Work Text:
Ever since the aftermath of the tower's demise, everyone involved seemed to recover and live freely... well, expect for Peppino of course. Being the main target of bringing down the tower, it obviously would leave lasting impacts on this man, and oh boy did it!
It also certainly didn't help that almost everyone from the tower were consistent visitors to the Italian now. God, some even moved in with him after Peppino recruited everyone.
His typical anxious aura had heightened to a concerning level. His constant nervous fidgeting fought with his ability to make his pizzas. Constant migraines would be a normal routine; taking as much Advil as possible, so much at this point Peppino was afraid of accidentally overdosing on them. Dissociation was a heavy factor that latched onto him, constant images of the tower's rooms lingering in his head.
He knew this wasn't healthy; he needed to fix this as soon as possible. It was already affecting his performance at work and skyrocketed his debt paranoia. He just needed some time to relax.. so that's what he decided to do. In his mind, he felt like he needed a well-deserved break after everything that occured; and if he didn't go through with it, he felt like the stress was going to eat him from the inside out.
***
Peppino sleepily pawed at his bedsheets, snuggling his face into the pillows. He knew the routine already; get up, get dressed, go to work. But today, he desperately wanted to stay in the safety of his bed. His head started to ache with the oncoming anxieties creeping up.
He whimpered, softly clutching at his head. He couldn't deal with this today.
He reluctantly pulled himself up and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. His eyes were still blurry from the morning grogginess; added along with the tiny tears from his headache. He swiped into his contacts and tapped onto Gustavo; he could rely anything on that man at this point.
As the phone buzzed waiting for the other to answer, Peppino absentmindedly relaxed his muscles, snuggling into the sheets more. He put the phone on speaker as his hazy vision watched the screen intently. His heart started to race when the buzzing stopped,
"Hey, Peppino! Calling me real early in the morning, huh? Hehehe!" Gustavo chimed. Peppino could just hear the smile on the other man's face; it made his chest fuzzy. "...But, really, I don't mind, bud. What's going on?" He continued. Peppino clenched his hand around his phone nervously as he softly spoke up.
"H-Hey Gus.. listen," the Italian murmured, "If you don't-a mind.. can you-a run the pizzeria for-a today? I'm not-a feeling all that-a well."
The few seconds it took for Gustavo to respond felt agonizing to the other, even if it was just 3 seconds. Peppino never at this point let himself have a break; it was always work to get it over and done with. But after everything, he was too mentally exhausted to even get up from his bed. He told himself he needed this, but his paranoia kept berating him otherwise.
"Oh course, Pep! Brick and I were actually getting ready to go there, ha! Don't worry, we'll keep it nice and safe for you, alright?"
Peppino hummed
"We can even come over and check up on you afterwards if you want!"
Peppino's brain nearly went on autopilot, his head and chest becoming far too fuzzy to come back from, "Please... wan' you-a here.." his speech slurred as he nuzzled his face into the blankets, not even realizing what he just said.
Gustavo gasped playfully, "Don't worry, bud! We'll be so speedy, you won't even see us coming!" Gustavo imitated his speed by making a nyooom noise, which made Peppino chuckle. Even though the laugh was muffled by the blankets, Gustavo could still hear it; it made him so happy to hear the Italian's laugh.
"Okey-dokey then! Get well soon, Pep!"
Peppino left out a soft bye as he ended their call. Peppino's brain, slowly regressing as of now, was way too excited to relax now; his mind was still stuck on the possibility of Gustavo visiting him. Peppino involuntarily kicked his feet giddily, shifting the soft blanket that covered him.
***
As the Italian was fast asleep, his thumb trapped between his lips, his phone went off again, startling him awake. The thoughts of Gustavo had sent the man so far down littlespace, that his ability to read the words on screen had diminished. He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. The blaring noises emitting from the device made Peppino whine, pressing his hand on his ear, the other pressed against his mattress already. He used his free hand to random press the screen in an attempt to make the sound stop. After what felt like an eternity to the Italian, he succeeded.
Peppino hesitantly opened his eyes to see what he expected to be his lock screen... Except it was a video call, and he had answered it. His nerves shot up almost on instinct as he saw his sleepy face in view of the camera. His hair, what was left of it, was unkempt, he had noticeable eye bags, and he sported a stained tank top. Since he couldn't decipher any words on the phone screen to hide his camera, he hid his face in a pillow instead, tearing up.
He fully expected to see someone like the Noise, already getting ready to throw some backhanded remark on how pathetic he looked. Or Mr. Stick getting ready to go on and on about taxes and adult work that Peppino's little brain couldn't understand. All these anxious thoughts broke the man, sobbing softly into his pillow, too far gone to remember he was on view of a call right now.
As he waited to hear the loud voices emit from the phone, he was surprised to hear nothing of the sort. All he could hear was a sniffing animal. Peppino reluctantly looked up at the phone screen, his face flushed pink with tears streaming down his face. His tensed up body seemed to calm down instantly when he saw Brick on the screen. Well, his vision was blurry from crying, but he could still tell it was them.
Brick's companion had told him to call the Italian to check up on him, since Peppino was far too little to take care of himself properly and or text.
Brick noticed Peppino's shaken aura and gently waved to the man, squeaking softly. Peppino sniffed, wiping his face against the slightly damp pillow before speaking, "Sowi.. taught you were bad person" he mumbled, feeling embarrassed about his speech. Brick squeaked in understanding, waving his grubby hand dismissively. Brick imitated to pat the Italian's head by patting the top of the camera, make a small smile creep up on Peppino's face.
The sweet moment was interrupted with the sound of metal equipment clanking together, making the little remember his gnome friend.
"Whewe Gus? Is dat him?" Peppino mumbled to the animal, sniffing absentmindedly. Brick perked up and nodded happily in response. The rat moved the phone's camera towards Gustavo, showing him putting plates and silverware back in their correct locations. Peppino's voice perked up on instant,
"Papa, papa!" The little exclaimed as he smiled giddily. Gustavo looked back at the device and smiled sweetly, "Hey! How's my lil bambino doing?" He asked as he walked closer to the phone, holding it so both him and Brick were in the shot. Peppino shaked his hand happily in response, making happy baby babbles. Gustavo had noticed the tear marks on the others face, but decided to ask about it later; he didn't wanna sour the little's happiness right now.
"We're getting ready to come over now, bud! We made your restaurant all squeaky clean for ya!" Gustavo said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder to signify the kitchen behind him. Peppino's eyes widened as he slowly realized, "I swept for dat long?.." he mumbled, softly biting on his finger. He had never slept through the whole day, especially on a work day! The thought alone made him anxious.
"Yeah, seems like it! But don't worry, bambino, sleep is a good thing! Besides, you need lots of it after bringing down the tower. You did such a good job with that, buddy!"
Peppino stopped chewing on his finger, processing what the other man has said. The praise additioned with the nickname eventually made lil Peppino giggle, flapping his hands excitedly. Brick squeaked, wagging his pink tail in response. Gus and Brick thought Peppino was so precious like this; the fact he trusts them enough to see him like this was so validating. And besides, the tower situations was hella stressful; he needed some way to relax, and this was one of the best, and healthiest, coping mechanisms for him.