The entire room devolves into cheer. So loud, they spill over the outcries of offense from the opposing people. Codie has her hand over her mouth as if she can't believe that they've done it. Freddy picks Gregory up and spins him around as he laughs in delight.

Sun immediately brings his brother in for a hug. "We did it, Moonie! This is the first step to fitting in like we've always wanted!" Moon squeezes him tighter, burying his face into Sun's ruffles.

Moon lifts his head just a bit to peer over Sun's shoulder and look at Codie. The human celebrates with the others, a smile adorning her face. The lunar animatronic can't help but think this is all because of her.

She spoke up and made those points; fought diligently against Linda when no one else would. She helped him gather the courage to stand up for himself. She helped the others stand up, too, only spurred on by Moon because of her.

"That human is something else..." he subconsciously pings to his brother.

"She really is!" Sun agrees as they continue to hug. Without words, the two pull the ginger into their hug, putting her in the middle of their bodies. She gasps in surprise but laughs and hugs them the best she can in her position.

"Guys!" They hear her laugh, "Can't move!" Moon feels as she grips his pants in attempts to wiggle her way out of the crushing group hug. The brothers laugh as well, parting and allowing Codie to dramatically act as if she was dying from lack of air.

"Oh, my Sunflower! Are you okay!" Sun giggles, putting a fake look of worry on his face.

"Must. Get. Air...." Codie fakes fainting and Moon swoops in to lace an arm behind her back, lifting her back up.

"If only we breathed air, we could 'lend' you some..." Moon coos, smirking at the blush appearing on Codie's cheeks. Her eyes shoot open and she scrambles out of his arms.

The jesters cackle while she averts her gaze, instead landing on Linda. Said woman is packing up her things, grumbling to herself. Linda starts to head out, passing by where the trio are standing and stopping in front of Codie. She sneers at the girl.

"You'll regret this, missy." Moon, noticing the problematic woman stopping in front of his human, holds back a hiss at her comment. Instead, he narrows his eyes and gives her a big, wide, sharp-toothed grin.

Freaked out, Linda leaves, leaving Codie nervous about what she said. 'What did she mean by regret? Is she going to come after me?!' Her thoughts run wild. Before anyone could say anything, Chica runs up excitedly.

"Guys! Come on, we're going to get our pictures taken!"

Sun gasps, putting his hands on his cheeks, "Really!?" Without waiting for a confirmation, he runs ahead to Vanessa and the others. Moon chuckles and holds his elbow out towards the ginger. She giggles, taking it and the two make their way to the group.

"Okay guys! We're getting pictures to put you all into the system. It'll take a while to get all that sorted out, but they'll be taking care of it. For now, all you gotta do is take a picture!" Vanessa motions for the Glamrocks and daycare attendants to follow a city worker.

"Is my hair okay?" Roxy turns around and looks towards her girl friends. Codie nods happily, giving her two thumbs up.

"Of course! You're looking good as always, Roxy!" Chica cheers. Roxy smiles and heads into the next room with the worker to take her pic.

"So, when will they be citizens?" Codie asks, curious.

"Probably months, I'm not sure," Ness replies, half focused on Codie, half focused on some paperwork she's reading. "Right now, they'll be getting official driver's licenses, well, in a week or so. Also with the pictures, they'll have their identification put into the system right away but the social security numbers will probably take the longest."

Codie hums, not really understanding the procedure but excited for her friends nonetheless. Soon enough, Roxy re-enters and Monty takes his turn. Codie takes a seat next to the blonde.

"Sooo how did I do? Was I a good advocate?" Gregory rolls his eyes, his feet kicking back and forth since he doesn't reach the floor from his seat.

"Literally won us the case! How did you think you did?" he says sarcastically. Codie just laughs, brushing some hair behind her ear.

"Okay, okay, I get it! So I won the case, but like, anyone could have said what I said!" she argues. Vanessa puts her clip-board down.

"You instilled the courage into the others to stand up and say what they said. I don't think I could have done that. You're awesome, Codie, don't forget that. You won this for them." Ness slaps her friend on the back lovingly.

"Yeah...okay..." the ginger chuckles awkwardly, not sure how to handle the attention. "Was that lady...Linda? Always like that during these?" The smile on Vanessa's face gets wiped, as does Gregory's as they groan at the same time.

"Yes. She's awful, oh my gosh she ruined so many points we've made during meetings. I'm so glad you challenged her and beat her! It was awesome!"

"Yeah! You put her and her stupid face in her place!" Gregory pumps his fist. Vanessa scolds him and Codie giggles. Moon walks up to the three, getting Codie and Gregory to crane their necks to look up at his face. "All done, Moonman?" Gregory kicks his feet again.

"Yup." Moon pops the 'P'. "They want you now, little one." Gregory makes a face. Why would they want him? Vanessa looks up at this, too, her eyebrow quirking in confusion. "Hurry!" Moon pushes the kid out of his seat so he scurries off into the next room.

With a look of triumph, Moon takes Gregory's seat and crosses his legs, mimicking a sigh of relief. Vanessa deadpans, "You did not just do that."

Moon puts his head back, crossing his arms behind it, a toothy grin on it. "I did."

Codie claps slowly. "Wow. Good on you for tricking a child and taking their seat." Ness just sighs and shakes her head, going back to her paperwork.

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

"We need to get her a gift, Moonie!" Sun whines in his shared bedroom. The two bicker about possibly gifting something to Codie as thanks for what she did for them.

"Like what, Sunny?" Moon puts his book down and gives his brother his full attention. He's been talking about a gift for a few days now but they could never agree on something.

"I dunno...hasn't she been wanting one of those, uh... qui- quinoa pigs?" His rays spin as he thinks, a finger on his chin.

Moon snorts and throws his legs over the side of the bed. "First, it's Guinea Pig and second, she was going to get one after she starts her job, so I'm not too sure about gifting her one."

"Ooooh you're right..." Sunny pouts. He then gasps, "Oh! What if we get her stuff for the Guinea Pig! Food, toys, treats!"

Moon furrows his eyes and hums. "Let's think on that, okay? Maybe... maybe we can take her for a nice dinner?" he suggests, laying his hand out.

Sun stops jittering, going stock still as a blush rises to his cheeks. "Like...like a date...?"

At this, Moon, too stops moving and a, just as intense, blush rises to his cheeks as well. "I-I didn't say that! Why? Do you want to ask her on a date?" He narrows his eyes and leans forward at his brother.

"I didn't say that!" Sun cries, his voice waning. "I-I mean...maybe...? It'd be nice..." He shakes his head vigorously, "No! She-she probably doesn't like us like that...right?" Moon frowns, putting his hand up to his chin.

"The chances of her liking the both of us would be pretty low...but don't sell yourself short, Sunny."

"Huh?! No, Moonie, why would you say that? Anyone would be lucky to love you!" Sunny quickly engulfs his brother in a side hug. Moon rolls his eyes but opts not to say anything more. "It would be nice if she liked us both, though, huh..." he sighs sadly and his thoughts go wild just thinking of it.

Moon gently pushes the Sun off of him, brushing his clothes. "Anyway..." he trails off. Best to get away from the current topic. "Why don't we ask her? That way we can just get, or do, whatever she'd like." Moon's a simple animatronic, you ask, he'll do.

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise..." Sun retorts. He starts to stim, flapping one of his hands up and down slowly as he gets lost in thought. A sudden knock at the door brings him out of it and Sunny curiously opens it. "Sunshine!" Sun welcomes with a wide smile and closed eyes.

"Hey um...am I interrupting something?" Codie worries, leaning sideways to look behind the Sun towards the Moon.

"Not at all! Nope, nope, nope!" Codie doesn't look like she believes him but lets it go. Sun and Moon take notice of the blanket hanging around her shoulders. Was it bedtime already? Sun must have been thinking so hard, he didn't even realize!

"Well...uh, anyway, I came to ask Moon..." The ginger trails off, a peach pink blush rises from her cheeks to her ears as she looks away abashedly. Moon tilts his head in question, patiently waiting for her to continue. She plays with her pant drawstring and takes a deep breath, "Couldyouuseyourmusicboxagainforme?"

The lunar bot tilts his head the other way, trying to decipher the word vomit that expelled from the girl's mouth. Even Sun tilts his head, giggling lowly in confusion. From his seat on the bed, Moon smiles and furrows his eyebrows, gesturing for Codie to repeat what she said.

Codie groans, though it's her fault they didn't understand, and repeats, albeit shyly, "Would you use your music box thingy again?" Sun coos at her before he steps back to go get ready for bed. She rolls her eyes at that and then swallows a lump in her throat as Moon approaches.

He stands at full height and looks down at her small form fondly. He ruffles her hair with a chuckle. "Of course. You needn't be embarrassed to ask, Starlight."

Codie glares and struggles to remove his large hand from her head. "I-I wasn't embarrassed!" Her only response to that is another lowly chuckle and a higher pitched one from inside the walk-in closet. She puffs her cheeks out and spins around with one foot, marching back into her bedroom.

She curls up in bed when she hears Moon's large footsteps walk in. He crosses his legs and takes a seat on the floor. Codie flips around and sees this, frowning and sitting up. She pats the bed. "Hey, sit up here," she tells him.

"I'm alright, Dewdrop, don't worry about me," he smiles reassuringly at her, eye level even though they are at different heights. She shakes her head.

"Nuh-uh, I'm not letting you sit on the floor, dummy. Get up here." Codie insists, scooting over in the process. Moon dramatically sighs as he bends his knee and stands up, quickly sitting down on the edge of the bed. Codie gives the bot a look.

"What? I'm on the bed, aren't I?" Moon looks genuinely confused as he lifts his hand and looks down. Yep, he's sitting on the bed.

Codie pats the place next to her more aggressively this time, being sure to hide her ever growing blush. Surprised at the bold notion, Moon's eye lights go out for a moment.

"You...want me to lie next to you? I'm quite large..." he asks to be sure, throwing in his size to make sure she knows what she's getting herself into. When Codie confirms, his lights come back on, glowing bright with unbridled happiness. He awkwardly shifts himself to properly lie back onto the pillow she isn't using.

His legs hang off the end but he pays them no mind as he activates his music box. It tinkles joyfully as a soft melody plays out. He watches as she goes to sleep, flat down on her stomach with her arms up and under her pillow. Feeling emboldened, Moon decides to puts his large hand flat on the small of her back.

With no reaction from the human, the bot glides his hand gently up and down the length of her back comfortingly. He continues this even after her breathing evens out.

"Are you coming to bed, Moonie?" Sun's voice echos. Moon pings back.

"Yes, in a moment." He ponders back on the times where Sun and Moon worked at the daycare. The children were happy with his brother and he was okay with the few that liked him. He was...somewhat content. As long as Sun was happy and safe, Moon was okay with being in the shadows.

He feels Codie's body stiffen up, so he stops his rubbing. He waits a moment, scanning her and noting the heightened heart rate and when she begins whimpering, he quickly rubs her head soothingly. That always helped the little ones.

It works and Codie is soothed. He even notices a smile upon her lips. Moon loves this. It's what he was made for, of course, but this, right here with this specific human? Moon wouldn't trade it for the world.

'What makes this human so...different? So special? Why do I feel these things when I look at her? Does Sun feel like this, too? Does Codie?'

The lunar bot wishes he had someone to talk to about this. None of the other animatronics would understand. Sun knows and is trying to figure out his own feelings so Moon can't exactly get answers from him. Gregory is a child and Vanessa...well, Vanessa might actually help him. She knows mechanical things, maybe he could ask her?

As Moon thinks of this, he always wonders about their upcoming upgrade. Of course, he and Sun don't plan on actually letting someone touch them. They'll see what has to be done and then do it themselves. They always upgrade themselves. They've had to before and they'll do it again. If anything, Vanessa can check software and updates, but nothing physical.

"Moon?" Said bot jumps in his seat from the sudden intrusion.

"Yeah, comin' Sunny..." Moon sighs, glancing down at the (his) human one last time before shutting the bedroom door and retiring into his own.

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

"Are you sure I can't come with you guys? I don't go into my new job for another couple hours. I wanna be there!" Codie pleads for the fifth time this morning. Sun happily pats her head with a hum as he heads out the front door, not answering her.

"Yes, Stardrop, it's a long process and you don't need to be there, we'd probably be shut off anyhow." Moon answers her in the doorway. He hates to lie, but he really doesn't want her to see him, and then in turn Sun, work on one another. It isn't a pretty sight.

Sun knows this and left Moon to deal with the ginger as Sun has trouble lying without obvious tells. Codie pouts but finally relents. She doesn't want to impose, she supposes, and she definitely doesn't want to accidentally mess something up.

"Well...alright," she turns around and heads for the kitchen. "I'll probably see you two after work then?"

"Mhmm," Moon affirms, turning to walk out. Before he does, though, he turns back around and looks at the back of Codie's head, trying to muster up the courage to say something. Codie turns after not hearing the door shut.

"Something wrong?" she asks with a head tilt. Moon feels as if his throat is closing and his lips are dry but how? He's a machine, he shouldn't feel these things. Or, well, what those things might feel like. This is how he'd describe it, though.

"I..." his wires tighten up and he chickens out, shaking his head, muttering, "never mind, Starlight, see you later."

As he trudges down the stairs, the bot reprimands himself. How could asking his best friend a simple question be so hard? He sighs sadly as he enters the car.

"Why so glum, Moonie? We're about to get the ability to use a human emotion physically! Remember when we could emote!" Sun vividly remembers frowning as the first thing he tried when he was finally able to stop wearing that static smile on his face. Moon, he remembered, albeit he winces when he thinks about it, snarled when he could emote.

"Sun..." Moon ignores Sunny's question as he trails off. Sun tilts his head questioningly as he drives off. "How do you...make gifts like you do? You're always so good at them and... I couldn't even ask Codie a single question."

"Oh? You wanna make her something?!"

"No-well, I don't know? I was thinking of maybe taking her somewhere? Somewhere she's never been...so not a physical gift..." Geez, he can't even ask his brother for advice.

"Oh! Well..." Sun thinks, "just ask her, right?"

"I know!" Moon emphasizes, "It's not that easy! My wires keep tightening when I look at her and I swear my voicebox chokes up when I open my mouth even though I don't need my mouth to speak!" Moon starts to get frustrated as he voices his concerns. A gentle, yet large hand lays down on the blue shoulder of Moon, startling him out of his rant.

Sun speaks softly, opposite of his normal voice. "Hey...it's okay, Moonpie, sometimes I feel like that, too. But that's okay! New emotions are scary but I'm right here with you, okay brother?" he says reassuringly, stunning Moon with the rawness he can hear from his voice.

Moon takes a couple deep breaths. It helps him feel better mentally and come back to reality.

"Why don't you make her a card inviting her to wherever you wanted to take her, hmm?" Sun jovially suggests. Moon nods, lost in thought already to all the ideas that are flooding his CPU.

Sun pulls into the workshop for the animatronics. Vanessa stands out front with a man in a dirty looking jumpsuit. The jesters park, get out of the car, and walk up to the two. Vanessa greets them. "Hey guys, you two ready?"

Sun nods with a strained smile as he keeps his blank eyes on the stranger.

"Ah, you two must be the Daycare Attendant! I'm Mario." The man holds his hand out for the two to shake. The boys, however, look at it with disdain and distrust, causing Mario to retreat with an awkward laugh, "Anyway... Vanessa here filled me in on everything for the upgrades, so whenever you're ready I can take you two inside."

Moon quirks an eye towards the blonde. Surely she mentioned how they were going to work on each other, right?

The four head inside the shop and Sun nervously looks around, taking note of every little object. A chair further in the back catches their eyes. It looks too much like P&S. "I know it looks dirty and a bit like parts and service, guys, but Mario's good at what he does, don't worry." Vanessa tries to lift their spirits after seeing their faces.

Mario rubs the nape of his neck, laughing nervously this time, "Yeah! Sorry, I would've cleaned up the place but this was short notice." With no one replying, Mario claps his hands. "Alright! Let's get started, shall we? I've got all the parts and equipment over here..." He steps off to the side of the chair.

"Erm...um..." Sun starts to fidget nervously as he glances from the chair, Mario, and Moon. He wrings his hands together and his fans start to pick up speed. Moon steps in front of Sun to block his view, crossing his arms and glowering at the man.

"There will be no need for that. Just show us the parts and how to do it and we can do it ourselves." He gives Mario a sinister smile, silently challenging him to argue.

"Ah-! Well...uh?" the mechanic trails off, sweating bullets. He wipes his forehead as he looks to Vanessa for help.

"Guys, it's alright. Mario is highly qualified and I'll be right here the whole time." Vanessa attempts to placate the jesters. Without moving, Moon's eye lights dart over to the Blonde's green eyes, freezing her in place.

"No," is all he says. "We've done it before, we'll do it again."

"It's a highly complicated process," Mario begins, "I wouldn't recommend doing it on one another, especially while powered on." As they argue, Sun's rays contract and shrink until they're only little nubs poking out from his faceplate.

"Complicated isn't a problem. Show us how to do it," Moon demands, voice hardened.

"Moon, seriously, it'll be fine. We'll-" Moon cuts her off, only taking two strides to stand in front of her. She takes a step back in surprise, tilting her head to look him in the eyes.

"Sun and I refuse to have anyone touch us. Not him, not you, no one." He narrows his eyes, dimming his lights as he leans down to be face to face with the blonde. "Do you understand, Officer Vanessa?"

She takes another step back, eyes darting between Sun, Mario and back to Moon. She tries to swallow but is unable to with how dry her throat has become. Moon hasn't called her that in a long time. "Y-yeah..." she nods sporadically. "Of course. Mario, just show them how to do it." The usually calm and cool-headed woman practically begs the mechanic, just wanting to leave at this point.

Mario nods, gulping and walking over to his work bench. He grabs all the necessary tools and beckons the daycare attendants over. Vanessa squirms in her spot while Mario shakily shows and demonstrates how to do what with their upgrades.

As soon as he is done doing so, he backs off to stand with Vanessa. "They are terrifying. You said they were nice!" he whisper-yells at her.

She scoffs, "They are. I didn't know how sensitive they were about this kind of stuff, though."

"Yeah, well, I do not want to work with them again." Mario waves his hands side to side.

"You won't have to do anything but show them if they get another upgrade. Don't be such a baby." The man gasps and glares at the woman as she smirks at him. "Anyway, if we're done here, we'll get out of your hair. Thanks again," Vanessa says earnestly, thankful for his help.

The former security guard walks up to the two bots, a hand on her hip. She hears the two talking quietly amongst themselves before noticing her and stopping. "We're done here," Moon tells her while Sun packs up the parts in a box.

"Great, let me or Mario know if anything goes wrong or you need help. Seriously." She looks both bots in the eyes, staying like that for a silent moment before walking off without another word.

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

When Sun and Moon get home they are not surprised, yet disappointed, at the lack of their human roommate being there. Sun hefts the parts box onto the kitchen table with a thud and Moon heads over to their closet. He digs through a few things to get to their hidden away toolbox, kept specifically with the proper equipment to dismantle their bodies. Thankfully, they have no one to hide it from anymore, but old habits die hard. He carries it out to the table and sets them down. "Who's first?" Sun asks simply.

"You first," Moon replies, picking up an instrument. Sunny nods. He hates being worked on but he trusts his brother with his life. The solar bot takes a seat, wiggling around to get comfy and then sits back. "You okay?" Moon worries, picking up on his brother's anxiety.

Sun makes an audible gulping sound, "Mhmm...you know me..."

"You'll be fine, Sunny. It's just me and you. Codie isn't even here, okay? Simple upgrade with our heads." Moon gives him a smile to try and cheer him up but doesn't get one back.

"Okay. See you soon, Moonie," Sun says, resolved and ready. With that, Sun shuts down and the room goes quiet. Moon hesitantly gets to work. They've never actually worked on each other's faces before, so he'll be sure to be extra careful.

His mind starts drifting as he works. Thoughts of Codie and where he should take her as his thank you for helping them at the meeting. A library? He loves reading, but does she? He supposes he's never really seen her read much now that he thinks about it.

An arcade then? She loves video games. He shivers at the thought of going to someplace that looks remotely like the pizza plex.

He growls to himself. He really can't think of anything she and him would like, can he?

He sure hopes her first day at her new job is going well.

~~~~~~~~~~

"One caramel iced coffee for Dana!" Codie calls out as she places a large cold drink onto the counter. Chrissy comes up behind Codie and laughs.

"You're a fast learner aren't ya?" Codie chuckles, rubbing her arm.

"I play a lot of simulator games..." She goes on to clean a machine as Chrissy takes an order. "So, how are the other workers? I've only met you but it seems weird to only have two people on at a time." The ginger turns back around, throwing a rag over her shoulder.

"Eh, it's pretty laid back where we don't need that many on at once." Chrissy explains, picking her painted fingernails. "Shen works a lot too, it's usually me and him but now it'll be us three! He's super cool! I'm sure you and him would get along."

Codie quirks an eyebrow. "How so?" She doesn't think of herself as the most social. Chrissy is very social and that way, Codie didn't need to do anything for Chrissy to approach her.

"He loves video games..." The girl trails off with a frown and Codie just laughs.

"Uh-huh, exactly. Games aren't an automatic 'clique', Chrissy." The two giggle and go back to work.

The pair's jobs go swimmingly until it's time for Chrissy to clock out. Only an hour before Codie, but she's still sad her new friend is leaving nonetheless. "See you later!" the girl calls out after putting her number into the ginger's phone. The girls plan on hanging out together sometime outside of work.

Codie's excited. She doesn't have many friends these days. The ones she had in high school never contact her and they only talk to her when she reaches out to them. She grew tired of it and stopped, hoping one of them would reach out, but no one did.

Codie begrudgingly accepted that her so-called friends didn't like her and she stopped making efforts to make more. And then she met Sun and Moon! And Chica, Roxy, Vanessa... Her friend circle has certainly grown, and for that, she's been very grateful.

She thinks Chrissy will be a wonderful addition with how their first shift together went. Plus, it'd suck if she and her coworker didn't get along! Lois stumbles out from the back, looking around. "Did Chrissy leave?" she asks Codie.

Codie nods with a smile. "Yup! Just clocked out."

The woman grumbles under her breath. "Darn. I was going to ask her to stay later." She turns to the ginger. "Shen called out. If he keeps calling out like this, and expects to still have a job, he's got another thing coming!" Codie tilts her head and furrows her brows.

"What do you mean?" Lois huffs, going over to clean a machine.

"He's been calling out more often recently. This is the third time this month. I'll speak with him about it but for now, and I know this is your first day and I feel bad for asking, but would you mind staying a little later than your shift? I'll be here, don't worry about being alone."

Codie frowns, having to think about it for a minute. She doesn't think she has anything going on. No plans with the boys. It's not her turn to make dinner. "Yeah, okay..." she sighs but makes sure she doesn't sound annoyed.

Lois grins, putting a blender back into its spot and turns to meet the ginger's eyes. "Thank you, sweetie! I'll make it up to you!"

Nodding, Codie goes up to the counter when she hears the door bell go off, signifying a customer walking in. "Hi! What can I get started for you!" The customer, a man with no unique features, leans down and puts his elbow on the counter, give her a smolder.

Confused, Codie leans back a little bit and reiterates her question. The man continues his look but asks, "You're new here. I'd ask for my regular but you wouldn't know it..." He then sighs dramatically, standing back up and brushing a hand through his fluffy hair. "My regular is an iced Ristretto, ten shot, venti, with breve, five pump vanilla, seven pump caramel, four Splenda, and make sure it is poured, not shaken."

The man smiles down at her almost condescendingly.

"Did you get all of that, Sweetheart?" Codie anxiously shakes her head. The only thing she remembered from the entire order was that it was supposed to be venti. He leans down again. He tsks and then tells her, "Better pull out a notepad, I'll only repeat myself once." The ginger does so, ready with a pencil for his order.

He spits it out again, voice deep but sounding forced. 'Is he...like, hitting on me?' Codie can't help but think when, after he repeats his order, the man compliments her eyes.

Blinking obliviously, Codie thanks him for his order and gets to making it. Before she can do that, though, she rushes over to Lois in a panic. "I-I don't get this guy's order at all! What's a Ristretto!?" Lois looks down at her notepad. She gives a hearty chuckle, taking it from her.

"Oh, dear. That's Jason's order. Very specific, I know. But please, please make sure you do everything right. He'll refuse it and demand it how he asked if you do even one thing out of line."

Now even more nervous, Codie asks with shock, "And-and he's a regular? Like a regular regular? Comes in every day and gets the same thing regular?"

Lois chortles, nodding her head. "Mmhmm." She stops. "Well, every other day is more like."

Frozen, Codie can't believe her luck. An awful, arrogant sounding, regular. She's totally going to talk to Chrissy about him, she'll give her the deets. 'Hopefully,' Codie worries, wanting to bite her nails but refrains from doing so.

Lois waves her over. "Come on, hun, I'll teach you how to make his order."

When she's done, Codie announces it. "Ristretto for Jason!" She forces herself to give the large man a smile.

He saunters up with a smirk. "Thank you. I'm glad to have my coffee made by such a lovely woman like yourself." He doesn't wait for a response or reaction before he turns and leaves the cafe.

Codie suddenly feels very uncomfortable. She usually is with compliments in general as she isn't used to them, but the way Jason said it rubbed her the wrong way. She sighs. Only another 4 hours to go.

~~~~~~~

At 4PM, Sun begins wondering how Codie's day was at her first job. He can't wait to ask her! She must have clocked out by now and is going to head home! He made sure to know when she'll be clocking off so he can expect her.

Codie happily agreed to give the boys her schedule, understanding their anxieties about her new job.

At 4:30PM, Sun begins to worry about where their beloved roommate is. Surely she's clocked off by now. Surely she must be on her way home, right? Maybe...maybe she's just stuck in traffic. Yeah! That has to be it!

At 4:45PM, Sun expresses his worries with his brother. As usual, the calm Moon brushes him off, assuring him you're probably on your way and not to worry so much.

At 5:15, (and he waited very hard after talking with Moon) Sun began to pace and gnaw on his silicon fingers. He aches to pull on his rays but stops himself. 'She could be in trouble. What if she got in a wreck on the way home? We'd be none the wiser! What if her boss was evil and trapped her there to work for them?'

Many dark scenarios flood Sun's mind and he actually does start tugging on his rays. They ache as he does so.

Moon gets up and enters the hallway where Sunny has been pacing. "She's seriously not back yet?!" he asks, eyes wide. Where could she be? Sun hurriedly shakes his head no. Moon gently stops him from pacing and grabs his hands on his rays. Red eyes bore into blank white ones. "Deep breaths, Sunny," Moon coaches. "I'll text her, okay? Why don't we play some Stardew while we wait for a response, hmm?" Sun agrees silently, moving to start it up for them.

[5:19]

'Starlight, Sunny and I are wondering where you are? You got off at 4, correct? Please let us know.

-Moon'

Moon hits send, wondering if he should have added anything. Looking at his phone with a frown, he sets it down and starts playing with his solar themed brother.

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

Codie groans as she tugs her apron off. Today was...well Codie wouldn't say it was a bad first day...just long and tiring. She exchanges her apron for her phone which was sitting in her new employee locker.

When she turns on her phone, her eyebrows shoot up at the amount of notifications she had.

59 Unread Messages

4 Missed Calls

All from Moon's phone. "Shiiiiiiiiit," Codie breathes out. She forgot to text her over-dramatic and overly-worried boys about her staying later!

[6:02]

'Star, we're getting seriously worried, please text or call us.

-Moon'

[6:37]

'Stardrop, Sun has begun pacing again, babbling about what could have happened to you. Text us to make him stop.

-Moon'

[7:11]

'Codie, we know you didn't want to be bombarded at work for your first week or so, but I'm seriously considering unleashing Sun unto you and your workplace. Call us.

-Moon'

[7:55}

'We are coming

-Moon'

Panicking, Codie hurriedly calls Moon's cell. "SUNBURST!" Sun's loud voice yells at Codie from the other end. She winces guiltily.

"I'm so sorry, you guys. I had my phone off and in my locker and I forgot to let you guys know that I was asked to stay late! I'm so freaking sorry." She bows her head.

The other end is silent and she wonders if she hung up on accident. Nope, still on call. She apprehensively calls out to either of them. "We're here, sorry," Sun answers. "We were sosososososo worried about you! We thought something bad happened!" Codie can hear the tremors in Sun's voice.

She feels awful. She knows how bad their anxiety is, especially Sun's, about her job and schedule. Given what they went through and all. "I-I promise, if anything changes in my schedule, texting you two is the first thing I'll do."

"...Pinkie promise," Sun says. She can just picture him holding his large but soft pinkie finger out.

The ginger laughs, wiping her eyes before they can become misty. "Of course. I'll pinkie promise you and Moon."

"Okay..." Sun sighs in relief, "okay..." Codie bids him goodbye, promising that she's coming straight home.

Sun ends the call, staring down at his phone, relief flooding through his endoskeleton. Moon silently turns the car around. They didn't get very far before she texted them anyhow. He was going to say something to Codie but didn't have any words.

Truth be told, Moon was just as worried, if not more, than Sun. He hid it well because if he showed signs of distress, Sun would double in his own, and he doesn't want that for his brother. Just not knowing where she was or what could have happened without him knowing was agony for Moon and he doesn't even know why.

She is an adult and she doesn't have to let them know. Maybe...maybe they were to persistent? Are they too clingy? 'No, definitely not' Moon surmises. Plus, Codie would tell them, or him, if they were.

It's only a job. That's what he tells himself. But Moon can't help but worry about...people. Humans are unpredictable and dangerous. Anything could happen and he wouldn't be there to protect.

Then he thinks back on how Codie wants to be independent so he doesn't want to say anything to her. His wires tighten up at just the thought of her being upset with him again.

His eyes go wide when they park at home.

He just now realizes.

He's smitten.