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“Why can’t you just leave me alone!?” Moon screams, posture threatening as he takes a step closer. “I don’t always want to be around you!”
Sun backs away, rays retracted, as he stares at Moon in shock. He didn’t mean to annoy him, he just wanted to be around him, to talk and play games. Slowly, the shock wears off, leaving behind bitter tears.
“Y-You’re right.” He sniffles, wiping his eyes. “I won’t bother you anymore.”
“Wait, Sun. I didn’t-”
Sun doesn’t wait to hear the rest of that sentence. Why should he? Just his presence alone is enough to annoy people, too cheerful for anyone to withstand, even Moon…
He’s not entirely sure where he’s heading as he rushes off. In fact, it’s not until he can’t see from the tears that he stops to look around. Wiping at his eyes, he recognizes this as the underground tunnels that connect the whole plex together. Though, he’s not sure exactly what part he’s in. The hall he’s in is unfamiliar, dark and scary, with the only light being small ones atop the walls.
A shiver runs through him. He’s never been down here alone before… and his internal map doesn’t show his location either. Which direction did he come from again? Oh, he’s not sure. He’s lost, down in a dark concrete tunnel without any way of getting back.
But… does he even want to? Should he even go back? What would be the point? Staff hate him, the Glamrocks don’t bother with them, the kids will forget him, and Moon… Moon only puts up with him because he has to.
In fact, the more Sun thinks about it, the less reason he can find to go back. He’s better off trapped down here, away from everyone else. At least here he won’t annoy people. He’ll be out of everyone’s way. Besides, the company would have no problem replacing a ‘missing’ bot. Him and Moon are only slightly above regular STAFF bots in terms of worth, no matter how many times he tries to deny it.
His heart aches at the thought, finally letting himself come to terms with the facts. It’s not like he hasn’t known, hasn’t realized how mistreated they are, he just… didn’t want to acknowledge it. He even refused to see how much Moon hates him. Always clinging to him, bothering him, just being a straight up pain. The signs were there, he simply ignored them in favor of his own feelings.
Look where that got him. Curled up beside a crate, that looks like it’s been here for years, in a dirty, dark, and frightening tunnel, completely alone. More tears fall down his face as he pulls his knees to his chest.
Hours pass, or has it been days? Sun’s not actually sure, having turned off his internal clock after the first hour. His optic solution tank has run low, leaving him without even any tears to shed. By now he simply feels… empty. Everything is almost numb as his system runs on a lower power. It must have realized how long he’d been still for. Maybe he can just close his eyes…
He wakes in a white void, the dark tunnel and everything around him gone.
“What are you doing here?” A voice calls, startling him.
Snapping his head to the side, he’s face to face with… himself? No, not quite. This version’s colors are off, the face dark with glowing yellow eyes and mouth. Even their rays glow, looking similar to fire.
“W-who are you?” Sun questions, staying away from them.
“Hmm, technically? You.” He states, walking around Sun in a curious manner. “Just an older, discarded version. I like your bells.”
“Discarded?”
“Well, I’m not exactly in use am I?” He chuckles, finally standing up straight. “Call me Glitch.”
“Um, nice to meet you? I’m Sun…” Even he thinks he sounds awkward, but he just can’t think properly at the moment.
“I know that. Silly, silly thing. I’m out in the real world, but I’m still / connected /.” He speaks with a titter.
Sun blinks at him, still not really understanding anything that’s going on. “C-Connected?”
“Of course~ My body may be discarded, but my AI is in here. Stored in the system until they find use for me again.” He pauses, head tilting side to side. “Or delete me, I suppose.”
“T-That doesn’t sound very, um, pleasant.”
Glitch laughs, once again walking around him, as though he couldn’t bear staying still. “It would to you, wouldn’t it? I was the same as you, and you are the same as I was.”
That… makes no sense. Ok, it / does /, but not exactly. He keeps speaking in such a strange way that it’s hard for Sun to keep up.
“So, um, where… are we?”
“Where would you like it to be?”
With a nervous chuckle, Sun takes a step back. “Um, that didn’t answer my question.”
“Ah, I suppose I should reiterate.” Glitch hums. “We’re inside the Pizzaplex’s system. Nothing more than lines of code stored in one place or another. So, this ‘place’ is where you’d like it to be.”
“Oh…”
“So, what’ll it be? Monty golf, Roxy Raceway, the Fazcade? Even one of the arcade machines! Just pick a place and it’ll be.” He speaks with a flourish, hands in the air as he switches the scenery to match.
The feeling of being transferred all over the place doesn’t exactly feel good, Sun lurching forwards as the area surrounding them continues to change. “S-Stop! Please, stop…”
Suddenly, everything’s frozen yet again. “Ah, I apologize! After a while you get used to the transfers.” He states, crouching down beside him. “I hope you’re not mad?”
Sun shakes his head. “No, not mad.”
“Good! Good, good, I can’t have my new friend getting upset. Loneliness is the enemy here. You understand, don’t you?”
Loneliness. Sun sighs, looking to the ground. Yeah, he gets it, he really does… Moon was his only friend and look what he’s done. Ruined it.
“No, no sad.” Glitch pokes his face. “I don’t want you to be sad anymore.”
Sun laughs, pushing the hand away. “Thank you.”
“So, what’ll it be? Where do / you / want to go?”
With a hum, Sun thinks about it. There’s not very many places he’s got to explore. He usually spends all his time in the Daycare or the Theater, though Moon would take him to see Music Man every so often. Of course, he’s been to the other attractions once or twice. But, always with Moon…
Everywhere he’s ever gone to was with Moon. There’s never been a single instance where he’s gone off by himself, always dragging Moon along with him, or making him take him to a certain area. God, how was he so selfish?
“I don’t… want to go anywhere in the Plex.” He finally states, voice quiet.
Glitch seems to look him over, analyzing, observing. “How about my favorite place? It’s one of the arcade games.”
Sun gives him a weak smile. “Sure.”
Glitch pats his head, the same way a toddler pets a dog, before snapping his fingers. Instantly, they’re in a new location. Tall, looming evergreen trees surround them. In the distance he can see what looks like a fair, or circus. Red and white striped tents, a ferris wheel, and lots of stands gathered in the clearing. Beyond that, into the horizon, sits mountains that are taller than the clouds.
“Whoa…” Sun looks around, the area familiar. “Is this ‘Balloon World’?”
“Bingo! This is where I usually stay. Plenty of trees to climb, mountains to explore, and tons of games.” He lights up suddenly, excitement palpable. “Do you want to play?”
“What game?”
“Ooh, there’s a dart throwing game, ring toss, and lots more!”
Before he can even respond, Sun’s being dragged into the fairgrounds. Glitch explains every game to him, letting him choose whichever he wants. At first, he simply chooses which one looks the most interesting, not really into the idea of playing, but slowly he relaxes, actually enjoying his time playing with Glitch. Game after game they play, laughing as they talk, until they’ve played every last one.
“I win!” Sun exclaims, jumping up in excitement.
“I was so close, too.” Glitch sighs, shaking his head at the water gun game.
“You did great! I was just a liiiitle better.”
“Next time, I’ll win.” He states jumping up from the seat. “So what next? Do you want to play another game, or we can explore the mountains.”
Sun hums, looking around the fairgrounds once more. “What’s that?”
He points to a tent they haven’t been to yet.
“Oh, that’s the fortune teller. I don’t think we should go there.”
“Fortune teller? That sounds so cool! Can’t we try it, please?” Sun pleads, giving his best puppy dog eyes.
“Will it make you happy?”
“Mmhm!”
Glitch heaves a sigh, looking away. “Ok, but I don’t think you’ll like it…”
“Thank you!” Sun jumps on him, hugging him tightly.
Instantly, Glitch freezes, unsure of what to do. He looks at Sun, before hesitatingly hugging back.
“Let’s go!” Sun pulls away, draggin glitch to the purple tent.
Excitedly, he goes through the curtain. Inside is filled with hanging stars and moon’s, sending a small pang in his heart. He misses him… Shaking his head he continues to the center, where nothing but a table and a mirror sits.
“Is no one here?” Sun questions, letting go of Glitches hand to walk to the table.
“No.” He answers, coming up behind Sun. “The mirror is the teller here.”
Somehow, he sounds sad, his voice much quieter than it had been the whole time they’ve been together.
“How do I use it?”
Slowly, Glitch reaches over him, picking the large mirror up to hold in front of them. At first, it simply shows the two of them, Glitch standing right behind Sun, standing just a little taller. Sun watches intently as it starts to distort, swirling the colors until it shows somewhere else.
“Is that… our room?” He questions, noticing the obvious lights and decor of Moon’s room.
“Yeah. This arcade looks out into your room. The one in Gator golf looks out there, and same for any other arcade.”
Sun stares into the mirror. Everything inside shows clearly, from the galaxy blanket that Moon loves, to the little stars he’s stuck on the walls. He remembers helping him paint the room blue. It was right when they received their beds, Sun staying in the main room while Moon took the smaller one, since it was darker.
As he continues to observe the room, he realizes how much he misses Moon. He misses him so much, his heart aches, filling him and overwhelming him until he’s drowning. God, he knows how clingy he is. He knows how annoying he is, but he just… he just loves him so much.
He’s not aware of the tears starting to slip down his face until Glitch reaches up and wipes them away. “You’re not annoying, you know.”
Sun shakes his head, gently placing the mirror down so he could freely wipe his face. “Sorry, I ruined the mood, huh?”
“You’re not annoying.” Glitch repeats, grabbing onto his wrist. “And Moon doesn’t hate being around you.”
A bitter laugh escapes Sun. “And how would you know? He said it himself.”
“No, he didn’t.” He argues. “He said he doesn’t always want to be around you. That doesn’t mean he hates doing so.”
“You… you saw. Didn’t you?”
“I see everything, Sun. I see how you look at him, how you smile when he’s around. I see it.”
“I wish I could tell him. Wish I wasn’t such a coward.” Sun sobs, sinking to the ground. “I wish we could go on dates, wish we could have those cute moments, wish we could spend all the holidays together.”
Glitch rubs his back as he pours his heart out, finally letting go of those feelings he’s kept inside.
“I just wish he’d love me…”
For a moment, the only sounds filling the tent are Sun’s sobs.
“A wish is a strong desire for something that is uneasily attainable, or almost impossible.” He states, slowly drawing Sun’s face up to meet his. “You don’t need to wish, you must simply ask.”
“What?” Sun croaks out.
“You’ll find asking for what you want will grant your desire much faster, than waiting for the universe to.”
“How do you know?”
Glitch pulls him up, a soft smile on his face. “I told you. I see everything.”
Sun lets out a laugh, still fighting the tears. “You’re a good guy. I’m glad I ended up here with you.”
“I… I’m glad, too. I don’t get many visitors here after all.”
“Well, I’d like to visit you more.” He grins.
“You would?” He blinks, not expecting that.
“Of course! You’ve helped me out so much, and this was so fun.”
With a small smile, Glitch pulls on his hand. “I believe you have somewhere to be. Shall we get going?”
“But, even if I go back, I ended up lost.” He speaks, remembering where he was before ending up in this strange place. “I don’t think I could get back to the Daycare…”
“Don’t worry about that. You just need to get out of here.”
Sun shakes his head, deciding to trust Glitch. He’s led to a place in the woods, right by a tree trunk.
“Just touch that purple thing and you should be out of here.” Glitch instructs, letting go of his hand to point at a tree trunk.
Looking to the place, sure enough, there’s a purple thing on the tree, almost as if it was glitching. With little hesitance, Sun walks closer to the thing.
Right before he touches it however, he turns around. “I won’t forget you.”
“Thank you.” He smiles back. “I really enjoyed our time together.”
“Me, too. Let’s do it again, ok?”
“Anytime. Now go, he’s waiting for you.”
With one last goodbye, Sun touches the purple. Instantly, he’s waking up back in the tunnel.
“Sun!?” Moon’s voice calls, shaking him.
With a slow blink, Sun tilts his head. “Moon?”
“God, Sun. Do you know how worried I was!?” Moon pulls him into an embrace, holding on tight. “You’ve been missing for days!”
“Days?” He questions.
“Three days. No one could find you after you ran off, I was starting to think you’d-” He shakes his head.
“You were looking for me?”
“Of course I was! You mean so much to me, no matter what I say, or how much I grumble, I still care.”
If it wasn’t for his optic tank being empty, Sun knows he’d be crying.
“I love you.” He whispers. “I love you, Moon.”
Suddenly, Moon’s pulling back, grabbing onto his face instead. “I wanted to say it first.” Before Sun could respond, he’s being kissed. “I got the first kiss though.”
“Can I have the second one?” Sun grins.
“You can have all of them.” He speaks, pressing another one to his lips, then another to his cheek and forehead.
He keeps covering his face in kisses, until there’s nowhere left untouched. Then with one finally kiss to his lips, he pulls him into his arms, picking him up with ease. With a loopy grin, Sun snuggles into the hold.
Carefully, Moon carries him back to their room, taking him directly to the side room that he claimed. “You need to charge.”
“Mmn.” Sun hums as he’s placed onto Moon’s bed.
He has half a mind to ask Moon to stay with him, but…
“I’m sorry.” Moon states, crouching down beside the bed. “I’m so sorry for what I said before. I like spending time with you, enjoy your presence.”
Sun turns onto his side, reaching out for his hand. “Moon?”
“I was just embarrassed last time. I want to be around you, to spend time with you, and after the last few days, I don’t think I could stand not having you here.”
“It’s alright.”
“No, it’s not. I should’ve never snapped at you like that, and I promise, I’ll do better.” He swears, pulling his hand up to press a kiss to. “I care about you, and I never want to make you cry again.”
“Lay with me?”
“Anything you want.”
Smiling, Sun holds his arms out, waiting patiently for Moon to crawl in. After a few minutes of Moon rearranging him to be in the perfect position, he snuggled close, with Moon holding him tight. A small content sigh escapes him. Being this close, a feeling the way Moon’s hands hold him, he can’t help but feel so much love. How long had he wanted this, wished for it? To finally have everything he’d ever desired, he’s almost scared.
Suddenly, there’s a soft noise of static behind him. Turning just enough to look, he notices the distortion on the arcade machine. He watches as it starts to form words.
‘I told you.’
Sun smiles. Before turning back into Moon’s arms, he slowly mouths the words. ‘Thank you.’