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Moon didn’t know what he was expecting when he was sent down to Parts and Services with his solar partner, but it certainly wasn’t this.
Safe to say he was nervous when Sun left his side to get worked on first, they would only be separated like that when having major upgrades or repairs. Even being able to watch through the windows, he couldn’t quite follow what they were doing. First it seemed that they were adding to his internal systems, then writing in lines of code, then fiddling with the wires in his arms. The longer Moon watched, the more confused it made him.
The workers brought Sun back online for testing after what felt like days, and they were.. touching him a lot, which wasn’t bad per se, just odd. Moon stayed pressed up to the glass, growling at the techs that gave him weird looks. He was anxious to see his Sunshine come out and be close to him again, even if he’d soon need to go through the same procedure on his own.
He shot up the moment the door slid open, sending Sun running and jumping into his open arms, uncaring of the judging looks the workers gave them. Sun was buzzing with barely contained energy, shivering when Moon patted his rays softly. Moon was a little confused at the reaction, but didn’t dwell on it long as he had to leave soon after.
Sitting down on the chair, he reluctantly allowed himself to get strapped down as he awaited instruction. He saw the same things he’d usually see when having maintenance, just a few more parts that he couldn’t quite recognise. His face scrunched up in confusion before the worker beside him snapped their fingers to grab his attention.
“Moon, please power off or we’ll have to do it for you.” He sighed, giving Sun a weak smile through the window before he shut down.
Moon eventually woke, still feeling light from his ‘sleep’. When his systems fully booted up, he noticed something… weird. A tingling sensation all over his body. He could feel ; the restraints rubbing uncomfortably against his wrists, the cold metal of the chair he was sitting on, the puffs of air coming from his vents, even his fans whirring inside him. He shuddered, wanting the gross sensation to stop, but he couldn’t move.
“Ah, you’re on. Good. How do you feel?”
“Wha-what is this? What did you do to me?”
They waved off his questions, “Calm down, sheesh. I take it your sensory functions are online? Tell me how you feel so I can properly calibrate them.”
“Let me go. Now.” he growled.
“I need to run some tests first so-”
“LET ME GO!”
“Fuck- whatever. We’ll call it done,” they removed the restraints, “See you two next week.”
Moon left the chamber as quickly as he could, wrapping his arms around himself as he felt the wind of his fast movement chill him to his core. Everything was too much, he felt like he would vomit if he had the ability to.
Sun gave him a worried look as he watched his partner storm out in such a huff. He struggled to follow Moon as he sped off to the daycare, unaware of why he was so upset. He for one enjoyed feeling touch, new sensations he could hardly comprehend. Sadly it seemed that Moon didn’t share the same enjoyment he did.
Neither said a word as they arrived at the daycare, Moon trying to tune out the overwhelming feelings around him and Sun not knowing what he could or should say.
It was only when they were back in the comfort of their personal room that either one opened up. Moon practically threw himself on their pile of blankets, cocooning himself in one of the fluffiest he could find.
Sun sat down at his side, patting his partner’s head gently. “Moony, are you alri-”
“Don’t touch me!”
Sun pulled his hand back like it burnt. He wanted to cuddle and talk all night like they usually did, but his dear Moony didn’t want to be touched today. While that had him itching to do something, there wasn’t much that could be done to help. Sun took a plushie of his likeness and placed it beside Moon, far enough away that it wouldn’t touch him but close enough that he could grab it and hold it close if he needed to.
He rested his head on a pillow and started up the music box in his chest, back from when they shared a body, to give his companion a sense of comfort and ease his distress. That seemed to do the trick, soon Moon’s tense, quivering form relaxed and sunk into their nest. The two fell into rest mode together, letting themselves get the rest they needed to make it through work the next day.
Moon was the first to wake up, finding Sun pressed up close to his back. The heat was intense, but he was okay with that. This being his first time being able to feel Sun, really feel him.
He certainly felt better this morning, the subtle sensations from the air around him still very much apparent, but a little more bearable now that he felt in control. He twisted around his upper body to cup Sun’s cheek, it felt so warm, and the sigh Sun gave in response was heavenly.
Reluctantly, Moon wiggled out of Sun’s arms and off the nest so he could dress himself. He figured he’d let Sunny sleep in a little. After all, Moon could handle the kids on his own while Sun got his beauty sleep. He shivered as the heat of Sun’s embrace was replaced by the biting cold of the air conditioner. Oh well, he shouldn’t let his buggy sensors hold him back.
He picked a new pair of pants from the floor, throwing the ones he was currently wearing into the laundry basket, then finished dressing himself. The rough fabric itched and scratched his rubbery casing. The designer mustn’t have known about the sensors that have recently been added, but then again how could they. He figured he could just push it down and start preparing the daycare, according to his internal clock, it was about five minutes till the plex opened.
Moon gave Sun one last look before connecting himself to the cable and carefully lowered himself to the padded floor, the clinking of the hook on the metal ring on his back made him cringe.
The way the foam mats squished under his feet every step felt wrong, his nausea from the night before came back full force. He raised himself ever so slightly, just so he couldn't feel the give of the floor under him. There, that was better. Moon looked around, already hearing the pitter-patter of little feet approaching the daycare.
He should have known what he was getting into, but dear lord this was hell . Kids had no concept of personal space, touching Moon up and down like he was one of their dolls. He kept hovering, ready to shoot up to the ceiling the moment Sun woke up. He really should have listened to the tech about re-calibrating his sensors, too late now.
Just had to make it through the day and-
“Son of a-”
Fizzy-Faz saturated the front of his stomach and pants, sticking to his legs and dripping to the floor in a large puddle below him. He heard the boy stutter out a thousand apologies, but could hardly make out what he was saying with the horrible texture sticking to his thighs. Without another word, he waved off the boy and went behind the security desk to get a towel, before going back to mop up the mess.
He rubbed at his arms, momentarily unaware that he was just spreading the sticky soda over his body. When he finally noticed his mistake, the world around him just seemed to melt away. All he could feel was this horrid discomfort, making his metaphorical skin crawl. No no no- he needed to clean up, CLEAN UP-
“Moony..?” Sun’s groggy voice called out.
The sweet sound of his partner’s voice gave him slight reprieve from this sensory nightmare. He was shaking, he could feel it now. He wanted desperately to hold Sun and never let go, but with soda covering him from the neck down, and the day nowhere near finished, he instead took the easy way out. Before Sun was even within five feet of Moon, the latter rose from the floor until he disappeared in the shadows up above.
Sun could handle the kids on his own, Moon knew that, he’d been doing it for years, though he still felt a twinge of guilt when he saw how hurt his partner looked.
He reached the balcony and immediately grabbed the packet of wet wipes, he took off his pants and slippers and started furiously wiping his legs to get rid of as much of the mess as possible. His legs started to burn from the vigorous rubbing, so he moved to start on his stomach. The soda was everywhere, still dripping from him in some places, particularly his arms, which he was quick to start wiping.
Even when he was all clean and dry, the gross sensation still lingered, as if something was actively crawling inside him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he scratched at his shaking arms. Why won’t the feeling go away? He’s all clean, he isn’t wearing anything, there’s no mess, he’s done everything.
He curled up, sharp claws almost cutting into the casing on his upper arms, just trying to will away the feeling.
– ☀ –
Sun had finally finished re-stacking the towers and putting away craft supplies when he picked up on faint mumbling coming from their room. He knew something was wrong since Moon left so suddenly, but he wasn’t able to follow when he had kids to deal with. Though, now that the daycare was closed..
He hooked himself up to the cable and quickly rose to the balcony where, in the shadows, Moon lay in a puddle of.. What was that?
Jumping past the ladder, Sun’s optics adjusted to the low light to properly see Moon.
He was lying in the fetal position. Deep, jagged cuts littered across his arms and legs, oil leaking onto the floor. Sun scrambled to figure out how to resolve this situation when he heard what his partner was saying.
“Bad- badbadbad don’t touch don’t touchdon’t-”
Sun kept his distance this time, no matter how much he wanted to step in. He sat down, gently calling Moon’s name, who froze.
Moon lifted his head to look at Sun, eyes wide with fear. “I- I..”
“Oh, Moony.” Sun opened his arms, offering his partner a hug. He wasn’t expecting Moon to practically tackle him, nearly crushing him in a tight embrace.
“I’m so sorry, I- I can’t-”
Sun held back a whimper when he felt what was essentially Moon’s blood dripping onto his body. His first instinct was to comfort and prevent any further damage, so he forced himself to stay calm. He held Moon’s face in his hands, thumbs wiping away tear streaks.
“Shh, no need to apologise. What happened, Moonlight?”
“..It feels.. bad. Gross. Everywhere.”
Sun dropped a hand from Moon’s cheek. He felt around the wounds on his arms, careful of the sensitive wiring inside. “Is that why you’re injured?”
“Yes… It hurts, but when I..” he couldn’t properly finish the sentence, looking down at the ground, “I like this feeling better.”
“Oh dear. Was this because of the new sensors?”
“Mhm.”
“Alright. I’ll have to send in a maintenance request to get you all patched up. For now, will you let me clean you up?”
Moon seemed nervous at the aspect of going back to Parts and Services, and honestly, so was Sun. But he eventually agreed and let his lover collect proper cleaning supplies.
Sun was absolutely terrified that he was doing the wrong thing. He wanted, no, needed to help Moony feel better, he could let out his anxiety after the situation was resolved. The moment his feet hit the floor he booked it to the supply closet, rummaging around till he found what he was looking for: a bucket, bottles of water and cleaning solution, and an old rag. He gathered the items and chose to take the stairs back, worried about dropping anything and making more of a mess.
He had to force himself to not slam the door open, he didn’t want Moon to be any more distressed than he already was. He knocked on the door before gently opening it, sitting down next to Moon in the dim light.
“Here baby, I’m back now. Can you sit up for me?”
Moon did just that, giving Sun a better view of the cuts and scratches on his thighs. Sun tried not to make a face at the sight, choosing to focus on cleaning instead. He mixed the water and soap in the bucket and soaked the rag in it. Wringing out the excess water, he looked up at his partner.
“Can I touch?” Moon nodded in response.
Sun let out a breath and put down the rag for a moment. He took one of Moon’s hands in his and leaned down to kiss it before removing his dirty ribbon. Moon visibly relaxed as Sun started gently wiping the arm he was holding, then moving to the other. The only sound was occasional hissing from Moon when the rag brushed one of his exposed wires.
His lips pressed against every spot he cleaned, palms, forearms, shoulders, only stopping momentarily to rinse the wet rag. Moon kept glancing at his damaged legs, expression darkening after every look.
“Hey, look at me.” he waited until their eyes met, “I love you. You know nothing will ever change that. Keep your eyes on me Moony.”
Moon started getting teary again, burying his face in Sun’s shoulder to hide his face. Sun rubbed his partner’s back as he started wiping his thighs.
“There you are.. You’re so brave dear.”
It was a little harder to see the mess he was working with from his position, but he didn’t want to pull away from Moon. As he worked, he planned out what he would do after. He’d need gauze, or anything similar so that the wounds aren’t irritated further.. They didn't have any nearby and, well, Sun was scared to leave Moon alone again. He needed comfort first and foremost, Sun didn’t want to neglect those needs any longer than necessary.
With that, he had finished cleaning up the spilled oil. As he wiped himself down, he looked around for something to wrap Moon’s injuries. To his frustration, he couldn’t find anything. He sighed and pulled off his pants and, before Moon could ask, tore the soft fabric into colourful strips.
“Sunny- your pants.”
Sun kissed his forehead. “I can get new ones.”
He took some of the strips and wrapped up Moon’s arms, smoothing over the fabric coverings. Moon smiled as he looked at the pretty reds and yellows on his arms, waiting for Sun’s next move. Sun took the rest of the fabric scraps and continued, starting on his lover’s legs. The moment he finished, Moon dragged him down to lie on their bed together.
“So what do you wanna do now, my Nightlight?”
“Cuddle.”
“Anything for you baby.”