Codie grabs her stuff, telling the boys for the nth time that night she'd be ok, she was fine driving herself, no need to further deprivate the environment by having them drive there and back twice, it was only for an hour or so at best, yada yada...

"B-b-but...Sunshine!!"

Codie holds up a firm hand and dons a serious face now. "Better be careful Sunny..." faux distress in her words, as she looks him up and down, and then completely deadpans, "your worry is showing."

In one sharp second Sun both gasped and threw his arms across himself in an X pattern, genuinely trying to cover something up, letting out an exasperated and overly cartoonish, "Aaah! Where?!"

Moon watches this go down, having trouble keeping in his laughter. A snort comes out which causes Sun to retaliate with a sorry little slap on his brother's back and a pitiful "Harumph..," as his now bright orange face practically sizzles with heat.

Codie, still standing in the now open doorway, clears her throat and begins to slowly slink outside. "O-kay...you two." A split second pause and she finishes with, "Don't you two stop bein' adorable!" complete with finger guns and a click of her tongue as she fires off said guns simultaneously. Before the boys could even process that little deviant's words, she had slammed the door shut, hightailed it down the stairs, threw herself into her car, and slammed that door shut, too. She giggled to herself in the driver's seat, wondering exactly what Moon had put in her lunch earlier to make her have the gall to have said all that back there.

Well, she now had the chance to ask him, herself.

The abrupt rapping on the window just inches from her face gave her a nice jump scare, as she let out a solid "EEECK!"

There was Moon, the little gremlin, waggling something in his hand at her. Codie rolls the window down narrowing her gaze at what he might be up to. He says nothing as he drops her phone in her lap and Codie mouths an "O" at him. "E-heh...uh- hmm," it comes out a lot more sheepish than she'd hoped, even though she couldn't even form actual words.

He only gives her a cheeky smile and leaves her with an even cheekier, "We won't, star. But the same goes for you." He turns heel and heads back up to their apartment.

'What was he talking ab- Oooh.'

It was her turn for cheeks to burn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shen breathes a huge sigh of relief when Codie walks into Coffee Garden, bag slung over her shoulder. It's not that he didn't think she'd show up, it's just that he's glad she did in a timely manner.

"Hey!" he calls out to her, grinning. She walks over, passing the counter and throwing her bag into her locker really quick. She comes back out and walks around.

"So! Locking up. Straight forward, right?" she asks, looking from the big glass doors back to Shen.

He chuckles, "Kinda!" Codie stares at him with innocent wide eyes, curiosity brimming. "Well, first you have to close out the register, count the money, and seal it in an envelope before setting that on Lois's desk. Then, mopping the floors, cleaning the counters, you know, making the place spick and span."

Codie's mouth is left hanging in a silent 'Ahh', understanding that this is going to be much more than just locking the doors. Shen begins wiping down a blender. "What else?" Codie inquires, hands behind her back as she leans over the counter to watch him.

"Ummm, that's pretty much it. Take out the trash if it's overflowing and then just lock up. You'll be taking home the keys, too, so don't lose them. Lois has a spare but she also opens tomorrow so she'll be fine. Just return them to her desk next time you work, I guess."

"Okay!" Codie nods, understanding what she'll have to do. "And I'll be alone all night, or?" She wonders, a little nervous about the notion but also excited. She could listen to music by herself and unwind without the customers!

"Yeah, around eight til closing," Shen answers, placing down the blender and moving on to the next one.

So Codie'll have about two hours to herself. Not scary at all.

"I got this!" Codie clenches her fist in determination. Shen watches her and laughs, then blushes. He's been mustering the courage all day to ask her out when she comes in.

"Hey! So..." he starts, losing it quickly, "Er, um, so I was wondering..." Codie raises her eyebrows, leaning forward as if telling him to go on. His foot taps impatiently on the tile floor as he chokes up. "Do you want to play games again sometime?" he finally gets out, eyes scrunched up and head tilted down at the floor.

He cannot believe he choked again! Curse his anxieties. The ginger's light chuckling brings him back to reality. "Of course! It was fun! Just message me soon, okay? Also, could you show me how to close the register? I should head home sooner than later."

"Oh! Of course, here, come around." Shen splutters and lifts open the counter for Codie. She walks in and he goes to the register and shows her the combination in opening it without a sale. He goes and closes it out, showing her where the envelopes are and how to mark down how much was counted.

"Then lock the doors behind me?" Codie asks as they walk to the front of the store. Shen twirls the keys around on his finger.

"Yup! Pretty easy, huh?" The two walk out together and Codie turns around to watch the boy lock the doors. He turns the key and pulls it out after hearing the resounding click.

"Awesome, thanks for showing me all this! I figure I'd probably learn it sometime or other, best from a friend rather than a random coworker, haha." Codie teeters on her heels. "Well anyway, I'll talk to you later!" She waves and starts to head off to her car.

Shen watches her while chewing on his lip. He fidgets for a moment before reaching out. "Uh- hey wait!" The girl turns. "You wanna maybe get some food together? Next week?" Shen's heart pounds as he waits with bated breaths, those of which puff out visibly in the cold weather.

Codie blinks. 'Where did this come from?' she wonders. The freezing wind bites at her nose so she quickly answers, "Sure! Just text me when and where!" completely oblivious to the implications before hurriedly rushing to her car. She huffs after sitting down, rubbing her hands together.

She sits in her car for a few minutes as she waits for it to warm up, scrolling her phone for tunes to play. Her stomach twists in pain and she heads home, thinking about Sun's hot dinner waiting for her.

~~~~~~~~~~

"You know you didn't have to cover for this boy, right?" Moon asks with narrowed eyes, peering down at Codie as she gets ready to head into her first closing shift. "You know most people wouldn't cover for you if you needed it."

"Shen's my friend, of course I did. Plus, he's on thin ice for Lois with calling out, he needed me!" Codie explains, putting her shoes on. Moon frowns. It's not so much that she's covering for this boy, it's that she'll be closing.

By herself.

Anything could happen while she's alone, working. A total creep could come in and harass her. She could slip and fall and hit her head on the corner of the counter and fall unconscious and no one would be there to help!

The more Moon keeps thinking, the more worked up he becomes. All of the scenarios running through his head are giving him a headache. He can't do much about it, though. Codie can't just call out. 'If only I could stay with her...' A light bulb appears above his head.

'Why can't I stay with her? Keep her company while she works? It's not against the rules...is it?'

He begins thinking of the ways he could keep an eye on her without disrupting her work, missing it when she leaves her room. He blinks himself out of his thoughts. "Starlight!" he calls her before she can leave. "Sun and I will be by later, okay?"

Codie nods happily. "Oh! Sure, yeah! I love when you two visit!" He wishes he could go now but he and Sun promised they'd visit Chica at her bakery to try some new pastries. Codie suddenly bombards him with a hug, gripping his soft poofy pants and smooshing her cheeks against him.

"See you later!" She quickly leaves before he could even hug back or say anything. He smiles fondly, a blue blush upon his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Codie comes into work with a smile on her face, yet stiff with determination. "Hello, hun!" Lois greets when she passes the counter. The manager works on the floor today instead of in her office, so Codie'll be working with her by her side this time.

"Hey!" she says back, depositing her items in her locker and tying her apron on. She slips her phone into one of the front pockets. "How's it been today?" the ginger asks as she sees what Lois is making and makes her way over to help.

"Not bad. Pretty quiet, had a couple of teens come in earlier trying to cause a ruckus but that's all." Dang, Codie wishes she could have seen that.

She remembers something she's been wanting to ask her boss for a while now but never had the chance to. "Hey..." she starts nervously, "what do you think of the animatronics from the pizza plex? Like, becoming citizens."

Lois turns and looks surprised at the question. "Oh! Well, I'm not sure. I never visited that mall so I have no idea what they look like, but from what I've heard they're pretty civil for robots." Lois looks around. "I guess what I'm saying is I don't really have an opinion until I meet one!"

Codie nods. It's a very acceptable answer. A grown, older woman like Lois probably wouldn't be all hyped about them, but she probably wouldn't be outright against them, either. She likes her answer. "That's nice... You're not scared?"

Codie only asks this because her two best friends will be coming in, guns blazing knowing Sun's demeanor, and she doesn't want Lois getting mad with her or, heaven forbid, her boys. "I suppose not. If they were allowed to be in society and given the same rights as us, they're probably like any other person, just a little different on the inside."

Codie smiles. She has nothing to worry about with her boss and her friends and that makes her feel warm inside. She's lucky to have a manager like Lois. "That's good...because my friends are coming by later for drinks...and they're two of the six animatronics."

Lois looks shocked, not even thinking of the notion of Codie, the sweet yet shy, small girl, being associated with such people. "Alright then," she wipes her hands off on a rag, giving the girl an encouraging smile, "I can't wait to meet them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"..."

Codie, hands firmly on hips, blinks incredulously at the two bots.

"You're saying you've had those for over two days, and I'm only JUST NOW hearing about it?!" What she lacked in stature, she sure made up for in tone. Codie was actually a bit upset that something as important as their legal documents arriving had not been brought up 'til just now, and only because they were just casually chatting at the counter and she just happened to overhear the word "documents".

* 60 seconds earlier~*

Codie popped her head up from below the counter just as the jingle from the bells on the door sounded a customer's entry. It was accompanied by other little bells, from her favorite jesters, who were now sauntering up to that same counter.

"Hey guys! I'll just be a sec-" she skips to the back for a moment as the boys wave and finish the conversation they'd been having the whole way into the cafe. "Lois! They're here when you wanna meet them!" she lets her boss know.

Lois waves her hand dismissively. "Okay, hun. I'll be out soon, I'm finishing the schedule!" Codie nods and heads back out, catching the end of the jester's conversation.

"So, now we can go just about anywhere! Oooh, I'm sososo excited to tell her!" his volume a tad loud.

"Yes, I know, Sun...and now the whole world does too," he chuckles as he waves a hand about the glaringly empty shop.

"Oop! Sorry...inside voices. Yes." The solar bot can hardly contain his giddiness. "But it's just so...so...our very own documents, Moonie!"

* Now~ *

Codie's arms are now crossed in front of her as she stares the two animatronics down. "I am actually a bit upset..."

"But-" Sun tries.

"... that something as important as your legal documents arriving hasn't been brought up 'til just now!..."

"Bu- Star-" Moon tries.

"...We can now go out places together and not have to worry 'bout you two getting locked up for no good reason!!..."

"Yes! Andwewerejustaboutto-" Oooh- just about got a whole sentence out. A for effort, Sun.

"...when were you going to tell meee?!" Well that came out as more of a whine than she'd hoped.

The boys moved over to the open side of the counter.

Codie kept their gazes, one foot now tapping frustratedly at the hard floor causing an almost animated "doink, doink, doink," sound as it repeats in sets of threes.

As they approached the fiery redhead, they both suddenly dropped to their knees, hands clasped together in a begging pose.

"Noooo! Don't be mad at us, not you, not our Sunflower! We didn't mean to! It-it-it slipped our minds!" Sun tries to sound as pitiful as possible, but still trying to sell her on sincerity.

"We were going to tell you when we came in yesterday," Moon adds, also with dramatic, yet sincere, flare, "but got a little... sidetracked..."

The look deviously at each other. "Curse that cute uniform!"

"And that Shen!!"

"Wait, hold up...did she say 'go out places'? 'We?? 'TOGETHER?!?!'"

"Moonie! She wants to go out with us!!"

"Wait, wait, wait...we already know she wants to be able to do things like that. I don't think she meant it the way we're hoping..."

"A little...sidetracked?" the girl asks, raising a brow. "So, you're trying to tell me that instead of giving me the best news any of us has gotten in a looong time, you two rabbit-holed? You got distracted?!" Not being able to hold back her excitement any longer, she drops the 'tad bit upset' attitude and actually chuckles. "By what?"

The boys look at each other again, then right back at her. "Uh-um, by, y-your... cuteness?" Sun tries.

Codie bursts into laughter; the entire scene of the boys on their knees being all dramatic getting to her. These guys really were made for kids, what with their flare, and ability to make one laugh.

"You guys..." the girl wipes a tear, "are too much..." She's breathless now, cheeks red, when Lois comes out.

"Girl! What has gotten you so riled up I can hear you in my office?" the woman asks with a chuckle, hands on her hips. She then notices the hulking beings standing behind the minuscule barrier that is between them.

Oh my.

When they were talking about animatronics she figured they'd be smaller, animal characters like the old ones she's seen when she was a child. But these, these guys are tall! They tower over the two women with bright smiles on their faces, eyes glued to the little red head in front of her.

Lois never would have imagined, in her life, to witness giant clown robots in her establishment.

"I'm sorry, Lois! This is Sun," Codie motions to the yellow one, "and this is Moon," and finishes motioning to the blue one. Well, if Lois didn't know their names, Sun and Moon would have been her first nicknames to give them, given their appearances.

"It is...so nice to meet you two." The brothers both give her extended hand a shake. "I admit I'm a bit...taken aback! My goodness, back when I was younger they had a bear and a rabbit!" Sun and Moon chuckle at that.

"We were made to be daycare attendants and entertainers. We were given a more 'human' like appearance to relate and teach the children. Such as five fingers to communicate through sign-language for the hearing impaired." Moon explains with a smirk. He can't remember a time where someone wasn't shocked at their appearances but instead intrigued and calm.

Codie opens her mouth in a silent 'Huh!, I didn't know that, that's so cool!'.

Lois claps her hands together. "Well, what can I get you boys to drink?"

Sun raises his hands, bouncing in his seat. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I want to try the new pumpkin latte!" he declares excitedly. Since it's nearing the end of October, and he's been going out again, all the sunny bot has seen are advertisements for pumpkin flavored everything and he's been dying to try them!

Except for the pumpkin spice hand sanitizer.

Please...please don't sample the hand sanitizers.

Moon takes a gander at the menu, eyes narrowing in thought. "I think I'll try the pumpkin cinnamon hot chocolate..." Lois nods and puts the order into the computer.

When Moon takes out his wallet, Lois shakes her head and her finger. "No, no! It's on the house for today. Think of it as a welcome to society gift." She's surprised at how nice, advanced, and wholesome these bots are.

And the way they looked at Codie was a lovely sight to see. It reminded Lois of how her husband looked at her.

"Oh! Thankyouthankyouthankyou, Ms. Lois!" Sun rambles. Moon gives his thanks as well, albeit quieter. Codie's astonished by her generosity, but in a good way. This is how it should be!

Codie happily gets to work making their drinks while Lois finishes the ticket. She passes her by, letting her know she's going to finish up in her office before heading out. Codie frowns, the time has flown by already. Each minute that goes by only serves to make Codie even more nervous for working the final few hours on her own.

Sun shoos Moon off to their designated favorite booth while he stays to watch Codie work. He stands there daydreaming when he notices the frown on her face as she almost autonomously makes their beverages.

He walks around the side, leaning over the counter easily to be next to Codie's ear and whispers, "Star, are you alright? You're lookin' a bit pale..." worriedly. Codie jumps, spilling milk all over herself. "Oh!" Sun panics, hands on his cheeks, "Oh I'm so sorry Sunbite!" He begins flapping his hands before making his way behind the counter in a hurry.

In Codie's shocked state, she doesn't even comprehend the bot literally picking her up and moving her away from the mess she had made. Her nerves quickly lower enough for her to see Sun manically wiping up the split milk, muttering 'clean up, clean up' the entire time.

"Sun! Let-let me, it was an accident!" Codie tries, placing a hand on the kneeling bot. "Plus, you're not really supposed to be behind the counter!" It's almost as if Sunny doesn't acknowledge the ginger's presence, only continuing to wipe up the mess with the, surely by now, soaked up rag.

As soon as it's to Sun's standards, only then does he stand back up with a forced grin. He scans for a moment, not seeing his human, before glancing down. "Star!" he bends down and hands her the rag. "I'm sosososo sorry! Please forgive me! Here's your rag, okay? Do you need help cleaning up? I can help you change if you need to-"

"Sun!" Codie cuts him off, now worried by his frenzied rambling. "It's okay. It's just milk! And most of it landed on the floor and counter. It's alright, really," she assures him slowly, nodding and making sure he's listening. He nods back slowly, copying her movements.

"Right...rightrightright! Of course! No need to worry, no! You just get back to work okay? Oh, but how about a change of clothes? I can bring a pair..." Codie pumps her hands down with a small smile, stopping him.

"It's alright, Sunny, I'll change my apron. I always have a spare at the ready." She jabs her thumb behind her towards the back area behind the curtain. "So just, go sit with Moonie and I'll be right back, okay?" Codie waits a few moments before Sun finally nods, turning and walking to the booth. Codie heads to the back, worried at what just happened with Sun.

Sun is dying on the inside. His protocols and systems are running wild. He's not sure what happened! He just went crazy! His need to clean and his anxiety felt as if it was set to max. It was just an accident, he didn't mean to! Codie even said it was okay. But it didn't feel okay. All he can think is, 'Is she mad at me? Did I mess up? I scared her! I caused an accident! I made a mess!'

Moon watches with furrowed brows as his brother automatically sits down, stiff as a board. He waves a hand in front of his blank eyes, but nothing. "Sunny?" he asks, waving again. The bot blinks a couple times before focusing on Moon's dark blue fingers.

"Y-yes?" he stutters. 'Great, that's back, too.'

It's hard not to eavesdrop as an animatronic, so Moon couldn't help but hear at least a little of what happened when he was gazing out the large window filled walls. "You okay? What exactly happened?"

"I-I don't know! I-I made a mess and my-my-my need to please came out! To make it right, to prevent us from going to parts and services, from being in trouble, and and I know we're not there anymore and I don't even know why I thought we were back and-"

"Whoa!" Moon stops him, "Take a deep breath, Sunny. In, come on, in..." Moon raises his hands to go along with Sunny breathing in. "Okay, now out." The two do that for a minute until Sun calms down.

"Thanks Moonie..." Sun whispers, wringing his hands.

Moon frowns and says, "Now, tell me why that came up."

Sun isn't even sure himself, what could he possibly tell his brother? Lately, it feels as if his anxiety is spiking more than usual. He's good at keeping it contained but for whatever reason, scaring Codie and making a mess just...triggered him and his systems.

Moon watches as his brother gets lost in thought. "I..." he starts slowly, "I saw you accidentally scare Codie." His brother flinches. "It was an accident, right?" Moon queries. He's usually the one pulling pranks and spooking people for the fun of it so his brother doing it on purpose would be weird.

"Yes! Of course!" Sun cries.

"Okay! Okay. So you scared her and then what?"

Sun nibbles on his finger tips. "I got terrified Codie would get mad at me and just panicked. Everything was blaring at me at once and I just got...taken back to the daycare. Scared we'd be put in that chair again for making a little mistake..."

Moon can only sigh sadly, knowing exactly what Sun means. Only then, he wasn't able to physically be there for his brother. "Sun, does Codie make you that nervous?"

"N-no!" Sun looks down with guilt. "At least not usually... Lately I've been feeling a little more antsy on the inside when I'm near her, but I've been trying not to let it show!"

"And then all at once multiple things kicked in," Moon assumes, finishing his thought for him.

"Exactly..." Sun sighs, putting his head in his hands. "Do you think she really is upset with me?" Sun's voice comes out muffled, though Moon hears him all the same.

"Of course not, dummy." Moon pats the top of his head, cautious of the rays. "She's not like that. It was an accident and she understands that." Sun nods, still buried in his hands. "You're just like a school boy with a crush on the girl. Your nerves and systems are getting all jumbled up because you like her so much. It's kinda cute."

Sun gasps and throws his head up, narrowing his eyes at his brother, who smirks back at him. "We-well what about you, huh? You get nervous around her, too, right?!"

Moon leans back, satisfied he was able to get his usual Sunny back. "Nope," he smirks, "I'm cool as always." His brother doesn't need to know his wires tighten up and the mere sight of the human.

"Here you go guys!" Both bots jolt at the sudden appearance of said ginger. The girl places their drinks in front of them, smile on her face and fresh clean apron to boot. "Sorry bout' the wait."

Sun immediately digs in, practically chugging his drink to avoid speaking. "Thank you, Starlight." Moon takes a more classy sip.

Codie watches them for a bit before turning to Sun. "Are you sure you're okay, Sunny?" Sun slams his cup down onto the table, though not hard enough to splash anything.

"Yup! Right as rain, Sunshine! No need to worry about me!" Moon wants to face palm at the blatancy.

"Well, alright..." Codie pouts. "I'll see you two after work. Wanna get take out tonight? I can pick something up on the way home."

Moon opens his mouth to answer but Sun beats him to it. "Yes! How about Chinese?" He stands up, gripping his now empty cup. "How about that one place around the corner? Sounds yummy! Can't wait! We have to go now, Sunshine, so we'll see you later! Have a wonderful rest of your shift! Bye byeeee!" Sun drags Moon out the door before anyone could say anything after Sun's tirade.

Codie, still standing by the table, blinks in shock. What just happened?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Codie sighs and checks her phone for what feels like the tenth time in only five minutes. She didn't think closing would be this boring! But she supposes no one would really be getting coffee this late.

She only has about forty minutes left, so she busies herself with sweeping the floor of the seating area. After finishing that, she takes a bathroom break. An unreasonably long one at that, too.

She huffs in discomfort and finishes up, washing her hands at the sinks. 'Maybe I should go in...' she thinks, inwardly groaning at the thought of even doing so. The sound of the front door bell goes off so she hurriedly dries her hands and rushes back out, mentally begging the pain to subside.

It does so quickly enough and so she puts a smile on her face to greet what she hopes is her last customer.

The smile melts at the sight of Jason. With a grimace, Codie goes up to the register. "How can I help you?" She hopes he doesn't notice the shudder in her voice.

With a smirk, Jason leans on the counter with his elbow. "I think I'll get a hot chocolate tonight. Don't want caffeine this late, ya' know?"

Codie wants to say 'Then why did you come to a damn coffee shop?' but bites her tongue, responding with his total and then watching as he puts his chip in the card reader. He leaves it there as it beeps obnoxiously.

"So, closing tonight huh?"

Codie really doesn't want to make small talk with this guy. But she doesn't want to upset him by being rude, either. "Yeah, just filling in for a friend, actually." She quickly turns to make his drink order, hoping the faster it gets done, the faster he'll leave. The weight of a heavy stare on her back makes her cringe outwardly, which, from behind, looks like she just had a chill run through her body.

"Oh, you poor thing...are you cold? You can come sit with me, I'll share my hot chocolate with ya..."

Of course this creep would say something like this. Codie just turns around, handing him his drink, trying to ignore what she considers awfully bold words from someone as old as he is directed at someone as young as she is. She has half a mind to dial up Moon, leave the line open, and have him come deal with the perv.

"Hm. Not gonna respond to me, huh? That's ok. I get it. Pretty little thing like you, all by yourself at work. Can't be too careful nowadays, right?" He raises an eyebrow at her, then winks as he takes his cup and moseys over to one of the booths. "My offer still stands, though~" he practically sings as he sits.

Great, he's not leaving...ugh.

Codie continues to clean up what she can, checking the time again. Thirty minutes. Maybe she should go in the back and do stuff? No, Lois said she can't leave the front unattended with a customer here.

So, she busies herself with cleaning the remaining dirty equipment and humming to herself. She can hear a bit of movement as Jason shifts in his seat. "So, you got any plans after work?"

Codie figures she should answer for many reasons. One, Jason could file a complaint to Lois about 'Bad customer service' of all things. Two, he'll most likely keep hounding her until she does answer. And three, talking might actually make the time go by faster and Codie'll take anything at this point.

"Yes, actually," she tries to keep her angry tone to a minimum, "I'm getting Chinese take out-" Before she could finish her sentence, she turns around to see Jason up against the counter, cutting her off.

"Oh wow, I love Chinese food." Codie just stares at him as if she's supposed to know what to do with that information. A beat goes by. "You know, I am a gentleman," Codie feels as if a true gentleman wouldn't have to say it, but whatever, "so I wouldn't mind taking you out. I'll pay for Chinese and we can head back to my place."

Codie scoffs. 'Oh you wouldn't mind would you? How generous...' "No thanks, it's for my friends and I."

"Oh come on," Jason insists, grinning. His full set of pearly white teeth seem to twinkle and mock the ginger as she cringes. Codie approaches the edge of the counter as close as she can without getting too close to Jason.

She does so to pull out her phone inconspicuously so he doesn't see her. She quickly and silently hits Sun's phone number in her contacts, making sure to mute him on his end. She just hopes they aren't too mad at not knowing this guy has been harassing her since her first day.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sun frowns at his phone as Codie's picture pops up to alert him of who's calling. He still can't believe what a fool he made himself look like today! He picks up anyways. "Hello Sunflower?" He then covers it and looks away saying, "I sure hope this isn't another accidental phone call..." to himself.

Instead of a response, Sun hears a male voice respond, though seemingly not to him. "Some other time then? I promise I can show you a good time." Sun's face contorts in disgust. Just what exactly is he hearing?!

"Yeah... No thanks." Codie's voice rings out with just as much aversion. Sun's eyes widen.

"Come on, Sweetheart..." At this, Sun has heard enough and brings the phone up to his face.

"Sunflower? What's going on, who is that?" When he gets no response, he huffs and looks at the screen. He notices the muted microphone. Codie muted him? 'This phone call isn't accidental...'

"We can go up to that one place on the mountain, have a picnic, watch the sunset..." Jason tries again. Codie's stomach twists at the thought. Everyone knows that hill on the mountain is a place where people go to have 'fun' on dates and certainly not a romantic rendezvous point for picnics.

Sun doesn't like the tone this man is using with his favorite human and he has half a mind to go over there to shoo him away. "No. I much prefer it when Sun rises." Sun freezes at the emphasis put on his name.

'Did she...?'

"You mean the sun?" Jason asks, confused.

Codie glares at Jason, squeezing her phone tightly. "I meant what I said. Sun should come by sooner."

With that, Sun drops everything and rushes out the door, not even thinking about grabbing Moon in his haste. He hangs up the call, hoping that would be enough to let Codie know he heard her and he's coming.

~~~~~~~

"Heh," the tall man laughs awkwardly, "weird, but whatever." His eyes peer over at a clock. "It's almost closing time, huh? At least let me walk you to you car."

'Closing time couldn't have come any sooner...' Codie rolls her eyes before noticing the call has been hung up. She gulps, nervously hoping Sun got her message. "Sorry, sir, but all customers have to leave soon so I can close up properly."

"Aw, you can't just let me hang out and wait for you to finish? I'll protect you from any weirdos outside, promise." Somehow, Codie can't help but think she'd rather take her chances than have this guy 'protect' her.

"Again, I do have to close up shop, so if customers are finished they should leave." Jason frowns, opening his mouth to retort when a loud noise stops him and causes both heads to turn to the glass doors.

"Hellooo! Terribly sorry but I hope I'm not too late! I'm just dying for a sip of water, my throat is just parched!" Codie releases a large gasp of relief when Sun comes in, arms stretched wide, and speaking dramatically.

"What the hell?" Jason narrows his eyes, stepping to the side as Sun comes barreling to the counter, not looking as if he'll avoid the man in his way.

"Uh- no! Of course not! I'll get you an ice water right away!" Codie plays along, a big smile on her face. Sun turns to grin almost maniacally at the man. He judges his plain features and makes a profile of him in his scanners.

"Oh golly! I didn't see you there! Excuse me!" Sun apologizes, hiding his sarcasm with perfect practice.

Jason glares at the offending being in front of him. "Parched? You're a damn robot. You can't be thirsty."

"Au contraire!" Sun points a finger up, "I am much more than just a robot! I can very much feel anything you can!"

"Disgusting," Jason spits. "You guys think you're all high and mighty because you won the rights to roam our world? Think you can barge in here and order a drink? She's closing!"

"Oh?" Sun spins his face with faux confusion. "Then...why are you here, mister?"

Jason splutters, looking from the animatronic to Codie who is slowly filling up a large cup of water to bide for time. "I'm a friend! Was gonna walk her out! Not that you needed to know that!"

Sun slaps his cheeks, mouth formed into an 'O'. "Oh no! I hope I didn't disrupt any plans, Miss! Shall I leave you to your friend? Was he gonna walk you out?"

Codie hands over the beverage. "No of course not, sir," she emphasizes the honorific, eyeing and showing Jason she respects these beings. "I wasn't going to walk out with him. He's a customer who should leave. Sir," she addresses the abashed man, "since you've finished your drink, please let me finish helping this other customer so I can close up."

Sun winces at the shakiness of Codie's voice. Just how long was she suffering with this man before she called?

"Che, whatever." Jason bumps his shoulder into Sun's on his way out. Sun doesn't move an inch as he does it which causes Jason to wince and rub it, not looking back. Codie hopes that hurt more than it looked.

Codie lets Sun know she's heading to the back to put the envelope of money on Lois' desk and runs back, also to grab her things. Sun watches as Jason enters his car. His eyes narrow in on the plates, snap- shotting and adding them to his profile. He finally drives off when Codie returns.

"Is he gone?"

"Drove away and everything."

"Thank goodness," Codie sighs, lifting the counter and coming out. She immediately hugs Sun, wrapping her arms around the narrowest part of him; his waist. He returns the hug, rubbing her back comfortingly the whole time as she breathes in his scent to calm her down.

"You okay, Starlight?" Sun asks. Codie wonders why he used Moon's nickname but writes it off. She nods back, still buried in his waist, with a hum. "Okay, let's go. You got the keys to lock up?"

'Oh, yeah. I guess I still have a job to do...' Codie realizes. She groans and releases her hero. She goes back to the counter to swipe up the keys into her hands. The ginger holds them up and jingles them before leading the way out the front doors.

Sun follows by closely, watching her lock the doors up tight, giving them a pull to make sure. The bot walks her to her car, something she prefers much more over the other option. When she gets in, he bends down to address her from the window.

Codie quickly turns it on and rolls it down. She almost groans at the questioning gaze he holds her with and grips her steering wheel tight. "I know...you probably have a lot of questions. But I'm exhausted, Sunny, mentally and physically... I just want to go home and eat something."

Though disappointed, the jester understands completely, giving her shoulder a squeeze before stepping back and putting his hands behind his back, teetering on his heels. "I can pick up Chinese? You go straight home, okay, Sunbite?" He sounds unsure in the first half but gets resolute at the end and that comforts Codie that he takes charge and gives her a plan to follow.

She agrees, "Yeah, okay." Sun nods and silently walks to his car parked a few spots down. Codie watches him like a hawk as he does so, only feeling safe enough to drive away when he starts his car.

While Codie is still shaken up at the encounter with Jason, she can't help but feel more guilty about leaving Sun and Moon in the dark about something that could have turned more serious if Sun had not come in tonight.

She'll tell them over dinner.