Chapter Text
Chip lugged a box up the stairs of his brand new apartment before collapsing dramatically over it in the entryway, draping himself like a wet blanket on top of the now slightly beat up cardboard.
“Chip, if you don't move, I swear to the goddess!” Jay Ferin, his best friend since childhood and current mover aficionado, kicked him in the foot a few times, sounding annoyed.
“Hey, I'm resting!” Chip replied, not even bothering to pick his head up.
“I will drop this extremely heavy box on your legs and break them if you do not move.”
“I cant believe you would talk to your oldest friend like that!” Chip gasped in mock hurt, slowly rolling over onto his back so the cardboard corners were digging into his shoulder blades. He gave Jay a shit eating grin and waved at her until he watched her position the box in her arms at just the right angle to hoist it onto his chest, eyes burning with annoyance. Not willing to risk his life, chip scrambled over his own box, wisely ducking for cover behind the door.
“Yeah, thats what I thought, James.” Jay snorted, and Chip heard her kick his box into the space before the door he was hiding behind was pulled closed, revealing him in the corner. Jay just raised an eyebrow in disapproval.
“I was making sure the door worked!” Chip protested, skirting around her kicking range and scooping up his box again with a groan, forgetting how heavy it was. “And see, it does! How would we know if I wasnt there?”
“By shutting it like every normal human being, Chip.” Jay replied, following after him. “Got a job yet?”
“Eh,” chip did the best he could to shrug with a box in his hands. “I think so. I go in for the interview tomorrow, so.”
“Where is it again? The Ospray?” she stopped beside chip in what would be his bedroom and dropped the heavy box with a thud, not even grunting in pain or massaging a sore neck muscle, the asshole.
“The Albatross.” Chip replied breathlessly, leaning against the empy wall in exhaustion. Jay smirked, but said nothing. “Its a restaurant in the city center. Seemed like a pretty decent spot to work, good foot traffic and all, and Allport is a pretty popular city, so, I'm not to worried about losing my job any time soon.”
“Hey,” Jay clapped him on the shoulder, offering a genuine smile. “I'm sure it will work out this time. and, if not,” she shrugged, turning on her heel and walking to the door. “I can always put you to work at Sureshot Industries.”
Chip laughed, following her down the stairs to grab more boxes. “And do what? I dont have an engineering degree, Miss Businesswoman.”
“Oh, no.” She turned around with a smirk, eyes glittering mischeviously. “I was thinking more like a secretary.”
“A secretary?” Chip scoffed, pushing away the image of him in a pencil skirt and blouse sitting behind a desk. “That hurts my feelings.”
“Hey, my secretaries are important! They help me keep the chain of command. And keep me up to date on daily events.”
“So i would be useful!” Chip grinned, smug.
“No,” Jay laughed, shaking her head. “No, you would be the most useless secretary ever. All you would do is gossip.”
“Jay, it truly wounds me that you see my gift of gab as a hindrance and not a hiring feature.” Chip batted his eyelashes at her and pouted, leaning heavily on her as they walked out to his car.
“Yeahhhhh… save if for the real interview tomorrow, bud. Not for me.” She pushed him off of her and grabbed the last box, lifting it easily.
“Hey, careful with that one!” Chip closed the trunk and ran after her, keeping one eye on the box at all times.
“Yes, I know, its your baby, your precious child, if anything happens to it…”
“Jay, i'm serious!”
“Chip, im not gonna break your darling DVD collection! Calm down!” Jay, true to her word, gently placed the currently empty coffee table in what would be his living room once the rest of the furniture arrived.
“So…” He looked around at the bare floor, tv tucked into one corner. “Wanna order pizza and watch something?”
“Just like old times?” Jay grinned, grabbing her phone.
“Exactly.” Chip agreed, heading for one of the boxes in his room where his blankets had been stored. “You know my order, right?”
“Yeah!” Jay yelled back. “3 cheese, bacon, and pepperoni, right?”
“Yes please!”
“I'm putting olives on it!”
“If you do that,” Chip replied, fighting with the tangle of blankets refusing to exit their box. “I will drive to your house in the middle of the night and stand over you while you sleep!”
“Yeah, You try to do that, Chip!”
“I will!” With one last tug, he successfully freed the blankets he wanted, shoved the rest back in the box to deal with later, and headed back to the living room. “Alright, let's do this.”
“So, wanna crash here tonight?” forty minutes later, Chip and Jay sat on his floor, bundled up in his blankets munching on pizza as a movie played on the tv, also sitting on the floor.
“I cant,” Jay took a sip of her drink. “Sorry. I've gotta work tomorrow.”
“Man, really? You're always in the office.” Chip grumbled, trying not to act too hurt. He knew Jay had to work. She always had to work. It’s what happens to people when theyre responsible with their lives, they work. They get good apartments. They have families.
They dont drift.
“Chip,” Jay laughed, bumping his shoulder. “Its called owning my own company. If I'm not there, it doesnt run.”
“One would think that if you were your own boss, you got to play hookie at least once.” He gave her a rueful grin before turning his eyes back to the television, trying not to worry about his interview tomorrow. He moved here from Edison for a chance to start over and make his own life, instead of just… living in the background of everyone elses, but if this didn't work out… goodbye new apartment, goodbye new life in a new city. Hello shitty old life as the party bum.
“Hey,” Jay leaned her head on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around him. “Tomorrow’s gonna be great. This is exactly what you need, Chip. Trust me. And trust yourself. Youve got a good head on your shoulders when you're not worrying over every little thing.”
Chip laughed sadly, taking a sip of his own drink. “Its scary how you know exactly what im thinking.”
“Yeah, its my punishment for growing up with you.”
“Shut up, Ferin.”
***
Chip stepped into The Albatross nervously, wiping his palms on his pants and glancing around. His interview had gone well, but now was the real test: the 30 day probationary period. The make or break month in which he might end up back at square one, or even worse, back at zero with absolutely nothing. The shame of moving back home after everyone doubted he could even make it in anything to begin with started crawling out of its old resting place in his chest, digging its way through his throat.
If he blew this, it was all over. Everyone would be right. Chip would forever be the loser who tagged along with his friends, the class clown leech. This was his last chance to-
“Hey, are you the new guy?” Chip’s spiraling was broken by a voice off to his right, and he turned to see a kid, maybe in his early twenties, staring at him with a curious look on his face.
“I- yeah?”
“Cool,” the kid tilted his head to a side door. “Follow me then.”
Without even stopping to see if Chip was behind him, he wove through the quickly filling dining area, expertly cutting a path. Chip did his best to follow, catching glances at the decor around him. The space was all old, dark wood and gold detailing, with these floating orbs hanging above each table, emitting a soft gold light. It felt like a tiki bar from a really old film, just without the garish palm tree wallpaper and grinning wood statues.
The back area, however, was a stark difference. The kid led him to a set of lockers for his stuff, and then to the punch card machine where he could clock in.
“Oh, I’m Ollie, by the way,” He added as he typed in the date and time. “Im a busboy, so wherever you end up, i’ll probably be seeing you around. Were you hired for a specific position?”
“Yes, uh, barback.” Chip replied, distracted by the movement he could see through the kitchen doors.
“Oh, cool! You’ll work with Alphonze, then. He’s really nice.” He watched as Ollie slipped on an apron before beckoning Chip towards the doors. “Come on, i’ll give you a quick tour since we’re here, and Earl isnt in yet. So,” he held the door open, welcoming Chip into a pristine, white space. “This is the kitchen! You probably wont need much from here, but you never know. The door to the bar is right over there.” Ollie pointed to another swinging door on the other side of the room. “And we’ll look at that last. You’ve already seen where we clock in and leave our stuff, so its really just this and the bar. I dont know if Earl told you, but you can order food here on your break if you want. We get discounts.”
“Right, cool.” Chip nodded, taking it all in. there were a few people moving about the space, chopping and prepping things, but two of them stood out to him: a massive Pandaren, and what he was pretty sure was a Triton.
“Hey, Gryffon! Look! Earl finally got around to hiring Alphonze a barback!” the Pandaren turned, revealing a wicked looking butchers knife in one hand. “About time.” he muttered in a deep, gravely voice. “I’m sick of having people come up to me all night when I'm up there. What about me says ‘yeah, ask me questions? I know everything around here!’ Who assumes I do anything outside of work?” Gryffon scowled at Chip, who was glancing between his sharp eyes and even sharper knife.
“Maybe people who have a social life.” Ollie grinned, resting his hands on his hips. Chip, well practiced in the art of self preservation, moved just a little behind the busboy, banking on the fact that Gryffon wouldnt kill the kid just to get to him. Hopefully.
“Eh,” the pandaren just shrugged, turning back to his chopping. “Jokes on them. Social lives are for losers.”
“Someday,” Ollie patted him on the shoulder as he walked by, “I will take you out with me, and we will change that.”
“Not a chance, kid.” Gryffon chuckled, a sound that reminded Chip of rolling thunder.
Ollie continued forward, leading Chip to the other chef in the kitchen, who also happened to be currently wielding a knife. He made a mental note not to make either of them mad as he watched the Triton dice tomatoes and onions together before sliding them into a bowl and starting on the garlic next, mincing it into neat little cubes.
“Hey, Gill! How are you?”
“Hey, Ollie.” Gill didnt even look up, brow furrowed in concentration. Chip noticed his tail flicked back and forth every once in a while, almost like a cat’s when they watch something they consider prey.
“We got a new hire!”
“Yeah, i heard.” He finished mincing and grabbed the herbs he’d laid out and some salt, mixing together whatever he was making. Chip watched, feeling rather awkward, as this Gill silently finished his work and headed to the walk in fridge, placing his dish on a shelf. Then he stopped before the two of them, leaning against the counter. He held his arms in an odd way, too, folded up as if he were going to grab his shoulders, but his hands never touched them. They didnt touch anything. They just… hovered there.
Gill fixed Chip with an odd expression, his bright blue eyes reminding chip of a cloudless sky, and Chip blushed, feeling embarrassed that he was caught staring. Gill was just… fascinating to look at. Long, wavy green hair was tied back with a dark red bandana and fell halfway down his back in a braid, and Chip noticed the edges were white, like sea foam cresting a wave on the shore. A tattoo of a massive octopus stretched from the pinky of one arm to where a tentacle curled to the base of his neck, and he was well built, most likely from cooking and moving things around all day. An earring hung from one finned… were those even ears on the sides of his head? Chip wasnt sure, and he had these blue patterns, almost like birthmarks but more symmetrical, that sat across his cheeks, on each arm, and down his tail.
“Can i help you?” Chip jerked his head up from where he was watching Gill’s tail flick, the fins there closing and opening slightly like a fishes, and blushed even harder, shaking his head. “No, sorry. I just… um…”
“Gill, this is Chip!” Ollie stepped in, pulling the chef’s attention onto him for just a moment while Chip recovered from whatever was wrong with him. “He’s the new barback.”
“Ah.” Gill nodded, a slight frown pulling down somewhat stern looking lips. “Thats good. Alphonze needed a hand, especially with the busy season coming. So,” He turned back to Chip, raising a single eyebrow. “Ever worked in a restaurant before?”
“I, uh, i was a bartender for a bit.”
“Really?” Gill’s sceptical tone didnt change, but his eyes widened just a fraction, seeming interested.
“Yeah, i worked at a small dive bar in my area for a year, but it, uh, yeah it didnt work out.” Chip grimaced, recalling the shocking moment he found out the place he had been working in since he was out of highschool, the place run by one of his oldest friends and mentors, was forced to close.
“Hmm… sorry to hear that. Well, welcome to the Albatross, then. I’m sure you’ll fit in just fine.”
“And what if i dont?” Chip folded his arms over his chest, unable to resist the need to challenge. He never knew why he did, he just always pushed every button he could until people got sick of him. It was one of his worse traits.
Gill, however, just smirked and moved to take off his gloves, hooking two fingers under the seal of the latex on the right glove and pulling it off one hand in a quick, fluid motion before balling it up and doing the same thing to the left, until he was holding a glove in a glove.
And for some fucking reason, Chip had never seen anything so hot in all his life.
“Then,” he was unable to look away as Gill sauntered over to the large trashcan, tossing the gloves inside. “I guess we’ll cut you loose.”
Yep. Chip was fucked for sure.
***
~ Seven years before ~
Gillion watched his home slide away in the window of the Deepsea train he was on, trying not to think about never seeing it again. He stared, hands pressed to the window, until the soft lights of the Trench finally blinked out, swallowed by the depths.
He knew this was for the best, and that the scholarship to the University of Allport was a blessing for him, but that didnt stop anxiety from coiling around his spine and squeezing his chest as he lost sight of his house on the edge of the city.
He was only 18. His parents had pushed him to go after the scholarship, to experiance a life outside the Trench, and he’d thought he was ready. But now?
Gillion sighed, pulling his face away from the cold glass and to the phone in his hand, wondering if it was too early to text Edyn and tell her he missed her. A stab of guilt twisted in his gut as he realized he felt worse for leaving her behind then he did his parents, but he tried to reason with himself. It was normal to not feel sad, or feel anything, when leaving your parents for the first time and moving away. It's normal. But leaving his older sister felt like sawing off and leaving behind a limb, and a small part of him wondered how mad she’d be if he jumped off the train at the closest opportunity and swam back home.
But no. He was an adult now, and that meant pulling himself together. Besides, he could always call Edyn any time he wanted, she’d told him it would be fine.
His phone buzzed, and he looked down to see a text from the very person he had just been thinking about.
Eeeedddd <3: miss you already, Gilly!!! (╥﹏╥)
tears prickled in his eyes as he let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head.
Gill: i thought you couldnt wait to get rid of me?
Eeeedddd <3: WHAT? NOOOOOOOO!!! I could never imagine spending weekly dinner without my favorite baby brother!
Gill: im youre only baby brother, Eed.
Eeedddd <3: ok, and? Ur still my favorite, gup.
Gill: ur sweet. Oh, you can have my room if you want, since I'm probably gonna be topside for the foreseeable future.
Eeedddd <3: but then where will you stay when you come home for breaks and vacations?
Gill: idk, ur room?
Eeedddd <3: you know the second you officially give up ur room, mom will turn it into storage or an office or something, right?
Gill: yeah, i know. I guess if i have to, ill sleep on the couch then when I come back.
Eeedddd <3: I’ll never let that happen, guppy. Promise.
Gill: ur the best older sister ever <333
Eeedddd <3: IKKKKK ♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡
Eeedddd <3: OH AND GOOD LUCK AT UNIVERSITY! UR GONNA BE A GREAT TEACHER, I JUST KNOW IT! ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
Gill: thanks, Eed. Love you
Eeedddd <3: LOVE YOU MORE GUPPPPP
~ five years later ~
Gillion clutched his very sparse resume, staring up at the old, weathered building on the sea facing side off the city center. He’d tried what felt like a million different places, and this was his last resort. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door, walking up to the bar.
“Hey!” A tall man with a thick, warm accent and a handlebar mustache smiled at him as he wiped down a glass. “What can i help you with, sir?”
“Oh, uh… I'm here for an interview?” Gillion hated the shake in his voice, the feeling of defeat that permeated his bones. He should be in a classroom right now. He should be grading homework and prepping lessons. He should be anywhere else.
But he wasn't.
“Well, then give me just a minute, and I'll be right back with the boss!” The man disappeared behind a swinging door and appeared a moment later with a short old man in a very loud tropical printed shirt covered in tiny starfish.
“So, you're here for the interview?” The old man beckoned as he moved to sit at an empty table, and Gill followed uncertainly, nervously twisting his resume between his hands.
“Yes, i am.”
“Good. Sit. Is that for me?” He pointed at the crumpled piece of paper in Gillion’s hands, and gill just nodded, swallowing his rising shame as he handed it over.
“Mmhmmm….” the old man poured over it, brow furrowing. “Seems like you've worked a lot of places but not for long… why?” The accusatory tone made gillion jump, immediately feeling guilty and apologetic. “I-i just struggled to find the right place! I never did anything bad, or, at least, firing worthy, I'd…. i'd just quit.” He finished quietly, trying not to think about how often he found himself walking away from things.
“Uh huh.” The old man just nodded, one very bushy eyebrow raised. “Why?”
“Why?”
“Why’d you quit, kid?”
“Oh.” Gill swallowed, wringing his hands under the table. “Well-”
“Alphonze?” The old man interrupted, holding up a hand to gillion as he turned to the bar.
“Yes boss?”
“Can i get a water for this kid? I think he’s drowning or something.”
“Im fine,” Gillion muttered, blushing a deep blue at being called out.
“And I'll take a pressed juice, please.” The man continued, either not hearing or not caring about what gillion said. “Anyway, continue?”
Gillion sighed heavily, staring down at the table. “I just… i dont know. I'm good at things, i'm a hard worker, i just… i guess i get tired of being the only good one? Or the reliable one? Or i just get bored, i guess. So i just… leave.”
“Uh huh. And is that- thank you, Alphonze. Is that pride talking?” The old man slid Gillion his water and took a sip of some bright yellow juice, slurping satisfyingly.
“No! I… i dont think so? I dont mean it to be. I just show up to work early. I never call out. I do whatever needs to be done without asking. I dont know, its just what i do at my job. It's what I've always done. People need shifts covered, i take them. People need stuff done, i do it. I dont complain, and it pays the bills. But sometimes…” Gill’s shoulders sagged, and he frowned as the little frogtopus he drew in his cup’s condensation started to drip down onto the table cloth. “Sometimes i think I get sick of it all, and I just-”
A very loud slurp echoed out of the man’s cup as he finished off his juice, and Gill stopped talking in surprise, looking up at him. “Ahhhh…” he slid his juice cup in front of him and sighed happily, crossing his arms over his chest. “Now thats some damned good juice. Made it myself you know. And, listen kid. This?” He circled his finger, gesturing to the restaurant and bar they were in. “Isnt a therapists office. You want the job?”
“I-”
“Good. I’ll start you in the kitchen, youre gonna work with Gryffon. He’ll like you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” the old man stood up, barely meeting Gillion's eye level even as he remained sitting. “That youre hired. Show up here tomorrow, same time. Got it?”
“I guess so, but why? you barely even-”
“I dont need a sob story to know you'll fit in here, kid.” The old man held out his hand for Gillion to shake, and he did, still somewhat uncertain about the whole event. “Now, welcome aboard the Albatross. I’m Earl.”
“O-ok.”
***
~ One year later ~
Earl had been right, Gill did fit in. He worked five days a week and moved his way up from kitchen porter with the help of Gryffon, finding a sort of satisfaction in his daily work. It was hard to get used to the chaos at first, the constant noise and smells that filled the space, but Gill found his own bubble of safety in the hectic area, and now most nights it felt odd to go back to a quiet, empty apartment.
His frogtopus, Pretzel was there for him, of course, but there wasnt much else.
Any remnants of why he had come to Allport in the first place got buried in closets or on the backs of shelves, and as long as he didnt look at the folded acceptance letter that sat in the bottom of his side table drawer, he was fine. He’d moved on, found a good job, and had a group of people he could call friends. They hung out together at least once a week since most of them didnt have family in the area, and it had become custom for Gill and Gryffon to cook for the rest of the main crew so they could all enjoy a home cooked meal together regularly.
Every few months, his parents would call, and Gillion would put himself through the humiliation ritual of lying to them about how his teaching job was going. He created an entire classroom of kids to keep track of, and knew what curriculum was normally taught, so when they called, he marched out the usual sentences of “students are great!”, “It's tiring, but i love it”, “im currently teaching….” etc. he hated lying. Every time he did, he felt sick to his stomach, but the pride in his parent’s voice and excitement that he was doing so well piled onto his shoulders. He was drowning in their unspoken expectations, knowing he was one of the few in their family to ever leave home, and how big of a deal that was.
If they found out he’d lost his scholarship… well, Gillion did everything in his power to make sure they didnt, and never would.
Talking to Edyn, though, that was even harder. She would call out of the blue, smile in her voice, and it took Gill everything in him not to break down and cry, admitting he’d failed.
She’d called him one night after a hard day at work, and it took him five minutes to get his spiraling emotions and thoughts under control, in which time she had to call again since it went straight to voicemail.
“Hey, Eed!” Gill greeted after taking a breath, a wide smile pulled over his face.
“Hey, why didnt you pick up when i first called?” There was a touch of worry in her voice, and Gill did his best to smooth it over as quick as possible.
“Yeah, sorry. I had to grab something from the other room, and you know i keep my phone on silent.”
“Alright,” she laughed. “Any longer and I would've sent someone to check on you. How're you doing?”
“You know,” Gill shrugged, tucking the phone against his head and heading to his fridge for some late dinner. “As good as i can be.”
“You sound tired, Gup.”
“I had a long day at work.” Gill nodded in agreement as he grabbed some takeout he’d ordered the night before and never finished. “But its going good. Im… im really enjoying it.”
“I’m glad!” Just hearing the brightness in her voice helped calm Gillion down. If she believed he was doing ok, it made his guilt a little easier to manage. “How are your students doing on their upcoming assignment?” Ah, yes. The paper he was having his “students” write on the history of Mana’s formation years.
“Good! They, uh… they got stuck in a few areas, but I have high hopes for them.” Gill chewed his lip, pressing his eyes closed tight as he pictured the classroom he would never get to decorate and students he would never teach.
“That’s awesome! Im proud of you, Gilly. Really. If any one of us was gonna do great things, it was gonna be you, you've always had drive.”
“Y-yeah, thanks, Eed. That…. that means a lot.” Gill tried to smile, to swallow down the emotion that was threatening to choke him. She said that with such ease, but every word was another weight on his concience, sealing his fate like the lid of a coffin.
In truth, he knew he was the only one he could blame. He took on the burdens of his family, took on their hopes without them even asking, because if he did, they would value him. He would matter. But younger him didnt realize he was carving out the stones that would bury him alive when it all got to be too much.
“Gill?” Edyn's voice broke through his thoughts, and he realized he was silently crying as he stood in his tiny kitchen, just as lost as he was the day he learned he’d done just bad enough in his classes to lose the scholarship. “You ok?”
“I- yeah.” He cleared his throat, angrily wiping his eyes. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just really tired, Eed. if… if its ok, I'll call you back tomorrow? Maybe on my break?”
“Ok… if you need anything, just let me know, ok?” She sounded so sincere it hurt. All gillion wanted to do was tell her the truth and admit that he wasnt what everyone thought he was, he was just a disappointment. But he pictured her sweet face, always so caring and kind, always there with a smile when he needed it most as a kid, and he sucked in a breath.
“I will,” he lied. “Love you, Eed.”
“Love you, too, Gup. Talk soon.”
“Yeah, bye.”