Chapter Text
Tango was always early to arrive for his shift. Sometimes he’d get to the restaurant an hour before he was called, and he always did so eagerly. Windermere’s Divine Dining wasn’t just a job to him, after all.
Typically, waiting tables at a restaurant meant working for tips. Where Tango lived, it wasn’t common for waiters and busboys to make a comfortable, livable wage. Yet in nicer restaurants, there were opportunities for the occupation to mean an actual salary, and not how much they made per day fall into the hands of whatever mood the customers were in.
It probably helped that the restaurant was owned by someone dear to him. Calling Skizz his friend was a gross understatement. He loved him more than he loved any other friend he had. It was a platonic love that was as passionate as any romantic relationship could be. Skizz wasn’t just any angel, he was Tango’s angel. The blaze hybrid couldn’t help but smile every time he was gifted an opportunity to bask in his bright aura.
Windermere was a higher-end restaurant that only served dinner, which Tango knew was hard to guess if the average passer-by just saw Skizz alone.
Sure enough, when he entered the kitchen that late afternoon, there was the restaurant’s owner and head chef. His scruffy beard framed his big, bright smile. While the other angels who were employed chefs in his kitchen wore chef’s whites with their sleeves perfectly cuffed up past the elbow, Skizz had on one of his - many - white uniforms with the sleeves crudely ripped off. His large arms always drew Tango in, like a magnet to a fridge.
“Tango Top! Hey buddy!” Skizz exclaimed the moment he saw him. He quickly invaded Tango’s personal space - which to be fair, Tango would argue that the angel owned by that point - and trapped him in the hug he was already hoping for.
Laughing, he happily reciprocated. “You were getting food prepped and now you’re hugging me,” he light-heartedly scolded.
A kiss was pressed to his golden hair. “Worth it for you!” He proudly countered. When the blaze pulled away, Skizz kept him at arm's length, his hands moving to his shoulders. “Right! Don’t forget; the new hire will be here today and he’s shadowing you for a few weeks.”
“Right! Who is he again?” When Skizz began to move over to the sink, Tango joined him. He adorned a white apron and a spare hair net so he could help prep.
“His name is Jimmy and he’s a cod hybrid. His brother vouched for him and I think it’s safe to trust Grian’s judgment.”
Tango raised an eyebrow. “You trust Grian that much?” He teased.
Skizz chuckled. “I think you’ll like him, actually!”
The pair finally moved over to where the other angels were preparing food. “Hey, Tango!” BigB greeted when he looked up from his station. “Always good to see you!” The angel winked at him and Tango chuckled. BigB’s eyes shifted to Skizz and Tango got to work knowing the two were smiling wider just from remembering they could look at each other.
-
Before he knew it, an hour had passed. Skizz suggested he’d get ready and wait outside the kitchen door that led to the alley since that was where he told the new hire to go.
Tango switched from his casual, oversized red shirt and baggy jeans to his white button-up, black slacks, black vest, and dark red tie with small gold details. He slipped on his nice black shoes and combed back his hair.
Stepping outside, Tango stood near the edge of the alleyway. Admittedly, he was a little nervous to be the one to train a new hire. Although he was arguably the best choice - and he was aware of that - he wasn’t confident in his abilities to teach someone else the job he had grown to understand over the past two and a half years.
A few minutes earlier than Skizz estimated, some appeared around the corner.
The first thing Tango noticed about him was his hair. Long, straight blond hair that reached just above his waist, with a few pieces on both sides resting over the front of his shoulders. Any hair above his finned ears was pulled back and hidden away from him where Tango couldn’t see. The blaze’s gaze dropped to his eyes. His brows were fixed into worry, but his brown eyes were practically shining. Like his brother, he had gills on the sides of his neck, which were exposed thanks to the low scoop of his white baseball shirt with blue sleeves. He had a brown cinch bag over one shoulder and he was fiddling with a strap between two fingers. Although he was taller than Tango, he was hunched in on himself enough to nearly convince him that they were the same height.
Tango’s smile grew as he took a step towards him and extended a hand. “You’re Jimmy, right? It’s nice to meet you!” He brightly greeted.
A lopsided smile curled across his lips as the cod hybrid gingerly accepted his hand. “Ah, yes. It’s nice to meet you too.”
“I’m Tango,” he elaborated when he let go. “Skizz has tasked me with training you, which means you’ll be following me around for a few weeks until you’re able to get by on your own!” Jimmy nodded along to his words.
“Well, I’m excited to learn! Where do we start?”
He led him back over to the door and held it open, gesturing for Jimmy to step inside. “First, we need to get you dressed in your uniform!”
Tango brought him back to the room he was just in. Skizz liked to call it the dressing room, but Tango always argued it was quite literally a locker room. Every employee had a tall locker with two hangers inside, a cubby for shoes up above, and plenty of space for a bag. On each door was space for a nametag to slide in.
“Yours is… here! Just about across from mine!” Jimmy had brought his own combination lock, which Skizz instructed every new employee to do on their first day. His work uniform was already prepared for him so all that was left was for him to change. With a moment to see the back of him, Tango was able to see the part of his hair tied back was put together in a small braid. “I’ll be outside when you’re ready!”
-
When Jimmy stepped out in an outfit matching Tango’s but with a plain gray tie, he beamed at the cod hybrid. “You look great!” He exclaimed, clapping his hands together.
“Thanks. Um, I know this came with the uniform, but am I allowed to bring in my own tie? Like you, right?” Jimmy asked, pinching the aforementioned accessory like he had with the strap on his bag.
He nodded. “Of course you can! It’s preferred if it’s something more formal, but fun patterns are okay for holidays and such. Like on the first official day of spring, we all wore something that had a floral or animal theme to it! Now, follow me to the front. We’ve got an hour until we open so I’ll be hitting you with a lot of information,” he rambled as he led Jimmy down the hallway.
When they got to the hostess stand by the front door, he pulled out a small bucket of notepads and a single menu. “It doesn’t matter which you take, but for now you really won’t need one unless you want to take any notes. After we close, take a menu home with you. The sooner you memorize it, the better. For the first week, just watch what I do and stick close to me. We always open at 5:25 PM on the dot and close right at 9:30. Our last seating is at 8:47 because Skizz never wants even the last patrons to feel rushed.”
Tango closed his mouth and pursed his lips. Jimmy had been nodding along, but his eyes had a subtle but frantic movement to him.
He took a deep breath.
“I’ll slow down,” he calmly offered. “Let me know if I go too fast again, alright?”
Jimmy blinked a few times. “Oh! No, it’s okay! I can keep up, promise!” He insisted. He had taken one of the small spiral notepads and was firmly holding it in one hand.
His smile grew. Tango had gotten a glimpse of Jimmy's sharp teeth. “Well, let me know whenever you have a question. I’m here to help you, after all.” Jimmy nodded again. “Anyways, where was I? Oh! Customers, yes! Nowadays we mainly get reservations but we do have room for walk-ins from time to time. You and I are waiters, not hosts so we don’t have to worry about setting those up.”
He decided the best thing to do next would be to show what tables he waited on so that when the time came for opening, Jimmy wouldn’t be too confused as to where they were walking. Tango kept throwing out information and he kept stopping to check that Jimmy wasn’t too overwhelmed.
“I mean, it is a lot, but I think I understand.” The new hire assured him.
Once they were about fifteen minutes before opening, Skizz had the audacity to step out. “Hey, Jimmy! What d’you think so far?” The two of them were sitting at one of Tango’s tables, but once they saw the head chef they both stood up.
“You should be in the kitchen right now,” Tango interjected, crossing his arms.
“Geez, strict much?” His partner teased. “I hope Tango is going easy on ya, Jimmy!”
The other nodded. “He’s giving me a lot of good information! I’m a bit nervous to get started but I think I’ll get there,” he explained.
Skizz grinned. “That’s what we like to hear! I’ll see you two during your break then!”
Tango rolled his eyes and shook his head, but he was smiling nonetheless. He looked at Jimmy and his smile grew.
-
Lucky for Tango, his first table had arguably his favorite regulars. Windermere saw a lot of regulars and many were old friends of Tango and Skizz. He quietly shared such information with Jimmy before they approached the table.
“Good evening, gentlemen! My name’s Tango and I’ll be waiting on you tonight! My friend here is Jimmy! Can I get you two started with something to drink?” He spouted off as he poured two glasses of stilled ice water.
“Every time, always the formal greeting,” Impulse teased. “Nice to see you, Jimmy! Are you the new hire Skizz told us about?”
The cod nodded. “Today’s my first day. Very nice to see you two again!”
Tango’s mouth opened. “Wait, you guys know each other?” Bdubs happily nodded.
“Well, Grian and I were roommates back in the day, so yeah I know him! So when I started dating Impulse it was only time before they met too,” he explained.
Somehow, his grin managed to stretch from ear to ear. “Our world sure is cozy! Now, what can I get you guys started on?”
As always, Impulse picked up the menu and flipped through the pages before closing it and putting it back down. “Honestly, what I usually do. Whatever special of the day Skizz thinks I’ll like the most,” he admitted.
“And you know it’s the same for me,” Bdubs added.
Tango took away their menus and dipped his head. “I’ll be sure to let the chef know.” He parted with a warm smile with Jimmy trailing behind him.