You're just numb. Emotionally, not physically. Your wrists hurt. They sting. Ache. You haven't even noticed your throat also a bit sore, probably thanks to the adrenaline.
In the mirror, your light bit of eyeliner has somewhat noticeably formed in lines down your cheek from when you were crying. You didn't put much on this morning, but it's still messed up now.
The moon earring you had was now crumpled up. An unrecognizable piece of metal. You took it off, and threw it away. You left the sun earring still on.
You grab some toilet paper and clean it up. It's not noticeable now unless someone is observant. Good enough.
You ran your wrists under the warm water for a minute or two. It had to be near 2 by now.
Putting back on your FazWatch, somehow not busted from when Moon almost broke your wrists, you check the time.
1:49pm
You started to make your way towards the bathroom exit, opening the loud creaky doors with your forearm, you started walking towards the stairs.
You didn't get three steps in before the Daycare doors opened and a warm yellow Sun themed animatronic poked out.
"S-Sunflower. Oh gosh."
He rushed over to you, and your heart rate only increased. You flinched as he reached out slowly towards your injured wrists.
He was warm, really warm. You could hear his fans whirring. His face was that of worry when he crouched down to meet you at eye level.
"I'm so.. I'm so sorry." He warbled. "I-I tried to stop him! He.. he just wouldn't listen! I'm sososososososososoSO sorry, oh gosh, oh gosh. Sunflower.." He exclaimed, his gaze flickering between your messed up makeup and red eyes, to your absent earring, and back down to your bruised up wrists.
"Please, please please please please please wait right here! C-c..can you do that? If you wanna leave that's.. that's okay! Oh gosh I'm so sorry, but please please please wait right here, I'll be right back, I promise."
He reaches to cup your cheek in his hands, you flinch just an inch for a second, but let him.
His fingers were warm. Massive. His palm never touches your face, just the fingertips, his hands were large enough to cover your face and then some. He only stays for a second before turning on his heel and wobbling to the door.
You can't help it. The robot was oddly genuine. He seemed actually upset that you were hurt, and with the two animatronics being separate beings, Sun hasn't done anything to upset you so far, besides just avoiding you here and there. You head to the wall to the right of you, and slump down against it. Legs splayed out, hands crossed over your stomach. You wait.
You think back to just right before naptime. You didn't really have time to think about it in the moment, but he was trying to protect you. He seemed kind enough.
Moon was so nice with the kids, but it seemed like against that wall, he was ready to kill you.
Sun rushes back into the Daycare, he had no idea if you would actually stay, but he hoped to assume so. He quickly gathers the kids at the front of the security desk. Herding the stragglers, and making sure everyone is accounted for.
He turns on the giant TV situated on the wall behind and above the desk, and plops in a random VHS into the player built into the bottom of the wall. It begins a movie.
"Now now everyone, it's movie time! M-make sure not to get up, and stay seated until the movie is over, okay? Can you all do that for me, pretty pretty pretty please?" He boasts, animating himself in a spectacle of limbs in order to grab their full attention.
Most of them nod, a few say in unison "Yes Mr. Sundrop!"
He claps and makes sure to promise them a reward if they were good upon his return, making sure to confirm he'd know if they weren't. He wasn't leaving them unsupervised, if anything got out of hand, he would know. Him and Moon have near full access to the security system, which means the cameras in the Daycare. He wouldn't miss a thing.
Grabbing the first-aid kit from behind the desk, he skips to the exit and animates a goodbye gesture with his hands to the few kids still paying attention to him and not the movie before closing the door.
You were still there he happily noticed.
Sun makes his way to the break room to the right of where he exited, gesturing for you to follow.
You slowly make your way up, and shuffle your way towards the room.
Sun ducks under the doorframe and enters first, you follow after.
The room is pretty sizable, cabinets and all that good stuff in the back corner. A fridge with a freezer, microwave, sink, coffee maker which you hope actually works. The light Sun made sure to flip on before entering flickered at first but seemed fine, basking the room in a solid white light.
There were a few tables here and there, Sun placing the first-aid kit on the one in the middle before making his way to the fridge.
You go ahead and sit down at the table.
"I'm.. I'm sososo sorry, friend. I really am." He mumbles.
He pulls out two ice packs from the freezer, turning around and making his way to you. He's intimidating, tall, but as soon as he's next to you, he crouches down onto his knees before reaching for the first-aid kit.
He stops for a second and hesitates opening it. "..It is okay if I help patch you up..r-right? I completely would totally understand if not! ..B-but everything I can offer is here already and.. and, I do want to help, I really do!"
His voice is anxious and energetic, his head jolting around anywhere but directly at your face, fidgeting with his hands as he stopped himself from going any further, he waits patiently, despite his body language telling otherwise.
You begin to squeak out, "..Uhm, yeah. Yeah, sure. I can do it myself, but if you really want to, Sunny, go ahead."
It's not a second later that he's spraying disinfectant on the friction burns and gently placing a band-aid on top of them. "Oh please please tell me if anything hurts, I know the disinfectant can sting, the kids say it's the worst part! Yes yes.. but you're handling it sososososoSO well, I need to make VERY sure to get you a sticker after this, I promise!" Sun coos and with each band-aid he applies, he makes sure to do a little finger motion after with a quiet "Poof" once he lightly touches the patched up wound.
You close your eyes for a second and giggle a bit, or let out air through your nose. It's cute.
He notices and puzzles at your smile before grabbing the ice packs and placing them gently over your wrists. The cold is a welcome sensation with how warm Sun was right next to you. His fans whirring the entire time in null attempts to extinguish his heat.
He pulls out a cloth from one of his hidden little pockets in his baggy pants, jumping up and in two steps reaching the sink to wet the end the tiniest bit before making it back to you in a record three seconds flat. His holds your jaw with his left hand's fingers. Big hands, you remember.. huge. He proceeds to wipe the rest of the makeup you didn't get off from your face, carefully and gently tracing the teardrop lines before staring for a second. Taking his hand he was holding your jaw with, he rubs your temple to the top of your ear lightly with his thumb, his fingers resting behind your ear in your hair. You surely get a little red in shock, but he doesn't mention noticing it.
Silence for a few seconds before you break it. "T..thank you.. Sunny. You've been really kind." Avoiding his gaze.
"..Oh Sunflower, it's the very very very least I can do! I'm.. I'm so sorry Moon did that, I absolutely despised seeing him do that to you. If I could have, I would've stopped it, I pinky promise!"
Sun ignores the scoldings and warnings the voice makes in the back of his head, still allowing Moon to see what he caused.
It's well past two, you were automatically clocked out about twenty minutes ago. You should really get back home, but you think now especially Sun deserves his little gift you made him.
Progress..
You giggle audibly.
Sun worries for a second, but his rays extend a little farther to match his smile widening in response.
"Now" Sun begins, "You have to have to have to keep those ice packs on for another fifteen minutes! Make sure to take them off after that though, okie dokie? I don't want you to get an ice burn now, no no no."
Smiling, you submit. "Yeah, okay Sunny. Promise."
He pauses for a couple of seconds, but soon hesitantly and carefully latches your pinky over his. "Pinky promise..?"
"Pinky promise" you wrap around his warm mechanical finger. Silicone for sure, very warm.
His head spins and his rays do the same in the opposite direction, jumping up and resting his hands on his hips in a proud pose, accomplished. "Okie dokie! Now, I do have to get back to the kids" He crouches a tiny bit, "I put a wonderful little movie on for them, but I'm sure sure sure it won't distract them for long! Yes yesss.."
Ah, okay, you were wondering if the kids were all good without Sun there.
"Will you be okay here, Sunbeam?" He says, oscillating side to side, almost never unmoving.
"Uh, yeah. I think I'll be fine. Thank you Sunny, I feel better already." He beams.
"Oh I'm sososososo happy to hear that, I'm very glad you're okay!" He does a little spin, before catching himself in a display of clumsiness.
As he heads for the door, he slows down a bit before coming to a stop and turning slightly back towards you.."If you don't have to leave leave soon, I'll see you later, right, Sunflower..?"
"Of course Sunny. My shift ended at 2, but I'm gonna stay a little longer. Regardless, I'm coming back tomorrow and Sunday, don't ya worry one bit." You say with a smile.
"Oh very very very good! Yes yes I'm sososososo glad, that's VERY good!" He sputters, skipping and wobbling his way out into the open area outside the breakroom with the occasional spin until his ramblings fizzle out with the shutting of the door.
The two were.. vastly different huh. One a nervous trainwreck, the other a homicidal asshole.
Sun was so kind, gentle. The thought of being somewhat glad Moon almost broke your wrists passing your mind since you wouldn't have had this.. moment.. with Sun. You hope he's a little bit more comfortable around you. You want to talk to him and understand what's wrong. Unlike a piece of hardware or software, which you can run diagnostics on and find out the issue then and there (usually), you're beginning to think this is more of a human issue. Living being issue? Person problem. Whatever, you wanna get close to him. His personality is magnetic, you can't for the life of you begin to understand how anyone else would look at him the way some adults did when picking their kids up from him. Maybe that was why he was so nervous all the time. Neglect..? You noticed he was pretty dirty up close besides his hands and fingers. He uses them all the time handling cleaning supplies but the poor bot you suppose doesn't bother to clean himself.
You had more than enough time to think about this while you got something to eat here, after all, your fifteen minutes were up, and you made a promise. You kept promises.
Getting up, taking the ice packs back to the freezer, you felt your wrists and surprisingly, they did feel a good bit better. Despite the reddish blue bruising and band-aids strewn about your wrists and lower forearm, it looked worse than it felt right now. Maybe the poofs did work.
Sun had already brought the first-aid kit back into the Daycare, and before running off to get something to eat from the Plex, you wanted to let him know.
Opening the Daycare doors and walking a bit in past the security desk, there Sun was playing tag with everyone. A lot of the kids had stickers all over them. Legs, arms, face. You lost sight of Sun before feeling pressure on your forehead.
How the fuck did he get behind me, you thought. You turn around a little bit shocked, and he worriedly backs away a tiny bit, tucking in his rays a little while his smile lightens and he looks around nervously, "Oh.. Oh- sorry sorry sorry, I uhm-, I said I'd get you a sticker, didn't I? I promised! I did! A-and you're not tagged if you're wondering!"
Fidgeting with his hands anxiously until you smile, taking the sticker off and placing it on your FazWatch, It's a cute little chibi of Sun. You needed more of these.
Sun bounces back up to his normal giddy self.
"Oh! And I see you kept your pinky promise too, Sunray! It's been exactly sixteen minutes and fifty-three seconds! You did so very good! I really do hope your wrists feel better.." He perks up, rays out and spinning while his contagiously large smile stretches.
"They actually do, surprisingly. I think your poofs worked, Sunshine."
Sun is taken a little aback by the cute nickname.. Oh, he's never had a nickname, other than Moon calling him Sunny around a week or so ago. Always being addressed by Sun or Sundrop, until you came along and regularly called him Sunny before even getting to know him! It always made his fans whir a little bit more than usual, something tightening in his chest, but for the first time ever, it wasn't a bad feeling.
"Oh, of course they work, silly!" he jests, "I am magic after all!"
You raise an eyebrow, doubting him until he reaches behind your ear and brings out another Sun chibi sticker, handing it out in front of you.
"What, how did you-"
"Magic."
"Mhmmm.." you remark, taking the sticker over to your bag at the security desk to save for later.
"Hey, Sunny" You ask to grab his attention, not noticing he's already at the opposite side of the security desk, hands behind his back, watching you like you'll disappear if he's not careful.
"Ah, well I'm gonna go grab something to eat, I just wanted to let you know. I'm not leaving quite yet, still got a surprise I wanna show you." You wink, and he fucking beams brighter than you've ever seen so far.
Whirring audibly and physically in regards to his rays, he vibrates. He grasps his face in shock and excitement, stopping the rays in their tracks, before shifting his hands to be on top of his face, instead of the side - freeing his rays to spin as fast as they please, and oh boy were they fast. You really hoped the ends of those were actually silicone.
You can feel his warmth intensifying from here. Not uncomfortable, but noticeable.
He's loud.
"Oh! A surprise! I LOVE surprises! No one has everrrrr got me a surprise before!"
A little more kids than you hoped for were caught by his excitement and looked over.
"Okay okay okay Sunny calm down a bit bud, the kids seem to notice your excitement, I think you startled them a little." You giggle.
"Oh oh oh, sorry sorry sorry sorry.." He says, almost in a whisper.
"Soooo w-when do I get the surprise!?" He questions in an urgent voice, just a little over a whisper this time.
"Hmmmm, maybe after the Daycare closes. By then I should have to go home, but I really wanna show you it before I go. I think you'll really like it." You smile. More, that is. You've been smiling this entire time.
He sulks a bit downwards, "Awww but.. but but but that's so far from now! Can't I see it now, pretty pretty pretty please! At least gimme a hint, or a peeeeek! Pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pRETTY please!?" He's leaning very far over the desk, almost in your face, and you're tempted to give it to him right now. However, you think waiting a while longer will be more fun.
"Awh sorry buddy, but It'll have to wait. I promise though I'll give it to you at closing time for the Daycare tonight. 6pm sharp" You assure him, and just for good measure you reach out your pinky.
He happily grasps it a little tight, but not enough to move your wrist in an uncomfortable manner. He remembers.
"Okay! Okay! As long as it's a promise! Take care! And be safe! And make sure you're getting enough water! And avoid the Pizza's, they're really greasy!" He says that last part a little quieter.
Giggling, "Of course Sunshine, I'll be back soon."
He skips off to play some board games with the kids. You open the Daycare doors, taking a second to look back at him.
A ray of sunshine.
Your heart pangs.