Chapter Text
James had worked at the Pizzaplex for a few years now and to be honest he had been quite successful. But while he worked at this “magical” place, he was stuck doing paperwork in his office the whole time. So, when the higher-ups asked around if someone wanted to get a higher payment for doing a special task, it piqued his interest.
They needed someone to have an eye on the daycare attendant animatronic. There had always been complaints about Moon being too creepy and giving children night terrors but there had been more and more complaints about Sun acting weird as well, him being a bit too over the top or hurting the children on accident.
Flexible working times, sometimes at night sometimes during the day, doing his usual work but at the security desk in the daycare and having an eye on the animatronic. Seems easy enough.
The first time James came into the daycare, it was evening. The children had all left already, which was nice since he didn't really want to deal with them right now. As soon as he closed the door the tall animatronic came skipping up to him.
“Hello, Friend!”, Sun said cheerfully, “It's quite late, what brings you here?”, he was swinging from side to side, never standing still.
James frowned. That was quite an energy the animatronic had.
“I'm James, I'm your new co-worker.”
Sun made a happy little twirl, “Oh, that sounds fantastic. We are going to have so much fun! We can have so many sleep-overs. It's gonna be great.”
“Hate to tell you this, but I'm not here to entertain you. I'm going to work behind the security desk.”
Sun was a bit deflated for a second but the energy came back really quick. “It's still nice to have someone here with me.”
James nodded unenthusiastically and then went to his place behind the security desk. Sun followed him, but only to the area right in front of the desk, “What are you doing?”
“I'm not allowed behind the security desk. Neither is Moon. Or children.”
“Okay, good to know.”, James answered before he started working. Sun was still standing there looking at him like he was waiting for something, “Is there a problem?” Sun shook his head, “Then stop staring at me, please. It's freaking me out.” “I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just glad I finally have someone who hangs out with me.”
James wasn't really doing that. He made a little note in the “Sun-Folder”: “Seems to be lonely at night.”. The higher-ups have given him a folder for information about the daycare attendants and ideas on how to help them.
“Let me finish the work I started and then I'm going to hang out with you, okay?”
Sun made another little happy twirl, “Yes! Thank you, thank you!”
Like James promised he continued working for a while before he stands up from his chair and stretched, “Sun, I'm done.”, he said, not sure how loud he had to be for the animatronic to hear him. Said animatronic jumped up from behind the desk, making James clutch his chest, “Ta-dah!”
“No 'Ta-dah'. You almost gave me a heart attack!”, James was a little annoyed, but Sun was still giggling.
“So what do you want to do? Play a game? Tell each other secrets? I'm sure you have lots of secrets. We sure do.”
That was a bit concerning. “I'm not sure about secrets, but we could just talk if you'd like?”, that seemed to be the best option to find out more about the animatronic.
“Yes! Let's talk! Tell me everything about you!”
If the animatronic was always this pushy, he should write that in the notes too. He had to look closely at how they interacted with the children.
They both sat down on the ground and James started telling Sun about his life outside the Pizzaplex. There were no partners or children waiting for him at home, but that had never been a problem for him since this was the life he chose. He began working in the Pizzaplex some years ago, starting in one of the souvenir shops and working his way up. He had never seen the daycare from the inside but he had met all the other animatronics except for Sun and Moon before. Sun was listening with more interest than necessary, giving way to many vocal queues signaling that he was still listening.
Afterward, it was Sun's turn. He was telling him about all the fun things he and the children get to do during the day, like playing and drawing, and by the way, he was talking about it, it was obvious that Sun loved his job. His demeanor changed though when James asked, “What do you do at night when everyone went home?”
Sun stares at his fingers and puts the tips of his pointer fingers together, “Waiting for the morning?”
James looked at him with pity. It was tougher than he thought. He stood up and stretched, “How about I get us something to drink? You can drink right?”, he thought he had heard the information before but it also seemed weird that the animatronics should be able to drink.
“That sounds great!”, answered Sun enthusiastically. That settles that.
James came back just a few minutes later. He had hoped for a beer, but he couldn't find one so he just took two sodas. To his surprise, the light was out when he came back. That must mean Moon was up. James made two fast steps behind the security desk, not sure what to expect of the “meaner” animatronic.
That exact animatronic showed his face just moments after.
“A stranger in our daycare? Lucky me.”, came a raspy and amused voice from above. James flinched and looked up. Moon was “flying” a few feet above him. “Holy fuck.”, James whispered. The menacing smile paired with the glowing red eyes sure looked creepy.
“How about you come out behind the desk, so I can have a closer look at you?”, Moon asked. So Sun was right. Moon couldn't be back here either.
James hesitated for a moment before he came out of the save space. While he wasn't sure, what Moon would do, he was still an animatronic build for children. However, he did not expect Moon to drop down from the ceiling and land on top of him, pinning him to the floor.
“Hello~”, he purred. James looked at him in shock before quickly taking a taser out of his pocket and giving Moon a little sap, making him collapse on the floor beside him. The others had warned him about Moon and he had been prepared. Before the animatronic could get up again, James put a foot on Moon's neck, with enough force to hold him down but not enough to do actual damage.
“Now that's cheating.”, Moon complained below him.
“If you are being a creep, that is only fair.”, James answered, annoyed.
“Come on, I was only playing. Scaring the new guy. All in good fun. Now get off!”
“I don't think so.”, James took one of the sodas, opened it, and took a sip.
“Come ooooon. Get ooooff. ”
James couldn't help but be amused, “Okay, but no tricks. You know I can defend myself.”, he chuckled and took his foot off of Moon who jumped up immediately.
“My name is James, I work here now. Nice to finally meet you as well, Moon.”, he passed Moon one of the sodas.
“So that's why Sun has been so excited the whole evening. I see. Having a private playmate in here sure sounds nice.”
James shook his head, “I sure hope you aren't like that around the children.”
Moon seemed to be offended by that comment, his voice abandoning the playful tone for the first time since they spoke, “Are you stupid. Of course not. I am a person outside of my job.”
James was surprised by the reaction but it was fair. Though he was an animatronic, the AI sure was advanced and there was more to their life than the job.
“You're right. I apologize. That was rude.”
“I guess I haven't shown you my best side until now. So I accept your apology.”
“I'm not sure what you are talking about. Being pinned down by you sure seemed like a pretty good side to see.”, James joked, making Moon choke on the soda.
“Be careful or I'll take you seriously.”, answered Moon.
They talked a bit more until they had finished the sodas and James had to go back to work. He wasn't sure how Moon acted around the children that they were afraid of him. Maybe it was his looks. On the posters and the plush toys, Sun and Moon looked much friendlier than they did now. The animatronic has seen better days and the eyes, which used to be shining blue, were now nonexistent with Sun and dangerously red with Moon. He added a little note about this in the folders as well.
“You almost messed it up for us! Why do you always have to be like this?”, Sun complained to Moon later.
“Messed it up? Come on, I was having fun. And by the sound of it he didn't mind it either.”, Moon answered with a chuckle.
“Don't get carried away next time, please. I don't want him to leave.”
“I won't, promise. I want him to stay, too.”
James left in the morning, shortly before opening time, and came back one day after. He couldn't pull an all-nighter and work on the next day as well, but he had to take a look at the daycare attendants working with the children to get a better idea of the problem. A shame he didn't really like children.
Sun came over to him as soon as he heard the door, greeting him cheerfully, “We are so happy that you came back. Last night was soooo boring without you. You should stay here 24/7.”
That sounded like a nightmare, he didn't say that though, “I can't stay here, I still have a life outside of the Pizzaplex. I also need to see the sky sometimes.”
“No you don't.”, Sun answered, reaching into his pocket and handing James a few Sundrop-Candies, “With vitamin D and caffeine.”, Sun said proudly.
“And you're supposed to give that stuff to the kids?”, James answered concerned, popping one of the candies into his mouth. Tasted like lemon.
Shortly after that, the first children came in. James retreated behind his desk, not willing to talk to children or parents too much. He had other work to do. Like being the silent observer of the daycare attendants. Also paperwork.
It seemed like the parents wanted to address him rather than Sun when it came to “important” information about their children, like allergies or behavioral issues though. James told them to talk to the animatronic every time. He also made a note about that. “Parents don't trust them and would rather speak to a human.”
James was surprised at how good Sun handled the situation. There were around 30 children in the daycare at all times and he had an eye on all of them, even when they were doing different things. He was nice all of the time but also knew when to put his foot down about something. James was quite honestly impressed. He couldn't have done half as good with fewer children.
Sun came over to his desk a few times asking him if he wanted to join a game or paint with them but James always refused the offer.
Around 1 PM Sun began taking out the sleeping bags for the children, decorated with the different Pizzaplex animatronics, and telling everyone to choose one. Then he handed every kid a Moondrop-Candy and they went to bed.
Sun came over to the desk, smiling happily towards James before he clicked the lights off and began to transform. It looked a bit painful but the animatronic was still quiet during the transformation. Then Moon winked at James and flew into the air, watching the sleeping children from above. James frowned. The idea of waking up and seeing Moon menacingly fly above you didn't seem very appealing, especially when you are a child. James was going to make a note about that as well but then decided to solve the problem himself.
He went over to the sleeping children, looking up at Moon and signaling him to come down. Moon raised a finger to his lips and came down slowly, then leading James a bit away from the children so they wouldn't hear them.
“Couldn't wait to talk to me again, huh?”, Moon whispered jokingly.
James rolled his eyes but couldn't hide his grin, “You're terrible. No, but, I wanted to make a suggestion.”
Moon looked at him with interest.
“I know you can probably see better from up there, but it is also creepy as hell. Why don't you try sitting down on the floor in front of them? Much more approachable.”
Moon seemed to think for a moment before answering, “But I was told to be up there.”
“I know. By people that have now recruited me to fix the daycare problems. If you aren't comfortable with it, it's fine. It is just a suggestion.”
“I'll try it.”, Moon answered and went back to the sleeping children, sitting down on the floor in front of them. James went back to his desk but watched with interest, though not much happened. That was until one of the children woke up. She looked around in confusion, then up, probably expecting Moon to be there. When she spotted Moon sitting on the floor she went over to him, climbed into his lap, and fell asleep immediately again.
Moon looked at the little creature in his arms in shock. Then over to James, to check if he noticed. He did, giving Moon a thumbs up. The rest of the nap time went over quite quickly and soon Sun was running the show again, making a little puppet show for the kids.
After the kids went home, James stayed a little, since he wanted to talk to Sun, who was very happy about that.
“You are staying? Are we having a slumber party?”
“No, sorry, I'm just staying for a while. I wanted to give you today's feedback.”
“Oh have I done something wrong? Please tell me I was good.”, he sounded so desperate.
“No, everything was good. Really good actually. I was surprised about how well you handled yourself. The children loved you and you always had an eye on them. I'm very impressed.”
Sun looked like he was going to explode. Instead, he just hugged James really hard. A bit too hard maybe.
“That was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!”, Sun exclaimed while twirling around.
That's a bit sad, James thought but said nothing.
“Oh, Moony says he wants to talk with you before you leave.”, Sun says then, “I guess that means goodbye for today. I'm looking forward to the next time.”, he adds sadly and clicks the light switch off.
This time the transformation is less quietly and he made noises of pain. Shortly after Moon stands in front of James again.
“I have to thank you for your advice earlier. That was quite nice.”, Moon said with sincerity, then he added, whispering into James' ear, “How do you want me to thank you?”
James did frantically add “Horny???” to his own notes about the daycare attendants later, but played it cool at the moment, “It's alright, it is literally my job.”
“Are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer?”, he asked and James could swear that he could hear a little bit of Sun in his voice.
“I'll be back. Sooner than you will want me to. You'll be sick of me in one week.”, James joked, but Moon answered with sincerity again, “The opposite is much more likely. Please don't be sick of us after a while.”
James clenched his heart. Fuck. “Abandoning issues.”, added to the notes.
He stepped closer to Moon and laid a hand on his shoulder, “I'm not going to be sick of either of you. Don't worry. I'll be back tomorrow.”
Moon seems to believe him, for the time being.