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A/n: This chapter was made in the span of several days so please do forgive any inconstancies I missed in the proof reading phase. There's angst and fluff in the chapter. Also this is a super long chapter so hopefully this fill ya up while I continue to study.
(POV y/n)
"Oh I wouldn't miss this for the world" She had a smug look on her face.
I looked down to see she was holding two pizza boxes. She brought them to the table and I re-locked the knife cabinet.
"What are you playing at Car-" I got cut off by an ear peircing scream.
"Murder! Murder!" Linda shrieked.
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I looked over at Linda who was pointing and screaming at the snack counter. Quickly, I handed Carley the knife I was holding as I was not going to set it down at the table where kids could reach. I turned to Linda, trying to calm her down which didn't do much.
"My son! You knew he is allergic!" Linda kept yelling.
"Ma'am-Linda please!" I tried reasoning with her.
"You tried to murder my son!" She accused, "you placed these peanuts here!"
I took a step back as she got in my face while pointing at the snack table. I looked closer and saw one bag of peanuts that blended in with the chips and Fizzyfaz.
'Why is there just one?'
"Oh my god Y/n! Did you..." Carley let out a dramatic gasp, "try to intentionally harm a child?" Carley said, sarcasm laced her voice. I knew she was enjoying ever second of this.
I turned to face Carley.
"N-no I didn't! I must've missed it while placing the snacks down-" I panicked, saying whatever came to mind.
"So you weren't doing your job?" Carley added.
"No!" I denied.
"This could have seriously harmed if not killed my child! You're lucky it didn't go anywhere near Daniel" Linda huffed.
"Y/n must have placed it there. I was asked to personally check the box and I didn't see it in there" Carley said.
Then the dots started aligning.
'Personally asked? Wait- the talk we had in the pantry... The box being opened... I didn't check- ℂ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕖𝕪'
"You set me up!" I pointed to Carley.
"Me?" Carley smirked, "you have no proof! Besides, why would I try to hurt my sweet little brother"
"Little brother?!" I said in surprise.
"What? You didn't know? Daniel is my brother, making Linda my mother" Carley guffawed.
(A/n: Another word for a laugh. I felt fancy since I'm writing a bunch of essays)
'I don't know how... But she placed the bag in there. I must've missed it in my half-asleep state'
I gritted my teeth, giving Carley a death glare.
"I'll get you fired! Hell, I'll even sue you!" I could hear Linda yell at me from behind.
I took the peanut bag and threw it out, I didn't know what else to do.
"There! I made a mistake, I'm sorry. This way no one can touch it and open it" I let out an exasperated tone.
At this point Linda had made a scene and every parent was watching me, some were even recording. I felt all eyes on me and it made my skin crawl.
"You know Y/n, I think you've done enough. Why don't you wait outside so you don't cause any more trouble. I'll take it from here" Carley patted my shoulder, to which I pulled away.
I had my hands balled into fists, wanting to punch her square in the face. In my imagination, I did, but in real life I didn't.
'Too many witnesses' Is all I thought.
I took a deep breath and stepped outside.
'What if they call corporate on me?! What if they sue me! All the evidence is pointing against me!' I panicked.
I stood beside the door and put my hands on my face, covering my now teary filled eyes. I let out a shaky breath and broke, tears streamed down my face and my whole body shook from holding back sobs. I heard the resumed sound of kids playing and muffled voice from parents talking amongst each other. Then I heard the door open. I couldn't take anymore yelling from Linda or Carley so I kept covering my face. I felt a hand gently touch my shoulder and I looked up to see the husband.
"Hey there kiddo... I'm sorry you had to be another victim of my wife" He apologized.
"Another victim?" I asked between sobs.
"Yes, unfortunately this isn't the first time something like this happened. Usually Linda stuck to harassing employees in small stores, but this is too much even for her. She endangered our son for crying out loud!" He continued, "especially from Carley. I let Linda have too much control in her life"
"Are they working together?" My voice
"Mhm, like mother like daughter. I overheard them scheming against you, I didn't know the full details so I didn't know what to warn you about. I should have given you a heads up, I'm partially to blame here too" The husband said.
I gave him a confused sympathetic look. He looked away from me and at the Daycare while sighing.
"I heard Carley talking with her mom about this new employee who acted entitled towards her, which is why I was confused to learn it was you she was talking about. But nonetheless, Carley... Dislikes you, not because you acted 'entitled' no... I believe it's because she can't handle her emotions, still not an excuse" The husband explained.
I looked down solemnly. I still hated Carley for what she's done but this new information has me slightly conflicted. The husband patted me on the head.
"Unfortunately, there's not much I can do but root for you, and maybe give my testimony on what I heard" The husband gave a thumbs up, which encouraged me.
"That's ok, thank you Mr...?" I trailed off, hoping he would catch on.
"Ledgers, Mr. Ledgers" Mr. Ledgers finished for me.
I smiled and he went back into the party room. Then I heard a chime on my Fazwatch and saw a message from Pepper.
💀 𝙋𝙚𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧 ♜: u good? From here you don't look to well
I looked up from my Fazwatch and saw Pepper at the desk, who looked up just in time to awkwardly wave at me. I typed back.
u can change ur name on here?: Y/n
I replied. I saw three dots pop up, showing Pepper was responding. Another chime rang out.
💀 𝙋𝙚𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧 ♜: I'll show u later, come here
I walked over to Peppers desk as he pulled a chair next to me, I sat next to him.
"I saw you run out of here a while ago with glitter glue in your hair. I also just saw you come out and cry..?" Pepper sounded confused.
"Yeah" I said blatantly, fatigue slowly creeping in.
Pepper and I sat there for a while, the air thick with an awkward silence from Pepper. I cherished the moment of silence.
"So what are you doing out here? And why were you crying?" Pepper suddenly asked.
"Long story, I got kicked out after being set up. Party ends in" I checked my watch, "10-ish minutes. Carley is taking over for me, not as a favor though, until its over. Plus its not like I needed to be in there, just needed to bring the cake and stuff" I sounded downhearted.
"Oh" Is all Pepper said.
Silence once again fell upon us. It was only after a few minutes a family came out with their kids. I perked up and saw the parents staring at me, I slumped back down. They approached the desk. I recognized the kid from earlier, they were the one asking how to draw a duck. I waved at the kids and they waved back, only to be blocked by their mother shoving them behind her in an aggressive-protective manner.
"I'm signing my kid out, we're leaving" The dad said coldly.
Pepper nodded and typed something the computer, a few clicks here and there. Pepper pulled up a list and marked the kid as being picked up.
"Thank you and have a good day!" Pepper said as they left.
"Bye Mx. Y/n! You were really nice!" The kid waved goodbye as the parent scolded the kid.
I put my head on the desk and groaned.
"They all think I'm a bad person! Worse, a child murdered..!" I cried, my voice muffled.
"Oh there there Y/n" Pepper patted my back.
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As a few minutes went by more and more parents came out to sign their kids out, I hid my face in embarrassment. The last group of kids left and I noticed I hadn't seen Carley or her family. Then I saw the party room open, Daniel and Mr. Ledgers came out. They headed towards us, daniel held a few dino toys and a Chica plush.
"Greetings Y/n, I'm here to sign Daniel out. Linda and Carley will be out shortly, their collecting presents" Mr. Ledgers said.
"Wait how'd you know my name?" I asked without thinking.
Mr. Ledgers pointed to my name tag.
"Oh."
Then I saw Linda and Carley walk out, Linda holding a bunch of presents, the smuggest look on their faces. Pepper finished signing Daniel out and they left before Linda and Carley got to the desk.
"Oh no... What now?" I mumbled.
"I meant it when I said I'd make your life hell, I'll be seeing you very soon, Y/n" Carley said.
"Have fun cleaning" Linda cackled.
"By the way Daniel is forver banned!" I yelled as they left.
With that they left, walking with their heads high. I sighed and got up.
"Thanks for letting me stay here" I said to Pepper.
"No problem Y/n, I'm here if you need support! Especially from those two, yeesh I would've blown up on 'em if I was you" Pepper gave a thumbs up.
"I'm going to clean the party room then" I added, pointing behind me.
"You know you really are better than the old manager, Isaac would've made me do it or something" Pepper spoke.
I blinked, shocked at the new information. I now had a name for the old manager. I nodded and went to the party room.
'Maybe I can find something in the records? I have a name now' I thought.
I opened the party room door, the lights were off so I flicked them on and gasped.
"H o l y s h i t- they trashed the place!" I muttered.
The room had food on the floor, popped balloons, knocked down chairs, wrappers from presents scattered across the floor, and Fizzyfaz spilt on the floor. I covered my mouth in shock, standing at the doorway.
'I'll fix what I can, replace anything that I can't fix'
Then an idea popped in my head. I took out my phone and started taking photos.
'I can use this later'
I got started to cleaning, reluctantly. I picked up food from the floor, luckily the food was still on the plates so I just put in the trash. I picked up the popped balloons, picked up the chairs, cleaned up the trashed and used paper towels to clean the spills. I sighed and left the room, turning the lights off. I walked to Pepper who was on his phone. I placed my elbows on the desk and leaned forward on it.
"Pepper, Carley and Linda trashed the party room, so I need you to mark party room number 4 as under maintenance" I said.
"Really? The nerve of those two I tell ya" Pepper complained.
"Tell me about it. I'm off, I'll see you later Pepper" I sighed. Pepper waved goodbye and I headed to the Daycare.
I opened the Daycare doors and saw Sun playing with a group of kids. The kids were in a circle as Sun patted their heads, going in a circle. As I got closer I heard what Sun was saying.
"Duck... Duck.. Duck.. Goose!" Sun touched a kids head and ran around the circle of kids, the kid he chose running behind him.
Sun was, unfortunately for the kid, faster. Sun sat down in the kids spot and the kid stopped running.
"Aww... I really thought I had it!" The kid said.
"Maybe next time Marcus" Sun laughed playfully.
"Hey Sun" I said, smiling.
"Y/n! Your just in time to take the kiddos to nap time!" Sun said, standing up with his hands up.
The group of kids all complained but Sun wasn't having it.
"No 'awes' my little Sunrays, naptime is just as important as having fun and being active" Sun stated.
"Does this mean the game is over?" A kid asked.
"For now, yes!" Sun answered, "we just have to wait for Moony"
The kids stayed in a circle talking with each other, waiting until nap time. Sun turned to me.
"So how'd the party go?" Sun asked.
My smile faltered, I was about to speak but the Daycare doors opened. Moon appeared and Sun jingled his bells to get the kids attention.
"Nap time, line up little stars!" Moon said.
Kids lined up and as they did Sun searched the ball pit for kids and I searched in the playset. I found a few stray kids and got them lined up.
"Oh, Y/n! Once the kids are tucked in come back so I can help get the rest of the glue off for you" Sun said. I gave a thumbs up as we left the Daycare, Moon leading the front again.
★・・・・・・★
The kids were being rowdy today, it was difficult to get them to go to sleep. Moon gathered up the kids who absolutely refused to take a nap and sat them around him. I was tucking in a kid when I heard Moon humming. Moon's soft humming was peaceful
'Is Moon... Singing?' I thought.
I looked up and saw Moon on the floor, a few kids on his lap as he stroked their hair, singing a familiar tune. Moon and I made eye contact and I froze, he smiled at me and gestured for me to go over to him. I stood in front of Moon, there wasn't much room to sit down because Moon had 8 or so kids surrounding him as he put them to sleep. Moon nodded towards some kids who had fallen asleep, still humming the tune. I moved the kids carefully so it was less crowded, I now had a spot to sit by Moon. I took Moon's night cap off me and put it back on him, seeing as his hands were full. The star at the end swung, illuminating parts of moon's face. Moon kept humming and my eyes felt heavy.
"I think it looked better on you, Y/n" Moon stopped humming, smiling.
I laughed softly.
"What song were you humming?" I asked.
"The daycare's theme, just softer" Moon replied.
"Is there anything else you need before I go?" I asked.
Moon shook his head.
"Get that gunk out of your hair, come back if you have time. I'll do the rest now that I have some room to move" Moon said.
"Seems like you and Sun have to keep covering for me" I said sadly.
"Things happen Y/n, comes with dealing with kids. Plus, I'm sure you'll make up for it by helping us in the future in case one of us needs help. I don't run into much trouble here in the nursery besides a few naughty kids, I can handle it though. Can't speak for Sun though" Moon chuckled.
I got up.
"I'll come back later then" I whispered as I walked away.
"I'll be waiting" Moon said behind me.
I left the nursery, closing the door behind me.
★・・・・・・★
I opened the Daycare doors, and saw Sun by the crafting tables with his mask off. Sun looked up and ran over to me.
"Y/n! The kid's must've been giving you a hard time since you took so long huh? Oh Moon took his hat back?" Sun kept asking.
"Uh- yes and yes" I laughed nervously.
Sun ran his fingers through my hair.
"Oh golly... That kid really did a number on your hair" Sun said sympathetically, "Luckily I have something that can fix this!"
Sun grabbed my hand and lead me out of the Daycare.
"W-wait where are we going?!" I asked.
"To my dorm! That's where I left the thing that can help" Sun replied.
Sun ran into the employee halls. I tried my best to keep up, running faster than my legs were meant to run.
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We arrived at Sun's dorm, I struggled to catch my breath.
"Sorry if my dorm is a bit messy" Sun scratched the back of his neck.
"I can't judge, I haven't started unpacking" I said unfazed.
'I haven't started unpacking' I said with disgust and regret in my mind.
Sun opened the door, flicking the lights as he entered. I stood by the door way in awe, Sun's room was something else. The walls were painted a light grey, barely seeable though the amount of papers with kids drawings taped on. A small arm chair was in the left corner with a bed canopy on the roof above the chair, the fabric falling all the way to the bottom and draping on top the chair, it would have hidden the chair if it wasn't for the see through fabric. Sun's bed was pushed up against the wall opposite to the door, mountains of blankets and pillows on top of it. At the end of the bed was a fairly fancy desk made out of polished wood. The desk was messy, filled with papers, pens, and books scattered across it. I also saw a black wide drawer with 3 small top drawers and 4 large bottom drawers. It sat in the right corner closer to the door. The drawer had some clothes hanging out and golden awards on top. Looking closer, I saw Moon and Sun in a few pictures holding the awards next to the photos, one award was bronze. On the floor was a fairly large rug with red and white strips, it's radius stretched to the bed and bathroom. A mirror was mounted on the wall beside the bed, which was also by the bathroom door.
"Come in Y/n!" Sun said as he went into the bathroom.
Hesitantly, I entered the room and closed the door behind me.
"You can wait for me on the bed, if you can find room with the amounts of blankets I have" Sun joked.
I awkwardly sat down at the edge of the bed as I heard rustling from Sun's bathroom. I looked around some more and saw stuffed animals on the arm chair. I then spotted what looks like a night light at a plug, it had a sensor which I assumed knew when to turn on and off with the light changed. I heard a faint "Ah hah!" from the bathroom and steps coming out of it. Sun came out holding a jar with white liquid inside and some hair combs.
(A/n: The answer is no, it's not what you think)
I noticed Sun took his stilts off, he walked much differently.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Coconut oil" Sun replied, "sit closer to the middle of the bed, you'll practically fall off sitting so close to the edge"
I scooted away from the edge and Sun jumped on the bed, making me bounce with the amount of force he used to jump on. Sun then crawled behind me and I turned around to see what he was doing.
"Nope! I need you looking forward" Sun said as he grabbed the side of my head, directing me to look in front of me.
Fortunately for me, the mounted mirror by the bed let me see Sun behind me and what he was doing. Sun sat on his heels, he smiled as he opened the jar of coconut oil and scooped up a handful with his right hand, putting the combs down beside him. With his free hand, Sun gently searched my hair for clumps of glue. It felt so soft I began to relax. Sun then placed the oil in my hair.
"Now this doesn't work right away, it takes uuh 10 to 15 minutes to work. For time sack, I'm hoping it takes 10" Sun spoke up while focusing on my hair.
"You seem like you know what you're doing" I said at ease.
"Heh well this isn't the first time something like this happened" Sun laughed nervously.
"To who?" I asked.
"... Me..." Sun said reluctantly.
"That makes sense" I shrugged.
Sun stopped putting the oil in my hair, putting his hands at his hips.
"Now what does that mean Y/n?" Sun asked.
"It means I'm not that surprised to know you got glitter glue stuck in your hair" I smiled.
Sun grabbed a comb and held it to my hair.
"How about we do this the hard way then?" Sun said in a joking tone.
I realized what he was going to do and panicked.
"I'm sorry- I'm sorry! Don't you dare!" I warned, turning around to Sun.
Sun laughed and put the comb down, I let out a sigh of relief and turned to face the front. Sun returned to putting the coconut oil in my hair, occasionally chuckling.
"it wasn't that funny" I said, crossing my arms.
"It was kinda funny" Sun said, still laughing.
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Sun had gotten the major clumps down, now the smaller parts needed to be coated. Sun searched my hair using the combs he brought. I occasionally let out a few hisses of pain as Sun pulled the comb back a bit too hard.
"Hey Sun?" I spoke up.
"Hm? Yes Sunshine?" Sun hummed, his eyes still on my hair.
"What are those awards and photos of on your drawer?" I asked.
Sun paused and looked up, our eyes meeting in the mirror, he looked back down and continued to look through my hair.
"Those are from my old job, the one Moon and I had before this. I got those awards from when major critiques asked Moon and I to preform at their fancy parties. Some of them are from when I was in competitions even way before I got into the acrobatic-family business thing" Sun replied.
"How come there's only one bronze one?" I curiously said.
"How about you ask about something else Sunshine" Sun uttered.
I thought for a moment.
'Is the bronze award special? Why won't he let me ask about it?'
"Ok, how about I ask why you flipped Pepper off earlier" I asked.
Sun stopped looking through my hair, avoiding eye contact in the mirror by turning his head to the side.
"I... Don't know what you're talking about" Sun reluctantly spoke.
I raised an eyebrow. Sun did a side glance at the mirror and we met eyes. He then put the lid back on the jar and grabbed the combs.
"Whelp! Seems like I got all the clumps of glue, in a few minutes you will be able to take a comb through it and get it out, or take a shower" Sun said as he got off the bed and went into the bathroom.
"Sun." I spoke sternly, I wanted an answer.
There was silence from the bathroom, then the sink was turned on.
"Pepper must've been imagining things" Sun yelled from the bathroom.
"You're a bad liar, you know?" I remarked.
I heard a sigh from the bathroom and sink turn off. Sun came out shortly after and sat down on the bed beside me. He took his phone out and set a 10 minute timer.
"Ok ok! Yesterday Pepper and I were talking.." Sun started.
.·:*¨༺ POV Change; Sun's Flashback ༻¨*:·.
"Heya Pepper!" I greeted Pepper.
"How ya doing?" Pepper greeted back.
"Nothing much. I just met the new manager, Y/n, they're pretty great! Waaaaay better than the old one" I laughed, "did you meet them yet?"
"Yep, from what I can tell they're pretty chill" Pepper replied, "I could see from here you two are already fighting for 'em"
"Maybe but that's just because we want to get to know them! And I just want to avoid another Isaac" I said solemnly.
"Well you're scarin 'em off, quit it won't you? Before long they'll be running to me, hanging out with me more" Pepper scoffed, "instead of you two stealin' them I'll take 'em for myself"
"I'll show you, Y/n is going to love working at the Daycare instead of at the desk with you" I joked.
"You wanna bet?" Pepper threatened.
I was taken back a bit by Peppers sudden tone.
"Y-yeah, I do want to bet!" I replied.
"I say by tomorrow I'll have them hanging out with me more" Pepper said, typing at the computer.
"Fine, and I say that by tomorrow they'll have so much fun they'll stay mostly at the Daycare" I said back.
"Fine."
"Fine!" I repeated.
.·:*¨༺ POV Change; End of Sun's Flashback ༻¨*:·.
(POV back to Y/n)
"You made a bet on me?" I asked shocked.
"No! Well- yes but I didn't mean to, I forgot about it until Pepper came to get you this afternoon. I swear I didn't mean any harm Y/n!" Sun panicked.
"You made a bet on me?!" I repeated.
"I didn't mean to! Please don't be angry" Sun pleaded.
"I'm angry at the both of you, mostly at Pepper, but disappointed in you" I said.
Sun's timer went off. He let the timer go off for a while before turning it off, silence fell between the two of us. Sun cleared his throat.
"You can comb your hair and the glue should slip right off, it'll hurt a bit though" Sun said solemnly.
"I think I'll go take a shower and comb my hair in there" I said.
I walked to the door and opened it.
"Thanks for helping, Sun" I said before closing the door.
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I got out of the shower for the second time today. I combed my hair, it hurt but the glue was coming off.
'Sun's a genius! It's coming off!'
I then remember what just happened.
'Was I too harsh? I feel like I overreacted a bit- I mean today was pretty tiring, too much yelling for today... I'll ask Moon for a second opinion'
I got dressed and headed to the Nursery.
★・・・・・・★
I opened the nursery to see Moon sitting crisscrossed on the floor by the desk, his back against the desk. Moon's eyes were closed.
"Hey Y/n" Moon said, his eyes still closed
"Hey Moony... Listen I need your opinion on something" I said as I walked inside the nursery.
"With what happened with Sun? He told me already" Moon said, opening his eyes and looking at me.
I stopped.
"Oh, so he told you?" I asked.
"When something is bothering Sun he won't shut up about it, and trust me I've tried. I'm usually the first person he'll go to" Moon replied.
I stood there, regretful.
'Maybe it hurt Sun more than I thought'
Moon patted the spot next to him and I walked over, sitting down beside him.
"I know you had a rough day, with the whole hair thing. Which by the way, it came off pretty well. But anyways, Sun is sensitive and you're tired from today. I understand why what you learned would be upsetting but I feel like you're on edge after the whole Linda thing, anyone would with that crazy women. So in order to solve all this I give you one option, but you're not going to like it" Moon stated.
"What is it? " I asked, my interested peaked.
Suddenly I was pulled down to the floor. I closed my eyes shut and tensed my body, ready to feel the impact of the hard floor but instead I was met with-
..••°°°°••.. A/N ..••°°°°••..
Made this chapter throughout the week, as I am writing this this book is ranked #3 in security. I- hello??? When?? How?? I'm at a loss for words, the only thing I want to say is thank you to those who are reading this book. Next chapter is a bunch of Moon stuff bc I noticed I wrote too much about Sun (my favorite).
Total word count: 4539 words
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