedroom door.

"Heh. Hey Sunshine."

He races towards you. You feel the vibrations of his steps on the floor. Your heart jumps a little out of surprise and.. yeah, that , as he falls to his knees and wraps his arms gently around your waist. His head wraps over your shoulder. "Oh I missed you sosososo much! Y-you said you'd be back soon!"

You struggle to keep your balance. Luckily he keeps it for you as he holds you close. "It's been at most.. two hours, Sunny."

He mumbles into your shoulder. "Mmh, too too long.."

You hug him back.

You stay like that for a bit, leaning into him. You yawn. "..Did you have fun with your drawing stuff..?"

He pulls back, and nods frantically, his hands wringing at his chest as he looks back. "O-oh! Yes! Sososo much fun, I drew something! I want you to see!"

You giggle. "Alright, lemme get this backpack off."

You remove your shoes at the door before heading into his bedroom. He retrieves the drawing from the main room, hence the shuffling of papers and dropping of pencils you're hearing.

Before you left, Freddy gifted you a box of lavender incense. There was also a little holder for it, and some matches. He said Chica found them in one of the abandoned break rooms, and they don't really have a sense of smell, so.

It.. It's nice. Maybe not in another life, but in this one, it's nostalgic to you. You used to burn the same scent of incense when you were younger, sitting at your old computer desk. It wasn't the best time in your life, but.. you liked it anyway for whatever reason. You don't really understand it. There was enough good to make up for the bitter taste it still sometimes leaves. The nostalgia overpowers it all.

A time that's bitter but sweet. You're sure there's a word for that~.

You take it all out of your backpack, and set the bag against the wall next to your duffel bag. You set up a stick to burn over on the orange table, patterned with multicolored hearts. You lay it next to the lamp, and light the match.

You giggle as Sun freaks out a bit. "Do you have a trash can? It's just incense, don't worry."

He doesn't really understand, but you're calm, so he calms a little. He leaves to retrieve a plastic bag from the other room, you didn't get to see the paper in his other hand yet.

He returns in just a few seconds, hiding the paper behind his back as he offers you the bag. "..W-what's incense?" You toss the match in and blow out the fire growing on the tip of the incense. You tie the bag loosely for now and rest it against the wall. You look up to him. "You can taste.. right? So.. can you.. smell?"

He stills for a second. "Oh.. Yesyes.. A little, yes.. Taste and smell are very similar, mhm! It.. it is very pleasant. W-what is it?"

You smile and crawl over to the bed. He's found a bedsheet and made it fit tightly on both mattresses pushed together. There's plenty of blankets and pillows and stuffed animals.. It.. might be comfier than your bed at home, honestly.

"Lavender." You lay on your back on the bed, neck supported by a pillow and Blahaj. You exhale. You relax. You look over at Sun as you smile at his obvious excitement he's growing worried you forgot about. "Can I see your drawing now, pleeease?"

The fairy lights on the ceiling are a pretty blue, and the ones surrounding the bulletin board above the bed are white-yellow. It's not dark enough to show their full potential, but.. you don't think it'd be good to force Moon out.. especially if he doesn't wanna be out.

Sun shuffles on his knees next to you. "O-okay, I.. haven't drawn in a while, no.. s-so."

He hands you the paper, and you lay eyes on the most pretty fucking sunflower you've ever seen. The linework is absolutely perfect. The colors are so neat in-between the lines.. They're even shaded differently. He picked the prettiest yellows.

Sun rambles. "I-I.. saw the sunflower in one of the books, a-and.. on the seed packets, and.. with Flowey! I had.. a good idea.. I hope it's okay.."

He signed his name with a literal sun after the word 'Sunny'. Eight rays evenly spaced around the circle.

You look up at him, awaiting your judgment.

You giggle, and your mouth parts in awe at the artwork. "..Sunshine, you.. you're such a good artist.. You drew stuff like this before..? You learned how to do this yourself? It's so pretty, please hang this up, okay? Look at it! It's amazing!" You show him his own art, like he hasn't inspected it a million times already. "I'm getting you all the art supplies you'll ever need, okay?"

His rays retract, oh how cute he is. He smiles. "O-oh, t-thank you.. I.. I didn't know if I would still be good, nono.. I did it from some references.. I.."

You interrupt. "Doesn't matter. It's wonderful. Please, I'll get you a folder or something. Oh! You should take a picture of it with the Polaroid!"

He lights up. "Oh! Okay, I will go do that!"

You hear the click, and he's eventually back.

He lays down with you. You explain to him what happened with Freddy, and what's going on with the Glamrocks as a whole. He's not happy that you're going to be working so hard, but.. he wants to help as much as he can. He's sure Moon would too, however, he was hesitant offering so.

"Can you hand me the controller. I forgot you can get YouTube and stuff on there." You pull the covers over you, and Sun also adjusts the beanbags to be to the right out of the way, near the door.

You download YouTube, and give Sun the controller.

You check your phone as he's occupied.

April texted you about drawing for you and Sun, asking if you had any requests. You sent back that you didn't mind, but Sun would probably like some flowers.

You start a text to Wendy.

You

hey, uh.. lots has happened. probably would rather talk to you about it in person, but. im gonna be super busy. long story short. im kinda seriously considering offering Mimi to be taken care of by you and April if you'd like, and if you want, i can totally provide payment for catsitting. super long day, as always. meeting didnt go well. glamrocks are in trouble. ill tell you about it tomorrow, but. if you could look after Mimi again, make sure shes fed and has water, id appreciate it so much. please let me know if you need money for gas or checking in on her. im more than capable of providing. thanks for being the best 3

You send the message, and hop onto Amazon. There's a few things you've been thinking of getting that aren't gonna be at any general store. With Prime though, should be at your place by tomorrow.

After you're done, you're about to put away your phone, but, you got a text back.

Wendy

Yeah! I can go over tonight, no problem. If you're serious about adoption, we'd be more than happy to just foster her, even temporarily. She's really sweet. Got a cat carrier and everything. Don't worry about payment, sweetie. Having her around the house is more than enough payment. I'm not going to be in the Plex for the next two days, I have them off, but April will be, so. We could call about it if you want? If you need to talk in person, April can relay it back to me, just take it easy please. If you need anything, know we're here for you, okay?

You

yeah. you're.. literally the best. thank you Wendy. i'll go ahead and talk with April about it tomrrow. I'll be alright. cya wednesday, if not sooner 3

You pocket the phone for a bit, and lean into Sun.

You lay with him for about half an hour watching cat videos and.. how swords are made on that one 'How It's Made' channel, for some reason. You forbid him from looking at any Undertale stuff since, spoilers - which he agrees with. Eventually, he ends up watching compilations of some dude named Jerma.

A little uncomfy for him, given his censor and the 'language' response, but.. You'll fix that soon too. He doesn't seem to wanna switch off though. You giggle at his reactions the entire time. You've adjusted yourself to lay in his lap, as, the size difference makes that super comfortable, especially with his pants being so soft.. You hold his arm around both of yours, and play with his wrist. His other arm wraps around you when he's not using the controller.

You could fall asleep now, but.. It's been a long day.

You stretch, and get up. His faceplate spins to the side about a quarter of the way, curious and missing enveloping you. You sigh. "I know.. I'm just gonna go get a shower, brush teeth, and I'll be back."

He whines a little. "Awh, o-okay. Be safe!"

"How would I not be?" You remove your watch and take out your phone, and place them into one of the pockets in your backpack. You remove your earrings too, putting them into a smaller slot to clean later. You gotta find some ziplocks. You unzip yet another pocket and retrieve your hygiene bag thing, and collect a shirt, and a pair of bottoms from your duffel bag, and head out the door. You wave the best you can as he returns it and follows you with his eyes until he falls on his side into a moon plushie. You audibly giggle at him on your way down the hall.

You put your dirty clothes in the little laundry basket, and you'll make sure to find the laundry room tomorrow. You bring the towel with you after drying off and getting dressed in the shower rooms. You brush your teeth, and floss a little. Your hair is still pretty wet, but, you just wanna be warm right now, and you know exactly who can help with that.

"Hey." You round the corner to Sun sitting up awaiting your arrival with that giant goofy smile across his face.

You giggle as you kneel onto the bed and into him. "Am cold. You're warm."

He wraps around you. "Mhm, what a wonderful coincidence, yesyes."

He's way more noticeably warm when the Plex is at a constant 71°F.

You and him watch some Kurzgesagt - that animated 'science' channel on YouTube while he presses you into him. You swear you hear him buzzing like a radiator.

It's been about half an hour, and you do that little thing where you crane your neck back into his chest so you can look up at him.

"Awh, shoot.. Hey, I think you forgot a gift."

Sun looks down at you, tilting his head while his rays tick with curiosity.

You grin smugly.

"Me."

You overestimated your confidence. You decide to quickly hide your face back down below him, your smile refusing to settle and heat rising in your chest. You're sure your face was already faltering to embarrassment.

Doesn't work. He leans around you easily, and you can't avoid his eyes, but you still try to look anywhere else. He grins. "Oh, and how would we unwrap this one? Surely we'd need safety scissors to get all this packaging off, yesyes~" He tugs at your shirt.

You bury your face in your hands. "W-well, you're not using scissors on my clothes.. so, I guess you're out of luck, hm..? Not like you've ever unwrapped me or anything, n-nope."

He swiftly yet gently lifts you out of his lap and lays you onto the bed.

He's large frame entirely overshadows you from above before you get a chance to squeak a sound out of your mouth. "Mmh, thanks for the reminder, Sunflower.. sososo helpful."

Your lower tummy jumps and your throat begins to tighten. Your mouth parts to breathe as you smile both in mild fear and pure excitement. God it's getting hard to breathe.

He takes that pretty little wide-eyed expression and your arms against the bed under him as more than enough of an invitation. He lowers over you, and takes your bottom lip between his. You absolutely let him. Your tummy keeps doing fucking somersaults.

He teases you, pulling away from your lips. You want him back, but. Your eyes hood after they open a little. "..H-how are you so.. this .. and so, n-nervous anytime else..?"

He giggles. He stares down at you for a second before answering. His warm right hand competes with the warmth burning under your shirt as he sneaks under it. His rays stop, retracting a little. "One of us has to be, and it is certainly not you, nono, poor little thing.." And they extend sharply, spinning once more.

His curious fingers escape your shirt after teasing up your sides. He cups your jaw, and supports himself with his elbow against the mattress. His left hand discovers the goosebumps from where his hand barely drifted across your skin, and has already spread to the opposite side.

He tilts your head to his face when you try to turn away out of embarrassment. He stares into your eyes with his hooded, a dumb little smug grin to match. You plead. "..D-dude." Your arms find their strength and one covers your eyes. "Hah.." You can't help the noises that escape you as he experiments with your body under your shirt. There's still so much he hasn't already learned.

You feel his warmth before you feel his lips on yours again. His tongue explores your mouth, and you lean your face into him. His hand on your jaw traces down your neck, and into that space between your shoulder and it. "S-sososo sweet.. Pretty little.. Adorable little Sunflower, yes.."

He pulls away, locking eyes with you before he lowers and meets your shoulder with his teeth. The hand exploring your tummy slowly teases as it dips lower, and lower, and back up. He repeats just to feel your tummy twitching. Honestly, that might just be the butterflies at this point.

You're so fucking red. You're so warm. He definitely warmed you up. He warmed you up really good.

Your bottoms consisted of just.. your underwear. Your big shirt and the empty-ish Plex made it worth the risk. Pants are for losers.

But, man.

You're losing it right now.

He's biting really hard at that muscle in-between your shoulder and neck. It feels so good. Your throat is so tight, and your hand holds the back of his faceplate to you while the other squeezes a ray.

He finally dips under your waistband, praising the little noises you're making. "..Sweet little flower.. Such pretty noises, yesyes.. S-soso veryvery pretty.."

Your heart jumps with every nibble and every centimeter he draws closer to the aching between your legs.

He pulls back from your shoulder, and his hand suddenly leaves from your bottoms. "S..S-Sunny.. Wha.."

Both his hands pull up your shirt, and you guide it off of you with his help. "..Ah."

Your chest bubbles like you're laughing, and with the flustered little smile on your face, that's about half of it. You're melting otherwise.

Your collar got in the way of him kissing down your chest, but he picks up where he left off. He uses teeth, and he makes sure to leave a little line of thin saliva as he kisses his way down. You hold at a ray, and it's so impressive how still he keeps them, just for you. "..S-Sunnny, n-no more teasing, please?"

God where the fuck did your playful attitude go that started this.

He grins smugly up at you after meeting your waistband. "..Mmmh, you've worked sososo hard today, yes.. Being soso kind, so nice.."

You bite at your hand as you watch him in anticipation. You weakly tuck a few pillows and the Blahaj behind you so you can sit up a tiny bit.

He slowly lowers your bottoms, down your thighs, over your knees, around your ankles, and off your legs entirely. He sets them at the side of the bed with your shirt.

Your chest is so fucking warm. Everything is. He makes it so much worse in way too many ways.

Your legs are already weak. Your arm definitely is as you finally are able to reach a ray and hold it.

Absolutely doesn't help as he uses his tongue to its fullest between your legs.

Was.. was that down your throat at some point..? Fuck. Fuck.

One of his hands holds on your tummy which your wrap your fingers around and squeeze, the other remains on a ray, caressing it while electricity bounces around in your stomach. "S-Sun! A-ah, p-please.. T-that.."

He slows down. What? Why..

"Use your words, Sunbite..~"

Will your throat allow you to speak anything coherent? Will your lungs?

Need him.. You need him..

"P-please, don't.. stop, don't stop.. o-okay!? Feels.. good.." Your tummy elicits a sharp, high-pitched muffled moan from you without him even doing much at the moment.

His cheeks upturn a little, and his free hand joins his tongue.

Your eyes don't get a chance to widen.

You squeeze them shut instead, and squeeze his hand twice as hard. Your legs shake as the muscles tense involuntarily.

You bite your arm and squeak involuntary moans. You don't notice his hand leave yours before it's removing your arm from your mouth.

"S-SuN!"

"Ah-haAh.. I-I'm.. I'm g-gonna.. S-SUn.. p-pleAse don't s-stOp!" You whine.

You cum gripping the sheets and pressing yourself into him.

You take a minute. Your chest is heaving and your ribs don't like it.

You don't give a fuck what your ribs think.

You're lightheaded. Why.. why is your tummy still doing fucking somersaults.

"S-Sunnny…" You try your best to sit up, still weak from the afterglow.

He grins up at you, taking the towel you had earlier, and cleaning up the mess. "..Naughty, sososo lucky I have more sheets.."

You cover your eyes with your forearm. "..Half of that is y-your orange juice saliva.."

You're still catching your breath a little. You try your best to sit up, but.. God what the fuck . How's he that good..

"L-Lemme see the towel, a-and.. my clothes.. pretty please..?" You pout down at him. "Body is weak.."

He giggles. "..Mhmm.. Messy."

You make sure you're entirely clean before shakily putting back on your clothes. "..You made the mess."

He begins replacing the sheet. "Could've stopped me, yes.."

You help, despite your motor abilities being a little less than functional currently. "ᴳᵒᵒᵈ ᵖᵒᶦⁿᵗ.. but I'm.. helping with clean-up."

You struggle quite a bit with one end of the new sheet. He smugly leans over you, making it look so easy. "You can sit this one out, Sunflower.. Mmh, I have it, yes."

You groan and wait on the blanketed floor while he finishes putting everything back. As soon as he's finished, you crawl in, and gesture for him to join you. You're avoiding eye contact a little, still embarrassed.

He cradles you in his arms. "..Mmh, you're okay, little flower."

You hum, and you're silent for a little. You grow a bit upset. "..Sun?"

"Hm?"

You lean further into his touch. "..Is there any way to.. make you feel like that? I.. only know of your rays.. I-I wanna.. make you feel good too."

He sighs. "Sunbeam, you're okay.. I-I promise. My.. my rays are more sensitive because they are a little sharp, yes, a-and we need to be careful.. B-but.. we'd know if.. there was anything more like that.."

You reach for his hand as he cradles his chest to your back. You're able to lean over into his arm while he bends it so his hand can hold in yours. "..I'm sorry. You.. mentioned getting urges, right?"

He nods behind you. "Mhmm.."

"That must.. suck. Not having anything.. Not being able to relieve yourself.." You rub up and down his wrist, over the ribbon, circling his large palm every so often.

His other hand gently traces your back. "..We like seeing you, feel nice.. It.. isn't good, nono.. Feels empty.. not having anything.. b-but, we're okay.."

You shake your head. "..It's kinda like dysphoria I think. Most people with it have parts they don't want, but. You having nothing.. I'm sure can feel bad too.."

He leans his faceplate into your head. "Mhm.."

"I'm going to get you a dick. That's-" You forgot to stop yourself.

"L-Language.. S-sorry.." He pouts.

"No, my bad.. Was upset, I forgot.. But, that too.. I'll fix that too. And, y'know, if that's the part you want.. I'm more than capable. Is that okay?"

He nods. "Y-yes.. I think I'd like that.." He pauses. "..Moon still isn't back.. I wish he could see everything.."

You squeeze his hand, and yawn. "If you wanna talk about it, I'm here.. okay? Do you think he'll be back by tomorrow..?"

Sun hums. "..Don't.. don't know. I-if not, I will be able to do naptime, I think.. lights on, don't want to pull him out.. it'd be.. jarring, yes, but.. I think he'll be back.. I hope."

He sighs. "He should.. be the one to talk to you about it, when he's ready.. yes.. Do not worry about it now though, Sunflower.. Not important, nono.."

You nuzzle into his arm a little further. You yawn again. "O-okay, I understand.." He pulls a blanket over his baggy pants that your legs already rest next to. "..Will you be able to sleep?"

"Mhm.. Don't.." You yawn again. Fuck. "..Don't worry."

He watches as you get comfy within his grasp. You're having trouble finding support on his arm, so he moves over the Blahaj into your arms, and it's a perfect fit. You giggle a bit. "..T-thanks, Sunshine.. We'll.. be alright. Love you."

He hums. "Love you too, Sunflower."