Ajax was certain he wasn't paid enough for this. He could handle many things—being scammed on Ticketmaster, MCR's breakup, dealing with P!ATD apologists—but he couldn't tolerate the sticky hands of children. Robin loved tugging at his cargo pants and sticking his little hands into Ajax's pockets. Amelia once found his vape in his locker and tried to take a puff. There was also the time he gave a lactose-intolerant kid ice cream to quiet them after a cranky nap.

Sure, Ajax wasn't a model citizen, but he didn't think he was a bad person. Working at 'Sunshine Smiles Daycare' wasn't his biggest achievement, but he needed the money, and it paid minimum wage, so he was content...ish.

A tired sigh escaped his lips as he spoke with the carer of a new child who had been dropped off. "What's their name again?" he asked, poking the crown of the child's head as they hugged his leg with a vice grip. "Don't stand on my platforms, kid; I just got them."

It was a pain to be considered the 'cool' one at work. While he tried to avoid the children as much as he could—hiding in the break room to play on his phone or bully incels on Omegle—the children adored him. They liked his style: the dark colours he wore, accented with bright red or hot pink. They liked his bluntness, which they often mistook for teasing.

"They're going to be a delight, I'm sure," he said slowly through clenched teeth.