That’s Not How Daycare Works
Written for @dinlukenation‘s Dinluke Week
Dinluke Week - Day 4: Luke Runs a Daycare, Din Runs an Auto Repair Shop Across the Street
Summary: Din is a mechanic who works across the street from a daycare. He suddenly finds himself with a kid to take care of. These two facts do not interconnect to him in any way and it drives Luke crazy.
OR
5 times Luke tried to teach Din what daycare is for and 1 time Din gets it. Sort of.
There are two kinds of small towns. There are the nice ones where life is slow and everyone is in everyone else’s business all the time. No one is surprised by much and life is simple and quaint, for better or worse.
Then there are other small towns nestled into the inhospitable crags of the world where some lunatic once decided it was a good idea to plant a flag and settle a town and everyone has been paying the price ever since. These small towns are built on people relying on each other, and everyone has a network of favors that they owe and are owed. The tightrope walk of life is dotted with sudden jostles when that tally changes for any of the handful of residents. The people who live in these towns know how to lean into the sharp turns of life to avoid toppling over.
So it’s not surprising to Luke when one of the moms stops by the daycare one hot morning with her son and another kid who’s definitely not hers. It’s not the first time someone has had a relative or friend dump their kid off and it then becomes Luke’s problem for the day. Another part of small-town life was a lot less emphasis on paperwork.
“And who’s this little stranger?” he asks, coming over to crouch down low so he’s down on the toddler’s level. The kid is wearing brown corduroy overalls and some kind of knit hat that looks like someone in his life is an amateur crafter. It’s hard to say if those ears are supposed to be elf ears or bat ears or... maybe goblin ears since they’re green? They’re big and floppy and they hang off his head, almost touching his shoulders. It’s more than a little adorable.
The kid stares at him with those typical giant toddler eyes and tilts his head. Luke smiles, amused, and offers a wave. The child waves back at him. Friendly enough, not withdrawn or trying to hide behind Mrs. Frahg.
“He belongs to the mechanic. I don’t really understand the situation, but he said he needed someone to watch him,” Mrs. Frahg says, sounding just as befuddled. Neither Mrs. Frahg nor the local mechanic are big talkers, Mrs. Frahg because of her thick Irish accent and Din because... he’s Din. So Luke can 100% believe that Din showed up with a toddler and asked Mrs. Frahg to look after him and now here they are. Being the only mechanic in a hot little desert town that AAA doesn’t even put on their maps, everyone owes Din favors.
“Well, that’s... new.” Because Din doesn’t have a wife. Or girlfriend. Or any family. This is not Luke being nosy, it’s just a small-town thing. He definitely doesn’t pay more attention to Din’s comings and goings than anyone else’s. Definitely. “What’s his name?”
Mrs. Frahg shrugs. “He didn’t say.”
Luke is... disappointed but not surprised. That sounds like Din.
“Hey there. I’m Luke,” he says, offering a hand to the kid, which toddlers usually get a kick out of if they’ve seen their parents shake people’s hands before. The kid just looks at it, then at Luke.
“He doesn’t seem to say much,” Mrs. Frahg adds when the silence gets too long. “I’m not sure he talks.”
“Well, we’ll make do.” Luke smiles at the kid once more before he stands up and finishes a few more pleasantries. Then Mrs. Frahg heads back out into the bright morning outside and leaves him with her son and Din’s... little friend.
Read the whole thing on AO3
