#moonxoc

A little doll modeled from his and Moon's clothing in her yellow dress and striped apron, blue with twinkling gold stars peeking out from the edge, she seemed to even put the parents at ease, a friendly face to assure that everything would be handled with care.

Lunchtime would come, a knock on the large doors, and Sun would get to see her smiling face so much closer. A trolley full of snacks for little hands, served on sun and star themed party plates, and the snuggly soft nap rolls for each little superstar. She’d stay to help him prepare the napping space, lay out each of the freshly laundered rolls with care, and even help him set up the storytime space for Moon’s arrival. The regulars, children of the day staff who made frequent visits and often grew fond of one cast member or another, would beg her to stay and play, to hear Moon’s naptime tales. But as always she would politely decline, and return to her post at the top of the slide. 

They both had jobs to do.

Once he had complimented the headband of sunrays crowning her head and her face turned an addictive shade of perfect pink. She had a beautifully shy nature, soft and easy going, always treating him like an old friend when she would make her short visits, and Sun found himself making excuses just to keep her a moment longer.

The first time Sunshine's headband came down the slide without her, it sounded like a prank gone sideways. So much muffled giggling in the tunnel echoed in Suns's audio receptors as the item skittered down and almost out into the pit before he grabbed it. 

A moment later, the sound of someone coming down the tube after it. 

Sunshine slid out of the tube headfirst, falling less than gracefully into the ball pit below, laughing as she flailed about, then stumbled as she tried to stand in the sea of rainbow colored plastic balls. They stared at eachother as he scanned her face on habit, and it took a moment too long to remember he was holding the item she had come in search of. She didn't seem to mind at all, as if she expected this much from him.

"Its late, Sunshine." He teased as he climbed down from where he had been sitting on the top of the tube to meet her. "Shouldn't you be heading home?"

Sunshine grinned a bit bashfully, extending a hand out for her missing accessory. "Sorry, I was about to finish my shift when a friend knocked my rays right off my head! Can I pretty please have them back?"

Sun tsked, a playfully scolding sound, but made no move to give the headband back.

He looked at the lovely little hand with long fingers and perfectly painted nails extended out to him and had a better idea.

He had seen many children come and go with them; knew she liked to make the shiny trinkets herself, lovely little gifts that made for smiling faces. She had them for every season, every event and holiday. Some were wild and unpredictable patterns meant to be an extra pop of color, but the ones she wore most were the colors of his friends; Freddy's gold, Roxy's purple, Monty's green and Chica's pink, but also sparkling blues for Moon and yellow for himself. Simple, smooth plastic beads like precious candy buttons around her wrists. Something about it sent static to his processors; he wanted one for himself.

"Finders keepers! But I'll trade you for one of those..." He teased, hooking a finger under one of the many bracelets on her wrists, the one in his colors. "Oh!" Sunshine exclaimed, a soft embarrassment in her voice. "You like those? Of course you can have one!"

She slipped her hand out of it so easily, smiling warmly, and Sun grinned as he carefully maneuvered it onto his own wrist. He then shook his hand as if to test it, bells jingling happily alongside the clacking of beads, a satisfying sound in the otherwise quiet room.

When he looked back at Sunshine her face was hard to read. She looked happy, but also something else entirely when she smiled at his approval. 

Moon snickered somewhere in the back of his mind like a strange and sudden itch, but Sun ignored him, moving to place the headband gently back on her head and adjusting it into its proper place. Sunshine seemed to stop breathing for a moment, watching him with curious eyes under long lashes, and he was about to question it when another voice called from the railing above. Sun didn't quite make out what was said, but Sunshine seemed to get the message perfectly.

"Oh, I gotta go, but thank you Sunny! I'll see you tomorrow!" She said, scampering out of the pit and towards the open double door. She looked back just long enough to give him a shy wave before disappearing around the corner.

Steam escaped one of his shoulder vents and he sighed quietly as Moon cackled in their shared headspace.

"Naughty naughty, that was quite a trick to play, Sunny, I think she likes you." Moon teased.

Trick?

What trick?

But Moon wouldn't answer that, just laughed in a way that made Sun shift nervously where he stood as he replayed their interactions in his thoughts. It wasn't often that adults liked him, many said he looked unsettling and dismissed him before they would even have the chance. Even some of the children hesitated upon meeting him, this was something he had grown used to. But Sunshine smiled at him so warmly it made his cooling fans kick on. Moon laughed again as that terrible itch crawled up his spine.

—---------------------------

Weekday mornings were always quiet in the daycare, but today was unusually quiet. There were no children on the roster for the first shift, so unless someone came in, it would continue to be quiet and empty. With the employee cuts, some of the little superstars who would normally spend their day with him no longer needed to; it was both a sad and happy sort of happenstance that had Sun struggling with his plans for the day. When an hour passed and nobody had come down the slide, he had the mind to go up it instead. Maybe the plex was closed for the day and nobody thought to mention it to him? It wouldn't be the first time they had forgotten to inform him of plans changing. Surely Sunshine would know he reasoned as he started his crawl up the towering slide, and what a perfect excuse to visit with her.

Sunshine, who had been sitting on the desk as she strung beads together to pass the time, heard him approaching before her coworker did. The scuttling sound and creaking of the plastic slide piqued her curiosity, and just as she stooped to peer into the tunnel, Sun's smiling face emerged from inside. The sound she let out in surprise was a rather silly mix of a shriek and squeaking laughter as she realized it was him. 

"Good morning Mr. Sun!" She greeted him with a flustered but amused smile.

"Good morning Starshine, the Moon says hello!" He singsonged in return, relaxing in the tube like climbing a full story of smooth plastic was nothing for him. "Where are all the little friends? It's been a very quiet morning!"

"Monday, and school is back in session." Her coworker supplied, having looked up from her phone at the commotion. "Its probably gonna be a quiet day."

Sun's rays retracted a little more, looking a bit sad to hear it. No children meant no need for him, and he would spend the day stuck finding things to do around the daycare alone, which really meant reorganizing the craft supplies for the millionth time.

Definitely not his idea of a fun day.

Sunshine knelt down in front of the slide, and Sun froze as gentle hands cupped his faceplate.

"Now now," she playfully scolded. "No upside down smiles on my watch! If we don't have someone soon, I'll come down to play with you myself, how does that sound?" 

It took Sun a second to reply, and if he was honest with himself, it was only because he was lost in the temperature of her warm, pleasing little fingers against his cool faceplate, his sensors abuzz at the notion of being held so tenderly. 

He was no stranger to touch; children wanted to climb and wrestle and be held, but this was different. Instead of holding, he was being held, and not even the Parts and Services crew had ever just cupped his face like this. He couldn't remember the last time someone had wanted to hold him; the team who oversaw his repairs tended to treat him with the cold indifference of a car mechanic seeing their hundredth flat tire, leaving no room for comforting embraces.

"Oh I'd love that!" He replied in earnest, and without thinking, brought his hands up to cup her own. Only then that meant the thing keeping him at the top of the slide was the grip on his shoes, and he promptly slid backwards. He managed to catch his footing again quickly, but had effectively tugged her into the tube with him, suddenly face to face, and her knees against the decorative rainbow opening the only thing keeping her from falling in entirely.

Sun expected anything but the way she giggled as he stuttered out apologies. Her hands were gripping his wrists as if she could help keep him there, unafraid and amused, and it thrilled him to no end, seeing her smile at him like that, sweet and sincere and for him alone. Moon snickered somewhere deep in his programming as Sun took her in, the long eyelashes he'd never been close enough to admire before, the shine of glitter along her brightly blushing cheeks, just like stardust…

"Easy big guy, that's quite a fall if you're not careful." She teased, and somehow he wasn't sure if she meant the slide. "I'll be down in a few, make sure you're ready for me."

He didn't need to be told twice.

Letting go with a laugh, Sun launched back down the slide the way he came.

Sunshine shimmied carefully back out of the tube to find her coworker standing beside her, arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"Your fascination with that robot is incredible." She snickered, and Sunshine rolled her eyes good naturedly as she stood and dusted herself off. 

"He's charming, what am I supposed to say?" 

"That you're going to keep your hands to yourself next time you go down there."

"Dakoda!" Sunshine gasped, sounding scandalized, but that only made her coworker laugh harder.

"What? If it was Monty you'd give me the same warning!"

***

Sun pulled himself out of the ball pit with gusto, suddenly frantic for ideas. What games did grownups like to play? Did they still like crayons? Puppets? He had to find the perfect game, something fun, and it would really help if Moon wasn't cackling in their shared headspace.

"Grownup games?" Moon repeated, only to howl again with laughter when Sun waited expectantly. Instead of an answer, Moon supplied an image that brought him to a complete standstill.

Oh.

Suddenly he understood why Moon was laughing, and his cooling fans started trying to compensate as he moved about, dismissing the idea and tidying the already tidy daycare anxiously. 

"Moon, I think it's a bit forward to assume…" Sun started, only to go quiet as Moon pushed the image of Sunshine's perfect cupid's bow lips into his view, the way she had smiled at him as she held his face in her hands…

"Bet she would loooove kisses from her darling Sunny." Moon chuckled and Sun made a strangled sort of embarrassed noise.

"No no no, I don't think so, the last person who saw us open our mouth was terrified, nobody likes that, I can't do that to her…"

"I could…"

"Moonie…" Sun warned, but his embarrassment took the bite out of his words and made Moon chuckle.

"Sunny." He teased back, knowing her pet name for him would easily get a rise out of his alter. And of course it did. But the more Moon pressed, the more Sun found himself wondering.

What if she did want kisses?

What if Sunshine wanted hand holding and soft kisses and close cuddling?

Or more?

Oh grownups were so complicated, almost frustratingly so.

He was still mulling over the complexities of human needs when he heard the sound of someone falling into the ball pit almost an hour later.

His precious Sunshine waded through the sea of multicolored balls, laughing joyfully as she pulled herself out. Her headband was notably missing, and she had traded the apron she usually wore for her backpack, but something about it made her seem a bit more comfortable as she smiled up at him. "Definitely a quiet day." She said, tucking a lock of her wild hair behind her ear. "But I brought the stuff to make more bracelets since you liked those? I made one for Moon, too!"

Sun swayed happily as he watched her dig into her backpack, pulling out kits of sorted beads and lengths of stretchy string. Amongst them, a bracelet to match the one he had stolen, in shades of blue with the occasional star bead between.

Both were quiet as she took his other hand and slid it onto his wrist. When she looked up, she started to giggle and her face colored that adorable pink again.

"You like them that much?" She asked, and Sun tilted his head in question. "Your eyes… they turn to hearts when you're happy."

Moon gave up his silence to howl with laughter as Sun squirmed in embarrassment.

"Oh hahah yeah I had um… I had forgotten about that. Its been… been awhile since they did that. Thank you for your lovely gifts! Moon loves it and says thank you too!" He lied, trying to save face and hoping the LEDs in his eyes had given up their act of betrayal. Quickly turning his attention to the rainbow of assorted beads he said, "Do you want to make some more? I could help!"

Sunshine smiled and nodded, and he excused himself to pull one of the little craft tables out of the supply closet. It was small, intended for the little ones, but Sun found no trouble sitting on the floor to work with the kids, surely it would be the perfect size for Sunshine, too.

“You didn’t have to tell her that.” Moon said quietly, and Sun shook his head.

“Would you rather I have told her you hated it?”

“No... but thank you…”

Sun snickered to himself, catching on to Moon’s own embarrassment as he picked up the little table and started carrying it back. Sunshine had pulled over a couple of cushions for them to sit on, and it took no time at all to set up their project.

“Sweet little lamb,” Moon sighed, a hint of smile to his voice that Sun found contagious. He watched through Sun’s eyes as they settled in, amused with how excited their new friend seemed to be just to be there. She talked about whatever seemed to come to mind; the parties the daycare had hosted, stories from other parts of the plex, even her own life and the trials of being an adult out on her own in the world.

Sun was absorbing everything he could learn about her and more, asking all his favorite questions along the way. She loved orchid purple, the color beads she used when making things for herself, kittens and the smell of freshly brewed coffee. He tried not to look her way when she started talking about rainy days, the wistful smile as she spoke was enough to make his temperature rise, his eyes would no doubt give away how quickly he was becoming completely enamored with her. She pressed him with the same sort of questions, the conversation so light and easy it felt as if they had talked a million times before, and even Moon had stopped his impish teasing to listen.

Without realizing it they had created quite a pile of the little bead bracelets, and when Sunshine picked up the last bit of cord, she scooted over to his side of the table so they could work together to finish it. Sun tried not to react when she tucked herself under his arm to help him thread the last few beads, and watched her tie it off carefully, unwilling to move his arms where they rested loosely around her. He could feel Moon grin when she settled against him, sliding the new bracelet onto her wrist and holding it up for them both to inspect.

Why had he put so many heart shaped beads on that one?!

Nevertheless, she seemed pleased enough with his work to add it to her own collection.

“Very cute. Probably the best one.” He said with a smile.

“No, you.” She replied mirthfully, almost too quiet to be heard.

“What?”

“Hmm?”

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing.”

“Nuh uh, I heard that!” Sun laughed, somehow finding the bravery to scoop her in against him as they both giggled. “You said something silly and if you don’t tell me I’m going to tickle it out of you.”

Sunshine let out a playfully exasperated sigh as he motioned like he was about to start tickling and finally said, “Okay, okay! I said you’re cute and the best!”

Sun felt his temperature rise in record time, his rays shuttering excitedly, and he did the only thing he could think to do in response.

He started tickling.

Sunshine squealed with laughter, squirming away from his hands but unable to escape his embrace as he continued casually, “Oh, don’t tell Roxy that, she’ll get very upset! But I’m glad I’m your favorite. You’re my favorite too!”

Without really meaning to, he had managed to wrangle her into his lap, and he quickly decided to make the best of it. He stopped tickling in favor of hugging her to his chest like the little doll she felt like in his arms, humming happily as she tried to catch her breath, still shaking with giggles. She was grinning bashfully, but didn’t try to pull away, just leaned into him fondly, her hands coming to rest against his arms like she didn’t want him to let go.

Moon made a smug sound in their shared headspace and Sun tried very hard to ignore him.

A strange sort of content silence fell over them, and when at last Sun tilted his head to look down at her, Sunshine had closed her eyes. Her grin had changed into a sweet sort of smile, her cheeks still dusted pink and her heart beating a little fast for someone sitting so still.

“You’re going to miss your chance.” Moon said, but the teasing air had left his voice. In fact, Sun noted, Moon sounded almost anxious in his insistence, like there was a lot more to his pushing than he was letting on.

Sun shifted just slightly, feeling a bit anxious himself. If this is what she wanted, he would happily give it to her, but a part of him still felt giddy with nervousness, so he plotted a course and met their needs in the middle.

Sunshine let out a soft little gasp when he pressed his faceplate against her cheek, making a soft mwah sound to make it clear he absolutely would kiss her properly if he had the lips to do so. He half expected her to push away, tell him to stop as she shifted in his arms to meet his gaze, but instead she pushed up to return the gesture.

Sun thought his whole system was going to shut down when she pressed a series of little kisses along his faceplate in return.

Moon had been right, about this part at least, she seemed very content to be close with him. His lunar counterpart had gone eerily silent as Sun pressed a few more kisses to her cheeks in return. When at last he pulled back to look at her again, she erupted in a fit of giggles.

“Your eyes,” she said a little breathlessly, and reflected in her's he could see the beating heart LEDs flashing in his own eyes. “Is this what that was all about? You wanted kisses?”

Sun started stammering but before he could answer she had taken hold of his face and kissed him properly. He practically melted into her hands, and when she ran her fingers gently over one of his rays as she leaned in for another, he knew he was done for.

“AYO GOOFBALL!”

Sunshine jolted at the sound of the Dakoda’s voice over the radio on the security desk, having the good sense to look embarrassed. She started to pull away but Sun pulled her back, pressing more kisses to her cheeks that left her laughing warmly.

“Doloooooores! Dooollyyyy! Hey Dingus where are you? Answer me or I’m coming down there!”

Sun finally let go of her, falling dramatically sideways onto the soft floor mats as she skittered over to the desk. He propped his chin in his hand as he watched her fumble with the radio for a moment.

“Dolly.” Moon hummed thoughtfully, but Sun shook his head. Her name was still Sunshine to him. They silently agreed to disagree.

“What? I’m here, good grief.” She hissed into the receiver, and her coworker was laughing notably when she answered.

“They’re sending us home. Quit making out with your boyfriend and come on before I leave you here.”

“Okay geez, give me a second to get my stuff.”

Sunshine sighed, dropping the radio back into its station. The look she gave him when she turned back to him was going to be burned into his memory for a long time.

“I’m sorry.” She said as she moved to collect her things. “I guess I gotta go. But I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise. And I’ll bring more cord so we can make more stuff if you want.”

Sun pulled himself from the floor to help her, holding her backpack open to make it easier for her to quickly pack away her things before sliding the straps up around her shoulders. Sunshine seemed very flustered as they walked back towards the large double doors and he was about to ask when she pushed something into his hands.

“I usually keep this for emergencies, but I want you to hold onto it. You can use it to get ahold of me… whenever you want to. If you want to. My number is in it, I use it to find my phone sometimes but you can use it to text me. Or call, if you feel like it.” 

Sun looked down at the tiny pink flip phone and then back up at her blushing face. He leaned down to press one more kiss to her forehead before pushing the door open for her.

“Of course I will. Now go before your ride takes off.” he said, ushering her out of the daycare. He watched her go, and was glad for it when she turned to blow a kiss from the top of the stairs before disappearing out of sight.