Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Fun Bot’s POV

I was wrapped in a blanket, trying to take a nap after school. Only two weeks into the school year and I had so much homework. Now that it was done, I was flopped on the couch with my eyes closed. I could almost taste my oncoming slumber, and I was ready for it. I could feel my body sink to a state of near sleep, and I felt my thoughts drift away as I drifted off to sleep. I was quite comfortable, napping on the couch with a plushie.

I admit, I don’t remember much about the nap itself, but I remember dreaming about Gray. I’d met him on the first day of school, and we’d become friends pretty quickly. He was also pretty damn cute, and he’d been one of the few people not to bully me. My family had just moved me to that school for my own safety, so it helped that I had a friend. Soon, I was shaken awake, and while I was annoyed at first, I was surprised to see Gray.

“Hi, Fun Bot. How ya doin’?” Gray said.

“Why are you in my house?” I asked sleepily.

“You gave me your address. I was bored, so I came over here.” Gray said.

“Alright. I was doin’ something important, though.” I said.

“Snoring into a Squishmallow?” Gray responded, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s good for me, Gray!” I whined.

“Yeah, you do need to sleep. You seemed pretty peaceful.” Gray said.

“I should hope I did. That was, like, the best nap I’ve had in ages and you rudely woke me up!” I said.

“I wanted to hang out with you, and a little girl let me in.” Gray said.

“Please excuse me while I commit first degree murder.” I said.

“Sororicide or homocide?” Gray asked.

“Sororicide.” I responded, sitting up.

“Alright, I wanna do that at some point, but my sisters are both taller than me.” Gray said.

“Don’t touch my Squishmallow, by the way.” I said.

“Noted.” Gray said.

I got off the couch and went to go hunt Rosie down. Soon enough, I found her playing Mario Kart with Sky, so I walked up behind her and picked her up by the leg, hanging her upside down.

“Hey, what gives?” Rosie squeaked.

“You let Gray in even though I was napping, and I know you were in the same room when I fell asleep.” I said.

“Not fair, Oni-Chan!” Rosie yelled.

“It was a good nap, too. Next time you try and take an after-school nap, you’ll wake up to centipedes in your hair, you brat.” I said.

“NOOOOO!” Rosie squealed.

“So you have a little sister? I only have older sisters.” Gray said.

“I have a little brother, too. He’s a bit small for his age, but he’s still strong.” I said.

“Where is he?” Gray asked.

“Behind you.” I heard my little brother’s voice before I saw Gray jump at least a foot in the air.

“Jesus Christ, you scared me.” Gray said.

“MFC! I told you to stop scaring my friends!” I yelled.

“What friends? This is the first friend I’ve seen you make since we were in diapers.” MFC said.

“I’m gonna put you in the microwave and turn it on.” I said.

MFC ran as fast as he could, but I was faster, so I picked him up and held him up to the microwave.

“MoOoOoOm! Why am I so shoooort?” MFC screamed.

“Because I’m short.” my mom said from the other room.

“Your brother doesn’t care that you’re threatening to microwave him?” Gray said.

“I’ve dropped him in the deep end of a pool before.” I said.

“Can he swim, at least?” Gray asked.

“No.” I respond.

“I can, you liar!” MFC yelled.

“How old is your brother, anyways?” Gray asked.

“I’m 13.” MFC said.

“And Rosie’s 12. Rosie got our dad’s height.” I said.

“I see. Anyways, where’s your room?” Gray asked.

“This way.” I said, dropping MFC.

Gray followed me, and I made my way into my bedroom, where there was a pile of squishmallows on my bed, which made me remember I needed to grab Dabney from the couch. Once I had quickly grabbed my special fox, I went back into my room, where Gray was still staring at my collection, clearly impressed and surprised. I gently placed Dabney with my other Squishmallows, sitting on my bed and hoping I wouldn't restart my nap with Gray here.

“You have a lot of Squishmallows, Fun Bot.” Gray said.

“Yeah, and I know all their names.” I said.

“Do they come with names?” Gray asked.

“Yep, and I remember them all! My favorite is Dabney.” I said.

“Is that the one you were sleeping with?” Gray asked.

“Yep! Actually, I’m surprised you’re not more weirded out by this.” I said.

“I sleep with a body pillow of Sans from Undertale, so I can’t say much. Speaking of which, why were you napping at 5 PM?” Gray asked.

“I nap around now every day. It helps me, seeing as I have a hard time falling asleep at night. Couch naps come easily, though.” I said.

“If you could, would you keep napping?” Gray asked.

“Yeah, but I’d rather keep hanging with you. Anyways, wanna go to the park?” I asked.

“Sounds like a plan, let’s go.” Gray responded.

Gray and I went to the door, but we were stopped by my dad.

“Fun Bot, did you do your homework?” he asked.

“Yes, Dad. And I did my chores.” I said.

“Alright, where are you going?” my dad asked.

“Out with a friend.” I said.

“No adding or subtracting to the population, got it?” my dad said.

“Got it. Love you, Dad.” I said.

“I love you too, kid. Stay safe, okay?” my dad said.

I nodded, and Gray and I walked to the park. We walked silently for a while, simply enjoying the quiet evening. Soon, we made it to the park, and by that point, I was very sleepy. I rubbed my eyes a bit, hoping to stay awake for a bit longer. Unfortunately, I failed at being fully there, and as soon as I was lying under a tree with Gray, I was out like a light. When I woke up, Gray was playing with my hair and I felt like squealing with joy.

“Did you have a good nap?” Gray asked.

“Yeah.” I said, yawning.

“That’s good. You looked pretty happy, and it looked like you were dreaming.” Gray said.

I rubbed my eyes as I sat up.

“I don’t remember dreaming.” I lied.

I did remember dreaming, but it was about Gray, so I sure as heck wasn’t about to tell him.

“I guess you just forgot your dream when you woke up. That’s normal, honestly.” Gray said.

“How can you tell someone’s dreaming?” I asked.

“If your eyelids are twitching, you’re in REM sleep, which is when dreaming happens.” Gray said.

“Alright, then.” I responded.

“You looked pretty happy when you were sleeping.” Gray said.

“I guess I had nice dreams.” I said.

“Should we go back to your house soon?” Gray asked.

“Alright, if you’re ready.” I said, stretching.

We walked back to my house, talking about compost until we reached my house, where my dad was working on the car and my mom was sitting nearby.

“Hi, Fun bot, Fun Bot’s friend. How are you doing?” my mom asked.

“We’re doing good, Mom.” I said.

“That’s good. What did you do at the park?” my mom asked.

“I napped, and Gray sat next to me.” I said.

“Alright, then, as long as you got some fresh air, kiddo.” my mom said, patting me gently on the head.

Gray and I walked back into my house, and we saw that the TV and Switch were free, so I turned it on and we played Smash Bros until Gray had to go home. Once Gray was gone, I went back to my room to stare at the wall. Soon enough, my mom came into my room, carrying a plate of food. He stopped in his tracks when he saw that I was awake, but he still set the plate on my nightstand. Then, he sat next to me and gently put a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, kid, what are you doing holed up in your room?” my mom asked.

“Feeling tired and sad, but what else is new?” I said.

“Have you been taking your meds?” my mom asked.

“Yeah, I’m just feeling lonely.” I said.

“Well, you should come eat with the rest of us. It’ll do you good.” my mom said.

I nodded, grabbing my plate and following my mom downstairs. Once I sat at the table, both of my siblings froze. Rosie had her fork halfway to her mouth, and MFC was gaping at me.

“No way.” MFC whispered.

“What?” I said.

“I was starting to think I hallucinated every dinner you spent with us.” Rosie said.

“Hardy-har-har. Shut up, I was feeling depressed.” I said.

“Be nice to each other at the dinner table.” my mom said.

I calmly ate my pizza before a realization hit me.

“Rosalie Goldie Morningstar Kiley Nova Mecha, why are you eating pizza with a fork?” I asked.

“I don’t like getting my hands messy!” Rosie said.

“That’s no excuse, now stop eating the pizza like a psychopath!” I said.

“Loot at MFC before you judge me.” Rosie

I saw that my brother had folded his pizza in half and taken a bite out of the middle.

“Mirage Franklin Cecil Malachite Tobias Mecha, I will disown you.” I said.

“What did I do?” MFC asked.

“You’re eating pizza like a psychopath. Because of how you’re eating that pizza, I’m scared you’ll smother me with my squishmallows when I’m trying to sleep.” I said.

“Be nice to each other at the dinner table!” my mom repeated.

Just then, I noticed how my dad was eating his pizza.

“Dad, not you too! Why are you eating it crust first?” I asked.

“I’m an adult and I can eat my pizza however I want!” my dad said.

My mom glared at my dad and my siblings.

“Remind me why I married you.” my mom said.

“Because I’m hawt~” my dad said.

“You are.” my mom said, leaning over and kissing my dad.

“Eeeeew!” MFC said dramatically.

“Get a room!” Rosie said.

“We did, and that’s why you exist.” my mom said.

“Clukr, maybe you shouldn’t have said that at the dinner table.” my dad said.

“It’s fine, Goldie.” my mom said, making my dad blush.

“B-babe, let’s wait until the kids are asleep.” my dad said.

“And this, kids, is what a decade of marriage looks like.” I said, smiling.

“Why are they so affectionate?” MFC asked.

“I don’t know. Well, they had us, so we should be grateful.” I said.

I finished my pizza as my siblings gagged at our parents. Then, I put my plate in the sink and went back to my room, crawling into my pile of squishmallows. I pulled out my phone, planning on doomscrolling Tumblr until my dad came into my room.

“Fun Bot, we’re gonna be having a movie night, so I thought I’d let you know in case you wanna join in.” my dad said.

“Hey Dad, do you know why I’m tired? I’ve been trying to sleep a lot more lately.” I said.

“Well, you’re growing, kid, and I noticed you’ve started your growth spurt.” my dad said.

“Aw, I don’t wanna grow, being an adult sucks.” I said.

“Well, as long as you wear protection, your adulthood should be fine.” my dad said.

“Do you regret having me?” I asked.

“The only thing I regret is having you so young, but your mom and I love you more than anything, kiddo.” my dad said.

“Do you love me more than MFC and Rosie?” I asked jokingly.

“Now you’re pushing it, kid.” my dad said.

“Dammit.”