Daycare Daydreams
4500 words exactly. A modern Mydei fic. He works as a Daycare attendant, and you, dear reader, are the adopted mother of Tribbie, Trianne and Trinnon! Fluff, fluff, and more fluff, honestly crushing at first sight, very out of character, also Phainon appearance at the end. Not proofread! Please enjoy and please don't murder me if there are inconsistencies, I am simultaneously so lazy and also not <3
The day was bright; children played loudly as adults tended to them carefully. The whispers between carers and parents could be heard within the daycare as they watched the children interacting. Some of the children were sleeping, some were chasing others. The carers were calm at the duality of the children’s behaviour, having done the job for years and having tended to children of all energy and maintenance levels. Whenever siblings would attend the daycare, they weren’t the most obnoxious or destructive, but there were cases where the carer's work was truly cut out for them with unruly siblings. For example, the redheaded trio who had joined the daycare a few months ago.
The trio, who had dubbed themselves “Tribios”, are girls who seemed to have unlimited, transferable energy with one another. Whilst on their own, Tribbie, Trinnon and Trianne, were able to behave, but once united once more, chaos of varying degrees would follow. Fortunately for the other children and carers, the girls seemed to have a favourite attendee. A tall, well built man, adorning blond hair that fell just below his broad shoulders. Everyone had initially distanced themselves from him at first, confused why such a battle-worn appearing man had become a daycare attendant. A man who had begun working with children after growing tired of all the whispers in his previous workplaces, and had desired something that was spoken to be more easy.
He was quickly proven wrong once the girls had developed their attachment to him, climbing onto him and constantly badgering him for attention and play. They weren’t needy, per se, simply high in energy and maintenance. Which was a surprise to him, considering they had watched him with wide curious eyes when he had first joined the daycare. They had been silent in their approach, as most of the children had. Multiple times, the blond man would attempt to engage with the children; offering them their favourite toys, preparing lunches in cute shapes, helping them get a bandaid when they’d fall over.
But it was all for nought. The children were still wary. The other caretakers had begun to see the softness in the man’s rough hands, the flicker of softness in his burning golden eyes. After another week of trying, the man had fallen asleep while watching over the children. They slowly approached, Tribios leading, whispering to one another and tiptoeing closer. The eldest of the three, Tribbie, pulled out a sticker, before placing it onto the man’s cheek.
The simple action, the small addition of colour onto the man’s intimidating face, the childish claim on the adult had caused the children to rejoice and finally enjoy his company. By the time the man had awoken, his body had been littered with stickers, and his exposed skin had been messily drawn over. He blinked slowly, looking at the children surrounding him as they giggled and began to run away. Seeing their joyful expressions and playful demeanors, he gave chase. Squeals of joy and excitement filled the air, and the man was finally welcomed by the children, a smile gracing his face, as well as the other carers.
Every day he had attended from then on, the children were just as joyous to see him as all the other carers, but Tribios was the most ecstatic of his presence. It took the man almost two weeks to finally grow accustomed to the trio's boundless energy and attention on him. He’s adapted to catching the girls one by one once they’re dropped off at the daycare, hearing them yell out their goodbyes to their parents- he’s assuming, he’s never actually taken the time to meet many of the children’s parents- and having to refuse their insistence for him to meet their parents. He already had at least three other children in the daycare crying for his attention, so he didn’t often have a spare moment to meet the children’s parents.
The trio would often praise their parents- or at least one of them. Mydei learned that the girls only had one parent whom they had been adopted by, as they didn’t seem to mind the change in home, nor understand that it was more of a private matter. He indulged them, listening to their individual and collective mumbling about what it was like, and what their new mother figure was like. They didn’t call her mother, or anything similar though, no. They called her by her last name, addressing her like she was a teacher. She had never expressed any sadness or anger at the name, but the trio could tell it took her a while to get used to. A few days into clinging to Mydei’s hip, the girls eventually asked him if he was in a relationship. Being caught off-guard by the question and hesitating, the trio came to the conclusion that he was not.
Which caused their energy to multiply tenfold.
The usual questions and clambering over him had grown instantly, and questions in regards to his relationship status became more frequent, and soon led to the children attempting to set him up with their current carer. Their constant badgering made him sigh, and continue to gently refuse the girls their wishes. Leading to outbursts of different kinds in response. Most commonly, “You’re not our friend anymore!”, “Don’t be mean to our carer!”, and “You’re a bully and we don’t wanna hang out with you!”. The girls would often get over their distress within a few minutes, but he could almost chuckle in amusement at how quickly the girls were to defend their caretaker.
Both fortunately and unfortunately, the day finally came where he wasn’t able to escape their incessant begging and dragging and pushing as they forced him towards the front door where the girl's carer was going to pick them up.
“C’mon De! You’ve gotta come meet her! She’s suuuuper pretty and nice, and you’re totally her type!” Trianne called, trying to push Mydei by the back of his legs.
“Please stop pushing me, I don’t want to trip and fall on your sisters.”
“Yeah, yeah! We’ve told her all about you too, and she said she’d love to meet you so you gotta now!” Tribbie added, hanging from his arm and kicking her legs with joy.
“Tribbie, be careful, your grip is slipping.”
The two bursting with energy weren’t too convincing, considering they would often try to manipulate him into giving them something. Not to mention his concern was causing him not to fully focus on the girls’ words. What had his conviction wavering was Trinnon; who stood before him, gently tugging the pastel pink apron he wore- the only one in his size, the other workers claimed- causing him to pause and meet her pleading gaze, hidden by her hair. Based on the expectant smiles from the other two girls, this had been their final attack on his defence.
“Please, De? You’re really nice and we want our carer to meet you.”
He froze, staring down at the girl, a pout on her lips and an almost threateningly pleading look in her eyes.
A critical hit.
He stood still, staring at the child with a stunted expression, his expression tense. The other two who were pushing him and hanging from his arm stared expectantly at him, holding their breath in anticipation. Finally, he sighed heavily, and Tribios rejoiced. Tribbie dropped from his arm, grabbing his hand and pulling him eagerly towards the front area, Trianne kept pushing at the back of his legs, stumbling over her own and his feet in her joy. Trinnon clapped her hands as she skipped beside the carer. She didn’t notice a stray toy on the floor however, and tripped and fell onto the floor. A pained sound left her lips as she began to cry quietly. The other three immediately paused before turning to help her.
Tribbie sat down in front of her, and Trianne moved to her side, starting to help her up. Mydei crouched down on her other side, carefully watching the girls as they helped out their youngest sister.
“Silly Trinnon! Gotta watch where you’re going!” Tribbie said, patting Trinnon’s head playfully. Trinnon rubbed at her nose before giggling, smiling once more.
Trianne ruffled Trinnon’s hair messily, with a wide smile on her lips that showed her missing front tooth. “Yeah! You gotta look with your eyes and not your face.” The girls all giggled, helping the youngest stand up again, without any assistance from Mydei.
The man stared with a faint smile on his lips, relief evident in his features as he watched the girls play once more as they moved towards the figure standing just a few steps away. Excitement fills the air as the girls jump around the figure before returning to Mydei to drag him closer from his spot on the carpeted floor. “Hehe, come on De! You can’t run away now!”
The man is too distracted to differentiate which girl said it- his eyes fixed on the woman standing before him. Her face is a little flushed, and her clothes a little unkempt. She must’ve rushed in- it was a couple minutes past the usual pick up time- and here he is kneeling on the floor. In a pink apron with glitter and stickers and paint all over him. He could feel his low hanging pony tail also coming loose behind him. He could feel his heart begin to pick up its pace in his chest, his cheeks beginning to burn. He swallows thickly, suddenly becoming so aware of every detail of his own being as he notices the woman meeting his gaze.
The three girls struggle to pull him to his feet and he mindlessly moves with them, stepping towards their caretaker in an almost clumsy way- nearly tripping over the toy that Trinnon had fallen over mere minutes before. Yet his eyes never leave you. Even as he stands, slouched, in front of you. His mind is empty, his cheeks burn and his mouth goes dry. His eyes flick over your face- your stunning face- as he takes in your features. You’re gorgeous. Mesmerising. Breath-taking. He couldn’t think of anything but “Damn, she’s pretty”. He didn’t notice how the girls were giggling and crowding the two of you, their hands linked as they tried to move you closer to one another.
He didn’t even realise he’d spoken out loud. He saw your eyes widen, a shy smile gracing your lips as you averted your gaze. Yet he didn’t make the connection. All of his usual thoughts had taken a sharp turn, his focus purely on you. He was so dumbfounded by your beauty, he wasn’t even standing upright! He was slouching down to your level, leaning slightly into you. His head was slightly tilted, and his shoulders slack at his sides. If the girls surrounding you were to suddenly decide to paint his nails, he’d be none the wiser.
Oh. Your mouth was moving. You’re talking- your voice sounds just as beautiful as you look. You're definitely saying something important. He wished he could pay attention to your words and not just the delightful sound of it. You raised a brow to him, an addictive smile on your lips. And oh, the laugh that followed after. He could simply melt right there. He could imagine waking up to that smile every morning; imagine hearing that precious laugh when you flutter your eyes open and catch him staring like he did every time he woke up before you. Hell, he could even picture Tribios launching themselves on top of the two of you in bed and the giggle fest that would ensue.
He could picture the breakfasts spent trying to cook together, the girls threading themselves through your legs and nearly knocking you both off balance. Two of them wandering back off to the living room whilst the third latched around your leg, smiling up at you both as he picks her up. She’d giggle and kick her legs, you’d roll your eyes and pinch her cheek and she’d just giggle more. Then she’d speak, “I’m hungry Mama. Can you and Papa-”
He stood upright as a hand clapped onto his shoulder, his gaze darting to the source-
“Phainon-” He narrowed his eyes.
“I sincerely apologise for my coworkers' stupidity. He’s a bit shy in social situations, you see.” Phainon smiled at you with a casualty and charm that could soften the most stern of people.
The triplets were no longer surrounding the two of you, allowing for some distance again. Phainon’s hand tightened onto Mydei’s shoulder, a silent what the fuck? Mydei scoffed, rolling his shoulder to tell Phainon to retract his hand. He did.
Mydei’s previously awestruck form had straightened, standing at his full height again. He cleared his throat again, looking away. You chuckled again and he felt his entire body tense, his breath catching. He swallowed thickly and felt his cheeks begin to burn, his eyes immediately shifting to focus on your smile. Titans, your smile. He wished he could take a million photos and print every angle of it. His own lips began to melt into a mess, only snapping firm in place again when Phainon squeezed his shoulder once more.
“Would you stop that?” The blond man hissed between his teeth, glaring at Phainon. A sentence, finally. Mydei internally patted himself on the back for managing to say something proper. Even though it was to Phainon, it was a step. Baby steps.
“I will once you stop acting like a teenager in love.” Phainon whispered back, keeping his jolly good smile as the girls gathered around you, your eyes flicking between the bickering men.
“You two must be really close.” You remark, leaning down and picking up Tribbie into your arms, resting her on your hip. One hand rested on your shoulder and the other pointed to Mydei, an overjoyed look on her face.
“Ms Caretaker, this is De! The worker we told you about! He’s single and we’ve told him all about you too!”
You sighed, smiling still, but now looking at the child in your arms. “I find that pretty hard to believe kiddo. He-”
“I am single.”
Why did he say that? Why did he say it so fast? Oh Titans above. Save him now.
You turned your gaze back to him, and Mydei could feel Phainon’s hand slip from his shoulder- the silence from him was deafening.
You stared.
He stared.
You smiled.
He died.
Phainon muffled a laugh.
“You should go on a date!” The girls spoke in unison. You snorted. Then laughed. Mydei could feel his organs turning to mush. Phainon elbowed his side. His organs regenerated, he cleared his throat and stood upright again. (His posture was beginning to slack the moment you smiled.)
“Ah- i-if you wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.” He stuttered. The almighty Mydeimos. Stuttered. “I would be honoured.”
“Only if you promise to sweep me off my feet by the end of the night.” You responded smoothly, looking at him with those mesmerising eyes of yours. He could lose himself in every flicker of light reflected in them.
“I’ll do my best.” He felt breathless. He didn’t want you to leave, but at the same time, the sooner you did, the sooner he could regain control over himself.
You giggled again- titans, that sound- then reached into your pocket, withdrawing your phone and presenting it to him after pressing a few things. “I hope it’s not too forward of me to ask for your number then, mister?” You allowed your words to hang for a moment, waiting for him to fill in the blank of his name.
“Mydei. Mydeimos. Of Kremnos. And- no, please- I-I-” He paused, clearing his throat and gently taking your phone, his hand shaking as he brought it close to yours. “I’d love to. I don’t- it’s fine.”
He bites the inside of his cheek, feeling his cheeks burn in embarrassment. He carefully puts his contact into your phone, struggling slightly with his shaking and needing to redo it a few times as the string of numbers slips his mind. Phainon snorts behind him, but clears his throat to hopefully stifle the sound, saying something about leaving the two of you before walking off. Mydei pays him no mind though. He’s too busy trying not to act as an even bigger idiot in front of you. He passes you your phone, smiling to you in a way he hopes is charming.
It is. But he doesn’t know that. The other two girls have begun to skip around the two of you, singing that silly rhyme that everyone and their mother knows. You know. The one about k-i-s-s-i-n-g? Yeah, that one. Mydei can feel his ears burning at this point. His neck too. He tries to ignore it. He failed.
“Mydeimos?” He feels his breath hitch. You sing his name like a prayer, and he feels compelled to attend a church at the sound of it. Suddenly, his name feels like the most holy of names there are. “You’ve got a lovely name, Mydeimos.”
He shivers as you repeat it, swallowing thickly and staring into your eyes stupidly. He could feel his spine melting yet simultaneously his skin tightening. “Thank- thank you. My mother chose it. When I was- born.”
What is he saying?? His mother chose it when he was born? No shit. Oh titans he was making a bigger fool of himself-
You laughed at that, adjusting Tribbie on your hip, putting your phone away and keeping your eyes on his. You tell him your name, and he can feel the stars align. It suits you perfectly. How could the universe have crafted such a wonderful person, and even further, put them in front of him? Have them be interested in him and laughing at how silly he was? Was this like those “meet-cutes” that Castorice would tell him about? Should he go to her for advice? She seemed like the safest option out of everyone. Maybe Aglaea could help as well. Definitely not Cipher or Phainon though. Although they’d both be persistent in trying to “help” him.
He blinked quickly, forcing himself to focus back onto you again- the present you. The one looking at him with so much kindness and understanding and fondness. You chuckled once again, tilting your head and pointing to his face.
“Does being a daycare worker come with growing whiskers?” He stared. You laughed again, got out your phone and took a quick photo of him before showing him the image.
There was purple gel pen on his cheeks- 3 messy lines on each side. There were stickers on his collar, his ponytail messy and poofing in places. There was a spot of paint that somehow managed to get onto his forehead, with random splatters of glitter on his skin. His cheeks were bright red and he couldn’t even begin to describe how stupidly blank his expression was- especially with his pupils being blown the way they were. He cringed at the image, raising a hand to try hiding his appearance.
“Ah. The children. I- fell asleep at some point. I was ambushed.”
You smiled, tucking your phone away again. “I know what it’s like, trust me. I’ve woken up to these little rascals trying to get into my phone and trying to track down a handsome daycare worker more times than I can remember.” The girls in question just giggled, Tribbie wriggling in your hold before you put her down, allowing her and the other girls to whisper and giggle with one another.
He felt his stomach flip at your words. Were you calling him handsome?
“The girls can be a handful at times, yes.”
You nodded in agreement. Silence lingered for a moment. His mind began to wander to all possibilities, his eyes moving slowly dragging over your features, taking in every detail, every minute change in expression, soaking in the way you existed. You, on the other hand, felt a bit flustered under his stare. It’s not every day that a 6 foot something hulk of a man seems to turn to putty just talking to you while you’re trying to pick up your adopted daughters from daycare.
Then again, it was almost everyday that said daughters tried to get you to speak to the giant man. You always brushed it off as kids being kids and wanting their favourite daycare worker to be with their carer- it’s not something you’d put past them considering you’ve never shown interest in a partner since adopting them. Even though the girls would insist people were flirting with you when you were more than certain a server at a fast food restaurant smiling at you was simply them being grateful the girls behaved themselves.
Silence washed over you for a few more moments before Trinnon tugged on Mydeimos’ hand. He practically flinched, clearly not expecting the sudden contact. He diverted his attention to her, kneeling down to her level so she could whisper to him, a grin on her lips. You couldn’t hear what she said, but based on the way he turned red and kept flickering his gaze to you, you could assume it was something about the two of you getting together. He nodded stiffly, standing up again and offering a hand to you.
You raised a brow, placing your hand in his. He tensed at your touch, his fingers calloused but oh so unbelievably gentle. “I,” he cleared his throat again, keeping his gaze fixed on your hands and he softly caressed the back of your hand with his thumb. “I know we’ve agreed to go on a date, but I would just like to say that you’re…”
He took a deep breath, meeting your gaze and sighing deeply. “You have such a refreshing and calming presence, and I am beyond grateful and honoured that you are giving me an opportunity to get to know you more. I cannot thank you enough.”
He lifted his gaze to meet yours, smiling softly. You could feel your cheeks burn a bit at his earnest words. “Oh, I- thank you. Mydeimos, I’m not quite sure what to say, um.” You let out a small laugh, tightening your grip on his hand for a moment. You smoothed the fabric of your shirt and smiled at him. “Thank you. I look forward to getting to know you as well.”
You looked at your hands between you, before looking up at him again. He was staring at your hands. Your hands that were touching. He was holding your hand. He felt his breath shiver for a moment before he raised it slowly, lowering his head. His lips were a few inches from the gentle warmth of your skin before he raised his gaze to meet yours, his pupils blown, cheeks red, and expression just smitten.
“May I?” His voice barely a whisper. Gruff, yet soft. Harsh, yet so, so gentle. And so, so pleading.
Your brows lifted in surprise and you could feel your own cheeks burn. This man. Built like a Greek statue. Towering over you. Was melting like ice on a summers’ day at your touch. You nodded. His lashes fluttered before he directed his gaze back to your hand. His hand seemed to shake a little as he held yours, raising just slightly before pressing his lips to your knuckle. They were softer than you imagined. He pulled back with a shaky breath, eyes lingering on your hand before dragging back to meet yours.
Holy shit. You could almost compare his gaze to that of a drunken man. A drunken man in love- a man drunk on love, more like. You forced yourself to cleanse your mind. You’d only met this man in the past ten minutes. You couldn’t compare him to a man in love when he’s only fumbled his words, seemingly lost his train of thought and ability to speak whilst speaking to you, and forgotten how to breathe at times- no, he was definitely crushing on you at least.
Then again, you couldn’t complain nor play the saint. From the moment you came in and saw him, you had to admit, he was attractive. You originally believed him to be a gruff kind of man, but he seemed more like a kitten now that you were speaking. Especially with those whiskers drawn on. You blinked, clearing your throat. The sound seemed to bring him back to reality as his eyes also widened, hand flinching around yours before jolting back an inch. He swallowed, attention locked onto your hand for a moment before he switched his attention back to your eyes.
You withdrew your hand slowly, adjusting the bag on your shoulder as you glanced at the clock on the wall. “Thank you. Oh- we’ve gotta get going. I’m sorry to cut this short.”
He shook his head, flexing his hand beside him as he let it fall. “No need. I look forward to your message, Y/N. And please, call me Mydei.”
You nod, smiling to him as you offer a hand to the girls who skipped over to you again, with them linking their hands with one another. “Mydei. A bit less of a mouthful that way, huh?”
Mydeimos- Mydei, blushed as you repeated his name to him, his shoulders slumping a bit more as he smiled, nodding loosely. You turned, the girls waving to the blond as they sang out in unison. “Bye-bye De!”
He waved back, and the girls giggled once more, eager to get out of the building and back home. His hand hung in the air as he watched the four of you leave. Phainon came out from where he was hiding, leaning onto Mydei’s shoulder and grinning.
“Your mother chose your name when you were born, huh? Never would’ve guessed.”
Mydei stood still, hand falling to his side as he glared at the white haired man. “Shut up.”
He laughed in response, slapping the blond’s shoulder. “I’ve never seen you act like that before! Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love at first sight or something?”
Mydei stiffened, turning away and folding his arms over his chest. His cheeks matching the pink of his apron. Phainon paused, his grin somehow growing more as he poked at Mydei’s cheek.
“Oh my titans, you are.” He let out a loud laugh. “Wait til I tell Cipher! Oh, she’s going to love this-”
“HKS, don’t you dare.” He snapped his head back to the white haired man, face still pink, expression now embarrassed and angered. Phainon took a step back, turning on his heel towards the staff area.
“Oh, Cipher~! I have wonderful news to share!” He began to run, giggling the whole way.
“Get back here-!” Mydei called, finally finding the strength in his bones as he stumbled for a moment before running after the laughing man.
