Work Text:
To be fair, nobody knows how it all really began.
Casual conversations lasting hours suddenly turned into brief moments of snippy comments and snarky remarks. Smooth teamwork turned into a match of verbal pushing and shoving.
Brick had seen it all.
She didn’t like seeing Gustavo and Peppino fight; in fact, this was the first time she had ever witnessed them fighting. Aside from minor squabbles or disagreements, the two always got along. But this wasn’t any of that. The more the two of them worked together, the faster their friendship dwindled.
A typical day at Peppino’s pizza would involve some customers placing orders; Gustavo would write them down and hand them to Peppino. If the orders were big enough, he would help.
Peppino would finish the order, and the process would repeat until they closed.
But things suddenly soured just about a week ago. Brick was asleep in the break room when she heard Peppino shouting.
“You’re wrong, Gus! Just leave things as they usually are!” Peppino shouts, his voice filled with annoyance. Brick couldn’t see him, but she could imagine his eye was twitching. An unfortunate behavior Peppino does when he’s upset.
“But I’m not! The customers have been ordering a lot of sausage this week. We should stock up on some extra in case we run out.” Gustavo calls back. He wasn’t exactly yelling yet, but he was close to it. Brick knows Gustavo isn’t the arguing or the angry type, if anything, he’s the opposite of Peppino. Calm-minded, nicely mannered, polite, and quiet.
Sounds like a dig at Peppino, but… he has his nice traits too. Brick just… hasn’t seen many yet.
“Look, I’ve been in this business longer than you have, Gus! I know the customer way better than you! It’s just a phase, why waste the money? By next week, everyone will be ordering broccoli!” Peppino says loudly. His voice really rings through the whole pizzeria.
“Hmph. You know, maybe you don’t know your customers as well as you think you do?” Gustavo retorts. It was unexpected. Usually the conversation would have dropped by now.
Brick scampered over to where the two men were arguing. She peeked in through the doorway, not wanting to be spotted. Which was hard, considering she was a giant rat.
Just as Brick imagined it, Peppino looked grumpy and pissed. “What the hell is with the back talk?!” He shouts back, wagging his finger at Gustavo.
Gustavo doesn’t flinch, he stands his ground. “I’m just saying, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to listen to me every so often! Perhaps it would bring in some good business!?” Gustavo shouts back, his voice rising to be just as loud as Peppino’s. An odd and unnatural sight.
A deep shade of red flushes over Peppino’s face, his eyes dilating with anger. “WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!” Peppino screams. His mouth opens so wide the Brick can see at least three cavities inside his mouth. Gross.
Gustavo doesn’t respond, instead he just shrugs and goes back to what he was doing, cleaning the counter.
Peppino stares him down for a moment before marching back to the kitchen.
Brick sees him heading towards her way, so she bolts back to the break room.
She snuggles on the couch, thinking to herself. She hoped this would blow over soon, she doesn’t like seeing Gustavo upset or angry.
Oh, yeah, and Peppino too.
That’s what she hoped for, but a week later things still haven’t changed for the better.
“You call this cursive? Looks like chicken scratch! Medium pepperoni pie? Barely looks anything like it..” Peppino huffs as he takes an order from Gustavo.
“I’m surprised you even read the order thoroughly. Getting tired of customers coming back and complaining about incorrect orders?” Gustavo snaps back.
He wasn’t exactly wrong. More customers than usual have been coming back saying that their order was wrong in some way. Pies were too small, some pizzas were missing cheese, or just wrong toppings.
Peppino gave him a nasty glare. “Maybe if you didn’t chat with all the customers, you would actually write it down correctly!” Peppino hissed as he began to work on the order.
Brick watched idly. She’s not allowed in the front near the customers, heaven forbid if a health inspector saw her. They’d probably nuke the building.
The two bickered back and forth, blaming each other for the restaurant's recent shortcomings. But Brick had had enough, she didn’t want them to fight anymore. She had to intervene and help.
Some odd hours later, Brick looked at the clock. It was time for the dinner rush, for every other restaurant in town. Which means the pizzeria would be empty for some time.
Peppino was on break, and Gustavo was tending to some things in the back freezer.
Brick scanned the main area of the pizzeria. The floors were a bit dirty, something Gustavo takes care of when he has free time.
Quick on her little feets, Brick rolled herself around on the floor, picking up the dust and dirt in the process. She swiped at some dirt with her tail in some hard to reach areas. Brick took herself out back and shook the dirt off. The floors were clean! Peppino would surely appreciate a clean restaurant, right?
“GUSTAVO!” Peppino screamed in agitation.
…Right…?
Gustavo ran from the freezer and over to Peppino. “What’s wrong?” He asks, seemingly a bit worried by the sudden call for him.
Peppino gestures to the floor. “Look at what that stupid rat has done! She knows she’s not supposed to be in here, and look! Her hairs are EVERYWHERE!” Peppino yelled.
Brick snuck a peek at the floor. She didn’t even realize she was shedding as she wiped the floors with her body..
Oops…
“She didn’t mean any harm, and don’t call her stupid!” Gustavo says as he grabs a broom and dustpan. “I’ll take care of it.” He says.
Peppino groans. “Fine. You were supposed to sweep anyways..” He sighs as he walks away.
Brick scurries back to the break room. Her plan didn’t work, completely backfired, even..
But she wasn’t going to give up yet! She is a determined little rat, who is going to fix these two Italian men!
Closing time. The most quiet part of the day, usually.
A bitter silence fell over the pizzeria. Gustavo and Peppino haven’t shared a word since the shedding incident earlier.
Gustavo washed the dishes while Peppino sat in his office counting up the earnings from today. Which doesn’t usually take him long.
Brick pretended she was asleep in a box behind Gustavo.
He pulled off his rubber gloves and set them down. “I’m just going to the restroom, Brick. I’ll be right back!” Gustavo said as he hopped down from his little stool and went off.
Showtime.
In the break room, Peppino keeps his little radio in there. Every so often, he’ll tune it to this one station Gustavo is quite fond of. One of yodeling.
She snuck the radio out and placed it on the top shelf of the sink, away from all the water. Quickly, she tunes it to Gustavo’s favorite station, and heads back to her box to continue her little facade.
Gustavo returns shortly. The first thing he notices is the radio. He looks at it, a bit confused. How did it get here? Did Peppino put it here?
He hops on his little stool and reaches for the radio. He’s a bit too short to grab it, just a little further…
Brick opens one eye to see Gustavo desperately reaching for the old little radio. Just as she’s about to pop up and help, Gustavo accidentally swipes the radio and knocks it in the sink.
“Oh no!” Gustavo cries out as he fishes for it.
Peppino overhears the commotion and comes over. “What’s going on?!” He calls out.
Gustavo gives him a glare. “Why did you put your radio somewhere I can’t reach it?!” He almost growls.
For a moment, Brick could’ve sworn she saw a look of fear flash over Peppino’s face before it turned to anger. “What the hell are you talking about?!” He yells.
Gustavo finally found the radio in the murky water. The sounds that come from it are distorted and gurgled, and it’s covered in bubbles and old food.
Peppeino’s face pales as he sees this. “MY RADIO!” He cries out as he takes it from Gustavo. He almost holds it like a small child. “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!” Peppino yells in Gustavo’s face.
Gustavo, who seems like he’s finally at the end of his rope, grits his teeth. “Me?! You’re the one who put it there! I was trying to get it down, but I couldn’t reach! It was an accident!” Gustavo very harshly explains.
Peppino rolls his eyes as he takes out a towel and desperately tries to save his radio. “You’re lying! Why the fuck would I just randomly put my radio up there?” Peppino shouts, his hands in tightly knotted fists. His knuckles white. He would never hit or hurt Gustavo, but he is prone to destructive tendencies when he’s pushed far enough.
Peppino’s crazy eyes slowly followed over to where Brick was. “YOU.” He growled deeply. It was enough to make the hairs on Brick’s body stand up straight.
“You stupid rat! You’ve been causing me trouble ALL DAMN DAY! I should’ve just let you die in that TOWER!” Peppino shouts as he gets closer and closer to her.
For a moment, she’s worried that she’ll have to run or defend herself. But Gustavo steps in. He tightly grips Peppino’s shoulder, slightly pulling him back.
“Enough is enough, Peppino.” Gustavo says.
“What are you talking about?!” Peppino yells.
“I’m leaving.” Gustavo says. He takes off his apron and hands it to Peppino. A small gesture of his hands tells Brick to come with him.
“You.. What?!” Peppino yelps.
“I can’t do this anymore, Peppino… We just… something changed.” Gustavo sighs as he makes his way to the front doors.
Peppino stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. His anger briefly replaced by shock. He runs after him.
“So that’s it, huh?! Twenty years of friendship, just over?!” Peppino yells. He stops himself behind the counter, gripping it tightly.
“I think you’ve changed, Pep.” Gustavo sighs. His back is turned to Peppino, unable to see his expression. Brick looks at him for a moment, his eyes look sunken. In fact, his whole demeanor seems hollow.
“Me..? You’re the one who changed!” Peppino snaps back, slamming Gustavo’s apron on the counter with great force. The sound makes Brick jump.
Gustavo doesn’t respond, he just leaves out the front door.
Brick is still behind him, but she hasn’t left restaurant yet. She keeps looking at Peppino.
Peppino grits his teeth, sucking in air as he grips his head with great force. He slams his arms down again. “FINE! Go, and don’t come back!!” Peppino screams at the top of his lungs. He keeps breathing heavily, repeating the same thing over and over.
“Don’t come back!! Don’t you dare ever come back!!” Peppino screams.
Gustavo can’t hear him anymore.
The screams died down. Peppino loosens a bit.
“Don’t…Don’t you… Don’t…… Please don’t….Come back, Gus…” Peppino gasps breathlessly. His head in his hands as his body gives out. He places his head on the counter, covering it with his arms.
He did care.
Brick scurries out the door. She chases quickly after Gustavo, who managed to walk a bit ahead of her. She bumps her head against his shoulder.
Gustavo looks at her wearily. “Hey, Brick. It’s going to be okay…” He says as he gives Brick some gentle head pats, her favorite. She can tell he’s close to breaking.
Neither of them wanted this outcome…
And neither does she!!
Brick swiftly bites the back of Gustavo’s shirt, pulling him up, and making a mad dash back to Peppino’s Pizza. Gustavo calls out a few protests, but Brick ignores them.
She dashes through the front door, Gustavo still in her grasp. The bell at the door rings so suddenly and loudly, Peppino pops back up from where his head was resting. He looks quite disheveled, and seems like he was crying quite a bit.
Brick drops Gustavo, and nudges him towards Peppino.
Once Gustavo gains a sense of where he is and what’s going on, he immediately looks at the shambles and heartbreak Peppino seems to be going through.
“Oh, Pep…” Gustavo says softly.
Peppino looks him over, not wanting to say anything.
“What on earth have we been doing?” Gustavo asks quietly to himself.
Peppino sniffles a bit, trying to pretend as if he wasn’t crying. “I, uh… have no idea..” He says quietly.
The two sit in silence for a moment.
“I’m so sorry, Peppino.” Gustavo says.
Peppino quickly looks at him, not expecting him to apologize.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, I’m not even sure how I did…” Gustavo says. His voice is wavering a bit. He’s always the collected one. The cool-headed one.
Even if Peppino has been fighting with him for the week, he can’t stand to see him cry.
“Gus, no no no! I’m sorry, I hate seeing you so upset, amico.” Peppino tries to comfort.
Gustavo takes a moment to rub his eyes. “What started all this anyways?” He asks.
Peppino thinks about it for a second before sighing. “I think it’s because I've been feeling more overwhelmed lately. Work has been stressing me out, the fallout of the tower, Pizzahead. Then, I see you, just casually chatting with customers, like normal. Like nothing even happened.” Peppino says. It's hard for him to admit it. He really doesn’t like talking about his emotions like this.
“It makes me feel jealous. That you could walk away from a horrible situation and still have that lovely smile on your face.” Peppino says.
Gustavo places his hand over Peppino’s and gives it a soft squeeze. “Peppino. What I went through in the tower, is nothing compared to what you had to experience. I helped guide you out, and stuck around to help a few times. But you got the brunt of it. I probably should have told you that sooner..” Gustavo explains. His eyes locked with Peppino’s. They both look so tired.
He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “But, I’ve been a bit stressed too, Peppino.” Gustavo says.
That was a shock to hear, to both Peppino and Brick.
“I’ve been working with you for about the last ten years. Sometimes, I just wished you listened to me a bit more. When I suggest something for the restaurant, you usually just ignore it. I’ll admit that I may not come up with the best ideas all the time, but do you think you could humor me every so often?” Gustavo asks sheepishly.
Peppino’s face softens. “Oh, Gus. I didn’t realize that I was doing that..” He sighs. Peppino was a stubborn man, and a bit difficult to work with. Having Gustavo with him for ten years was more than a blessing. He really needed to loosen up more.
The two look at each other for a moment.
“I’m so sorry, Gus..” Peppino chokes.
“I’m sorry too, Peppino.” Gustavo replies.
The two embrace each other in a firm hug. A few sniffles and sobs leave the two of them as they do.
Brick carefully approaches the two of them, watching on.
“Would you want to come upstairs for some tea, Gustavo? Like old times?” Peppino asks.
Gustavo perks up. “Oh, sounds delightful!” He chuckles.
The three of them head to the second floor of the restaurant, which served as Peppino’s apartment.
Late in the night, Peppino and Gustavo sit next to each other on the couch while the little box television in the corner plays late night TV shows.
Gustavo fell asleep some time ago, tired and worn out from all the emotional outbursts from today.
Brick laid on the ground, watching both the TV and the two men. She was so glad they didn’t go their separate ways.
Peppino mindlessly watches his TV, when he catches Brick staring at him. He looks away for a moment before standing up.
He opens the fridge and pulls out a small wedge of cheese, placing it in front of Brick.
Brick sniffs the cheese in delight! Treats!
As she sniffs the cheese, Peppino lightly scratches at her head. “I owe you an apology too, Brick. You’re a good rat.” Peppino says as he pets her.
Brick nibbles on the cheese, happy to know that Peppino isn’t as bad as she thought he was.