Work Text:
You had been hired as maintenance. It wasn't difficult really and you'd been trained by the people that initially worked on the glamrocks, so you were pretty confident when you started working on the drop brothers.
As a daycare worker they seemed to get into all sorts of mess, having chewed crayons and stickers mashed into their joints, sticky food and pens smeared over their faces and on occasion the broken limb. Their access to parts and service had been denied from overuse, but this just meant that staff bots would go missing and the daycare attendant would be repairing themselves with the working parts that were left. It was more cost effective to hire someone than keep replacing missing staff bots.
So here you were.
The two of you had been working together for a couple of months but something had been unsettling to you since the moment you met them.
"Why are you so tall?" You asked with an inflection of pure curiosity. Surely a shorter more friendly looking animatronic would've been more suitable for playing and taking care of kids instead of a robot that had the posture of a cryptid. They were taller than the glamrocks and any human you'd ever met by at least a couple of feet.
The unblinking, grinning face of Sun turned to look at you, tilting his head to one side. "Does it bother you?" Sun bent at the knees and slouched over as he would when talking to the kids, not quite as small but it did not look like a comfortable position to stay in. Could robots get uncomfortable in standing positions? Today you were wiping down his exoskeleton and fixing a couple of loose joints. As he moved he made sure not to wiggle the arm you had in your hands out of reach. "Is this better?" He asked but you shot him a look that said definitely not.
"I need to be able to reach on top of the play structures." Sunny finally replied, and as he stood back upright after finally giving the answer that was demanded of him. "If I can't, one of the little rascals might get stuck and we'd never know! The bungee cord only does so much!"
Pulling out a small screwdriver you start to remove one of his hands as he continues to speak about why he needs the height, babbling about everything and nothing. It was rather interesting to hear him go on sometimes but you also had a job to do and it was delicate and fiddly. They were a rather sturdy animatronic and while some of the salvaged pieces were less so, for all those years holed up doing his own repairs, you could only applaud his work. As soon as the hand was detached, Sun went quiet to watch you work, fingers treating the large hand with such care. Nobody had treated him so nicely in a very, very long time. Staff didn't really like him much.
When the joint was back on and fastened securely, you did a quick test to see if everything was up to par. Getting him to hold his hand up, checking the movements of each joint in the hands and that they moved smoothly and without error. The index finger seemed a bit quirky so you took his hand down again to examine it, but he wrapped it around yours. Nothing was wrong with it at all, he had just wanted an excuse to touch you.
"You can't hold onto me forever, Sun. I have other things I need to do, like clean the jam smeared on your pants off." One of your hands was still free, and so you got a head start on peeling off the stickers that seemed to be all over him. The attention not completely on him was frustrating, and if he could frown he would be doing so right this moment. You didn't even seem to care and went on with your job like nothing happened, not to mention he didn't want to take his pants off in front of you. There wasn't anything there, but it was still embarrassing. "Why can't I hold onto you forever? You come here every day it would just be saving hours in travel time."
This time you turned your attention up to him and used the only hand you had available to cup his face plate, running your thumb over his cheek. "I need time to myself too, Sunny. I can't be here for you 24/7. If you want my attention all you have to do is ask." He was surprisingly warm for what you had expected to be a cool surface, especially around his face. You didn't really think about it much but you also didn't think you ever needed to. "Now give me your pants they need a wash."
Thankfully he let go of your hand to scamper off like a wild animal. You laughed. "What are you so scared of? It's just me. I can bring you some spares for you to borrow but I need the ones you're wearing."
They wouldn't be your pants or anything, they'd probably be from the lost and found but if he absolutely had to take them off he didn't want to be seen without them. "You have to close your eyes."
It was a weird request but you wouldn't have said no to a human so you'd let it slide without questions. As long as you were able to get the job done and get out of there you didn't have any problems with it. Shutting your eyes, you held out both hands for when he was done undressing. The words "No peeking!" that slipped in a scratchy voice clearly sprinkled with anxiety made your heart clench. You wouldn't have peeked anyway, you were a respectable person. For the most part.
When the clothing was laid in your waiting hands(folded with precision) you went to look and see if everything was there but a hand quickly covered your eyes. "No peeking!" He scrambled to get out fast enough like there wasn't enough time to say the words and he ushered you out as fast as he could, only stopping to open the door for you to leave.
As soon as you stood outside, a snort of a laugh left your lips but you said not a word about such strange antics. Instead you got to washing the few fabric items that the daycare attendant wore and bringing back the pair of sweatpants you usually changed into before heading home. You would only have to stay here until they were finished washing and then you'd get them back, so you wouldn't have to wear scratchy work trousers out of here. Setting an alarm for when you'd need to come back, you finally made your way back out towards the daycare.
But it was dark when you got back and the buzz in the air was gone, Sun clearly not going to be available at this time. "Did you turn the lights out? I have the spare pants for you, they have a drawstring so they should fit well enough." You rambled a little as you saw the shift of a figure coming towards you. That height was comforting in the dark because you knew it could only be one person. Animatronic. Same difference in this establishment.
Moon did not care about the lights that you stood by near the security desk and the fact that he was very much visible in the soft glow that illuminated everything. Taking the pants with a small "thank you" he jumped into them with both feet and pulled them up over what was simply a bare metal plate. You didn't see why Sun was so nervous about you seeing what was clearly nothing at all, but that wasn't your business. The joggers looked like long shorts, coming up just short of his knees but the small drawstring seemed to escape usually deft fingers.
With a small huff you came closer to tighten the drawstring, pulling just a little too hard dragging the animatronic's torso to bump into you. "You're colder than Sunny," You mumbled to mostly yourself but Moon still had something to say on the matter. "I am not supposed to be warm. Our paint and clothing is heat activated." With the drawstring tied, Moon turned his face down towards you in a somewhat mocking matter and he emulated the more upbeat voice Sun seemed to carry. "Does it bother you?"
For some reason most people had been scared of moon for a while and you couldn't piece together exactly why. He had a sinister air about him but was completely harmless, just as Sun was. The two had bickered a bit about it before apparently and resented each other a bit, but after explaining the two needed to be on good terms for the children's sake they had agreed to a compromise. You weren't sure what exactly it was but they seemed to work together a lot better than they once did, and apparently communicated more than they used to.
The distance the two of you were at was far to close for comfort. The heat that rose to your face was brushed off, in favour of shaking your head and wrapping him in a hug. Now this was more what you were expecting, you thought as the cool metal pressed against your cheek. "Doesn't bother me, I just wonder if you get cold. I'm plenty warm if you need it!"
Moon was in shocked silence. He wasn't one to get affection usually, as that was reserved almost exclusively for Sun. As he went to return the hug, however you backed away. "Sorry, that was kind of out of the blue, huh? I'll keep to tidying for the moment, yeah?"
"Actually I am kind of... cold." He managed and the sheepishness of his voice made you tilt your head. Was he... flustered? Without skipping a beat, you sat down on the floor and leaned against the security desk, patting your lap in invitation. You realised that it could've been taken as an invitation to sit on your lap, and had you done so with Sun he would have crushed your legs and wrapped you up in both arms all cozy as you slowly had the circulation to your legs cut off. Moon, however, laid down alongside your legs and curled his face into your shoulder, pulling carefully to untuck your shirt and slide cold - yet surprisingly soft - fingers against your back to warm his hands.
The sensation sent a shiver up your spine but got used to it quickly. Wrapping both arms around Moon, the two of you settled comfortably to rest while waiting for the alarm on your phone to go off.
You ended up dozing off.
The alarm didn't actually wake you, Moon had lifted you up upon noticing the drop in heart rate indicating that you were indeed asleep and the soft chiming of a music box began to play. The intention was to take you to the area made specifically for sleeping but you had woken up all too soon. You were still leaning against him, eyes half open just taking in the world around you that seemed to bob as you were carried to the nap area.
You checked your phone to find the alarm had been turned off and that woke you up properly. The scrambling did nothing to get you out of Moon's grip and he held you outwards from your armpits like he was trying to keep you away and prevent damages from flailing limbs. As you calmed, your feet were returned to the ground and Moon just looked at you silently. The music was still playing and while you had never heard it before you could only assume he couldn't turn it off. "I'll go get your clothes now." You hurried, embarrassed that you had fallen asleep on the job. You weren't even particularly sleep deprived but here you were. Caught lacking.
"Please don't tell my boss," You hoped desperately as you grabbed and folded the clothing quickly(not nearly as neatly as Sun had) and rushed back to the daycare. The lights were still off when you got back and Moon was no longer in the spare pants just waiting for you to arrive back. "Sun doesn't want you to see him without pants so he doesn't want the lights on yet." Moon explained and you let forth a guffaw, trying to cover your mouth and stifle the noise.
"You're in the same body!"
"But we aren't the same person. You're welcome to get all your staring out now if you so wish." But you did not wish to stare, so you handed the clothing back and he put it on with speed and precision. He headed over to the light switch but didn't press it just yet, hovering over the button to say a last couple of words. "You know, if you keep being so nice and treating us so special all the time we're going to fall for you."
The switch was flicked before you could answer and the animatronic crumbled to the floor, plates shifting, fans running loudly and the music went silent. You knew that the change wasn't ideal in terms of comfort and you knelt down beside Sun and placed a hand on his back in an attempt to comfort him. Once the switch was over, he brought you into a hug, winding his arms tight around you to the point you could barely move. It wasn't uncomfortable and his spikes had folded around your face but it wasn't ideal. Wrapping your arms around him in turn, you sighed into the warmth that embraced you anyway.
It was unusual for Sun to be so quiet, so you asked if he was okay. "I just missed you, is all."
"I have barely left the daycare!"