ʙᴇᴇᴘ ʙᴇᴇᴘ, ʀɪᴄʜɪᴇ (trashing) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-12-11 17:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ~plot: serendipity hills, ₴ inactive: nyx ulric, ₴ inactive: richie tozier (2) |
serendipity hills (viewable 4 viewers)
The vibe of the coffee shop Richie had worked in for as long as he could remember (it’s just temporary, he always kept telling himself - he just needed a little more time to gather enough stellar material together to make a break for big city lights and flashing marquees) was very cozy. Something small, unassuming, the equivalent of quilts dragged up over you to keep you warm on a cold night - or the feeling of love hidden in between the pages of a worn, weathered photo album. Richie wouldn’t trade it for anything - and besides, he was in it to fight for the little guy. To “So do we ride at dawn or what?” he asked Nyx, just having finished restocking some coffee bean supply - now he was up front, managing the case full of baked goods and managing to not taste test any, but the various homemade muffins and scones sure did look (and smell) amazing. “I can start a rumor about how Starbucks uses dolphin tears in their cold brew. It’s on.” Nyx had worked hard on the shop and he was damn proud of how far he'd gotten. There'd been years worth of sleepless nights, wondering if he'd tossed all his money into something that would never take off, wondering if he'd made a horrible mistake. Worried about the slowdowns and the months he'd barely made ends meet when shit broke down. But he'd come out of the new business hell, settled into being everyone's go to stop and had started to see actual profits and enough business to pay his employees well and make a decent life for himself. A life he now could see ending because some asshole from the big city wanted to toss corporate hell into their little town. With a hiss of air clearing, Nyx finished clearing the espresso machine and laughed a little at Richie's suggestion. "Well, people do love dolphins," he answered. A pause. "Teas because they killed the dolphin's baby dolphins," he added. “Good one,” Richie grinned - the laugh lines deepened, there at the corner of his eyes, and he grabbed a notebook and pen to jot it all down, with a flourish. “Killed the baby dolphins,” he said each word as he scribbled it down - when one was planning war against a corporate monstrosity, it always helped to be prepared. To have a plan. There were a couple of to-go orders to fill so he got started on those too. The ambient sounds of cups and machinery, and the smells of the place - caramelized and nutty - were like a balm for him. Soothing and comforting, because not only did he love working here but he just enjoyed spending time here too - he considered Nyx a friend. A good one. Which was why he could multitask. And why he was able to bug the guy about personal stuff too. “Also, how’s it going with the fellow you’ve got your heart eyes set on?” he asked casually, as he rummaged for the almond milk (had to give the dairy-free people options, you know). "Are you opposed to using your kid for sympathy points?" he asked as Richie jotted down dolphin tears. "Something like - Starbucks representative ran over local pre-teen girl's cat?" of course, knowing full well they didn't even have a cat. The sudden shift in conversation though had Nyx letting out a soft groan. Especially as the espresso machine started making the Weird Noises again, and he let his head clunk against the side of it. "It's…. Not." Was the defeated reply. He gave the side of the machine a smack and ran through a test before setting up one of the to go orders. "Either I've completely lost my game or he's not interested for whatever reason or he's straight and not even picking up on it - and honestly I'm hoping for the last at this point because otherwise how pathetic does that make me?" Nyx added with a self deprecating laugh. They didn’t have a cat yet but Richie had a feeling they’d be changing that at the Tozier residence pretty soon here. Something was going on with El and he was ready to turn himself inside out and bend over backwards to help her work through it. And he knew that things were always confusing when you were a teenager - this was a tough age, and the fact that she was buying DNA tests (what??) at the dollar store was like a huge alarm bell for him. He just wanted his little girl to be okay. Maybe he wasn’t her biological dad but that didn’t matter to him. Forget about science - it was more about the love. “Not opposed to that. We do what we gotta do,” he replied sagely, doing his part to get the espresso machine to function correctly - except on his end, it was more like petting it adoringly and whispering sweet nothings into its not-ear. “And you do what you gotta do - which means keep trying. That guy’s not straight, trust me.” If Bucky was straight, then so was Richie. The only straight thing about Richie was - Actually, there wasn’t anything straight about Richie. His priorities, maybe? Family, friends, pizza. Seemed legit to him. “Just forget the game - ask him out.” Wise advice from the single guy in the room, right? "Forget the game?" he asked with fake indignation. "Richie if I don't got game I don't got nothing…" he trailed off on that one and perked his head as he thought about the terrible grammar there. "That's actually not terrible advice though," he conceded, and leaned against the counter, a lull now in the orders. "What about you? How's things?" he shifted the focus away. "How's' the kiddo?" asked like he didn't see her pop into the shop every other day or so. Richie set out the last of the orders he was working on, nestled neatly in one of those biodegradable coffee cup holders (go green! Save the environment!). He always tended to need something to do with his hands or he’d fidget - especially when discussing tricky sort of matters; he was an anxious person regardless, however, and his nerves often vibrated like musical chords, or piano wire that had just been struck - maybe consuming so much coffee from this very shop didn’t help, but. You only had one life to live - hence why he told Nyx to just grab the bull by the horns or however the saying went. Obviously, he and Bucky were made for each other - you know how sometimes you just felt things? Felt it so deep, deeper than a canyon? The very sea itself? Yeah, it was like that. Plus, the fact that he was kinda psychic didn’t hurt either. “Things are good. I’ve just been trying to work on some material, maybe schedule an audition or two - “ He poked his glasses up on his nose. “Trying not to give up on my dreams or whatever. Even if I just feel like a failure. The kiddo probably thinks I’m a failure too, which is why she wants her real dad.” Womp, womp. Well that was a lot to unpack. "First of all, you're not a failure, man." A short pause. "It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there the way you do, a lot of people wouldn't even try." Sure someone might say it was just comedy or whatever, but Nyx never viewed it that way. Richie wrote about his thoughts and his life and stood up in front of a bunch of strangers and said it all. That was the stuff of Nyx's nightmares personally. He was quiet for a moment as he weighed the second part of all of that. "You know I tried to find my dad once, bio dad or whatever," he clarified. A small shrug. "Didn't mean I wanted to leave my family or the dad I did have, or that I loved him any less. I think I was only a couple years older than El?" Another little shrug. "Just sort of got hit with this wondering what the person even looked like, you know? Was more about filling in some missing pieces than anything else." “Yeah - I guess I get that,” Richie sighed, leaning against the counter. Broad shoulders slumped, and lanky limbs gave way and sort of deflated a little - it was clear this whole thing was taking a little bit of a toll on him, but he’d keep on trucking. “I want to be supportive and stuff. Because she’s old enough to make her own decisions there - and it’s not like I’m trying to keep her from finding her real dad. It’s not a secret.” Just two people who weren’t ready to be parents, so they’d given the baby up for adoption - everything legal, everything clean and kosher; Richie hadn’t ‘purchased’ tiny El from a basement baby black market or anything. It’s just...the holidays. He’d been hoping to spend them with her, not that she’d get on a bus and peace out on Life’s Journey. “Did you ever find your dad? Did it change anything?” Nyx nodded. "Yeah. We met for coffee. He had a whole new life, new family…" he shrugged a little. At the time he remembered it had hurt a little. That he and his mom hadn't been worth sticking around for but some other person had been. But people changed, grew up or whatever. Besides, he had a dad, one he loved and who had supported him through everything. Just like El had. "It didn't change anything," he assured Richie. "My Dad's my dad you know? That other guy just happened to look like me and it was interesting to see him and chat with him but at the end of the day it didn't change who I go to when I need to talk to someone." That made sense. Mostly Richie was afraid that, all of a sudden, El would decide she didn’t need him anymore - that she’d rather have her real dad in her life, because there was that biological connection. But he also knew that he couldn’t stop her from seeking out her own answers just because he was afraid of losing her. If you held onto someone too tightly, you often ended up losing them anyway - it was best to give the people you loved space when they needed it. And he did love her - he wanted to do that for her. “I get it,” he exhaled a whoosh. “That makes me feel a little better too.” He patted Nyx’s shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze. “Thanks, dude. Good talk.” Richie would also be sure to get in touch with El soon as well - he wanted to know how things were going, and to make certain that she was alright. She’d left for the holidays but if she needed more snack money or whatever, well - That was what dads were for, right? |