thankfully, you made it to the daycare in time. it was about a good fifteen minutes before parents began to drop their kids off at the daycare before going to their late afternoon shift. you just had to prepare to open the daycare and prepare to meet the kids' arrival.
you unlocked the front door of the daycare and hastily walked inside, unhooking your apron from the wall as you took off your shoes and headed towards the kitchen. as you tied the strings of your apron around your waist, you checked both the fridge and cabinets. ensuring that the ingredients for later snack times were there, you then headed off to grab a broom and quickly clean up the place.
"that should do it," you finished off with a huff, placing a hand on your hip as you smiled in satisfaction. you had finally finished cleaning, so now was the time to flip the sign and indicate that your daycare was now in business!
a knock resounded through the moderately sized building, causing you to grin at the prospect of meeting one of your favorites. you walked at an alarmingly fast pace towards the front door and opened it with a heartwarming smile.
"(n/nnnn)!"
a small ball of hazel color whirled towards you and latched onto your leg, to which your smile grew wider as you picked up the energetic gremlin.
"kyuu-chan! i was wondering when you'd get here," you giggled, booping the little boy on the nose affectionately as the boy in your arms giggled as well. "now say bye-bye to mommy and daddy," you encouraged the child, to which the litttle boy did and gave a cute wave to the smiling parents in front of you.
"bye-bye mommy! bye-bye daddy! i wuv you!"
the parents nodded, "(y/n), we'll be late today," the mother trailed off, giving you an apologetic glance as you shook your head.
"it's fine fuyumi-san, i'll make sure to keep kyuu-chan safe," you promised, offering the married couple comfort as you reassured them, "stay safe fuyumi-san, hoshino-san."
mrs. hoshino stepped forward and planted a small kiss on her son's head, bringing her gaze to you as she stepped back.
"thank you for always looking after kyuutaro, (y/n). my husband and i are forever grateful."
"oh shush, it is my pleasure looking after your adorable son," you chuckled as you pat kyuutaro's head, "kyuu-chan has been such a sweetheart every time he comes over," you cooed as you lightly pinched his cheeks, causing the little child to giggle.
your eyes widened in realisation, "you guys should get going now. if you're going to come back late, then i assume it will be a long day, so off you go!"
kyuutaro's parents laughed and bid their goodbyes with you and kyuutaro waving back. as you brought kyuutaro inside, he tugged on your apron to catch your attention. humming, you raised an eyebrow as you prepared to ask what was on the little kid's mind.
"nee-chan, where are hana-chan and kuro-chan?"
your heart tugged at the fact kyuutaro was calling you older sister, "they're almost here, in the meantime, what would you like to do?" you questioned, walking into the main room with padded floors and a small table in the corner of the room.
"i want appwes!" kyuutaro cheered as you placed him down on the floor by the small table.
you crouched and pat his head, "no, kyuu-chan, it's 'apples', c'mon," you encouraged kyuutaro, "say 'apples' for me."
kyuutaro looked at you with an adorable doe face, "... appwes."
letting out a laugh, you dismissed further attempts at lingual correction and headed for the kitchen to prepare kyuutaro's snack. on the way, you heard a knock on the front door before it opened itself. rerouting your walking path, you walked towards the front door to greet whoever it was. upon reaching the front door, you were met with a new face.
"hello, welcome to the daycare," you greeted with a smile, "how may i help you?" you asked as your eyes examined the duo in front of you.
a young man with green hair offered you a smile in return as he set down the child who was in his arms, holding the little child's hand as he did so. "i saw your little daycare a few days ago, and i was looking for a place to leave my dear qiqi during my late afternoon shifts at the pharmacy."
you nodded, crouching as you made yourself eye level with qiqi. "that is no problem, erm..."
"you may call me baizhu, don't worry about any formalities," baizhu chuckled, to which you sighed in relief.
"very well baizhu, anyways i'll need you to fill out some paperwork before i can take qiqi in," you hummed as you gestured for qiqi to come closer, opening your arms in what seemed like an invitation for a hug.
qiqi's face, although it appeared mainly expressionless, lit up considerably as she trotted towards you and hugged you with no complaint. smiling, you picked her up and rested her on your hip as you asked baizhu to follow you into the main room. of course, you asked baizhu to take off his shoes first before continuing further.
"kyuu-chan, you're going to have to wait a little longer before your apples can come," you told kyuutaro, causing the child to pout but nod in understanding, opting to play with the toy blocks on the opposite side of the table.
setting qiqi down, you turned to baizhu and smiled apologetically, "please wait here for a bit while i get the paperwork, i won't be long."
and with that, you set off towards the cabinet that held the paperwork for accepting children into the daycare. after a couple of seconds of shuffling through various papers, you found the paperwork you were looking for and hastily closed the cabinet. once you reached the main room, you giggled at the sight of qiqi sitting on baizhu's lap with kyuutaro attempting to join by climbing baizhu's other leg.
"baizhu, you just have to read these and sign where needed," you handed the young man the paperwork as he nodded, flipping through the papers as he hummed in thought.
within a few minutes, all the required paperwork was finished and you stored them safely. baizhu stood up and bid qiqi goodbye, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead as he pat her head affectionately.
"qiqi, dear, i'll be picking you up late today, stay with miss (y/n) okay?"
qiqi nodded and raised her arms up, her hands making grabby gestures as she stared blankly at baizhu. having understood what qiqi was getting at, baizhu crouched and gave qiqi one last hug before standing up.
"oh, and here are qiqi's items," baizhu hummed, handing you a bag with various items labeled with qiqi's name. "i take it that these are the needed items, correct?"
thoroughly examining the bag and the items inside, you nodded, "all the items here are required, great job," you softly laughed. "alright, qiqi, say your final goodbye before baizhu goes to work."
"bye."
you sweatdropped at the plain response, but baizhu chuckled at your response and reassured you, "don't worry, qiqi's like that, but she is a sweetheart, i promise you."
"very well," you sighed, "well, it was nice taking your child in, and a pleasure doing business with you sir," you joked, causing baizhu to chuckle.
"likewise. anyways, i'll be taking my leave now."
baizhu walked towards the front door and you followed so you could see him off. as he left, you turned around and walked back to the main room. now that qiqi was here, you'll need to figure out what snack qiqi would like to have so that you could make one trip to the kitchen and back with both kyuutaro's and qiqi's food.
"qiqi, what would you like to have for a snack?"
qiqi stared at you, and you sweatdropped at the silence.
...
"cocogoat milk."
