Chapter Text
Michael never ended up coming back to this conversation.
Turns out he was way too busy trying to simultaneously avoid the customers and watch Jeremy. But not in a weird or creepy way! He was just really fascinated by his coworker.
The coworker who always had a smile on their face. Coworker who always listened to Queen music and would sometimes get too carried away with performing the songs, using a mop as a microphone. Coworker who seemed to have a snack in their pocket at all times and who ate something like candy or a candy bar approximately every two or three hours. Coworker who always had something to talk about. And it wasn’t an exaggeration, oh no. Jeremy’s mouth was only sealed shut when he was eating. And even then complete silence was merely an option..
Mike was left puzzled every time he started thinking about Fitzgerald’s behavior and analyzing it. Maybe he shouldn’t do that. Are you supposed to analyze people’s behavior? Is it weird? Was Michael weird? Honestly, the answer is probably “yes”. Could you really blame him though? It’s not like he had a lot of experience in having healthy relationships with people. Or any relationships in that matter.
It was either him being abused, him being the abuser or not having anyone at all. The healthiest he’s ever been to anyone is that stray cat he feeds sometimes. That’s… Not very good when you think about it. Mike hated thinking about it. He hated thinking about his past and how he used to be.
He used to be just like William.
The person he hates more than anyone else in this world.
That’s depressing.
While Michael was distracted, he didn’t even notice Jeremy looking at him. Kinda ironic considering how focused on them he was like two minutes ago.
The blonde was leaning against the counter with a grin on their face, looking at the boy who seemed too lost in his own thoughts to notice.
"You okay there Fritz?" They finally asked. "You've been staring into nothingness for a good while now."
"Hm?" Mike hummed and looked over after a moment of silence. He just started getting back to his senses and was caught a bit off guard by realizing that Jeremy is standing so close to him. "Oh yeah I'm- good. I've just been thinking about something."
"Psh, yeah I noticed that much. But I'm gonna need you to focus for the last hour, alright? There's still kids running around and they probably won't leave until we have to kick them out when it's time to close the place."
"Yeah, yeah right… Sorry." Mike cleared his throat and looked around nervously before quickly walking off to the main stage, not giving Jeremy a chance to say 'It's alright' or anything. He felt embarrassed by being caught not paying attention but also scared, thinking he'll surely get scolded for that. He had a habit of rushing to work when he was caught doing "nothing".
Jeremy on the other hand felt bad because it wasn't his intention to make their coworker upset or embarrassed. They just wanted to start a conversation but that clearly didn't go according to plan.
The restaurant was supposed to be closing soon with only a few customers left finishing their meals, paying or already putting their clothes on to leave.
Once everyone was out, Michael and Jeremy met in the staff room to pick their stuff and get ready to leave as well.
"Soooo what do you usually do after work?" The blonde asked, putting on a hoodie.
"What do you mean?" The other frowned, looking at Jeremy. He didn't frown because he was angry or irritated, not at all. This was just the expression Michael tended to default to, especially when he wasn't sure how to react to a certain situation or question. That led to… Many, many misunderstandings in the past. But thankfully this wasn't going to become one of them.
"Well, I guess I'm asking if you're free after your shifts. Cause if you are, maybe we could hang out or something. If you want to, of course."
"I don't have much to do if I'm being honest but uh- I'm not exactly a very social person." Mike admitted but decided to quickly follow up his statement with a question, intrigued with Jeremy's interest in him. "But what would we even do if I, hypothetically, agreed to hang out?"
"Uhhh I dunno, something fun. Maybe we could listen to some CDs together? That could be rad."
Michael looked away for a moment to think. Listen to CDs? Is that what people do when they hang out? Just sit and listen to music? The idea seemed so odd to him yet he was so desperate for any kind of interaction with another person that he'd be down to do anything just to get out of the house. But he couldn't agree. He didn't even know this Fitzgerald guy. Maybe some other time but not yet.
"I guess it sounds nice. I'll let you know when we can do that, alright? I'm pretty tired today already, I should probably head back home."
"Yeah, sounds good. You want me to give you a ride?" Jeremy asked as the two were walking towards the front doors.
"No." He replied quickly. Maybe too quickly. "I'm good. I'll take a walk, thanks."
Michael did not want the other to know where he lived. It just sounded like a potential threat.
His apartment was the one safe place he knew and he wasn't about to just let some random guy invade that space.
The Irish looked at their coworker a bit confused, then out the window and back at the other again. "I mean if you don't mind getting your entire wardrobe soaked, sure."
"What do you-" The brunette quickly glanced out the window and got reminded of the pouring rain. "Right." He groaned angrily. It's been raining all day but he's gotten so used to the sound of the rain hitting the roof and the pavement that he totally stopped paying attention to it.
"Car ride doesn't sound that bad now, does it?"
"Fine." He didn't like this idea one bit but walking all the way home in this weather would be a nightmare.
So they quickly ran into Jeremy's truck, Michael made sure that his face was well covered so the make-up wouldn't wash away. He's done a very good job at keeping it in tact for the past two weeks and he wasn't about to let it get all messed up now.
After getting inside, he quickly checked if he did a decent job at keeping his face dry and quietly sighed in relief when everything seemed fine.
But there was a new problem - he still really didn't want Jeremy to know where he lived. He needed an excuse to not go straight to his place and he needed it now. So when the blonde was saying something that Mike didn't catch because he was too busy thinking, he suddenly spoke, making the other stop mid-word.
"So you said we can listen to CDs together? What about today?"
"Today? Like right now?" Remy couldn't lie, that was quite a surprise, especially since just a couple minutes ago the brunette was apparently too tired to hang out today. "I mean… Sure but I thought you wanted to get some rest."
"I changed my mind. I should get out of the house more anyways. I mean- if that's not a problem. Sorry, should've asked first."
"Nah, you're good man. Just a fair warning that my place might be a bit of a mess. I didn't expect to have guests today."
"That's fine. You don't know what mess really is if you haven't seen my place." Mike chuckled quietly and leaned back against the seat. It was pretty comfortable considering that the truck itself certainly didn't look brand new.
The first steps taken inside Jeremy’s apartment were quite a surprise for Michael. He was hit by a strong smell of wet dirt followed by a hint of floral scent. The source of it soon stopped being a mystery when the deep blue eyes were met with the lush green sight of the entire living room being filled with various plants. There were a lot of plants. Smaller, bigger, standing, hanging… There were some flowers and even some herbs in small pots standing in the kitchen. It was connected to the living room so you could see inside it easily. Michael has never seen something like this before.
“I know, I know. It’s not what you expected to see, eh? I might be kind of a freak.” Jeremy smiled and tossed their bag on the floor next to the couch.
“I don’t think you’re a freak. It's just… I’ve never seen so many plants inside a house.”
Michael put his bag on the floor and took a couple careful steps around the living room. He didn’t feel confident enough to check out any other rooms. Walking around a stranger’s house would also be rude. Right? Yeah that sounds like something that could be considered rude.
“Want a drink? I’ve got a-uhhhh water? Or tea. Or coffee too! I dunno if you drink coffee at that time. I sometimes do. I dunno how healthy that is but- Yeah, want anything?” Jeremy asked from the kitchen, turning around to face Mike. What they saw was a guy standing in the middle of the room, visibly trying to keep his hands and legs together, being very careful with every move he made just so he wouldn’t accidentally touch the plants nearby, presumably in fear of damaging them.
Remy couldn’t help but smile. I mean, come on, how cute was that??? The brunette was literally just a little guy .
“Some water would be nice, thanks.” Michael watched all the flowers and leaves very closely. He never really had much to do with gardening or anything like that so he was deathly afraid of killing the greenery. The last thing he needed was messing up merely a couple minutes after stepping in this house.
“They don’t bite.”
“What?”
“The plants. They won’t eat your fingers if you touch them. As long as you don’t squish them, they’ll be fine. They grew pretty strong with my clumsy ass around.”
Michael smiled and rolled his eyes at the comment but it did give him some needed reassurance. He stood a bit more comfortably and while still careful, at least he didn’t look like two invisible walls were closing on him anymore.
In the meantime, Jeremy brought a bottle of water and two glasses. One was tall and skinny and the other was broader and a bit shorter. They obviously did not belong to the same set.
One quick look around the place and you’d notice that… Nothing really belonged together. Even the living room itself seemed like someone picked each piece of furniture from a different store and style. The shapes were off, the colors were off, the amount of pillows on each of the two middle-sized couches was off too. Nothing matched anything and yet it felt really cozy.
One could even say this was a perfect reflection of Jeremy, who he was as a person. Someone who didn’t belong anywhere and looked out of place no matter where you put them. Yet their presence made you feel comfortable, he had the ability to make the most mismatched objects work together, somehow.
And maybe it was for that or the surrounding greenery that made Michael feel way calmer than he thought he would in a new place with a completely new person. Of course, he wouldn’t allow himself to let his guard down completely but he also didn’t feel threatened . The absence of this feeling was surely a very nice change to the usual constant fight-or-flight mode the young man was in.
“Why’d you choose to have so many?”
“Plants?”
“Yeah. I mean… It’s gotta take a lot of time and effort to take care of all of them. As if working customer service wasn’t draining enough.”
Jeremy just shrugged a bit and took a sip of the water. “I dunno. I always liked being around nature and I dreamed of having a house with a beautiful garden. And well… Maybe this old apartment isn’t exactly that but it’s as close as I can get to it right now. Besides that, there aren't all that many plants I need to water daily so I don’t need to worry about that too much. As long as I water them every once in a while, they’ll be fine”
“Really? Hm. Well I suppose I don’t really know much about gardening so I didn’t even think that could be an option.” Michael nodded and leaned back on the couch he was sitting on.
Him and Jeremy were sitting on separate couches.
You know… There isn’t ever too much personal space.