A/N: Here's chapter two! Please excuse any typos, I've edited as best I can. I hope it's alright that I've given Grubba a first name!
Bouncing Back- Chapter Two
He got the job at the juice bar. It was a blessing too, because he checked back after a night with nowhere to sleep and had already been hired. In addition, once the proprietor found out he hadn't any place to stay yet, he made up a cot on the storeroom for Austin to crash on, just until he found a place of his own. The tradeoff was that he would be receiving a smaller paycheck until then, to account for rent.
Austin was more than okay with the arrangement. A place to sleep and enough money to just get by on. It was a start, one he was more than happy to accept. Of course, the entirety of his first paycheck did end up going to wardrobe and toiletries, but that was fine. Podler often made him lunch anyway.
It was near the arrival of his second paycheck before he saw Jolene again. He heard she was a regular though, so he had assumed up to this point that she just didn't come around during his shift. He had been right, he discovered, when she slid into her seat, ordered something light, and began with "I don't normally come here this late."
Grubba started mixing her drink. "Fair enough." He commented, trying to remain casual. This was work, after all, and she wasn't being hostile.
"Had to stay late today." Jolene explained when he set her drink in front of her, "A few groups of new fighters applied and I'll be stuck processing them and staying late for the next few weeks."
"There's a heavy load." Austin commented, "I remember that. Don't envy ya."
Another customer made an order. Austin took care of it and went about his work. Carefully, he made a comment to Jolene every so often and was pleasantly surprised when she would answer civilly and with more than just a word or two.
"You have to work late often these days?" He asked when she finished her drink and he took her payment.
"More often than before, anyway." Jolene admitted, "We've been having an influx of new fighters recently. I guess the sport is just getting popular."
"Well, hang in there Jolene." He said by way of farewell, and she returned with a curt nod.
"I expect I'll be seeing more of you until my work clears up." She clipped, and then she was gone.
And it proved to be true. Jolene started coming by every night after her work at the Glitz Pit was through. She ordered the same, simple, barely alcoholic fruity drink every time and slowly she and Austin built what was beginning to feel like a tentative friendship. A friendly rapport, at the least. And that was alright with him. He had yet to make any friends, and he liked his boss but he just...wasn't his friend. They were tied by business and that was about it.
Jolene would talk about work, mostly, and Austin would wait on other customers and throw in his two cents on her comments every now and again, occasionally offering PR advice when it seemed she was having trouble keeping relations with the public stable. MMA was a violent sport and a lot of people were on the fence about it, despite it being Glitzville's main attraction. Through this, they both slowly discovered that, frankly, they had more in common than they had thought. Most notable was their strong work ethic, and second was their preference for heavier drinks, but an avoidance of them due to family histories. They were apparently both also into following both pro baseball and soccer. That one had been a surprise.
The point was, Austin finally had someone to talk to, even if it was someone who might still hate his guts below the surface. He could deal with that. A lot of people had a lot of reasons not to like him and he wasn't expecting much from anyone at this point- but the feeling of being able to shoot the breeze with someone was still a good one.
One night, tho, as they were both leaned over the counter quibbling over soccer teams casually, Prince Mush walked in.
Jolene didn't look surprised to see him, so Austin assumed she had invited her little brother out to drinks with her. That was fairly normal, he supposed. Siblings were supposed to hang out together once in a while, right? He'd been an only child- he didn't know.
Mush had changed too. Before he had been a wiry youth. Now he was a muscular, healthy looking adult. He wore the same hat that Grubba remembered, but his fighting outfit was nice and new(still the same shade of blue) and had longer sleeves tucked into his arm wraps.
He also looked like he was on the warpath. Oh, great. Austin was prepared for a scene, but kept his work face on anyway.
"Mix you a dri-" he started, but the wind was knocked out of him when Mush grabbed his collar and nearly jerked him right over the bar. He wheezed.
Mush was glaring bloody death at him and he didn't dare speak anymore. His rescue came when Jolene stood and placed a firm hand on her brother's shoulder.
"Mush. I don't know what you think you're doing but-"
"What's this cockroach doing here?!" Mush interrupted, "I heard he got out on parole, but you didn't tell me he's been working here, or that you've been talking to him, Sis are you nu-"
"Please put the bartender down, Mush." Jolene cut in.
Mush dropped Austin disdainfully and the bartender nearly fell below the bar but caught himself just in time, adjusting his glasses once he had done so. He let out a sigh of relief that sounded more like a wheeze and looked at the seething Mush cautiously.
"Don't start a fight, Mush." Jolene scolded, "If he posed any threat I wouldn't bother with him. Now sit down and order a drink."
Mush sat. He was still glaring and tense, but he muttered, eventually, "Rum and coke."
As Austin went about preparing Mush's drink of choice, Jolene spoke up again. "I thought, after a while, you might want to give Mush the apology you owe him, Grubba. That's why I had him come meet me tonight."
Austin stopped and looked at her, as did Mush. Both blinked.
"You said you had penance to do." Jolene explained, "Well, here's your chance."
Austin took a moment to think it over as he slid Mush's drink over to him. This was a good chance indeed, and he wasn't actually sure what to think of Jolene providing it for him- he also hoped it wouldn't end in a broken nose, whatever direction it went.
He prepared drinks for a few other customers before coming back to the siblings and saying, "All right."
He launched carefully into the same explanation he had given Jolene. The way the crystal star had influenced his thinking, the visit from Professor Frankly, who had explained it all to him. His long years in prison figuring it all out and coming to his senses after being removed from the crystal's hold, and his deep regret over everything he had done during that time. By the time he was finished, only melting ice remained in Mush's glass.
"I'll tell ya the same thing I told your sister." Grubba said, finally. "I don't expect a thing from you. No forgiveness, no anythin'. This whole penance thing...I gotta admit it's mostly for myself. So you don't gotta do a thing."
To Austin's surprise, Mush looked pensive. His brow furrowed, he stared into his glass for a long time before he finally said anything.
"I still wanna deck you." He admitted.
"If you'll wait till I'm off my shift..." Austin half joked. Mush's mouth twitched upward into a grim smile.
"...Alright. I'll let you talk to my sister." He told the redhead, "But you listen. You still have a long way to go."
"I know"
"I'm gonna punch you every time I see you."
"I'll keep it in mind."
"...thanks for the apology, though." Mush finished. Then he smacked down the payment for his drink and left. Austin finally relaxed and gave Jolene a look.
"Coulda warned me, yanno." he said in exasperation.
Jolene's mouth twitched upward.
"Sorry." She said, "But you make this place a little less on the dull side. Thought I'd give you some repayment. Speaking of...Bandy Andy. You remember him?"
Austin made a noise in the back of his throat. Of course he did. Jolene took the hint and shook her head in amusement.
"Don't worry, he's more laid back than Mush. He said he'd be willing to hear you out too."
"Huh?" Austin said dumbly. "O-oh. Oh, okay. That's swell of him."
That was unexpected. As easygoing as Andy had seemed all the time, Austin still hadn't expected any of the people he'd wronged to be so proactive about allowing him to apologize and explain himself. But there it was.
"Come by Hoggle's for lunch tomorrow. That's what he told me to ask you to do." Jolene said as she paid her bill and got up, "Good luck, Grubba."
"Uh, yeah..." Austin said reluctantly, "Listen, Jolene...Thanks. You didn't gotta do that for me."
"Someone recently told me that everyone deserves their second chance. Even you." Jolene said plainly, "I thought I might take the advice to heart. Goodnight."
Austin watched her go, a small and grateful smile on his face.
(oO00Oo)
The next day, Austin donned a blue and green striped tee and jeans and headed out to Hoggle's Hot Dogs at noon, just as Jolene had told him to. It was a locally famous place, still located outside the Glitz Pit where business was best. Austin had loved the place, but hadn't visited since his release.
Andy was already there when he arrived, munching on a loaded hot dog happily. His mask was rested on top of his mousy brown hair, narrow face posed in a content smile. He was still wearing the same green sweater and gray jeans Austin remembered him favoring. Did he ever buy new clothes? That sweater was starting to look decrepit. At least his low top sneakers were new and in good shape.
Austin went ahead and ordered his lunch first, but then he headed straight to the table where Andy was sitting. Before he could even get a word out, the bandit spoke up with,
"It's laundry day."
Well, that certainly explained the clothes. Andy must have seen the disdainful look on his face after looking at the sweater.
Andy stuffed the last couple of bites of his hot dog into his mouth and washed them down with super soda. Then he looked at Grubba, folded his hands in front of him, and gave him an expectant look.
"Well, talk." He said, "I'm ready for whatever you have to say."
Austin went thoroughly through all of the information he had shared with Jolene and Mush. When he was done, he took a deep breath and a large bite of his hotdog and looked away. Andy, however, folded his arms and sat back in his seat with a thoughtful look on his face.
"So that crystal star thing had some kind of energy that affected you really negatively, then." He said after a moment, "Well, it's no excuse, but it certainly does explain some things."
Austin nodded and took a sip of his fresh juice.
"So since it's been seven years, I guess you've had a lot of time to get away from whatever influence it had. It's worn off?" Andy asked.
"Sure has." Austin replied.
"No wonder you seem so mild mannered." Andy said, "I thought you were being awfully quiet and polite. Is this what you were like before the crystal star?"
An awkward smile. "Not really."
Andy snorted. He seemed to be taking this all incredibly well.
He clapped his hands together. "Well!" The bandit exclaimed, "I can't say I like you any more than before, but I'm willing to give anyone a second shot at things. So, put 'er there, Austin Grubba."
Andy was holding out a hand. Austin hesitated, but then shook it firmly. There was no use in refusing the kindness he was being offered here.
"So, where ya staying?" Andy asked after a while of watching the ex-convict eat.
"Storeroom at the juice bar." Austin admitted in turn, "Haven't found a proper place yet."
Andy made a choking noise. "A storeroom? Dude, you gotta get an apartment. That's a sucky setup."
Austin shrugged. "Better than nothin', ain't it?"
Andy rubbed his temples and sighed. "Okay, I guess I can do you one more solid. Come with me, would you?"
(oO00Oo)
Grubba followed Andy. They wound their way out of the main part of town and into narrow backroads where there were townhouses and smaller shops sandwiched together. It was a nostalgic and familiar place, actually, the part of town Austin had stayed in back when he first arrived in Glitzville so many years ago, before he had ascended the latter to fame and other things.
They finally stopped at a small apartment building with plaster walls painted a light blue. Andy led the way into the office and rang the bell at the empty counter. A middle aged, rotund monty mole woman (identified by her black eyes and strong clawed hands) shuffled out and smiled at the sight of them.
"Why Andy, hon, I thought you were still out for lunch! Welcome home." She greeted, then upon seeing Austin, her smile froze and grew guarded. "Who's your friend?"
It was obvious she knew exactly who Grubba was, but Andy clapped his back and introduced him anyway.
"Austin Grubba. He needs an apartment! Are any of the studios on the top floor still vacant?"
Oh. Finally, Austin understood what was going on, and felt slow for not realizing sooner. Andy was setting him up with a place to stay. He nearly wanted to bawl from the kindness, but he didn't feel ready to wear his heart on his sleeve like that around the bandit just yet. So he settled for a tense smile.
"It depends. Austin," the landlady said, "What do you do for work?"
"I tend bar at Podler's in the evenings." Austin replied nervously.
"Steady pay?"
"Yes."
"Will you have a lot of things to move in? Can you fit everything into a studio? I assume you know how small they are."
"I just have some clothes and money, ma'am." Austin admitted. Something softened in the woman's eyes at the statement.
She sighed. "Then I suppose the west corner should be fine." She said, "Rent is fair. The laundry room is in the basement, but there's a dishwasher and microwave already in there. You'll have to get most other furnishings yourself, though, I'm afraid."
Grubba blinked, and then cracked a wide smile, the first real one since he had been offered the job at Podler's. He took and shook the landlady's hand between both of his own.
"Hoowee!" He said, accent overflowing with his excitement, "Ma'am, you don't hafta worry 'bout a thing! I'll be the best tenant you could ask for, real sure! Thank ya, really!"
The landlady's gaze softened even more. "Oh, call me Shirley. We'll get your paperwork and lease set up right away and you can move in tomorrow when the noise won't bother anyone. Welcome, Austin."
Andy was smiling as he spoke up. "Well, I think that's my cue to get. I have a fight in an hour and I should warm up before then anyway. Grubba, good luck."
Before Andy could go anywhere though, Austin grabbed his shoulders and offered the widest smile he could manage. "Bandy Andy," He said, "Yer a saint. I'll be owin' you the rest of my life. You got no idea how much this means."
Andy punched his arm lightly. "Second chances, like I said. Anyway, you get things worked out now. Shirley, I'll see you tonight!"
With that, Andy was out the door. And as Shirley let Grubba to a table to begin the paperwork for the lease, he found himself holding back happy tears.
Chapter End
A/N: Hope this chapter helped get things kicked off well! I'll be updating as often as I can. Thanks for reading!
