"SUNSHINE!" Moon heard Sun cheer loudly, jolting him rudely from his sleep. Frustrated at his brother's antics he perked his head up from his tail and glared in Sun's direction, only to have his gaze soften as he found you in Sun's grasp as he twirled you around, laughing. He huffed shortly and was about to lay back down again to sleep some more when he saw you coming towards him with an excited, yet apologetic smile on your face.
"Hey Moon! Sorry if we woke you up, how are you?" You asked as you squatted beside him to which he booped your nose, watching your nose wrinkle with a lazy smile.
"Outside of being woken up so rudely by Sunny, I'm doing just fine." Moon said to which Sun let out a loud, regretful whimper.
"Oh Moonie I'm so, so sorry! I completely forgot that you were still asleep! I just got so excited to see our friend that I forgot myself a little..." Sun apologized with a bowed head before perking up and placing one of his hands on your back before gently pushing you, causing you to nearly fall on top of Moon. "But I think our Sunshine here has something that will put you in a good mood lickedy split!"
You flushed bashfully at this and Moon felt himself smile at the rare sight. You were the most precious during moments like these in his opinion. He didn't know why, but the way your eyes would look at him in such a shy manner as you nervously played with your fingers made you look so sweet and defenseless, especially when compared to your usually bright and curious manner that gave no room for vulnerability of any kind.
"Do you now?" He asked with a grin as he rested his head on his tail with a yawn which made you nod with an unsure smile.
"Yeah! It's not much, but I hope you like it." You said nervously before turning toward a small bag you had brought with you. He didn't recognize the scent on it which made him frown, but he ignored it when you pulled a small band of silver out of your bag and held it out to him. Confused and wary he carefully took it from you before examining it.
It was a very pretty and delicate little thing, the silvery metal bent and shaped clumsily to look like little stars before they circled around a beautiful, milky white stone in the middle of it that seemed to glow blue and red as the light reflected off of it in angles. He turned it around, looking at it from every angle and trying to see if there was something hidden in it, but he quickly realized there was nothing strange about it. It was just a piece of jewelry he recognized from a few of the humans who worked here as well as ancient paintings of other Mer tribes in the past. He looked up at Sun and noticed a similar-looking band on Sun's upper right arm, except his was gold and the metal was shaped like uneven rays that came from a beautiful orange stone in the center that glittered brightly in the last rays of sunlight.
"Surprise! I made you both armlets as thanks out of some scrap metal I found a while back. Granted, they're not actual silver or gold, Henry had to give me some special paint that doesn't fade in seawater and they're not very tidy, so the moonstone and sunstone are the only thing genuine about them, but I wanted to show my appreciation for you both. Not just to thank Sun for the pearl he gifted me on my first day as your caretaker, but also to thank you for accepting me as your friend as well. I truly feel honored to be able to call myself your friend Moon and I want this to be a symbol of that gratitude and our friendship." You said with a wide smile, waiting for Moon to answer, but he had nothing to say.
You made this...For him? To thank him? An instinctive part of it saw it as a courting gift, that you were trying to court him but he quickly pushed that instinct down despite how warm and happy the idea made him feel. You had explicitly said it was for friendship reasons, so there was no need to overthink it. He gently turned the band over one more time before putting it on his upper left arm, smiling before turning to meet your excited, starry-eyed gaze.
"Do you like it?" You asked and he nodded, causing you to squeal happily. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear it! I was really worried for a second that you wouldn't like it due to how cheap it looks, so I'm really, really happy you like it!"
"It is a very thoughtful gift Starlight, thank you." Moon thanked you and you grinned, which made his mind come up with a lovely little prank.
"Of course, no worries!" You said to which he smiled innocently before grinning at you wickedly. He watched you give him a confused smile before it turned into a startled expression as he suddenly grabbed you and threw you into the water nearby, causing you to shriek.
"Sunshine!" Sun yelped as he quickly rushed after you, causing Moon to cackle at the sight.
He continued to cackle as he watched the two of you thrash about in the water before Sun finally got a hold of you and carried you out, the both of you now sopping wet. He chuckled at your disgruntled gazes, enjoying your misery as you sighed before tapping Sun's arm to let you down. Moon saw his reluctance, but he relented too quickly for you to notice and as soon as you were on your feet again you yawned loudly before turning toward the two of them.
"Welp, guess I'll start getting the evening routine started a little early then. I'll get you guys dinner and then I'm gonna go to bed, alright? So that means no more throwing me in the water Moon! I stink enough due to the water as it is!" You said with a cute little pout. He chuckled before nodding, watching as you relaxed somewhat at him though your eyes remained playfully wary.
"Of course Starlight. No more unexpected swims...For now." You sighed dramatically at this before smiling and nodding as you headed off to get their food. The two of them watched you go with fond expressions, but once you stepped into the storage area which had been replenished last night, Sun turned to Moon with a serious expression which Moon returned.
"I looked for Vanessa earlier today and I know what she looks like now. She's a female human with light blond and pink hair with green eyes, she should be fairly easy to find during your hunt. As for Clide, I didn't need to check, his scent has been growing super strong as of late, so he should be easy to find tonight." Sun said quietly and Moon nodded with a grin. This was why he usually asked Sun for help when he was about to go hunting, Sun was always able to find his prey with no problem and once Moon knew what he was looking for, nothing could escape his grasp. He was about to ask a few more questions about Vanessa and where she might be when they heard the storage area close and you started walking towards them, to which Sun smiled widely. "Welcome back Sunshine! What's for dinner tonight?"
"I thought we could have some tuna tonight to celebrate considering it's Moon's favorite, is that alright with you Sun?" You asked and Sun nodded wildly.
"Of course! Anything of yours will be perfect!" He said and you giggled before handing him a few tunas. Sun squealed happily before jumping into the water to eat. Once he was gone, you turned to Moon to give him his, but right when Moon was about to take it he realized something: He had yet to give you a gift.
He quickly jumped into the water at that thought and rushed after Sun, ignoring your cries as he needed to know how Sun made that pearl. As soon as Moon caught sight of him, he grabbed his brother's arm and yanked him back, causing him to yelp and drop his fish. Sun let out a cry before turning back to Moon with a frustrated expression
"Moonie?! Why'd you do that?! I was just about to eat the delicious fish Sunshine gave me!" He whined loudly, but Moon ignored him.
"I need you to show me how you made that pearl for (Y/n)." He said shortly, surprising Sun. For a few seconds, Sun just stared at him before grinning widely and crossing his arms.
"Well, well, well, look at who's gotten soft for a human~ Didn't know you had it in you Moonie-OW!" Sun yelped as Moon thwacked him with his tail, annoyed. "Alright, alright, alright! I'll tell you, it's really simple! All you have to do is compress your heart magic, that's all you have to do!"
"Your heart magic?!" Moon asked, his eyes widening in shock. He knew Sun had used magic to create the pearl, but this was- "Sun that's like asking them to be your lifelong mate! You do realize that, don't you?"
"Wait, WHAT?! I asked them to be my lifelong mate?? Why didn't you say anything?! Why didn't you try and stop me?!" Sun yelled, panicked as he grabbed Moon's arms and started shaking him back and forth, much to Moon's displeasure.
"Because I didn't know that you were doing that. Stop that!" Moon hissed before pushing Sun away, causing Sun to whimper. "Now, don't worry so much about it, they're human and probably don't even know what this means, so don't worry about it."
"Right..." Sun said as he nervously, though he still seemed unsure as he looked down and tugged on his head fins. Moon watched him do this for a moment longer before sighing and rolling his eyes at him.
"Okay, you can go now. Thank you, Sunny." Moon thanked Sun to which Sun gave him a small, toothy smile before diving after his precious fish, trying to forget the information his brother just told him.
Moon watched him go with a sigh. He really shouldn't have been keeping Sun away from other Mers as much as he had when they were younger, but there's no use crying over spilled milk. But now the question was, was he willing to do this? To make you a pearl of his own? After all, even if you didn't understand the meaning behind it, this was still a very big thing as he would literally be giving you a piece of his magical heart. As he pondered this he saw the milky white gem in his armlet glow in the faint sunlight as it disappeared from the sky and he smiled softly. Right, even if you didn't know the importance of his gift, you had given them a bit of your heart as well in a less literal way. It was obvious in the way you cared for them, worked with them, and especially in these little gifts you made for them. This was the least he could do as thanks for all of your kindness and care.
With that final thought, he turned away from the light and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath before focusing on his heart, feeling as his magic activated and started flowing through him. He floated there for a moment, letting his magic flow stronger and stronger before feeling the magic in the palms of his hands and slamming them together, keeping the magic trapped in his hands. He felt the magic fight against his hold, eager to flow out in its natural state, but he held firm, forcing the magic to wind together and solidify. He felt it become bigger and bigger in his palm until he decided it was big enough and stopped the flow of magic altogether, leaving the water feeling suddenly quieter than it had before.
Nervous, but also excited to see if he had succeeded he removed his hand and gasped in delight at the sight. There, in his palm was a small, black pearl. However, unlike most black pearls it had more of a midnight blue color and seemed to shimmer with tiny stars as he moved it around, letting the light fall on it in different angles. He let out a happy cheer before swimming back towards the shore.
As soon as he was close enough he jumped out of the water and over you, startling you. He chuckled at your shocked yet starry expression when he turned to you after landing. How cute~ You must've been waiting for him to give him his dinner. He felt a fond smile stretch across his face, but he quickly shook his head before grabbing one of your hands and gently placing the pearl inside. Before you could realize what it was he quickly grabbed a few tunas and jumped back into the water again and swam away before peeking above the surface. He watched as you looked at the pearl with that huge, stupid smile of yours before cheering, yelling out thanks, and heading inside with a pep in your step, causing him to feel a fuzzy, bubbly feeling in his chest.
Once you were back in your room though he quickly pushed the feeling away. He had some business to tend to tonight after all. He quietly crept back onto the sand and swiped away the sand where your key lay for their enclosure, which had fallen out of your pocket when he threw you earlier. Had he had this a few weeks ago, he would've eagerly grabbed Sun and left the place, but now he couldn't even entertain the thought of leaving without you, so as soon as he had done his business for the night he would return to this prison that was starting to oddly feel like home. After glancing at your door one last time, he smiled softly before heading out the door to start his hunt.
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You stretched yourself out as you got out of the shower and started putting on your PJs, ready to retire after the long night you had last night and the long and informational day you had today. You could still barely believe all of the things that Henry had told you about Vanessa and Fazbear Co., but at least you now had more information that could help you find out what was really going on here, even though a lot of it was incredibly unpleasant.
You felt a shiver run down your spine as you thought of all Henry had said about Vanessa and her huge change. What could've caused her to change so much in so many ways? It just made less sense the more you thought about it. Maybe you could start investigating Fazbear Co. as well? Maybe, just maybe you'd find an answer after a short while! Wait, no, you probably wouldn't. If Henry, a seasoned scientist whose entire job was about researching and solving problems couldn't do it, the chances were abysmal that you could figure it out on your own.
You wished you could figure it out though. You hadn't thought about it much before today, but it was incredibly strange that you had no idea who your boss was or what they looked like, you had just gotten a letter one day after sending an application saying that you had been accepted. If it had been any other job you would've never thought of applying for it, but because this had been your childhood dream even the shadiest of things would not have stopped you from working here, for better or for worse. You wish you could say that you regretted the choices that had brought you here, but you couldn't.
Despite everything going on with Clide and Vanessa, you cannot find it in yourself to regret your choices. After all, if you hadn't taken this leap you would never have met your idol Charles Takko, nor gotten to know his awesome husband Henry! But worst of all, you would never have met your incredible boys. You could barely imagine a life where you were not working beside them, but you knew as well as anyone that they wouldn't be here for much longer. Tomorrow night you would try and check out Moon's tail in order to figure out what that lump was in his tail and as soon as he was healed, they would have to be released back into the while.
At least when they left they'd have something to remember you by thanks to those armlets. You smiled warmly at the memory of Sun's excitable reaction and Moon's silent wonder when you gave them your gifts before Moon gave you that black pearl. Speaking of, you needed to make something out of it for you to wear as a memento for when they were gone. You let out a sad sigh at the thought before placing the beautiful black pearl beside your equally beautiful white one and climbing into your bed and turning off the lights.
...You had about 10 minutes of peace before you heard scratching at your door. You sighed before getting up and heading to the door, annoyed before opening it and finding Sun there with the biggest puppy-dog eyes directed toward you as he lay on the ground. You quirked an eyebrow at him, repressing an instinctive 'aww' at his cuteness, to which he whined.
"What's up Sunny?" You asked as you leaned against your doorway tiredly to which Sun pushed himself up and started playing with a few of his rays.
"Sorry Sunshine! I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you were okay. After all, this is your first night staying here." Sun said and you smiled at him warmly. How sweet of him to worry about you!
"Thanks, Sun, but I'm okay, so how about you go and get some rest? You haven't been having a very consistent sleep schedule as of late and that needs to change as of tonight." You told him, trying to be stern but you sounded a bit too soft to seem serious, causing you to curse yourself despite it seeming effective enough if Sun's whine was anything to go by before he nuzzled his face into your neck s he hugged you.
"But what if something bad happens to you when the door is closed and neither of us can get to you?! I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you Sunshine!" He whimpered and you felt your heart shatter at the sound of it. Oh crap, you had been trained for a lot of things before coming here, but cute Mers with puppy-dog eyes was not one of them!
"Okay then, what do you propose then?" You asked to which he smiled at you brightly with determined eyes.
"I could sleep next to your nest! That way if anyone comes in I can protect you!" He said excitedly and you giggled at his enthusiasm before shaking your head at him.
"That would be a great idea Sun, but you're forgetting that you sleep like the dead when the sun goes down." You said warmly before frowning as he shook his head at you, that bright smile of his never fading as he did so.
"Oh, that! It is true that we sleep really, really deep during specific times of the day, but it's only for an hour in the middle of the night and day respectfully, so I'll be the perfect guard for you throughout the night!" He cheered and you stared at him for a moment before smiling widely at the new information.
"Oh my gosh, really?! That's so, so cool! Is this always the case or is it different during things like eclipses or- Wait, no (Y/n), you need to sleep." You stopped yourself with a sigh before turning back to Sun with a tired smile as you realized you were too tired to argue with him anymore tonight. "Alright, if you really wanna sleep in my room you can, but it'll have to be on the floor. Will that be okay-?"
"Anything is more than okay if it's with you Sunshine!" Sun said happily before giving you a big wet lick in the middle of your face and going over to your bed before curling up next to it. You smiled at him fondly before closing the door and getting into bed yourself, burying yourself under your blankets and curling around your plushy as you did so. Before you turned off the light you bent down and kissed the top of Sun's head with a smile.
"Goodnight Sun." You said before turning off the lights, completely unaware of Sun's loud, beating heart as the fuzzy, warm feeling in his chest grew stronger.
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How wonderful, now you've got two potentially magical pearls! Though I hope this hunt doesn't turn too gory~ Thank you all so much for 386 reads and 32 votes! Have a wonderful day/evening!
~PeekaPen