Chapter Text
“We have to let you go. I’m sorry.”
You blink; struggling for a second to fully comprehend what your boss just said to you.
“I- What?” You ask- hoping you misheard him. But the grimace on his face is enough to prove you heard him correct; and your heart sinks. “I- But why?? I haven’t done anything wrong, have I?”
Your boss shakes his head, shuffling some paperwork. “It’s nothing personal, really. It’s just budget cuts. Not enough kids go to the snack counter anymore, so..” Your boss trails off, and you run a hand through your hair briefly to try and wrap your head around this.
They’re silent for a moment before he clears his throat awkwardly. “..Your last day is the 14th. Sorry.”
Oh great. Not only are you losing the best job you’ve ever had- Your last day is on fucking Valentines Day. Wonderful.
You leave his office in a bit of a daze. What’re you supposed to do now? If your partner finds out you lost your job they’ll be furious. Maybe you should just..Not mention it. Pretend like it isn’t happening. Yeah, that should work fine.
You fish your apron out of your bag as you head to the nearest elevator and bap your badge at the scanner. You only have a Level 1 pass, but it’s really all you need. The Pizza Plex is big and needlessly complicated with its security system; but you only work in the Daycare. So you thankfully don’t need anything more than a Level 1 pass to get everywhere you need.
The Daycare has only just opened by the time you get there, and you wave to your coworker checking in the kids as you duck behind your snack counter.
Technically speaking, your boss wasn’t wrong. Fewer kids had pocket money to get treats during the day and even fewer parents were willing to pay extra for the Snack Package for their toddlers. But still, it sucks knowing you still have to work here for 2 weeks while you attempt to find another job.
You really don’t wanna go back to waiting tables.
Hell, you’re not sure you can afford your apartment if you go back to waiting tables.
But- you can’t think about that right now. You just need to worry about getting through the day.
It doesn’t take you long to grab all the snacks you’ll need for the day, and you’re out behind your counter and sitting on your stool by the time most of the kids have arrived. And you smile to yourself when a familiar, bubbly voice rings through the room.
“Good morning, everybody!” Sun, calls; and you cover your ears as the children all shriek in delight. You watch with a smile as the sunshine animatronic leaps from his balcony and lands on his feet like a cat in front of the crowd of kids; bowing dramatically as they all cheer. You clap as you always do, watching with a light flush on your cheeks as he goes through the rules for the day and the activities they’ll all be doing.
Then his bright eyes flick towards you; and his mechanical grin somehow gets bigger as he waves at you.
And your heart lurches as you wave back.
God..It’s a little silly to have a crush on an animatronic. Especially one that’s programmed to be cheerful and bright like Sun is. But you can’t help it. He’s just so sweet and kind and always does his best to cheer up anyone who’s nearby. He makes you feel special. Makes you want to try and be a better person. Makes you want to be more positive and confident like him.
You have to shake your head and force yourself to be busy with something else as you realize you shouldn’t have a crush on anyone . Because you have a partner.
They work at the Pizza Plex as well; but they work in security in the Atrium in the evenings; so you two don’t get to see each other very often. So you two don’t really get to spend too much time together aside from the rare days you both have time off. But even then; those days are usually spent recharging and sleeping in rather than spending time together. You don’t blame your partner of course- but it makes you feel a little lonely.
Maybe that’s why you latched onto Sun. He’s so bright- literally and figuratively -all the time and makes time for you. He goes out of his way most days to find you and see how you’re doing. Unlike your partner.
You’re not blaming them, of course. They have a job to do and so do you. It just sucks that you two aren’t able to see each other when you’re both awake.
Clearing your throat, you pull your eyes away from the animatronic as a couple kids run up to your counter- begging and give puppy dog eyes to be given treats for free.
And hey- You were fired, anyways. Why the hell not?
You hand out small cups of popcorn and some starbursts throughout the day as they go about their activities; until Sun announces it’s movie time and Moon will be coming out to supervise while he picks up.
You hand out more popcorn as the movie is set up on the far wall; and then you start packing away the excess since most of the kids won’t get up during the hour and a half movie.
Moon comes out of his little outcove when the lights dim down; and he starts corralling all the kids into a big group and sitting everyone down with blankets and cushions as Sun skips off to pick up the mess leftover from the other activities.
You alternate between watching the film and checking your phone and definitely not watching Sun and Moon as the first half of some disney movie plays. And it’s during one of those moments where you’re definitely not staring at Sun that he glances up and you both lock eyes.
Heat races to your cheeks and you look away quickly. You hope that Sun didn’t notice your stare- but that hope dies when he makes his way over to you.
“Hey!” He whispers cheerfully. “A lot of kids have been running around with snacks today. Has the day been good?”
“It’s been ok.” You whisper back; rubbing a thumb absent-mindedly on the counter. “I had a meeting with my boss this morning, so I’m just kind of handing things out at this point.”
The cheerful expression flickers briefly. “A meeting with your boss? What happened?”
“Oh, uh..” You laugh a bit and shake your head; looking down. For some reason- you don’t want to say. Cause if you say it out loud- then that makes it real. But this is Sun. Maybe it would help to talk about it?
“It um..The snack bar hasn’t been getting much money lately.” You admit with a shrug. “So my boss said he has to let me go.”
The smile on the animatronics face vanishes instantly- and his sun-rays nearly retract at the surprise. “You got fired??” He nearly shouts- and when you wince, he lowers it back down. “No no no- You can’t go!!”
“I don’t really have much choice, Sun..” You try to give him a smile. “If they were gonna move me to another department he would’ve said so. But he didn’t. I’m just being fired.”
“But that’s not fair!” He exclaims; mechanical brows drawing down low.
“It’s just life.” You say with another shrug. “But hey- I still have two weeks. My last day is the 14th, so-”
“Your last day is Valentine's Day?? ” He whisper-shouts; somehow getting even more upset. “That’s so rude!”
You pause and look up at the animatronic for a moment- a little confused as to why he’s so distressed by the news. You assumed he would’ve known since he and Moon are both hooked up to some sort of system in the Pizza Plex. But if they- or at least Sun -doesn’t know, then maybe it hasn’t been filed yet? Or maybe that’s just not something they’re hooked up to? You’re not sure. You don’t work in tech and you’re not one of the mechanics- so you don’t have a clue how their system or AI works.
But regardless, you’re..A little touched that he’s so upset on your behalf. And it’s obvious with the way he clenches his fists and rubs his thumbs over his knuckles that he is upset. It’s sweet. And it does stupid things to your head. It makes you wonder..If Sun can feel an emotion like distress or frustration..
..What other emotions can he feel?
“Do you, uh..” You start- but you click your mouth shut. You can’t just ask if they can feel attraction. You have no idea what that’d do to their system. So instead, you clear your throat and glance away as Sun stops his frustrated grumbling. “Would you help me put some of the cotton candy away? You’re taller than me, so it’d help a lot.”
Sun relaxes a little, and nods.
You nod as well- and then lead the animatronic to the back prep room.
It’s pretty small, all things considered. Longer than it is wide and has one wall covered in shelves and boxes while the other has a 3-compartment sink with a few dishes in them and a table for any prep that needs to be done. You and Sun work in near silence together. Him putting away the things on the higher shelves so you don’t have to climb a ladder and you crouching down low to slide boxes back into place on the lower shelves.
Sun has to excuse himself a few minutes in when there’s some commotion out in the main play area; and you continue putting everything away. You pull out the ladder when you reach some of the last boxes, and you slowly- carefully -climb up one to put the box away.
The ladder wobbles briefly as you reach the top to put the box away; but you don’t pull your eyes away from your destination. The ladder wobbles again and-
Hands grab onto your waist- squeezing gently to attempt to help you regain your balance.
But instead; you screech at the unexpected touch, and go toppling off the ladder. But instead of hitting the tiled floor, you fall into someone's arms as the box falls to the floor.
You look up to find yourself pressed against a familiar yellow shirt. It takes you longer than you’d care to admit to realize you’ve literally fallen into Suns arms- and you blush furiously as he holds you close.
“Are you ok??” He asks- setting you back down on your feet when you shift your weight.
You stumble away a step with your face bright red. “I-I- Yeah. Yeah I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” Sun asks with a frown. “Your face is very red and your heart is-”
“Yup!” You interrupt, nodding and feigning a smile. “I’m perfectly fine! Really.”
Sun frowns- doubtful -but the commotion out in the play area picks up again, and Sun glances back with a conflicted expression. Which..That’s odd, too. Sun is programmed to prioritize the kids. Why would you be interfering with that objective? Are you interfering with that objective? Or is something else going on?
You force a smile anyways and gesture. “Go help Moon out. I’m fine; I promise.”
Sun still looks doubtful- but he eventually nods and turns to duck out of the room. But before he’s gone, he pauses at the threshold and looks back at you- pinning you with his bright eyes.
“There’s a Valentines Day party for employees next week. It’s scheduled for a few days before your last day. Are you gonna go?” He asks.
You shrug. “I might. Unless my partner has any other plans.”
Sun nods. “You should go. I think you’d have fun.” Then he ducks out to help Moon wrangle the kids. You droop once he’s gone and put your face in your hands. Why did you react like that?? All he did was try and stabilize you when you lost your balance- it wasn’t a big deal!
But you’re having a really hard time forgetting how he held you. How tight he held you like you were hurt. How his hands squeezed your hips as he tried to keep you steady.
God. What’re you gonna do with yourself?
You try- and fail -to forget about the encounter as you continue your work day. Giving out more treats to kids as the day ticks on until eventually; your coworker shows up just before naptime to take over for the afternoon.
You greet each other as you gather your things; and you step out just as the signature lullaby for nap time plays through the speakers.
Sun spots you as you head out and waves- and you shyly wave back as you head for the exit. One of your friends is there at the check-in desk scrolling on his phone; but he stops when you approach.
“Hey; I heard the news.” He says the moment you get within speaking range. “It sucks they’re firing you on Valentine’s Day of all days. You doing ok?”
“Yeah.” You sigh, rolling your shoulders. “It sucks, but I’ll survive. It’s not like there’s no other place to go in this town to get a job. Just don’t tell my partner?”
Your friend nods. “Still though, it sucks.” He sympathizes. “But hey, you’re off tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Me and Em are going out for drinks tonight with some of her friends.” He says, smiling. “You wanna come?”
Well..It’s not like you had any other plans, so..
“Sure.”