Chapter Text
Sun walked down the aisle, looking at colorful boxes of crunchy breakfast sweets that he couldn't eat, no, but he still liked to imagine what it would taste like, sweet, savory, salty, sour.
Why did the kids at the daycare dare each other to try lemon candy's, or random jelly beans from that box of mystery flavors that contained ones that tasted terrible?
Moon never understood Sun's desire to know these human novelties, but never gave him flack for it, it wasn't like he himself didn't have things he wanted to try.
Sun left the aisle and went for what he was really here for.
Cat food. He looked at the bag ounces and the prices, then did some quick calculations to get the most for cheapest. I suppose that's one of the few advantages to being a machine. He thought to himself.
No need for food, water, healthcare, or even basic heating and cooling needs in the winters and summers. It made for saving money on a tight budget a little easier.
It had been ten years or so since the end of the uproar for sentient AI rights and nearly eight since sun and moon had been given their freedom.
It wasn't quite the same as human rights, but it was the best the government was going to give in terms of a ‘free’ life.
The testing, or ‘sentience mental checkmark’ had been excruciating, and for bots that couldn't talk it it had been even more so.
Both DJ and Map bot had gone through hell.
Safe to say the pizza plex had been reluctant to be rid of them, they were free labor, what mega corporation wouldn't want them? So when they first got that freedom there was a problem, they had no money! And to rent an apartment, in this economy!? The animatronics had been given a deal from corporate, they could keep their current jobs and get paid minimum wadge and deduct half of that minimum wage to stay and live at the pizza plex with free charging.
Up at the front, Sun handed his bag of cat food to the guy at the register, he had short brown hair and pretty eyes, looked straight out of high school. Looking down at his name tag (Mark he/him) Sun noticed a small pin that said ‘rights for all’ with a pride flag and a smaller one next to that one that said ‘i am not AI' with a paint brush and pencil criss-crossing.
The boy scanned the item, throwing quick glances at him like he was a beautiful wild animal that had walked out of its enclosure and over to the store to buy crackers.
If sun could truly smile he would, but his face plate was static and diffident move.
There wasn't anyone in line behind him so to break the silence Sun decided to make small talk.“Are you an artist?”
He gestures to the pins on the kids work uniform.
“Oh! Uhh” the cashier looked down at his shirt, back up to sun down again then back up one more time for good measure “yeah? Yeah. i'm an artist” he then paused to stair at sun like he didn't know what to say next
Sun was used to this response of shocked confusion and broke it by asking another question.
“Do you plan on selling art or are you just doing it for a hobby?”
The kid shrugged “i'm actually saving to go to an art school that's an hour or two from here, but I've still got a ways to go in terms of money, so it will be a few years. I also haven't graduated high school yet, i'm going to be stuck here for another two years no matter what.”
Sun nodded, grabbing his now paid for bag of cat food and turning to leave.
“Well, ill probably see you next time we run out of cat food. Good bye till then, and good luck with your art!!”
Suns voice rose as he headed for the automatic doors.
He paused when he got out side. pausing a second to appreciate the dripping of water from leaves from the early morning shower today.
If he could, he would breath in to smell what the rain was like. Was it sweet? Perhaps slightly bitter, maybe umami?
He set out for the mile long walk back home.
Both Monty and Roxann had both declined the option of staying at the plex. They immediately left to strike out on their own, sun hadn't heard from them since.
Everyone else had stayed behind to try and figure things out before leaving, to try and gain any knowledge that could be used to help them.
It was after their first week that a horrible truth had set in.
Taxes.
It turned out that alongside half their pay being docked they had to pay taxes.
Something that was very confusing to the animatronics who had no clue why they paid them, just that they could now be threatened and arrested if they didn't.
It was only after sun and moon had left did they realized how lucky they were to not have to pay the electric bill.
But that didn't happen until several years later.
Freddy had left maybe two weeks into their new and difficult life. He had gotten people from companies who wanted him too advertise their goods to children.
The pizzaplex had found ways of just scraping by, trying to have people in costumes that looked like the OG glamrocks, and with Chica there they could technically say that the cast was made up of animatronic(s) they just stopped printing the s on their signs and hoped know one noticed.
Chica and sun had started looking for work outside the pizzaplex.
It turned out people would pay more for babysitting at odd hours of the night than the day.
And so they'd both work days, get a couple hours charge and then go watch over kids so there parents could go do.. whatever adults did when they were alone.
Sun didn't really care to know, he had been far to tired and overworked to have a social life.
Moon had run into a problem there.
No where near by would hire him during the day.
At night for security maybe, but he already did that at the plex.
It had made him miserable, being unable to contribute to anything.
Then Chica left.
She had found somewhere dirt cheep to stay and took her opportunity to leave.
She was apologetic when sun expressed how much he'd miss the company, but there wasn't anything to be done.
Neither had way of communication.
The plex was in shambles, they even tried to get DJ to become one of their new main faces.
Sun had splurged on getting moon a busted up, barely working laptop.
Moon had applied for several online jobs, and he got one of them. It was basically mind-numbing office work but over a screen.
Finally, after four years in that hell hole, an opportunity arose.
Moon had found a one floor apartment complex in a lower income area.
The crime level was alarming, but if it meant a chance at a life, they would bite.
And so here they are now.
Sun turns off the side of the road into the parking lot.
an empty food bowl lies next to the single step and and somewhere in the distance someone was blowing leaves. Sun waved to one of their neighbors who was outside putting bright red sugar water in his humming bird feeder. he nodded and turned away, keeping an eye on him wearily.
lots of people had yet to trust machines, most probably wouldn't be a long shot, but as Sun put the key in the lock and opened the door, he just couldn't find it in himself to truly care.
Apartment 11. Home sweet home.