#it's short but like i'm sleepy and i have a tummy ache so this is fine

[anonymous-dentist]

On April 25, Cellbit finds himself crashing onto a tropical island filled with the weirdest goddamn people he's ever met in his life.

(On one side of the glass is Cellbit. On the other is a man in a red hoodie who takes one look at Cellbit and winks before rushing to talk to the other trapped Brazilians.

For a moment, Cellbit swears there's a spark- a literal pink spark in the air directly between the two of them where they had locked eyes, and he swears that the man's eyes glitter the same pink just for a second.

But that's ridiculous. It's probably a concussion. Or something.)

On April 26, Cellbit wakes up to a heavy pain in his chest and back and a foreign weight to his limbs as he tries rolling over in bed. There's a pressure behind his eyes, all... all two of them.

Cellbit's eyelids twitch unhappily as a ray of incoming sunlight hits them from the window.

He hisses, and that's when he notices two very important things:

He doesn't have two eyes. He knows the familiar discomfort of keeping one's eyes closed when they're ready to open, and he can recognize the fact that this discomfort is multiplied by goddamn two. That makes... four eyes.

He isn't in his own bed. He went to sleep without a blanket or a pillow, just his hat and his jacket because, big surprise, spending most of the day in a cave didn't get him any luxuries besides a sore back and a definitely-not-dead child.

Cellbit opens his eyes, all four of them, and he's only a little surprised to see that he is not, in fact, in his own house.

"What?" he croaks.

He grimaces. Sore throat, almost like he'd been screaming in his sleep. Nothing he isn't used to, but it doesn't feel right in this body. In... whoever's body this is.

He pushes himself so that he's sitting up and against the wall. His chest pulls with every movement of his arms, muscles twinging in pain, and it almost reminds him of the War, almost. (He caused wounds like this, anyway. He didn't get hurt like this. He was too good.)

He looks down. Spider-Man boxer briefs. Naked chest, huge scar cut across the middle of it over his heart. Hairy legs, bruised arms and knuckles.

Vaguely, he thinks that he recognizes the house. Kinda. Sort of. Maybe? But he'd only seen the outside, and it would be crazy if his soulmate turned out to be that guy.

But, well. There's only one spider hybrid on the island that Cellbit knows about. Maybe there are more, but he's pretty sure that he met everyone yesterday. (He thinks; he was pretty distracted by the whole what the fuck I have a child now??? thing.)

Cellbit should be happy. And he kinda feels like it, in a distant way. But it's with a sense of numb fear that he grabs Roier's communicator off of the bedside table and opens a new message with... himself? His comm. That Roier has. Because he's in his body. At his house.

[iRoier whispers to Cellbit: I think we have a problem]

-

When Cellbit had finally officially turned 16 years old, Bad sat down in the middle of a warzone and told him that, one of these days, he might wake up in the body of one of his enemies.

"What?" Cellbit had grimaced, blood coating his face and crusting under his nails. "Why? Is that a new origin or something?"

Bad shook his head. "No, you goof. It's a soulmate thing. You know. Soulmates."

And that's when he realized that Cellbit's amnesia really was, in fact, amnesia. Of course he wouldn't have remembered his parents giving him the Soulmate Talk, Cellbit- at the time- didn't believe that he even had parents. ("I was born from blood, and to blood I shall return," he said when Bad tried asking, so Bad stopped bothering after a while.)

And so it fell to BadBoyHalo to give Cellbit the Soulmate Talk.

"When you turn 16, the universe assigns you a soulmate," Bad had explained. "And when you meet that soulmate, you'll both switch bodies with each other overnight. It'll only last 24 hours, though, so it should be fine if you meet your soulmate out here."

Cellbit had blinked, confused. "What? Ew, no."

Because, as romantic as the idea of soulmates sounds, Cellbit was a 16-year-old boy. Why would he give a shit about his soulmate when he could be thinking about, like, blood and violence and stuff.

By the time Cellbit was arrested, he had finally warmed up to the idea of having a soulmate if only because having someone assigned to him by the universe meant that there'd be someone on the outside willing to break him out of prison and help him get his revenge on all the fuckers who had dared try and mess with him while he was in there.

But then, after prison- after everything, Cellbit had realized that maybe he wasn't meant to have a soulmate, after all. Why would he? Why would the universe be so kind as to give him someone to care about who would actually love him back? Who would like him back?

Whoever his soulmate might've been, Cellbit had always hoped that they were dead. They'd be better off dead than stuck with a monster like him.

-

By the time Roier makes it to his own house, the sun is high in the sky and Cellbit has managed to find a a shirt and a pair of shorts to throw on on top of his underwear. (On top of Roier's underwear?)

Bobby is still asleep upstairs, Cellbit thinks. At least, he hasn't heard anything from him. Should he be worried?

But then Cellbit looks out the window and watches his body trip over itself on the dirt and faceplant, and, well, Bobby can wait.

Roier's body is... heavy as Cellbit pulls a pair of shoes on. It doesn't want to cooperate, but that can't be right, it's supposed to be natural. Or something. Cellbit thinks. Maybe.

So he doesn't actually know how soulmates work, but it's supposed to be natural, right? That's how he remembers Bad explaining it, but he also remembers Bad having as much emotional awareness as a rock.

Vaguely, he wonders if the problem isn't with the fact that it's Cellbit being in Roier's body but that it's because it's Roier's body and that this is just how it is for Roier all the time. But that's none of Cellbit's business.

(Yet.)

(Maybe.)

(Eventually?)

(Turn the detective brain off, fuck.)

Whatever!

Cellbit runs out the door and goes to help Roier up. He isn't hurt at all as Roier swears at him and grumbles and pushes himself up onto his knees.

"I'm fine," he insists. "See?"

He gestures towards himself with a sharp-toothed grin, eyes squinted shut, and, wow, it's weird for Cellbit to see himself smile. His body doesn't really... do that. It's unnatural. Kinda creepy, like looking into a fucked-up mirror.

Cellbit offers an awkward smile in response, and it hurts. Not his face, no, his soul. Well, not his soul, because that would be silly, but some weird little part inside his Everything stings and pulses with a dull, throbbing pain so sudden and harsh that his throat chokes up and tears threaten to well up in Cellbit's eyes.

With a shuddering breath, Cellbit drops his smile and his eyes. He looks at the ground, and he says, "Uh. We should talk inside, maybe?"

He doesn't wait for a response before turning on his heel and walking back into Roier's house. He does hold the door open, though, remembering that Roier's house has that weird security thing on the door that keeps everybody but him out.

"Your legs are too short," Roier complains as he brushes past Cellbit and walks into the house. "I keep tripping over shit."

"...I'm sorry?" Cellbit offers. (He internally smacks himself. No, stupid, why is he sorry? He can't control his genetics, fuck!)

Roier waves him off. "Nah, it's fine. It's just for today, right?"

He sits at his table with a groan, eyes slipping shut and head tilting over the back of the chair. He looks so... calm. Which means that Cellbit's actual real normal face looks calm, and that's weird. He doesn't do calm.

Hesitantly, Cellbit joins him at the table. He sits directly opposite him, leg bouncing nervously, hands clasped in his lap.

And then? Silence. Absolutely nothing but the slight rattle of the table as Cellbit's (Roier's?) knee bumps against it and the quiet sound of snoring from upstairs. (So Bobby is still asleep. That's normal, right?)

Cellbit glances at the goggles still firmly on his body's head.

"Thanks for keeping them on," he lamely says.

Roier hums a question mark and cracks an eye open, following Cellbit's gaze. He smiles, then, small and clearly fake.

"Hey, man, it's fine," he replies. "It kind of hurts, but it's fine."

Cellbit winces. "I mean, you can take them off! It's fine, it's just us."

Roier shrugs, but he doesn't move to take the goggles off.

Quiet again.

This is... fine. It's fine! Cellbit's soulmate is just a guy who probably maybe dislikes him, that's all. It's nothing he wasn't expecting from his soulmate, he knows how he is as a person. Roier is probably just disappointed, that's all.

"We don't have to do anything, you know," Cellbit says after a moment.

He looks back down at the table as Roier sits up to look at him.

Cellbit wrings his hands together, fingers hooking together and pulling-pushing and they throb from the bruises, and where did Roier get them, anyway? From the pattern, Cellbit would say Roier had punched something, but here are also small cuts indicating the involvement of glass, and-

(Detective brain. Off.)

"I mean, it's crazy, right?" Cellbit laughs weakly. "Us, soulmates? We don't even know each other."

"I mean, yeah, but that's normal, I think. You don't know your soulmate until you meet them, that's how it works."

"I guess? But-"

"And!" Roier interjects. "I know you better already! You sleep with your sword and you have cat ears, that's more than I know about half of my dates!"

Cellbit winces at the mention of his ears, but he manages to huff out a quiet laugh. He even feels himself smile, though it hurts bad enough for him to force it away after a moment.

"Okay," he breathes, and he looks up to meet Roier's (his own?) eyes. "So... it's fine?"

"What the fuck do you think I've been saying, pendejo?" Roier exclaims. He reaches across the table and lightly taps Cellbit on the forehead between his top set of eyes. "I know my body isn't deaf, so start listening."

He sits again, continuing speaking before Cellbit can say anything:

"I don't know you, and that's fine. You don't know me, and that's fine. You threatened my son yesterday, and that's fine. I'll threaten your son to make it even."

"Hey!" Cellbit protests.

Roier ignores him and keeps talking. "We're stuck on this island, Cellbit. We aren't allowed to leave. If we try, Osito Bimbo shoots us. So that gives us plenty of time to get to know each other."

Cellbit's eyes widen in alarm. "We're what?"

He thinks he remembers somebody mentioning that to him and the others yesterday, but there was so much going on that he didn't really register it. Prison, again? At least it's open-air this time...

Roier shrugs his concerns off with a literal wave of the hand. "So see? It's fine. We'll figure each other out, and then we'll kiss and have sex and stuff. Right?"

"Um," Cellbit stammers, the tips of his ears going red. "Maybe just the kissing part."

"Sure, sure. Point is..." Roier stands out of his chair and leans across the table, reaching down and pulling Cellbit's hands out of his lap. He holds them and looks Cellbit in the eyes and gravely asks, "...Cellbit, will you be my soulmate?"

Cellbit rolls his eyes and gently pulls his hands away. "I don't think I get a choice."

"Aw, come on! You're no fun," Roier pouts.

"There, that's a third thing you know about me."

"Shut up, what the fuck?"

And as the argument continues, the weight in Cellbit's heart slowly starts to lift. Just a little, because it's just the beginning, but maybe... maybe having a soulmate won't be that bad, after all.

-_-_-_-

A/N:

Thank you so much for reading! Please reblog maaaaaaaybe with a comment or a tag and tell me what you think! Or send an ask, I'm fine with anything!

[ideasarestuckinmyhead]

Caregivers for age regressor Listener HC's

Was wondering if you could do some hcs of the boys (Charlie, Alphonse, Seth and Auron) being caregivers to their age regressor listeners?

When I started this I sent it to the person who asked! So I was able to see if I did it correctly. I hope this post does the ask justice!

Alphonse

Tries to not give in and give you snacks when you ask everytime. Bc you already ate so much but you ask so nicely and he crumbles

Your on a candy limit bc one time he accidently gave u too much in your little space. Hearing you whine about the tummy ache made him feel bad

Color pencils are at his house, and yours. Tries to find cute color pages online if you wanted a specific one when your in little space.

He's right next to you watching the kid cartoons while your snuggling up to your favorite blanket he got u.

Since there isn't a lot of shops in town he gets most of the toys u own online. Making sure to get your input!

When you try and speak in little space you messing up while saying a word has his heart.

He's sitting there trying not to giggle as he watches you whine. Bc you didn't want to take a nap. (But you ended up taking one bc u were sleepy)

Seth

Is panicking if he is doing his part correctly. But chills pit when you tell him he's the best

Is good at telling you no if you kept asking for more snacks after eating too much. Says you'll turn into a snack monster and get tummy aches.

Seth was able to get some plushies for you! There's one you really like and it's a mothman one. You use that when you take a nap in your little space.

Finds weird coloring pages online. Makes sure to stock on coloring utensils bc u make lots of drawings for him. He keeps a lil folder of them.

When putting on cartoons he uses that time to go and prep your snacks for tomorrow. Tries to be productive bc last time he didn't and u cried bc he didn't have the snacks ready.

Loves listening to you ramble about your day. Then go off on how u saw a butterfly and thought of Seth. You messing up your words makes him smile bc it's so cute.

He actually made you a toy one time! It was a wooden one and was happy when you said u liked it.

Charlie

Charlie was lowkey suprised when you trusted him enought to be your caregiver. Now he's panicking trying not to accidently give u a snack u hate. (The long story short? You gave him the silent treatment for like 5 minutes)

Another one who folds when you ask for more snacks. He's trying but the puppy dog eyes are a critical hit to his heart

Has playful arguments with you, one time u told him he was mean (he didn't give u another snack) he said well ur short. You got offended and ignored him for 2 minutes. Then at a later time he gave u gummy bears and u forgave him.

Has a lost of shows u like om his phone. Ranked 1 to 5 bc your fans changes every so often. One time u whined that I didn't want to watch that one the OTHER one! Charlie was searching for 20 minutes and then finally found it.

You have a big hoodie he bought, it's soft and it's your favorite. One time u threw a tantrum bc Charlie had to wash it.

You threw yourself on the couch and cried for a little. Then Charlie gave it back saying 'see? I only needed it for a little I'm sorry honey.'

He tries to get lots of different things for u to play with. You really liked playing cars with him, bc he made silly sound effects for when they crashed.

Auron

Will say no. Don't try puppy eyes he's immune (in his head he's saying don't fold they'll get a tummy ache) he's strict on what he gives u.

Has to be careful on what to buy for u or he says fuck it and buys a lot. So he buys a few toys at a time, like if he's scrolling online and sees one you'll like he'd buy it.

Speaks softly to you bc he knows his voice sounds like he's pissed off 24/7. If you do act bad or get sassy he raises his voice a bit.

Enjoys having you draw on the floor as he gets a couple things done. Complements your drawings as he adds it to a wall he has for u. One of the rooms in the penthouse is a play room for you.

Reads to you when u don't know what to do. His voice sometimes lures you to take a nap so he does it at a specific time. Ends up being a little scheduled for you and if you don't take it you get cranky.

Has a limited screen time for you, since at work your staring at a screen a lot. So he tries to give you like 2 hours, then let's u play with your toys.

When ur in little space ur always clutching on one of his shirts. He had to spray a bit of cologne on it bc 'it needs to smell like youu!' You whine when it doesn't smell like him anymore. He finds it cute and makes sure to resent it at a certain part of the day.

[eyndr-stories]

The Stranger The Better (FNAF SB fanfic) C12 - ...Okay Maybe It's An Addiction

Read the intro to Chapter 1 (Enter A Sleepy Bitchard) for more details! I'd start reading there anyways else things won't make a whole lot of sense lol

In Summary: Reader is a forever exhausted young adult who has social difficulties doing their best to pay the bills, so when they get hired at the well-paying, almost entirely automated Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, they don't really hesitate to think things through before stumbling headfirst into a horror mystery surrounding this company and its crew of quirky (and surprisingly kind) animatronics.

Things To Know (lmk if I should add anything, also check the tags for more stuff):

There are some horror elements in several chapters! This chapter is not particularly spooky, there's just a lot of exposition and important plot stuff and some nice character interactions.

Eventual romance, minorly important to the plot.

Reader has paranoia.

There is much swearing.

Reader is also addicted to energy drinks, and not fantastic at self care.

Reader is nonbinary (and also trans masc) though it's not vital to the plot and only comes up once or twice.

Reader is from the south, is protective of their friends, and if you threaten their friends then I'm afraid you've yee'd your last haw and yes that is important to the plot

Previous Chapter | Chapter 12 | Next Chapter

C12 - ...Okay Maybe It's An Addiction

     This new schedule was throwing you off. You were setting all kinds of alarms and reminders to make sure you were where you needed to be when you needed to be there. There wasn't much time for your research, which you'd thrown yourself into headfirst in order to help distract from your feelings until they went away.

     You hated the management at the pizza-plex, for many reasons. It felt personal to you, now that you'd gotten to know all the animatronics. You didn't want to just let management use and abuse the animatronics how they saw fit. Besides, if you didn't figure out how to bring management down, who would?

     You weren't very good at research. All you really got were adds for the pizza-plex and its line of merch, and a bunch of old advertisements from when the place had its grand re-opening three years ago. You sighed and considered making plans to check out the public library for information.

     If you ever had the time, that is.

     Luckily, you didn't have as many days or hours at the deli coming up. Today was not one of those days, however. You had a short shift at the deli, followed by two hours at the plex, followed by a longer closing shift back at the deli, and then a night shift at the plex. You also had a tummy ache, but you were being very brave about it. You downed an energy drink on the way to work at the deli.

     At the plex, there was some trouble as a few kids got very upset during snack time when Moon ran out of the popular cracker snacks shaped like the glamrocks. The kids were inconsolable, in tears, and one was even screaming. Sun came to the rescue and consoled the children with candy, if the kids agreed to settle for a different snack. You asked to try one of the candies, since it looked special. It wasn't for sale in any of the gift shops, and didn't have a brand name or anything on its wrapper, just a little sun icon. You recalled a box of candy among Moon's belongings, which you remembered matched his theme. Sun hesitantly told you that the candy was just for the kids, and you shouldn't have any. You, now even more curious, made plans to steal some later.

     Another energy drink on your way back to the deli. A customer berated you for putting an obscene amount of black olives (a regular amount of black olives) on her sub. Another customer came up to the counter five minutes before closing and simply could not figure out what she wanted, but boy did she sure want a lot of it. You opened, sliced a sample of, and re-wrapped and put away nearly every meat and cheese in the case before the customer realized there was a fresh slice case, full of the pre-sliced packs of meats and cheeses you'd been working on for the past two hours. She took every pack of cheese in the case, so you had to slice more to restock it before you could get to cleaning. One of your coworkers, the one who was always complaining about one thing or another (what was her name?? You could never remember) did your dishes without you asking and then complained about having to do everything herself. You ignored her and exchanged riddles with your manager until everything was done and you could finally leave.

     You clocked into the plex for the second time, snatching another energy drink from the fridge. You turned around and nearly leapt out of your skin when you saw someone else in the room with you.

     "Fucking shit. Sorry. Hi, Vanessa. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in." You took a few breaths to calm down. You weren't sure when you'd gotten so jumpy.

     "What are you doing here?" Vanessa asked. She punched in, then turned back around to scrutinize you.

     "…I work here? I'm Y/N, the other security guard. We met once in the parking lot," you said.

     Vanessa gave you a tired look. "I mean why are you here right now? I'm scheduled to be here till one. You don't need to be here till then."

     "Oh. I guess management accidentally scheduled us both." You checked your email and re-read your schedule just to be certain. "They just re-worked my schedule so I could supervise Moon, it's probably just a small error they made when changing stuff around."

     Vanessa sighed. "Whatever." She breezed past you and started fixing herself a cup of coffee. The keys hanging on her hip jangled lightly as she went. You noticed a little bunny charm hanging off a keychain, and noted subconsciously that Vanessa seemed to like bunnies.

     You were about to leave and start your rounds, but… you didn't get much opportunity to talk to Vanessa. Not only did you want to form your own opinions of her, but you knew she'd been working here since the place opened. She was bound to know something or other about management, right?

     You took a very casual sip of your energy drink. "…Leave it to management to make a fuck up like this, huh?"

     "Right." Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Those dumbasses don't know a damn thing about what goes on around here. They don't care. All they want is money."

     "Greedy bastards," you agreed.

     "They don't care if people get hurt. They're selfish. Thoughtless."

     You took this as a good sign. She was not only willing to talk to you, but she had to have a reason or two for dissing management. You went on, hoping to encourage her to keep talking. "Right?? Like, they were considering getting rid of Moon because they couldn't figure out the issue with his weird bug. Like legit get rid of him."

     Vanessa scoffed. "Who gives a shit about the animatronics?"

     You were momentarily speechless, somewhat startled by her incredible lack of compassion. There was no way after three years she didn't know the animatronics were just as sentient as anyone else.

     Vanessa went on, glaring down at the coffee pot as it slowly churned out her coffee, filling the styrofoam cup. "They'll just sweep it all under the rug, rebrand, claim it'll be different this time around. Can't have a high employee turnover rate if there's barely any employees to begin with."

     You weren't sure what to say. You wanted to yell at her, you'd told her management wanted to off Moon and her response was to demean the animatronics and then avoid the topic altogether. But… what the hell was she talking about??

     "What do you mean? High employee turnover rate?" you questioned.

     "Back before they closed, when they didn't have security bots and staff bots, they had people. Good, honest, hard working, flesh and blood people. Animatronics like these were so new… still are, for the most part. Not a lot of regulations around them. Not many people who's job it is to make sure they're running right. Make sure they're safe." Vanessa glared at her coffee. It was done pouring, but she didn't move to take it.

     "…What are you saying? The turnover rate was high because…?"

     "No reason I can prove." Vanessa snatched up her coffee, chugged it all, then tossed the cup in the trash. "Hope I don't see you again anytime soon." She left the room.

     You stood there for a long moment, processing and reeling from the conversation. You took a long drink from your can, then started your rounds.

     You came to the conclusion that there was maybe more going on here than you'd thought. According to Vanessa, there'd been some issues with the classic animatronics, leading to people getting hurt, or… worse. Which the company seems to have covered up quite well. Of course, enough money will do that, and this was a very lucrative entertainment business. You weren't sure how to go about validating any of these claims. Maybe Vanessa was messing with you, trying to get you to quit or something. She didn't seem to like you very much. But she had seemed so… passionate. So angry. It was hard for you to believe she was lying.

     So then, in the case it was true, a sane person would likely cease all investigation, probably start looking for a new job, keep their nose out of it. But you were not sane. You were insatiably curious. You also held a deep hatred for management, and didn't care much for your own safety or well-being.

     You opened your writing app and tapped out some notes, recounting what Vanessa had said while it was still fresh in your mind. You got back to your rounds, planning to keep your ear to the ground and your nose as far into this business as you could get it. You finished off your energy drink and tossed the can into the garbage.

     "Those are bad for you."

     You were started out of your thoughts by Moon, who had come up behind you, and oh shit you were supposed to meet him at the daycare before starting your rounds-

     "Ahhhh, man! I'm sorry, Moon. I totally spaced. It's been a long day," you said sheepishly.

     Moon pouted. "I can't believe you forgot all about me. You must hate me."

     You rolled your eyes. "I don't hate you."

     "Ohh, woe is me. Forgotten, left behind, tossed to the wayside." Moon swooned dramatically.

     "I would never!"

     "Abandoned… betrayed…" Moon pretended to weep.

     "Alright, I'm leaving." You rolled your eyes and continued walking.

     Moon walked next to you. "How was your day?"

     "Ugh. It was whatever. How was yours?"

     Moon looked at you for a long moment. "It was alright. After you left Sun had a tea party with the kids. I took a rest. Chica came to say hi around closing time." Moon flipped the hood of your hoodie up.

     You pulled the hood back down and readjusted your hat. "Chica's nice, I like her."

     "What did you do at the deli today? You aren't disgusting so you must not have been in the kitchen," Moon said.

     You rolled your eyes. "Dealt with some irritating people, sliced a lot of meat and cheese, made subs, packed and served hot food. The usual."

     "You seem tense." Moon poked your shoulder.

     "That's just how I am normally. I'm a stiff person, I don't sleep well."

     Moon poked your shoulder again. "You should sleep more."

     "No time. Not to mention, it's never really restful."

     "Tell me about these bad dreams of yours," Moon said.

     "You don't wanna know."

     "If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked." Moon poked you again.

     "Alright, alright." You swatted his hand away and huffed. "Usually there's a lot of fear and stress and… well, I'm hunted down and brutally murdered frequently. For the past couple months, every now and then I'll get a really vivid dream, and there's always this anthropomorphic rabbit. In the last one I had, I was in the arctic with this dog, and I loved the dog, but then the dog turned into the rabbit and started chasing me. And there was nowhere to hide in the void of snow, nowhere to run when your tracks always lead right to you… Actually, that's part of why I wasn't so psyched about you animatronics when I first started. But there doesn't seem to be any bunny animatronics here, so that's good news for me."

     "There… used to be. Until a year ago."

     "Bonnie, right? The bear guy got really upset when I asked him about Bonnie," you prompted.

     "I don't doubt it." Moon looked away. He looked sad himself, but not sad like the bear bot. Moon almost looked guilty. Moon noticed your attention on him, and his face quickly snapped into neutrality. "I'm sorry to hear about the nightmares. They sound awful. Have you spoken to a healthcare professional?"

     You laughed. "In this economy?? No way. I'm too busy anyways." You studied Moon, who still appeared neutral. "You seem tense," you said, copying what Moon had said earlier.

     Moon rolled his eyes. "I'm fine."

     You 'tsk'ed at him and stopped walking so you could give him your full attention. "Should have never told me you could lie. I might have believed that."

     "Is it too late to convince you that I am actually possessed by the souls of a hundred spiders and therefor cannot lie?" Moon started to crouch down.

     "Yes, far too late, don't you dare," you said quickly.

     Moon chuckled and straightened back up. He looked away. "…Pass."

     "Oh. Alright." If Moon didn't want to talk about it, you weren't about to make him. "Wanna go say hi to Mister Music?"

     Moon smiled. "I'd love to."

~~~

     Moon only joined you on the rounds for half the night, staying in the daycare with Sun after a short relaxing break. Moon attempted to convince you it was because he didn't want Sun to be lonely, but it was fairly obvious that he missed being with Sun just as much as Sun missed him.

     You weren't too upset, it gave you more time to think and process. What you needed was more information, preferably from some different and more reliable sources.

     As they say, however, beggars can't be choosers.

     It wasn't too surprising that you wound up getting more information from Chica. Every other conversation you had with her, she was filling you in on all the juicy gossip the pizza-plex had to offer. You weren't sure how she knew as much as she did, but she sure did know a lot.

     You'd been investigating some noise in the backroom of a gift shop (just Chica doing her thing, of course) when you'd actually found an old box full of plushies sharing the likeliness of an animatronic you hadn't met before. It was the fox guy, who was dressed like a pirate with an eyepatch and a cutlass and a long bright blue jacket. He had a clever grin and a cute little pirate hat.

     "That's Foxy! Or… it was supposed to be," Chica said. She had this look in her eye, and you knew you were in for it. Garbage forgotten, she lifted one of the plushies and turned it over in her hands.

     "Oh yeah?" you prompted eagerly.

     "So, the story is that Foxy was supposed to cover pirate cove, right? That was originally his area. But then the budget got reworked, and they couldn't afford to finish him, even though they had the area all ready to go. But a few things don't add up, right?" Chica paused.

     You were listening with rapt attention, which Chica seemed pleased with.

     Chica leaned in close and whispered. "Well, rumor has it… Foxy was already completed when they supposedly 'reworked the budget'. But he went missing, and no one knows where or how. Moon got in a lot of trouble with management, since it happened sometime in the night, on his watch. That's when they promoted Vanessa, to help with security. And then he got that bug a couple months later, and then Bonnie went missing a year ago… Moon's been on temporary dismissal since then. I was a little worried that when management hired you, they'd finally decided to permanently dismiss him, and you were his replacement… but it looks like they just had that whole separation project in the works. I'm really glad things worked out."

     "Yeah… right." You weren't sure how much weight to put in this rumor. Chica had once told you that Vanessa absolutely despised bunnies, so you weren't sure whether to trust in the accuracy of this information. You decided to take notes later anyways, just to be safe.

"Say, you sure do spend a lot of time with Sun and Moon. You hang out with them every night, right?" Chica asked.

"Maybe. Why??" You squinted at her.

"No reason~!" Chica giggled.

She got back to her trash, and you got back to your rounds.

     At the end of your shift, you clocked out and set your map on top of the minifridge, where you usually left it so you wouldn't loose it. You made it to your car, head buzzing with all sorts of disorganized thoughts and clutter and feelings. The moment you sat down, the exhaustion hit, and you took a long moment to just… sit.

     You knew it was dangerous to just sit. To be idle, to let your mind wander. Naturally, you found yourself thinking about Sun and Moon. Those ridiculous jesters… when had you gotten so attached to them? And… why?

     Maybe it was because of the way they treated you. With care and respect, like they thought you were worth something. They seemed so attached to you, and damn was the attention addicting. You felt a little pitiful, realizing just how lonely you'd been before coming to work here. Sun and Moon were so concerned with your health and your safety, the last thing either of them wanted was to hurt you.

     All things you'd been missing, longing for without realizing it.

     You thought again about how lonely you were, and why exactly that was. Could you even trust yourself? Trust your own feelings, trust that you actually did have crushes on Sun and Moon, when maybe, actually, you were just lonely and they'd given you a bit of positive attention, and now here you were, falling apart in your car in a lonely parking lot, unsure of what was real, and what was just in your head.

     You jumped at a soft knocking sound on your passenger window. You looked up through blurry twilight shadows -when had you started crying??- to see the bear bot standing just outside. You quickly wiped your face and rolled down the window.

     "Hey, superstar. Is everything alright?" the bear asked softly. He looked concerned.

     "Peachy keen." You used your sleeve to dry your eyes, doing your damndest to stop crying and relax.

     "…Would you like some company?" the bear offered.

     You hesitated for a long moment. You hated the loneliness, the horrible weight of it. You were ashamed to be crying, but… you really did not want to be alone.

     You nodded, and unlocked the door.

     The bear climbed inside, awkwardly adjusting the seat to better fit his massive bulky frame. He carefully closed the door behind him and set his hands on his knees, which were nearly touching his chest.

     "What are you doing out here anyways?" you asked.

     The bear glanced out at the shadowed building beyond the windshield, lit faintly by sparse yellow lights lining the parking lot. "Well, sometimes it can get a little… stifling. In the plex. It helps me at times to step outside and look at the stars and listen to the crickets. I technically never leave the property, so no one can complain. You walked right past me on your way to your car, and you seemed so deep in thought, I did not want to disturb you. But then you did not drive away, and I saw you were crying..."

     "I just… I dunno. I'm just tired." You folded your arms over the wheel and set your chin in your arms, partially hiding your face.

     "People usually do not cry from tiredness alone," the bear said.

     You sighed. "Why do you want to know?"

     The bear looked at you. "Because I care about you, superstar," he said sincerely.

     That did it for you. You started crying again. You started talking, and once you started, you just couldn't stop. You told the bear everything. A part of you was horribly reluctant to confide in him, to let him know things he could easily use to hurt you, but a much bigger part of you was just too tired to care. Maybe it was something about how kind and supportive the bear seemed. There was something about him that made him seem trustworthy.

     You told him about what had happened to you almost a year ago now, the events that had led you here, in need of money to stay afloat. Your fiancé had cheated on you with your friend and roommate. Your now ex-fiancé decided they didn't want to be with you anymore, even though they'd accepted your proposal, even though they'd been the one to tease and ask about when you were going to propose already, even though they'd been the one to say 'I love you' first. They hadn't even told you why, after all that time, they just suddenly didn't want you anymore. They'd lied to you about a lot of things. They weren't the person you thought they were, the person you trusted most to not hurt you. They ran off with your roommate, and you could no longer afford the place you'd been renting. Living alone was alright some days, but the days when you couldn't shake the loneliness, the empty bed, the quiet walls… some days just hit a little too hard.

     When you finally stopped and looked up at the bear, you realized with shock that he'd started crying at some point as well. Animatronics could cry, apparently.

     "Oh, Y/N. I am so truly sorry," the bear whispered.

     You weren't sure how to decipher the heavy emotion in the bear's tone. "…I don't want pity. That's the last fucking thing I need."

     "I do not feel pity for you. I feel empathy. I do not cry for you. I cry with you," the bear said.

     "Oh." You took a moment to study the bear. You saw that familiar sadness on his face, the sadness that had taken you by surprise that night he'd introduced you to DJMM and accompanied you on your rounds. "Oh. I see."

     The bear nodded. "I understand what it feels like to suddenly loose someone you love very much. It is jarring, when they are simply just… gone. There one night and gone the next, and you just do not know why, and no one has the answer. No one knows what happened to Bonnie. He just… disappeared."

     You understood, and your heart hurt. "I'm so sorry."

     The bear closed his eyes and heaved a long sigh. "It is important to remember that you are not alone. You and I, we have friends to help support us and give us company when we need it. It is also important to remember that the events and decisions of others is beyond our control. All we can control is ourselves. So long as we do our best to be our best, we will make it through okay."

     You wrapped your arms around yourself. "But… what if being my best isn't good enough? It wasn't good enough for them."

     "That is their loss, superstar. I mean it. You are a positive light in this world and I for one am lucky to know you." The bear set a hand on your shoulder.

     You smiled. "I'm gonna start crying again."

     "That is okay. Crying is a natural release of large amounts of emotion." The bear rubbed your arm comfortingly. "You do not ever need to cry alone in your car. You can always come to me if you need to, I will listen and do my best to help."

     You hesitated to accept help, but damn this bear was so fucking comforting. "…Thanks. I appreciate it. I… I feel like I shouldn't need help. Like, I should be able to take care of myself."

     "I do not doubt that you can take care of yourself. It is not difficult to tell that you are very strong and independent and resilient. I am very proud of you, superstar. You should know, things do not have to be as hard as they are. A burden becomes much lighter when you have friends to help you carry it."

     "That’s… yeah. Yeah, that makes sense." You took a deep breath and let it out. "Man. I think I really needed that. Just like, talking about it made me feel better. That's so weird."

     The bear smiled. "I am very happy to be of help. If I may offer you some more advice?"

     "Anytime."

     "Try to get some sleep. I know you work very hard, and it is important to get enough rest as well. You could wind up getting sick."

     "You sound like Moon." You rolled your eyes. "I'll try. No promises, but I'll try."

     "Thank you. I will let you get home so you can do just that. Will you be alright?" the bear asked.

     "Yeah, you know me. I'll be fine." You smiled. "Thanks."

     "Okay." The bear carefully climbed back out of the car. He paused before closing the door behind him. "Know that I think you are doing amazing, and I am very proud of you."

     "Thank you. That makes me feel nice." You did indeed feel very nice and special inside. It was so validating to be told that you were doing a good job, after all your hard work, your long days, your even longer nights.

     You waved goodbye to the bear bot and drove yourself home down familiar quiet roads. You slept a little easier that night.

~~~

     Over the next three weeks, you enjoyed shorter and fewer shifts at the deli.

     You spent your free time attempting research, but you couldn’t find anything about the old pizzeria, save for marketing campaigns and collectables and old merchandise for sale.

     You didn’t run into Vanessa, and you were starting to get the feeling she was avoiding you. Even if you came in early to your shorter shifts, Vanessa’s car was already gone. Maybe she was parking around back or down the road? You weren’t sure, and you weren’t complaining.

     The bear, on the other hand, came to check on you at least once a night. He would let you talk about how you’d been feeling and lament with you and give you advice on managing loneliness and sadness. Most of his advice was just to spend more quality time with friends and loved ones and make time to do the things you enjoy, which you supposed was still good advice, if only you had the time or energy.

     Chica came to visit the daycare often, stating how convenient it was to check in on three pals at once. Sun roped her into a tea party one night, where she gossiped about how Roxy had accidentally broken her race car, snapping the wheel clean off. Several kids had seen her do this, as she'd been in the middle of a race, and while she and everyone else was fine and uninjured, she lost the race and was extremely upset. Chica said it was nowhere near as embarrassing as when she herself had gotten a little too into the music a few days ago and had broken her guitar in the middle of a show. Luckily, the crowd had assumed it was on purpose and went wild.

     You went to Roxy’s room afterwards to check on her, but she was an inconsolable mess, so you sat with her and kept her company until she calmed down.

     Mister Music introduced you to a weird little robot he called ‘Lil Music Man’ who you got the feeling was not really management approved. He looked like a miniature version of DJMM, and was roughly the size of a cat. The little guy hid in the vents, as Mister Music explained to you. He wanted you to know, in case you ever spotted Lil Music Man on your rounds, though apparently the little guy had been crafty enough to avoid you so far. You dubbed the tiny robot Mini Man and swore to keep him a secret. He was a little creepy, but you couldn’t help but love the little guy. He was just a tiny version of DJMM, like his little brother or something. You thought it was adorable, how the DJ would dote over the little guy.

     To your pleasant surprise, Monty actually seemed to regard you as a close friend now, and was always delighted to see you. He would always tease you or, as he’d gotten into the habit of lately, would pretend to square off with you, and then before leaving he’d assure you that the next time he saw you it was on sight.

     One night, after a round of pretend fighting, you asked him if he’d run out of lightbulbs yet.

     “Not yet. Why?” Monty asked.

     “Look at me, man. I’m so fuckin small. I can only bottle up so much rage in this tiny frame, ya know?”

     Monty laughed, and the two of you ended up down in the warehouse for another round of cathartic lightbulb smashing.

     Monty told you that the journaling had been helping with his stress, but not the memory problems. He explained that he’d figured out what was causing the problems, though. He was overheating too much, and it was likely causing some internal damage. He told you he hadn’t been able to complete a recharge cycle in a long time, and his systems were suffering. You could see it yourself in the way he moved, not as fluid and confidant as he was when you’d first met him.

     “I’ve got a complete routine maintenance exam coming up in a week, though, so I’ll tell the tech and have them figure out what’s up with my sleep cycle,” Monty said.

     “That sounds good. I hope they fix the problem,” you said.

     “Me too,” Monty agreed.

     You were actually wondering how Monty was holding up, entirely lost in thought, when you felt your hat leave your head.

     Confused, you looked up from the daycare’s security desk to see Sun had set the hat on one of the rays at the top of his head. You rolled your eyes, barely containing a smile. Both Sun and Moon loved to steal your hat. You had begrudgingly come to accept this fact.

     “Howdy sunflower,” you greeted quietly.

     Moon was in the middle of a story, though it was one you’d already heard before. Today’s small bundle of kids were listening with rapt attention as Moon flawlessly transitioned from different character voices as the cast of adventurers made their plans to thwart the evil wizard’s plots.

     “Hello, dear. Watcha thinking about?” Sun leaned on the other side of the desk and smiled at you.

     “I’m not sure… my thinking cap seems to have vanished. Not a single thought in this brain,” you said.

     “Oh goodness, wherever could it have gone??” Sun put a hand up to his forehead, shielding his eyes as he looked all around for the hat, which was not only already shielding his eyes, but located atop his own head.

     “Not a clue.” You laughed.

     “Hm. I believe I recall a magic spell to make lost security hats reappear…” Sun tapped his chin thoughtfully.

     “What a convenient and specific spell,” you remarked.

     “Indeed! Now close your eyes, or the magic won’t work!”

     You gave Sun a curious look, but indulged him and closed your eyes.

     “No peeking!” Sun warned.

     You smiled and put your hands over your eyes, ensuring that you were not peeking.

     “Zip zippity… hat zaloo!” Sun exclaimed. “Here we are! You can look now.”

     You uncovered your eyes to see your hat sitting atop the monitor, Sun’s beaming face just behind it. You had an eyebrow raised and were about to make a comment on ‘hat zaloo’ when you realized there were now pins on the hat. Two of them, made of cardboard and paint and safety pins and no small amount of glitter glue. One was a simple little scene in a circular boundary, featuring a beach and an ocean and a big bright sun hanging high in the sky. The other was also in a circular boundary, but contained a crescent moon instead, with a little sheriff badge at its center.

     “Oh, what…?” You lifted the hat and studied the pins closely. “Where did these come from??”

     Sun was bouncing up and down with excitement. “Moon and I made them for you!”

     You gasped. “Wait, really?? These are for me?” You looked at the pins again. You could clearly see which pin was from who. “Aw, you didn’t have to do that!”

     “Sun! You were supposed to wait till nap time.” Moon quietly stalked over, leaving a pile of napping kids behind him.

     “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t wait.” Sun smiled sheepishly. “We’ve been waiting to give them to you all day, Y/N.”

     “Yes. We made them this morning and apparently a few hours was too much to ask of Sun.” Moon rolled his eyes.

     “You’re the one who gave them both to me for safekeeping! You know how impatient I am,” Sun said.

     You interrupted their squabbling. “Guys… I love these. They’re so nice. I cant believe you made these for me… thank you.” You beamed at Sun and Moon.

     Sun and Moon both smiled.

     “Of course, sunshine! I know they’re sort of poor quality, but they’ve got a lot of love in them!”

     “Sorry they’re not better. We wanted to make actual nice glossy pins, but we don’t have the right materials for that,” Moon fidgeted and glanced at Sun.

     You stood up and took a hand each, one of Sun’s, and one of Moon’s. “These are the sweetest gifts I've ever received. I will treasure them dearly. Than you so much.”

     Sun swayed happily while Moon tugged his nightcap over his eyes.

     You sneezed, with enough sudden force to send you backwards into your chair. Moon and Sun glanced back at the kids, but luckily the noise hadn’t woken any of them.

     “Ugh! That’s it, i’m cleaning this desk.” You stepped out from behind the desk and headed to the supply closet.

     “Oh thank goodness,” Sun whispered. “What did we ever do to deserve you, Y/N?”

     You put your fists on your hips and assumed a heroic stance. “Just doing my duty, citizen.”

     “Heh… duty.” Moon grinned at you.

     “Oh so that’s funny but actual jokes with clever puns aren’t?” You made it back to the desk, cleaning supplies in hand.

     "We hang out with kids all day, what do you expect? Also, puns are not funny, they're annoying." Moon folded his arms.

     "You're annoying," Sun shot back.

     The two continued to bicker as you wiped down the desk and started sorting through the drawers, putting away loose papers and random office supplies.

     "Hey, it's bear guy!" You pulled a replica of the bear bot's head out of one of the drawers. It was small enough to fit in your hand. "What is this, a paperweight?"

     Sun leaned over the desk to see what you were holding. "Oh, boop the nose!"

     You did so, and were rewarded with a fun little congratulatory sound effect as the tiny bear's mouth opened, revealing a shiny card inside. 'Security Clearance Level 3' was printed on the card's surface.

     "Before they came out with those fancy new watches, they used to have these cards that would unlock doors and such. Staff were required to carry around cards up to their approved security clearance level in order to access different areas of the building. It was very cumbersome, and people kept loosing cards, so they came out with the watches and stored the cards in the security desks around the plex instead, as a backup in case the watches malfunctioned," Sun explained.

     "So wait. Different doors needed different level cards to unlock them?" you questioned.

     Sun nodded. "That's right!"

     "That's so inconvenient. Why not just have one card that unlocks all the doors?" You scowled down at the card.

     "Probably to keep certain employees from accessing certain areas." Sun shrugged.

     You closed the card back in its bear bot head holder and set it on the desk after a moment of consideration. It was kinda cute.

"Wait... you keep calling him 'bear guy'. Y/N... do you not know his name??" Moon questioned.

Fuck. Shit. You'd been found out. "Uh. I know it! It's just. Um. 'Bear guy' is just like a nickname."

Moon and sun both shared a disbelieving look. Curse your horrible lying skills.

"Then what's his name?" Sun asked.

"Uh..... Frank?" You winced. You knew that wasn't right.

Sun giggled, and Moon put a hand over his enormous grin. Your face felt hot, and you crossed your arms.

"Well, what is it?? I can't just ask him. I've known him for months now!" You huffed.

Sun and Moon shared another look.

"...You're not gonna tell me, are you." You sighed.

"It's more fun this way." Moon snickered.

"Whatever." You stuck your tongue out at them and busied yourself with finishing up the cleaning. There wasn't much cleaning left to do, but luckily Sun offered a change of topic.

     "Wanna see a trick I can do with your watch?" Sun asked.

     "Sure?" You looked at your watch curiously.

     A smiling sun emoticon popped up on the screen, spun around, then vanished.

     "How'd you do that??" you asked.

     Sun smiled. "A magician never reveals his secrets!"

     "Since he's not in safe mode he's on the system, which means he can connect to your watch, since it's also on the system," Moon explained.

     Sun gave Moon a sour look.

     "What is… the system?" You asked carefully, feeling like the question was dumb. You could only handle so much embarrassment in a day.

     "The system is what everything here runs on. Every machine and animatronic and bot is linked to it, so everything runs as smoothly as possible," Sun said patiently.

     Moon chimed in. "It's sort of like wifi, or the radio. Signals are transmitted through the air that tell the security bots where to patrol, receive updates, send information back to management in their offices. It’s a very small and secure radius, it covers the plex and nothing more. We can connect to the internet if we want to, but usually we don't want to. The ads are annoying."

     "Speaking of that, I've been doing a little bit of research!" Sun straightened up and looked at you.

     "Uh oh. What's that look?" You squinted suspiciously.

     Sun lifted a finger in the air, as if he were about to give a lecture. "Did you know that its recommended that you should consume no more than four hundred milligrams of caffeine a day? Are you aware that each one of your energy drinks contains three hundred and fifty milligrams of caffeine?"

     You glanced at the empty energy drink on the desk. You'd finished it earlier. These days, you were downing at least three a day.

     Sun continued. "Side effects of drinking energy drinks can include and are not limited to upset stomach, leg weakness, heart palpitations, being jittery, nervousness, agitation, difficulty concentrating, hyperactivity, problems sleeping, nausea, and can affect your blood pressure."

     "Huh." You picked up the empty can and studied it. Sure enough, you found a little line of text near the bottom reading 'contains 350 mg of caffeine'. "Well. Thanks for telling me."

     Sun gasped. "So you'll stop drinking those??"

     You smiled sheepishly. "…Thanks for telling me so I can make informed bad decisions."

     Sun sighed heavily and set his faceplate down on the desk.

     "Dove, listen. We only bug you about this because we care about you. We want you to be healthy and happy," Moon said.

Sun lifted his head and nodded in agreement.

     You looked at them. The care in their eyes was apparent, you could feel it yourself for them. Your heart felt funny.

"I didn't want to have to do this… but I'm cashing in my favor," Sun said firmly.

     "Huh??"

     "I did you a favor a long while ago, and you promised that you would owe me one. Y/N, you have to try to quit drinking energy drinks," Sun said, folding his arms.

     Well, you did owe him one. You weren't about to go back on your word. Besides, Sun and Moon were both looking at you, and it was still making your heart feel funny. You sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll try to quit."

     Sun and Moon shared a delighted expression.

     "That's wonderful! I'm so proud of you, Y/N." Sun swayed happily.

     "We'll help you any way we can," Moon said.

     "Thanks, guys." You tossed the can in the trash.

     This wouldn't be too hard. Its not like you needed the energy drinks, they just helped you stay on top of your game. You'd be fine. Besides, it was important to Sun and Moon, and you were starting to realize that you'd do just about anything for them.

~~~

     "This is the worst. I'm in hell. Pain and suffering and misery." You set your head against the wall. The drowsiness instantly began to set in, so you quickly lifted your head.

     "You're doing great," Moon said. He looked amused.

"I am in misery," you sang, tiredly kicking at the wall for good measure.

"Oh, it's not so bad, you pitiful canary." Moon lightly pulled at your sleeve.

     You turned to face Moon, leaning sideways against the wall. "I can't believe you stole all my energy drinks from the mini fridge. Where'd you put em, huh?" you demanded.

     "Trash."

     You gaped at Moon. "Trash???"

     "Trash." Moon nodded. "They're gone forever."

     "…I mean, not really. I've still got some at home," you said.

     "I know where you live," Moon stated casually.

     "I'll just buy more from the store!"

     "I'll steal all of them from the store," Moon said.

     "I thought yall didn't like stealing?" You raised an eyebrow.

     "Stealing is prohibited in the daycare. The store is not in the daycare." Moon gave you a cheeky smile.

     "Ugh, this is ridiculous. I'm gonna pass out, man. I'm so tired." You trudged on through the plex, doing your best to make it through the rounds. This was your third night energy drink free, and the withdrawal was slowly killing you, although it was admittedly better than yesterday.

     "Take a nap."

     "I'm at work!"

     "You don't get enough sleep," Moon said.

     "I don't like sleeping," you grumbled. "Moon, I've got the worst headache and I'm so tiiiiiiired."

     "I'll finish the rounds. You take a nap," Moon offered.

     "I'm supposed to be supervising you. You're still a deputy for another two days." You stuck your tongue out at Moon.

     "I feel fine. Omari was right, the problem vanished as soon as Sun and I were separated," Moon argued.

     "Well I still don't wanna loose my job." You fiddled with your watch, checking the cameras. You paused as you realized something. "Hey… there's still coffee in the breakroom, right?"

     "…No," Moon lied.

     You casually and quickly altered course, making a beeline for the breakroom. You got five steps before Moon caught you, lifting you up off the ground.

     "Moon, common," you whined. "I'm dyinggg!"

     "Stop being so dramatic. You're fine." Moon rolled his eyes. "You're going through withdrawal."

     "I know and it sucks."

     Moon turned around and set you down, standing between you and the hall to the breakroom.

     "You can do this, dove. Let's finish the rounds," Moon said.

     You sighed heavily but complied, dragging your feet.

     When you made it back to the daycare, you decided to try your luck with Sun instead.

     "Sunflower!" you called cheerfully as you entered with Moon.

     Sun jumped, snapping the pen he was drawing with. "Oh dear." He scowled at the mess of ink on his hand and the paper.

     "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you," you said, patting Sun's shoulder. "Here, I'll help you clean." You went to retrieve the wipes from the supply closet.

     "It's alright dear. I've been a little extra reactive lately." Sun sighed and studied his ruined drawing.

     "Looks like a flock of birds," Moon said, tilting his head as he studied the paper.

     "It was supposed to be a lighthouse by the ocean," Sun whined.

     "Maybe the birds can be seagulls?" you offered, sitting down next to Sun. You took his hand, then frowned as you realized the metal was a lot warmer than usual. "Sun, do you need to get to a recharge station?"

     "No, I took a rest earlier when you first left with Moon," Sun said.

     You put a hand to Sun's faceplate. Sun smiled and leaned into your hand, but you were too concerned to really notice.

     "You're pretty warm," you said.

     "Of course I am! I'm a sun, after all." Sun giggled.

     "Hmm." You took Sun's hand again and started wiping off the ink.

     Moon studied Sun suspiciously. "How long did your rest cycle last?"

     "…Fifteen minutes," Sun answered. He sighed. "I haven't been able to finish a cycle in a while. I think there was a minor bug in one of the latest updates. It'll get patched out in no time, I'm sure!"

     "Monty's been having some trouble with that as well. Maybe it is an update bug. Yall said you all get updates together through the system right?" you asked.

     "Yes, but I've been getting updates same as everyone else and I've been feeling fine," Moon said. "No issues whatsoever."

     "Hmm. Maybe it was something that happened during the separation?" you wondered.

     "Maybe. I'm sure it'll get patched soon," Sun assured.

     You finished cleaning the ink off of Sun's hand. "There you are. Good as new!"

     Sun wiggled his fingers, then booped your nose. "Thank you, sunshine."

     You smiled. You looked at Sun, then at the ink stained wipe in your hands. You thought about what these two had come to mean to you. You were honestly happier than you'd been in ages. You were also terrified of loosing them, but you put that thought out of mind for now.

     "What are you thinking about, dear?" Sun asked, tilting his head to the left.

     Moon also tilted his head, tilting to the right instead of the left. The pair of them looked adorable, and you smiled.

     "Just uh… ya know. How nice things are for me right now. How horrible things were a while ago. Loss, and… gain," you said.

     "Mm yes. That makes a lot of sense. Not mysterious at all," Moon said.

     You rolled your eyes. "It's complicated." Also, elaborating would require you to admit some things to them that you were not at all ready to admit yet. You weren't sure if you would ever be. "Just, like… maybe I haven't moved on from loss yet, but maybe I'm… moving forward. Taking steps in the right direction. I dunno, I'm feeling and doing better, and yall are to blame."

     "Thank you?" Sun laughed. "I'm glad we can be of help."

     "Let us know if there's anything else we can do. Anything you want from us," Moon said.

     "…I sure would love an energy drink," you said.

     "No," both Sun and Moon said simultaneously.

     You groaned and set your head down on the table. "Ain't no rest for the wicked."

[babylooneytoonz]

Trip Mines & Broken Hearts [Tommy Shelby x Reader]

Quick link to find all the other parts here.

Part-5

In the bleak midwinter, when everything was dark and decaying, you had one hope. A tiny ray of light; in the form of her shrill cries—

You named her Sophie.

All that pain, all those endless hours of screaming, cursing and writhing in pain, she had finally made an appearance at 4 am on an early winter morning in Birmingham, her tiny black hair mopped over her small, round head. She was beautiful, her tiny hand, it could fit in your wedding band.

She had her father's blue eyes, and maybe, she would have Tommy's cheekbones when she grew up.

How you loved those cheekbones—

As you nursed your newborn to sleep, you felt a pang in your chest, and a sudden breathlessness; your heart aching for him. If only, he was here right now. If only, he could hold her, press her to his chest, and promise he will watch over her for the rest of his life, devoting himself to the daughter he shared with you.

Now, six years later, the pain wasn't as severe as it was before.

Time heals all wounds—

No, it doesn't heal them, you just get so immune to the pain, you stop feeling it anymore. It's as though it becomes a part of you—

If there was one thing you could not have, the love of the man you wanted, you had found companionship; friendship in form of Theodore Wilkinson, your husband. Your daughter, your precious angel, your little Sophie, had a loving, nurturing father and you were happy.

But you couldn't stop her from growing up, could you?

You wished sometimes, that she was still a babe, curled at your chest, nestled away from all the harsh realities of this world, unaware, in a bliss. But then, she was growing up.

She was six today—

Although you couldn't afford to throw her a lavish birthday party, with all the money restrictions, the rent you had to pay, taking care of your husband, who was slowly dying, succumbing finally, to the infection that his leg had caught back in France, you did still do what little you could to make her day. Three of her friends had just left, their tummies full, remnants of the delicious chocolate lavendar cake you had baked still on the corners of their lips.

You stood by the door to your parlor, your eyes trained on your daughter who was sprawled over the carpeted floor, unwrapping what little presents she had, while her father sat in his wheelchair, not far from her, an excited, happy look on his face, causing you to smile as well. On days like this, you felt blessed, you felt thankful, that your daughter had gotten the love of both, a father and a mother. No child should be deprived of that.

Your husband's eyes caught you and you saw him bend slightly, whispering something into Sophie's ears as he slowly wheeled his way towards where you were standing.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" He asked you.

"She's growing up so fast, Theodore, I just—" You grumbled, both your eyes trained on her as she was still unwrapping one of the boxes, "— I wish time would slow down. It's like her childhood is slipping away and I'm losing you to —" You bit back on your tongue, to refrain yourself from saying it out loud, but it was too late, he had already caught you.

"T's okay love, you can say it. I'm dying. But there's nothing to be sad in that, is there? You gave me a new life in France, if it wasn't for you, I would have died back then, wouldn't have had the fuckin' chance to father such a lovely child."

"Theo—" You whispered, placing both your hands on his shoulders as you towered over him, giving them a slight squeeze.

This man had been nothing but kind to you. You wished you could love him the way you loved the man who didn't look back, left you and your daughter but you couldn't. No matter how hard you tried, there is a thing about love—the heart had a mind of its own; it wanted what it wanted, no matter how hard you tried to confuse it. Theo had always known that you didn't love him, not the way a wife should love his husband but he was okay with it. He knew that someone had broken your heart, so bad, you had stopped living, you just existed and he had often tried to ask you who he was, but you had never told him.

It surprised you today, when out of the blue, on your daughter's sixth birthday, he asked you the question you didn't want to answer.

"Would you deny a dying man a last wish?"

"You are not dying Theo—"

"Who was he, love? The man that broke your heart? Who's her father?" He pointed towards Sophie with his eyes.

"You are."

"Biological father, love." He said, a little sternly.

You sighed, your fingers toying aimlessly with each other. You had tried to stir him away from this for six years, but you didn't think you could lie any longer. And he was right, not when he was inching closer to death everyday. You could already see his bones, he hardly could keep food inside, you often had to keep him on a liquid diet.

So you decided, that tonight in bed, you would tell him everything because he deserved to know. And when you did, needless to say, he was shocked.

"Thomas Shelby? Thomas Fucking Shelby? That bloody gangster that threatens men with those fookin' razor blades?" Your husband had a priceless look on his face; as though he had mined out diamonds and was about to get rich.

"You talk about him like he's some fuckin' God."

"He is, to almost all of Birmingham, you see there's only a thin line between God and the devil, the devil is, after all, a fallen angel—" He groaned as he tried to get comfortable in bed but could not do so, his sore body making him almost curse in pain.

You couldn't help roll your eyes at him, shrug your shoulders and lay down on your back, closing your eyes, as you mumbled, "Go to bed, Theo, I have to be at the clinic early in the morning." You worked at a tiny clinic on the other side of the town; a clinic for the lower middle class, those who couldn't afford going to expensive doctors. But he paid you enough to keep your house over the head.

The next morning, you had woken up early and headed to the clinic and much to your dismay, there had been a blast at a factory nearby, which meant you had to extend your shift by a few hours as the casualty number was starkly high. It was almost ten at night and you had been working non stop for almost fourteen hours. Your body felt like it had been run over by a motorcar, your shoulders were tense and you had a spurting headache that caused you to groan in annoyance at any sound that you came across, while walking back home.

Little did you know that you were soon going to forget all this—

Your house was eerily quiet, and usually you could hear the sound of your daughter's words even when you had not started climbing up the stairs to your front door. But of course, it was late at night and it wouldn't be a surprise if your husband had somehow managed to tuck her in.

You unlocked the door with a sigh, stepping in and immediately sliding out of your shoes. The living room was dark, but you could see that the lights in Sophie's bedroom were switched on. Taking off your overcoat, you placed it on the hanger, noting an unfamiliar overcoat hanging on it. Who was visiting your house at 10 at night?

"Sophie, baby?" Your voice was trembling slightly, ringing through the hallway as you aimlessly called out; although you didn't know why.

That's when you heard the floorboard creak, somewhere in the house, just lightly but you had still caught it; and you knew you weren't alone.

The first thing you did was lunge at a vase nearby as a reflex, curling your fingers tight around it; switching on the light.

A sudden panic took over you and you turned towards the intruder.

"It's me, put the fucking vase down."

Just like his words, the vase slipped from your fingers, crashing against the floor as the horror sunk in. Oh, how you had imagined this night to be; the countless times you had rehearsed in your mind, what you were going to say to him, but right now, all you could manage to do was let out the breath you didn't even realise you were holding in.

It was as though you were standing face to face with your past—

After all these fucking years, he looked just the same; just a tad bit older perhaps & the way his hair was styled was so different now; and was that pain in his eyes? Was that regret? Regret he fucking left you like a discarded toy—

The relief of seeing him again was short-lived, and what followed it was a fear, a mother's instinct.

"Sophie. Where is she? Where is she?" You screamed out loud, hot tears sliding out of your eyes.

"Fucking hell," He almost snapped in annoyance, "Stop, she's inside —"

"How the fuck did you even find us? What the fuck are you doing in my fucking house?"

You were going mad; you were going crazy. You could feel your body shake like a leaf. Tommy tried to hold you by your shoulders to stop you from shaking but you pushed his hands away, taking a step away.

"Sophie?" You turned back around; running towards your daughter's bedroom. Pushing the door open, you stepped in, only to find her asleep in bed, her teddy bear tucked into her arm. You slid down on the floor, next to the bed, running your fingers through her hair and slowly, she fluttered her eyes open, probably having been woken up from sleep, "Mummy?"

"Baby, mummy's here, you don't have to be afraid. Where's your daddy?"

She shifted in bed, bringing her teddy up to her chest, "Which daddy mummy? The old one or the new one?"

"What do you mean? Of course, you've got one daddy, baby."

There was a sudden silence in the room. It didn't make sense; there sat your daughter's real father, in the living room of your house. And here, your daughter's words didn't make any sense.

"Daddy said that he is my new daddy, I haven't seen him since then," your daughter's sleepy voice reached you.

"When did this happen, baby?"

"When daddy took me to meet my new daddy. Now will you come to bed with me?" She rubbed her sleepy eyes with her palms.

It all made sense now.

"Go to sleep, baby. Mummy will join you in a minute. Mummy wants to speak to your daddy."

Her real daddy.

You were about to stand up, when her sleepy, broken words reached your ears, "Is my new daddy still here? I want him mummy."

You sighed, barely audible as you tucked her into her blanket, kissing her forehead before you made your way out, closing the door slowly without slamming in. Your shoes flapped against the wooden floorboards as you stormed your way into your bedroom, only to find an empty bed, the place where Theodore used to rest. You didn't understand.

Your nostrils flared; your eyes burnt in hatred. That man had probably done something, of course, he was Thomas Fucking Shelby, capable of anything.

You stepped into the hallway, screaming his name until you were once again standing face to face.

"THOMAS?!"

Today, you were going to confront him, this was the day you had been waiting for, but you sure had hoped it would be in better circumstances—

"Where the fuck is my husband?"

"Sit down."

"Thomas, just tell me what did you do to him? Did you kill him? Did you fucking kill him because you couldn't stand —"

"FOR FUCKS SAKE, WILL YOU BLOODY SIT DOWN?"

He cut you off, screaming back at you, just as loudly as you were screaming, your chest heaving up and down.

Finally, you dropped down on the edge of the couch, as though you were nothing but a lifeless corpse. You looked at him, your eyes clouded with mist; hatred in your eyes.

"You shouldn't have come back, I was so happy without you."

From the corner of your eye, you saw Tommy sit doen on a couch opposite to you, his elbows coming to rest on his knees as he pushed them apart, arching his body forward, his cold, conniving eyes scrutinizing you. His fingers shuffled through his breast pocket to pull out a box of cigarettes and a stick, pinning it to his lips. As you saw him light a match, his face glowing orange under the light from the tiny source of fire, you could see the haunting in his eyes, the questions buried deep within his soul.

"Why didn't you fucking tell me?"

You sat back, your back brushing against the backrest as you eyed him, a bitter smile creeping against the corner of your lips.

"What good would have come from telling you anyway? You were busy with that blonde bartender of yours, what was her name? Ah, yes, Grace."

Tommy's hand clenched into a fist at the mention of her name, his knuckles almost cracking and a warning look crossed his eyes.

"Don't drag her into this mess you've fucking created."

"Where is my husband?" Your immediate question followed; your body a little relaxed now. If he wanted to have a discussion like adults, you were going to give him one.

"Your husband—" You stiffened, sensing the bitterness in his throat; the way the words rolled out of his lips, venomous, ugly. You could sense the danger lurking within the walls of his emotionless eyes, a danger you wanted to shield your daughter from.

"I freed him."

You stood up, towering over him, blinking; confused.

"What?"

You watched as the man you once loved bring the cigarette up to his lips, smoke belting out of his mouth, coiling around him like a snake.

"Guess I had a visitor, an unexpected one, for that matter. At first, I didn't believe what he told me; that he was your fucking husband."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY HUSBAND?"

"I just handed him the gun—"

You could listen no more. Your throat contracted, a sudden feeling of someone choking and twisting your insides took over you, and you doubled up, pressing your palm to your lips, a wave of nausea hitting you. You then recoiled away from him.

He killed your husband.

"Why?" You whispered; your tears falling freely off your eyes, looking into his eyes for any form of emotion, if there was any left inside of him.

"He begged me for release."

You knew he wasn't lying, the man that was dead inside him, the boy you knew, did not lie to you. Not when he was looking you straight in the eye. Your memories flew back to the day he had confessed to not having given Jasper the locket that was intended to be his goodluck charm, which was now dangling from his waistcoat.

"You couldn't live without taking another one's life, did you? You couldn't fucking keep your hands off my husband, you fucking did it again."

Tommy stood up, letting the butt of the cigarette drop to your floor and he stomped on it, his hands flying to his waist. He took a step forward, towering over you, his mind struggling to keep in control the rage that was building inside him.

"I did what he asked me to, hand him the fucking gun. It's a soldier's thing, you won't bloody understand."

"Are you religious, Thomas?" You stood up abruptly, ignoring how close you were standing from him, your chest almost parallel to his.

"Never was."

"Then stop trying to be a fucking God."

You felt numb, your thoughts scattered, your heart wailing in agony. You turned away from him, you couldn't look him in the eye. He was a murderer. Even if it was your husband who had wanted it.

You knew it, with every bit of your heart, how Theodore hated being like this; in pain, like a heavy burden on your shoulders, but he shouldn't have done it. The realisation hit you, how he had asked you who Sophie's father was and maybe, just maybe you had lied, maybe it wouldn't have happened.

"Is she mine?" That cold voice was at it again, clawing through your mind like a shovel.

After all that you had been through, he thought she wasn't his.

"Why are you here if she isn't yours?"

He didn't answer.

"Get the fuck out of my house, out of my life, back into the fucking hole you crawled out from and out of my daughter's life. You've murdered my husband, I wouldn't let you touch a hair on my girl's head."

Something shattered around you; a beautiful vase, scattering to pieces around you as Thomas took his anger out on it, smashing it to the wall. Without saying anything, you watched as he turned around, taking his coat off the coat hanger.

"If she's my girl, there's no one that can stop me from seeing her, ay?"

With one last warning, your front door slammed shut and you were engulfed in a sudden emptiness, in a big empty house— a widow, with a daughter to raise.

(A/N - The GIFs are not mine, found one on Google and liked it so I saved it. Let me know if it is yours and I will credit you. 💕)

@sighonahurricane hope you like it.