I have not yet determined a name for this

~Chapter Five~

This was ridiculous.

I hadn't even been working a full week. I'd only had a couple shifts so far, and had only known Sundrop for maybe several days, though I'd spent far more time with him than necessary for the duration of our friendship. Even then, that hardly justified this.

Things had been different ever since I returned home the following morning, the atmosphere surrounding me warm and pleasant. I'd stumbled into my kitchen with an almost dreamy look on my face as I prepared a simple breakfast, and then I'd sat down at the dining table and begun eating in a somewhat mechanical fashion. I was halfway through my bagel when it all hit me at once, like a tsunami in my chest.

Oh my god. I remembered everything that happened the night before instantly, sending a rush of flustered heat into my cheeks and body. I practically choked on my food, ultimately finding myself unable to finish it in the wake of my feelings.

I didn't even have work today, and that made the awful truth all the more noticeable as I tried to go about my daily routine. I wanted to go back right away, even if I couldn't stay the night—I just wanted to be near Sundrop again.

I was crushing on a fucking animatronic, my superior to boot, and I had no way of knowing if those kinds of feelings could even be reciprocated considering our...differences. How was I supposed to know what was genuine and what wasn't with an AI? He'd certainly delved outside his programming so far, and the ability to blush sure said a lot—oh, man, the way he blushed was adorable.

EUGH. I'd gone maybe a year or so since my last crush, and now THIS had to be my newest muse. Logically, I still recognized how ugly and terrifying Sun was, especially in the face of children, but my developing feelings already had me perceiving his physical appearance in a different light. He was cute all of a sudden, right down to his complete lack of pupils and the eerie, humanlike grin that he was incapable of sweeping off his face. I wanted to be held in his stupid, robotic noodle arms. I wanted to cuddle with him again. Good Christ, this was so stupid.

The day was completely wasted on thoughts like these. You know how crushes are, especially when they first spring into existence—they're desperate and needy, like you'd be willing to do anything if it meant being in that special person's presence again. Depressing, really. How embarrassing to be spending hours laying in bed and blushing because that giant sun robot opened his heart (?) to you and then you engaged in basic affection. He'd probably never even had a true friend before, so that was more than likely the real cause of all his flustered embarrassment, and I had basically shot myself in the foot by getting close to him in the first place. God, I shouldn't have allowed myself to get so comfortable. God, I was so fucked.

~

As badly as I wanted to return to work, I couldn't help but do so in a blatantly nervous fashion. I was sweating within inches of the daycare entrance; no, I'd been sweating long before I even left my house. How was I supposed to just act normal now?

I tried my very best, but it maybe lasted no longer than half a second as I was greeted by Sundrop, who appeared to miss me just as I'd missed him. "Jesse!!!" he cried excitedly upon seeing me enter the room, and then he practically busted right through a group of children to get to me. He picked me up on instinct, causing me to instantly dissolve into a bout of flustered, blushing surprise.

"H—hey!" I replied as he held me in the air, seemingly not knowing where else to go from here. Oh well. "I—"

"I MISSED YOU!!!" he suddenly blurted, causing my complexion to grow redder as some kids turned our way at the noise. Oh god. "I'm SO glad you're back!!!!"

Careful, buddy, you're really not helping my situation here. "I missed you too," I said in a much quieter but genuine tone, my smile wide and wobbly. He was just too cute, and I knew this shift was going to be one hell of an emotional struggle.

I distracted myself with the work as best I could, but I couldn't even manage to so much as glance in Sun's direction without my feelings being embarrassingly obvious. It got to the point that a child picked up on it.

"What, are you in love with him or something?" a young girl questioned in a judgmental manner, startling me out of my miniature crush-induced trance and nearly causing me to drop my dustpan.

"Wh—NO," I retorted, glancing down at her in shock. "I was just zoning out."

"Suuuure," the girl sarcastically replied, folding her arms against her chest. "You're totes gay for the sun guy, I can tell."

Holy shit, who did this little brat think she was? I was staring down at her, wide-eyed and speechless in the face of her accusations. Did she even know what "gay" meant? Because it certainly didn't apply here. "Why don't you go play or something?" I suggested stiffly, waving her away with my free hand. "I'm working."

The little girl complied, but she was squinting at me as she backed slowly away and crawled backwards into a slide like some kind of spider gremlin. Jesus Christ.

When the sun finally set and the children went home, Sun and I were left to our own devices again, but things already felt different. The animatronic was notably calmer as he approached me, his cheeks already lightly flushed; he wasn't anywhere near as jittery or excitable as he usually was at the conclusion of my shift, loud and ready to party. No, he looked almost shy as he hesitantly walked up to me, his hands fiddling with each other at his chest.

"Will you stay?" he questioned in a softer tone than usual, and my heart practically melted on the spot. I was so, so gone, and he was absolutely not helping. I was nodding before he could even finish his sentence.

He seemed to regain some of his typical energy as we dove back into our regular sleepover activities, the initial awkwardness dissipating quickly enough. Of course, everything had a soft, fluttery tint to it now, but I could mostly ignore it and behave normally while being chased around the daycare by an enthusiastic Sundrop. Things felt even better than normal; everything seemed perfect. I couldn't recall the last time I'd felt this happy or fulfilled, so devoid of worry that I was almost positive nothing could go wrong, not so long as I was with Sun. As long as I remained in his presence, I was entirely carefree, not a single negative emotion to be found. Why, I was practically weightless.

And then, at around 3 AM, the lights went out.