Chapter 15: Costume Circus

Sun rocks excitedly on the balls of his feet as Marlene struggles to get her tennis shoes on. 'Strange, these fit last week…' Marlene stomps her foot to force the shoe on, 'I know your feet are supposed to swell during pregnancy, but I thought that was supposed to happen closer to my due date.'

Regardless of the discomfort, the two head out, Marlene doubling back to twist the key in the lock. Upon hearing the deadbolt clack, she retrieves her key and turns to Sun.

"Now, let's get our stories straight," Marlene says, leading Sun towards the driveway. "Who are you?"

"I am Sam, your roommate."

"Good. And how did we meet?"

Sun gives his head an impatient twirl. "We used to work together."

"Alright," Marlene sighs, making her way to the driver's side, "I think we're all set."

She looks expectantly at Sun, who slides into the passenger seat. Unmoving, he stares back.

"...Yes?"

"You need to buckle your seatbelt, Sun."

"Ah, but do robots need to?" Sun tilts his head, attempting to pull the belt around his shoulder regardless. The belt stops short with a hard-knocking sound. With little pause, Sun tries again, pulling harder to no avail.

"...Marlene?" Sun asks, tilting his head in a way so as not to meet her eyes, "Help?"

"You've got to go slow," Marlene laughs softly, scooting closer to the center and guiding the buckle from his hand, "See? Just give it a moment and then…"

Leaning over, Marlene slides the buckle close to the door and then brings it back out, slower this time.

Click

"See?" Marlene asks, glancing back up with a grin, nearly nose to nose with a rather flustered robot.

"O-oh. Yes! I see now." Sun nods quickly, his fans humming. "Thank you."

"No problem," Marlene replies, sliding away, "By the way, are you sure you don't need a new fan system or anything? It seems to have been running a lot lately."

"It's fine!"

Marlene raises an eyebrow as Sun mimics a cough.

"It's fine, really," Sun amends, fiddling with his head points, "It's just how I was designed is all. I needed it so I could keep up with the kids."

"Ah, I suppose that would make sense." Marlene nods, dropping the subject as she pulls the car out of the driveway.

The red and white tent spans across the entire park, save for the playground. Marlene remembered her Aunt Winnie taking her, her sister, and the cousins along once when they were preteens. 'I'm pretty sure I was a witch that year. Maybe I'll dress up for the trick or treaters this year?'

"Wow! It looks even bigger than it did on the pamphlet!" Sun glances around the tent in awe. Marlene couldn't blame him. Row upon row hung all sorts of outfits with peculiar designs. Some were… more strange than others and Marlene makes a mental note to steer Sun away from that section.

"Stick close, Sun. It's a big event here and there are going to be a lot of people," Marlene reminds, "It won't be fun if we get separated."

"You can count on me!" Sun gives her thumbs up before bumping into a rack of costumes. It begins tipping over and Marlene rushes to steady it. As she does, one of the metal rails smacks her square in the head. Pain washes through her head, her eyes watering. Marlene's heart races, grunting quietly as she tries hoisting the heavy rack upright.

Sun is quick to help, righting the rack and turning Marlene's face over in his hands - tilting her head from one side to the other.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry, Marlene!" Sun apologizes and Marlene flinches as he swipes his thumb over a particularly sore spot.

"I'll be fine. Just a little shocked is all." Marlene consoles, pulling Sun's hands away.

"Should we find a place to sit?" Sun asks, glancing around the tent but Marlene shakes her head.

"Nah, we can still walk around. I'll let you know if I need a moment."

"Promise?" Sun says, instinctively holding out a pinky finger.

Hooking her pinky around his, Marlene gives a small nod. "Promise."

"Now be careful," Marlene scolds in a half-joking manner, giving Sun a teasing poke on the shoulder.

Sun droops a little but nods quietly. Marlene pauses.

'Shoot. Did I ruin this?' Marlene worries, biting the inside of her cheek. 'I mean, yeah he needs to be more careful, but I didn't want to make him all sad about it…'

"What kinds of costumes do you want to look at?" Marlene redirects, scanning the rack for a suitable size. She'd probably need a large or extra-large since the costumes always seemed to run a bit small.

'Though, that's the least of my concerns,' Marlene thinks as she glances at her tall companion. She had a horribly strong gut feeling that finding anything for him would be a nightmare.

"Oh, I wasn't too sure. Bright and colorful ones?"

'Okay, that's a start,' Marlene moves hangers to get a better look at some of the outfits, 'Steer clear from the vampire goth costumes, then.'

Though, picturing her sun-themed roommate wearing a black cape sounded like quite a funny sight.

"Hmm, well you've already got a jester theme going on. Is it safe to say you're looking for something different for Halloween?"

"Yep! Dressing up sounds like fun!"

A customer in the next row gives the two a confused glance before shuffling off to another rack.

"Should we start with a mask then? Or do you want to leave your face uncovered?"

Would that mess with his sight sensors? Marlene couldn't be sure but it would make costume shopping easier if Sun could wear a mask of some kind.

'Not a lot of options to pick from when you're working with a sun for a head.'

"I do think a mask would be cool," He answers, pointing at the orange triangles lined around his face, "but what would cover this?"

Squinting, Marlene gives the triangles an experimental poke. "Don't they just fold in? Anything that isn't tight-fitting should work, right?"

"... THEY FOLD-"

"Shhh!" Marlene pushes a finger to her lips, flushing with embarrassment as a few customers' heads swivel in their direction.

Quieter, Sun repeats himself. "They fold in?"

"Yeah. You've got a compartment or something that stores them when it's Moon's turn to come out. I take it that's news for you?"

Sun nods, bringing one of his hands to carefully brush over the points.

"Well… good news, I hope?" Marlene smiles hopefully, giving Sun an awkward and very unnecessary thumbs up.

"I… suppose so," Sun replies, "I wonder if there's anything else I don't know about my body."

"Hard to say."

Admittedly, Marlene was positive there was. Not long ago, Jesse had revealed that Sun had more than one battery. 'I wouldn't be shocked if there's more, but it's best not to say that,' Marlene thinks, strolling to the sides of the tent where all the masks were.

"Marlene?" A woman's voice asks. They sounded young and their voice pitches up at the end of her sentences. Most importantly of all, the voice was familiar.

Marlene turns to meet the face of a smiling brunette.

"Hannah?"