🌸 Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers 🌸
Chapter 3: Over The Moon, Behind the Daycare
Pairing: Sun/Moon x oc
Summary: Sun provides a distraction, Moon starts to see the truth, and Dolores could sleep standing up if allowed to. Thankfully the Daycare Attendant was built for this job.
A/N: this took way longer than I wanted to finish, but the brainrot is real rn, there will be so much more before we’re done. For now, have some exposition and much needed fluff.
------------ 13 was an unlucky number, Dolores decided. It had always been a superstitious belief of others, but now, she truly believed it.
There had been 14 children.
Now there were only 13.
Dolores was a nervous mess at the thought. Had they left someone behind? Had she miscounted? She went over the roster files again and again. They had walked the theater twice over since closing.
But 13 names checked in, 13 checked out. The timestamps on Dakoda's log as they left the daycare matched. Everything was in order, but Dolores couldn't shake the worry growing in the pit of her stomach.
"You're like, one hundred percent positive?" Dakoda asked, and Dolores sighed because this was the 5th time she had asked a variation of the same question.
"No. I'm not. That's exactly the problem. This week has been such a mess between the extra parties and the lights needing to be worked on... I'm scared I just miscounted, had Sun doing the same, and now I'm worrying us all for no reason." Dolores replied, pinching the bridge of her nose like it might slow the headache coming on.
Dolores looked more exhausted than normal, Dakoda had noted rather quickly. The other children had been easy to distract, but Dolores had to sit with Emily until her mother came to collect her, and even then, it still took some kind words, a bead bracelet and a Sun keychain to get her to let go of Sunshine’s dress. Despite the smiles she faked for the kids, Dakoda had known Dolores long enough to see the heartbreak in her eyes. Something had frightened one of her children in that darkened theater, and it had spooked Dolores as well. Slightly disheveled and stressed, even still dressed in the costume, she looked more like the all-nighter, exam cramming Dolores that Dakoda had become best friends with in college.
"I can ask around upstairs and see what we can pull for camera footage. We can always take a headcount from that. Right now I'm leaning hard towards My Bestie needs to relax and get a good night's sleep because the paperwork is all in order and it really does look like you're just stressed out..."
"I'm not gonna be able to sleep." Dolores replied quietly, idly rolling the list up and down on her Fazwatch like looking at their names would help jog her memory. The twelfth time was just as successful as the first. "Not till I know what happened."
Dakoda rolled her eyes but the look she gave was both kind and sympathetic.
"Look, I can handle the rest of the closing duties. Why don't you go touch base with your sweetheart before we head home? Might help…" Dakoda suggested gently, playfully nudging Dolores's arm in an attempt to make her smile. She received a half smile for the effort, still a victory.
Dolores shed some of the accessories once again, and packed them into her bag before descending the stairs into the daycare.
Sun was already waiting for her, and parted the doors without a word to let her pass. There was an odd silence between them, something understood as Dolores set her bag down on the security desk and turned to face him again. He held out his arms in the offer of a hug and she was there in an instant.
“It’s going to be okay, Sunshine.” He said quietly. It was hard for either of them to believe it.
“Maybe I’m going crazy.” Dolores sighed into the safety of his chest. “It feels like I’m going crazy. Something is wrong and I can’t…”
Sun shushed her gently, and without warning, scooped her into his arms. Dolores squeaked and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, effectively silenced as he walked back across the daycare, holding her bridal style. She heard the line drop before she saw it, and with practiced ease it hooked into the loop on Sun’s back and lifted them into the air. Dolores gasped and clung to him as they swung up over the ballpit, Sun landing gracefully on the ledge of his castle balcony as if he'd done it a thousand times before.
But he didn’t set her down there, he carried her behind the curtain and hopped easily down from the platform into his room.
One side of the space was stacked high with both supplies for the daycare and boxes of extra merchandise for the Lucky Star, the small tables and chairs for craft time squared away neatly to the side. The other side hung with sound muffling curtains, as if to keep the noise of the daycare on the other side. The room itself seemed little more than a closet, save for the makeshift repair station that covered a repurposed party table. At first Dolores was confused why he had brought her here, but realization quickly dawned that this was their room, as much the rooms on Rockstar Row belonged to the Glamrocks.
Was this where Sun and Moon spent their time when the daycare closed for the night? It was embarrassingly sparse, sharing space with storage, and in her opinion, a disservice to the hard working daycare attendant.
Sun seemed a little giddy as he set her down, excited to have her here nonetheless.
“I’m sorry, I should have asked before I picked you up.” He apologized, wringing his hands together. “But I have something I want to show you! And-and-and nobody else can know I showed you so I couldn’t very well ask where others could hear…”
Dolores raised an eyebrow but smiled patiently as he approached the curtained wall, pushing a couple boxes aside so he could pull the fabric back. A blue tunnel tube was set into the wall, and it was clear Sun had at some point run lights through it into the room behind by the look of the cords fed through the bottom. He gestured for her to follow, lights clicking on as he climbed through with more grace than someone his height should be capable of.
Dolores hesitated for just a moment before she followed behind. The tunnel opened into a smaller room, and somehow this felt more like what she had expected of their personal space. Pillows, cushions and plush toys had been piled one corner like a strange, rainbow colored nest, large enough to accommodate the lanky lunar animatronic under a string of pilfered Christmas lights, and the walls had been painstakingly decorated with drawings from the daycare children. Some names she recognized, others she didn’t, but all were hung with the care of a proud parent. And rightfully so, there was noticeable improvements in a few of the pages, regulars to the daycare that had learned from him how to color and spell and create. He was proud of his job, something that should have been obvious, but Dolores simply hadn't spared it the thought until now.
Being programmed to be sweet was one thing. Kissing boo-boos and applying bandaids required only the sweetest of care. But when they has kissed that first time, she had almost expected to be jumpscared by her coworkers, demanding that they had caught her and it was all a big joke to make her look stupid, she would be the laughingstock of the plex until someone else tripped up worse.
A few of her coworkers had made it clear early on that willingly choosing to work in the daycare wasn't what was considered normal, it was the place they sent new-hires they didn't like and didn't expect to keep, and sought to comment at every chance on how strange they felt it was to enjoy such a hellish job. It was intense at times, and the daycare theme was catchy enough to drive anyone mad.
But it wasn't an elaborate joke.
It wasn't a setup of any kind, really. Outside of maybe Dakoda just wanting to see what happened if she stoked the fire.
Sun was gentle and sincere, dare she say romantic in how he had stolen her attention, and for the first time she was truly considering that it may be more than just his programming. Just the little hiding space in front of her was more than proof that there was far more to him than she had ever expected.
There were stacks of books next to the nest he had crafted in the corner, medical manuals on how to treat everyday scrapes and bruises, and predictably children’s stories, but also a few stray novels she would no doubt be curious about when she wasn’t so terribly exhausted.
Sun, having to stoop inside the small space, made his way to the pile of pillows and flopped unceremoniously into it, getting comfortable before he held his hands out to Dolores once more.
“Oh, now I’m sure this is a trap.” She giggled softly, crawling into the pile with him and into his open arms.
“Best trap I’ve ever set.” Sun teased, drawing her legs over his own so he could hold her more comfortably in his lap. “We come here when we need to think, or just want to be alone. It’s quiet, and I don’t think anyone else knows it’s here. Maybe security. But mostly just us. And now, you.”
Dolores settled against his chest, letting her head rest against his shoulder as he spoke. She felt like maybe, just maybe, this whole situation should have been weird. Maybe even frightening. But she found herself relaxing for the first time since they had left the theater that early afternoon, and she was tired, so very tired. It wasn’t until he reached up to touch her cheek that she realized she was quietly crying against his shoulder.
His hand cupped her face carefully, turning it up to meet his when he pressed his faceplate to her forehead, and the gentleness of it caused her to hiccup softly, a fresh wave of tears spilling over. Sun did his best to soothe her, wiping the tears from her cheeks with gentle touches, and she nuzzled into his hand as she tried to slow her breathing. The panic she hadn't been able to show had finally caught up with her in this safe space, her walls crumbling under his care the moment she found herself able to relax.
“I’m sorry,” Dolores tried to apologize, but Sun wouldn’t have it.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” He replied simply. “It was a hard day.”
Dolores was quiet for a long moment, and he was beginning to wonder if she had fallen asleep, sweet little face tucked into his palm with her eyes closed, when she asked, “What if we didn’t miscount?”
Sun sighed, the sound a hum from his voicebox. They had walked the theater twice over. He had run the list of names to match everything he had recorded of his day, but only 13 children were accounted for even in his databanks, and seeing his darling Sunshine cry over the situation was making it hard to entertain much further without evidence of foul play.
“Then we rest for tonight, and start again fresh tomorrow. You need rest.” He said, a tenderness to his note of finality. He shifted her like a doll in his lap as he stretched himself out in the pillow nest, drawing her up onto his chest where her head could rest comfortably pillowed on top of the ruffle around his neck when she settled in once more. “Moon will search more tonight, and double over our work. If we did lose one, surely they’re still here, and will no doubt give up their game of hide and seek when little tummies start to rumble. And if that happens, we’ll wake you first thing. Oh, and we'll be tying them all together next time we have to go out of the daycare, Moon’s orders…”
Dolores nodded with a quiet laugh, but her eyes were already growing heavy, and she dozed off there in Sun’s arms, listening to the whirr of his internal systems and his promises to make things right. She stirred but didn’t wake when her phone began to buzz a little while later, and Sun felt slightly ashamed when he saw the name flashing across the screen, silencing it anyway. He opened it and held the camera out at arm’s length, finding the best angle to snap a picture of Dolores asleep on his chest without jostling her, before sending it back to Dakoda, who was now spam texting, demanding to know why her call had been ignored.
Hey, where did you go???
Hello?!
Why did you just ignore my call? Where the hell are you?!
Sun tapped a quick message in before she could call again and hit send.
She’s asleep. Should I wake her?
A pause, the marker popping up that both his message and picture had been seen, so he waited.
Nah, she looks comfy, let her sleep. I’ll bring clothes in the morning, think u can keep an eye on her till then, big guy? ;)
Sun rolled his eyes, wanting to laugh, but he didn’t dare make a sound and chance waking the angel in his arms.
I am not going anywhere. Haha I hope she rolls over at some point or Moon’s gonna miss his rounds tonight.
Dakoda replied with a series of laughing faces but said nothing more, so he closed her phone and set it on the nearest stack of books for safe keeping.
Sun laid there with her until the lights went out with the power, signaling the first hour since closing had passed, and Moon awoke cradling the object of their affections. Dolores made a soft sound of protest when Moon rolled her carefully off of him and into the pillow pile, trying to cling to him even in her sleep. It made him want to laugh, carefully uncurling her sleepy fingers from his ruffles, just to trade them for a plush of himself fished from the depths of the nest. He paused for a moment, reconsidering before he rummaged around for the matching one of Sun and tucked it into her grasp as well, before disappearing out of the tunnel.
Dolores slept soundly through his first watch, but that was fine. It gave Moon the chance to pour over every inch of the daycare and the adjoined theater. He crawled through the vents between, the backstage area and green rooms. When nothing else turned up, he looped back to the concessions and gathered a couple snacks for Dolores. Sun hummed happily when Moon grabbed her favorite pizza flavored pretzels in particular.
Having been quiet for quite some time, Moon could feel Sun worrying, like an annoying ticking in their shared headspace.
"Moon, do you think…"
"No."
"... that maybe, just maybe…"
"Sun."
"... something could have happened while…"
Moon slammed the door to the drink fridge with a surprising amount of strength for someone holding a pink can of Fizzy Faz in that same hand, but Sun got the message.
They both started to apologize after a quiet pause, but Moon cut through with, "I…I'm not sure. When the screen cut out I felt you punch out with the light, but something wouldn't let me back in. It was only a 7 second delay but… that's 7 seconds longer than it's ever been. I didn't want to make you worry more but I think there was something in the static."
Sun hummed in acknowledgement, then asked quietly, "How many bed rolls did we lay out?"
Moon frowned, pressing his databanks for the answer, only to be met with an eerie static echoing in his processors. Whatever was blocking him from remembering such a small detail had to be related to what had happened when the theater went dark. The static felt too similar to just be a coincidence.
Moon didn't realize he had crushed the can of soda in his hand. It was dripping sticky pink liquid where his fingers had pierced the metal, the sound of crushing tin and hissing carbonation lost on the Naptime Attendant.
Something, or someone, didn't want them to know what had happened. Something was putting the children in danger, and they had slid right in front of his face and done the unthinkable. He felt anger, a pang of guilt for having doubted Sun and Dolores at first, but his search had turned over the same evidence. No trace, no way to prove their claims. Just a deep feeling that they had failed to do the very thing they were built for.
"I can't remember either." Sun said quietly, watching through their eyes as Moon finally noticed the ruined drink in his grip and pried his fingers free. He tossed the can into the trash and grabbed a couple of napkins from the concession counter to clean his hand with before grabbing a bottle of water instead. The soda would have been too sugary anyway, he told himself.
As he turned to exit once more, he caught sight of the Bonnie cutout that had sent one of their charges into a fit, and for a brief moment Emily's tiny voice rang in his thoughts.
There were no rabbits at the Pizzaplex, not anymore.
Bonnie had been gone for awhile now, only his likeness scattered in a few places other than the bowling alley, and Moon had heard whispers of a rebranding in the works. Furthermore, he certainly would have seen a large rabbit in the theater; the children had been seated in front of them when the lights went out. But Emily had claimed there had been one, and it terrified her into nearly inconsolable tears.
"Something is very wrong..."
"What do we tell Sunshine?"
"Nothing yet. If we don't have proof, all it will do is worry her. But we can't let it happen again. No more trips. We stay in the daycare." Moon replied. "And I'll be watching at night, if someone is sneaking around, I will catch them."
There was something about the malice in Moon's tone that made Sun uneasy, even if he shared the frustrated desire to put a swift end to whoever or whatever had caused their grief. Sun had never felt Moon get angry before. It was strange and new and a little worrying, if he was honest. But he said nothing as his alter took their loot back towards the daycare and the sleeping woman in their castle hideaway.
Dolores stirred to an unfamiliar thump from what sounded like across the room, and she started to shake herself awake with the realization she didn't remember falling asleep. The room was dark, save for a single strand of small lights above, making it hard to process that she was laying in the nest of soft things at first. But where was Sun? Or rather, Moon, now that the lights were out?
She got her answer, when a moment later two glowing red eyes appeared in the tunnel before Moon slid through to greet her.
"You should be sleeping."
"Hello to you too, Moonie." Dolores laughed quietly. "How was your shift?"
Moon didn't answer, just knelt beside her and began to unload his haul.
"For you. Should eat, you missed dinner. But then you should sleep." He said softly.
Dolores couldn't argue this, her stomach was starting to quietly fuss about that very situation, and he had brought her a variety of her favorite snacks. Something about it made her smile like an idiot as she pulled the pizza pretzels from the pile.
"Thank you, I didn't mean to fall asleep, but I guess I'm stuck now, huh?"
"Guess so. Stuck all alone with me."
Dolores hoped he couldn't see the blush that crawled up her cheeks. "Oh, then it won't be so terrible. You're a gracious host if I've ever known one."
Moon seemed surprised by the complement, his faceplate pausing at a weird angle for just a moment before turning back to its normal position. It occurred to her that Moon might not know how she felt for Sun bled hard into her appreciation of him as well. They were two sides of one coin, separate but still loved equally. The want to snuggle with Moon was only fractionally worse, however, considering his sleepy theme and gentle tones.
As if sharing her thoughts, Moon crawled carefully to sit beside her on the bed of soft things. Dolores made room for him, getting comfortable at his side as she reached for the bottle of water. She took a drink, thankful for the cooling sensation it brought to her whole body, but as she started to replace the cap, she caught sight of where Sun had left her phone on the stack of books. As she reached for it, under her breath she gasped, "Oh no, Koda, I didn't tell her…"
"Sunny did." Moon said, his usual mirthful demeanor breaking through at last as he watched her frantically open her messages. "She tried to call, but you were sleeping, so Silly Sunny grabbed the first excuse to spend more time with you. Didn't think he'd have the bolts to bring you to our hideout, though. Almost like he was looking forward to being alone with you…"
Sun started to protest being called out like this, but Moon wasn't paying attention to him. Dolores had discovered the picture that had been sent to Dakoda, and her face went through several different emotions at once, settling on something vividly tender. She liked the picture. Was looking at it the way humans tended to look at baby animals, sweet and soft, and in the glow of the screen, Moon finally saw what Sun found so charming about her smile.
Dolores, oblivious to Moon's fixed gaze, leaned against his shoulder comfortably as she continued to nibble away the bag of pretzels.
"I'm glad he did." She said quietly. "I like spending time with you both, and I'm sad we didn't get the chance sooner."
Moon didn't know how to respond to that, or rather he did, but was finding it difficult to push words to their voice box with her so very close. Sun was incredibly smug about this development, but he said nothing.
Moon slipped his arm around Dolores as she scrolled mindlessly through her messages. He could tell she was still very tired, despite the warm smile she gave as she snuggled further into his hold. There was so much to discuss, so much to be worried about, but for now, Moon let it rest. She needed this moment of peace as much as he did.
And he was being terribly selfish, knowing the lights coming back on in the building wouldn't reach them here. But Sun was amused, not jealous, when Moon carded his fingers through Dolores' soft blonde curls. Her hair was a mess from the bit of sleep she had already gotten, and he found himself playing with a lock of it, entertaining himself with the thought that her hair appeared much longer when it wasn't done up so dollishly.
And that's when it occurred to him: she was wearing a costume. A probably rather uncomfortable to sleep in work uniform, despite its bright colors and cheery appearance.
She needed pajamas.
Moon wasn't sure why he felt so suddenly compelled, but it shot sparks through his system when he realized Dolores had only smiled when faced with the prospect of being trapped with him overnight. Not afraid. Not concerned.
No human staff had ever willingly stayed in his company before, certainly not shared his and Sun's most personal space so comfortably. He wanted to make sure she was happy.
To his joy and amusement, Dolores had dozed off as he combed his fingers through her hair, still holding her open phone.
He took the opportunity to snap his own selfie, and sent both pictures to his own phone for safe keeping. Yeah. That's was it, just in case.
Moon was the master of maneuvering around sleeping humans; he slid out from under her, carefully shifting her sleeping form into a more comfortable position for the time being. He ducked back out of the room, and after some rummaging around, he found another armful of things to drag back into their hideout: a fluffy pillow shaped like a slice of pizza, a stack of plush blankets, and a large shirt, all pilfered from the giftshop.
”Penguins bring shiny rocks to their crushes to show them love and appreciation.”
Sun's fun little Fazfact didn't miss Moon's attention, nor the smug way he had said it.
"I'm doing my job." Moon huffed back, and Sun's laughter echoed for a moment in their shared headspace. "Okay, fine, I also want to make sure she's comfortable. She's… nice."
“She's more than nice.” Sun said with the note of a lovesick fool in his voice. “She's perfect.”
Moon rolled his eyes.
Being a touch nosy proved useful: he found makeup wipes and a clean washcloth tucked into her bag with the kit of beads and string. With a renewed sense of purpose he gathered it all together and returned to their hideaway.
"Dolly…" he called softly, nudging her carefully. Dolores hummed a questioning sound in return, so he pressed on. "Dolly, wouldn't you be more comfortable out of that costume?"
Something must have activated in her mind, for even still half asleep she sat up and began to fumble for the zipper along her back, much to Moon’s amusement. When awake, she often prided herself on being able to get into and out of the dress without assistance. However the very sleepy Dolores was getting nowhere fast. Moon bit back the urge to laugh when she whined in frustration, moving to assist. Dolly seemed like such a fitting name for her as he helped her remove the bright yellow dress layer. He pressed the oversized tshirt into her hands, busying himself with untying and removing her dainty little boots as she pulled it over her head.
Something about it rung as a rather intimate gesture when he rolled each of her rainbow socks down over her knees, his fingers lingering over the newly exposed skin with gentle curiosity. Next came the fluffy petticoat layer, and suddenly Dolores looked so much smaller, more human than before. His eyes lifted to meet her's, and saw something entirely different reflected there, sleepy, but new, deeply sweet, and directed at him.
He pulled a wipe from the package to distract himself from the strange feeling her smile caused, and took her chin in one hand as he carefully wiped away the glitter from her cheeks, the red stain from her lips. He released her only the moment it took to wet the washcloth with bottled water, and she squeaked quietly as he used the cool cloth to wipe away the rest.
So trusting, such a precious, beautiful little doll in his hands…
Dolores followed without resistance as Moon coaxed her to lay back once more, the pizza shaped pillow beneath her head. Her happy sighs did not go unnoticed as he tucked her in under a star patterned blanket. She was drifting back to sleep when he settled the plush toys of himself and Sun on either side of her once more, her features softening as her breathing slowed.
Moon reached out to brush a stray curl from her cheek, fingers lingering a moment too long, and Sun sighed for both of them.
They were already in too deep.
