Written for OQ Fix It Fic Week Day 6: Roni Day

Uses the following suggested prompts: Roni gives a homeless person (AKA Robin) a job in her bar

She discovered him sleeping in his car in the alley when she went to throw out her garbage one chilly Seattle morning. It was a beat-up piece of crap she believed was once green but now covered in dirt and mud. A person's whole life appeared crammed into it—pillows, blankets, clothes, knick-knacks—and sleeping in the middle of it all, a man about her age. He had matted blond hair and a matching beard. She couldn't see much more as he had wrapped his blanket around him like a cocoon to stay warm.

He wasn't the first homeless person she had encountered living in Hyperion Heights and she tried to help out those she could with a dollar here or there, but he was the first one she felt really drawn to help. It almost felt like they were meant to meet and she was supposed to give him a second chance.

Not that Roni would ever admit it out loud. She didn't believe in things like fate or that spiritual junk.

But she tapped on the window, startling the man awake. He blinked open beautiful blue eyes and she almost felt like she had once drowned in them before. She shook the feeling off as she motioned for him to roll down the window so they could talk.

He sighed, leaning over to lower the window and immediately launched into a spiel he must've been used to giving. "Sorry. I'll move the car so I won't be your way anymore. Just give me a couple minutes."

Roni was surprised to hear him speak with a British accent and wondered what brought him to Seattle. But she figured she'll find that out in good time. For now, she had something else to ask him: "Do you need a job?"

"What?" he asked, blinking in confusion. He then stared up at her, making her fidget.

She barreled on, hoping she wasn't making a fool of herself. "My custodian quit on me the other night and I could use with someone who can help me keep the place clean. The pay won't be so great and I can't offer you benefits, but I can give you a lot of hours to come up with something resembling a decent paycheck. If you want it."

He stared at her. "Really? You would just hire me like that?"

"Consider me desperate," she said, trying to play it cool. "So, you want it or not?"

"Yes, yes. Thank you," he replied, gratitude and relief in his eyes. "I also have my own tools in here so I won't need those. And I promise I'm legal. I can work in the States."

He then held out his hand to her. "I'm Rex, by the way."

"Rex?" she asked with a snort, unable to help herself. "Isn't that a dog's name?"

"I had strange parents, what can I say?" He shrugged before giving her a little smirk. "I trust that won't keep you from hiring me now."

She shrugged as well. "I guess there are worst names to have."

"And may I ask who I am working for?" he asked, eyes sparkling as he looked up at her.

"Roni," she said, finally shaking his hand. "Named the bar after me, so you'll be able to find it. I'll see you at three?"

He nodded. "I'll be there. And Roni? Thank you."

"No, thank you. Really saving my life here." She gave him a wink with both eyes while stepping away from his car to head back inside as she ignored the way her heart wanted to beat right out of her chest.

Rex was a model employee. He showed up on time, looking neat but appropriately attired for work as a custodian, and performed his tasks skillfully. He also went over and beyond what she asked of him, doing repairs to parts of the building and making some improvements for her. Rex kept the bar clean and everything running smoothly, which Roni was grateful for.

After a month of working for her, Rex came in one day and told her that he would like to give her an official address for his payroll file. She recognized it as an apartment building not far from her bar and was glad he was able to find a good place to live now. He said he didn't have much by way of furniture yet, but he didn't mind sleeping on the floor. She felt awkward buying him furniture but did purchase him an air mattress, insisting it was a housewarming present. "Besides, I can't have you throwing out your back, right?" she asked, trying to brush off the conversation.

She turned away, knowing that if she saw his beaming smile and those irresistible dimples, her stomach would do flips and she would flush. And that would ruin her tough girl exterior.

A few days after he got a new place, Rex came in with shorter hair. It still appeared thick but it was cut close, especially on the sides, and revealed some silver there. She stared at him for a few minutes, knowing her mouth was open, and he started to squirm. "I, um, finally got my hair cut. Does it look bad?" he asked.

"No," she said, almost stuttering. "It looks…good…on you."

He grinned, running his hand through his hair before rubbing his chin. "I also got a shave. That beard was a bit too much, yeah?"

When he moved his hand, she saw that the long beard was gone though there was still hair covering his cheeks and jawline. It gave him a scruffy but handsome look and she swallowed, nodding stupidly. "Yeah…"

"Well, I'm glad I look a bit neater. And I feel lighter," he said, grinning as he walked past the bar. "I'll go get started on the floors for today and leave you to your tasks. See you in a bit, Roni."

"Yeah," she said again, feeling like the biggest fool on the planet.

Once he was gone, she groaned as she covered her face with his hands. She hadn't expected to fall in lust with her janitor when she hired him, she just wanted to help him out. But here she was. So what did she do? Suffer in silence and wait for the feelings to ultimately fade or make a move and hope Rex was receptive to it?

That seemed like too much of a risk, though, and she didn't want to drive off the best janitor she ever had. So it seemed she was going to have to suffer in silence. Her crush would fade over time, she knew.

At least, she hoped.

Rex started to open up to Roni as he continued to work for her. He talked about how he came to America to attend university, studying political science and finding work with a non-profit that helped the less fortunate back East in Boston. While working there, he met and fell in love with a woman named Madison. The two married but she became sick within a year of her marriage. "It was cancer and it was aggressive. The doctors tried to fight it with just as much aggression but it was no use, she died shortly after our second wedding anniversary," he told her.

"I'm sorry," Roni said, squeezing his hand. She then poured him a glass of whiskey, holding it out to him. "On the house. Don't tell the boss."

He chuckled, taking a sip of the whiskey. Setting down the glass, he continued: "Living in Boston was unbearable, so I quit and moved faraway. Seattle seemed pretty far."

"That it is," she agreed, pouring herself a whiskey as well.

"I tried to find a job similar to the one I had in Boston but I found my heart wasn't in it anymore," he confessed. "So I went to go find myself. Unfortunately, my savings ran out before I could find who I was and I found myself living in my car, which thankfully I had paid off before I moved out here."

Roni's heart broke listening to his story and she rested her hand over his. "Have you found yourself yet?"

He shook his head before smiling, lacing his fingers with hers. "But I think I'm getting closer, thanks to you."

She smiled, ignoring the way her heart beat faster and her skin grew warmer as he continued to hold her hand. "Well, glad to help."

Roni took another sip of her whiskey before sharing her own story of woe. "I opened this place with my high school sweetheart, Darren. He's the one who named it after me. I wasn't that narcissistic or unimaginative," she told him.

"I think it's a good name," he replied, now rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

She shrugged. "I guess so. Anyway, we got everything up and running and things were good. We even felt secure enough to discuss marriage but then these two really drunk guys got into a stupid argument. Darren went to break it up and in the blink of an eye, was stabbed with a broken bottle."

"Oh god," he breathed, giving her hand a squeeze as she took another sip of her whiskey.

Once she swallowed, she continued: "I called the police and the ambulance. The EMTs got him stable and rushed him to the hospital but there was little the doctors could do since he lost too much blood. I barely got to say goodbye and tell him I loved him before he was gone.

"People thought it was weird that I continued to run this bar but it was our dream, you know? I couldn't just walk away from it, from him. And I'm glad I haven't. It's everything to me." She smiled as she glanced around at the bar.

Rex let go of her hand and picked up his glass. "I propose a toast. To those we've loved and lost."

"To them," she said, clinking her glass against his. She then took a sip. "Thanks for listening. It's been a long time since I talked about Darren."

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me." He gave her a little half smile.

She smiled back, squeezing his hand. "Same to you. Listening is kinda my specialty, being a bartender and all."

He laughed and they finished their whiskey in a comfortable silence as Roni realized that maybe, it wasn't a crush after all.

Maybe—just maybe—it was love.

Roni locked up after the last of the Halloween crowd finally staggered out the door. She pulled off her Marilyn Monroe wig with a weary sigh, leaning against the door. "Thank god. I thought they would never leave," she said. "Cash out and then clock out. I'll see you all tomorrow. Or later today. Whatever."

Her staff eagerly finished up and left, leaving only her and Rex behind. Rex took off the leather jacket for his James Dean costume, hanging it behind the bar as he stared at the mess left behind by the revelers. "This isn't too bad," he said.

"You can go home," she told him. "I can handle this."

He shook his head, grabbing the broom. "I'm your janitor. This is my job. Let me do it, please. You go home."

"I am home," she reminded him, pointing to the ceiling. On the other side was her living room, which led to her very enticing bed. But she wasn't going to leave him alone with this mess. "Let's do this together, then. It'll go faster."

Rex nodded, handing her the broom before retrieving his mop. They worked together in silence, slowly but surely cleaning up the mess. Once the last garbage bag was tossed into the dumpster, Roni placed her money into the safe and closed it for the night before locking her office. "Time to hit the hay," she said.

She turned, finding Rex at the jukebox. Frowning, she approached him. "What are you doing?"

"I was thinking about what you said to Henry earlier," he told her. "You know, about moving on and taking chances? I thought I would take a chance of my own."

Her heart beat wildly in her chest and her palms grew sweaty. "Oh? How so?"

Rex selected a song, playing Yazoo's "Only You," before turning to her. He held out his hand. "Will you dance with me? And, maybe, go out for dinner tomorrow? Er, tonight?"

"I would love to," she said, taking his hand. "And the same goes for dinner."

The smile gave her as he pulled her close was bright enough to rival the sun but she didn't mind looking into it. She smiled back as they danced around the bar. It had been a long time since Roni had felt loved and safe like she did in his arms and she hoped the feeling never ended.

Lying her head on his shoulder, she was glad she took a chance on the homeless guy sleeping in his car behind her bar.