Chapter Text
It isn't long until you find yourself in need of a job.
Needing somewhere stable with enough pay to keep your lights on you're what can only be described as desperate.
Desperation came knocking on your door while you were handing out with your friend, humming as you played with their kid on the floor, handing them crayons and little toys they wanted when they pointed
" You should apply for that new daycare I bring Todd to! " she said excitedly. You roll your eyes
" Sarah, I'm not that good with kids, the only reason I like Todd is because he's behaved well! " You say and take the toddlers hands to move him back and forth making him laugh
" All I'm saying is that it's nice there and from what I've heard they need a new assistant. The attendant there is...weird. I'd feel better knowing someone I trust is there watching the kids and you're responsible! " She said. It sounded like she was asking a favor instead of helping with a job suggestion.
You sigh and hold Todd on your lap and he chews on a toy car. You take it from him and wipe it off with a baby wipe nearby " I'll think about it " you say and kess with his hair and she gives you a thankful smile
" It's at that new pizza place thing, my oldest works there as a cashier and he makes more money that I did when i was his age " she said with a grin
" Yeah because you're old and minimum wage was 75 cents back when you were 16~ " you tease. She scoffs and puts her hand over her heart
" Excuse me, it was 95 cents! "
You spend a while longer with her before you have to leave for work. The gas station you worked at was okay but it didn't pay as well as you hoped. If a sixteen year old got paid better than you at the same job…
That's how you ended up at the Freddy Fazbear's Pizzaplex website, all bright neon and annoying pop ups of the characters. You scroll down to where it mentions the daycare. You're curious about the reviews, but you ignore it. Not your problem, you just need a job.
You find the daycare page and it's a lot less offensive on the color palette, mostly primary colors and white with cute little stars all over it. You hum softly and find the application, punching in the needed information. It didn't take long and you had plenty of jobs you went through that you did good in with the time you were there. You put in your phone number and all you had to do now was wait.
You didn't have to wait long since the next day you got the call. They asked you to come in with no questions asked.
You were getting paid 20 dollars an hour. You swore you almost had a heart attack at the mention of the pay
" Thank you! I'll be in on Sunday, thank you so much! " you say excitedly. It was a bit suspicious that they hired you on the spot without even seeing you but you didn't have anything shady in your reputation and you were able to pay your rent. You were set. If you didn't have one last shitty paycheck you'd walk out now.
-
Walking into the pizzaplex that Monday made your head spin, everything was so bright and loud and kids ran around happily with their parents in tow. But you stride up to the counter with a soft smile, the bored teenager recognizing you quickly. This was Sarah's kid.
" Oh, hey! What are you doing here? " He gets a slightly worried look on his face " Mom isn't here is she? "
You laugh at the boy's reaction and shake your head " No, no suffocating kisses and hugs right now. At least not from your mom! " You say and come around to attack him with hugs making him sigh loudly
" Get off, get off! But seriously, what are you doing here? " he asks with a cock of his eyebrow. You smile down at him and ruffle his hair
" I'm here for a job. I'm gonna work in the daycare. They told me to come in, " you say. He perks up at the mention of the daycare
" Oh yeah! They asked me to drop this stuff off for ya, i'll let them know you'll be in the employee area, it's right past Gator Golf, can't miss it " He says and hands you a bag and a walkie talkie with a light yellow covering over it so it didn't look so clunky. You take them both and nod to him
" Say hi to your mom when you see her " you say and he waves to you. You follow the directions plastered on big pillars around the area and eventually find your way to gator golf, following the wall to the employees only sign on the door. You wait patiently on a comfy chair, looking at the posters and lighting and decor around the area. It actually looked pretty nice, there was even a couch that didn't look moth eaten or had peeling leather.
You perk up when the door opens and a man in what looks like a security uniform stands there with a soft smile
" Hey there, Im Doug, you must be the new daycare attendant. Let's get you up there! " He says, waiting for you to follow him. On the way there he sets some ground rules " So, basically you have some of the obvious rules, no cursing around the kids, smoking areas are outside the pizza plex and no drugs or drinking on the premises, wear your nametag and have your badge on you so the animatronics know you're not going where you shouldn't and of course be nice to the kids and customers! " he said as he led you up the stairs to what looked like a check in counter. There weren't any attendants at the desk so you could only assume that was you.
" Today the daycare opens late since it's a weekend, but you'll come in at five-thirty regularly and leave at seven with a two hour break for the kid's nap time. A lot of this stuff is mostly covered by your...coworker, so basically just make sure the kids are happy, safe and their parents come to pick them up at six! "
You didn't like how he said coworker, it matched how Sarah had said it. If they really gave everyone the heebie jeebies why didn't they just fire them?
" The locker room is behind the desk, go get dressed and I'll introduce you! "
You nod and head back to get dressed. The locker room was small, but enough space to get cleaned up and dressed, and of course the lockers to put your things in until the end of the shift. You take a moment to see what you've been given.
It's a bit corny but kind of cute, a gold t-shirt that's a little small on you that reads " Superstar Daycare Staff! " in big primary colors with a rainbow and stars around them, the font making it look like it was scribbled in marker. You pull it over your head and then comes the royal blue vest, the same logo on the back. The striped and star pants have you a little confused but they're comfy and you're able to strap your walkie talkie and fanny pack full of baby wipes, chewie things and bandages around your waist in the belt loops. There are the sweet little bells to go around your wrists, jingling them when they are fitted on with an elastic band and little red ribbons. The last thing was your nametag, glinting up at you on a gold plate with a star beside your name. You smile fondly and step out, clipping it onto your vest. Doug gives you a thumbs up
" Super! Just one more thing and you can start your day! "
He leads you inside the daycare through the big wooden doors that remind you of castles in story books. The bouncy music in the area seems to make Doug cringe a little but you're sure in a few days of working here you'd get tired of it too. He stands near the ballpit and gives a whistle through his teeth.
You wonder why the hell he just did that until another unfamiliar voice fills the large area
" Ho Ho Ho! "
You look up, barely getting time to see the slim figure dive into the ballpit (how deep was that thing?!)
When it springs back up, balls flying around it, suddenly all the talk of this attendant makes sense
" Hell~o! Doug! You've returned! Oh i have so many things planned for us today, i've made a new stage for the puppet show and I've added even MORE glitter and-! "
The animatronic stops suddenly and in an unsettlingly smooth motion turns its attention to you, big milky eyes and an unwavering smile silently scanning you making your chest tighten
" Friend Doug...Who is this? " It asks in a curious tone, its head staying still as it steps out of the ball pit makes you think of some kind of raptor.
" This is your new coworker! " he turns his attention to you and motions to the animatronic currently bobbing back and forth
" This is sunny, the main daycare attendant, he entertains the kids mostly but he makes sure they're laid down for nap time and that they don't run off- "
" OR break any of the rules! " Sunny quickly adds, suddenly pushing Doug aside to tower over you, face plate spinning " Oh new friend, we're going to have so much fun! Do you want a fizzy faz?! Maybe some candy?! Do you want to play?! Do ya, do ya?! " he cries out in a screechy voice making you wince slightly.
Now you see why the position was open.
He moves around you, circling you like a needy dog, making little excited noises and swaying back and forth. Doug groans and steps forward, only to be cut off by Sunny again
" Maybe you like puppets?! Oh everybody loves loves loves puppets! Let me show you-! "
" Sunny! " Doug calls out making the animatronic make a surprised noise, wilting like a slinky that lost its spring. Doug sighs
" Sunny, they're here to work with you and take care of the kids, they can't play all the time " He says and motions to you. You swallow as the focus is returned to you by the giant metal sun, leaning down to look you in the eye-you hope.
He squeaks happily and grips your shoulders " Ohhh I cant wait cant wait cant wait! "
Doug frowns and Sun lets go of you at the look " The rules here aren't too different, basically, the biggest one is- "
" NEVER EVER EVER TURN THE LIGHTS OFF! '' Sunny shouts, voice box crackling with overuse. You yelp when he gets close to your face " Promise me you won't ever ever turn the lights off! Please Please Please promise! " sunny sobs out and you nod quickly
" I won't! I promise! "
" Great~! "
The quick mood swing back to cheerful leaves you unsettled as Sunny leans over Doug with a tilt of his head " I think I can show my new friend around the rest of the way! Shoo shoo now~! " He says, making a little sweeping motion with his large hands.
Doug grunts and gives you a sympathetic smile " Have a good first day, radio if you need anythi- "
" We have everything here! " Sunny butts in again and slams the door on his back.
Being left alone with just the animatronic is starting to make you uneasy but you have to remember, you now have a somewhat cushy job with great pay and you'll be around cute kids.
Everything will be fine.
During your pep talk the sun finds his way back towards you, letting out happy little chirrups from his voice box " So new friend, it's time to get this place all prepped for the kiddos! " he says and claps. You give a wry smile and a thumbs up and all of a sudden his large hand wraps around your wrist, tugging you along.
The thing is massive, almost ten feet tall you're sure, his hand could wrap around your whole waist and almost touch fingertips you were sure. The animatronic dealt with kids no older than five everyday, why was it so big?!
Your question was answered later that day when the kids came in and sunny was currently picking a five year old off the top of the play area and another time hopped up on his platform with the skill of a lifelong gymnast to retrieve some more construction paper from the back.
You shook your head, finding the animatronic unbelievable. What programming could do these days.
While he was gone you heard a soft ' thump ' and the following noise of a kid sobbing. You jump into action and go find the little kid, sniffling as they rubbed their knee, a little burn mark from the plastic slide reddened on their skin " Awe, let me take care of that " You said and took out a bit of cooling spray from your pack and gave then a count to three before spraying it. You took out a bandaid and kissed it before patching it over their knee
" All better " You say and help them up, hand them a toy and send them on their way to play again. You smile in satisfaction, turning only to bump into long legs. You follow them up to Sunny's faceplate.
Sunny is uncommonly still and silent, an armful of craft paper in his arms and just staring at you. It made you shift and fidget until you reached up to tug at the ribbon around his wrist, bells jingling " Sunny? " You ask softly
He perks up, like he came to life at your touch " Thank you for helping them " he says in a low voice, like he can't believe you were nice to a kid. You rub the back of your neck
" All in a day's work " You respond, turning your head to the sound of some kids fighting over a ball. You rush into action with a ball of the same color.
Sunny stares after you, twitching slightly.
You were so nice. You were so so so nice. Not just to the kids, but to him. You were nice to him.
It sent him reeling.
The rest of the day sunny followed behind you like your very own shadow, that is until nap time came along.
As it did, Sunny started distributing candies to all the kids, the little goobers easily eating them up. It was strange, you didn't know why they would be handing these out right before nap time. You looked at a loose candy with a hum, it had a moon over the packaging. You carefully unwrapped it, about to set it on your tongue when suddenly long fingers snatched it away from you
" NO NO! N-Not for big kids! Don't need you to be sleepy on the job~! " Sunny says as it pinches your cheek and goes back to handing out candy.
Your stomach drops. Sleepy? The candy made them sleep? You found a lot of shit wrong with that. You followed behind sunny and tapped his shoulder once the last bit of candy was gone " H-Hey, sunny. Why do you give the kids candy to sleep? " You ask. He looks down at you, leaning over with a tilt of his head
" So we don't have to turn the lights off! " He said cheerfully. At the look on your face his shoulders drop " Why? "
Oh, you really didn't have time to explain why this was bad. As far as you know he didn't know what the candies did or how disturbing the premise of it was, sunny was just doing his job. You swallow and pull at the bells on your wrists
" Nothing...Just pondering " You say. He lets out a little happy noise and crouches down to your level
" You're so curious! Do you like to learn new things? " He asked, swaying this way and that. You give a soft chuckle and you swear he twitches.
Your smile is so nice to see. Especially when it's towards him, it makes him feel all fuzzy in his chest cavity.
" Yeah, I do like to learn " You answer. He rumbles and steps forward making you backup a bit
" Hopefully we can learn new things together " You're used to the overly cheery loud voice, but the way he said it was smooth and low, perking up when a few kids started to yawn, leading them to the naptime area, letting them each cuddle up on the sleeping mats. You swallow, deciding now would be the best time to take your break.
Before you can leave though, sunny catches your shoulders " Wh-Where are you going?! Why are you leaving?! Did I do something wrong?! I'll do better, i'll be good i promise, don't leave! " He shrieks, shaking you a bit making you dizzy " I'll work harder, i'll do whatever you want just don't leave me alone! "
" Sunny, Sunny I'm not leaving! I-Im just going on break! " You say, panic rising in your chest. He lets out nervous whimpers, tugging at his face plate
" Y-You can take your break in here! I'll get you some coloring books and snacks and drinks! A-Anything you need! "
What you need is your phone to write your will if this guy kills you.
" O-Okay, calm down sunny, I'll come take a break in here… " you say softly and put a hand over him, trying to soothe him.
He stills, seeing your hand gently stroking his. That...Felt good. His shoulders go slack and he whimpers " G-Go relax by the tables, i'll get some things ready! " he says excitedly and runs off. You sigh as you watch his tail end turn a corner. No wonder they needed a new hand around here.
But it was better than sitting in the dark. You'd suck it up, just until you got somewhere nicer.
You settled at a kiddy table in front of the sun, your hand leaning on your cheek as you drew a picture of the animatronic in front of you. He seemed to be hiding his for now, every time you reached for something he would shout " Don't look! " And curl in further. You assured him you weren't.
" DONE! " he said proudly after adding some glitter glue to sign his name, holding it up.
It was you and him holding hands around the kids, which would have been perfectly fine if it weren't for the little hearts around both of your heads. You give him a wry smile and nod " Good job, Sunny " You say and he peers over to look at yours. You hold it up, showing it off to him and he lets out a long gasp
" Oh, it's wonderful! I'll have to put it up on my wall~! " he said and hugged it close like it was a prized possession, thumbing over your name. You take his and set it aside, yawning slightly. He notices your tired eyes and he tilts his head
" New friend, are you sleepy? " He asks and you nod
" Yeah, a little-Ah! " You yelp when you're suddenly picked up " S-Sunny?! What are you doing?! "
" Everyone deserves nap time! " He says and suddenly he's pulling you up onto his platform, yelping as you hang onto him. Behind the curtain is a little storage area with a bunch of blankets, pillows, plushies and rugs laid out, laying you down in the pile. He watches you, bouncing back and forth a bit
" Here, you'll have trouble sleeping with all of these lights on! "
At first you think he'll break his rule, but in a few terrifying moments he's holding the back of your head and stuffing a candy into your mouth.
They work quicker than you expect, the mixed berry flavor melting on your tongue as your tired eyes get heavier, your limbs grow warm and fuzzy and the lights get dimmer, the last thing you see before passing out is Sunny's face, grinning down at you.
You're so pretty when you sleep…
-
When you wake, you're being manually stood up by sunny's big hands, cheeks gently slapped " Wakey Wakey! Time to bring the kids to their parents! "
Check out time already? He let you sleep for so long, you were worried about your manager coming in to tell you you were fired for sleeping on the job, the mix of confusion and anxiety making your stomach hurt. The copious amounts of fizzy faz you drank may have also had something to do with it, but you don't dwell on what it's doing to your guts.
You help their kids to their cubbies where their backpacks and jackets are, deciding to give sunny a little talk
" S-Sunny, please don't let me sleep that long again, i can get in big trouble " You say and he whines
" But you looked so sleepy! You needed rest " he said and crouched down " But...i won't give you moondrops again. I almost couldn't wake you up! " he said with a grin. Again, it concerned you that if one candy knocked an adult out for hours what it was doing to these poor kids.
Once all the kids left, it meant you had one more hour for clean up and then you got to go the fuck home!
You help Sunny pack up sleeping mats, put toys away, clean up craft time and clean up any sticky spills and messes as best you could, your legs still a bit wobbly from sleeping for so long.
Sunny comes up and picks up a soda can " You did so well today friend! After we clean up maybe we could have a slumber party, just you and me! " He said happily, a wry smile gracing your features. He didn't like those smiles very much
" Ah, sunny I'd love to but I gotta go home and sleep! But I'll be back tomorrow morning at six, alright? " He lets out another sob
" You've already slept!! I gave you moondrops! What if you don't come back?! You'll leave me alone and wont come back and i'll be alone again-! " he shouted. You frown, hoping there was a way to get out of this without causing harm to yourself
" You can keep something of mine! S-So I'll come back! " you say over his wails. He stops, heaving for a moment as you try to look for something. You look down in your bag and take out your shirt " I-I'll come back for that! I'll come back for that and you, alright? " You say.
He stops and looks down at the shirt for a long time before nodding " Okay… " He says softly. You sigh, thankful he's appeased by it before patting his hand
" I'll see you tomorrow. I promise " You say, carefully closing the door behind you.
Sunny holds onto the shirt for a long time. Long after the doors to the daycare lock and then the pizza plex in whole.
He holds it to his chest as he lays on the pile of beanbags and blankets that night.
You're coming back. For him.