I have not yet determined a name for this

~Chapter Three~ NIGHT ONE pt. 1

"Surely you can just unlock the doors," I stated with a cocked brow, though worry was quickly seeping into my expression.

Sundrop released an almost mischievous giggle. "Sure I can, but where would be the fun in THAT?!" he questioned excitedly, his gestures manic and exaggerated. "There's no need, anyways! I won the game, so we're having a sleepover!" He raised his arms high above his head and wiggled his hands theatrically, causing the bells attached to his wrists to jingle. Oh, I was so fucked.

I tried to take a couple seconds to think it over; if I didn't go along with this, would I be considered a rule-breaker? It would essentially be breaking the rules of our little makeshift cleaning game, after all, even if it wasn't an official daycare rule. And even if he let me go this time, I'd clearly be asked for a sleepover every single shift until I complied. Perhaps it would be best to go along this once.

I released a short sigh. "Yeah, okay. We're having a sleepover."

Sundrop was, simply put, ecstatic. His energy levels were unending, his excitement knowing no possible bounds. I'd already known this to some extent, but I learned very quickly just how deeply this personality trait ran. He laid out a fabulous selection of activities for the night, and I chose which sounded the most fun at each interval, all of which he was perfectly content with. I wasn't very big on messy crafts, so we strayed from this activity and instead gravitated towards utilizing the immense play structures, though we planned to make a decent effort not to muddle our previous cleanup session. I can't say how well that truly panned out.

Even as a young adult, I couldn't help but devolve into some sort of animalistic child in the face of slides and platforms. I rapidly became lost in childlike enjoyment, and was climbing fervently through the play structures as Sundrop followed suit, chasing me with high-pitched giggles and playful threats. I won't deny there was some genuine fear present—it was like being hunted down by a Creepypasta in the flesh. However, it was the good kind of fear, the fun kind of adrenaline that pumped throughout my body as I ducked and evaded his grasp left and right. There were times where I felt the tips of his fingers make contact with the back of my head, prompting me to squeal in terror as I just barely escaped through a nearby slide. He seemed to find it just as entertaining as I did, and so this cycle continued for at least an hour with us hopping from structure to structure, coming up with small games and competitions along the way to raise the stakes. If you catch me, you get to choose the next activity. If I manage to escape, you have to act like a monkey for the entirety of the next game. Y'know, normal stuff. At the end of it all, I rushed away from the play structures entirely and towards the ball pit, somehow assuming in my adrenaline-induced state that the plastic balls would be enough of an obstacle to ward my pursuer off.

No such luck. I dove into the pit with an excited squeal, quickly adapting to its resistance and attempting to swim through the mass of colorful balls with little success. When I heard the sound of Sundrop hopping into the pit behind me, my panic rose at least three volumes. Oh my god, could he really navigate this thing? If I was having trouble, how could his clunky, animatronic body handle being assaulted by a fuckton of bouncy, plastic balls? I guess I should've taken into account that he was probably highly accustomed to the ball pit, because he was on my tail in mere seconds. I was screaming and flailing as he giddily reached for me, ultimately wrapping his arms around my torso and pulling me backwards with what felt like little to no effort. I shrieked, instinctively grabbing for surrounding balls to use as projectiles. I tossed them behind me, immediately hearing light klonks as they made contact with my assailant's metal head. "HEY!" he protested, heaving me upwards in an attempt to silence my resistance.

As a result, we both fell completely backwards into the pit, sending more balls flying in the process. Held firmly against Sundrop and thus unable to utilize my hands, I simply kicked at the air, breathless giggles and noises of effort escaping me. After a small grunt or two, I managed to alter my position, struggling in his grip as I turned my body around to face his. I would now be able to use my hands, at least, though I was unfortunately halted by the resulting predicament.

I mean, he was a robot, right? It shouldn't have been that weird. But it was. I was basically laying on top of him, now forced to make eye contact as he clutched me tightly against his chest. There was an awkward second or two where I tried and failed to find words to ward off the embarrassment creeping through me. Oh god, I could feel my face heating up. I was about to resume struggling to ease the tension when Sundrop took care of it for me, and without warning; he suddenly released me entirely and then slid out from under me, causing me to collapse back into the mass of colored balls with a startled noise. I was still flailing around as I heard him emit a small, seemingly nervous laugh. Christ, had he noticed too?

Positioning myself upright, I locked eyes with him again, and within seconds I noticed something different. I couldn't immediately tell what it was, and didn't have the time to really think about it before he spoke.

"I—I should be more careful," he worriedly stated, staring me down anxiously. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" His tone was, strangely enough, softer than usual, no longer so sharp and eardrum-damaging.

"No, no, I'm fine," I quickly assured him, shaking my head. "In fact, that was really fun. Don't worry. I'm not a kid, so you can be rougher with me." I was panting lightly from the absolute workout I'd been through so far, while Sundrop was completely unfazed as expected.

"R...really?" the animatronic questioned lightly, seeming genuinely surprised to receive such permissions. He'd only ever played with children, so it made sense to me. "I don't want to, ah, hurt you..."

"I'll be fine!" I insisted, a playful grin spreading across my face. I grabbed a nearby ball and chucked it at the distressed robot, hoping to ease his concerns. It bounced off his forehead with a donk, causing him to dramatically fall backwards and send a flood of plastic balls towards me. I giggled and shrieked at this.

When Sundrop reemerged, he seemed to have fully recovered from his small bout of nervousness, and was now radiating a sort of heavy determination as he began to grab nearby balls. "It's ON!!!" he loudly declared before sending them my way, though his throws were a lot stronger than mine could ever be, and they actually did hurt a little as they bounced off my arms and chest. It wasn't too much of a problem as I used one arm to block my face while the other sent balls flying back, contributing to the little war that had sprouted between us. However, it was forced to come to an unfortunate and yet expected close when a ball made its way past my defense and slammed directly into the bridge of my nose, sending a shock of stinging pain into my head and causing me to collapse backwards with a small cry.

Obviously, it was all fun and games to me, but I was immediately met with immense concern as Sundrop frantically approached me, cradling me in his arms like a wounded animal. "Are you okay?!?" he questioned, and then a dramatic gasp escaped him as he located the red spot on the bridge of my nose. "Oh no, oh no!! I hurt you!!"

"I'm fine, really—that was fun," I tried to explain, but he was already carrying me out of the pit and mumbling worriedly to himself as he glanced hastily around the room.

"Band-aids, band-aids..." he whispered anxiously as he carried me around, though the pain in my head had already begun to subside.

"Sun—Sundrop, it's okay," I weakly attempted to assure him, but he wasn't listening to me. He brought me over to one of the padded areas surrounding the play structures and set me down gently, as though I no longer had the ability to stand up by myself. He then retreated before I could get a word in, leaving me to simply sit and wait for his return.