Chapter Text
The grocery store was packed. Agitated parents argued amongst themselves while their kids begged and bemoaned about candy they were denied. Hidden in an isolated corner, hooded teens giggled over a some near-nude model on the cover of a magazine. Exhausted employees wandered the aisles, looking for anything out of place, and tried to avoid customers. Young adults, freshly out of college and kicked out of their family homes, grimaced at prices and cursed their feeble income as a babysitter.
Ah, right. That was you.
Your brows furrowed and your lips pursed as you scowled long and hard at the can of beans clutched in your hand. ‘The price went up. The price for freaking beans went up,’ you thought and scoffed. Clicking your tongue, you shoved the can back onto the shelf and turned your gaze away. Nearly everything in the little local grocery store had gone up in price recently and it was really starting to eat at your budget.
You marched out of the aisle and weaved your way to the frozen foods, cursing the economy every step. You shoved the freezer door open and plunged your hand in. You paused briefly, eyes drawn up to the large screen in the corner as bright colors flashed across the screen.
“Here at Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex, we aim to bring joy to each and every child, teen, and adult that enters through our doors,” A man in a bright blue button up extends his arms out and the camera pans up toward the large building behind. “The Mega Pizzaplex is home to countless attractions and we provide pizza that is out of this world! Why not take a stroll through Gator Golf or compete in Fazerblast? There’s something for everyone here at the Mega Pizzaplex!” Images of Mazercise, Gator Golf, Roxanne Raceway, and various other places flash across the screen.
“Need a break from your little ones? Then swing on by the Superstar Daycare, where our Daycare Attendant provides top of the line childcare.” The screen shifted to show the doors of the daycare and the man in blue was standing in front of them. “Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex would like to announce that we are now hiring. Please call us at the number on the screen and apply! We would love to welcome you to the Fazbear family,” The man turned away from the looming wood door of the daycare and held his hand out to the camera, smile plastered on his face.
With your eyes glued to the screen, you blindly felt around for the familiar shape of a frozen pizza box. ‘The Pizzaplex was hiring? I thought they preferred only having those freaky STAFF bots?’ You hummed and watched the ad reply, lost in thought. ‘Maybe I should apply? I can still babysit on the side. Extra cash, right?’
“CODY, GET BACK HERE!” A woman screamed next to you, jolting you from your thoughts.
You jumped and slammed your hand against the icy metal wall of the death trap called a freezer. The sudden freezing sensation startled you further and you yanked your now frozen appendage from the metal box with a cry, “COLD!”
You tucked your icy hand against your chest and hissed. The skin was red from the cold and you cursed yourself for becoming so distracted. You scowled down at the freezer before you directed a murderous glare over to the group of teens. The teens snickered, mocking you for your moment of dramatism, before they scurried away, like rats.
“Rats,” You grumbled, eyebrows scrunched down and nose wrinkled. Rude brats. If they keep that behavior up, then college life would chew them up, spit them out, stomp on them, and then slap them in the face with thousands of dollars in debt. Then they would get kicked out of their family’s home even though their older brother was still living there without a job. Then the workforce would laugh in their face and tell them they aren’t what-
You huffed and rubbed your non-frozen hand slowly down your face. Your hand settled on your chin. After you were kicked out of your family home, you struggled. Severely. Just shopping for food was detrimental to your meager savings, at least what wasn’t being used for college debt. You could barely even afford the apartment you were staying in. It was a miracle you were able to stay there in the first place. The owners of the complex, a very sweet couple, allowed you to move into the smallest, cheapest apartment they had for much cheaper, on the condition that you took care of their kid when they were unable to. It was also thanks to them that you had your babysitting gig with the other resident’s.
You smiled fondly at the memory. Mr. and Mrs. Calvin had even nicknamed you the “Cosmic Babysitter”. You absolutely loved the nickname. It reminded you of the daycare you used to attend, when you were 4 years old. Your time at that daycare was such a precious memory that whenever you were taking care of the kids, you made it your goal to make it the most fun time for those kids. You wanted the kids to see you the way you saw the daycare attendant back then.
You swiveled your head back to the screen and set your mouth in a straight line. You were determined. You were going to call Fazbear Entertainment and apply. Your bad luck with job hunting was going to end. Today.
‘As soon as I’m done shopping. Still need to eat, after all,’ You thought with a sigh. Paying attention this time, you plunged your hand back into the freezer and pulled out your chosen frozen pizza. ‘If I get hired, I might be able to enjoy non-frozen pizza.’
You tossed the pizza box into your basket and frowned at how empty the basket was. Pizza, apples, ground beef, and bread. You wanted to try to have a balanced diet despite your painfully tight budget. You did not know how much the Pizzaplex was going to pay you, but you hoped it would be enough for you to fill your pantry. You turned away from the freezers and walked over to the registers at the front of the store.
You paid for your food and headed out to your car, the nicest thing you owned. You would have had a dinged up, hunk of junk that drank gas like a drunkard does booze, but a merciful friend sold you her old car. The thing was a beauty and needed refueling less than older models, so you saved a small fortune in gas. It was one of your few saving graces with your finances. That, and the fact you basically never left the apartment.
The drive back to the apartment was short and blissfully clear of traffic for once. The apartment, a tall gray slab against the beautiful blue sky, stood proudly over the little play area the Calvins set up for the kids. You clambered out of your car, grabbed your groceries and jacket, and headed inside to your apartment.
The door clicked softly shut behind you. You gently placed your jacket onto the hook next to the door and dropped you keys into the little dish on the side table. You walked over to your tiny kitchen and went about putting your food away. The pizza was placed into the empty freezer, the meat in the near empty fridge, and the bread in the pathetically stocked pantry. You placed the apples onto your tiny counter and trudged over to the couch.
You sat down and pulled out your phone. With a deep breath, you dialed the number for the Pizzaplex and slowly exhaled as you pressed the call button.
Riiiing.
Breath held.
Riiiiiing.
Palms were sweaty.
Riiiiiiiing.
Hands were shaking.
Riing. Click.
“Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex! I’m Lily, how may I help you?” A girl's voice answered, soft and cheery.
Your anxiety spiked and you forced out the breath you were holding. You forced yourself to sit up straight and took a calming breath before you introduced yourself, “I’m calling about the uh… job openings?”
“Really?!” Lily chirped, her voice bubbled with excitement. She abruptly cleared her throat and said, “Sorry, we haven’t had any applicants, so I just got a bit excited. Anyway, which position are you looking at?”
“Oh, uh,” You cringed. How could you not have looked up what positions were open? You were not ready for this. You were going to fail before you even tried. Your bad luck persisted, even when you thought you had a ray of hope. Your thread of light was blocked out by the clouds of doubt. Consumed by anxiety and self-hate, you nearly missed your name being called. You jumped and said, “Pardon? I-I’m sorry?”
“It’s alright, hun,” Lily said, her voice calming, “I always forget those dumb ads never mention the positions open and never direct anyone to the website. It’s always ‘call now and apply’! Like, do the top dogs even know how stressful applying to unknown jobs is?”
You chuckle, relaxed somewhat by her tone, “Yeah.”
You could hear papers shuffled and Lily hummed softly, “Let’s see what we have. We could use another night guard, the front desk is in need of help, we’re always short on janitor, and then there’s also the position in the daycare…”
“The daycare?” You asked, interest piqued.
“Oh, yes! We recently decided that the Daycare Attendant could use an assistant INSIDE the daycare itself,” Lily explained, though her voice was not as cheery as it was before, “Honestly, I doubt anyone is going to apply, since you have to be in with the kids.”
“I’ll apply.”
“What?” Lily’s voice sounded shocked.
You sat up straighter and smiled brightly, “I’ll apply to be the Daycare Assistant. I babysit all the kids in my apartment complex all the time. I’m confident I could handle being a assistant in a daycare.”
“R-really? Really really?” Lily asked, her voice bubbling. You could practically hear her jumping for joy.
“Yup!” You said, much calmer now. You could do this. You were going to do this! You just had to get through the interview.
“Awesome! When do you want to come in for your interview?” Lily asked excitedly but paused and laughed, “Shoot, you’re applying now, so we don’t even have any info on you.”
“I can email you my resume and background check now, if that’s okay?” You offered and chuckled at Lily’s excited ‘go-ahead’. You turned the speaker on your phone and gently placed it down. You plucked up your ancient laptop and pulled up your resume, background check, registration, a copy of your ID, and anything else you thought Lily would need before you attached everything in an email and sent it to Lily. “Alright, I just sent everything over.”
Lily was silent and you could hear the loud clicking of a keyboard. Finally, Lily hummed, “Everything looks good. I send this over to the manager who will be interviewing you. So, what day is good for you?”
That was… unusual. Usually employers would take their time looking over applications before they ask for an interview. Was the Pizzaplex that in need of employees?
“Any day is good for me?” You said, your words ending like a question.
“How about Saturday at 7 AM?” Lily asked.
You glanced at the calender on your laptop and nearly choked on your spit, “This Saturday? As in… tomorrow?”
“Yup, is that fine with you?” Lily’s voice wavered unsuredly, but remained cheerful sounding.
You nodded but remembered Lily could not see you, “Uh, yeah. That works out perfectly.”
“Perfect, then we shall see you then! Have a faz-tastic day!” Lily said and the phone line was cut off shortly after.
You stared at your phone for a good minute… or three. You just scored an interview, at the Pizzaplex, as the daycare assistant. If you were not still shocked at how fast that went, then you would have been jumping around with joy. You flopped onto your back and stared at the ceiling. Your mouth stretched into a wide grin and you covered your face with your hands. You were not jumping around, but you were still ecstatic. Afterall, the Superstar Daycare was the one your parents would ditch you at whenever they went to the Pizzaplex. Sure, that was 18 years ago, but you were positive Sundrop, the Daycare Attendant, was still there. He had to be. He was one of the animatronics that were recovered after the fire.
You froze. That’s right, there was a fire 18 years ago.
The Pizzaplex mysteriously burned down. There were no witnesses and no casualties other than the animatronics and Fazbear Entertainment’s pockets. No one knew what happened or how, just that it occured the night after Freddy’s big malfunction on stage. Of course, Fazbear Entertainment covered up anything to do with the incident and went silent for several years. People thought that that was the end of Fazbear’s, an end to an era. However, like all big corporations, Faz Ent would not possibly pass up on the opportunity to make even more money than before. A few years ago, Faz Ent reopened the "new and improved" Pizzaplex.
The biggest issue with this “new and improved” Pizzaplex was that the classic bear mascot, Freddy Fazbear, was missing. From what you knew and understood, Freddy was never found in the rubble of the Pizzaplex, unlike the other animatronics. When the public demanded to know where the bear was, the Faz Ent quickly claimed that Freddy decided it was time he retired. With that excuse, Faz Ent then announced that Glamrock Bonnie would be taking the reins Freddy left behind and lead the band.
Despite the numerous happy fans, there was still outrage. Mainly from parents and fans of the franchise. It was outrageous that Faz Ent would be so quick to replace their literal mascot. However, the second Bonnie went on stage, people changed their tune. From what you heard, Bonnie was way better than Freddy.
Glamrock Bonnie was a huge hit and people were just as quick to forget all about Freddy as Faz Ent was to name Bonnie band lead, despite the bear remaining as the franchise’s mascot. Seeing merchandise for the rabbit was far more common now than it was to see merchandise for the old, forgotten bear.
You lowered your hands and frowned deeply. Freddy was gone, so it would be possible that Sundrop was gone too. You sat up and wrapped your arms around your legs. Even though Sun was recovered after the fire, you had not heard much about him. Was he gone? Did they replace him?
You stood up from the couch. You were not going to fixate on the possibility that Sun was not there. You were positive he was. He just had to be. You would find out tomorrow. For now, you had to get ready.
The night was restless. Anxiety had taken root in your mind and tormented you all throughout the night, leaving you even more exhausted than you were when you went to bed. You hissed and rubbed at your face. You glanced over to the clock and paled. If you were not ready within the next ten minutes, you were going to be late to the interview. And that was with moderate traffic in mind! You were dead meat.
You flung yourself from your bed, falling face first into the rug of your room. Growling, you shoved off the floor and tugged your interview ready clothes on, cleaned up your appearance as best as you could, and bolted out the door, almost failing to grab your keys. You quickly yelled a goodbye to your surprised and amused neighbor, Jordan, and clambered into your car. As soon as you pulled out of the complex’s parking lot, you prayed to every star and god that you knew of that traffic would be light at this time of day.
Lady Luck was kind to you for once, it seemed.
There was almost no one on the road, despite it being a Saturday. You were relieved and giddy. Your luck was looking up. It was okay to be confident, right? You pulled into a parking spot near the front doors of the Pizzaplex. There were very few cars in the parking lot and you worried briefly if you were at the wrong place, but one quick look at the massive, bright neon sign on the massive checkered building and you were positive you were where you needed to be.
You sighed, climbed out of your car, and made the short trip to the front doors. On the doors was a closed sign and you nearly panicked. They were closed? On a Saturday?! Why would Lily schedule you for an interview today if they were closed? Was it a prank? Were you too trusting? This was stupid, you needed to go. You refused to be made into a fool.
However, the sound of the doors opening drew your attention back to them and found a young woman peering out of them. She was wearing a bright green t-shirt and black slacks. Her pale skin was tinted rosy pink and her platinum blonde hair was pulled up into a loose bun. She glanced over to you and her soft brown eyes zoned in on you. In response to the eye contact, every muscle in your body decided to tense up and leave you as frozen as a statue.
The girl smiled brightly and a familiar voice said your name, “Right? I’m Lily. I’m so glad you could make it! Come on in!” She stepped out of the way and you followed her in. You stepped through the glass doors and watched Lily close and lock the doors behind you before she turned her welcoming gaze to you. “Sorry for the sign. The Pizzaplex had to be closed today for some maintenance on the cameras and main stage.”
“That makes sense,” You muttered, still nervous and shaken from the thought you were being tricked. When you glanced over to her, you had to tilt your head down slightly to meet her gaze. You were momentarily surprised. Over the phone, she seemed tall and proud. In reality, she was short, but her pride allowed her to stand taller than the tallest person you knew.
Lily gestured to the other doors in the atrium and smiled, “Shall we head in?”
“Yes, let’s,” You replied with a firm nod.
Lily folded her hands together and walked out of the atrium. You followed her in and was immediately overwhelmed with the bright neon lights. Posters of the Glamrock band glared down at you, as if they were questioning why you were there. You were beginning to question why you were there too. Mildly distracted, you followed after Lily as she talked about the success of the Pizzaplex after it reopened. You trudged past the empty ticket counters, the polished front desk, and the numerous turnstiles. You entered Rockstar row, which was built closer to the front than in the previous, and was assaulted by dimmed lights and even brighter neons.
You squinted your eyes at the vibrants colors, brows furrowed, and grumbled under your breath, “Please tell me the daycare doesn’t also have these lights…”
Lily laughed heartily, jolting you from your bitter glare at the lights. She patted you’re shoulder and said, “No worries! When the daycare was being rebuilt, Sunny insisted that there were to be absolutely no neon lights in the Kids’ Corner.”
“Oh, that’s good to know,” You said, your cheeks tinted in embarrassment. Lily nodded, but you paused and echoed her words, “Kids’ Corner?”
Lily hummed, “Yup. That’s the area with Kids’ Cove, the Daycare, the theater, and the party rooms.”
You nodded along and before you knew it, Lily was leading you into the office of the building manager, Mr. Nolan. He was a tall, muscular man and his skin was a deep russet, reddish-brown. His ebony locs cascaded down his back as he leaned over his desk, hands firmly planted on either side of a stack of documents. His eyes, the color of deep carnelian, glared down at the pages before him.
Your hands were sweaty and you fiddled in your spot, twisting and pulling at your fingers. Waiting for Mr. Nolan to acknowledge you and Lily seemed even more nerve wracking than when you called to apply. At least Lily was not able to see how nervous you were, especially when you fell into an anxiety induced trainwreck. You shifted and pressed your hands against your thighs. You needed to calm down and put on an expression of false confidence.
Lily flashed you an apologetic smile and cleared her throat.
“I am aware, Miss Lillian,” Mr. Nolan said, his voice held a gentle, deep tone to it. Without glancing at you or Lily, Mr. Nolan gestured to the black leather chairs situated in front of his desk. “Sit. I need to finish this up before we begin.”
Lily soundless took a seat across from Mr. Nolan and gestured for you to do the same.
You slowly descended into the squeaky leather and cringed at the sound. How was it that Lily was able to sit without the darn thing making a single noise, but when you sat down, the chair decided to serenade the room with its falsetto song. Embarrassed, you hunched in on yourself, once again questioning why you were there.
“Now then,” Mr. Nolan sighed and neatly tucked the papers away into a drawer, “let’s get on with this interview.” The man sat down and pulled out what looked to be your application. He said your name and turned his gaze to Lily after your nod of confirmation. “What do you think? Think they can handle the Daycare Attendant?”
Shocked at the sudden turn, you twisted your head around and found Lily smiling broadly.
“I think they’re perfect. They’re a bit anxious, but they’re obviously confident and skilled in handling kids,” Lily replied and crossed her arms proudly. “I’m positive even the Daycare Attendant will accept them.”
“Uh…” The dumb sound escaped your mouth before you could silence yourself.
“We apologize,” Mr. Nolan smiled and rested his hands on his desk. His brows raised and he tilted his head as he said your name, “but I had Lily here look into your history and interview your neighbors. It was only a precaution, but we needed to be sure you were the right one for the daycare. With the exception of a few questions I need to ask you and several forms you will need to fill out, I would like to welcome you to the Fazbear family.”
Okay. What?
You were absolutely flabbergasted. Was… was that it? Just like that? You shook your head and raised your hands up.
“I-I am sorry, but I’m confused.”
Lily giggled and patted your arm, “Don’t worry, he does this often.” Lily turned her soft gaze back to her fellow manager and sighed, “Markus, you need to polish your interviewing skills, this is the third time you’ve done this.”
“My apologies. I guess I just got a bit excited. I’ve been trying to get the higher ups to allow us to higher-ups an assistant for the daycare for years. And you’re perfectly qualified, in my humble opinion,” Mr. Nolan chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Anyway, is it alright with you if we start with the questions before I give you the forms to fill out?”
“Yes, thank you,” You said.
“Good,” Mr. Nolan hummed and pulled out a different sheet of paper. He placed it on his desk and steepled his fingers together. He said your name and leaned forward slightly, “What is your opinion on work in close proximity to animatronics?”
“I’ve always thought they were cool, so I’m excited to be able to work with one if you hire me,” You answered and chuckled at Lily’s muttered ‘you’re already hired’.
“Excellent. From your resume, I understand you run a babysitting service for your apartment complex. I assume you’re confident in handling difficult children, but what about parents? How would you handle an upset parent that is yelling at you?”
You chuckled, though there was no humor in your tone, “Simple. I smile and allow the parent to rant. I learned early on that defending yourself or arguing with angry parents is useless. Smile, show them they can’t affect you, and ensure the children don’t hear the parent.”
Mr. Nolan and Lily both paused and shared a look. While Mr. Nolan seemed pleased with your response for the most part, Lily flashed you a concerned expression. Her eyebrows pinched together further when you gave her a half-hearted smile and shrug.
“What do you think is your greatest weakness and how might it affect your work in the daycare?” Mr. Nolan asked next.
You hesitated briefly and directed your eyes down to your fiddling fingers in your lap. You sighed, “I don’t know if I’ll do a good job. This would be my first job after graduating college and I’m scared I might mess everything up.”
“Those are reasonable fears, but you must remember that everyone messes up when they start a new job. It is a normal part of the process. No one would fault you for a few mistakes,” Mr. Nolan assured you and Lily voiced her agreement.
You smiled and nodded, but you were not going to accept their words. Your doubt casted a shadow over your heart and your smile turned hollow. You had heard such pretty words before and they always turned against you. You could not afford to make any mistakes. You would not mess up. You had to be perfect. You were not going to fail.
Mr. Nolan cleared his throat and you redirected your gaze to him, the smile still plastered to your lips. He turned his gaze to the paperwork on his desk and said, “If there was an emergency, do you have confidence that you would be able to do what was required to ensure the safety of the children in the daycare?”
“Yes,” You said, no hesitation at all. “I would do everything in my power to make sure the kids were safe.”
Mr. Nolan nodded and smiled, “That’s all of my questions. Do you have any for Lily or myself?”
“Yes, well…” You inhaled deeply and sighed, “How much would I be earning? Is there insurance?”
“Since the Daycare Assistant is a unique position, we are offering $28 an hour as a full-time employee. Lily, how much would their annual income be?” Mr. Nolan asked and turned to the woman next to you.
“This for a 50 hour work week?” Lily asked and Mr. Nolan nodded in confirmation. Lily tapped her index finger against her chin and pursed her lips, “I believe you would be making around $68,000 annually.”
You balked and felt as if your heart was about to drop through the Earth’s mantle and straight into the core. You were dreaming. This was all a crazy fever dream brought about by malnutrition. They- they were joking right? They had to be joking. One look at their confident and serious expressions silenced your doubt. They were serious. That was way more than you thought. Everywhere else you applied at only offered the barest minimum wage! The Pizzaplex was offering you enough to live off of. You could rent a nicer apartment and fill your fridge and pantry with food. You could pay off your student debt with that! Your skin broke out in goose bumps and you slapped a hand over your mouth to stop the hysterical laugh that bubbled in your chest.
Ignorant to your current internal turmoil, Mr. Nolan continued on, “Right. You would also be offered health insurance, life insurance, and pet insurance. We would just need you to select your preferred insurances, fill out the appropriate forms, and then sign the contract.”
When you did not respond, Mr. Nolan called your name, his brows furrowed in concern.
“Is there something to your distaste?” He asked and twiddled his thumbs nervously, as if HE was the only being interviewed.
“N-no, that’s just…” You exhaled a shaky breath and ran a head slowly down your face, “That’s a LOT of money. Are you sure that’s what I would be making?”
“Of course! The high-ups determined that the Daycare Assistant would be just as important as the animatronic handlers, so they decided you would get the same pay,” Lily chimed in, her voice bubbly and amused.
You inhaled slowly and straightened your posture. You exhaled even slower and smiled shakily, “Where do I sign and when do I start?”
Mr. Nolan laughed and jumped up from his seat, his hand extended, “I like you spirit, kid! Let’s get your forms all filled out. Lily will email you your schedule when everything is through and approved.”
You stood and shook his hand, returning his bone crushing grip. Soon enough, the three of you hovered around Mr. Nolan’s desk discussing the numerous liability forms you signed. There were so many forms that you lost track and entered some type of a daze. Form, flip through, signature, and repeat.
At last, after far too many forms, your contract was pushed in front of you. You plucked it up and started to read over the most important bits, as pointed out by Mr. Nolan and Lily. Your starting pay was, in fact, $28 an hour. You would be required to work Monday through Saturday, 9 hours each day with an unpaid 30 minute lunch break. Your hours would land between 7 AM, when the Pizzaplex opened, and 9 PM, when it closed. You hummed. You only got one day off each week and you had to work 9 hours each week, but the pay was surely more than worth it. You would not be able to babysit the kids in your complex as often, but you could always tell the Calvins that you could bring Stella to work with you. The other families could find someone else to take care of their kids, so you were not worried too much.
You paused. You completely forgot to ask if you could bring a kid. You hesitantly glanced up to Mr. Nolan and said, “Would I be allowed to bring a kid I’ve been taking care of to the daycare?”
“Of course! The daycare is free to employees, as long as their children behave,” Mr. Nolan said.
You nodded and signed the contract.
Lily gently grabbed the contract and stepped out of the room after she told you she just needed to make a copy for you to take home and for the records. You remained standing and watched as Mr. Nolan sat back down. He sighed and gave you a tired smile.
“Before you leave, I’d like it if someone showed you around the Pizzaplex,” Mr. Nolan said, “Today would be the best day, since we’re closed. You won’t have to worry about customers or too many people.”
“That sounds like a good idea, sir,” You said with a soft smile. The Pizzaplex was so different from what you remembered, so you had no idea where anything was anymore. A tour would be good. It also gave you the chance to see if the Daycare Attendant really was Sundrop.
“Excellent,” Mr. Nolan said and picked up the sleek black phone on his desk and dialed a number.
‘Must be calling someone to give me a tour,’ You thought and jumped slightly when Lily burst back into the room. You glanced over to her as she handed you your copy of the contract in an envelope as well as a Fazbear themed bag.
“Here is your contract, your fazwatch, and your uniform,” Lily said happily and you peaked into the bag.
“Orange?” You muttered as you pulled out the brand new t-shirt.
“Yup! That’s the uniform color for the Kids Corner staff,” Lily explained vaguely.
As if sensing your confusion, Mr. Nolan covered his phone with a hand and said, “Each section of the Pizzaplex has a corresponding color. Managers wear green, handlers wear blue, daycare staff wear orange, food service wear yellow, and general staff wear red.”
Green, blue, orange, yellow, and red, huh? It was almost a rainbow. You quickly stifled a chuckle and turned to Lily.
“Anyone wear purple?” You asked, amusement gleaming in your eye.
“The guards,” Lily giggled, understanding your amusement. She smiled brightly and shrugged, “Unfortunately the guys down in Parts and Service don’t have a color. They said that bright colors were pointless with how dirty their clothes go, so they just were gray.”
“That’s lame,” You chuckled and Lily nodded enthusiastically.
“Alright,” Mr. Nolan said your name, “Caleb will show you around.”
As if one cue, there was a firm knock on the door and a young man peaked his head through. He was a little taller than you, but was a bean pole. The boy had nearly no meat on his bones. His fair skin was speckled with freckles and his hair was smoothed back, a perfect copper color. His silvery gray eyes fixed on you and his lips spread into a perfect white smile.
Mr. Nolan said your name and gestured at the young man, “This is Caleb, he’ll show you around the Pizzaplex before you leave.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Caleb said, his voice sugary sweet.
He held out a hand to you, but before you could shake it, Lily snatched your hand up. You looked at her with a raised brow. Lily merely forced a smile and said her farewell before she slipped out of the office. On her way out, you swore you saw her mouth ‘Caleb is an ass’.
“She doesn’t like me,” Caleb sighed and gestured for you to follow him.
You hummed and followed him out to the main stage area. Just like the front entrance, neon lights overwhelmed your vision and the shiny black floor did not help. You turned to Caleb, ready for him to show you around, but instead found him leaning against the wall. Your skin crawled at how he seemed to be checking you out. Surely that was just your nerves? You just met him, there was no way he was…
“I think proper introductions are in order. My name is Caleb Wrighte and I think I’m the right guy for you,” Caleb said and winked at you.
He freaking was.
You were not able to stop yourself when your surprised laugh slipped out. He was hitting on you already AND his pick-up line was a pun on his name. Oh stars, that’s just weird.
Caleb, oblivious to your second hand embarrassment, smiled broadly, “What do you say to hittin’ the arcade for some… bonding?”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” You said and tried not to gag when Caleb huffed and attempted to pout at you. You stepped away and looked over the room, trying to spot any signs that would direct you to the daycare. Upon seeing none, you glanced over your shoulder to Caleb, “Could you show me where the daycare is?”
You immediately regretted asking when Caleb scoffed, as if you offended him. He scowled and clicked his teeth.
“Why would you need to go there?” He bit out.
“Because I’ll be working there,” You retorted and crossed your arms across your chest. Your brows furrowed and you glared at the man, challenging him to speak ill of the daycare.
“Oh man, that sucks,” Caleb laughed and raised his eyebrows, a pure look of pity danced across his features.
“Excuse me?” You hissed and dug your nails into you arm.
“I mean,” Caleb shrugged and shook his head, “you’re stuck with those brats all day and that freak. What could be worse?”
Your wrath simmered, but you exhaled slowly and asked, “What freak?”
“The Daycare Attendant, obviously!” Caleb said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Your eyes narrowed dangerously and your blood boiled. You could stand people insulting you, but the second anyone talked bad about your friends, even friends you had not seen in 18 years, sent you into a pure rage. You clenched your fist, nails digging into your palms painfully.
“That THING should’ve been scrapped ages ago! It’s creepy, stupid, and useless,” Caleb continued, a smug smile plastered to his falsely white teeth. “I mean, what? It plays with some brats everyday. Anyone could do that. We don’t need some freakazoid robot for a few stinking kids. Besides, no one likes the thing. I’ll tell you what. If you go on a date with me, then I’ll talk with the boss man and get you re-assigned. You could work in Mazercise with me.” Caleb leered over at you and roved his gaze across your body.
“Shut up,” You growled.
“Huh?” Caleb said dumbly, clearing shocked at your hostile tone and posture.
“Don’t call him a thing… Don’t you dare insult him,” You ground out, your teeth bare and nose wrinkled. You jabbed a finger in Caleb’s direction and yelled, “If anyone is useless, it’s you! You’re supposed to be showing me around the Pizzaplex. Instead, you’re just sitting on your ass thinking you’re some hot shit when you’re just shit.”
“Hey now, no need to be harsh,” Caleb said, his voice weak and his eyes wide. “I’m only speaking the truth.”
“Harsh? Please,” You scoffed and stomped away, “I’m being NICE right now. Don’t insult the Daycare Attendant again unless you WANT me to be harsh. Now show me where the daycare is.”
“No way, I ain’t going anywhere near that place,” Caleb grumbled and stormed past you. “The tour is over, I’m going on break.”
“What? HEY!” You yelled and cursed under your breath when Caleb fled around the corner and out of sight. “That little-”
With a frustrated yell, you retraced your steps back to the front and stormed out of the doors. Lily was right, Caleb was an ass. A pathetic, egotistic ass. You slammed your car door a little too roughly and drove back to your apartment.
You kicked the door to your apartment close behind you and chucked your contract and bag onto the coffee table. You dropped onto your old, blue couch and kicked your feet up onto the orange coffee table. You huffed and scowled at the wall, replaying the mockery of a tour you had. If that punk insulted Sundrop one more time you would have wrung his thin neck. The only good thing that came out of that whole mess was that you knew somewhat for certain now that Sundrop was still the Daycare Attendant. You sighed, leaned your head back against your couch, and frowned at the ceiling. A gentle ding from your phone drew your attention down to it and you pulled it from your pocket. You had a new email. From Lily?
You shot up and opened the email. It was a congratulations on being hired and your schedule. Your first day of work was on Monday, so you had Sunday to get ready and try to find a map of the Pizzaplex online. You cursed Caleb several more times as you got up and started preparing for Monday. While you were getting ready for bed, you decided to call the Calvins to let them know that you got a job (they insisted you all go out to celebrate later). With a smile and mind free of anger, you tucked yourself into bed and fell asleep.
Monday arrived far too quickly for your tastes. You sat in your car, head pressed against your steering wheel. You were absolutely exhausted. You woke up later than you wanted, rushed to get ready, nearly forgot the fazwatch you were required to wear, and you did NOT want to think about the drive. If you had to describe it in one word, it would be “atrocious”. Monday morning drives were usually quiet, but not this time. Apparently, it was “all the bad drivers are on the road” day and you missed the memo.
Within the first freaking fifteen minutes into the drive, you were nearly driven off the road by some douchebag pickup. Then some minivan driving Karen decided you were driving too close to her and tried to brake check you. Spoiler! You were the one being tailgated because you were actually maintaining a HUGE gap between you and Mrs. Karen McBreak-Check. To top it off, when you failed to hit her, she followed you to a stop light, got out of her car, and yelled at you through your window for “endangering” her children. Lady, you were the one endangering your kids. The second the light was green, you had hit the gas and drove away as fast as the speed limit allowed. There was no way in Hell you were going to stay and let her berate you. You needed to save your patience for when you were at work.
You grumbled at the memory and climbed out of your car. Now was not the time to be cranky. Today was your first day of work. You were finally going to see Sundrop. If you found your way to the daycare, that is. You stepped through the atrium and into the neon glory of the Pizzaplex.
You gazed around before turning in the direction of the locker room, where Lily pointed out on Saturday. Lily also provided directions to the locker room in the email she sent, as well as your locker number and combination, and how to clock in on the machine in there. She did mention that you could always download the Faz-App, which would allow you to clock in from your phone or Fazwatch, but you decided you would use the machine in the locker room. You had to go there anyway so you could ditch your jacket. You made your way into the locker room and froze in the doorway.
Caleb hovered at the back of the room, messing with his hair. You scowled, lips set in a hard frown, and brows lowered in annoyance. You walked over to your locker and silently wished Caleb would know better than to try and talk to you after his little “tour.”
But of course, the fool did not have an ounce of common send, it seemed. Stars give you patience.
“Oh,” Caleb said your name and trotted over happily, as if what happened on Saturday never occurred. You swore he did not have a single care in the world.
You ignored him and chucked your jacket into your locker. You slammed it shut and walked over to the clock-in machine and typed in your code. Surely your uninterested and hostile demeanor would tell Caleb to shove off. Right?
“Excited for you first day?” The foolish man probed.
Wrong.
“Extremely. So excited that I’m heading to the daycare now,” You said and turned sharply towards the door. Before you could reach the door, though, Caleb slid in front of you, blocking your path.
“You’re headed there already?” Caleb asked and attempted to look pouty.
Key word: attempted. He looked like he ate something that smelled of cat crap.
“It’s where I am stationed,” You frowned and crossed your arms.
Caleb huffed, but forced a smile, “Look, sugar…” You were going to punch him. “We got off on the wrong foot, so why don’t we start over?” He held out a hand and broadened his unnaturally white smile, “The name’s Caleb Wrighte and I’m sure I’m the right guy for you.”
Your brows dropped and your scowl turned into a murderous glare. Slowly, you raised a hand and pinched the bridge of your nose with a deep, calming breath.
“First,” You stated, “don’t call my sugar. Second, that pickup line didn’t work the first time and it won’t work this time. So give it up and get out of my way. I need to get to the daycare and introduce myself to-”
Caleb cut you off and threw his hands to the side, “‘Didn’t work’? You liked it last time!”
“I laughed because it was the most pathetic pick-up pun I’ve ever heard,” You hissed.
Caleb opened his mouth, but was cut off when the door swung open. With a dull thud, the door smacked right into the back of Caleb’s head, ruining his slicked back hair. You snorted in delight as Caleb wailed dramatically and held his head. The culprit behind the door peaked around it and raised a brow at the situation.
The girl stepped into the room after Caleb cleared the way. Her hair was dyed bright purple and her skin was a warm ochre brown. She was wearing a knee length ruffled gray skirt and a blue employee shirt. What did Lily say blue was for? Right, the animatronic handlers.
“Was I interrupting something?” The handler asked, her deep brown eyes shifted to you after watching Caleb slink back to the back of the room.
“Nah, you actually saved me from a serious headache,” You shrugged and patted down your pale orange shirt. It was a perfect fit, not too loose and not tight. You were still amazed that Lily was able to guess what size you wore without asking you. You glanced back up to the girl and found her slightly amused gaze locked on you.
“Oh?” The handler hummed and glanced over at Caleb. “Glad I could help, uh…” She paused, frowned and looked back over to you, a small smirk on her painted lips, “Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met? I’m Hazel.”
You smiled and introduced yourself, “It’s nice to meet you, Hazel.”
“Same,” Hazel said and moved around you to her locker, “You should swing by Bonnie’s Bowling during your break sometime. You seem cool.”
“Sure!” You smiled brightly and left the room.
Hazel seemed like a really cool girl and with how chill she was, you did not feel nervous around her. You were definitely going to swing by Bonnie’s Bowling when you had a chance and thank her for showing up when she did. You were not looking forward to another argument with Caleb. The last one still left a bitter taste in your mouth. Because of him, you had no idea where the daycare was and you were not able to find a map online. You glanced around and spotted a STAFF bot sweeping. You trotted over and waved at the bot with a smile. You were hoping it’d be able to point you in the right direction.
“Hey there,” You greeted, catching the bot’s attention, “Any chance you could tell me where the Daycare is, buddy?”
The bot stared at you questionly, but did not respond. In fact, it stopped moving entirely and just… stared. And you stared back. You both stood there, staring at each other for who knew how long before a long guffaw startled you out of your weird staring match.
You twisted around and were met with a large yellow chest. You reared your head back and looked WAY up. You jumped back, a gasp leaving your lips, and bumped into the STAFF bot. You glanced back at the bot, who patted your shoulder before it rolled away, leaving you behind. You slowly turned your gaze back up to the looming figure. Standing over you was none other than Montgomery Gator, bigger and badder than ever.
“Monty!” A weak voice cried out behind the nearly 8 foot tall gator.
You peered around the behemoth and watched as a young man in a blue employee shirt stumbled over. He had sandy brown hair and his skin was fawn, a light yellow-brown like the sand of a beach. Perched on his nose were a pair of rectangular glasses, which nearly hid his bright blue eyes.
“Shut it, runt,” Monty growled at the kid before he turned his gaze back to you. He looked you up and down and snorted, “So, you’re the new employee.”
You nodded and stepped back, wanting to put some distance between you and the gator.
Monty huffed and glanced over to his handler, “Peter, show the newbie where the Daycare is.”
“The daycare?” Monty’s handler, Peter, echoed and he looked over at you. His eyes lingered on your shirt before his brain seemed to reset. “Oh! You’re the new Daycare Assistant, right?”
“That’s me,” You said and introduced yourself.
Peter happily shook your hand and Monty huffed, crossing his arms.
“Pete, show’em the way,” Monty huffed and turned away from the two of you when a swarm of hyper kids bolted for him. Monty carefully ruffled some kids’ hair and by the time he started walking away, he had several kids hanging from his arms.
“Big softy,” Peter murmured and jumped when you snorted.
“I remember he used to be a lot meaner and scarier.”
Peter raised his eyebrow, “Really?”
“Yup, came here when I was younger,” You hummed and gestured to the general area, “Anyway, could you show me the way? I didn’t get a tour, just a headache, so I don’t know where to go.”
“You got stuck with Caleb, didn’t you?” Peter said knowingly and started walking.
“He has a reputation,” You stated and cringed.
“Yup. No idea why Mr. Nolan calls him to give them to new hires. He’s absolute shit at giving tours,” Peter waved his hand and laughed, “I mean, he was supposed to show me around when I got hired and Monty had to step in.”
“To help you?”
Peter glanced over at you with a mischievous glint in his eye.
You guffawed and smiled broadly, “Spill it.”
Peter chuckled and shrugged, “So this is what happened. Caleb was showing me around when he saw this girl. He started spouting shit about how he’d’ve had her on his arm if he wasn’t showing me around. Some of the things he was saying were…”
“Borderline sexual harassment?” You offered and Peter grimaced.
“Yeah… Well, I grew up with three older sisters and two moms who taught me to respect others and what to do when someone is being a douche.”
“And?” You eagerly prodded, your smiling growing even wider as the two of you walked.
“As my moms always said: Punch’em. If Monty hadn’t stopped, that’s exactly what I was gonna do. Monty thought it was hilarious that ‘some nerdy kid’ was ready to punch someone and declared I would be his handler.” Petter concluded with a proud smile.
“You should’ve punched him,” You laughed when Peter nodded enthusiastically.
“Exactly! Still wish I could, but Monty makes sure he and I never cross paths,” Peter hummed and led you through a large archway. “Well, here we are! Kids’ Corner.” Peter gestured down one hall where shouting and a silly pirate laugh could be heard, “To the right is Foxy’s kid cove. If you need any help with anything, Foxy is usually there and is always happy to help. Just don’t mention his height.”
“He’s short?” You asked.
Peter nodded somberly, a hilariously serious expression crossing his expression. His eyes still held a hint of amusement and mischief, though.
“And he’s sensitive about it?”
Another somber nod.
You hummed and Peter leaned over conspiratorially, “Apparently he was originally built to be around the same height as Roxy, but then he got shrunk because he couldn’t fit into some of the play areas of Kids Cove.”
You snorted and quickly covered your mouth with a hand. You playfully glared at Peter.
The man responded with a cheshire grin. “You know, Monty called Foxy short once.”
SNRK!
You cleared your throat to hide your snort nonchalantly when some parents looked over questioningly.
“And what’d Foxy do?” You grinned and leaned a hand against your hip when Peter refused to continue.
“He jumped on Monty, grabbed him by the mohawk, and said ‘Lad, ye best be walkin’ th’ plank lest I get me hook on ye’,” Peter’s forced pirate accent was hilarious but the image of a small pirate fox threatening the nearly 8 foot tall gator had you cackling. Peter laughed alongside you, “Monty’s avoided the captain ever since.”
That only made you laugh harder. You hunched over, arm pressed into your stomach to try and prevent the inevitable sharp pain from laughing too hard. The number of confused glances you both received should have bothered you, but you were too busy trying to contain your laughter.
Peter cleared his throat at last and patted your back, “Anywho! The theater is down the other way and right ahead is the drop off area for the Daycare. Just head through there, down a set of stairs, and towards the pick up area near the bigger wooden doors. That’s your way into the daycare unless you want to go through the slide.”
“I’ll pass on the slide today, thanks,” You wiped away a tear and nodded along to Peter’s guidance. You chuckled and turned back to Peter, who was scowling down at his Fazwatch. “Everything good?”
“Hmm?” Peter glanced up, a brow raised, and shrugged, “Yeah. Monty’s demanding I head over to his room. Needs more sunglasses to hand out to kids.”
“Ha! Good luck!” You laughed and headed towards the daycare, ready to finally meet your coworkers and the Daycare Attendant himself.
“You’re the one who’s gonna need luck,” Peter said and before you could ask him to elaborate, he was trotting off.
Why would you need luck?
You shrugged and made your way into the Superstar Daycare. You paused. It was so similar yet so different from what you remembered. It made sense, since the daycare you knew from 18 years ago was gone. Back then, you were just a kid, ditched there by your family so they could go and have fun. You were scared and none of the other kids wanted to play with you. But, the Daycare Attendant played with you. He became your best friend. You looked forward to seeing him every weekend.
That was 18 years ago though. So much happened. You were no longer a little kid that needed to be helped. You were an adult now, and the Daycare Assistant. It was your turn to help the animatronic that helped you all those years ago.
You smiled and walked further in, taking pride in the soft orange employee shirt you wore, designating you as a daycare employee. You walked over to the check in desk and smiled down at the girl manning it. “Hello, I’m-”
The girl said your name and sighed, “You’re late.”
Ooookay. Moody one.
You forced your smile and clasped your hands, “I do apologize for that. Might I ask where I will be stationed?”
The girl released a long self-suffering breath, flipped her short dyed black hair, and slapped a pale white hand against the desk. She grumbled and glared at you with muted green eyes, her bold purple eyeshadow overwhelming the rest of her makeup. She pushed off the desk, “Fine.”
“Thanks!” You chirped, but the second the girl’s back was too you, you scowled and stuck your tongue out at her.
Giggling to your left drew your gaze and you spotted two little kids, a boy and a girl, clinging to, you assumed, their father’s leg. The siblings both smiled up at you allowing the warm bronze of their tawny skin to shine. Both siblings had warm hazel eyes, which matched their father’s. The little boy, whose head was covered in thick coils ducked behind his fathers leg as his sister snickered and pressed her own raven coils against his cheek. She pointed at your coworker and stuck her tongue out.
You nodded at the kids, delighting in the frantic giggles that escaped them, and shared a friendly smile with their father, who seemed quite amused by not just his childrens antics, but yours as well.
“Ahem.”
You jumped, eyes snapping wide, and the kids quickly hid. You spun around to find the girl glaring at you. You offered her a nervous smile and tilted your head innocently.
“I don’t have all day,” She spat.
“Sure, sorry,” You shrugged and flashed a peace sign at the kids as you trailed after the moody teen.
You stopped in front of the wooden doors Peter mentioned and you gawked at them. They were massive and looked like real wood. Just how heavy were they? Did they open by some kind of mechanism? You looked over to the girl and was about to ask those very same questions when she just shoved the doors open.
Not real wood then and no fancy mechanism. You were admittedly a bit disappointed, but the doors were still cool as heck.
She marched in unannounced and you hesitantly followed, remembering how much the Daycare Attendant hated it when adults entered the daycare. He had told you it was because some kids did not like it when a strange adult barged in. It scared some of the kids. Thus, parents and staff were made to wait at the doors until the Daycare Attendant could come over. The system made sense to you and as much as you would have liked to respect that rule from back then, you were forced to follow your moody coworker further into the daycare as kids watched on suspiciously.
The girl led you over to a large semi-circle desk. Half of the desk was painted like the dark blue night sky, with yellow stars and a soft silvery moon, and the other half was painted like a bright blue day, with cartoony white clouds and a bright yellow-orange sun. She flopped a hand against it and huffed, “This is your desk. There’s the radio. You’ll need to keep it on you at all times.” She pointed at the black radio, then pointed at the purple galaxy themed tablet on the other end of the desk, “The tablet has all the info you need, so don’t bother me.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t wish to impose,” Your forced smile twitched and you clasped your hands together tightly in front of you.
The girl huffed and turned her bitter green gaze to the rest of the playroom.
‘Brat,’ You thought and plucked the radio off of its charging port. After fastening it to your pants, you followed the girl’s gaze and watched as a group of kids ran through the massive room, away from the play structure.
It was so much larger than it used to be. Perhaps twice the size. Even the ball pit was bigger, like a large public pool, hopefully not as deep. The play structure itself was significantly larger and more intricate. It looked really fun. And safer, you noted. There was no way a kid could fall out of it now, and even if they did, there were nets and padding all over. You were also sure Sundrop would not let a kid fall and get hurt on his watch.
You smiled fondly when a couple of kids ran by, screaming happily. It seemed the kids were playing tag. You redirected your gaze and searched around for the familiar sunny animatronic, but he was nowhere in sight. A small frown settled on your lips and you looked back over to the huffy teen. She was glaring at the kids as they ran around, as if their presence offended her.
“Pardon me,” You said softly, earning yourself a rude grunt, “Where is the Daycare Attendant?”
“Who cares?” The brat sniped at you and crossed her arms, “It’s around here somewhere.”
Okay, now you were scowling.
“Isn’t HE supposed to be watching the kids?” You pressed and crossed your arms, a finger tapped against your bicep impatiently.
She seemed briefly surprised by your hostility, but clicked her tongue, “Whatever.”
You inhaled through your nose and smiled. You were on shift, surrounded by a bunch of innocent kids. You were NOT about to sass the teen.
Thankfully, you didn’t have to deal with her attitude much longer when a loud “Oh ho ho ho!” echoed through the playroom.
You snapped your attention over to the source of the sound. You were giddy with excitement, but your energy drained immediately at the sight across the room.
Monty didn’t seem so tall now.
The Daycare Attendant, Sundrop, was significantly taller, BIGGER than he used to be. He had to be around 10 feet tall and did he have four arms? Why would an animatronic need four ARMS?! Who in the world thought that didn’t look scary?
Sun paused in chasing children when a little kid tugged on his pants. He knelt down and the kid pointed in the direction of the desk, at you and the teen. Sun tilted his head, patted the kid on the head with one of his hands, and stood up. Smile as bright as the celestial body he represented, Sun walked over to the desk, a trail of children following him. He smiled and clasped his hands behind his back as children ran around and between his long legs, “Hello, Alice. It is not often you come in here.”
The teen, Alice, cringed and shoved you forward roughly, “Had to show them their desk.”
Sun turned his gaze to you, you think. His eyes were still clear white, no pupil in sight to tell where he was actually looking. Still, you smiled nervously and offered him a small wave. Sun’s eyes narrowed slightly and his smile seemed strained for a moment, “And who might you be, new friend?”
“They’re the new Daycare Assistant,” Alice interrupted and shoved past you, “I’m going on break.”
With that, the teen stormed out of the playroom and closed the daycare doors behind her, leaving you with an animatronic twice your height and a swarm of nervous children.
“Someone must’ve eaten her cheerios this morning,” You shot a hesitant smile up towards the sun themed animatronic.
Giggles erupted from the group of kids hiding around Sun’s legs. Sun lowered his head and smiled brightly at the kids’ amusement. His shoulders relaxed and he allowed a chuckle to slip out. “Yes, well that must happen everyday,” He provided and returned his gaze to you.
You faked a gasp, hand pressed dramatically to your chest, and looked down at the kids sympathetically, “My goodness! That is simply devastating. It’s so sad to have no cheerios.”
“No cheerios! No cheerios!” The kids chanted as they ran around in circles. Some of the kids broke off from the rest, still chanting, and the rest followed suit. They ran over to their friends, gestured wildly, cackled, and bolted for the play structure or ball pit.
You smiled warmly at the sight.
“Alice said you are my assistant?” Sun’s voice pulled you from your thoughts and you turned your smile up to him. He returned your warm smile and stepped closer, his body relaxed. One pair of his arms came forward to steeple his fingers together while the other pair remained clasped behind his back.
“Yup!” You introduced yourself and allowed yourself to sway gently back and forth on your toes. Your smile was brighter than it had been when you were talking with Peter.
Sun repeated your name, testing it, and seemed to pause. He repeated your name again. His smile broadened and his eyes focused on your smaller form. Slowly, Sun knelt down and extended one of his hands out to you, “I remember you. It’s wonderful to see you again, Sunflower. Welcome to the Superstar Daycare.”
“It’s good to see you again too, Sunny,” You beamed at the old nickname. “Thank you for having me,” You stepped forward, your hand extended towards his hand. You mindlessly noted how much larger his hand was to yours, as if you were still a little 4 year old kid, desperately holding onto his hand 18 years ago.
Just before you could slip your hand into his, Sun pulled his hand away. Instead, Sun leaned forward and captured your chin in his hand. Delicately, he tilted your head up, meeting your surprised gaze with adoration in his own. Another of Sun’s hands came up and gently grasped your still hovering hand.
“It’s very nice to have you, friend,” Sun’s smile stretched wider and he delicately rubbed his thumb against your cheek. His gaze was soft, almost relieved. He pulled his hand away from your chin to gently run it over your cheek. “It truly is nice to have you here, Sunflower.”