Work Text:
Wait, where's the music?, I thought to myself as the shower trickled against the concrete floor.
"Shine, shine your way.", Sorry, but I had to sing the best part! Hi, my name is Grug I'm a recent transitioner changing my sex to, yes you guessed it, a female. I wanted to prove that you can be burly and strong whether or not your a female. Anyways, let's get into the story.
As I was approaching the store; I caught a glance of a handsome man sitting with another hot man, and a scrumptious burger in hand. I realized how hungry I was!
I had been so excited for my new job but, not as excited as a I was for a burger and a drink, mostly the burger though, that delicious taste and texture, imagine all the sauces oozing out as you bite into it!
Taking the first step through the door, I realized I was a little bit to buff and wide, so I walked in sideways. Wow! what a kinda embarrassing first impression on my boss.
"Hey, Welcome to your first day on the job," I shaked the handsome man's hand. I bet they could give one mean knuckle-sandwich, maybe two.
"Thanks!", I said very enthusiasticly, almost to where I felt like everyone was looking my way. "Show me the ropes and I'll work till sundown.", My tone became more tame and serious, like a lion almost.
"You okay? you're sweating pretty bad,"
"Yah, I'm Good, Just wanted to get some walking in."
"So, you walked the whole way here?"
"Yes, sir I did"
"No need to be so formal, What's your name, handsome?"
"I'm, uh...", Man, even a rock could tell I was nervous.
"Yah? spit it out now."
"Grug, sir."
"Okay, I'm Knuckles, Your boss.", After that, he scratched the back of is head, then regained his composure; and said, "Well, My title is Knuckles the Echidna."
His purple eyes entranced me as they gazed upon mine.
He lead the way, showing me how to use the cash register, I didn't think I'd being using that, but I did, eventually.
I was trying to prepare my third burger of the day, when a handsome blond person approached the counter. Probably going to order something, hopefully a plain cheeseburger. I hoped, as he stood and had a look of a lost puppy.
"Hi, What would you like?"
"Nothing, I don't mean it in a weird way, but its like my feet started walking on their own, and Before I knew it I was here, right in front of you." We stared into each others eyes, until I looked away.
"Oh, wow that's definitely weird, I believe you though." I said trying to sound reassuring, I didn't want to lose any relationship with this man.
Knuckles walks behind the counter, standing next to me; feeling as if he was 6 inches away from me, I knew it was less than that. Maybe he doesn't notice? I tried to assure myself, hoping he was just an idiot.
"Yeah, that is pretty weird; anyways, Grug-",
A adorable person,in a green shirt with a T on it, for some reason, came toward us.
"Hil! I don't want to sit by myself, I'm scared! There's so many people here."
The cute thing can speak, color me with suprise.
"As I was saying, Grug you-"
"Theo, I'm literally not even that far from our table."
"I know, but i -!", they were suprised at something. "They" because I don't know their gender.
"Hilarion, is this person in front of me very beautiful and handsome at the same time?!"
"Why is everyone hitting on me today.." I muttered to myself.
"What Grug? anyways, your off the clock, okay?"
"Okay, got it, Boss."
I took a piss break, then was washing my hands, I could see in the corner of my eye, That cute guy, Theodore I think, and Hilarion, the one with feet that have a mind of there own; was standing right in the middle of the two bathroom doors, seeming like they were waiting for someone.
As I was reaching for the door, someone broke out into a song, singing very high pitched.
Who the hell, is singing like that; Is it..a angel? I questioned soon as I walked out of through the door. I could recognize that green shirt with a "T" on it, from anywhere. I immediately knew Theodore, was the culprit.
"IIIIII- "
"No, just stop." I commanded, therefore, cutting him off.
"But, you look like you need it, Grug! IIIIII- "
"Theodore, NO."
The look on his face, was what you would imagine a cute anime girl's face would look, if she puffed her cheek.
"Theo, just don't. Sorry, about that, Grug." Hilarion said trying to not start a fight with any of us.
"Anyways, What are you guys standing here for? are you waiting for someone?", I mentioned, trying to ask a question, even though it sounded more like a threat.
"Yep, waiting for you."
"Ya", Theodore said, while still puffing his cheek.
"Theodore, I think I left something in your car, could you get it for me?" Hilarion told Theodore, trying to send him away.
"We wanted to hang out, even though it will probably just be us though."
"Just us then? Okay, let's hang out, work wasn't very tiring anyway".
We left the store, and leaving Theodore in the process,
"That was pretty embarrassing, huh?" I said trying my best to lighten the mood.
"Its okay, It was his own fault. Just so you know, he was trying to be nice. He said you looked sad and wanted to cheer you up. He's not always like that"
Regrettably, I stayed silent.
"By the way, How's your new job? is it fun or??"
"Yah, Its fine, my Boss isn't to bad either."
"That's good to hear, you should get to know our Boss he's cool."
"I will. Hey, Did you just say "our" ?"
"Oh! yah, ha, I used to work there."
"Cool, maybe you could show me some tricks sometime? like how to flip a burger well, or like the best way it tastes."
"Sure, why not? tomorrow? maybe.
My thoughts were bombarding me with stuff you would only do to someone you liked and projected it onto him. I couldn't help but stare at the gorgeous sunset, the mix of the soft, yet beautiful colors. Pretty much, the whole ass rainbow, was in the sky.
Hilarion led the way. "The museum isn't very far now."
We entered.
I was examining the bones they had on display and I saw the bones of a Ramu and it reminded me of how my family and me tried to take it's egg. I miss my family, and still can't believe It's been 6 months since I left.
"Here, is the "Davy Lamp" that was used in the mines around the 18hundreds." the tour guide explained how that "Davy Lamp", worked back in the day and how it was useful and a new evolution of lamps, I listened diligently and I think Hilarion did too.
We were walking back to EatFastBurger, it was pretty awkward, until Hilarion mentioned something about the mine working conditions.
"Hey, Grug, isn't it crazy how they work in the mines? I mean no potty breaks and barely any time to have a lunch break! it's even dangerous despite that."
"I know! I mean what's the point of that, If you want them to mine well, then at least give em' some food in their stomach, and not to mention they are already putting their lives on the line.", I said trying to hold back back my anger, "I can't believe people sometimes."
"At least that tour guide explained it well."
"Yeah, what was their name again? I forgot."
"Kaya, I think?"
"Yup, Pretty sure."
The silence was definitely pretty loud after that, so awkward, it felt like Hilarion was watching me the whole walk there and looked away when we occasionally made eye contact. By that time, the sky had already faded into a dark blue, it reminded me off the sea at night.
We arrived at the burger shop, and bid each other farewell and I said goodbye to my boss.
The Next Day:
The next morning I woke feeling like my stomach was turning with confusion. I wonder if Hilarion will come today, like he said he would. This question stuck to my mind like glue, for the rest of that morning.
I was getting ready, thinking I was gonna walk again today but, I remembered the look on Knuckles face when i walked in soaking wet with sweat. Yah I think I'd better drive today, dang summer heat. I told myself trying not to think about his disappointed expression, probably hoping I wasn't the new guy. The shine of the Sun was glaring through my eyeball, and reminded me of yesterday evening, what a weird night it was. thinking to myself, I said, I don't even want to think about it. But at the same time I did.
Trying to distract myself, the sun had already been doing it for me. I pulled down the sun visor to shield my eyes, wow, it really did come in use! I'm glad I thought to use it. You know, I think there are sunglasses you can get for the same purpose. Maybe I'll get some after work today. I told myself not aware of what was to come.
"Hey, boss!" I said while putting on my work outfit.
"Hi, Grug.", He took a while to say anything else and looked as if he there was something on his mind, "Sorry for getting here so late, I had something to deal with.", I could tell he didn't want to talk about it.
"Oh, that's okay Knuckles, I mean you only got here a few minutes after me, I'd say that's pretty good!"
"Thanks, I'm glad I didn't ruffle any of your feathers."
And then There was a pause.
"Just, if you need to talk about it, I'm always a open book."
After that, we both got to work as fast as we could making sure we got everything ready before opening.
"Hi! welcome to EatFastBurger.", This was mandatory to say for some reason whenever a customer walked in. I wonder if it made them embarrassed, I had no way of knowing. The person looked, familiar, somehow? I couldn't put my finger on it. I decided to get a little closer, but my plan got shut down from the call of a voice.
"Heyy! Gruug, howss it gooingg?"
What? I thought, knowing damn well, I wasn't that far from the front door to need to yell like that. I turned around.
"Huh? wait...I know you! you're the guy from the museum,the tour guide, Kaya, right?
They approached me very confidently and had the look of a mischievous cat. Thin pupils and a smirk on their face.
"You are the WIDEST thing I've ever seen."
Did they just call me wide?? without permission??? What a bad spot I was put in, I then muttered to myself "Glad I was correct, Cat." then yelled, "Nice to see you TOO!" I was trying to ignore his comment, being unsure if he meant it as a compliment, or an insult.
"What the Hell, are you doing here!?"
There was a voice behind me, doing a 360° I realized it was my Boss, yelling, obviously mad about something. Damn. I told myself, flabbergasted at why he yelled at this catboy, All I knew was that Knuckles was angry.
"Boss?", I asked, obviously concerned.
"Grug, get back to work."
"Yes, Boss."
"Call me Knuckles."
After that, that cat-like guy left almost immediately. And me and Knuckles went straight back to our work. I hope this doesn't ruin his day.
I was down the rest of the day pondering about Kaya and what made Knuckles hate him so much, and that It hurt Knuckles feelings, I was so very curious, but didn't want to upset Knuckles further. So I decided to indulge in my job, to forget about it for now. As I was cleaning some tables off, I hit a drink onto the floor, spilling everywhere. I was collapsing, until, an arm caught me, the shear amount of seconds it happened had grasped my mind after it had all played out. I could feel their breath. I was turning to see who it was but, just as soon as I left their arms, they left too. I really had no idea who they were, I couldn't tell, even being so close to them. Who...who was that? I had done a lot of thinking that day. It was getting late and the sun was setting.
Hilarion didn't come today. I was disappointed, and hated myself for it. Maybe....he's late..? I was holding onto any last ounce of hope I had, And immediately put two and two together and realized it was Hilarion who caught me. Why did he....? And why did he leave after?..
"Grug, can you help me with something?"
I jumped, probably engrossed in my thoughts.
"Yah! be there in a sec!", I said while cleaning up a table. Walking over, I thought, Maybe I could ask Knuckles now? but, what if he doesn't want to talk?
"Thanks, for coming over to help."
"So, What did you need help with?"
"Just some food trash."
"Okay, where do we start?"
And Then we trashed all the old food making the place feel fresh and clean, it smelt good too.
I saw Knuckles reach for the door and, stop half-way.
"Grug, I want to apologize for earlier."
The curiosity was eating at me,"Who...was he?"
*sigh*,"An old friend from my...."
"Knuckles? you...okay?" I was worried about him.
"let's get this done, quickly now."
After that we finished up cleaning and closed the store, quietly. We closed the store early that day.
Finally, after our hard work the place was clean and I realized Knuckles was reaching for the door.
"Knuckles!", He was one step out of the door, "If you need to talk, I'm always here!". He was gone as soon as he was here. Knuckles...
I hopped into my car and started my adventure to the sunglasses store. I was pulling out of the parking lot reversing into the road. Is that Hilarion? I questioned, driving down Honkatown street, seeing him riding a brown horse.
He rides horses, huh? no wonder he dresses the way he does its like the "I was born in the wrong generation" and if that was a person it would be him. "Wait, why is he speeding up.", I said while he accelerated on a horse, accelerating after him. Chasing him down the road, I wonder if he knew i was following him and thought I was some weirdo, thankfully I'm not.
The great chase started, and my Spotify Playlist, somehow, was playing that one song by, Owl City. As, "I'm chasing after you, Woo Woo Woo!" played, I was literally on his tail, funny how a horse can be somewhat faster than a car. I saw him going towards my destination, huh? is he going to that store, too? It was mind boggling to me how we were going to the. same. place. at the same. time. It was almost like it was fate we were to meet. I parked my car just as the song ended, seeing Hilarion walking into the store, hurrying to finish what i had to do to shut off the car. wait, what the hell does this do? pressing the air bag button. It literally said air bag, I don't know what I was thinking. "AAHH!" I yelled very sharply while punching the air bags, as if that would help me.
"Hey, Grug? you okay??"
"AHHHHH! " The sudden voice had me shaking in my boots.
"GRUG!" they yelled, hoping i would snap back to my senses again.
"Huh? Who is it, and what do you want?" I said, being so obviously damn pissed about the stupid air bags, I hate air bags. My mind said reflexively.
"Grug, its me Hilarion? don't you remember?" he said with a obvious amount of Hilarity, guess that's where got his name.
"Sorry." I said while feeling embarrassed.
"You crack me up." He said as he Laughed uncontrollably.
I couldn't help but laugh and smile, seeing his face light up, and what a view it was. "Here,", he said, reaching out his hand to mine, "let me help you out." I grabbed it.
"So, what brings you here?" I said pretending that the air bag situation didn't happen. although, I'm glad it was him, I wonder if he's glad it was him too.
"Oh! haha, my old sunglasses broke, so I needed a new pair."
"Really? dang that's pretty sad! I bet they were awesome." "What about you? your's broke too, or?"
"Nah, this is my first time getting any." He had such a wonderful smile when I said that.
"Alright then, Shall we?" He said,waiting for a response, almost like he wouldn't take no for a answer and only going in with me, otherwise he wouldn't go. I said yes.
It was almost like a date, we talked about various things, like: the chase, what sunglasses i wanted, and my favorite things. He never mentioned the slip incident, so I didn't either. Why? why won't Hilarion admit it was him?
We ended up getting the same sunglasses the only difference being the colors, I got green and he got pink. It felt like something was blooming, I didn't think I could like someone so much, I wondered if he felt the same way.
After that we said goodbye then, "Wait!", Hilarion said while I was getting in my car. "Grug! I was the one who caught you when you slipped! I'm sorry I didn't stay or tell you! truly! I am. Let's go on a date tomorrow night, we don't need to talk about the details now...Grug, please answer." his desperate calling for an answer, the look in his eyes, the same as when I first met him, the look of a lost puppy except not lost anymore. It made me feel like I was wanted.
That was the first time someone looked at me that way, vulnerable, hoping for a second chance.
"Sure,why not?"
The rest of our days were good, we went on that date, even though; Knuckles still hasn't mentioned his beef with Kaya yet, I'm really not mad about it. This kinda felt..like a...Harem?