Daycare Maintenance (Sun/Moon x Reader)

Chapter 22

You took a deep breath, pulling your knees to your chest.

"Well, when the Pizzaplex was shut down for a bit, Bill had started acting weird. He was coming home way latter then normal, he was getting drunk and high, he was always mumbling to himself and acting like Ollie and I didn't exist," you started, feeling Sun resting a hand on your shoulder. "Then, the day before the Pizzaplex opened up again, he came home acting freakier then normal. He was throwing stuff and knocking furniture over and yelling. Then, he went down the hall and started hitting his head against the wall and when I tried to lock the door, he heard me and started trying to break it down. I got out with Ollie and then the cops came and took him away."

"Oh, Sunshine... I'm so sorry," Sun said, pulling you close.

You hugged him back. Your cheeks heated up slightly. He was always so nice to you. Yeah, he was probably programmed to be like that, but his kindness felt genuine, personal even. It was like he was a living, breathing human being.

"Hey, Sun?" you said.

"What is it?" he asked.

"How much can you feel? Like, emotion wise?" you asked.

"Well, all of them! There's no emotion and of us at the Pizzaplex can't feel," he said, smiling.

"So, you could fall in love with someone?" you asked.

"Well, I suppose so. Why are you asking?" he asked.

"I don't know. You guys are just so human-like. It's strange," you said.

"I guess we are. I never really thought of that. You're so clever!" he said, smiling down at you.

You blushed and nodded. Peter and Oliver came back into the daycare, bringing Amanda with them. All of you went over and took a seat at the little table that was normally used for arts and crafts, the seats barely fitting everyone but Oliver. Everyone was talking and looked pretty happy, but you were zoning out. The caffeine that had managed to last you this long was finally wearing off. Your thoughts were becoming fuzzy and your vision would start fading to black around the edges. You needed sleep. Before you knew it, lunch was over and you had to do yet another clean of the floors. You nearly passed out while standing up, but kept pinching your wrist to keep yourself awake.

Then, the kids flooded in. This time, you were beyond unprepared to deal with them. They had all been sugared up and energized from lunch and you had about an hour and a half to run all that energy out so the Moondrops would actually be effective. Sun and Peter had organized a large game of lava monster where most of the kids were able to run around and scream to their hearts content. But you were still stuck with the kids who didn't like the tag games. You had a group of a little under ten kids all sitting at the arts and crafts table. Most of them were drawing, but one of them was really interested in origami and had asked you to show teach her. She didn't seem to need your help, but she insisted you explain it to her anyway.

"And then you fold like this?" she asked, showing you her progress.

"Yup! That's perfect!" you said, smiling.

The girl smiled and let out a small giggle. "Mama read me this story recently. It was about a girl who tried to fold one thousand paper cranes because she was told her wish would come true if she did," she said.

"I think I remember that story. Some kids from my school told me about it," you said.

"Mhm. I wanna fold one thousand paper cranes as well so I can wish for a kitty," she said.

You laughed, shaking your head. "Well, you better get started. That's gonna be a lot of cranes to fold."

"I already have. I have two hundred and fourteen," she said.

"Wow, that's a big number. You must be really proud," you said.

"Yup! I'm the best counter in my class. I can count higher than everyone else," she said.

"That's wonderful! I couldn't count that high when I was your age," you said, not sure how true that was.

The girl smiled and set down the butterfly she had finished. "If you made one thousand cranes, what would you wish for?" she asked.

"Hm... I don't know. I'd probably wish to be able to spend all day with the people I love," you said.

"Like your parents?" she asked.

"Yeah, my parents," you said, trying not to let your smile faulter.

"Alright, kids! I know all of you are having fun playing, but it's time we dim the lights and say hello to Mr. Moon!" Peter called, waving all the kids over.

The girl stood up, grabbing the origami butterfly and handing it to you. "I want you to have this! I put all my love and care into it and mama said that if I do that, it'll protect people from bad things!" she said.

"Thank you! I'll keep it on me everywhere I go," you said, taking the butterfly and sticking it in the chest pocket on your shirt.

The girl smiled and nodded before running over to the group that was now forming around Peter and Sun. You walked back over to the desk, unlocking the drawer with all the candy in it and grabbing a handful of Moondrops.

You watched as the lights were turned off and Sun transformed into Moon. The kids let out cheers of excitement, but you could see Moon visibly recoil at the noise, looking a little uncomfortable. The kids surrounded him and you took that as your que to go over and help hand out candy. Peter had run off to start setting up the blankets.

"Alright, everyone. Let's get into two lines, okay?" you instructed.

The kids did as they were told and you and Moon started passing out candy, sending the kids who got a piece off to the side so they didn't wind up with more than they should've had. Once all the kids were given candy, you herded them over to the blankets. Moon trailed behind you, seeming to have shaken off that bit of discomfort he had earlier.

"Are you okay?" he quietly asked.

You nodded, watching as Peter started helping the kids find spots. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry about what happened. I wish we could've been there," he said.

"Hey, it's okay. No one's hurt, we all just had a bit of a scare. I'm sure the police will get Bill back on the right path," you said.