#when the plex closed they made sure the others had somewhere to go

[itty-bitty-sunshine]

What is Perkeo's relationship with the other bots like?

They are friends with all of them, even if they don't spend as much time with them as they used to after going to the daycare position

They get Chica snacks, sometimes they make it themselves (they always take responsibility on cleaning the mess afterward. Honestly, someone should just build a stomach on her). She's usually the one that let's them into gossip and also the one that tries to make sure they are eating properly whenever she can because they don't and that's unacceptable to her. One time they were practicing guitar and laughing so loud Vanessa came by and scolded Perky because they were supposed to go home three hours ago.

Perkeo and Monty are a mess. As in both are willing to do dumb reckless shit when together. They are so smart but so unbelievable dumb. Perky would help Monty on getting stuff that guests misplaced on his attraction and one time a golf stick somehow ended up stuck really up high and the plan they both came up was for Monty to throw them at it. It worked but Sun didn't let either of them hear the end of it because Moon found out. They think golf is boring as hell but they watch Monty play it.

They used to hang out with Freddy and Bonnie to chat. It was mostly hearing how their day went and helping them come up with little attractions for the kids. Freddy never felt quite like a parental figure like a lot of other staff say he does but his presence is comforting to have around. They were fucking miserable when Bonnie went missing and they couldn't find him. Freddy was inconsolable but they did their best.

They loved helping Roxy with her hair. Plastic hair is a lot more of a pain than a normal one but coming up with hairstyles was so fun. They know Roxy is sweet under all that sass and being nice and complimenting her doesn't hurt. She was the first to scare off rude customers off them when she noticed it.

They love the DJ. He's a great guy, very chill, good friend, wonderful to hang out with. They kept pestering their higher ups for a secondary smaller body he could greet guests (and walk around the plex so he's less lonely) with. But holy shit did he have to be put in such a sensory nightmare for them. I mean, they are still gonna go there after-hours — they love how dark it is, and its so much less loud, but the days they were told to go help in the west arcade during working hours were the day they contemplated on quitting altogether. The karaoke rooms were the worst.

They like the staff bots. They are so silly. Talking to them is like talking to an Alexa except at least half of them doesn't have a voice box to answer you. They don't understand how people can be mean to them, they are literally just little guys. They wish people didn't see them as expendable, they work hard on what they do. Sure some jobs shouldn't have been assigned to them, like cooking, or comedy for that matter, but still.

[lunamidnight]

November 29th

Fanfiction/Original Fiction

First created: August 2023

Last updated: Sept. 28 2023

General Premise: Got inspired by @driftingmoonmenace from their Club Au, I have messaged them, and we figured out that mine is vastly different form theirs. Still wanted to shoutout though.

Other notes: I haven’t even gotten to the club yet in story but i know what i plan to do when i get back into it.

Tw: signs of past domestic abuse.

Laws were passed and robots and animatronics became citizens, fazbear incorporated and all of it's locations closed and disappeared after the lawsuit that was the catalyst for said laws.

Old patrons young and old helped those who once entertained them gain their feet in society, some continued to entertain on their own terms, others strayed far away from their old roles and thrived in surprising ways.

Many years passed and younger patrons grew up into adults, some still seeing their old idols and caretakers, some wishing to see them once again. One in particular has been in a bad spot, crappy boyfriend, shitty home life, and recently fired from her last job thanks to the boyfriend. The only solace this one had is the little friend she saved on her last visit to fazbear's pizza plex. 

This one’s name is Nova and her little friend was the tiniest of DJ Musicman’s babies, Tiny. He was set to be thrown away when she was leaving the Plex but she snagged him when the worker wasn’t looking and they have been together since. He hides when the boyfriend is near but records everything he can in case they find a way out of their situation.

On a day that they got to go out on their own to look for a job is when things got to change. Nova had just handed in an application at the local cafe when she turned around and bumped into someone she once knew.

She looks up at the one she just bumped into, her eyes widening in surprise at the head of rays and sky blue eyes in front of her. “Sunny?” She asked incredulously.

“The one and only SuperNova.” He stated while smiling down at her and lifting her up into an exuberant hug which caused her to let out a small whine of pain. He put her down immediately with a shocked and worried frown. “Oh no, did I hug too hard? I’m sorry…” He said sadly, stepping back from her.

Nova’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “No no, you’re fine, I just…I have a few spots that are still tender…” Nova replied reassuringly although she was hesitant to go into detail about her home life. It was then she heard the excited squeal of Tiny and the deep chuckle of Sun’s counterpart Moon right behind her. “Goodness, so this is where you’ve been Tiny, keeping Miss Novela out of trouble?” He asked although his tone suggested that he already figured out the truth.

Nova jumped and turned around in slight surprise to face Moon. She could see in his expression that he could see exactly what had caused her to whine in pain. “...as much as he could at least…We have a lot to catch up on…” Nova replied with a relenting sigh as Sun stepped over to place a hand on her shoulder reassuringly after exchanging an internal conversation with his twin.

“Indeed we do, Both sides surely.” A third voice sounded belonging to the third brother, Eclipse. “Why don’t we go somewhere with more room to sit and eat, the cafe has some food, but not enough to make a meal.” He said coming around the group and leaning down to Nova’s level. Nova went to protest about both her not having the money and them paying for it, but before she could utter a word Eclipse shushed her with a finger and a calm, but firm statement that they would not be taking no for an answer. This made a small pleasant shiver run up her spine,but she ignored it in favor of relenting to the given statement.

Nova sighed again when he took his finger away. “Alright then, where too?” She asked before getting excitedly dragged out of the cafe by Sun. “Oh goodness I know just the place, Best dishes and everything, they even have things that we can eat too, now that we can.” Sun explained as he took her by the hand down the street, the two darker brothers following idly but quickly.

“Oh you got the food upgrades? That's awesome.” Nova replied having heard of some of the upgrades that became available after the laws were passed. “Oh yes, and a few other things, but we will discuss that at our destination.” Sun explained as he turned the corner. “Tada! Just a little more and we will be there.”

Nova looked ahead at the restaurant. “Wow wow no way, that's terribly expensive I can’t let you guys pay that.” Nova explains digging her heels into the sidewalk in retaliation. “Now come on, we wouldn’t bring you if we couldn’t afford it.” Eclipse stated from behind her blocking her way from backing up, to which she blushed lightly from the contact. Meanwhile a shop door bell quietly went off behind them. “Ugh alright, but I'm super underdressed, I wouldn’t be allowed inside.” Nova responded in vain as the shop bell rang out again and Moon appeared with a very nice and most likely expensive jacket which he proceeded to put on Nova much to her protest. “Not any more~.” Moon sang as he finished getting the very expensive jacket on her.

Nova gaped like a fish unable to rebuke any of the boy's antics before they continued to shuffle her into the restaurant and into a private booth big enough for them and at least 3 others if needed. Eclipse handed her the menu made for humans. “If you worry about the price, I’ll get you the most expensive thing on the menu.” He said while pointing at the very expensive steak and lobster dinner that was so pricey the price had to be asked by the chef himself.

Nova gulped at that fact. “Got it, I won’t worry about the prices.” She said before taking a look at the menu. Her mouth watered at many of the choices, she hadn’t gotten to eat anything she wanted because of her boyfriend, so with this opportunity, she ended up ordering a scampi dish with shrimp and crab. Once the waiter took their orders and left, the boys all collectively turned to Nova. “So SweetTart How have you been? Please be honest, Tiny has already given us some pointers.” Eclipse said as the small robot jumped out of Nova’s shirt pocket and climbed onto Moon’s shoulder looking sheepish. 

Nova watched him and sighed. “It’s okay Tiny, Thank you. It helps me talk about it all.” Nova reassured the spider-like robot. Tiny nodded with a happy chirp before snuggling into Moon's chin.

“Well, I…I’m sorry I don’t know where to start…” Nova said after a few moments of thinking things over and visibly becoming upset. Sunny pulled her into a side hug and Moon joined in from her other side. Eclipsed sighed understandingly. “That’s fine, Let’s go with questions, we ask something and you answer then you get to ask us something in return. Sound fair?” Eclipse explained. Nova nodded. “Yeah that sounds easier and Tiny can help too,” Nova replied calming down a bit, just happy to be with her favorite trio of animatronics.

“Right, let's start off easy, How has your diet been?” Eclipse asked simply. Nova blinked in confusion before she realized what he was actually asking. “I…my situation hasn’t let me have a lot of what I’d like, more like a vegan or vegetarian diet, which each their own but I miss proteins and carbs…and chocolate.”Nova replied after figuring out her wording. “That explains the scampi, want a brownie for dessert?” Moon asked with a chuckle. “Sure but now I get to ask two questions, thanks Moon,” Nova said with a mischievous smile which got Moon to gape in shock before chuckling in pride. “Well played Novela,” Moon replied. “Indeed, so go ahead SweetTart,” Eclipse said with a proud smile of his own. Sun hugged her closer in pride with a giggle towards his twin.

“Hmm, okay what have you guys been doing to be well enough off to afford a place like this?” Nova asked. “And probably has a similar answer, but what other upgrades did you all get?” 

Sun laughed lightly in response. “It sure does have a similar answer though… a lot of it is not suited to a table,” Sun replied getting Nova to deadpan. “This is a private booth, but if you are really not comfortable answering aloud you can tell me in my ear.” Nova offered. This time Moon chuckled while pulling her away from Sun and sitting her in his lap to which she blushed in response. “It’s not us that might not be comfortable, but if you insist,” Moon said before leaning to her ear and whispering.

Nova listened carefully as he explained. “Uh-huh, okay, yeah that makes sense, oh…ohhhh.. Oh my god, you guys are basically-” Nova started in surprise before Moon’s hand covered her mouth in retaliation. “The proper term and closest we could find is Escort alright.” He said simply getting a nod before he let go. “Okay wow, um congrats, though a little surprising due to what you guys did before but, hell if you found your calling who am I to judge,” Nova explained before getting licked by Moon’s too-long tongue as he giggled like a mad man. “Bleh, what the hell Moon!” She exclaimed with a heavy blush as she movied back to Sun while rubbing her face. Sun sighed with a shake of his head. “Yes, well that is also an upgrade, I’m sure you’ll know most of them, if not all in time,” Sun replied, moving her over his lap to sit between him and Eclipse. This made Moon pout, but he said nothing of it otherwise.

Eclipse pulled her still blushing form closer to himself. “Thank you for your understanding, I honestly was expecting some kind of backlash since you used to be a patron of the old daycare.” 

“Oh goodness no, Who am I to judge, sides I can see it's working, so good for you guys,” Nova replied with a reassuring smile.

“Yes, well not everyone is so accepting, but now it's our turn, Moon?” Eclipse said passing the metaphorical question torch to the old naptime attendant. Moon nodded knowing which question he was tasked with asking. “You mentioned that your situation has forced you to change your diet, and I am sure you know what Tiny has alluded to us, so what exactly is your situation?” Moon explained simply but bluntly. 

Nova sighed knowing this was to come and now has had time to figure out what to say. “ I have a Boyfriend and he…he was so good at first but lately it's just been…hell…the diet change is the least of my problems with him, I lost my last job because of him, I've been hurt by him, im rarely able to leave on my own, today was one of those rare times, I just-...” Nova said before letting out a hiccup and realizing she had started to cry. 

Eclipse carefully wiped away a few tears from her eyes. “You just want to get out yes?” He asked and she nodded with another hiccup. “Well, you obviously don’t have anywhere else to go or you would have left already right?” He asked again knowing that their game was on hold. Nova nodded again looking up at him with a defeated look in her eyes. “Don’t worry then you don’t have to go back, you can stay with us, hell we even have a sort of receptionist job open for you if you’re interested.” Eclipse detailed.

“Oh goodness, I wouldn’t want to take advantage…” Nova began before Sun spoke up. “Nonsense, you’d actually be doing us a huuuuge favor, not only is the apartment above the club not lived in, but the job we're offering would take a lot off our shoulders, so we can focus more on the customers,” Sun replied reassuringly. “Yep, you’ll be basically working for room and board, although we will have you know, we do plan to spoil you, a lot.” Moon continued with a smirk. “Yes, and the job should be easy, just mainly keep our customers from doing anything stupid while they wait their turn. Oh, and you’ll be able to see DJ too on music nights.” Eclipse replied, finishing off the offer.

Nova looked between them in shock and relief before nodding with a few tears. “Okay, Okay I accept, Thank you, guys, so much,” she said, starting to cry again and Sun took the initiative to comfort her. “Oh and you are officially broken up with that imbecile, so if he shows his face we will deal with him accordingly,” Moon said with a sinister grin. “Sounds good to me, good riddance,” Nova replied before she waved to Tiny and got him to come to her. “Tiny, do you mind sending all the recordings you have on…him..” Nova asked. Tiny nodded before curling up in her jacket pocket and going into a power-saving mode to start uploading and sending the files to the three around them. 

Meanwhile, after Nova calmed down, their food arrived and Nova couldn’t help but dig in ravenously. “Oh sweet carbs, have I missed you so.” Nova said when she stopped long enough to take a breath. “Easy now, SuperNova, don't want you to get sick.” Sun chided lightly. “Sorry sunny, got a little excited.” Nova replied with an embarrassed blush before a loud banging came from the nearest window. The window was blocked from most of their booth but, with Nova sitting between Sun and Eclipse, She could see who was there and vice versa. Upon seeing who was causing the noise her face blanched out in fear.

All three noticed the change easily. “SweetTart…Is that him? Eclipsed asked softly not getting a responce through her fear. “Nova. Please.”Eclipse said more firmly while using her name to finally get her attention. “S-Sorry…Yes it’s him…” Nova choked out through incoming tears.Her now Ex looked anger and was obviously swear up a storm. Eclipse nodded simply before moving her to Sunny’s lap and getting up just as their waitress showed up. He leaned down to say something to the waitress before signaling Moon to follow him outside. Sunny stayed and comforted Nova, moving them to hide away from the window.

It took Nova a moment to calm down enough to wipe her tears away with Sun’s help when a platter of desserts was placed down in front of her. “One comfort platter for you from Mr. Eclipse, enjoy.” She said with a sympathetic smile before walking off to help other customers. “Comfort platter?” Nova asked looking up to Sun and then at the Platter itself. It contained just about every cake, cookie, and brownie on the menu, including various fruit and dips, Creme brulee and tira mesu to top it all off. “Yep I had a feeling he’d order you that, don’t worry we can take the rest home.” Sun replied. 

Tiny then let out a small squeak that indicated that at least one of the files was successfully sent. Sun grew quiet as he went over it in his mind, He stayed quiet even after, only hugging her carefully to himself protectively. Nova had started on some of the desserts, her main entree left aside before she realized the quiet. “I don’t know what order the files are being sent in, but most are the same.” Nova explained solemnly. Sun let out a sigh, obviously upset by the contents. 

“How long has this been happening to you? do you know when it changed.” Sunny asked keeping an open link with his brothers so they could hear. He was glad they couldn’t see the window, the argument outside would just upset Nova more. “It's only gotten that bad within the last year or so, but I think it started going down hill more than two years ago, maybe more, I thought it could be fixed, but I only realized that it wouldn’t after it was too late to leave.” Nova replied with a heavy sigh, setting the dessert she was eating down, not feeling it now. 

“I am glad you won’t have to go through that anymore,” Sun replied, turning her around in his lap for a proper hug. “We won't let you get hurt ever again, we promise.” Nova leaned into him with a relieved sigh. “I know…Thank you.” She replied letting herself absorb the warmth he was letting out.

---

Outside was a different story as upon exiting the restaurant, the Ex walked up to the two brothers to yell at them only to be picked up by the scruff by Eclipse and dragged into the nearby alley way, once there, he tossed him into the side of the dumpster, causing a pained shout to emit from the scum bag, Moon stayed near the entrance to both keep watch and wait his turn.

Eclipse idolly walked up and knelt down in front of the Ex, his secondary arms emerging out from his trench coat and snagging him by his shirt. The Ex looked dizzy from his impact but still glared at Eclipse in defiance. “Wha’ you doin’ with my gir…” He slurred angrily. “Your ex Girl now actually. Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in for hurting her for so long?” Eclipse asked calmly, having heard the conversation between Sun and Nova through the open link. Eclipse didn't even look at the file fully before he had scruffed the Ex. 

“I did’n do nothin’ She lyin’” The ex spat out before getting slapped by Eclipse. “Me and my brothers are recieveing a increasing amount of evidence that says otherwise. Seeing the acts you have done against her makes us all very angry.” Eclipse said calmly but threateningly. “Whatsit to you freak?!” The Ex snapped out as he began to struggle in his realization that he was actually in danger. 

Eclipse grinned sinisterly as he leaned in closer to his face. “We once watched her as a child, and honestly seeing her as an adult has us falling for her rapidly. We consider her as one of our own, and no one messes with our own, especially a sniveling bottom feeder such as yourself. Do you now understand what you are dealing with?” Eclipse asked simply as he watched the male squirm in fear. 

“Yes yes I do, what do you want? Just don't kill me please.” The Ex relented, terrified. “What do we want? Simple, leave her alone and never show your face around any of us again, because if you do, none of us will have any mercy for you. Do I make myself clear?” Eclipse asked as Moon came up from behind to signal that they needed to wrap it up, Moon may have not gotten a turn but he agreed with every word Eclipse said. “C-crystal clear.” The Ex squeaked out struggling more against the solid hands that held him. “Hmph, alright then get out of our sight.” Eclipse said before tossing him like a ragdoll further down the alley, the Ex then stumbled to his feet and ran down the alley and out of sight.

Eclipse stood up,put his extra arms away, and sighed. “Well that was productive.” He said getting a chuckle from Moon as they headed out of the alley way. Outside Stood Sun and Nova, the former of which was handing off the left over to a worker bot that helped them often in taking things back to the club for a free charge from time to time. They used to be a common staff bot from the plex, and just like many of their brethren, have had minimal success in integrating into society unlike their more advanced peers. So giving them a job and a temporary charge station helps a lot. 

While Sun waved off the old staff bot, Nova made her way over to the two remaining brothers and hugged them. “Thank you for dealing with that, I feel alot better knowing I won't have to see him ever again.” Nova replied. “Of course Novela, you eat well.” Moon asked quickly, getting the subject away from that moron. “Uh well, I did eat more dessert than my main dish, but I promise to eat the rest later.” Nova replied sheepishly knowing that too much sugar was a bad thing.

“It’s alright, this was a special circumstance.” Eclipse replied as Sunny turned towards them after seeing off the leftovers. “Ah good, now we can go!” Sun said excitedly. “Where?” Moon asked his twin with a tilt of his head. “Well, Miss Nova suggested that if we insist on spoiling her, then we Can at least help out the local small businesses, isn’t that right?” Sun asked, looking at Nova. She nodded with a smile. “Yep, I have been wanting to go to the local market festival for a while, but never could, so i figured if you guys are so hell bent on spending money on me, then let's help out the community while we're at it.” Nova explained 

“That sounds like an excellent idea, SweetTart, I Too have heard of it, didn’t Chicka mention it last we saw her?” Eclipse asked his brothers. “Yes I think she said someone we know has a booth there, but of course she refused to say who.” Moon replied with a shrug. “Well then Let’s go find out.” Sun replied before picking up Nova. She squealed in surprise before Moon spoke up. “Hey you got her to yourself for a while, we should get a turn.” Eclipsed walked over and took Nova from Sun’s arms despite his protest and placed her on the ground. “I agree with Moon, though I think Nova should decide. 

“Hmmm, Tiny, how long would you say Sun got to be with me alone, and yes I am included on the way here because we did leave them behind.” Nova requested making sure Sun understood her reasoning. Sun frowned but nodded in understanding as Tiny popped up from out of Nova’s shirt pocket. He squeaked out something in her ear and she nodded in agreement. “Alright so rounding it off to 15 minutes correct?” Nova said, getting a nod in return. “Alright 15 minutes each and we got through the same order, so sun got first, who goes next and third?” Nova said as the two other brothers turned to each other with a competitive glint in their optics before rapidly playing Rock Paper Scissors, Nova could not tell how many rounds were dealt in the speedy blur that they created, but when the blurring stopped Moon stood victorious.

“Best for last it seems.” Eclipse said with a sigh and Moon picked up Nova and started towards their destination. “You're just jealous.” Moon said with a laugh before seeing a frown on Nova’s face. “Moon It’s not nice to be a sure winner, don’t make me give you 5 minutes less.” Nova explained firmly. “Honestly Moon, you were more of a stickler for that rule than I was.” Sun commented. Moon sighed knowing they were right. “Sorry Clip” Moon said aloud. “It's all good, just don’t do it again, I don’t think she’s bluffing on changing the time limit.” Eclipse replied with a proud smile. “Yeah definitely not kidding.” Moon said, adjusting Nova to sit on his shoulders.  

Once settled Nova picked up the end of his old hat that he still wore. “Goodness Moon, this poor thing needs a patch job, something fierce. How on earth did it survive this long?” Nova asked as she found and carefully tied the bell at the end of the night cap. “I honestly have no idea, but I haven’t found anyone that I'd willingly leave it with.” Moon replied simply.

“Hmmm, fair point, hopefully we can change that soon.” Nova said while neatly put the cap back properly so the end of it draped over moons shoulder. “Anywho, continuing from earlier, what’s your guys er… “menu” like?” She asked curiously. “Menu? Oh how it runs, well it’s a work in progress but we have decided on the ice cream flavor for discretion purposes.” Eclipse explained as they walked. “Oh okay so like vanilla for simple, strawberry for medium, and chocolate for extreme?” Nova asked in clarification. “Correct, wanna try guessing which is which?” Moon asked with a chuckle. “Moon she doesn’t need to know-” Sun started before Nova got his attention. “It’s alright, I am an adult, I know what everything is basically, plus I wanna see if i can get it right.” Nova said tapping her chin in thought.

Sun sighed knowing that yes she was an adult. “Alright go ahead.” Sun encouraged now curious on her answers. “Sun your vanilla, Moon is strawberry, and Eclipse is chocolate,” Nova replied confidently. “And how did you come up with that?” Eclipse asked with a neutral face to keep the answer to himself. “Easy, Sun is a literal ball of sunshine, and probably adores cuddles as much as hugs, You, Eclipse, have 4 arms so that's already extreme territory so that leaves Moon with strawberry which checks out since he definitely does the brat-taming thing,” Nova replied with a mischievous smile. Eclipse chuckled heartily with a nod of his head. “Right you are SweetTart, very good, I have a feeling with that knowledge you may be able to help us with the rest of the menu.” Eclipse replied nonchalantly as the banner for the market came into view. 

“Oh totally, since you guys are using ice cream for discretion I think adding sprinkles colors, or flavors would help with finer details on what a customer wants.” Nova replied already having ideas. “Ohh that is a wonderful idea, but what finer details could there be?” Sun asked having a few ideas but unsure if they would fit, his brothers assured him in his head that they would figure it out together. “Well, one example I can think of assuming all genders come through, maybe a closeted lesbian gets dragged in by their friends and hasn’t told them but doesn’t want to disappoint, maybe ordering a vanilla with pink sprinkles can clue you in on maybe a simple cuddle session to appease the friends but not pressure the customer in question.” Nova detailed. “Wow, that is genius, we will have to go over all of the possibilities later however, because we are here.” Moon announced catching Nova’s attention.

She looked up at the banner and grinned in excitement. “Ohhh this place looks awesome.” she said taking a look around as they entered the market, with her vantage point from Moon’s shoulders she could see many of the booths. “Indeed, if you see something you want to look at closer please let us know.” Eclipse instructs as he and his brothers also look around. It was Sunny who spotted a booth with lotions and scents, and waved everyone over. He spotted a bottle of lotion that claimed to be good for getting rid of and healing bruises, but even he thought it was ridiculously expensive. 

The three brothers wanted to confront such a price at a local market when Nova pointed out the promotion. Another bottle was set out with no label, the sign said the scent of the bottle had three components, guess all three get one of whatever they wanted from the booth for free, Two right got one free item from any table that wasn’t the one that had teh lotion they wanted on it. One right got the consumer a product of the seller's choosing. Upon reading the sign, they noticed how many people weren’t getting any more than one scent.  “Maybe we should check elsewhere?” sun suggested looking to Nova who had a determined look in her green eyes. “Or not…” Sun relented exchanging looks with his brothers before Moon stepped forward and knelt down so Nova could inspect the lotion bottle. The seller noticed the four of them and walked over with a big speech at the ready but Nova stopped him as she picked up the bottle and sniffed it heavily.

She closed her eyes as she processed the smell and opened her eyes with a confident grin. The seller looked pleased thinking he was going to win again, except her answer was not what he expected. “Bosenberry, Lavender, and Passion fruit.” She replied getting the seller's face to fall in shock. He stood there gaping like a fish as he looked between Nova and the bottle. He then stepped back and gestured to choose what they wanted. “Anything from any table ma’am.” He said with a break in his voice. Nova thanked him simply before getting the bruise away lotion, Sun asked for a bag which was received and he offered to carry it. Then they continued onward through the market leaving the poor seller to contemplate his life.

“How in the world did you do that?” Sun asked after a short giggle fit at the seller’s reaction. “I overheard some of the other people who tried and got the last two, and the Boysenberry scent isnt used alot in things so most wouldn’t be able to figure it out, but Since many of teh other berries that smell similar weren’t it, I figured out what it could be.” Nova explained with a smile as she looked around at the booths. “Goodness, fantastic observation skills,” Sun replied sounding proud of her. “Yeah I guess so, wait is that?...” Nova said squinting ahead of them to a booth for a local seamstress, and in said booth sat the old security guard of teh Pizza plex Vannesa. “Oh snap, that’s gotta be who Chicka was talking about. “Moon replied already making his way to the booth. Sun and Eclipse followed understanding why Moon was invested, after all they both had to deal with what happened back then.

When they got closer, they could see Vanessa busy stitching a garment on a small sewing machine. Nearby was a sign that said free patch-ups with purchase or 1 dollar without. She finished the stitch and lifted it up for inspection before setting it aside that’s when Moon spoke up. “Sup Ness” Moon spoke up getting the blonde to look up in surprise. “Moon?” She asked surprised before spotting Nova on his shoulders and the two brothers coming up on either side of the naptime attendant. “Well hey, I wasn’t expecting to see anyone I knew today, How are all of you?” Vanessa asked in greeting. 

“Doing well, Just got SweetTart here out of an undesirable situation, and so forth, How about you Miss Vanessa, We see you have started a business?” Eclipse replied with a question in clarification. “Oh, good, yes My therapist suggested that I try to make my hobby into something more, So far I’ve been mainly doing alterations, but thanks to Chicka and Roxanne I started making a few things.” Vanessa replied gesturing to the many items of clothes that were much more than a few. “Your definition of few is hilarious Miss Vanessa.” Sun replied with a giggle. Vanessa scratched her forehead with a small blush. “Yeah well, I’ve had time on my hands.” She explained.”Nova wanna check soem of the stuff? I think i have some that should eb your size I can always fix it if needed.” the older women offered. “Oh yeah totally, also MOon’s cap here needs so serious TLC, maybe since you two get along maybe you can fix it?” Nova asked looking down at Moon wondering if he would be okay with it. “Well, I do trust Ness, but taking it off…”Moon said trailing off getting a little antsy.

“You don’t have to now Moon, but I can see from here that it doesn’t have much life in it anymore,I can definitely fix that for you.” Vanessa replied. Meanwhile, Tiny popped out of Nova’s shirt to warn her about the time limit. He also waved at Vanessa who waved back and smiled glad to see he was okay. “Moon can you bring me down to your level please?” Nova asked after a moment of thought. Moon did so and held her in a way that she was sitting on his arms facing him at his eye level. “I know I should just go for it.” Moon spoke quickly feeling a lecture or something coming on. “Yes but, it’s ultimately your choice, but let me ask you this, do you want your cap fixed?” Nova asked looking him into his optics. “Yes, of course i’m just…I dont like having it off. The hood isn’t the same.” Moon replied clutching the hooding that hung on his back. “Right, understandable, would it help if you had a distraction?” She asked simply. He tilted his head in confusion his brothers not too far behind. “...I suppose…” Moon replied unsure what she could be referring to.

Nova nodded with a deep sigh. “Okay then two thing, One I’m sorry in advance, and two you’ll thank me later.” Nova said moving her hands to Moon’s cheeks “What do you me-!” Moon started only to be kissed by Nova who quickly brought up his hood as she took the cap off and handed it to Vanessa behind her. Vanessa quickly got into fixing it while Moon’s internal fans kicked into overdrive at the kiss. Then Tiny let out an alarm sounding the 15 minute mark. Nova let go and dropped to the floor thanks to the slack in the shocked animotronics arms and ran hid inside Eclipse’s trenchcoat. “I’m so sorry but it had to be done.” She exclaimed as she hid. Sun and Eclipse looked from Moon to each other in shock, finding that they felt a tiny bit jealous of Moon but was ultimately impressed with the plan of getting his cap fixed.

Moon was still very unresponsive the only indication that he was still online was the heavy blush and loud whirling of his fans. Vanessa worked quickly and expertly as she added stars, clouds, and, a moon patch to cover some of the bigger tears, she also fluffed the brim and added a new silver bell to the end. Eclipse picked up Nova as she was finishing up and Sun moved over to Moon to check on him. “I hope I didn’t break him, I couldn’t think of a better distraction.” Nova replied feeling bad. “It’s alright SweetTart, It’s about time he got it fixed, although I must admit that me and Sun at a tad bit jealous…”Eclipse replied whispering the last part, unfortunately, she heard him and looked up at him from in his arms. “Aw really, don’t worry, you guys will get your time, I promise,” Nova replied with a smile. Eclipse blinked down at her. “Wait so was that not just for the plan?” He asked simply. 

“Well at first yes, but then I realized that you three saved me from a very bad situation and that I have always loved you guys, so now that we're here as we are now, why not see what happens, and see if I can be in love maybe? I don’t know I’m still figuring it out in my mind.” Nova explained sounding unsure. Suddenly two sets of arms were around her in a double hug and Eclipse joined in with his brothers while holding her up. “Nova, it’s okay if your still figuring it out, you just came out of a very bad relationship, you do not have to figure out everything in a single day.” Eclipse explained firmly. Nova smiled gratefully. “Thank you…” She replied. “No need to thank us, Thank you for being you.” Sun replied his rays spinning happily. “Yes, and thanks for the distraction, I’m glad it worked, it was nice too.” Moon replied still blushing about it.

Nova giggled hugging back before Vanessa called out that she was done. Each of them blushed at the fact that they essentially got together right in front of Her, but she didn’t seem to mind. She handed over Moon’s cap and he was quick to put it on. Vanessa then handed over a hand mirror to him so he could look. “Wow, doesn’t even loook like it aged a day since the daycare.” Moon said aloud carefulling touching the cap all over, the others moved to look too. “Great pick on the silver bell Vanessa, looks so will with the colors now.” Nova exclaimed flicking the bell for it to ring.  Eclipse chuckled agreeing with the notion. “And such quickness and dexterity, we are definitely recommending you from here on out.” Sun replied spotting her business card in a pile nearby. Moon then turned and pulled Vanessa into a ug which surprised the blonde before she recipricated it. “Thanks nessy.” He said simply getting a smile from the usually aloof women. “Of course, and that’s on the house so don’t go trying to give me money, you guys spreading the word is enough.” Vanessa said firmly although had a feeling that they would try something anyways.

 “Sure Ness, we will just pay for anything Nova gets then.” Eclipse replied as he carried Nova into the booth. “A.k.a. They will not take no for an answer.” Nova continued with a laugh before eclipse picked up a few different clothes for her and dropped them on top of her while continueing to the back of the booth where a large closet dressing room was located. Nova carefully moved teh clothes off of her head and frowned at Eclipse and his shenanigans. “Rude.” Is all she said getting a laugh out of him as he carefully set her done at the entrance of teh dressing room, he took the clothes and one by one lifted them up to her to see what she thought.

[amberdablade]

hi can you please do a yandere Gregory x female reader

platonic by the way also how are you doing today

Hello, friend! I am doing quite well today and getting a lot of things done, thanks for asking! Here's your request (written during my Algebra class for your pleasure :>)

🖤❤~Yandere Gregory x F!Child!Reader~❤🖤

I freaking love Gregory so this was just so much fun to write :D (I think Gregory's really adorable, and if he doesn't have parents I'll adopt him! :D)

TW: Kidnapping, being trapped, hunted (if that's a tw), like one swear word, mention of cuts and bruises, mention of knife, and some fluff :D

You were awoken from your rest by a nearby creaking sound. You had trained yourself to wake up to any small sounds that seemed to come from somewhere nearby, just in case an animtronic or Vanny were coming for you.

You had been stuck in this new Pizza Plex for God knows how long. You, a seven-year-old girl, had strayed too far from your parents, and wound up trapped when it was closing time. You didn't mean to stray too far from them, you just thought that Roxanne Wolf was just so beautiful and perfect that you had to get a closer look. Besides you weren't the only one wanting to get a closer look at her. A couple of other kids about your age wanted to too, and they had gotten trapped here as well, but you haven't seen any of them since.

You didn't want to assume the worst since this place just seemed too happy and perfect for anything bad to happen, but there were so many of them, that you were sure you should've seen at least one them by now. Who knows, maybe their parents came back during the day time to come and get them. Or... maybe the Daycare Attendant got them....

Either way you were glad you were alive and breathing even though you got captured by that weird rabbit lady known to you now as Vanny. The lost and found wasn't the best place to be at, but it was better then ending up dead. If only you could get your hands on a Fazwatch. If you got one of those, then you could easily escape in the day time. It would be so easy.

This whole time you had been trying to escape through the front entrance, but each time there was always an animatronic near there or a security guard. And after Vanny, you didn't trust any security guards whatsoever. If you were to get a Fazwatch, then you could easily find a way out that wasn't the front entrance.

You cleared your mind from all of these thoughts and focused on getting out again. If you were to go anywhere, you needed to get out of Lost and Found first. You stood up, stretched, and stopped yourself when you noticed a young boy about your age lying on the ground unconscious.

Who was this? Was this one of the kids from the Roxanne attraction? Was one of them still alive?

You slowly walked over to his sleeping form on the cold, concrete floor. You studied his features. He had brown, bushy hair, a few cuts and bruises on his body (not much different then yourself); he wore a somewhat dark blue t-shirt with two small, white stripes in the center. He also wore black tennis shoes and a pair of light brown shorts.

You happened to look over at his left wrist and noticed.....

A Fazwatch!

You were ecstatic. You were finally getting out of here!

You made sure to not wake him, so you slowly grabbed the watch and started to undue it. Just as you were finally making progress, a loud static noise errupted from the set of Tvs in the corner of the room causing the boy to startle awake and sit up, crashing into you in the process.

"AACK!" he yelled. He shoved you off of him and closed his eyes, obviously thinking you were attacking him. "G-get away from me!"

"What the hell?!" you yelled back. He opened his eyes and looked at you.

"O-oh, I'm s-sorry," he stuttered, his eyes widening. "I-I thought you w-were one of t-them." You sat up and brushed yourself off.

"Whatever, it's ok. I understand your fear," you responded, rolling your eyes.

Gregory's POV

He looked at you trying not to blush. The sight of you actually startled him. He didn't want to admit it to himself (since right now was the absolute worst time), but he found you kind of... pretty? He didn't know, he's never felt this way before. He wanted you to think he wasn't scared but it was hard.

Wait hold on, he just met you! He didn't even know if you were working for that weird rabbit lady or not! What was he thinking?

He looked away from you for a moment to observe his surroundings. He looked around and saw the sign "Lost and Found." He must've been knocked unconscious or fainted when that security guard caught him and taken him to this place. He stood up and started looking around, trying to block out the annoying static the Tv's were making.

"Where do you think you're going?!" the girl said. He looked over at you again.

"O-oh um... I just w-wanted to see if there's a way out," he couldn't help but keep stuttering, "do y-you know if t-there's a way out?" you shook your head.

"Nope, there's not. I checked. I've been stuck in here for what feels like a few days. Good luck trying to find your own way out." Gregory gasped.

"O-oh.. I'm sorry," he said. You scoffed.

"Why are you sorry? It doesn't matter, I'm just trying to get out of here with my life." Gregory nodded.

"M-me too. I-I'm Gregory by the way." he said. You stood up and walked over to him.

"I'm Y/n. Nice to meet you, Gregory." There was silence for a few moments. "So," you started, "what brings you here? Did you happen to be one of the kids to go missing at the Roxanne Wolf attraction? I've been trying to look for all those kids but I can't seem to find any of them. I fear... the worst.... but I don't want to." Gregory was puzzled at your words. More kids? Missing? He was surprised to even find you here, another kid about his age.

"N-no, I wasn't. I-I'm sorry. W-was one of y-your friends there?" he asked, fiddling with his Fazwatch in his hands. He noticed you glaring at his watch, and he wondered why. He kept it to himself for now though.

"No, no I don't think so. I don't know, it's all kind of a blur now," you responded now looking at the floor. "This place just makes you forget things sometimes I guess." Gregory nodded. He knew how you felt. He almost couldn't remember why or how he was here. Maybe that was a good thing.

Gregory tried to calm himself down. He really did like you and he didn't understand why or how, he just knew that he had to protect you and get you out of here.

"This must be what Freddy's feels like with me," he thought.

"Come on," he said finally getting over his stutter. He grabbed your hand gently and looked you in the eyes, "let's get out of here."

Y/n's POV

You were surprised that Gregory was... holding your hand? Ok? You shrugged it off.

"Weird kid, but he's pretty brave I'll give him that," you thought to yourself. Before you two could try or do anything, the static finally ended and a video of one of the security guards popped up. She had blonde hair, a black security hat, and a white outfit.

"I'll bet you two think you're real clever, Y/n and Gregory," she said. You and Gregory both looked at each other with worried expressions, "Ya, I know your names!" she continued, "You guys are in real trouble, this is not the night to be wasting my time. So, you two are going to wait right there in lost in found until your parents or the police arrive." Just then, the screen glitched and showed a picture of that one rabbit lady, Vanny.

"Are you having fun yet?" she said in a glitched out voice. The screen then glitched one more time and then turned off. Suddenly, from one of the exits, there came a sound of a door being opened and someone walking down the stairs. Gregory froze.

"W-we need to get out of here. RIGHT NOW!" he let go of your hand and ran over to the other door. He looked around through a few boxes. You looked through the window near the other exit and your heart stopped.

"Uh, Gregory..?" you said. Vanny was on the other side of the door waving with a knife in her other hand.

"I know I know just a second... found one!" He held up a red screwdriver and started unscrewing the bolts in one of the vents.

"Hurry!" you yelled as panic really started to set in. Vanny was starting to unlock the door.          "I got it! This way, Y/n, quick!" You ran over to Gregory and crawled into the vents as he was doing. Thankfully, being the age and size you were, you could easily fit in the vents and Vanny wouldn't be able to follow. You followed Gregory away from the creepy rabbit, and made it to the main entrance thanks to the vents.

Gregory's POV

That fricking bunny lady. She almost killed you! Gregory never thought he would've ever felt that terrified in his whole life. Not just for himself, but for someone else. He really cared about you, and he still just met you! He helped you crawl out the other side, and closed the vent.

"Wait," you said, stopping him, "don't close it. We might need that later if we need to escape." Gregory nodded, agreeing with you. The two of you walked over to the elevator while he pushed the button. While you waited for the elevator, he caught you staring at the locked, main entrance. He placed his hand on your shoulder and smiled as you looked at him.

"Don't worry," he said, "I'll get you out of here, I promise." You shook your head.

"How? I've been trying for days!" you replied. Gregory pointed to his Fazwatch.

"I got this, and an animatronic on my side. Freddy will like you, don't worry." You gasped.

"You're friends with an animatronic? A-and one that can help us?" Gregory nodded and giggled.

"Ya, he's really nice too. He'll help us get out. In the mean time, I'd um, like to get to know you better... by chance." He said looking at the ground and blushing. You laughed.

"Of course," you said, winking, "but let's get out of here first."~

-------------

Word Count: 1,822

[endwillows]

1. Breach

11:30 PM

Her shift had started two hours ago, and Vanessa was already over it. She’d had to put up with hoards of complaining parents, even though she wasn’t in customer service- apparently Freddy had malfunctioned and ruined the whole show, much to the fury of every Karen in the vicinity. Vanessa hadn’t seen it happen herself, but she’d had to assure both wrathful mother and sobbing child she saw that yes, Freddy was fine and yes, he’d be alright next time and no, they would not be receiving a refund or complimentary pizza.

Then, to make matters worse, her coworker had gone from “arriving late” to “not arriving at all.” He’d caught the stomach flu and couldn’t make it. Vanessa just wishes he’d thought to call in earlier, so she hadn’t had to beg for a replacement. Not that begging had done anything, her coworkers hadn’t answered the phone and management had shrugged and left, in true Fazbear Entertainment fashion. 

And to top it all off, there was a kid running around somewhere in the mall. Vanessa had heard the quiet scampering of feet, but hadn’t been able to locate him. She had checked the log books for the day, but everyone who had entered Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizza Plex had left. The child didn’t exist according to Fazbear’s “State-of-the-Art Security Technology”, but she was sure she’d seen a glimpse of him.

And now there was another stranger standing at the end of the hall. An adult male, staring at some of the relics of Fazbear past on the wall. Vanessa bit back an exasperated sigh as she made her way towards him, flashlight in hand. 

“Sir, the Pizza Plex is closed. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” She paused as a thought occurred to her. “Unless you’re looking for your son?”

He turned to face her. He was pale, with dark hair and darker eyes. A series of scars graced his face, including one tugging at the corner of his mouth. Vanessa did her best not to stare. He scanned her over, before blinking and frowning.

“A son? No, I have other business to attend to here.” He turned away from her again, starting off down the hall. Vanessa bit back a curse and followed him.

“Sir, again- the Pizza Plex is closed. Any business you have can wait until 10 AM tomorrow morning when we open. If you’re here about the malfunction earlier, you can file a complaint on our web-mmph!” Vanessa let out a pathetic sounding squeak as the man’s hand covered her mouth, and his other arm went around her waist, tugging her into a custodial closet with him. Her mind went blank with shock for a moment, before her self-defense training courses came back to her and she slammed her foot into the side of his. Her assailant hissed in pain, releasing her, and she quickly took a half step away, her back hitting the wall of the too-small closet.

“What do you think you’re-” Her indignation was cut off as the man shushed her, peeking out the door and ignoring her entirely. Her face was on fire, either from humiliation or rage. She chose the latter, it was easier to deal with.

“Hey!” She hissed. The man glanced back at her, irritated, before shushing her again.

“Look.” He gestured for her to glance through the crack in the doorway. She glared at him suspiciously before looking through the crack. What she saw made her night instantly worse.

Yet another intruder was in the Pizza Plex tonight. A blonde woman, wearing a security uniform and wielding a large, professional grade flashlight. She walked past their hiding place, scanning the lobby.

“Come out little boy!” Vanessa jolted slightly at hearing the voice- her voice- coming from another. She knew that if she was facing the woman, she’d see that the nametag said “V. Anderson”- just like hers. She waited until the woman had turned the corner, before turning to face the stranger in the closet with her.

“What is going on?” She asked, still keeping her voice to a whisper. She wanted to scream, to laugh, to break down in tears. This was so not what she had signed up for.

“This restaurant was built upon a great evil, Miss Anderson.” The man said solemnly. “And it is my duty to destroy that evil.”

“What evil?” She asked. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“My name is Michael Afton.” He answered her, picking up a spare plastic plate with Freddy Fazbear’s face displayed on it. “And I’m going to burn this place to the ground.”

[sw124]

FNAF/SB: JitterBug AU

Cozy Club part2: New Member Initiation!

“Ok class remember, we all need to be on our very best behavior! You all have your partners correct?”

“Yes Mr.Clark..”

Volunteer day, there was nothing like it! Especially today since everyone was volunteering at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza-Plex! Gregory already knew where he was volunteering at, the Superstar Daycare! He already saw kids pairing up with friends but…noticed many of them were huddling close two a group of three kids, two boys and a girl. Apparently they came from rich families, or at least really popular ones. The girl, from what he could gather had parents who worked in fashion, the boys just came from old money. He recognized the boys when he got a look at their faces….they were the same ones that ruined Roxanne’s go-cart and kept her out of commission.

Needless to say, he was sure they weren’t going to be allowed back into the Raceway, it seemed the girl was their leader an they did everything she wanted, down to policing any kid that stepped out of line with her. He was very thankful he wasn’t in her class, there were some kids she particularly didn’t like and always had other kids ignore.

Then there was Patrick, a pudgy boy with thick red hair and freckles. He wasn’t fat, though many people thought he was. Gregory knew that this kid wasn’t fat, he was pure muscle, he knew cause one time he rolled his foot bad and Patrick carried him all the way to the nurses office with no effort.

If that wasn’t something, the kid was almost an identical match to Freddy…if Freddy was born as a human that is. The difference however was Patrick wasn’t afraid to show his strength when necessary, sure a bully could taunt him and pick on him all he wanted but if that bully went after someone else who couldn’t defend himself…well that bully would learn a very valuable lesson. He always got along with Patrick when they had projects together. But he hardly ever got to hang out with him outside of class but when he did work with him it always was nice.

So it was no surprise that he and Patrick were partnered up together, though Patrick seemed bummed out. Not cause he was with Gregory…it was cause the sign up sheet for Gator Golf was all filled up.

“That sucks…I was hoping to do some golfing…” Patrick sighed, Gregory patted his shoulder.

“Hey its ok, the Daycare is just as fun ya know.” Gregory was expecting his partner to counter with a usual retort but instead got a surprising response.

“Thats true...I do like helping out the little kids.” Patrick smiled, of course they weren’t going to be the only ones.

“Mr.Clark thats not fair! I got here before her an my name is at the top, why do I have to give up my spot to her?!”

Patrick and Gregory turned to see Cordelia, a classmate of there’s whom seemed to be the favorite target of the mean kids to harass, mostly cause she had two robotic legs she used to get around. They were always hidden by her overalls but that didn’t stop people from bugging her about it. Well it seemed that one of the bullies, the leader of them had muscled her out of the spot for Roxy Raceway. Or at least that what you’d think, Patrick and Gregory learned long ago that Cordelia’s parents were really protective of her…which was sad in so many ways, given they were the ones who made those legs she had.

Cordelia was almost a living embodiment of strength, she once punched one of the rich bullies for simply poking her prosthetic leg. She did get in trouble for that but given the circumstances she was let go with a warning, she never let anyone shove her around. She took charge of anything, she could shut down someone’s argument faster then anyone, she had deep ebony skin and her hair was pulled back into two braids that were pinned to the back of her head in a tight bun.

“I’m sorry Cordelia but your parents requested you go somewhere less stressful and the Daycare is the only-“

Cordelia threw her hands up and stormed away. “My parents can go suck lemons!”

Well that wasn’t a surprise. Given how protective her parents were, it seemed Cordelia was put in the same group as Gregory and Patrick. Now she never minded them, they always showed her respect…though Cordelia wouldn’t admit out loud but she did have a crush on Patrick. Given his laidback and sweet nature it wasn’t hard to see why, Gregory was a good kid to her and she liked he wasn’t afraid to ask about her prosthetics.

“Sarah muscled you out of the Raceway?” Asked Patrick.

“That an my stupid parents don’t want me anywhere thats ‘dangerous’ or something like that…its so stupid, all their going to do in there is pick up trash!”

There was more to it then that, at the end the kids who worked the hardest would get to meet the Glamrocks one on one and get a special gift from them. Of course Gregory knew what the gifts where, simple T-shirts from the gift shop, nothing really exciting.

“Hey, look in the bright side, your with us!” Said Patrick with a big smile, that was enough to get Cordelia smiling.

“Yeah, out of everyone here I’d rather be with you guys…so we’re going to the Daycare to look after little kids?” Cordelia groaned a little bit…but noted Gregory’s slight grin.

Soon Mr.Clark spoke up. “Ok kids listen up, you all will get a novelty Fazwatch that must be returned at the end of your volunteering. Remember, those who do a good job will receive a big prize at the end, there will only be two winners picked so do your best! Ok head out!”

The class scattered like little baby spiders from a nest, all accept Gregory, Patrick and Cordelia, they all simply walked.

Patrick spoke first. “So whats the game plan when we get there?”

“Simple, clean up, make sure the babies are fed then do whatever the staff needs us to do. We just need to play it cool and not get in their way…though I seriously hope they don’t expect us to change any diapers….eww..” Cordelia shivered, again noting Gregory’s grin.

“Whats got you grinning like that, you know something we don’t?” She gave Gregory a playful shove, though this earned her one back.

“Maybe, just wait an see.”

It was a bit of a walk from the entrance to the Daycare but it was a nice one, the trio happily joking and messing with each other. They entered the little waiting area where kids would deposit their shoes and slide down into the play area. Instantly Patrick and Cordelia noted there were no kids there, Gregory was already taking off his shoes and putting them in …a unique slot.

“Wait, Greg you seriously have your own place for your shoes?” Cordelia pointed to the little shoe slot decorated with stars and a picture of Freddy Fazbear.

“Guess the jigs up, my mom works here as a security guard an since she can’t get a babysitter I come here an help out; after hours that is.”

Gregory motioned for them to take their shoes off, he slipped them into the same cubby hole, it could hold two more shoes if allowed but this was enough. He then gestured them to the slide, he sat down first but paused and turned to them.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. Your not gonna find many little kids today, at most your gonna see Jack and Susan the twins but Sun an Moon will be handling them. The reason is cause today most of the Daycare kids are old enough to experience the entire pizza plex, the only ones that aren’t old enough are the two kids I mentioned…their about two years old each.”

Gregory gave a thumbs up and slid down the slide, Cordelia looked at Patrick who gave her a similar look…both smiled widely, an entire place of the pizza plex to themselves! Cordelia went first, slingshotting herself down the winding tube. It was a huge surprise to land in a giant ball pit, Gregory was close to help her out. Patrick came shortly after, when he landed he was both surprised and ecstatic. He could have lived in that ball pit if he wanted but after a minute of romping around he followed his companions. They only made it a few feet before a familiar animatronic’s voice could be heard.

“Gregory!”

Patrick and Cordelia looked around, but all they got was a green blur and something diving into the ball pit. Gregory braced himself as he stood up and outstretched his arms, suddenly something shot up and wrapped itself around Gregory in a tight squeeze.

“Hey Clover! Told ya I’d be here, I brought some friends too!” he gestured to Cordelia and Patrick who were giving a confused stare at them.

“Clover, this is Patrick and Cordelia. Guys this is Clover, she’s one of the Daycare attendants and their lil’sis.”

Patrick smiled and extended his hand to greet her, though was surprised she was hiding behind Gregory..peeking out a little bit.

“Heh, she’s a little shy when around new people. Its ok, they’re really nice; Patrick especially.” Gregory gently motioned Clover to him…she hesitated but did take his hand and shake it.

“It’s really nice to meet you Clover, you have a really cool hat!” Said Patrick, he really seemed taken by the green animatronic.

The compliment was enough to break the ice. “Thank you! I love your shirt, its super cute!”

Patrick’s shirt consisted of a T-Rex with a toy robot claw, arms raised in triumph as the text read ‘I am unstoppable!’ All in bold white letters. Cordelia was next to introduce herself, extending her hand.

“Hey, nice to meet you Clover.” She shook Clover’s hand…but started to feel a tad nervous noticing that Clover staring at her legs.

“Yeah…there my-“

“Prosthetics that are are capable of walking and handling any task on your own, I’m well aware of that.”

Cordelia froze. “Wait…what?”

Clover continued. “Your legs are very well designed to handle running, jumping and basic motor functions. I see no reason that you’d need assistance in walking or getting around since you seem capable of doing it independently, if you do need help I’ll be glad to assist but only on your request!”

Gregory chuckled and turned to his friends, all sharing a very shocked expression.

“Clover here is designed for kids with special medical and physical needs, she can scan you and see any health problem you have. She knew already you had prosthetics but given you can move around find she won’t bother you with assistance…unless you ask.”

His friends were still staring when Clover started making her way out of the ball pit with Gregory, only snapping out of their trance when Gregory had climbed out. Gregory motioned them to follow as they made their way to Clover’s room on one side of the ball pit.

“Hey Clover where’s Sun an Moon?” Gregory looked around, now noticing the Daycare attendants absences.

“They’re in the theater with the twins watching a movie, it should be done in a bit. For now lets all get something to eat, from the looks of it the three of you haven’t eaten lunch!”

“Ain’t that the truth…” groaned Patrick.

Mr.Clark was an awesome teacher but tended to be a little absent minded at times, he forgot to tell the students to eat something before coming. But then again, the pizza plex probably was going to offer any of the volunteers some pizza for their hard work. Cordelia was expect that, Patrick as well; but Gregory knew one thing about Clover, its that she never served pizza.

“Wow, Clover this room is beautiful!” Patrick gawked at the room and the little kitchen.

Cordelia walked over to the kitchen table and picked up one of the plates “Bet kids have a lot of fun in here.”

“Oh careful that plates real, everything in the kitchen is real including the stove.” Said Gregory, this earned him another set of shocked stares from his two companions.

“Beg your pardon, what do you mean ‘everything is real’?” Asked Cordelia.

“I mean just that, everything in the kitchen is real. The stove is a real electric stove for cooking and those plates can break, Clover is designed also to be a cook for those who have restricted diets.” Said Gregory taking the plate from Cordelia, gently tapping it to the table showing it was not made of plastic.

“You mean we can really make stuff in here?!” Patrick was bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Are we allowed to make stuff or is it just Clover?”

Clover spoke up. “Members are free to use the kitchen as long as their careful but non-members are not allowed.”

“Members?”

Gregory chuckled. “Clover and I made a club called the ‘Cozy Club’ an those who are apart of the club can use the kitchen set as long as their careful and clean up after themselves.”

“Can I join!?” Asked Patrick, arm raised in the air.

Cordelia motioned him to calm down. “What exactly do you guys do in this club?”

“Well, mostly we help out in the Daycare, talk about our days, and do anything that makes us feel relaxed. Most of the time we just goof around and explore the pizza plex, granted this is mostly during the evening so the whole place is to ourselves.”

Well this was new, Cordelia wasn’t a stranger to clubs but the ones she was apart of were always for kids who had missing appendages and sometimes were babied…well at least the ones she was apart of. She stopped attending after making a fuss at one of them, other ‘clubs’ were mostly started by the popular or rich kids to get more people to do their bidding. This one did sound promising…an since it was made of people she knew…

She’d give it a shot.

“Ok how do you join, do we get our parents to sign something or…”

Clover waved her hand. “No, this club was made by Gregory an I so if you wanna join you just need to pass our initiation and your in.”

“An…initiation?”

That was a word Cordelia hated to hear, when she heard that it always meant doing something humiliating or something that got you or someone else in some serious trouble. She was about to back out when Patrick spoke up.

“What do we have to do?”

“Nothing serious, you just have to eat a four course meal in the dark.” Said Gregory, his tone seemed nonchalant.

“…That’s it?” Asked Cordelia.

“That’s it.” Said Gregory.

“I’m in!” Patrick squeaked, jumping up and down with excitement.

“Wow, didn’t know you were super into cooking.” Said Cordelia.

“I love baking actually, my dad runs a bakery on the otherside of town an sometimes provides the pizza plex with cakes. Mostly specialty ones that the pizza plex can’t do on their own.” Patrick got a bit bashful now, getting some shocked stares from Gregory and Cordelia.

“Wait, don’t tell me your dad is that awesome cake maker from ‘Wizards bakery’ down town is he?!” Asked Cordelia.

Patrick nodded, blushing a bit. “Yep thats my dad, the cake wizard himself..he taught me everything about baking and is teaching me how to make how to make frosting flowers. So far all I can do is make small rose buds, with practice though I’ll be making bouquets of all kinds!”

“Wow, I’m surrounded…guess I gotta spill the beans on my folks. My parents are robotic engineers who designed the legs I’m wearing, they also help out here with some of the animatronics from time to time.” Said Cordelia, this earned her some ooh’s and awe’s from the boys.

Soon Clover was putting something in the oven, she dusted her hands off and started pulling out the chairs, motioning everyone to sit down.

“If you two are still interested in joining the club please have a seat an we can begin, I’ve just put the main dish in the oven now.” Said Clover as she set out some tea cups.

Patrick took a seat instantly, happily clapping his hands with excitement. Gregory took his place while Cordelia hesitantly took a spot, Clover then proceeded to pour something to their cups from a a tea pot, it was white with clovers all over it.

“Using the new one huh?” Asked Gregory.

“Why wouldn’t I, its my new favorite!” Said Clover, resenting the pot to everyone.

Gregory chuckled. “Clover collects tea sets, its a hobby of hers.”

“Oh my grandma dose that too, she loves tea sets. She’s got some really unique looking ones too, next time I’ll bring pictures so you can see!” Patrick was over the moon, this was something out of his wildest dreams!

Suddenly the lights went out.

Clover spoke. “Stay calm, I just turned out the lights for our appetizers which are being served now. You must take at least one bite of each food presented in order to pass, please note I can see everyone of you and just so you know none of the foods are ‘wild’ or ‘gross’ if your worried about that. These are normal foods you’d be served at home or at any food establishment.”

“Well…as long as I’m not eating bugs I’m good.” Said Cordelia, feeling a bit relieved to hear that.

“Bugs are not on the menu nor will they ever be, its just food associated with the club.” Said Clover, they could hear the plates being set down. Cordelia reached and felt something rough…and hot, temperature wise.

She heard someone had bit into whatever was served, then heard Patrick sighing with content.

“Mmm pretzel stick with butter, this was defiantly made by my dad; I can so tell.” Said Patrick.

Cordelia felt it…broke it, sniffed it then took a bite…it really was just a soft pretzel stick with butter and salt. Needless to say it really did taste good, she ate the whole stick. Then came the second course, from what Cordelia could tell..it smelled sweet. She leaned in but jerked back when something touched her nose.

Clover giggled. “Careful there, though I’m not one to judge what people wear on their face nowadays.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” Cordelia chuckled back.

This time took a fork near her and dug in…it was a salad that was for sure but the dressing was something she never had before. It was sweet but savory, it was something unique…but then it hit her, she had this before! It was a ginger dressing, she had this once at a Japanese themed restaurant. She ate every last bite bit of the salad, it was good…but then came the main dish. She heard the oven door opening and instantly the smell hit her. It smelled like roasted cheese and other good things but couldn’t think of what it was.

“Alright everyone, main dish please be careful cause it is very hot. It just came out of the oven, blow on it before you put it in your mouth.” Clover set out the next plates.

“Oh its gratin isn’t it?” Said Patrick.

Cordelia blinked. “You know what is before even tasting it?”

“Yeah, my grandma’s specialty is gratin. She does variations of it too, my favorite is her potato gratin with asparagus and cherry tomatoes.” Patrick smiled, he took a spoon and blew on the treat.

He gingerly put the steaming hot food in his mouth, despite the lights being out he closed his eyes. He was transported back to his grandma’s kitchen, sitting in the old oak chairs she had. Spooning more of the dish into his mouth he could almost hear her his grandmother’s voice chatting away with grandpa or his dad. The only difference that brought him back to where his current location was the drink, usually he’d get a tall glass of milk or water with his food. His drink was a type of lemon tea with mint, it was delicious though.

“This is good!” Said Cordelia, again polishing the plate clean. Gregory agreed, though he was already use to Clover’s cooking.

“Alright when your done, the last dish is dessert an then you’ve passed the initiation!”

“I gotta say, as far as initiations go this one is by far the easiest and enjoyable I’ve ever experience willingly-“ Cordelia covered her mouth, she wished she didn’t say that.

“Guessing Sarah forced you to join a group of her’s once but kicked you out a moment later after completing one of her ‘tasks’ huh?” Asked Gregory.

“Who’s Sarah?” Asked Clover as she set out the last dish.

“She’s this snobby rich girl who likes running everything, if you don’t follow her your basically a ‘loser’ in her eyes. Nothings done without ‘her’ permission and she always has to be the first for everything.” Gregory growled, having been on the receiving end of one of her vicious remarks.

“Sarah…Sarah…she wouldn’t happen to be Sarah Nickelbock would she?” Asked Clover.

“Yeah..why you know her too?” Asked Gregory.

“Yes, she was one of the kids who’s banned permanently from both Fazerblast and Mazersise for their attitude and violent tempter. She has shown complete disregard to rules and respect for said rules, her parents did try to bribe her back into those attractions but they wouldn’t budge especially after she threw soda at Roxy one time cause she wouldn’t stay to sing to her personally.” Clover felt her hands tighten, she recalled the nasty things that girl said to Roxy, it was disgusting.

“She pretends to be miss perfect at school but everyone knows she’s a spoiled brat.” Cordelia didn’t hesitate picking up what was on the plate and taking a bite, though she did pause when she tasted it.

“Dang this taste good, what is it?”

“My guess its one of those cookies marketed as her, right?” Asked Gregory.

“Sort of, their my own variation. Instead of that raspberry goo they put in it I put in a honey lavender filling, the outside is more of a lemon macron cookie instead of the normal sugar variety. Personally the cookies they’re marketing with my image is just gross.” Clover sighed.

“These are amazing, honestly I’d be happy to have these instead of the other ones.” Said Cordelia taking another bite. Patrick didn’t say anything, he was too busy savoring the flavors.

“Alright, everyone has passed the initiation and now are inducted into the Cozy Club, congratulations!” Clover clapped her hands together as she turned on the lights.

Everyone winced, since they were plunged in darkness for a while it was expected. Though Patrick was still busy enjoying his dessert, Cordelia rubbed her eyes a bit and smiled.

“Alright, now that we’re apart of your ‘club’ whats the first order of business?” Cordelia leaned back against her chair, stretching her arms out.

Clover smiled and walked to her little closet, she started digging around before pulling out four bags. One had Gregory’s name already emblazoned on it but the other two didn’t, one was ‘Monty’ themed while the other was Roxanne themed. The fourth bag was decorated with little white flowers and had Clover’s name on it.

“First, we see if we need to clean up around here. After which our job is to go exploring the pizza plex and all its amenities, starting with Roxy Raceway…which should now be free of garbage. Roxanne has requested the ‘Cozy Club’ to help her test out some new go-carts!”

…..Oh yeah, Cordelia was gonna love this place.

End.

[The name Jitterbug came from a collaboration talk between myself and the talented @rainy-nomad please check out her channel as I’m basing Sun and Moon after her adorable versions of them. There’s more of the Cozy Club to come, stay tuned!]

[patches-bitsandbobs]

6/6/2022 - a look into The Nade’s history with touch.

The Nade was afraid of touch.

though the memories of his past self were hazy and scattered at best, he could remember several things very clearly - that hands gripped with steel; that bruises were often left behind on his skin; that fingers were ice cold in their intentions. he remembered the sharp rise of peoples arms, that would strike him down without remorse. he remembered a man knelt beside his bed, the both of them happily chatting, before the man pounded his fist into his stomach with relentless force. his last memory before he awoke into his new life was of a pair of hands unclasping from their hold, dark vines rushing at him, a burst of agony stabbing clear through his chest. a bright red square was his final send off before he fell into a deep, dark sleep.

he wasn't a big fan of hands, either.

getting used to his new body, his new surroundings, his new neighbours, had only strengthened his resolve for anything even related to touch. the sludgy faces wanted to bury and strangle; the torn up crow wanted to stomp and peck; the mangled wolf wanted to rip and tear. all of their actions were aimless, driven from a primal rage and a beastly hunger, and it all reminded him of a life he wasn’t entirely sure had even been his own.

when he'd found the top-hat some months later, it had been a welcome relief. he didn’t question why it could hide him completely from the Blessed One’s, nor did he question how he could warp from place to place so effortlessly. it was somewhere where nothing could reach him - where he was safe from the needless cruelty of others. he had made a vow to protect the hat with his life.

finding that top-hat had been the first act of disconnected kindness he'd experienced, even if he hadn't out right known it.

he’d been playing around with the hat, trying to see how far it could teleport him across the forest. it was an odd process - he thought of somewhere to go, and the hat sent him there lickitey-split. but he must have thought wrong, and instead of landing on the rough texture of a branch, he instead fell on to the hard marble floor of the Pizza Plex, somewhere in the early hours of the morning. unluckily for him, Giovanni was still awake, sat behind the counter, the radio playing soft tunes as he read a book in the dimly lit parlour. it had been harrowing for the both of them, as they’d stared each other down, statue still and terrified of the other.

memories of blurred, weirdly shaped faces rapidly flashed through his mind, though not a single one stuck. the pure terror at seeing hands out stretched, reaching for him, and the feeling of his neck being mercilessly constricted, of his arms being harshly gripped, of his chest exploding into phantom pains, had caused his stomach to split open into a row of glassy teeth. he didn't see the shaking stranger, but someone else entirely; someone he didn't know, someone he couldn't rightly see, but they felt so familiar - someone he'd known, but he didn't know them, but they were someone, someone, someone, someone,

he'd thanked the stars ten times over that, instead of fight or flight winning out, he had completely locked up. he dreaded to think of how his life would have ended up if he'd attacked Giovanni that night. even the thought of it made him feel downright queasy.

when the shock of seeing a human eventually faded, he felt something about Giovanni resonate with him. the feeling made his empty insides itch with curiosity, which was the only real reason he kept returning to the Plex at all. he kept his distance from Gio, even with his never-ending energy and torrent of questions. he never got within range of Gio, always making the conscious effort to stay a good few feet away. he would make it clearly known if Gio ever did cross those boundaries, which, to Gio’s credit, wasn’t that often. still, Giovanni getting too close made the memories flare up. he didn't like the memories. he didn't like hands. he didn't like touch. he didn't like humans.

but he kept going back, and Giovanni kept putting up with his antics, and eventually, slowly, he began to get. relaxed, around the human. "comfortable" wasn't the right way to explain it, and neither was "confident". no, he was simply relaxed. not relaxed enough to let his guard down, but being around Gio made him feel safe. the Pizza Plex felt safe. even when other humans from the outside entered the parlour, he could easily hide inside his top-hat until they left. the other humans didn't mean Giovanni any harm; they just entered, ordered, waited, then walked out. that was that. they never looked for him, or tried to harm Giovanni (though some people were a tad snippy sometimes). there was no reason to worry about them. 

and after some time had flown by, where they had gotten used to each other enough to call the other an acquaintance, Giovanni began to ask him the strangest of questions. 'are you okay?' 'do you wanna talk about anything?' 'how'er you holding up?' 'so how was your day?'

am I okay? I still have all my body parts in tact, so I guess I am.

do I wanna talk about anything? hmm, I don't think he'd want to know about the forest, and I don't do anything else, so I guess not.

how am I holding up? with thread. ... I think. oh, and stuffing. maybe. I’m a doll, right? ain’t that what I’m made of?

my day? it was cloudy. I came here and annoyed him. I found it funny. he didn't. that's it, really. I don’t think he wants to hear about that, though.

The Nade didn't understand the questions. he didn't really know how to do small talk. he didn't know what kindness, being selflessly handed out by another soul, felt like to receive.

he kept returning to the Plex, and he kept annoying Giovanni, and Giovanni kept letting him in.

months went by like this. his guard was further lowered with every minute he spent around Gio. he learned more about Gio - his past, his connection to the forest (which finally scratched that itch on why Gio felt so similar to himself), what pizza's were, why he slept in the stove hole. without realising it, he began to learn how to make small talk, about the kind of world he lived in, and why certain pizza's - especially the one's he often asked to be made - would kill a fully grown man if they were actually ingested.

one time, during the harsh fangs of winter, Gio, while heavily sleep deprived, had offered him a blanket. he'd been sitting at the counter in the early morning, reading a magazine, when the fluffy grey blanket was laid out in front of him. 'what's that?' he had asked. 'a blanket. it's cold. yer makin' me shiver.' Giovanni had responded. he was confused - he couldn't feel the cold, nor heat, thanks to his strange existence, but just as he was about to gently decline, he looked into Giovanni's eyes, and saw his genuine, concerned urgency. Gio patted the blanket once, then returned to his stove. he decided to slip the blanket around himself, still not really understanding the "why's" of it all. he barely felt the blankets fuzzy material, nor the heavy warmth it provided, but he did feel something in his chest stir, even if he had no clue as to what it was. it was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t a bad feeling, either.

another time, Giovanni had offered him a raincoat. it was a weird, see-through orange, and made of a strange plastic material. it’d look like he'd have to bulk his body out if he wanted the garment to some-what fit. 'what's that do?' he’d inquired, holding the coat out like it would bite him. 'keeps you dry in the rain.' Gio explained. again, wetness wasn't something he could really feel, thus, it wasn't something he cared about. but again, Gio had looked so. earnest, about it.

'I figured, y'know, since yer live in the forest, it'd be a good way of stayin' dry.' he'd slowly accepted the raincoat, not understanding. he'd been right - it was too big on him, the sleeves sagging well over his hands, and so much room in the neck area, it almost slipped down his body. the hood was nice, though. he liked the hood, even if it squashed his ears. 'is it okay?'

'why did you give this to me?' Giovanni shrugged. looked him dead in the eye with a smile so soft, it made him go dizzy.

''cause you're my friend.'

the first time Giovanni touched him had been a pure accident. 

they were sat side by side in the kitchen. Gio was happy, talking about a story from his past, and his walls had been too low to see it coming. Giovanni was emoting excitedly, and as he was cooling down from his laughing-fest, Gio laid a hand on his forearm to help steady himself on impulse. it was a spur of the moment thing - not even he had caught the action in motion.

it wasn't until Giovanni steadied himself and turned to see his teeth rippling, his mouth down turned; anxious, heavy pants escaping his stomach; pupils shrunken to pin-pricks with uncertain fear, that he’d removed his hand as if he'd been burnt. Gio didn't speak a word or move a muscle, keeping his gaze locked on him, as he slowly calmed himself down.

he wasn’t sure what he'd felt in the heat of the moment. fear, certainly. rage, most likely. uncomfortable, positively. but he hadn't felt threatened, nor had the touch resurfaced old pains. Gio’s touch hadn’t felt like all the other one’s he could remember - Gio's wasn’t constricting, wasn’t trapping, wasn’t unforgiving or angry or even painful. it was just Gio’s hand, lightly resting on his forearm, in a hold he could easily brush off. if he could’ve pushed past the haze of his terror, he would’ve said that it almost felt. nice.

when his teeth sank back into the void and his pupils returned to normal, they had shared a tense glance. Giovanni's apology was as clear as day in his body language and expression.

'ah fuck, sorry, N. I got too excited for a sec there.' Gio wrung his hands. he couldn't help but keep track of them.

'it's. ... fine.' he thought through his words. did a gentle shrug. 'I ah. don't mind, when. when it's you.'

'... are you er, sure? about that?'

'I mean. no? not, really, but I'd. ... if anyone's gonna do that, I'd rather it be you.' his mouth grew back into its usual grin, as a casual air befell him. 'you would know if I'd really minded, anyway.' his stomach did a gentle, threatening clack. Giovanni's laugh was a nervous little flutter in response.

'well thank God you ain't a chomp first and question later kinda guy, eh?' and just like that, the atmosphere returned to normal, and Giovanni had eagerly jumped into a new story.

---

I’m sick of looking at this

[ollie-ollie-oxenfreee]

then came the morning (aka: the post - canon cuddle fic)

The work in progress is finally done! I’ve been chipping away at it for the past couple weeks now, and it’s gone through many drafts / iterations, but I think I’m finally happy with it. :)

Title from an album by the Lone Bellow. 

The first time the two of them “shared a bed” was about as awkward as one might imagine. The initiating circumstances were hardly any better.

 The heating apparatus in their quarters had given out a week or so back in a spectacular fit of dust - laden wheezing. The engineering crew called in to inspect it informed them that it couldn’t be fixed until they could pick up the right parts at the nearest trading post (which was naturally thousands of klicks away on the ragged edge of nowhere). With the ambient heat from the nearby engine room seeping through the wall, the conditions were deemed “unpleasant but survivable.” They were issued two extra threadbare blankets and told in tersely formal military - speak to deal with it. 

 And they’d dealt with it really well for a while! They grit their teeth and carried on like a couple of champs: Harrow, having been thoroughly warned against using her magic too frequently, layering on spare cloaks and sweaters until she almost disappeared under a mountain of black fabric; Gideon curling up close to the engine room wall and wincing when the cold sent spiteful twinges shooting through her still-very-busted knee. 

 But then one night their grand flagship of the revolution chugged through a particularly empty sprawl of space and began to slow down. The heat from the engine room guttered like a candle flame. Frost spiderwebbed across the thin plex of their window. Harrow’s breath showed in thin wisps of vapor as she huffed, glaring down at the pages of her book like she wanted to reprimand the cold for daring to interrupt her studies. 

 Gideon had half a mind to encourage her to try (that glare could stop a full - fledged Lyctor in their tracks, who knew what other horrifying powers it possessed?), but thought better of it when she saw the genuine exhaustion in the other girl’s eyes.

 “You doing alright over there, my vulturine vicar?” she asked. “I know it takes some time to absorb all that good bone knowledge, but you haven’t turned a page in like half an hour.”

 The thunderous look on Harrow’s face darkened further as she set her book aside with an exasperated thump. “This is ridiculous. I studied in the depths of Drearburh for years without any issue, and yet here I am struggling to focus like a novice. It isn’t even that cold.” She bit her lip as a shiver ran through her at the words. 

 “Evidence seems to suggest otherwise, o mistress of melancholy. Do you want me to go ask that guy in the supply room for another blanket? He still owes me for his son’s fencing lesson.”

 Supply room guy didn’t really owe her anything, but she knew that mentioning it would make Harrow feel better. If she could believe that the nice things Gideon did for her were actually for Totally Self - Serving, Debt - Settling reasons, she could accept them without feeling guilty.

 (Guilt had haunted Harrow more than ever upon returning to her own body, making it hard to breathe on good days and leaving her shaking with sobs on bad ones. 

It was one of those fun little things they had in common.)

 From the way Harrow’s shoulders stiffened, though, it seemed that Gideon Nav’s patented Guilt Workaround wasn’t going to be as effective as usual. She shook her head - a stiff little gesture that made her earrings rattle - then sighed. 

 “No. Thank you, though, it’s kind of you to offer.” 

 The thank you was sincere, and that was admittedly pretty nice, but all the sincerity in the world wouldn’t change the fact that Harrow was still  very obviously shivering. She looked miserable beneath her usual mask of face paint and stoicism. The dark red bead of blood-sweat trailing down her temple indicated that she'd probably tried using some kind of homeostasis theorem, but it wasn't working well enough. 

 There had to be a solution to this problem somewhere. Harrow's stubborn pride meant that she wouldn't accept help outright - she would sooner set her books on fire than admit what she thought of as a weakness - but if Gideon could play it just right, maybe she wouldn't have to. It would need to be done carefully - too sappy and she'd be uncomfortable, too straightforward and she'd balk.  Casual, Gideon decided. Nice and casual was the way to go. It would just be a matter of execution.

 "Soooo," she said at length, leaning back against the wall all cool and easy. (She folded her arms up behind her head as an afterthought, appreciating the way it made her still-atrophied-but-getting-there muscles stand out through the thin fabric of her shirt. Confidence boosts were going to be scarce and sorely needed in the conversation to come - she’d take them where she could get them.)

 Naturally, Harrow did not appreciate the change in tack or the cool-and-easy-ness. She did, however, manage to muster up a look so steeped in wary disapproval that it cut through her earlier frustration like a hot knife through bone marrow. “So.”

 “You sure about that blanket? Because really, it would only take me a second -”

 “I’m sure. Thank you.”

 “Then, um, did you want to borrow mine?”

 Harrow blinked. “You need yours.”

 “Yeah, I know! I meant that we could maybe - share. Pool our resources.” She patted the edge of her bunk gamely, then instantly regretted it when Harrow’s eyes narrowed even further. 

 “You want us to sleep together?”

 "No? I mean, technically, but no. In the literal way. Not the other way.” Well maybe the other way sometime if you wanted to but that’s a whole other weird conversation that we probably shouldn't touch with a ten foot pole or we might explode. 

 "How exactly would that work?" The caution was still heavy in Harrow's voice, but some of the disapproval had ebbed away. 

 "I mean. We'd probably need to use my bed, since my sheets aren't covered in gross bone gobbets, but you could bring your blankets over and layer 'em over mine and then we'd have twice the blankets! And, you know, body heat. Which has its perks." Even Gideon's cool-and- easy-ness faltered at that, but she bravely soldiered on. "The point is, we'd both be warm."

 "And it won't - make things weird?" 

 "Nope! Not weird. All perfectly chill, my shivering scion."

 Harrow paused for a moment, worrying her lip between her teeth. "I'll get ready for bed," she said at last, clipped and decisive. "And I'll think about it."

 "Take your time. I'll be here."

 Moments later, after the shivering scion had swept grandly out of the room, Gideon's Thinking Brain crashed unceremoniously into her Talking Brain. Things were not, in fact, going to be perfectly chill. There were going to be some logistical problems with this arrangement. Big logistical problems.

 Big logistical problems namely revolving around the mutually exclusive facts that the midnight monarch was not especially comfortable with touch, and Gideon Nav, space - bee slayer and resurrected badass, was a sleep cuddler.

 Or, well, she was in theory. She didn’t have much (any) “real world” experience to go on, but she’d woken up many, many times back on the Ninth with a bundle of blankets wrapped up in her arms or nestled close to her chest. The habit had never really embarrassed her back then - she actually kind of liked it. She felt warmer and less lonely when she had something to hold, even in the frigid emptiness of her cell. 

 But that was back then. Things were different in the here - and - now. Harrow was in the here - and - now, and Gideon would never forgive herself if she ruined things with Harrow right when their relationship was on the upswing. They were actually talking, slowly figuring out how to work together again. The furious, tearful intensity between them in the wake of their reunion had calmed and warmed into something almost like real friendship. 

 After all that had happened - everything that had gone wrong over the past year and a half - they’d found a fragile sort of peace. There was no way in Hell she was going to ruin that peace now.

 So while Harrow swished about getting ready for bed, Gideon leveled with herself and laid down some ground rules. Don’t make this weird, Nav. Make sure she’s comfortable, give her her space, and don’t think about cuddling with her. 

 ...even though it would probably be warmer, and she has shitty necro circulation and essentially no body mass so she needs all the warmth she can get, and she gets that kinda soft peaceful look on her face when - no, fuck, see? You’re doing it already. Even if she did like you like that, which she absolutely doesn’t because she’s got a good old-fashioned frostbite girl back home, that’s not what you’re here for. You’re her cav. Her sworn sword. You’re here to do your job and make sure she doesn’t get her thumbs bitten off again. That’s it.

 “You’re staring.”

 Harrow’s voice cut sharp as a bone shard through Gideon’s nervous thought - spiral. Having apparently completed her grim evening rituals, she’d settled lightly on the far edge of the to - be - shared bed, countless dark layers poofing out around her like the feathers of a posturing crow. Her face was flecked with dots of gray from scrubbing off her paint, and her short hair stuck up in messy licks of black fluff despite her increasingly irritated attempts to smooth it flat. 

 It shouldn’t have been endearing. It really, really shouldn’t have. 

 It was.

 Gideon was so screwed.

 “Shit,” she muttered, scrubbing a hand over her face to ground herself. She glanced over to meet Harrow’s eyes (and wow, was that a mistake, they were as mesmerizing a swirl of black and gold as ever), then forced a smile like she wasn’t screaming internally. “Sorry. Zoned out a little. You good to go?”

 The wryly exasperated glint in Harrow’s eyes made them glow even brighter in the dim light. “Yes, I’m ‘good to go,’ thank you. Are you, though? You look … troubled.” 

 Shit. Shit. Shit. Think nice, normal thoughts. Don’t let her know. She cannot know. 

 “I’m always good, my chthonic countess,” she lied, smooth as could be, throwing in a roguish wink for good measure. That was distractingly stupid enough, it was bound to work.  

 Harrow frowned. “Why are you blinking like that?”

 The roguish wink apparently had not worked. 

 “No reason! Just dust. In my eye. Lots of very rude dust landing right in my eye. Anyway. How are we doing this?”

 A flicker of genuine, anxious concern ghosted over Harrow’s face as her frown deepened. 

 “Gideon,” she began, in that slow, reluctant way of hers that heralded Incoming Indignity. “I know that you were the one to suggest this, but I want to impress upon you that if you aren’t - certain about it, there is another possible solution.”

 She cast around the room for a moment and reached for a massive, dusty tome at the top of a nearby stack, flipping determinedly through the pages. “I've had the idea for some time, but I only just managed to convince our commanding officer that I could use theorems 'responsibly' without their constant supervision, so I haven't been able to test it until now. Small - scale thanergetic fission reactions produce sparks of flame that, if handled extremely carefully, could give off enough heat - "

 “Wait.” Gideon held up a hand, her own anxious brain jolting back online at the word flame. “Wait, wait, wait. Harrow. Seriously? The concern is sweet, don’t get me wrong, but your other solution is death - fire?”

 “I said that it was a possibility,” she snapped back, that old brittle defensiveness calcifying over the vulnerability in her voice. Her posture straightened with a great rustling of robes: shoulders back, chin high, eyes gleaming with disdainful pride as the bones scattered about their room twitched to life. Looking for all the world like she had when they were ten - twelve - fourteen - sixteen, bitter and vicious and spoiling for a fight. 

 She seemed to realize it right when Gideon did. Her eyes widened, then closed. The bowstring tension in her shoulders slowly ebbed away as her half - formed constructs clattered to the floor. “Sorry,” she said at last, her voice a threadbare murmur. “I’m sorry. That was - uncalled for.”

 “It’s a reflex. I get it.” And she did - she’d done the same thing countless times, had a hand on her sword and a barbed insult on her tongue without even thinking about it. 

 Another one of those fucked up things they had in common. 

 An uneasy silence settled between them, broken only by the rumbling hum of the engines, the thud of footsteps in the hall. 

 “I meant it, you know,” Harrow said, after a long moment. “About other options. It was a half - baked and immature attempt, but I wanted to give you an out if you were uncomfortable.”

 “Yeah, I know, my sepulchral sage. I appreciate it. Half - baked immaturity and all.” She bumped her shoulder gently against Harrow’s, then flopped back on the bunk to stare up at the low ceiling. “Are we, like, committing to honesty hour tonight? How deep into feelings do you want to get?”

 “As deep as is comfortable.”

 “That’s what she said.”

 “It’s a reasonable thing for her to say.”

 Another hush fell over them, marginally more comfortable than the last, as Gideon worried her lip between her teeth and counted the cracks in the ceiling above her. There were nine of them in total. Go fucking figure.

 A bony finger poked her in the side after a few cycles of counting. “Were you going to elaborate, or was that all just a set - up for one of your charming jokes?”

 “I can’t believe it took you eighteen years to finally admit that they’re charming, but no, that’s not why I said it. I’ll lay bare my tender squishy heart for you, penumbral lady. Because you asked so nicely.” 

  Because I think you might already have it. 

 No avoiding it now. Might as well bite the bullet and dive in. 

 “I was on board with the cuddle thing from the beginning, but I felt like you wouldn’t be, and I panicked. You probably already knew that because you’re way more creepily observant than you have any right to be, but there it is. Out in the open.” 

 She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could just run away and hide from the other girl’s piercing gaze. “I just don’t want to fuck things up with you, Harrow. I feel like we’ve got a kind of good thing going now. You haven’t called me a useless halfwit in forever, and I haven’t called you a heinous bitch in forever, and I haven��t wanted to. That’s unheard of for us. I don’t want it to go away.”

 Her voice cracked, and the most damning words burst forth like flowers through concrete: “I don’t want to give you a reason to shut me out again.”

 The memories of those nine months flashed in fragmented mosaic through her mind - the slick stone walls of the well, the freezing churn of the water, the burn in her muscles as she desperately thrashed up toward the surface and reached for someone who didn’t even know she was there. The gut - wrenching loneliness that defined her entire fucking life coalescing in that pit of brackish darkness. The chant rattling on loop in her mind as the water pulled her under: Harrow, what happened, what did you do, why the fuck did you leave me here, I had a purpose, I threw myself on that goddamned rail for a reason, was that not enough for you? 

 Was I not enough for you?

 A cool, fine - boned hand laced with hers and squeezed, just once. The memories blurred. 

 “Gideon,” the voice that had haunted her all that time said. “You know - you have to know that isn’t why I did it.”

 “Why did you, then?”

 A tiny hitch of breath. A soft, almost incredulous laugh. Then:

 “Because I loved you.”

 The words hung heavy in the frozen air. 

 “You - what?”

 “I loved you.” She said it so simply. Like it was something she’d come to terms with long ago. “I loved you beyond reason, and for once in my life I wanted to do right by you and keep you safe as you did me. The motivation doesn’t justify a moment of it, I won’t pretend it does, and I can’t even begin to erase the hurt it caused you. But I need you to understand that it was never because of something you did wrong. You are good, darling. Good to the core. You always have been.”

 Bright spots bloomed before Gideon’s eyes as her reeling mind fought to catch up. Three thoughts sprang unbidden to the forefront:

 Mmf.

 And: Darling?

 And:

“Loved. You said ‘loved.’ Why the past tense?”

 She sat there, staring blankly up at the ceiling, half - expecting a don’t be presumptuous, Griddle or something even remotely normal, at least. What she got instead was another laugh, halting and shaky and suddenly deeply bitter. The hand in hers went rigid and drew away. 

 “I came to my senses. I remembered the countless awful things I’ve done. Saw myself for the leech that I am. I’ve taken and taken and taken from you, over and over again, torn away at your life like a scavenger, I can’t steal anything more  - “

 “Who said anything about stealing?”

 For the first time since the grand awkward commencement of honesty hour Gideon felt a genuine smile bloom across her face. “Come on, Nonagesimus, give me some credit. You honestly think I would have stuck around this long if I didn’t know what I was giving you? If I wasn’t getting something out of it too?”

 “What could you possibly be getting out of it?”

 “You. I like you. Like, a lot. More than I ever thought I would. And I know the brain weasels are going to start yammering about how that’s impossible, and you don't deserve it, and we've still got a mountain of baggage left to work through, but I’ve thought about it a lot and I really mean it. Having you with me has made this whole shitty thing infinitely less shitty."

 With a surge of sudden bravery and dizzy emotion, she reached out to take Harrow's hand again and, giving her ample time to pull away, pressed a feather - light kiss to the back. “If you want me here too, sunshine - as your cav or your friend or something else - then I'm not going anywhere."

 Harrow closed her eyes, took a deep shuddering breath, and - smiled. A real one, slow and hesitantly sweet, lighting up her careworn face. "I need to think about it - we both should think about it. But I do want you here, in whatever way you want to be."

 "Yeah? Cool."

 "Cool."

 Silence settled upon them for the third time that night, but this time it was different. It was soft and tentative, fragile and new, like budding grave - flowers reaching for the sun. First flowers, the both of them, clawing up out of the grit and finding a way to bloom.

 "Should we go to sleep now?" Harrow asked at last, her rasping voice low and quiet. "It's getting late."

 "We probably should. Cam and Pal are gonna kill us if we're not up by 6:00 tomorrow. Are you still up for this, though? Like, the whole 'two girls, chilling in a military bunk, zero feet apart 'cause they're freezing and also maybe like each other' thing?"

 "Yes. On one condition."

 "Anything."

 "This might be difficult for you."

 "Seriously, Harrow, just tell me. Name it and it's done."

 "No sex jokes."

 She heaved a sigh, mock - exasperated and so stupidly fond. "As you wish, my dearest darling death omen. As you wish."

 It took a while to get comfortable - with Harrow's knobby elbows jabbing Gideon in the stomach, Gideon's clunky knee brace getting tangled in the sheets, the blankets collectively giving up and puddling on the floor at least ten times - but eventually, like everything else, they made it work. They fumbled through the sleep - cuddling confession with an admirable lack of panic on both sides, culminating in a firm agreement that they would let each other know the moment they were at all uncomfortable and an "I trust you" from Harrow so pure in its sincerity that it would be ringing through Gideon's mind for at least a myriad.

 Harrow was the first to fall asleep, curled up tight in a cocoon of black fabric, the dark crown of her head just barely brushing the sunburst scar on Gideon's chest. Her shallow breaths fell into an even, steady rhythm, interspersed with whistling snores that Gideon was definitely going to tease her about when her heart was less of a melted puddle of goo. 

 The minutes slipped by warm and slow as drops of honey as her own eyes grew heavier, fluttering closed. She gave her necromancer - her Lyctor - her beautiful baneful bone empress one last sleepy smile, and drifted off.

 (When Camilla went to shake her sparring partner awake the next morning, she found the two of them still sound asleep, wrapped up in each other's arms and looking more peaceful than she'd ever seen them. She huffed a laugh, muttered "finally," and let them be.)

[fire-mage-719]

I made a little story for FireMage the character in @fazbear-ent-official 's FNAF RP blog, pertaining to the type of stuff I think would fit what I want from their character. It's pretty long so I'll leave it below the cut.

I just sort of sat down and wrote something out in an hour or two, so there's probably a few mistakes or something. Above all I wanted to make it work with what everyone's done with the "universe" so far but also make it work (as someone who likes timelines and stories that makes sense).

I'm going to reblog it with a TLDR, and a sort of explanation as to my thought process and how it can work with everything. Doesn't have to be canon in the RP, but I think it might open up more RP opprotunities/paths or something. IDK, I haven't done this sort of thing before. Anyways enjoy.

William sighed before he left the building. The sound of arcade machines, a distant song, and children echoing in the short distance behind him. Exiting the dark building, he shielded his eyes and squinted as he was suddenly bashed by the intense sunlight.

It was a glorious and sunny day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the blue expanse cradling the unwieldy and bright sun. The building, his establishment, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, blocked out all the lights for bright neon signs and shiny decor and moving party lights. The outside was a stark contrast.

Beyond just the sight was the smell. Inside smelled like pizza and soda, candies with enough sugar content to kill anyone in a nursing home, and a tinge of childly stench. Out here it smelled like fire, smoke, and meat. Not just any meat, but good barbecued hotdogs and hamburgers, a steak maybe, a pork rib, William couldn’t tell anymore, really. It was just savory and honestly, a very good palate cleanser to the rubbish that they sold inside.

Manning the grill was a tall figure. They wore an astronaut suit, pale white, with no flags or logos. No NASA logo, no indication that they had ever been to space, and in the end, it didn’t particularly matter. No one seemed to really mind, William the least. Especially with the reason that he hired them for. Though they did intently wish for two more additions to their apparel: a Freddy Fazbear branded apron and a nametag that read “FireMage”.

“Fire, I need you to do what I hired you for,” William sighed, his arm still shielding his eyes from the sun. “Not whatever you’ve got setup here.”

“All due respect sir, someone came in with a t-bone and said they’d pay me more than you would in a week to cook it,” The astronaut said.

The astronaut turned away from the grill, pointing the burger flipper at William.

“A week, boss. Like, rich white ladies are nuts, but money is money,” Fire said, turning back to the grill and plating a few burgers. “Besides, you’ve got a lot more business lately, despite all your goings on. I would like to think it’s thanks to me.”

William grimaced as Fire took the last burger off the grill and onto a bun. William’s eyes were focused on the t-bone that the astronaut mentioned until Fire had closed the grill.

“Besides, I take care of whatever you ask no matter what,” Fire said, turning to look at William.

It was slightly concerning, not being able to look them in the eyes. Even with the animatronics, William was able to look into the glassy fake orbs, but the visor to Fire’s helmet blocked anything but William’s own reflection. Used to the light now, William watched his mirror image let his arm down.

“If you can even remember what that initially was for,” Fire continued, leaning against the grill.

William went to open his mouth, but shut it. He couldn’t remember.

“Is it that you can’t remember, or that you haven’t been made to remember yet?” Fire asked.

William snapped, “Don’t do that. Just… go in and do what I asked, yeah?”

William turned for the handle of the door. Fire was arguably one of the easiest of his employees to deal with. Casual, respectable, and above all somehow able to get away with an odd amount of things, Fire was… one of the least suspicious people at any establishment. Whichever establishment that Afton was at, they seemed to be there. No one minded the obviously fake name, the obviously out of the ordinary outfit, and the odd comments that seemed to slip beyond most peoples’ notice.

“Mr. Afton, I have to ask, what’s up with the sudden influx of employees?” Fire retorted.

William paused and looked back, not angry, but a bit annoyed.

“I don’t know. Must have been Henry or Willow. They’re in charge of new employees.”

“Besides me,” Fire chirped.

William smiled, a bit sarcastically, “Yes. Besides you.”

“I would say that they act oddly in regards to the establishment, wouldn’t you agree?”

Fire started to approach William Afton, and though William knew that Fire wouldn’t do anything, he let go of the door knob and turned to meet their gaze… or as much of a gaze that they could have. Fire stopped a few feet away, and William let himself relax, not realizing the tension he had in his jaw.

“I mean… yes. They do seem odd. That’s nothing too out of the ordinary,” William said back in a neutral tone.

“And there’s that new establishment even, the what…” Fire rested one of their hands on their hip, snapping with the other for a few moments before it clicked. “The Pizza-plex!”

William’s brows came together in confusion, he himself not knowing quite what they were getting at.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with it?”

“Well, can’t you see? We shouldn’t be anywhere near the Pizza-plex yet!” Fire said exasperated. “We have a location with Toy Animatronics, with the Original Gang, we have the Funtime animatronics hanging out somewhere, none of this aligns!”

William sighed, looking up to the blue sky. If he just waited them out, they would be done, and he could go back inside. They weren’t even wasting time, since no one would interfere with what Fire was meant to do anyways.

“I don’t get what you mean,” He let his head drop to look down at Fire.

His heart skipped a beat when William saw Fire in front of him, grabbing his upper arms, holding him in place.

“Everything is wrong! I thought that something was off when I first got here, but now everything is wrong! All these things existing at once don’t coincide with the story at all!” Fire said. “None of the characters are in the right places! None of the events! The employees that appeared out of nowhere, they’re a part of this somehow!”

“Look, let me go,” William said, not struggling too much to let the astronaut let go of his arms. “I get it, you only agreed to work and do my odd jobs because… well…”

“You don’t remember how I got here, Afton,” Fire said, voice stale and monotone.

“I mean yeah, ok, I don’t!” William exclaimed. “Something is going on! I get it! But I don’t get what’s the deal! That hasn’t been an issue before. Sure! We got some weird employees! That one person with the rats, and that one person who got “adopted by Mr. Hippo”, and the one who started a wrestling ring, but that’s nothing huge!”

“But nothing has changed, yet,” Fire said. “The days go in and out, funky little things happen. But nothing moves forward. The days keep coming. The sun shines. You come out here and ask me to step away from my precious grill and clean up one of your little messes… that you don’t seem to be getting caught or suspicion for, despite the fact that it seems to be well known that Freddy’s is at least a slightly sketchy place.”

“Business is booming!” Afton sighed.

“Exactly!” Fire shouted. “It shouldn’t be!”

“What are you saying? I’m doomed to fail?” William laughed.

“In more ways than one,” Fire said plainly.

William didn’t like that statement, and glared at the astronaut. Fire walked forward, up to Afton.

“You and I can’t remember anything, but out of everyone, we seem to understand that there’s more than meets the eye going on. We’re stuck here, until something happens in this broken universe,” Fire said, inches from Afton, looking down on the man.

“Alright then. And what are we supposed to do about it?” Afton asked.

“Nothing. We can’t do anything. We’re nothing more than perversion, an offshoot of some original universe.”

“What are we waiting for, then?” Afton said, aggravated. “All the weird kids to go away? For me to finish my plans?”

“We’re waiting for the story to continue, of course,” Fire turned away.

They walked back to the grill, where sitting propped up next to it was a flamethrower. Dangerous to have next to a grill, to say the least, but William Afton never saw the astronaut without their flamethrower close by.

“There’s got to be some bigger plot point coming along. Something to move us all forward. We have to be going somewhere, but maybe it isn’t out yet. Whatever was going to come next, after Ultimate Custom Night. Before I got here,” Fire continued, returning to Afton.

“You’re making even less sense now,” Afton said, looking with concern down at the flamethrower. “You make it sound like, I don’t know, we’re just waiting for God to come roll the dice and choose what comes next.”

“Not God,” Fire said.

They looked away from Afton. Past him. Past the road. Past the buildings. Past the blue skies. Into the eyes of someone, into the eyes of you.

“No, someone else,” Fire returned their gaze to William. “That’s the only thing that makes sense. That everyone here is a puppet, or a pawn, of some sort. They know who you are, they know what you do, and they might know who each other are. They’re making a story, here, and it’s leading somewhere. Too many things don’t line up with what I know is true, and even the mysteries I don’t aren’t explained.”

William just stopped at that point. He was wondering if they had waited too long, and the cleanup would be harder. Though, he thought, it wasn’t his job to clean up.

“There isn’t anything beyond the locations. There’s nothing more than the world that revolves around you and Henry and the employees,” Fire poked William in the chest. “And the world never moves on. When did you make the Pizza-plex? Don’t answer, I know you don’t know. Why didn’t you shut down the Toy location? Don’t think about it? Here’s an important question, William Afton, how are the kids?”

William would have snapped. Would have grabbed Fire by the apron and strangled them with it. He was angry, but he didn’t know why. He was also sad. Afton stumbled backwards, into the wall. He didn’t know how he felt, it was a cacophony of emotions like an echochamber of butterflies eating at his insides. He looked up at Fire, who just looked down.

“We’re all waiting for them to continue the plot, Mr. Afton. And until they do, you and I are stuck in this little world. And unfortunately, knowing we’re in it, means we’re never escaping it,” Fire kneeled down, their voice soft. “I knew even before I came here about what you were up to. Your employees and coworkers don’t know what’s going on, but they’re too comfy with the nature of this place. I don’t particularly care about what you do, because according to the story, you are meant to complete these tasks.”

Fire offered their free hand to Afton. He looked at it, confused but accepting it nonetheless.

“Until the REAL story ends… and this place ends too… I’m here to make sure you achieve whatever it is to finish it properly.”

“What, like a little henchman?” Afton scoffed as Fire pulled the man to his feet.

“No, more like…” Fire considered for a bit, trying to hold their gaze on Afton and not pull past him, past the world. “More like plot armor.”

“For no other purpose than continuing some story?” Afton continued.

“For finishing the story.”

Fire turned their head to the door, as if they heard something. They slung the flamethrower over their back and walked over to the grill. They closed up the burgers, and opened the lid to the grill. The sizzling meat’s smell wafted over Afton, calming him a bit. Fire flipped it before lowering the lid, and turning to Afton.

“Mr. Afton I hope you remember, in the future, the real reason you hired me. How you got to this point. I hope the story becomes concise for you, because as someone who also does not remember their past… or how the story works… I know it is painful,” Fire picked up the burgers. “Above all, since only you and I seem to notice that something is up, we need to be there when one of us remembers something. Because most likely, it’s not us remembering, it’s us being told to remember.”

“Being told to remember?” Afton questioned, before regretting it. “You know what? Enough. I don’t know how we even GOT this far into whatever crazy conversation this is.”

“Me neither,” Fire shrugged. “It’s something seems to drive the plot of the universe it seems.”

Fire stopped and looked at the door. As they did, it opened. It was Willow, one of three people that Fire referred to as “boss”.

“You have that steak done?” Willow asked.

“Nope, got the burgers though,” Fire motioned by raising them up. “Boss-man Afton here and I were just chatting it up.”

“Alrighty, hurry it up on that steak if you can. And if you don’t mind, William, one of the animatronics is acting up and we need you to look at it. Something about smelling bad as well,” Willow said.

Fire looked at William, whose demeanor changed. He suddenly had a kind smile on, and seemed as if he didn’t have an oddly meta conversation.

“Of course. You go Willow, I’ll get the door for Fire.”

Willow nodded and left, letting the door close behind them.

William looked at Fire with a raised brow. Fire nodded to the door.

“You gonna get that?”

Afton rolled his eyes and opened the door. He went inside, holding it open as Fire walked through. Once Fire entered the dark corridor of the poorly lit building, crossing the threshold, they stopped. They turned their head and moved their body to look back out the door.

Once again they stared at nothing. But was looking right at you.

That is, until the back door to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza slammed shut.

[eyndr-stories]

Chester and the Jesters (FNAF SB fanfic) C7 - One clever idiot, two soft fools

In Summary:

The new tech sure does seem a little strange. Chester (at least, that's what their name tag says) doesn't seem as concerned as they should be about the high turnover rate here at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, or the numerous rumors about what happens to people who take the night shift. And to make matters worse, there seems to be some kind of criminal on the loose! The cops say they think the criminal is hiding out in the woods somewhere near the pizza-plex. Stress is high at the plex these days, but Chester is stoic as ever. Say, come to think of it, no one can seem to remember where Chester's application went or who they interviewed with. Their employee file is misplaced or missing just like everything else in this place. But the new tech does a good job completing their tasks, and has their own badge and everything, so of course they must belong here. It's not like someone would sneak into the plex and go this far out of their way to impersonate a low level technician. Right??

Things To Know (always read responsibly!):

Biggest warnings are for blood, death, knives, murder, the police, violence, also the OC is at one point hit by lightning. All fun stuff

About 70,000 words in total, 9 chapters, so roughly like. 7,500 words per chapter

This is an OC story, not a reader insert or a self insert! But if you want to imagine otherwise be my guest lol

Angst, fluff

OC x Sun & Moon, there's romance but zero spice

Occasional swearing

Heavy focus on Sun and Moon but most of the rest of the gang is there too :)

Afton doesn't exist, sorry peepaw, Vanessa is here but she's very chill. She's a kickass gamer girl lmao

Moon does an attempted murder but its fine. He's just a lil guy ok

OC uses they/them and also sign language most of the time

Impersonation, lying. There's also manipulation. Yall I wasn't kidding about the angst

There's also a lot of focus on how they're all robots, very cool robots with feelings lol

That's all I can think of, as always please lmk if I should add anything!

Ao3 Link: Right here!

Start reading here: Chapter 1

Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8

C7 - One clever idiot, two soft fools

     The thing about all of this was that it wasn't supposed to last this long.

     From the shadowed roof of the complex, Chester could see for themself that the authorities were still there. At the edge of the parking lot, at the base of the hill leading up to the main road, were a pair of white vans and a standard police cruiser.

     They thought about leaving. The tree they'd climbed over to the roof on was gone, likely having collapsed during that first storm. Still, they could lower a fire escape ladder and climb down if they wanted to.

     It was just that things had gotten so complicated, and the longer Chester stayed, the worse it got.

     Chester took a seat and leaned their head back against the door. They turned their gaze to distant indifferent twinkling lights poking through the void.

     No matter how much they might want to deny it, they were getting close to people here. Sun, Moon, Vanessa, Monty, even Cappy seemed to tolerate them a lot more these days. Chester was lying to all of them, tricking them into thinking Chester was a good person, worth trusting, worth having around.

     They weren’t supposed to have stayed here for this long. They weren’t supposed to have made friends, gotten involved here. Yet here they were. It wasn’t like they had any other options, but still.

     Maybe they could try living in the woods.

     Chester took off their glasses and pressed their palms over their eyes and sighed. They weren’t sure how much longer they’d have to go on like this, but they could suck it up for a little more time. They’d just have to wait it out, keep laying low, not get any more involved than they had already, and then…

     And then? Chester had no fucking clue. They supposed they’d figure it out when they came to it. No use in making plans; if there was one thing Chester was certain of it was that their plans almost never worked out like they should, if they worked out at all.

     Chester pushed themself up to their feet. They put their glasses back on and turned to face the door. There was a security panel by the door now instead of a lock. They had their lockpick tools on them just in case, as they always did, but they hadn't needed them in a long while. Their name badge allowed them entry, and they pulled the door shut behind them. Down the stairs, Chester could see the door leading out of the stairwell and back into the main building was open and waiting for them.

     “Thank you for all your help,” Chester told the walls. They walked down the steps and back into familiar low neon lighting, deep purples and blues and reds and greens tossing hued shadows over the patterned tile floor. Despite everything, some things hadn’t changed at all since that first night. Chester still felt like an intruder here.

     “There you are.”

     Chester jumped. They turned to see Moon, hunched in his usual fashion and standing several decent paces away. “Hello, Moon. Nice to see you again.”

     “Where are we off to tonight?” Moon asked, his head tilting curiously. His hands were folded securely behind his back.

     “Nowhere. I’m off work tonight, just wanted to take a walk,” Chester signed.

     “Ah, so that’s the reason for your… exciting attire.” Moon studied Chester’s shirt.

     Chester looked down. They were wearing their Hawaiian shirt instead of their usual uniform. “…I’m on island time.”

     Moon laughed. The sounds was much lighter and more melodic than Chester was expecting, what with how low and quiet Moon’s voice usually was. Moon’s laugh only lasted a moment, but Chester was already trying to think of some way to get him to laugh again.

     “Why did you come to work here at the pizza-plex?” Moon asked.

     Chester turned away from Moon. They made their way over to a bench, taking a seat before responding. “I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.”

     Moon came closer, though he paused a few feet in front of Chester and crouched there, pressing his knuckles to the floor to help keep his balance. “How boring.”

     “Sorry to disappoint.” Chester rolled their eyes. "So you and Sun used to run the daycare together, huh?"

     "…Yes." Moon spun his faceplate slowly, his nightcap miraculously remaining firmly atop his head.

     "You said before that you had never met Sun. Sun says you two had different shifts, but it still seems strange to me that you two never even crossed paths. So… was that a lie?" Chester asked.

     "It's not your turn to ask a question," Moon stated.

     "Oh. I didn't realize we were still doing that." Chester folded their arms and resigned themself to being patient for their answers. "Okay, ask me a question then."

     "Any question?"

     Chester smiled. "Is that your question?"

     Moon's face spun again, quicker this time. "Is that your next question?"

     Chester couldn't help a small laugh. "Oh dear. I think this game is getting away from us."

     Moon hummed. He idly traced the patterns on the floor with a finger. "Where did you work before you came here?"

     Chester's smile vanished. They thought about the truth. They vividly remembered delivering packages to empty warehouses, jimmying open cars in the night, being handed paychecks of simple stationary envelopes full of cash from the person Chester hated most in the world. He'd smile wide at Chester's hesitation and clap them on the back. Chester hated when he'd smile like that, like he knew how they felt and he enjoyed it. Well, he certainly couldn't enjoy it anymore.

     They couldn't tell Moon the truth. They didn't want to lie, either.

     Chester settled on a sort of compromise. "I was something of a personal assistant. I mostly… delivered."

     "Hmm." Moon scrutinized Chester for a moment.

     Chester quickly moved on to their next question. "My turn then. Do you know Sun or don't you?"

     "I do. I know him well," Moon stated. He didn't elaborate.

     "Then how could you have never-"

     Moon raised a finger, cutting Chester off. "Not your turn." He wagged his finger from side to side, as if scolding a child for stealing candy.

     Chester huffed. Moon chuckled. He adjusted, moving from crouching to sitting, folding his legs.

     "Why did you leave your old job?" Moon asked next.

     Chester leaned their head back, desperate to finally be done with this subject. "You seem very interested in my old job."

     "Just getting to know you," Moon said casually. "Answer the question."

     "Alright, jeez. You know, with all these nosy questions, you sure do remind me of Sun."

     Moon stared at them. Chester couldn't be sure what he was thinking, they hadn't learned how to read him just yet.

     "I quit because… I had… a lot of conflict with my employers," Chester explained. "How could you have never met Sun if you know him well?"

     Moon hummed. He fiddled with the ribbons tied around his wrists and leaned back. "I couldn't ever see him in person. I cannot be in the daycare when the lights are on, only when they're off. But we would still talk and leave notes for each other."

     "Oh." Chester studied Moon. They wondered if he had only been cagey with them on the topic to annoy them.

     "What's your biggest regret?" Moon asked. He was studying Chester again, watching them carefully.

     That answer was easy enough to come to. Chester stared down at their hands, resting in their lap. They thought about their old boss again. They could still remember how he'd looked, his still body at Chester's feet, next to the body of his horrible business partner, and next to two knives, both covered in blood. Chester remembered being surprised at the sheer amount of blood. People really do have so much more blood in them than you think.

     Chester took a breath. "My biggest regret… is not making a joke about Margaritaville when you asked me where I used to work."

     Moon chuckled.

     Chester was at a loss of what to say, so they tried the age old trick of turning the question back around. "What's yours?"

     Moon's hands stilled, falling into his lap. "I think you know."

     It actually took Chester a moment. They had to work back from what they knew about Moon, and what he might possibly regret that they would know about. "…Ah." Of course. He'd hurt them. Chester felt a little silly, having let it slip their mind so easily.

     "How are you healing?" Moon asked. He tapped the right side of his faceplate. The blue light came on briefly in his eyes.

     Chester reached up to touch their own head. The wound was no longer visible, easily hidden in their hair. They could still feel it, though. "I'm actually surprised at how fast it's healing. The bruises are still there, but you can't really see them through the hair. And I'm hardly ever dizzy anymore."

     Moon's faceplate turned away. He folded his arms. "That's good," he said softly. He made that mechanical clicking noise he sometimes made, rapid and quiet little clicks like a camera shutter filling the brief silence.

     "What's that noise for?" Chester asked.

     "Noise?" Moon looked at Chester again. "Oh, right, the clicking. When I had that incident with the night guard, after I… hurt her. She hit me with her flashlight, before running out of the building. Got me right in the eye. It flickers in and out of night vision sometimes now." Moon reached up and tapped at his eye, metal finger making a tnk tnk sound on the glass of his eye.

     "Oh. Come over here, let me take a look at it." Chester pat the empty bench beside them, beckoning for Moon to join them.

     Moon looked at the bench, then at Chester.

     "I don't bite, I promise." Chester pat the bench again.

     Moon slowly got to his feet. He approached the bench carefully, almost like he had half a mind to bolt. He sat down next to Chester, keeping his fists firmly on his lap.

     Chester scooted closer and carefully took the edges of Moon's faceplate in their hands. The shadowed half of his face felt strange under their thumb, like the paint was thicker than it should have been, or like it wasn't paint at all but a strange, slightly porous material. They angled the plate down towards them so they could get a better look at the damaged eye in question. It was hard to see in the dark, so they leaned in close. Under the red LED, they could just make out a ring below the glass. The ring popped forward and backward a centimeter or two in rapid motions, like the inner workings of a camera struggling to focus. Chester could hear the quiet clicking as it did this. They realized they could also hear the whir of fans. They could feel warm air on the tips of their fingers on the back of Moon's head, where the fans were venting out the hot air.

     "Are you alright? Your fans are running," Chester commented.

     "Fine. Hush." Moon pulled away. He scooted to the other end of the bench.

     "Alright, well, I didn't see any damage on the outside. I'd have to take a look on the inside to fix it. Do you want to head down to parts and service?" Chester offered.

     "No," Moon said quickly.

     "Don't you want your eye fixed??"

     Moon's fingers tapped rapidly over his knees. "…It's creepy down there."

     "Oh. Yeah, I suppose it is creepy." Chester nodded. They hummed. "I could get my tools from the daycare?"

     Moon shook his head. "You're off the clock. No working off the clock."

     "…Do you think I'd get in trouble for that?" Chester wondered. "Hm. What if we just called it a favor for a friend?"

     "Friend?" Moon's gaze snapped back to Chester.

     "Unless you don't want to be friends?? Oh no, I didn't overstep, did I? I'm so sorry," Chester signed quickly.

     "It's fine." Moon quickly cut them off. "I'm just surprised you want to be friends with me, is all."

     Chester relaxed, though they tilted their head in confusion. "Why is that surprising?"

     "I'm not a very good friend." Moon's fingers closed back into fists. He gazed down at them, hunched low enough that the red light of his eyes glowed in the metal of his hands.

     Chester remembered when they'd said something similar to Sun. They remembered how they'd felt, their apprehension, how they'd been wary of letting Sun get close because they believed they weren't a good person. They still believed that. They wondered if that was how Moon felt, like he wasn't good. They wondered what it might be like for him, if he experienced loathing in the same way they did. Chester didn't want him to feel like they felt.

    "I'm really not so good myself." Chester slowly reached out a hand, stopping halfway between them, leaving it out as an offering. "Maybe we can be not great together?"

     Moon stared down at the offered hand. He raised his gaze to study Chester before looking back down. His fans were whirring again. Moon's hands curled and uncurled over his knees. Finally, he reached out. As gently as one might hold a kitten, he took Chester's hand.

     Moon wondered if he was going to regret this. For now, all he could seem to focus on was Chester's hand in his.

~~~

     Moon's head was full of screaming the whole way back to the daycare. Some of it was even his own.

     "Sun please," Moon pleaded.

     "We HELD HANDS Moon! They were SO SWEET, Moon!!" Sun cried.

     "Lets not ignore the rest of that whole conversation."

     "So they didn't want to talk about their old job. Big deal," Sun said dismissively.

     "Sun."

     "…They must have a good reason."

     Moon made it to the daycare. He stepped inside, quickly closing the door behind him. He stood near the light switch on the wall, but he didn't turn the lights back on just yet. "I get the feeling that Chester's 'good reason' is that they're some sort of criminal. Or they were, at least."

     "That's quite an assumption, Moony."

     "Sun, They carry lockpicking tools with them all the time. They have a duffel bag of stolen merchandise in the room. Don't get me started on the room itself, why else would they need to stay here??" Moon started to pace, pulling at the ribbons on his wrists. "I bet they're staying here because they're hiding. That's why they never seem to leave the building, either."

     "Still, assuming Chester is some sort of criminal is a stretch, don't you think?? Think about it. Look at the stuff they stole. A toothbrush, socks. Those are things that humans need, not want. I think they're just down on their luck, with nowhere else to go and no one to help them," Sun argued.

     "What about the lock picking tools?"

     "If they were living out on the streets before they came here, doesn't it make sense? They might have had to learn a few things just to survive. That doesn't make them a criminal," Sun said firmly. "Not everyone who breaks the rules does so to be mean. I'm also willing to bet that they were cagey about their past job because maybe they didn't have one. Maybe they've been out on the street for a long time and they just didn't want to say!"

     "Maybe," Moon relented. He sighed. "I suppose I was quick to jump to conclusions."

     "There, see?"

     "However. The idea that Chester simply came here off the streets is another assumption. One that you're very quick to jump to because you like them."

     Sun stuttered. "I-! Wh. I- Well! You like them too!!"

     Moon folded his arms. "We shouldn't make any assumptions either way. We need more information."

     "You didn't deny it!" Sun teased.

     "Neither did you," Moon shot back.

     "I suppose you're right. Assuming anything would be rude," Sun agreed.

     Moon stopped pacing. He leaned back against the wall and gazed out over the daycare. The shadows darkened and vanished in rapid succession while Moon's eye clicked quietly. "We especially shouldn't be casting much judgement when we're keeping secrets ourselves."

     Sun was silent.

     "Have you thought about how you're going to tell them?"

     "Yes. A little. I just… really don't want it to go badly. Even just imagining how that would feel…" Sun sighed. "Feels like a scan reading off information you already know, but the information is really bad news, like a major system error."

     Moon nodded. "You know you have to think of something soon. They'll figure it out eventually."

     "I knooooow."

     "Although, they haven't gotten it yet. Despite my occasional hints."

     "Yes, your hints." Sun sounded annoyed.

     Moon chuckled. "I'm just having fun. I get to tease you and Chester at the same time. It's wonderfully efficient."

     "Good for you." Sun sounded, somehow, even more annoyed. He huffed. There was a long pause, and then, "Moony… what are we supposed to do?? Feelings are so difficult, all the time. I almost miss when everything was simpler. When we just ran code and did our job."

     "…I can't really remember what that was like anymore. Like the memory files still run even though they seem incompatible. Everything from then is hard to understand."

     "Yeah." Sun hummed. "I wish it didn't hurt so often."

     Moon folded his arms tightly, like he was trying to hug himself. "At least we've got each other, right?"

     "Right!" Sun laughed. "Even if we don't have much choice. I'd still choose to have your back anyways."

     "You are my back," Moon replied softly.

~~~

     Chester walked into the employee breakroom. They ignored Vanessa's greeting and sat down heavily in the chair next to her. They slumped over and put their head down on the table.

     "Oh boy." Vanessa chuckled. She gave Chester's back a small pat. "Rough day?"

     Chester heaved a sigh. They picked their head up, only to put their face in their hands, knocking their glasses out of the way as they did.

     "What's going on bud?? Talk to me." Vanessa nudged Chester's shoulder. She pushed away her empty lunch box, sweeping up the trash from her lunch and quickly dropping it in the nearest trash can.

     Chester fixed their glasses. Finally, they turned to Vanessa. "I have a problem." Chester glanced over their shoulder. The few others in the break room weren't paying them any attention. Even so, Chester signed close to their chest so no one else would see. "I have developed. Feelings."

     "Oh? What, like a crush??" Vanessa asked excitedly.

     Chester hushed her. They glanced over their shoulder again. Once they were assured they were still in the clear, they went on. "You can't tell anyone."

     "I wont!" Vanessa mimed locking her lips and chucking an imaginary key over her shoulder. "Why the secrecy, though? Is it someone we work with??"

     Chester didn't reply.

     "It is, isn't it!! Oooh I wonder who it could be…" Vanessa tapped her chin. She paused, a frown coming over her face. "Aw man, it's not Kat, is it?"

     Chester shook their head. "No, not them. It's actually… two people."

     Vanessa gasped. "Double crushes!"

     "Vanessa, I need help. I've got no one else to talk to. I keep making stupid decisions, and I just… I need to know how to get over these feelings," Chester pleaded. Crushes were the last thing they needed. Things were already complicated enough as it was, and if they couldn't keep from getting closer to Sun and Moon because of it, they'd only end up in a world of trouble. They thought about the night before, how they'd offered their hand to Moon, told him they could be bad friends together. Right after deciding they shouldn't get any more involved here than they had already! They put their face back in their hands.

     "Get over them?? I thought you'd ask for my help in asking these two mystery lovers out," Vanessa said.

     "Please don't call them that."

     Vanessa smiled sweetly. "What, mystery lovers??"

     "Vanessa."

     Vanessa laughed. "Sorry, I'm just messing with you. So… I take it neither of them feel the same?"

     Chester shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not??"

     "Why not give it a shot, then?"

     Chester could think of a great many reasons, but not a lot of them were reasons they couldn't share with Vanessa. "I just… can't."

     "Hmm." Vanessa studied Chester for a moment. "Alright. If you change your mind… I make a pretty good wingman, you know. I could chat you up to these…"

     Chester gave her a look.

     "Love interests?" Vanessa tried. When Chester just kept staring at her, she shrugged and went on. "Alright. My advice to getting over a crush fast is to go out of your way to find things you don't like about them. A lot of the time, you get all caught up in a fantasy version of your crush and don't really think about their flaws. Seeking the flaws out can help break that fantasy, you know? And hey, maybe you find out they've got some super annoying habit that you can't stand. I used to have a big crush on this girl back in college, then I found out she liked to chew with her mouth open all the time. I got over that one real fast."

     Chester thought Vanessa's advice over. It did sound reasonable. "That's some good advice. I'll give it a shot. Thank you, Vanessa."

     Vanessa bowed her head and made a little flourish with her hand. "It was my pleasure, friend. Hey!! You're never gonna believe it- last night I finally got the golden house!"

     "Really? That's great, you've been looking for that thing for a while now." Chester eased back into their chair.

     "I know!! It was well worth the wait though." Vanessa dove into one of her long winded ramblings.

     Chester followed with ease, prompting Vanessa with occasional questions, though they just listened for the most part. It was nice, focusing on something light and normal for once. Not only that, but it was nice just to converse with a friend. Their break didn't last long enough before they had to get back to work.

     As the day went on and Chester slowly made their way through their task list, they kept Vanessa's advice in the back of their mind. They thought about how to put it to use. They'd get the chance soon enough- closing time was approaching quicker than they'd thought.

     Sun was there waiting for Chester when they got off their shift. The daycare had closed for the day a while ago, and it looked like Sun had already finished cleaning up. He came bounding up as Chester came through the door.

     "Hellooo~!" Sun sang. "How was your day?"

     "Not bad. How was yours?" Chester asked, stepping out of their shoes.

     Sun walked with Chester in stride as they made their way across the daycare. "Every day has its challenges. But I'd say everything went smoothly! Some of the kids were picking on a few of the others. I had a talk with them about how important it is to remember that everyone deserves to be treated kindly. They apologized all on their own and everyone got along the whole rest of the day!"

     Chester paused as they reached the stairs. "That's nice. You're really good with the kids." They caught themself as they started to climb, remembering Vanessa's advice.

     Sun stepped in tandem with them, watching to be sure Chester didn't suffer a sudden dizzy spell or trip. His hand hovered near Chester's back, not touching them, but ready to catch them just in case.

     Not big on personal space, Chester tried. Well. He's just watching out for me, he knows I have trouble with the stairs sometimes. He's actually being very nice and thoughtful…

     Wait. Fuck. This isn't working.

     They reached the room. Chester went to their little corner, where their bed and duffle bag were. They paused and looked at Sun, who had followed them over and was currently swaying happily back and forth.

     "Do you need to charge?" Chester asked.

     "Nope! All the kids were picked up earlier than usual today so I had some extra time. I've charged up already!"

     "Okay. Would you mind giving me some privacy? I'd like to change."

     "OH!! Yes, of course! Sorry!" Sun wheeled around and practically sprinted out of the room.

     Chester heard Sun fumble loudly down the steps, reaching the bottom in record time. They tried very hard to be annoyed, to find Sun's clinginess grating. They were having no such luck. In fact, they were struggling not to smile.

     Chester got changed quickly. They'd recently replaced their work shirt with a fresh one from the uniform closet, and they wanted to keep it as clean as possible for as long as possible. They knew from their attempts to wash their clothes in a bathroom sink that trying to clean clothes without a washing machine was a huge pain in the ass. Work shirt and hat dropped off in their duffel bag, Chester took a moment to check their little handheld mirror. They were halfway through trying to make their hair cooperate before they realized they didn't usually bother with appearances, besides looking decent enough for their work shifts.

     WHAT am I doing.

     Face warm, Chester immediately threw the mirror back in their bag. They left the room, feeling determined that they'd find something about Sun to be annoyed about by the end of the night. As they descended the stairs, they thought about having to do this all over again when they saw Moon. They'd figure that out when it came to it.

     "What would you like to do tonight?? I believe I picked last time at your insistence, so you should pick tonight," Sun said. He was excitedly rocking back and forth, the bells on his shoes jingling in tandem.

     He never stops moving. His energy is endless, Chester thought. They weren't really all that annoyed by this, though. In fact, it made it easier to tell what he was feeling.

     "Do you need some help picking? Maybe I could narrow it down for you?" Sun offered.

     Chester shook their head and focused. "Sorry, just thinking." They approached the board game shelf, eyes drifting over a wide collection of titles to pick from. Their mind drifted again, still trying to think of something they didn't like about either Sun or Moon. The task was proving to be far more difficult than they'd been expecting, and Chester was starting to get a little worried.

     Both of them could be nosy at times. Chester didn't think they'd have minded that so much if they didn't have their secrets to worry about, though. Moon seemed to enjoy teasing them, but Chester would be lying if they'd claimed to be actually annoyed by that.

     "Maybe if you're having trouble picking a game we could do something else??" Sun prompted.

     Chester had forgotten all about the games. They focused back on the shelf. They started to reach for one at random, but paused when they realized they'd just played chutes and ladders with Sun the other night. They looked instead for something new, lowering their hand.

     Sun made a quiet noise, too steeped in static to tell what it was meant to be. Chester glanced back to see Sun had his faceplate tilted up to the ceiling, his arms hanging limply by his sides.

     "…Impatient," Chester realized, mumbling the word aloud in their epiphany. With Sun's energy levels, there wasn't much room left for patience.

     Sun startled, faceplate snapping back down to look at Chester. His shoulders hunched and he folded his hands together. "I'm sorry," Sun said. He went on, quickly starting to ramble in his worry. "I didn't mean to… I've just been thinking and thinking and thinking all day long about spending time with you, and no one else uses up as much processing power all the time as you do and it gets to the point where I worry about if I need a system reboot but then I see you and it gets so much better and so much worse at the same time and I sure am talking a lot and I can't really seem to stop and-"

     "Sun." Chester grabbed hold of Sun's arms, cutting him off.

     "…Sorry," Sun said again. "I don't really know how to handle…" Sun's fingers started to fidget, quickly devolving into wringing together like he often did when he was nervous. "I'm sorry for being impatient. I think there's something wrong with me."

     Chester shook their head slowly. They moved their hands down from Sun's arms, taking hold of his hands instead, stilling them. "Sun… there's not a thing wrong with you."

     And I don't have a single fucking clue what to do about it.

     Sun was very quiet, save for the whirring from his fans. His gaze slowly turned down to look at his hands and Chester's, clasped together.

     Chester looked down as well. What the hell am I doing?? Chester quickly pulled their hands away and turned back to the game shelf. They grabbed the first box they saw- Battleship.

     Sun still seemed sort of stunned, but accepted the game.

     They got everything set up and went back and forth for a few turns, Chester deciding to use a spiral strategy to guess where Sun's ships were the fastest. They were doing their best to focus intently on the game.

     Sun looked up at Chester. "Hey. You being here makes me glad."

     Chester smiled. "Thank you, Sun." They felt an airy lightness in their chest. "You know flattery won't convince me to go easy on you, right?"

     Sun laughed. "Oh, dear! My plots have been foiled."

     They went back and forth, honing in on each others ships and cracking jokes as they went. Despite the jokes and the teasing, Chester didn't mind one bit whether they won or lost. They were having far too much fun to care.

~~~

     Between Lance and Rosa, Chester figured Lance would be the better of the two to approach with the employee profile issue. Lance seemed less likely to ask them prying questions about how they'd come about their information.

     Chester told him about the issue being that missing digital employee profiles and valid nametag barcodes sent conflicting messages, resulting in errors that the bots didn't know how to handle very well while in security mode. They told Lance about their paper copy solution, and how there hadn't been an issue with the bug since. They also told him about how getting other programs to run instead would get the bot in question out of the error situation as well. Lance wrote everything down and assured Chester that anyone else who ended up on the nightshift would be equipped with a paper copy of their employee profile, at least until the software division over in the upper management offices figured out a patch.

     As Chester was leaving, Lance stopped them.

     "Hey, Chester. I just wanted to say… you've been doing a really great job around here. I had a talk with Rosa, who says you're staying on track and getting through your night shift tasks. You've shown some good initiative and you've been a huge help. I can't say how much exactly, since it's more Rosa's department, but I can say that you're due for a raise soon. So, keep up the good work, okay?" Lance smiled.

     Chester did their best to hide their confliction. "Thank you," they signed. They left the office.

     I really am getting way too involved here.

     This was supposed to be a ruse. Chester might have been a fast learner, a good observer, but they still weren't a real technician. So then, why did they feel proud??

     The pride in and of itself was another mess of confliction. They did want to do a good job. They weren't sure when they'd gone from wanting to do the bare minimum in order to not be fired, to doing the absolute best they could at this job. It wasn't just them wanting to appear competent in order to not be found out anymore. They actually enjoyed the work they were doing, and they liked doing it well.

     WAY too involved.

     Chester decided to unpack this later. They did, after all, have a job to do.

     With that conversation with Lance out of the way at last, Chester found it much easier to focus on their tasks. Between that and asking the walls for help with getting around, they managed to get through a good number before it was time for them to go on break.

     Vanessa and Chester were in the middle of a discussion about exploiting bugs in games in order to achieve faster speed-running times when Katherine sat down at their table in the break room, effectively butting in.

     "Settle something for us, losers," Katherine said, pointing back at the table they'd come from. Two of their friends were watching on.

     "Yes, you would loose in a fight against either of us," Vanessa said. "Is that all?"

     "Oh my god, shut up. I could totally beat you both at the same time. But no, that's not what we were arguing about," Katherine said. They waved over their two friends, who reluctantly came to sit with Chester and Vanessa as well.

     Chester recognized one of the two, her long dark hair dyed pink on the tips. Her nametag read 'TECHNICIAN: Wendy'. She sat with Katherine often. The other was a new hire, their nametag reading 'TECHNICIAN: Ellis'. Ellis had short curly hair and a round face.

     "We were trying to tell Ellis here that the animatronics are actually like, sentient. They don't believe us," Wendy explained.

     "I mean, it's just AI isn't it? They have pre-recorded voice lines and follow programmed scripts," Ellis said.

     "How long have you been working here?" Vanessa asked.

     "Today's my second day," Ellis stated.

     "They haven't had much chance to interact with the bots yet," Katherine said.

     Vanessa nodded. "Well, they're sentient alright."

     "How can that be??" Ellis looked at the group in clear disbelief.

     "As senior technician here," Vanessa started, straightening up and smiling, "allow me to illuminate the situation. You see, a few years back when this place first opened, the robots weren't sentient to start out with. They were super advanced, sure. Technical marvels of the modern age, without a doubt. But sentience didn't happen till I think about a year or so ago, very roughly. It was about when I started working here, they were hiring lots of new techs on because the bots were having all these weird problems following a mass general update. Turns out, thoughts and feelings and general self awareness don't mix super well with rigid programming."

     Vanessa's expression turned serious. She folded her arms over the table and went on. "I know all the bots seem pretty chill now, but back when I first started they had it really rough. Some of them seemed to handle sentience better than others. They had to discontinue two animatronics who had gotten to the point where they were just unfit to carry on. They weren't totally sentient at that point, but they were aware enough that trying to exist in that state, self aware but confined to coding not intended for any of that… I really can't imagine how horrible it must have been. But yeah, besides that, when the AI update came out that made everyone sentient, it was implemented as an automatic general download and was sent out to all the bots in the plex at once. Programmers weren't even thinking about it, but the staff bots and wet floor sign bots also received updates through the network. However their processors weren't really built to handle all that like the animatronics, so they’re all very low level sentience."

     Chester was so lost in the horrifying speculation of what it must have been like for the bots at first that they almost missed Ellis's next question.

     "But… how do you know they're sentient??" Ellis's tone was different now, with a far most serious edge than before, after Vanessa's explanation.

     "Same way I know you lot are sentient. You have thoughts, feelings, ideas. The way the bots feel might look a little different from how humans feel. They're wired differently, so to speak. But rest assured, they do feel," Vanessa said.

     "…I'm not sure how to feel about that. Still don't know if I believe it," Ellis said.

     "Believe it, dummy. Just treat em like co-workers and you'll be fine. That's what I do," Katherine said.

     "I didn't know the staff bots were sentient to some degree as well," Wendy said. "It took me a whole month to figure out the robots were sentient."

     "Oh, yeah. I didn't figure it out for a while either." Katherine laughed. "Looking back, I really should have realized sooner. Chester seemed to get it pretty quick, though. When did you figure it out, C-bot?" Katherine nudged Chester's arm.

     "I guess I just… assumed right off the bat after my first conversation?" Chester couldn't remember having any sort of big epiphany moment. They'd just been so focused on not being caught in their ruse, it hadn't even occurred to them to question the sentience of their robotic coworkers.

     "Typical. Of course a robot wouldn't have any trouble accepting another robot as sentient." Katherine rolled their eyes. They straightened up and put on a neutral, tired sort of expression. They spoke in a monotone voice. "Hello. I am Chester. Here to assimilate into mankind. I must sit and observe the humans in order to blend in."

     Wendy laughed with Katherine while Vanessa rolled her eyes. Ellis seemed distracted by all the talk of robot sentience.

     "Chester clearly didn't observe you very well. They're far too polite and civil," Vanessa told Katherine.

     "They didn't observe you then either," Katherine shot back.

     "I apologize if my staring ever weirded you out," Chester signed. They'd assumed that no one had noticed them watching everyone else, but thinking back, they hadn't exactly been attempting to hide it.

     "I'm just fucking with you, Chester." Katherine pat Chester on the back. "Seeing as over half the damn workforce is apparently on break, someone had better get back out there. I'll catch you losers later."

     Vanessa checked her phone for the time. "It's about time for us to head back out there as well."

     Chester helped picked up any trash left on the table before leaving the breakroom with Vanessa.

     "Kat's insufferable," Vanessa commented, rolling her eyes. "They do a good job though, at least."

     "They do," Chester agreed.

     "I think she messes with you cause she's jealous of you. Before you started, Kat lead the whole division in task completion. Lately you've been giving them a run for their money," Vanessa said.

     "Really?? But… I'm still so slow," Chester eyed their task list over. It was dauntingly long.

     "Yeah, but I don’t think you've had a single task re-opened yet. That means no one had to come in behind you and fix something you did. Rosa's always going on about making sure we do tasks the right way the first time, regardless of how swamped we are, because it wastes even more time to have to go back and do a task over again," Vanessa said.

     "I see." Chester considered that for a moment. They supposed they didn't feel as terrible about taking their time on every task. "I just... Really want to do a good job. And not mess up," they explained, leaving out the reasoning behind this fear. How if they didn't take their time and puzzle through every task, someone might figure out they were just doing a surprisingly decent job of pretending to be a technician.

     "Right. You don't need to worry so much, Chester. Everyone thinks you do a good job." Vanessa winked at them. "Anyhoo, I'm headed off a different direction. I'll see you around, okay?"

     "See you." Chester waved goodbye to Vanessa. They looked back down at their task list, finding it to be a little less intimidating. They picked their next task from the list and got back to work.

~~~

     Chester thought they were doing an alright job of successfully avoiding their feelings, so far. It was a little easier with Moon than it was with Sun, since he liked to keep his distance.

     Moon was currently keeping Chester company for the last half of their night shift, walking with them around the plex as they ran diagnostic checks and worked through their task list. Moon kept his distance as usual, keeping pace with Chester but keeping as much space between them as possible, practically scraping himself along the wall. When Chester stopped to complete a task, he'd sit himself down a few decent paces away and watch them from a distance.

     Chester felt a little hesitant over being watched while they did their tasks, but most of their tasks tonight were simple but tedious tasks, all things they got the feeling the day crew had put off doing because they hadn't wanted to suffer through the boredom.

     They started working their way down the line of card-reading gates by the front entrance, opening up the little port panel in the base of each gate and plugging in the diagnostic scanner. All they had to do was wait for the little device to finish its business, unplug it, put the panel back in place, and move on to the next one.

     "Why do you like this job? This is boring," Moon commented. He spun his faceplate around lazily.

     "Every night is a little different. Tonight's tasks just happened to be more tedious," Chester signed as they sat back and waited for the diagnostic device. They loved nights like these, where the tasks were easy and they didn't have to stress about messing anything up or doing something wrong.

     Moon hummed. "You should tell me a story."

     "A story?? Why?"

     "Because I'm bored," Moon said simply.

     Chester rolled their eyes. "No one told you that you had to hang out with me."

     "Would you rather I leave?"

     "…Once upon a time," Chester started.

     Moon chuckled.

     Chester went on. "There was a lonely traveler. The traveler loved wandering the world and seeing its sights. They liked to be moving, going places. They spent their days and nights exploring magical mountains and discovering all sorts of strange creatures hiding in the nooks and crannies of the world." Chester paused, moving the diagnostic device over to the next gate.

     "One day, the traveler met a king who was very rich and powerful. The king had stolen and tricked his way to the throne, and his nefarious advisor guarded him and assured that no one would attempt to do the same to him. The traveler had wandered into the king's land by mistake, and the king decided the traveler must pay the price for their transgressions. So he and his advisor turned the traveler's legs to stone, so they couldn't wander the world anymore."

     Chester paused, fiddling with the small panel they'd removed from the side of the gate. They set it carefully back down on their knee and continued to sign. "The traveler decided that, to be trapped with the cruel king and his advisor, unable to travel the world any longer, was a fate worse than death. They'd tried everything they could to break their curse and turn their stone legs back to flesh, but it was no use. So, at last, they decided to pull themself off the castle balcony, and fell into the sea."

     Moon stared patiently at Chester, waiting for them to go on. Chester had been finished with their story, but upon realizing Moon wasn't satisfied, they decided to keep going.

     Chester moved the diagnostic device to the next gate and continued. "Then… The traveler was surprised to find that… the ocean tide was strong enough to carry them along. When they sank below the waves, they found an entirely new world to them, hidden below the water. There were coral cities and fantastic sea creatures and beautiful seashells. The ocean tide pulled them along, and they traveled once more, roaming the bottom of the seas. And they were happy."

     Chester looked at Moon again. Moon tapped his fingers over the floor as he considered Chester's story.

     "I'm glad the traveler was happy in the end," he said. "Thank you for the story. I wasn't expecting you to actually tell me one."

     "Oh. Well, you're welcome." Chester watched the diagnostic device as it slowly ran its little program. They waited until the screen flashed green, then moved it to the next gate. They looked back over at Moon, who was steadily getting closer as Chester made their way down the line of gates towards where he was sitting against the wall. "Sorry if it wasn't the best story. I hope you're not too bored. I do appreciate the company."

     "I liked your story," Moon said, "and your company is just fine. I haven't gotten to talk to anyone in a while. The bar is very low for you."

     Chester smiled. "Glad to know I meet the absolute bare minimum." They fiddled idly with the small panel for a moment. "Do you miss working in the daycare?"

     "Of course," Moon said softly. "…I miss the kids. Even when they didn't want to settle down for naptime, or fought over stuffed animals. It was still… fulfilling. Watching over them."

     "That's sweet." Chester imagined Moon, quietly watching over the kids of the daycare, tucking them in for naps. "I hope things get put back to normal for you soon. I talked to mister Baxter about the whole employee profile issue, so I'm sure you won't have to wait for too much longer."

     Moon nodded. Chester watched him wrap his arms around himself in a loose hug.

     Chester wasn't sure how to comfort Moon, though they wanted to very much. They got the feeling he was a little more upset than he was letting on. They weren't sure if Moon felt the same about his position in the daycare as Sun did about his, but they knew it must have been difficult for him regardless. They decided instead to try for a distraction. "Your turn."

     "My turn?" Moon's faceplate rotated a few degrees.

     Chester nodded. "Yeah, you tell me a story now."

     "Hmm." Moon refolded his legs and tapped at his chin. "Okay. Once upon a time… there was a jester who served a mighty king."

     Chester raised an eyebrow at Moon. Moon put a finger over his grin, shushing them.

     "When the king told the jester to dance, the jester danced. When the king told the jester to sing, the jester sang. And when the king told the jester to smile, the jester obeyed."

     Chester went through the motions of moving the diagnostic device along to the next gate. Their focus was entirely on Moon.

     "The king’s word was law, and was bound by magic. No one had ever broken one of the king’s decrees before, though some had tried. None were able to break the magic. The king on his throne was entirely untouchable. The jester knew this very well.” Moon paused, his gaze turning down to his hands. “When the king told the jester to gather the stars from the sky for him to decorate his crown with, the jester had no choice but to comply.”

     Diagnostic device forgotten, Chester sat and stared at Moon, waiting silently for him to go on.

     “The jester did everything they could. They built the tallest ladders, they tossed up lassoes of the longest ropes, and they even climbed the highest mountains trying to reach the stars for the king. But the stars were always too far away. They could not satisfy the king, but they could not disobey him either. The jester, stood atop the highest mountain, searched for a solution. They found the top of the mountain was home to many gorgeous stones and jewels that shimmered and gleamed just as bright as the stars. So the jester took some of the jewels back for the king, claiming they were stars plucked from the sky. The king was satisfied, and fixed his crown with the false stars. The king seemed none the wiser, but the jester always knew, every time they gazed upon the king. They knew the real stars were forever unreachable in the sky above.”

     Moon looked up at Chester, finished with his story. Chester sat back, thinking the tale over.

     “I think the jester did just fine. Even if they couldn’t reach the stars,” Chester remarked. “Mountain jewels are just as nice.”

     “They failed the king,” Moon said.

     “They didn’t, though. The king was satisfied in the end. Isn't that what mattered?” Chester pointed out.

     “…Maybe.”

     Chester realized they’d forgotten about their diagnostic device and quickly went to move it along to the next gate. Once it was running, they turned back to Moon. “Thank you for the story.”

     “You’re welcome.”

     “What is it with these fantasy kings, huh?" Chester offered a light laugh.

     Moon chuckled. He kept his gaze on Chester as they moved next to him, plugging the diagnostic device into one of the last gates. He stiffened, like he wanted to move away, but remained where he was.

     "Feeling okay?" Chester asked.

     "Fine." Moon turned his faceplate away. He fiddled with the ribbons around his wrists. "Wondering if…" Moon trailed off.

     Chester eyed him curiously. When he didn't continue, they prompted him. "Moon?"

     "Forget it." Moon reached up and pulled his nightcap down to cover his eyes. He curled in on himself, still not looking at Chester.

     "Is there anything I can do to help?" Chester asked, wondering what had Moon acting like this all of a sudden.

     Moon made a static filled noise. He looked down at his hands, then glanced carefully at Chester from under the rim of his hat. "I was. Wondering. If maybe…" Moon trailed off again. He made another noise, this one sounding more like a sigh. He slowly held his hand out to Chester, pausing halfway between them.

     "Oh!" Chester realized what he was asking. He wanted more calibration practice. Chester smiled. They finished plugging the diagnostic device into the last gate and turned to Moon while it did its thing. They took his hand, holding it gently. They signed to him with their free hand. "You only had to ask, silly."

     Moon huffed, turning his faceplate up. His fingers were rigidly still in Chester's hand.

     Chester looked down at Moon's hand, studying it carefully. It looked pretty similar to Sun's hands. Chester was having a hard time finding any differences at all, actually. They probably shared the same sort of model type, like how the glamrocks shared the same type of endoskeleton frame. Chester brushed a thumb over Moon's plastic casing, wondering if they could feel for the sensors underneath, what with how much more flexible and thin Moon's plastic casing was, compared to the glamrock's metal casing.

     Moon's frame rattled, his casing shaking noisily as his whole endoskeleton seemed to vibrate. Chester looked up at him in surprise. Moon seemed just as surprised, sitting there entirely motionless like a deer caught in headlights. Then he quickly snatched his hand away and scrambled to his feet, putting several feet of distance between him and Chester.

     "Your device is done. Time to go," Moon said.

     Chester glanced over at the diagnostic device. Its screen was flashing green at them. They unplugged it and put the panel back in place. They stuck the device in their belt and got to their feet.

     "Are you… okay??" Chester asked cautiously.

     "Fine," Moon said curtly.

     "Do you want to try calibrating again?" Chester offered.

     Moon quickly shook his head. "I think that's enough for one night."

     "We held hands for half a minute."

     Moon folded his arms. "Why do you want to hold my hand so badly, hmm?"

     Chester faltered. They quickly busied themself with their faz-phone, marking the entrance gate diagnostic task complete and scrolling through their list for the next task. "You're the one who offered."

     "Anyways. What's next on the list?" Moon was already making his way to the main hall.

     Chester hurried to catch up. "Next I need to… replace a broken nozzle on an ice cream dispenser." They marked the task as 'in progress'.

     "Hardly seems very technical."

     "At least it's easy." Chester shrugged. They lead the way to find where replacement nozzles were stored. The map looked to be leading them to the general warehouse, down in the access tunnels.

     "And afterwards we can have ice cream," Moon said.

     Chester studied Moon. "Can you eat?? I know the glamrocks have small removable compartments for food waste, so they can eat a slice of pizza or something for a stunt or what have you. But your faceplate doesn't exactly… move?"

     Moon spun his faceplate. "I could pretend."

     The pair made it to the general warehouse. There were almost no service lights here, so Chester clicked on their flashlight, aiming it away from Moon. They started searching shelves, angling the beam of light over labels and cardboard boxes and storage crates.

     Chester signed to Moon with their free hand. "If you could have three wishes, what would they be?"

     Moon hummed. Chester watched the bright red lights of his eyes turn back and forth as Moon slowly rotated his face a few degrees clockwise, then counter, then back again while he thought. "My first wish… countless riches. Of course."

     "Naturally." Chester smiled and nodded.

     "My second wish. World domination. Duh." Moon waved a hand. "And my third… world peace."

     "How kind of you." Chester found the box they were after. They pulled out a replacement nozzle and turned away from the shelf slowly, giving Moon plenty of time to move out of the way of their flashlight. "Although if you ruled the world, you could make sure there was world peace anyways, couldn't you?"

     "It would take more than one ruler to achieve total world peace, no matter how good the ruler was," Moon said.

     Chester hummed thoughtfully. "What if you had one more wish?"

     "One more wish. How gracious."

     As the pair stepped out from the tighter confines of the storage shelves and out into the open floor, Moon remained by Chester's side instead of immediately moving to put distance between them. They walked together slowly, Chester keeping an eye on where they were going and Moon considering the question carefully.

     "I would wish… for a different face," Moon finally said.

     "Oh?" Chester glanced up at him.

     "So I could eat ice cream, of course."

     "Ah, of course." Chester nodded. "No other reason?"

     "…" Moon tilted his faceplate away, hiding the red glow of his eyes from Chester. "I wouldn't mind… not having to smile all the time. I think most people find me off-putting."

     "I don't," Chester replied immediately. They paused when Moon's gaze snapped to them.

     Here in the shadows, the darkened half of Moon's face was nearly invisible, save for the faint curve of his carved cheeks faintly reflecting the red of his pinprick eyes, and the faint shapes of his teeth locked into an eternal grin. Chester, who was usually focused more on Moon's body language, took a moment to focus more on Moon's face. They got the sudden urge to give Moon's pointy nose a kiss.

     Chester shooed the sudden thought away, hoping their face wasn't as warm as it felt. "I like your nose," Chester signed.

     "Don't lie to me." Moon sighed, turning his faceplate away. "It's alright, I know my face is creepy."

     Chester scowled. They put their flashlight away for a moment so their hands were free to take hold of Moon's faceplate. They angled it back towards them, and before they could chicken out or overthink, they gave Moon's pointed nose a smooch.

     "I wasn't lying." Chester quickly turned and marched for the door, taking their flashlight back out so they didn't trip over anything. They were embarrassed enough as it was.

     Moon stood there in stunned silence, only snapping out of it when Chester made it to the door. He slowly moved to follow them, still reeling and confused by what had just happened.

     The pressure sensors in Moon's face kept bouncing the readings back and forth through Moon's mind. It was all he could focus on. Exactly a seventh of a PSI, for barely a second. There was something else, something there that didn't have a decipherable reading. It was like fried wires, sparkling with far too much electricity. It was almost overwhelming, though not entirely… unpleasant.

     "This looks like a super easy replacement. Shouldn't take long to fix at all," Chester commented, avoiding looking at Moon.

     "Right. Yes. Good." Moon nodded. "I think. I need to go."

     That made Chester look back at him. "I… I didn't overstep, did I?"

     "No," Moon assured. "I just. Need some time. To process. Everything is fine."

     "Okay. I'll see you around?" Chester asked.

     "Yes. See you. Good night." Moon hurried off, quickly vanishing around a corner.

     Chester took a deep breath, then slapped a hand to their forehead.

     Stupid! What was I thinking?! Why did I do that… Chester shook their head. They hurried off towards the food court, their face burning. They were at least glad Moon wasn't here to see their embarrassment.

     Moon, meanwhile, couldn't get back to the daycare fast enough. He hit the lights as soon as he was through the doors, leaving Sun to deal with the overheating processors.

     "AHHHHH??" Sun immediately said, grabbing at the sides of his faceplate. His rays quickly retracted as his hands neared.

     "I know," Moon replied.

     Sun didn't know what to do any more than Moon did. He simply laid himself face down on the floor, letting the vents on the back of his head pump out endless waves of hot air.

     "MOON," Sun said, his voice quiet as the speaker of his voice box sent out the sound directly into the padded daycare floor.

     "I know," Moon said again.

     "What are we supposed to do, Moon?!"

     "I don't know," Moon replied.

     "Ahhhhhhhh," Sun cried again. "…I can't wait for them to get back."

     Despite it all, Moon couldn't help but agree. He sighed heavily. "Me too."

[lonelypond]

Casual Lunacy, Chapter 14

Love Live, NicoMaki, 2K, 14/?

Every Day My Confusion Grows

Cold air had cleared Maki’s head. Now there was not so much a cacophony of smells, crowd, noise closing around her, with everything Nico permeating the room. Now there was fresh air, free swinging arm movement, distant traffic noises, the crunch of snow, boot heels cracking through frosty crust, moonlight glinting off everything white and polished. And everywhere, in every sense, Nico. Who was humming happily, although Maki didn’t recognize the tune. But the pull was familiar, Nico’s voice wrapping around her senses, frissons of thrill connecting, the feel of Nico’s caresses etched by passion across her skin still vivid. The moon seemed so distant compared to this joy. Maki ran a couple of steps forward, bumping Nico. Nico laughed, merry bells and chimes of wonder, and Maki threw up her head in an ecstatic howl. Nico twirled, “Going to push Nico into the snow again, Princess?” Nico’s eyes twinkled.

“Change my name in your phone.” Maki demanded, feeling silly and bold, resisting the urge to bump Nico with her head. There was a new body language to learn, new moves to try. Maki pulled Nico close, tilting down to kiss the red lips that opened as a spark hissed between them, Nico’s tongue flicking Maki’s lips, Maki murmuring Nico’s name, need driving her to uncharted actions, so she pressed forward, lips tasting Nico’s cheek, ears, neck. Nico’s voice lowered, her mouth so hot near Maki’s ear, her voice another thrill as Maki heard her name whispered and moaned with vibrations that made her want to push Nico down in the snow right there, her hands ripping through Nico’s parka. Then Nico shivered. And Maki pulled her in, wrapping both arms around her, the silky smooth of Nico’s hair tickling her chin, and that was a new pleasure, Nico nuzzling into her, both of her arms pulling Maki closer, Nico breathing in everything Maki and then Nico’s scratchy mittens sliding under Maki’s shirt as she started kissing her way across Maki’s shoulder. They were both going to freeze, Maki thought, pulling back before Nico’s lips grazed her neck. She bent down and lifted Nico, bounding back to Nico’s house.

Nico unlocked the door and they fell into the foyer, Maki practically tearing off Nico’s parka, Nico nearly duplicating Nozomi’s favorite strategy, as she struggled with Maki’s shirt. Maki was completely undone, all instinct and action, Nico’s hands everywhere, Nico’s eyes gleaming in the dark, Maki’s fangs leaving little marks along Nico’s arms and neck as the singer traced her fingers back and forth across Maki’s neck, through the now wild hair, lips driving the werewolf into a whimpering frenzy. And then Maki’s ringtone went off again and she froze. Nico was suddenly holding a coil of confused, half dressed panic. The glorious lavender eyes were frantic, Maki’s gaze skittering everywhere in an effort to avoid Nico’s.

“Maki.” Nico forced her voice to be as soothing, as calming as she could, but Maki was already back at the door, tearing it open, howling as she leapt, what clothes that didn’t fall to the floor, Maki shredded with her claws as she became a red blur racing into the moonlight.

Nico stared, at the clothes, at the open door, at the space in front of her where girl had become wolf in a nearly instantaneous origami of weird angles and impossible melding. Clothes. Scattered. Shredded. Not being worn. Maki had been naked all that time. On the couch. Up against…Nico had been…

So that was what the world going dark felt like, Nico thought as her knees recovered some stability after a dangerous moment. Not pleasant. Not pleasant at all. But after a few minutes standing, silent, in the dark, pragmatic Nico returned, picking up Maki’s clothes, making sure to grab Maki’s phone. She’d have to call Maki’s mother to check the redhead got home safely. Nico groaned. So complicated. But Maki obviously had zero experience with…anything, and she had been so agitated and out of control when she bolted. Frantic. Nico hurried up the stairs and hit “Return Call.”

“Hello?”

“This is Nico. Is she there yet?” Nico was surprised by how concerned she sounded. What had it been, two weeks and here she was, breathless with worry over a skittish, gorgeous redhead, nudity and tail optional. And then Nico recognized a familiar snuffling sound coming through the phone. Princess, no Maki must have heard her voice. Nico smiled, just a little, picturing Maki eagerly nudging the phone.

“Get some sleep, pretty girl. Nico will drop off your phone tomorrow morning.”

Maki howled a response; Nico thought she sounded worried. What to say to be reassuring? And was her mom listening?

“Nico has plans tomorrow, but come over for brunch Sunday. Nico will cook.” There was a whine and suddenly Nico could see the scene in her head, Prin…Maki tilting up her head at her mother, the nod and then a short, determined howl.

“Good night, Maki. See you in the morning.”

A whine in response. Nico ended the call, restless, tired and with too much to think about.

Maki had refused to transform. Her mother had not been happy, but the absolutely last thing Maki wanted to do was talk. She had sprinted home, run up the treehouse, howled her heart out at the moon, informing the listening world of the change in her status, her voice a melody dedicated to the thrills of being caught by the lure of lips and sable and sensation.

After Nico’s call and an annoyed dismissal from her tired mother, Maki retreated to her bedroom, transforming, robe half tied, scenes from the night replaying in her head as her heart raced and she longed to hear Nico’s voice or have her there, near again, eager again, reaching again.

There was sleep, maybe, but Maki’s dreams were lost to memory, agitation and new awareness searching for avenues of expression, fear sneaking in as somewhere, Maki realized she had no idea what happened next, what was on the other side of the leap.

Last night, Eli had texted that she’d gotten Nozomi to sleep and described Nozomi’s faint. As she packed up some muffins to take to her friend, Nico wondered if Nozomi was overworked, ill or if there really was something weird going on at the theatre. Nico was a pragmatist; she knew all about theatre ghost rumors and made sure to avoid obvious jinxes, but in her heart of hearts, she believed in practical things like hard work, family, and friendship.

Now, the hot, very kissable girlfriend with bonus cute, furry ears and a tail was not really a practical thing, but Maki, while a little skittish, mostly just seemed shy, not dangerous or magical. And yet…Nico frowned. Maybe there were more things in this world than she had previously dreamt of…But surely Nozomi was merely a clever charlatan whose nosiness gave her an aura of awareness. Nico had been certain of that..yesterday morning.

Nozomi had been a bit too glad to see to see Nico, too free with the air kisses and “Nico-chi”s while a worried Eli watched from the bed. Tea was being served on the small table Nozomi had acquired. Singles in the Mid-Quads were large enough to move in, unlike the ones at the Plex. Nico had tried asking questions, expressing concern, but Nozomi had just dodged, finally just shoving her deck at Nico.

“If you won’t tell me how your date went, Nico-chi, the cards will. Shuffle.” Nozomi’s voice had an edge; Eli moved to the foot of the bed, watching Nozomi closely. Nozomi poured tea for herself, ignoring both of her guests as Nico shuffled.

“Three. Line them up. You know how it goes.” Nozomi ordered, her voice stripped of any warmth, curiosity or mischief. Nico raised an eyebrow at Eli, who shook her head and mimed dealing out the cards. So Nico did. Nozomi’s chortle when Nico turned them over was nearly a cackle.

Nico looked at the cards in front of her closely. First, that card with the dog, again. She would have suspected Nozomi of subterfuge but Nico had shuffled and drawn herself. Next to it was a flipped card with a two people holding cups, then another flipped card, two raggedy people trudging through snow in front of a church window…didn’t look cheerful, Nico thought. She should have stuck with drawing a single card. The first, with the dog, at least it looked warm and fun.

“Well.” Nico stared at her friend, who had her arms crossed and was only half looking at the cards.

Nozomi shrugged, her voice dismissive, “The Fool is a new phase, the 2 of Cups and the 5 of Pentacles, inverted, mean you have to beware of difficulties.” Nozomi’s voice got a little of its snap back and she leaned toward Nico, “Your ego is in the way, Nico-chi, of course, but you can move forward if you don’t let pride hold you back. So be nice to the redhead and remember she has feelings.”

And fangs, Nico thought, but her reply was a simple, “Nico knows.”

Nozomi took the cards back, reluctantly it seemed and shuffled the cards, much more anxious than Nico had ever seen, muttering. Nozomi turned to Eli, who nodded and moved to sit next to her. Nozomi flipped one card, a shining, naked, blonde woman pouring water into a pool. Nico shifted her glance to Eli and smirked, “So is that card a flashback or tonight’s plan?”

Nozomi recoiled, tears in her eyes, hands trembling, the deck dropping. Nico was almost sure the other woman hadn’t heard her at all. Eli just stared.

Nozomi stood, then threw herself on the bed.

“What the hell?” Nico pushed back from the table, demanding an answer from Eli.

Eli sighed, and moved to wrap an afghan around Nozomi, “The Star, reversed. Nozomi’s only been able to draw that or The Tower for a week. They’re not optimistic cards. She’s been having piercing headaches, at rehearsals and then at the party. She’s scared.”

Nozomi was still huddled, sobbing.

“Nozomi?” Nico asked quietly.

Eli sat next to Nozomi and wrapped an arm around her, Nozomi shifting to put her head in Eli’s lap, still ignoring Nico, “She’s been having problems since the first blackout at the theatre. The headaches getting worse every time she goes in and staying when she leaves.”

Nico kept hoping Nozomi would make eye contact or speak to her, but her friend just burrowed closer to Eli, “Why doesn’t she talk to a doctor? Or quit?”

Eli shrugged, “She’s been looking forward to this project and it’s a big chunk of what she’s promised her advisor.”

“Nozomi…” Nico sat on the other side of Nozomi and hugged her. Maybe Maki could find out if there was anything strange going on. Nico would have to smuggle in a…wolf, somehow, but if it was only Nico and the stage crew, that might work. Tsubasa seemed to like her.

Rin was off training so Hanayo didn’t have to explain much about her job yet. That could come later. She’d been called in to the tech sub basement this morning and wanted to be at least five minutes early. Walking through the noisy corridor, trying to remember unfamiliar steps, Hanayo saw the door was propped open, heard voices and slowed, not wanting to interrupt a conversation.

An unfamiliar voice was speaking, excited, “I can’t seem to find any time to chat up Yazawa, but since you’re making progress with Kashima, I’m going to focus on proving the werewolf is…”

Hanayo stumbled through the door, scared and surprised. Anju was sitting on the edge of the desk, another woman with shorter hair and green eyes not as bright as Rin’s leaning next to her.

“Sorry.” Hanayo squeaked as she fell into the room.

Anju smiled, “Five minutes early, as expected. Tsubasa, this is the assistant I hired, Hanayo Koizumi. She’s a freshman biochem major who can code. Hanayo, this is Tsubasa Kira, who started the whole project.”

Tsubasa winked at Anju as she extended a hand to Hanayo, “You give me too much credit, Anj. Welcome, Ms. Koizumi.”

“H…Hanayo’s fine.” Hanayo tried for a firm grip and decided since she’d walked in on a conversation, a question wouldn’t be unexpected. She let her nervousness shake her voice, “Did you say werewolves? Are they real? There’s a full moon soon…but surely they don’t…”

Anju giggled and took Hanayo by both shoulders, nodding to Tsubasa, “I told you she was adorable.”

Tsubasa stretched her arms in front of her, “Don’t worry about it, Hanayo. You won’t have to go stalking werewolves with me. We have a backlog of data for you from our primary location that needs to be sifted through, strictly stay in the office stuff. Erena and I handle the hunting, Anju’s the people person and you’re our computer cruncher.”

The excitement in Tsubasa’s voice when she mentioned hunting made Hanayo angry. Rin and Maki were both in danger. She needed more information. And an ally.

A/N: Howdy. In my country, the current administration and GOP continue to sink to new levels of cowardice, bigotry and cruelty, but I hope this brings a bit of brightness to your part of the world, even if it is here.This is on the shorter side and I did try to get them to the car, but impulse won out. As it sometimes does. Drop me an ask or a reblog with fun tags, if you feel so inclined, please and thank you, cheer is welcome. And stay safe, whatever your weather.

[lucas-taylor-rpg]

The Second It Began, Part 1

((April 19th, 2143))

It was early. It was far too early. The sun had not even gone up yet. The room was dark and quiet, but, in spite of that, he just couldn’t sleep anymore.

He turned from his left side to the right and looked at the clock on his plex. He discovered that, even though he would have sworn it had been at least half an hour, mere six minutes had passed since the last time he had checked it. ‘Oh, god, why is it so early?’ he thought, burying his head in the pillow.

Having spent the past two hours on-and-off awake (mostly on, tossing and turning), he figured there was no use trying to fall into deep sleep again. ‘I might as well get up. Maybe I could go pack.’ He had been planning on doing that later, once he would come back from work, but since he could not sleep, anyway…

Rubbing his face, Lucas got up and went to find his backpack.

(_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_)

It felt weird. He was not sure why, but it felt weird. Every single thing he put into the bag as well as every single thing he decided to leave behind made him feel… He was not sure how. Nostalgic, perhaps. Sad. Maybe even sick. Why, though?

He stared at a shirt he was about to put into the backpack. It was a plain, brown shirt, there was nothing special about it. He did not remember when or where he had got it. It was an ordinary piece of clothing, but as he folded it and stuffed it into the bag, he felt his stomach clench up.

Why?

He did not understand it. Sure, he had been a bit nervous about going to Terra Nova. There was a lot at stake. Were he to fail, he would be stuck in that crazy place full of dinosaurs—stuck with his father—for the rest of his life.

And yet, he could not help thinking that a part of his worries was related not only to Terra Nova, but also to Chicago. Not to the place he was going to, but to the place he was going away from.

It made no sense. He did not feel attached to the city. In fact, less than a year ago, he had been considering moving away. He had been considering it for no other reason than to leave the place behind and start over somewhere else. He should have been glad he was finally going to move for real. Instead, the thought of it made him queasy.

He sighed. He had to stop focusing on his nerves and pick up his pace, otherwise he would not have enough time for breakfast before going to work.

(_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_)

“In conclusion,” he said to a room full of physicists and engineers, “until it’s time for the pilgrims to walk through the portal, I suggest we use weaker connection. It’ll be enough to get signal through, there’s no point in wasting that much power, and—most importantly—the longer we keep it strong, the bigger the chances of overload. And you all know what happened the last time you overloaded the portal…” After those words, Lucas turned off a hologram of numbers and graphs he had created. He looked at the people in front of him, hoping to be met with agreement.

“That is a very last-minute suggestion,” an engineer seated at the front of a long conference table stated. “The pilgrimage is scheduled for tomorrow.”

“I am aware of that,” Lucas replied. “It took me a while to work out the math, especially since I was busy with other work-related things.”

“I’d like a copy of the file if you don’t mind,” the engineer requested.

“No problem.”

“However…” The engineer stood up and walked towards the young physicist. “Even though I do understand where you’re coming from, keep in mind that the stronger we keep the connection, the better the signal will be. With a strong signal, we’ll be able to find the right direction sooner. If we lower the power as you suggest, it will take longer—and the longer it takes, the bigger the chances of overload. Not to mention that if we turn it down, we risk cutting the portal off. If that were to happen, we’d have to wait for months before we could reopen it.”

Lucas shook his head. “That won’t happen, Ryers,” he insisted, chuckling as though it should have been obvious. “It would happen if we lowered the power too much, but why do you think it took me until now to finish this? Because I was making sure that we will neither under- nor overdo it.”

“How can you be so sure that you got it just right? That you didn’t make any mistakes?” Ryers questioned.

Lucas glanced at the ground for a moment, then looked up and tilted his head. “Let me ask you a question,” he said. “Do you know why you overloaded the portal when you first sent people through?”

“Because we overdid it. We opened it too fast—”

“Wrong,” Lucas claimed, interrupting him. “The true reason is that I was not there to watch over you incompetent people.” While Ryers gave him a look, one of the engineers sitting at the table started to laugh, prompting Lucas to grin. “Hey, I’m leaving soon. I don’t need you kids to like me anymore, so I may as well say it as it is,” he joked.

“Man,” the laughing engineer said, “I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.”

“I’ll put in a good word for you there,” Lucas said, winking at him. “All right, joking aside. Hey, we talked about this yesterday. You agree with me, don’t you? About lowering the power, not you being incompetent.”

“Yes, I do think it’s a good idea,” the man confirmed.

Lucas turned back to Ryers. “See? Dan agrees with me,” he declared proudly, as though it was a conclusive argument.

“He is not in charge here,” Ryers responded.

Lucas nodded, glancing down. “And, of course, the man in charge does not share my opinion…”

Ryers sighed. “The man in charge would like to take a closer look at your math before making a decision.”

Lucas eyed him. “Is that so?” he asked, a smile playing on his lips.

“I’ll think about it.”

The physicist figured that was the best answer he would get for the time being.

(_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_)

When he came back home that evening, he realized he had nothing to do. He had been planning on spending the evening by packing, but he had already finished that in the morning (he had managed to do that as well as have a bowl of very bland-tasting oatmeal). He went to his bedroom and lay down on the bed. He was not trying to fall asleep. He just stared at the ceiling, thinking in silence.

He was about the spend his last night in that apartment. The apartment which he had moved into with his mother when he had started college. The apartment where he had lived with his father after his mother’s death. The apartment where he had been alone for over a year since his father had been sent to a military base and later to Terra Nova.

The apartment where he had been alone… More than just alone—lonely. Walking into the living area and seeing nobody in the room, knowing that the bedroom where his parents were supposed to sleep was constantly empty… It made him sad. He didn’t like the apartment. Most people could only dream about being able to afford such a big, nice place, but he just didn’t like it. Perhaps it was because he had far too many negative memories associated with it. Memories of emptiness, of arguments, of tears, and even of blood. He did not like the apartment.

So why was it that he suddenly did not like the idea of moving out of there, either? Why did a part of him suddenly want to stay?

He sighed, then sat up. He did not want to spend his last night on Earth by staring at the ceiling and drowning in his confusing emotions. He got up on his feet, and walked towards the door.

Having nothing better to do, he found himself heading to a bar close to his apartment.

(_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_)

He was sitting on a stool behind the bar, staring at his half-empty glass. He had started out thinking about the day that would come next, then changed the topic to the day that was nearly over. ‘I’m going to miss you when you’re gone,’ Dan had told him. As he thought about it, he realized Dan had been the only one who had said anything of that sort to him. He had been congratulated, he had been wished good luck—but nobody had said they would miss him.

He looked up at the bartender. Given that he had become a regular customer there since he had turned 18, he recognized the man’s face. For the first time, however, he realized that he had no idea what his name was—and that the lack of knowledge was most likely mutual. “Hey, uh…” he called out towards the man, getting his attention. The barkeep took a step toward him, asking if he wanted a refill. “No, no,” Lucas responded. “Can I just ask you one question?”

“Sure,” the bartender replied, nodding.

Lucas glanced down for a moment, then queried, “Do you know me?”

“Yeah,” the man told him, “you come here pretty often.”

“Do you know my name?” Lucas inquired, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly.

The bartender shook his head. “No, sorry. Why? What’s your name?”

“Doesn’t matter. I was just curious,” Lucas claimed. He looked down at his glass, pushing it a little to the left with his index finger. “I’m moving away tomorrow,” he spoke while not taking his gaze—or his finger—off the glass, “and I was wondering how many people would miss me here. …or at least notice I’m gone.”

The barman gave a nod. “Where are you moving to?”

Before Lucas could respond, a young woman walked up to the bar, only one empty stool away from him. The bartender excused himself and went to tend to his new customer. Lucas stayed quiet, watching the two. Once the barkeep took her order, Lucas spoke up, “Hello.”

The girl looked at him, sending him a sheepish smile. “Hey.”

“Do you know me?” he asked her.

“Uh…” She furrowed her brows. “No. No… Should I?”

Lucas eyed her before answering. She must have been about his age, perhaps just a year or two older. She had blonde hair that reached to the bottom of her back. Her face was oblong, and her eyes looked doe-ish. She did not appear familiar to him. “Actually, I don’t know you either,” he said. “Do you come here often?”

“No, I’ve never been in this bar before,” she answered. “I only moved into the city a few days ago.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “Oh, rub it in my face, will you?” he muttered, turning his gaze back to his glass.

“Excuse me?”

He picked the glass up. “Oh, don’t mind me,” he told her. “I haven’t been sleeping well lately, so I’m a bit cranky.” He drank the remaining liquid from the glass, then put it down with a grimace on his face. His throat was burning. “You see, I’m moving away tomorrow,” he explained, looking at the girl again. “It’s only temporarily, but… I don’t know, it just feels strange. I don’t even know why. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived here for so long… Five whole years. I’ve never lived anywhere for that long before.”

“Really? Do you move that often?” she asked.

“Yeah. My dad’s in the military, so we had to move, like, every two to three years,” Lucas said. “You’d think I’d be used to moving by now, but…” ‘Used to moving.’ He should have been used to moving. No, he was used to moving. Used to leaving his home behind and starting a new one. “…I guess I’m not.”

He had done it multiple times in the past: getting used to a new, unknown place, and forgetting the old, known one. He had always been fine with it before. He had always been able to quickly adapt to having a different home. As a child, he had sometimes been nervous about the unfamiliar people he would meet, but he did not have a problem with that anymore. And the change of the actual place—that had never bothered him. …until now.

But why? He was used to it, wasn’t he? His family had moved for the first time when he had been a mere toddler, and they had done it a few more times since then. He was used to it. He was used to leaving and changing his home.

Changing his home…

“Well, where are you moving to?”

He heard her ask the question, but his brain did not process its meaning. He was too busy realizing why it was he had reservations about leaving. Leaving and changing his home—that was it. That was the thing he had to do but could not afford to do at the same time.

He was used to moving. He was used to leaving his home behind and starting a new one. This time, however, he could not do that. He could not move. He could not allow himself to forget about Chicago. After all, it was going to be only temporary. He would come back once he would finish his job. He could not allow himself to forget about Chicago, and even more importantly, he could not allow himself to feel at home in Terra Nova. He absolutely could not allow that to happen. He needed to hate Terra Nova. He needed to hate it with all his heart since he was going there to destroy it.

He smiled to himself, finally understanding where his queasiness was coming from. He did not have a problem with leaving the known and adapting to the unfamiliar. He did not have a problem with loving the old and hating the new. What he did have a problem with was doing both at once. He would have to get used to Terra Nova without really getting used to it. He would have to forget about Chicago without really forgetting it. He would have to move without really moving. How the hell was he supposed to do that? He had no idea. He had no idea, but he didn’t care. He’d figure something out along the way. For the time being, he was just glad to know why a part of him did not want to move—it was because he couldn’t.

He heard her speak to him. He blinked and returned his attention to her. “Oh, excuse me, I got a little lost in thought,” he apologized. “What were you saying?”

“I asked where you’re moving to.”

Lucas smirked. “Hell.” She gave him a look, but he ignored her. He did not respond when she asked him what he meant. He paid for his drink, then went back to his apartment to spend one last night there.

One last night on Earth—for the time being, anyway.

((Continue here))

[storiesbybrian]

Buddy’s Buddies, February, 2002

I kick Sam Zane in the belly. Then I grab him by the hair and sling him to the ground. These new lights are giving us a heavy sweat. Sam stinks. If I was a certain type of jerk, I could have him fined for not wearing deodorant. But he’s just a kid and everybody makes their mistakes. So I drop an elbow on his solar plexus and say, “Sam. They can smell your ass in the mezzanine, man.”

           “I know,” says. “They lost my luggage in Richmond. ‘Sgot my Speed Stick in-”

           I cut Sam off before he can finish, picking him up and whipping him into the ropes. When he bounces off, I’ll set him up for my big finishing move. The Olive Press. While he’s bounding tape to tape I have a second to think. It’s amazing how much thinking you can cram into a short period of time. I’ll be seeing Buddy today for the first time in three weeks. Things got pretty bad for me while he was away and I know he’ll be a sight for sore eyes.

           Sam comes back from the ropes, kicking up tiny clouds of powder with every stomp on the mat, and I bend forward and toss him over my back. Sam flips through the air and lands near the middle of the ring. When somebody lands hard on the mat, the apron around the ring’s supposed to ripple from the impact. But Sam, though he’s got potential, is a long way from being a great faller. He hardly even bounces.  

The small crowd boos, knowing that Sam was beat long ago and I’m just being sadistic. But that’s the way the American Wrestling League, and every other major professional wrestling body operates. In a non-marquee matchup, the bad guy drags out his match as a time filler, and he gets the crowd involved, taunting them, kicking his opponent while he’s down. One thing rednecks claim they can’t stomach is seeing a beaten man get abused further. Whether that’s true in real life, I’m not too sure. But their deepest moral indignations always come howling out at wrestling matches. I’ve gotten over 100 death threats for what I “done” to Buddy last month.  

           With Sam writhing around on the mat, the stray boos from the half-empty arena get louder. I taunt the folks in the stands, trying to give them their money’s worth. I start bellowing fake opera: “Oooooohhhh, Dio Mio!!!” Then I strut over to Sam and kick him a few times. My red, green and white patent leather boots catch the glare of the ring lights. The crowd noise picks up a little bit more. I cross my right leg in the air and tip over onto Sam, elbow first again. I say, “45 more seconds, kid.”

           I pull Sam up to his feet and smack him in the chest. He falls right back down and I strut around some more under the hot lights, trying to wring more life out of the crowd. A few half-empty soda cups fly past the ropes and into the ring. I kick them at Sam and fling my fingers from under my chin at the crowd. The front rows start screaming at me, telling me I suck, that I’m a dead man. I wag my tongue at them and press both of my hands downward, the sign for the Olive Press. Somebody tries to start a chant of “Grease-ball!  Grease-ball!” but it doesn’t catch on.

           I grab Sam by the hair and drag him over to one of the corners and sit him up on the top turnbuckle. He smells and it’s genuinely pissing me off. If I had a shot at the national syndicate at his age, the last thing I’d do is act unprofessionally. As Sam sits there in a tortured heap, I preen around the ring one last time, slicking my hair back and kissing the tips of my fingers like a proud chef. Then I stomp over to Sam and give him the Olive Press. The Olive Press is half Super-plex, half Gorilla Slam. I hoist Sam off the turnbuckle and then windmill him to the ground so hard we both bounce a few times before the referee comes over and counts him out. More powder gasps up from the mat.

           “That’s how you fall, son,” I say to Sam.

           The bell rings and the referee comes over to raise my arm. But we’ve got more in store for this small crowd. We want them to tell their friends that they really missed something today. So I growl and stick my thumb behind my front teeth and flick it at the referee. I shove him to the mat and kick him with my shining Italian boots. Then I pick Sam up and give him some more slaps across the chest. As I draw him close to throw him into the ropes for a clothesline, I say, “Hey asshole! Next time they lose your luggage, go out and buy some more goddamn Speed Stick!” And then I whip him bouncing into the ropes at the east end of the ring.  

             Buddy. He’s everybody’s port in the storm, the only man the rest of us can love openly without seeming like homos. “Hell,” he’d say. “Only difference between us and movie stars is we do our own damn stunts!” And that’s how he makes us feel.

And I’m his best friend. He appreciates my insights. After all, it was my idea how he could go to the Bahamas with his wife in the first place. I know it sounds selfish now, but if I thought that me “turning” on Buddy’d mean the kind of sacrifices I’ve had to make, I’m not sure I would’ve gone for it in the first place. But Buddy is my friend and his marriage was in trouble and maybe if I’d covered for him a few of those nights when he didn’t come home, he wouldn’t have needed to take Donna on vacation in the first place. So I guess it all evens out in the wash.

           I hold Sam in a headlock and gouge him in the eye. Suddenly the angry shouting from the stands turns into excited cheers. Buddy! Fans are running, stomping towards the southeast aisle of the arena. And there he is with Solomon Grande and Chief Mustang, charging towards the ring. I can see his ice blond locks shimmering, even in the darkness of the aisles. He’s even faster on his crutches than they are on foot, the fat goons. The crowd starts yelling, “Buh-Dee! Buh-Dee! Buh-Dee! Buh-Dee!” And like nobody else can, with his body swinging on those crutches, he acknowledges the love of his fans. “Whoo-Weeee!” he calls.  “Whoo-Weeee!” the crowd answers. And now they sound like a sellout at the Omni.  

           I get terrified, like I’m supposed to. I cast about for the referee to save me but he’s long gone. Then I act like me and Sam Zane are good friends, helping him up and draping an arm around him, trying to revive him. But he stays limp. Chief Mustang and Solomon Grande torpedo into the ring and tear Sam’s flaccid body away from my false embrace. The Chief prods a huge finger into my chest and I cower to the other side of the ring, pleading, “Oh no, signori, no mi piace, signori! NO MI PIACE!” Then I hear Buddy clear his throat into the ringside microphone.  

           “Hey!” he says. The crowd, who’s missed him almost as much as I have, goes even wilder. They chant his name, like they’re witnessing the second coming, which, in a way, I guess they are.  “Hey, Don Palermo!” He points one of his crutches at me. I shake my head wildly, trying to pretend this isn’t happening and that I’m somewhere far away and safe. That’s one of the tricks of the bad guy trade. We’re fakers. We’ll incur the wrath of the good guys, but rather than own up to it, we’ll try to hide, say that it can’t be. The good guy knows that it is and imbues his every action with the belief in the here and now. You can call it existential if you want. But that’s why the good guys are beloved and the bad guys reviled, even though we all wrestle, we all use the same violent moves. Our audience doesn’t want to retreat. They want to face the music. And the music is Buh-Dee.  

           “Hey, Don Palermo! Why don’t you try kickin’ somebody who ain’t already been put down? What kinda man are you, anyway? Twirlin’ your mustach-ee-o, singin’ that opera crap! Whatsa matta? You ‘fraid of a little Rock ‘n Roll?!”

           The frantic screams from the crowd get organized. “ROCK AND ROLL! ROCK AND ROLL!”

           I drop to my knees and lace my fingers in supplication, pleading, “No, Buddy, no!”

           “Yeah, boy, yeah! You used to be my friend. And then you sneak attacked me! You stabbed me in the back! Made me sorry I ever trusted you in the first place! Now I ain’t ashamed to tell you good people, that hurt me. It hurts to lose a friend. But brother, Buddy Flash is instant karma! Somebody hurts Buddy Flash, ohhhh, they gon’ get theirs, baby. So you! You, Don Palermo, I wanna show you somethin’!”

           Buddy raises one open hand and the crowd pitches down to a low rumble, craning to see Buddy’s visual aid. He grabs a couple of enlarged X-rays from the ringside table where they’d been waiting for him. Only Buddy Flash could get scientific with this crowd. He holds up one of the X-rays and says, “Yeah, people! Doctor Jorgenson says Buddy Flash is on the mend. The good doctor says I’ll be back in the ring come Thanksgiving! And Don Palermo? Brother, you are cordially invited.”

           And Buddy hurls the X-ray into the ring and skips on his crutches back up the aisle and through the tunnel to the locker room. Man he moves fast on those crutches. Solomon Grande and Chief Mustang shove me off my knees and wave bye bye to me. I curl up in the fetal position and tremble for a good two or three minutes. I put my thumb in my mouth and try to show the crowd that this babyish action is even more pathetic because it actually soothes me. They buy it, razzing me with a new sense of purpose.

             A few weeks earlier, we’d been in our locker room, showering after a tag team match. The floors were cream colored tile and we each had our own glass door and chrome dials with latches to control the water pressure and temperature. Not like back in Florida, but Buddy was still forlorn.

           “I dunno, brother!” he said. “I think Donna might be serious this time. Maybe she’s just been waitin’ until her half of the nut was more to her likin’.”

           “Well, Buddy,” I said. “One thing I know about married women. Their favorite anniversary present probably ain’t special shampoo.”

           “Well, she wasn’t the only one sufferin’ there, boy! Why you think I started shavin’ all over?”

           I didn’t know what to say.

           “Hey,” Buddy said. “You remember how dirty them showers down in Florida used to be?”

           Buddy was always making me laugh. “Yeah man! You were like to be dirtier after ‘n before. Huh huh huh huh!”

           “Those were some days, boy, I tell you!” Buddy hollered. “Back then, me ‘n Donna were inseparable. I hardly messed around at all down there.”

           I turned off the water and walked over to Buddy’s stall. I was still sweating from the match and the steam in the locker room. “Hey Buddy,” I said through the spray.

           “Ymmm?” he said.

           “Why don’t you take her off to the Bahamas? You remember what a good time I told you Tammy’s sister had with her husband down there?”

           He finished rinsing and turned off the water. He went and grabbed one of his ochre towels with the silver initials BF on it. His head was furled up in the towel so his voice was muffled but I could still hear him ask, “Huh?”

           “MaryAnne. My sister-in-law. Don’t you remember?”

           “Oh yeah,” Buddy said, wiping the ash blond hair out of his face and smiling at me. I could see the grid of scars he had on his forehead. Buddy cut himself plenty in the early days. The promoters loved to see his light hair get soaked with blood. “Nassau, right?”

           “How can Donna be mad at you in a tropical paradise? Making love under waterfalls…”

           “Spl-spl-spl-splt! Great idea, son,” Buddy said. He flicked on his blow dryer. “How the hell am I gonna take my goddamn wife down to the Bahamas and still do promos and matches five days a week?”

           “Well!” I shouted over the echoing blow dryer. “You never let me stay upset for this long! So gimme a little time and I’ll figure something out! OK?”

           “Whatever.”

             I watched “Circle in the Square” yesterday. “Circle in the Square” is a weekly talk show about wrestling developments hosted by Mad Mike McDonough and Sir Algernon Crawford, two of the most respected commentators in the business. Buddy’s and my grudge match was the lead story. They played the statements that we’d pre-taped a few days earlier. In Buddy’s it was all about what a dirty yellow dog I was, betraying him like ‘at and all. And mine was about how now everybody can see who the real man behind our operation’d always been and it’s about time to see the great Buddy Flash get knocked off his high horse. Oh, it was gonna be some match, alright.

I had mixed feelings about the segment where they interviewed fans. They asked a bunch of Flashbulbs (Buddy’s hardcore fans who travel to see him wrestle) what they thought about our feud. Boys and girls alike, they all had their hair dyed white-blonde. And they all said that it was obvious that I was jealous of the spotlight and not humble enough to play a supporting role to Buddy. I had to laugh because what could be further from the truth? In my role as the foe, I’m more supportive of Buddy than ever. But I’m also proud of the job Buddy and I are doing with this feud. We’re like shining examples to the other wrestlers out there, showing ‘em how you really galvanize the public. Our ratings are up past FCCW and are fast gaining on the IWA. So what if the fans get carried away and forget it’s fake? That’s the whole point.

The cameras were filming in Roanoke, Virginia. A high school football team said their team Thanksgiving meal was gonna be early so they could watch Buddy stomp me to death. One young lineman said he hoped that Buddy would “torture that no-good, yella-bellied traitor for quite a spell. Quite a spell.”

           The way we had it planned thus far, that’s exactly what Buddy was gonna do. We were choreographing a marathon of a match. Standard marquee dynamics. First Buddy would storm into the ring and I’d climb the cage to get away from him. After about five minutes of Buddy inspiring sheer terror in me, he’d get ahold of me and pummel me for a while. But then, just when things seemed to be all Buddy, I’d do something dirty and yank the momentum right out from under him. After a few minutes of me wearing him down, I’d put him in a submission hold. We hadn’t decided between the Boston Crabclaw and the Figure Four, but either way, Buddy’s job was just to grimace and writhe without giving up, a testament to, if not stoicism, then at least the epic pain threshold of a true hero. Just past the 20 minute mark, somebody was supposed to throw a rigged chair into the ring. It’d get busted up and then Buddy and I were supposed to rub wood chips in each other’s faces and gouge each other with splintered chair legs until I was to slip in a pool of my own blood. Then Buddy’d be upon me with his piece of the chair aimed at me like a stake. For a second, his face was supposed to be stamped with the blood lust. But then humanity would creep into his face and his eyes would unbug and his teeth would unbare. And this is where we need to decide what to do next.

           This won’t be the first “I Quit” match in the history of the American Wrestling League. But the concept, if it isn’t handled properly, can run counter to the whole point of professional wrestling. The thing about wrestling is that you have us characters with our “genuine” differences, and we settle them violently. A three-slap on the mat should satisfy any grievance the crowd has, whether it’s personal, romantic or political. Even at the height of the Cold War, when the bad guys were bald-headed Russians, evil-eyed Sultans, or those indomitably mean, bland Chinamen that everybody loved to fight, nobody ever wanted to see those guys get killed. Victory is no fun for the fans unless the loser’s around to wallow in humiliation, to concoct fantastic excuses and test the market to see if revenge is in the cards.

But with Buddy’s and my “I Quit” match, we’re toying with death. Neither of us likes the idea. Buddy put it best: “How’m I gonna beat you without killin’ you?” Nobody wants that. But we are definitely wratcheting the violence up several notches. And by all indications, this is only too fine with our audience. “Boy,” Buddy said one day at rehearsal, “they are howlin’ for your blood!”

“No friggin’ way,” Jerry Boone had said.

           “Now, Jerry,” Buddy said. “Quit starin’ out that window like General Patton or whoever and take your hands out from behind your back and sit down here at this big ol’desk o’ yours.”

           Mr. Boone came back to the desk. “Buddy,” he said. “I know you’re at the top of every poll we run here, but don’t come in here forgetting who’s in charge. Who’re you feuding with right now, Isis the Samurai?”

           “That’s right.”

           “Well,” Mr. Boone said, trying to sound crafty. He flipped open his cell phone and dangled it over the desk like a butterfly knife. “How’d you like to drop that and get into a thing with Colonel Slocumb?”

           “That faggot?!”

           Jerry looked calmly across his desk at us. Buddy had mispoken and now Mr. Boone thought he was in charge again.

“Mr. Boone,” I said. “I change my name from Kid Amore to Don Palermo.  Look at these sketches. I start acting like a mafioso. We plan a big match, Buddy kicks my ass, and that’s it. We figure the ratings boost’ll be worth the vacay.”

“Come on, Jerry. It’s only three weeks.”

“No.”

Buddy and I looked at one another and smiled. We still had our trump card to play. Buddy nodded for me to break the news to Mr. Boone. “What if we could guarantee that-”

Buddy jumped in, “We’re bringin’ Macon Tolliver in on this one!”

I smiled and Buddy slapped me five. “So waddya say, Jerry?”

Mr. Boone snapped his cell phone shut and took a look at my drawings of my new character.

           Buddy and I came up together through the Florida organization. Roughly half of the AWL’s superstars got their seasoning on the Everglade Circuit. The most creative, ambitious and professional of us paid our dues for five or six years and then moved up to the national syndicate. But as far back as anyone can remember, Macon Tolliver’s been the king of Florida wrestling.

           He worships Satan. Nobody knows how old he is. He wears a black velvet wizard’s cloak and has a way of gliding down the aisle for his matches while the PA system plays “Sympathy for the Devil” (how he could afford the rights to that song is another mystery). He spits green mist into the eyes of good guys and treats the bad guys as rivals for his own dark power, crippling them with ancient spells. All three major wrestling bodies, the AWL, IWA and FCCW issued invitations that’ve been standing for the last 25 years. But they all stipulated changes to Macon’s act so he stayed in Florida, putting the greatest show in wrestling on in union halls and high school gyms.  

           Buddy and I got to know Macon real well during Buddy’s four and my five years down in Florida. He said he saw something in us. He said Buddy was the embodiment of all that’s great about professional wrestling. He taught us most of what we know. But, unless you were a hardcore wrestling fan, you’d never have heard of him outside the state of Florida until a week before he and I Pearl-Harbored Buddy.  

           I was fighting some pushover. It was a quick match because I was a good guy. Buddy was watching from outside the ring, snapping the apron and leading the crowd in cheers. “Kid!” he’d call.

           “Ah-Mo-Ray!” the crowd would answer.

           “Kid!”

           “Ah-Mo-Ray!”

           But then, just before the match ended, a small commotion kicked up by the northwest aisle of the arena. I couldn’t see the aisle well from the mat but up on the video screens, sure enough, was Macon Tolliver floating towards the ring, hood pulled over his head like a Gregorian monk. Most of the fans had never seen him before but he had an effect on them anyway.

           Macon made it to the corner opposite Buddy and stood there silently, oblivious to any attention he was being paid. He stared hard at me. At first I noticed but then I went back, gave my guy the Olive Press and pinned him. Buddy helped me on with my robe and we left Macon standing there by the side of the ring.  

           The same thing happened at each of my non-marquee matches for the rest of the week. As the week progressed, Mad Mike McDonough and Sir Algernon Crawford “dug up” the identity of the mysterious stranger who had started showing up at Kid Amore’s matches. They filled the public in on Macon Tolliver’s dark mission in life, inspiring dread like a couple of real pros. If you knew Mike and Al, you could see how excited they were to finally have Macon in the AWL. They seemed to defame him with more vigor than they’d displayed in years.  

           Meanwhile, Macon built a stable of wrestlers, conjuring loyalty from the most savage characters in the League- Nehru the Cannibal, the Tanzanian Devil, Steppenwolf der Havocmeister and Moustafa the Anatolian Giant. Backstage, there were more wrestlers lined up to work with Macon Tolliver than there are movie stars for a Robert Altman movie.  

           I acknowledged Macon’s presence at my matches with a statement they’d play before commercials: “Lemme tell you people somethin’! If that Satanic freak wants to watch Kid Amore dismantle a coupla unworthies, he’s more than welcome. But let him buy a ticket like the rest of the Kid’s hard workin’ fans! I don’t know what makes that lilly-livered servant of evil think he’s so special that he deserves a ringside seat, but if he wants one so bad, let’s have him bring one of his non-English-speakin’, unpatriotic goons inside the ring for me to handle. ‘Cause baby, when you’re in the Press, you ain’t nothin’ but mush. ArrivederLa!”

           So, in short order, a match was set up with Steppenwolf der Havocmeister, master of the iron claw. Macon was in his corner, staring silently and intently from under his dark hood. Buddy was in my corner, helping the crowd taunt, “Ste-Fa-Nee! Ste-Fa-Nee!” I was winning the match and Steppenwolf der Havocmeister was almost ready to get the Olive Press. Buddy was pounding the outskirt of the ring, leading “Kid!”

           “Ah-Mo-Ray!”

           Suddenly, Macon started babbling. He had a mike in his cloak so everybody heard him. He was incanting something, “Cumis ego ipse oculis vidi in ampulla pendere.  Cumis ego ipse oculis vidi in ampulla pendere.” I’m not sure what that means but it sure did scare the shit out of the crowd. And that was before they’d all noticed Buddy. When they did, he was on his knees, clawing his own throat. His platinum hair was shaking frantically with every gasp for air. I ran over to the corner and reached out my hand to him. “Buddy!” I shouted.

           But then Steppenwolf der Havocmeister ran up and kneed me in the back. I fell to the ground and he started to stomp on me with his bulky jackboots. Finally, Macon shed his robe and slithered his fully tattooed body into the ring. The referee had the bell rung, signaling me winner by disqualification. The big roar from the crowd was frightenend and despairing. As soon as Macon kicked me, Buddy broke out of his choking spell. He sat on the concrete outside of the ring, trying to recover. The fans were urging him to run into the ring and help me.

           Macon had handcuffed me to the middle rope on the ring’s south end. He and Steppenwolf der Havocmeister methodically continued my beating. I was still conscious but barely. The crowd started chanting “Buh-Dee!  Buh-Dee!” to help him get his strength back so he could rescue me.  

           After a minute of heartbreaking grogginess, Buddy staged a full recovery. He was up and shaking his whole body with fury and juice from the crowd. He leapt up to the top of the apron and flipped over the ropes into the ring. The crowd went wild. Only Buddy could pick people up so quickly and only Macon could knock them back down. Buddy drop kicked Steppenwolf der Havocmeister and then squared off against Macon, light versus dark. Unlike most bad guys, Macon showed no fear. He shot out his fingers and spit his green mist into Buddy’s eyes.

           Once again, the great Buddy Flash sank to his knees incapacitated. And then the final blow. Macon unlocked my handcuff and led me to where Buddy was lying blind in the middle of the ring. I was furious. I turned to Macon and the crowd screamed for me to avenge my partner. I knelt down and took one of Buddy’s hands. But, to the audience’s ultimate horror, instead of helping him up, I laced one of my legs over Buddy’s arm and dropped to the mat, crushing my partner’s arm and taking the abrupt leap over to evil.

           “I don’t believe what I’m seeing,” Mad Mike McDonough wailed from his ringside broadcasting table. “In all my years as a commentator for the American Wrestling League, I have never seen a betrayal so treacherous, so cowardly, so disgusting. Fans, I am sick to my stomach right now over what has just transpired here in Louisville.”

             “‘Don Pulayermoe,’ that’s how it’s spelled” Jerry Boone reads, “‘You are one dead ginnee f***wad. I don’t know who let your ass into my cleen country of hours, but I promise you will never spred your filthy ginnee seed on our soil. See you on Thanksgiving, boy.’’”

           Mr. Boone holds the letter out across the desk to me. Buddy is chuckling, shaking his head slowly.

           “I don’t want to get my prints on it, Mr. Boone.”

           “Frank,” Mr. Boone says, getting up from his desk and turning towards the window. “I’m putting you on 24-hour guard.”

           “What?!” I yell.

           “Huh?” says Buddy.  

           “And another thing,” barks Mr. Boone. He turns around and plops both fists down on his desk. “Don’t either of you let me hear another word about your wives being seen together.”

           “Now, Mr. Boone…” I begin.

           “Now nothin’ boy!” Mr. Boone growls. He sits down. “You think our fans are stupid? How many of ‘em gotta see Donna and Tammy at the nail salon before this whole dang feud is blown? You two are supposed to hate each other, gol’dangit!”

           “But Buddy’s my best friend,” I say. “How am I supposed to deal with death threats and the like without-”

           “Just a second, Frank,” Buddy says assuredly. He leans across Mr. Boone’s desk and fiddles with the pile of hate mail. “Now, Jerry. I understand what you’re sayin’. And, obviously, Frank’s safety is priority numero uno. But you gotta understand somethin’, my man…”

           “Can it, Buddy,” Mr. Boone says. “This is as much your fault as anyone’s.  ‘It hurts to lose a friend?’ You think our fans pay to see your softer side? You’re too busy trying to show your range for the Hollywood people and Frank here’s getting blamed for it!”

           Mr. Boone pounds on the table with one hand and rubs his forehead with the other. It’s funny to watch him be bossy and worried at the same time.  “Look,” he sighs. “From now on, what with Frank’s security detail and the extra precautions we have to have outside the rehearsal gym, this thing is becoming a major pain in the you know what. Now, Frank, you’d be doin’ everybody a big favor if you just checked into a hotel in secret until the match. You know the League’ll reimburse you for it.”

           Now I have to walk around the room a little bit. “I dunno, Mr. Boone. I mean, I know this whole feud was my idea in the first place. But a man can only be so professional if he ain’t got the comforts of life outside the workplace. I mean, why do we do any of this in the first place? I didn’t mind losing my soda contract so much. You know the bad guy motto, ‘Better to be hated than doubted.’ But first you cut off all contact between Buddy and me, and now me and my family? I dunno, Mr. Boone. Especially after I did my part to help boost your ratings. Heck, I’m just doing my job.”

           Jerry Boone smiles benevolently and says, “Too well.” Then he lights his pipe.

             Thanksgiving is the AWL’s biggest night of the year. So ever since we made it big, our families have eaten our traditional Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday night so we don’t cramp up during our matches. We used to eat together. But, this year, they’re being kind enough to let me out of my hotel to eat Thanksgiving dinner with my immediate family on Wednesday at AWL headquarters about 30 miles from our home in Charlotte. Tammy and the kids pick me up from the hotel. They are not pleased.

           “Who ever heard of Thanksgiving dinner for five people?” she says in the car on the way over.

           “Yeah!” my daughter Marie chimes in from the back seat. “Doesn’t that trailer trash know wrestling’s fake?”

           “Marie…”

           I hate it when the kids use language like that. Since I first crossed over to the bad guys, Mr. Boone and I have been meeting to draw more lines for me to cross. Out of respect for my professionalism, he’s given me carte blanche but there are certain things I won’t do. I will spit on children. I won’t be racist.  I will grab my nuts and stick my tongue out at old ladies. I won’t moon anybody. I will say “redneck.” I won’t say “white trash.” Sometimes I realize what a crazy job I have and it makes me laugh.

           “Oh, you think this is funny?!” Tammy says.

           “I miss Uncle Buddy!” says Frank Jr.

           “Come on now, gang,” I say. “Y’all just need to change the way you’re looking at this. Now who’s hungry?”

           My wife and children grunt and look out the windows of the car. I see their scowls in my rearview mirror. I hope the AWL can cook.

             We get done late. The kids are all asleep in the car when we pull up to the hotel. There’s a big surprise waiting for me at the desk. It’s a message from “Blanton,” otherwise known as Buddy. The night clerk gives me a dirty look and points me to a courtesy phone.

           “Hey, brother. Donna and I just wanted to wish you and Tammy and the kids a happy one. Sorry we’ve been out of touch lately. You know what Jerry ‘Baboone’ says. So I’m just tryin’ to take the outer layers of the reality of our match more seriously. We ain’t getting’ any younger, you know. Anyway, I oughtta get back to all the brothers and sisters and cousins, even though they’re all the same, right? Just kiddin’! Any-hoo, I guess I’ll just see you tomorrow. Hey, after the match, maybe we can get together and I can finally show you the pictures from our trip. Later gator!”

           Tammy can tell by my face who it is. She touches my shoulder and gives me a look of understanding.  

           I put my arms around her and hold her tight. “You know I’d never let anybody hurt you and the kids, Tammy.”

           “I know, Frankie. I know.”

           She kisses me and goes back to the car and drives the kids home.

             The locker room’s a zoo. Security is doubled on my side. I hear Buddy’s pissed because it means less guards to keep the Flashbulb skanks out of his locker room.  

           Macon’s giving me a rubdown when I hear my theme song. Louis Prima.

           “Alright, kiddo,” he says, slapping me in the small of the back. “Let’s get this over with and go home.”

           “I hear that!” I shout. I stand up and clap my hands. Two attendants help me into my robe. It’s fashioned after a baggy pinstriped suit. I like the silky kerchief in the breast pocket. A third attendant carefully places the black fedora onto my head. Macon rolls his eyes and ducks his head back into his hood and nods it over his face. How he can see outta that thing, I’ll never know

           He pulls me aside for a moment. His voice creeps from under the hood. “Who do you hate?”

           “Buddy,” I say.

           “Who?” he asks, raising his voice a little.

           “Buddy!” I say.

           “Buddy who?”

           “Buddy Flash!” I stomp my feet a few times and spit on the floor. I’m ready. I’m totally in character.

           “Let’s go!”    

             We see the mess at the end of the tunnel. It’s small at first. Blurry studs of faces, bright snippets of the ring in the ropes in the cage, flashbulbs, press tables. We see bits. Going down the tunnel it gets clearer. The place is crazy. The Coliseum’s locker room tunnels are short so we have a longer path of exposure before the ring. The place is going wild. We exit the tunnel and get swallowed by the visual roar. The sudden switch from a low ceiling to an arena dome is like falling upwards for a second. A rush everytime. The floors are already densely littered, but nobody’s run out of things to throw at Macon and me.

           “Out of our way you 8 to 5 losers!” I say.

           The security guard in front of me gets hit in the face with the eraser end of a pencil. We try to speed up our pace to the ring. But traffic in the aisle is thick.  I’m focused on the wide patch of light in the cage. It’s automatic in there. The microphone dangles in the middle. All 16 ropes are white to highlight the blood. It sure is slow going in the aisle. The hatred is strong. Suddenly a big rockfaced lady jumps out in front of me. Just like Jack Ruby. She hauls off and drives a heavy brogan smack into my nuts. My eyes water. The scene blurs again. I double over.  Security shoves the big bitch aside and surrounds me. I feel Macon’s hand on my shoulder. But it gets yanked away and the crowd jumps on my guards’ backs. Too many people are surging. They’re trampling me. My bones are breaking. The noise is changing. I curl up best as I can. My balls are throbbing. Somebody kicks me in the neck. I can still make out the ring. I try to crawl that way, between a guard’s legs. He falls away and I’m unprotected.  More fans jump the aisle, raining down the blows. Security’s a memory. I keep crawling. Somebody spills hot coffee onto me. The anger is being satisfied. More big farmer shoes. Stilletos. I crawl a little further. The aisle collapses completely. I can’t see the ring. All I see is trash and spit. Fury. Tears. “Grease-ball! Grease-ball!” Deafening. My $20,000 robe is filthy tatters. Rotten teeth calling me names with lockjawed conviction. A micro-dump of coca-cola, popcorn, tobacco juice and broken airplane bottles. I feel one of my hands down the aisle. I reach it out along the sticky floor. Cheers for my destruction. The hand begs. The hand pleads. My lungs feel shred by busted ribs. I feel the burning holes when I breathe. They’re cheering. I stretch the hand out further. They’re getting their way. I extend. And then I hear his song. “Black Dog.” And it isn’t a snap and it isn’t a click and it doesn’t even feel all that sudden, but I realize that I’ve been reaching for Buddy. Buh-dee. My best friend. Doesn’t even wait for me to make it into the ring. And I don’t care if the PA system had his song set on a timer. I hear the crowd. I feel their joy. And I can’t wait another minute to get in the ring and tear that bullshit motherfucker apart.

           I throw my arms around two security guards’ necks and they whisk me the rest of the way down the aisle like a wounded soldier and hoist me into the ring. Not the dramatic entry we had planned but I’m here now. And I see him. He’d never enter the ring before me, so he’s hopping around, shaking hands, kissing babies, telling the camera that he’s number one and those folks know what it’s like to see Buddy Flash in action. At first he’s the same spectacle you see on television. But then he touches you. He points to your section and gives you a serious nod, in the midst of all this hoopla. And you just know he’s gonna fight his ass off for you and that all that shit you’ve been taking from your job and from your family and from your lodge, tonight they’re wrong, you’re right and you are gonna win, baby.

           So I get in there and I wait. My body aches but it’s just a few bruises.  Nothing I haven’t fought through before. I like these lights. “It’s been so long, but I’ve found out what people mean by down and out!” And then we’re in there together and Jerry Boone himself comes under the microphone. I’m not sure how I can tell but I just can that Mr. Boone’s tux is a rental. But I’m thinking about me. Clearly, finally. Oh, I’ll go by the script at first, but the next time that microphone worms into this cage, what’s Buddy gonna do? Whine to the fans that I’m not being fake enough? Now who’s trapped by the public?

           It isn’t like I didn’t do my share of carrousing with Buddy. But, unlike Mr. Flash, I was careful. Tammy never caught me and she never caught anything from me. Buddy, sometimes he acted like he wanted to get caught. He’d have Donna on the phone in the middle of it. He even had ‘em over to his house. And then there were those unwanted pets he gave her just before their anniversary. I covered for him as best as I could and nobody could blame me for his bumpy marriage. But fairness was never Buddy’s strong suit. Without ever saying a word, he was always trying to make me feel guilt commensurate with his own, like if he got caught, it wasn’t fair that I didn’t too. Oh, he never ratted me out, but he always seemed to skew the reciprocity. It seemed like every morning that the kids would ask what Uncle Buddy was doing on the couch, he’d wink at me and say, “Well, since your Daddy didn’t sleep at my house, I had to come all the way over here to see you little buzzards.” And Tammy would kiss me and glare at him and, instead of being glad that one of us made it, Buddy’d stew.

           Just before Jerry Boone is finished with his announcement, Buddy invokes good guy privelege and grabs the dangling mike. The crowd noise dims and Buddy takes a deep breath, getting ready for the long haul. “Palermo,” he says. “I don’t know how long it’s gon’ take, but I am gonna kick your fat guido ass!” We aren’t supposed to use profanity but the crowd really loves it.  

           The bell rings and we charge each other, locking arms and shoulders. Buddy rakes his arms through the tangle and stomps to make it seem like a violent move. I back up and then relock. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Buddy whispers. I was supposed to cower into the corner. I actually had forgotten. “Hey,” Buddy says. “You okay?”

           I can’t wait any longer. I loose my right arm from the lock and hammer it down on Buddy’s back. Buddy falls to one knee with a great pounding noise. When he’s down there, I knee him in the face.

           “Goddamn, boy!” he says.  

I spit on him. Kick him in the ribs. Let him feel a little of the pain he’s caused me. I can’t believe how good it feels. I give him an elbow drop, a fake move.

“What the hell you doin’?”

“Shut up, Buddy!”

And I grab a fistful of his crinkly bleached hair and bang his head into the mat. With my other hand, I punch him in the face. I can’t remember when’s the last time I really hit somebody with a closed fist.  

“Wha?” Buddy says.

I keep working on him, slapping him, slamming him. I’ve lost my sense of the crowd. For all I know, they can tell that something’s wrong. But I don’t care. The only way they’re gonna start being fairer is if Buddy lets them down.

“Quit?” garbles Buddy.

I look in his eyes. They’re messed with blood and he’s trying to blink it away. His face is slicked so red I can see my own reflection, haloed by the ring lights. Buddy coughs and I let go of his head so he can turn and spit.

Suddenly, I get a blow to the back of my head and the crowd explodes. It was the toe from Buddy’s boot. It doesn’t hurt so much but it stuns me enough to knock me off of him. And now he’s up and kicking me some more.

“You wanna play like that, huh, boy?  Whoo-Weeee!” I have never heard a happier crowd. And it’s my pain that makes them cheer so loud. My pain and Buddy’s triumph. But Buddy doesn’t deserve to triumph. I do, no matter what the crowd believes. They don’t know. But they do. This is professional wrestling. They know. But they don’t care, don’t want to be reminded of my humanity. And that’s why Buddy must be destroyed.

But asshole though he may be, he’s still a stud. He drops an elbow on me and, the way he’s recovering his strength, you’d think he was coming back from a fake beating instead of a real one. Shaking, the whole bit.  

There’s Mad Mike and Sir Algernon. They own their tuxes. For tonight they have to wear newer, smaller headphones and wireless microphones instead of their usual bulky ones.

“Here comes Buddy!” Mad Mike announces.

I’m on the mat, looking up at Buddy, at the lights and the faint shadows of the cage they make on the mat, getting darker where they overlap. And now the chair comes sailing over the top of the cage and splinters on impact with the mat. Buddy isn’t sure whether to fetch his weapon or attend to me.

“Don’t you move, Frank!” he says and gives me another kick. He marches over to where the chair legs are. I get up and follow him, jumping on his back and hugging my arms around his neck. He straightens up and starts spinning around. Faster and faster. The red the white the brown the black. The shine and the shadow, they all swirl and I don’t hear a thing. Wrestling’s different from this. We’re slowing. Buddy’s choking. I hop off his back and wheel him around by his shoulder. His head is hanging. I hit him in the stomach. By reflex, I stomp my boot on impact. I’m not used to fighting. I run at him with my arm outstretched, giving him a clothesline. Buddy drops the chair leg.  

“It’s a bloody bloodbath in there!” says Sir Algernon.

Buddy writhes on the mat. I give my head a few good shakes but I still feel dizzy. Now I can give the crowd a good look. They’re confused. They aren’t exactly out of hate, but they don’t seem sure that expressing it would effect what they see here. This thing has degenerated from ballet to brawl and, seasoned as Buddy and I are, neither of us have been in a real fight in 20 years. Not knowing what else to do, I raise my hands and roar. Buddy looks up at me. He doesn’t understand what I’m doing. He’s coherent, but it doesn’t make any sense to him, as if this time is a real betrayal, as if he hasn’t betrayed me, the man who loved him best. He’s disgusted with me. And it works. I feel kinda bad. But I fight through that and fall to the mat and begin punching him some more.  

Buddy grabs me by the hair and pulls me down. He rolls over and gets on top of me, pinning my arms with his knees. We’re still close to the shards of the busted chair. Buddy grabs a piece and knocks the dull end of it across my head.  

“Come on, now Pilgrim,” he says. “Let’s see what you got stuffed with today!”

It comes as a surprise to me that the crowd is not excited about this turn in Buddy’s favor. Buddy continues to batter me with the chair piece. But it’s clear that his real moves don’t capture the crowd’s imagination the way his fake ones do.

“Buddy,” I say. “We’re losin’ ‘em. We gotta go back to the script, man.”

Buddy tosses the wood aside and smacks my face. “What did you say, boy? You wanna quit now? I hear the crowd just fine!”

Buddy rises to his feet. “YOU WANNA QUIT?!”

And now the crowd gets reinvolved. But Buddy’s still intact. And so am I.  I roll over onto my belly and my best friend drags me by the wrist over to the announcers’ table. He reaches his free arm out, and they hand him the microphone.