#tdala

“Sun, are you okay if I go help Elliot for a bit?” you asked him.

Sun sighed dramatically, placing a hand on his forehead in a very woe-is-me pose. “I suppose I'll survive. My little assistant abandoning me in my waning hours when I am most bereft and in need.”

“Cool, I knew you'd understand,” you said, giving him the thumbs up and turning to walk away. Sun made a squawk of surprise and you snickered, turning back and giving him a hug around his middle. “I'll spend a little extra time on your post-shift wipe-down to make it up to you. How does that sound?”

He rubbed your head through your uniform cap. “That sounds delightful. Have fun, Starshine.”

You went with Elliot to Rockstar Row, and you noticed immediately that Monty's curtains were drawn. Again. This was a regular occurrence you were noticing. You winced when you heard a large bang coming from inside the room.

Elliot rubbed his neck, sweating pinballs. “If anything happens, get behind me or leave the room as fast as you can, alright?”

“Okay,” you agreed.

Elliot led you to the door of Monty's green room. He knocked, then called out, “Monty, I'm coming in!” and then used his badge to open the door. This wasn't your first visit to Monty's room, nor was it the first time you'd caught Monty in the middle of 'blowing off steam' as he had called it. Even still, seeing a bulky animatronic gator standing in the middle of a scene of destruction was not the most comforting of sights.

As soon as the door opened, Monty's head jerked towards the two of you. “Howdy there, Monty,” Elliot greeted, using a very cordial tone that contradicted his earlier tension.

A low growl rumbled from Monty and though he was wearing shades, you saw his snout twitch lower so that his face was more directed at you peeking out from behind the handyman. “You brought a kid? Autograph sessions are over.”

“They're my friend's kid. They're just here to observe,” Elliot explained, keeping his tone measured.

Monty glared at you, his face leaning in an inch or two before suddenly drawing back. “Wait a second, I remember you.”

“I remember you too,” you answered, daring to step out from behind Elliot's figure. “Thanks again, by the way.”

Monty glanced away, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn't do nuthin',” he mumbled.

Elliot breathed out a sigh of utter relief. “Alright, welp, I'm just gonna assess the damages. Don't mind me.”

He began wandering the green room, taking note of what was broken and needed to be replaced. Monty shot him a glare but made to move to stop him. It was clear though that the gator was barely tolerating the man's presence.

You edged up to Monty and he stiffened looking down at you. “You don't like people In your room, do you?”

Monty snorted, a hissing sound strongly reminiscent of the noises you'd hear in his gator golf attraction. “Would you enjoy people just letting themselves into your space uninvited?”

You shook your head, feeling guilty. “Sorry... and sorry again about the time before.”

Monty wordlessly turned and stomped over to the couch which was definitely gonna need replacing. The green upholstery had been shredded and the insides were littered around the place. Even so, Monty sat down on it and looked at you. “Well? Don't just stand there gawkin'. Have a seat.”

“Oh, okay,” you said and shuffled over to the couch, sitting down on one of the cushions that wasn't completely mangled. You noticed Elliot was keeping a close eye on you between his note-taking. “So, bad day?”

“What?” Monty asked, looking at you.

It was hard not to be intimidated by the teeth, but you did your best not to think about how sharp they might be. “Did you have a bad day?” you asked, gesturing to the room. “You obviously were blowing off some steam. You wanna talk about it?”

“No!” Monty barked.

“Okay, sorry,” you mumbled, picking at a wad of couch stuffing that was poking out right beside you.

An awkward silence followed for a few beats, only filled by the shuffling of Elliot's shoes as he tried to navigate through the debris. In that time, Monty's crossed his legs, uncrossed them, and then crossed them again. It was like he couldn't get comfortable. He let out another snorting hiss that made you jump a little.

“I was hosting a birthday party, and I brought out the cake. But then the parents start yelling at me that it was the wrong cake. Like it's my fault. I don't make the cakes I just deliver what's given to me, you know?”

You nodded emphatically, letting him know he had your full attention.

“So, this parent is screaming at me that I ruined the kid's birthday party, and the kid starts crying, and all the other kids start screaming because they want cake. And I'm trying to tell this woman to just let me go get a different cake and then one of the kids throws their soda and gets it all over me. Then in walks Mister Congeniality himself...”

“I'm sorry, who?” you asked.

“Who else? Freddy Fazbear.” His hands curled into fists as he says the name. “He just walks up to the parents and apologizes for the inconvenience and basically hijacks the entire party and tells me to leave so I can go clean up and relax. Can you believe that?”

“I mean, yeah, people totally suck sometimes,” you murmured. “Oh, sorry. I'm not supposed to use that word, right?”

Monty snorted. “I don't care. Do you know how many curses I hear in a single day?”

Okay, so he didn't have an anti-swear protocol like Sun and Moon. Neat. “But it sounds like Freddy was just trying to be helpful?”

“I never asked for his help. Him coming in there and taking over, it's like he thinks I can't handle a simple birthday party.”

“Do you like handling birthday parties?”

“What does THAT matter?” Monty asked you. “It don't matter if I like 'em or not, it's part of my job.” He rubbed at his shoulder. “'Sides... I don't mind entertaining kids. Kids are fine, and birthdays are important to 'em. It wasn't even my fault the party was ruined and I wasn't even given a chance to fix it.” Monty hunched forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Now that he was finished venting, he just seemed tired.

You waited for a few beats before asking, “You need a hug?”

Monty's head jerked to look at you. “What?”

“Sunny always gives me hugs when I'm feeling down. He says hugs are magical and make people feel better and that everyone needs a hug once in a while.”

“That sounds like something he would say.” Based on Monty's tone, he was not saying it as a compliment.

Immediately feeling defensive on Sun's behalf, you puffed yourself up. “Sunny is my best friend and I will fight you.”

Monty stared down at you for a beat and snorted, his hand patting your head, surprisingly gentle for his bulk. “You're alright, kid.” He at his shoulder again, glancing away. “I don't need a hug... but if you were wanting one, then... I guess I could humor you.”

You grinned and took him up on the offer, leaning over and hugging him around the torso. Unlike Sun and Moon, you could not get your hands full around him for how bulky he was. However, one of his hands patted your back and you swore you felt his body relax under your touch. You could faintly hear the hum of his inner workings, though it sounded different from the noises you were used to hearing from Sun and Moon.

“Hey, kiddo. Come along, I gotta go grab some equipment to start cleaning up this mess,” Elliot called out.

“I wanna stay with Monty,” you said, before glancing up at the gator. “Er, if that's okay with you?”

You couldn't fully tell, but you thought he looked a little surprised behind his shades. “Yeah, fine by me.”

“Okay.” Elliot looked a little apprehensive, however, glancing between the pair of you, he relented. “I'll be back in a jiffy.” Then he exited the room.

Once he was gone, Monty made a grumbling noise, like clearing his throat. “So, uh, kid... since I did you a favor, think you could do me one?”

You looked up at him. “I thought you said, and I quote 'I didn't do nuthin'.” You only waited for a beat to let that joke hang before saying, “I'm kidding. What do you need?”

“I feel like after what happened, Moon's been avoiding me. I think he's mad about... you know, and since you're so chummy with them, thought maybe you could put in a good word?”

“Why not give him a gift to show your sorry,” you suggested. “Like flowers. Used to, whenever my mom was upset, my dad would bring her flowers or something and they usually made up.”

“Where am I supposed to get flowers?” he asked you pointedly.

“Hmm, okay. Well, why not draw them? Sun and Moon love getting art.”

Monty scratched at his hair. “I... don't really know what flowers look like. Haven't really seen many of 'em around here.”

“I can help with that!” you answered brightly, now fully on board with helping Monty make a gift for Moon.

From your Bonnie backpack -which you took almost everywhere with you- you pulled out some paper and markers. You saw Monty eyeing your backpack and wondered if that was still a sore subject for him.

“Life with the band treating you okay?” you asked tentatively.

“Fine,” he muttered, but you sensed it was not 'fine'.

“I can't say I know what you're going through, but I know what it's like to be the new kid, and I know what it's like to be put somewhere you don't wanna be. It really sucks, and you hate it cuz like, you didn't choose this so why are you getting punished for it? But... sometimes... things end up working out, and then it's not so bad.” You noticed he was staring at you and you flushed, quickly shaking your head. “Sorry, I know I talk too much sometimes.”

“S'fine,” Monty murmured. He awkwardly picked up one of your markers between his claws. “So... um... what flowers should I draw?”

You spent the next hour helping Monty draw a variety of flowers, along with a short apology note. Elliot was in and out with another staff member, doing cleaning while you worked. At one point, when it was just you and Monty, you heard Sun's voice coming from your watch.

“Starshine, are you almost done?”

“Yeah, I'll be back soon,” you answered. Looking up at Monty, you said, “I can take this to Moon if you want.”

“I'll come with you,” Monty said, getting up from the couch. “I'd rather it be in person from me, ya know?”

“I get that.” You shoved your stuff back into your bag and shouldered it. “Are you allowed to leave Rockstar row?'

“Under certain conditions, like escorting a kid back to their parent.”

So, when Elliot came back, you let him know Monty would be taking you back to the daycare. He seemed rather enthused about this, maybe because it meant he and the other staff member could clean without worrying about getting in Monty's way. On the way, you made small talk, asking Monty about things he enjoyed doing in his free time. You learned he actually did enjoy mini golf and asked you if you've ever played at his golf course. You admitted you tried a couple times, but the sound effects were so scary and jarring that you had a hard time focusing on golfing, but the overall design was really neat. Monty then offered you should come golfing when he was hosting and he'd make it not so scary. It was a nice gesture, you felt.

When you arrived back at the daycare, Sun was there to welcome you with open arms. “Oh, I missed you,” he cooed, snuggling you in his arms.

You giggled. “I wasn't gone for that long.”

“It felt like an eternity,” he bemoaned. Shifting you to one arm, he raised the other in a friendly wave. “Hey there, Montgomery! Thank you for bringing our Starshine back to us.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Monty grumbled, clutching the handmade card in his hand. “I got something for ya to give to Moon.”

“Wait, you gotta read it,” you told him.

“Now?” Monty demanded.

“Yes! Moon will hear it, right?” you asked Sun.

“He sure will.”

Monty grumbled but opened the card carefully so as not to tear it. “To Moon, sorry 'bout what happened. Please take these flowers, and this joke: What do you...” He paused, groaning.

“Come on,” you urged gently.

He let out a low, hissing sigh, but he continued. “What do you call an alligator with a compass?”

“I don't know, Monty,” Moon said from your watch. “What?”

“A... navi-gator.”

Sun made a few snorting giggles before breaking down into full-on hysterics, clutching you tightly so that he didn't accidentally drop you. Monty, for his part, looked so thoroughly not amused. “What a delightful joke!” Sun walked over, plucking the card from Monty's hands. “This is definitely going up on the wall.”

“That ain't necessary,” Monty said gruffly.

“Oh, I insist!” Sun said cheerfully. “Consider all forgiven, Monty.”

“Agreed,” Moon said from the watch. “I'll swing by your room later tonight.”

Monty seemed a little relieved to hear this. “Great. I mean, fine. If you want. I don't care.” There was an awkward pause before he said, “I gotta go.” Then he turned and exited the daycare.

“He's such a nice fellow,” Sun commented.

“He is,” you agreed.