Peppino flipped the open sign to closed, signaling the end of another hard day. Ever since the tower fell, Peppino got more customers coming to his pizzeria. He had Gustavo helping him, sure, but it wasn't enough for him to keep up with the pace. Peppino was used to getting hardly any customers, and now suddenly everyone seemed interested in him and his establishment. Thinking about all this, he walked out of the pizzeria and headed home in his dinged up and battered used car. He had that thing for so long, he couldn't even remember when he got it. Peppino drove home to his dinky apartment, wondering what he was gonna have for dinner that night.
Peppino lived modestly, that's for sure. Even after beating Pizzahead and getting a decent amount of money from it, he invested it in his business instead of himself. He'd rather keep it afloat rather than spending it on something as frivolous as a fancy new house or car. The pizzeria is his livelihood, and if he didn't have that he had nothing at all. Peppino walked into his living room and slumped on the couch, happy that he got through another day. Frankly, he was exhausted from having to entertain customers about how he got through the tower. It appears they cared more about that than his expertise as a chef. Peppino took a lot of pride in the pizzas he made, but sometimes he felt as though nobody appreciated it.
He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, watching the show in front of him. He didn't really pay attention to it. His mind was elsewhere, thinking about what happened that day. Peppino didn't seem like the type on the surface, but he was quite introspective. He could be quite introverted and stay in his head for too long, sometimes to the point of making himself worry. Thankfully, he had Gustavo around most of the time to pull him out of his reveries. However, when he isn't there, it's much harder for him to snap out of it. Peppino gets overwhelmed sometimes by all that he must keep up with.
He didn't remember falling asleep on the couch, and by the time he realized it he jolted awake by the TV. He turned it off and trodded to bed. At least he wasn't woken up by one of his '3:00 AM terrors', as he liked to call them. Great, now that he thought about it, he was probably going to have one now. Peppino tossed and turned all night worrying about that, as well as everything else he had to do the next day. He got up the next morning feeling worn down from worry, but he had to keep himself going for his business.
Getting in his car, he drove to the pizzeria, hoping he would get there before it inevitably broke down. Peppino was stubborn about getting a new car for a long time, but when his car did eventually break down halfway to his establishment, he banged his head on the wheel in frustration. He got out and tried to see if there was anything he could do. Peppino wasn't any good at car repair, but even if he was, the car was just too far gone to be worth fixing. He cursed at himself and the car in Italian while kicking it a few times.
Peppino was supposed to open at 11:00 AM but there was no way he was going to make it now. Gustavo was probably worried about him, which made Peppino even more stressed. In a frenzy he called Gustavo to tell him that he was going to be late. When Gustavo answered the phone, he was met with Peppino rambling off in his ear, and he couldn't understand what he was saying.
"Slow down, Peppino," Gustavo said, "explain to me what happened as calmly as possible."
Peppino breathed, trying to collect himself. "I'm going to be late because my car broke down."
"Where are you? I'll come get you."
"I'm about halfway to the pizzeria. It's not that far. I'll just walk there. Shouldn't take me too long."
Gustavo balked at the idea. "Peppino, you don't need to do that! I'll get Brick and we can pick you up."
At this point Peppino has already started walking away. "It's fine, I can make it. I'm used to it."
Gustavo sighed. Peppino could be so stubborn sometimes, but he worried about him walking such a long distance. He knew his friend had trouble asking for help and accepting it, and he'd been trying to help him with this for a while. Gustavo worried about Peppino for a while, ever since the tower fell. It took a toll on Peppino mentally, and Gustavo wanted to make sure he wouldn't put himself in harm's way again.
"Peppino, I'm on my way, whether you like it or not." Gustavo sat on top of Brick and motioned for him to start moving.
"It's really alright, Gustavo, you don't have to-"
Too late. Gustavo already had Brick on the move on his way to Peppino's location. There was no way the man could argue with his friend about picking him up. Gustavo was very attentive of Peppino, and it made Peppino annoyed sometimes, but he appreciated that someone cared about him as much as he did. They'd known each other for many years, and it had always been like that. Whenever Peppino was in trouble, Gustavo always went out of his way to help him.
Peppino didn't have to wait long for Gustavo to show up. He still thought it was weird that he managed to train a giant rat to be ridden like a horse. Then he remembered this was the least weird thing he'd encountered in his life. He looked up at his friend, sitting atop his mount and gesturing to him to get on. Peppino climbed on, reluctantly. He never got over how weird it was, and it took him a long time to warm up to the giant rat.
"What rotten luck I've had today," Peppino said, putting his head in his hands.
"It's okay, Peppino," Gustavo said, "hopefully once we get to work things will look up, right?"
He hoped, but trouble seemed to follow Peppino wherever he went. The poor man never caught a break from his bad luck. Gustavo felt bad for him and did the best he could to keep his friend safe and happy. He looked at Peppino, bags under his eyes as he always had. Gustavo couldn't remember the last time he looked refreshed and rested. Peppino was haunted by so many things that even he wasn't sure of them all.
"I don't know how I'm going to afford a new car," Peppino said, "I've invested everything into the business…"
Gustavo frowned and put his hand on Peppino's shoulder. He knew he should've gotten a new
car a long time ago, but the man was so stubborn about it there was no convincing him. Now that the inevitable had happened, he wanted to find a way to help him. "I know you love the pizzeria Peppino, but…" He tried to be careful with what he was about to say next. "… I think you should try to invest more into yourself than the business. You've done so much and haven't taken care of yourself at all!"
While they were talking, they arrived at the pizzeria, with a few regulars lined up at the door waiting for their pizza. It was almost noon, and the people were getting antsy. Brick, Gustavo, and Peppino went around the back to enter through the employees only door before they let the customers inside. But Peppino wasn't paying much attention to what was going on around him, instead being hung up on what Gustavo told him. Frankly, he was a little insulted over it.
"What do you mean, 'not taking care of myself'?! I'm perfectly fine!" says Peppino, who has bags under his eyes and looks like he hasn't slept in weeks. Disheveled and stressed, with unhealthy ways of coping with said stress. That is, not managing it much at all. He thought just running his business was enough to keep him going and make him happy, but he was too stubborn to realize that there's more to life than just working. This is what Gustavo had told him many times, but Peppino didn't listen.
Gustavo held his tongue, knowing if he rebutted Peppino they would just argue. Instead, he walked into the kitchen of the pizzeria and started setting everything up for the day. Peppino went to the front to unlock the front door for the customers, changing the closed sign to open. The people barged in and got in line, complaining about having to wait so long for the restaurant to open. Peppino apologized profusely for making them wait, trying to get things going as quickly as possible.
The day went as it usually did. Peppino and Gustavo took turns taking orders and making them, as well as going on deliveries when needed. Peppino was glad business was picking up, but throughout the day it became harder and harder to keep up with everything. He remembered what Gustavo said earlier that day about taking care of himself and scoffed. "I take care of myself", he thought, "everything is just fine!"
A customer walked to the counter and as soon as he did, Peppino blurted, "What do you want?! We have many orders waiting!"
The customer crossed their arms. "Geez, what brilliant customer service… Just get me a pepperoni and cheese. Not too complicated, right?"
Peppino wiped the sweat from his forehead, grumbling to himself as he made the customer's order. He'd done this a million times, so it was done lickedy split. Gustavo saw what happened and apologized to the customer. "Sorry about that. He's had a rough day."
"Don't we all?" the customer, still perturbed by Peppino's attitude.
Gustavo went in the back and helped Peppino with the orders. He talked to him about how he was handling the customers. Sure, Peppino was never the most chipper and upbeat fellow in the world, but the way he was acting that day was beyond his normal cranky self. He was very short and irritable with everyone, and whatever Gustavo did to try to cheer him up didn't work. Peppino was shorter fused than usual.
"Everything is just fine," Peppino said like a mantra. The pizzas he made were sloppier than usual, and he was clearly struggling to keep up with the demand. He was so stuck in his mind that day that he didn't really pay attention to what he was doing. If it wasn't for Gustavo coming in and helping that day, who knows how much worse the pizzas would've turned out.
Customers complained about said pizzas, to which Gustavo had to perform damage control when Peppino got snippy with them. When things started to slow down, he pulled Peppino to the side and had a talk with him.
"Peppino, are you sure you're, okay?" He asked. "Maybe you should take a break and let me handle things for a while."
Peppino wiped the sweat from his brow. Even though a break sounded nice, he didn't want to put pressure on Gustavo to pick up his slack. "Don't worry about me, Gustavo! It's just busier than usual!"
Gustavo didn't believe any of that. He'd been watching Peppino all day, and he was clearly in need of a break. That was something about Peppino that bothered him; he was prone to overworking himself to the point of total burnout. He'd seen Peppino burn out before, and it was not a pretty sight. Gustavo wanted to avoid that happening again.
"No can do. I want you to sit in the breakroom and relax!" Gustavo led him there and forced him to sit down. Brick laid in a giant pet bed in the corner, watching what was happening.
Peppino begrudgingly followed him there, grumbling to himself in Italian how he didn't need to take a break and that he was fine. He sat on the couch, his arms folded. Who did Gustavo think he is, thinking that he knew what was best for him? Nobody knew Peppino more than Peppino!
He sat there for a few minutes until he decided he was better, but Brick blocked the door to prevent him from leaving.
"Get out of my way, Brick! I need to go help Gustavo in the kitchen!" Peppino tried to shove him out of the way, but he didn't budge.
The rat squeaked in response, determined to make Peppino slow down and rest, as Gustavo said.
"Gustavo worries about me too much," Peppino said, "he always says I work too much. I say, I know my limits!"
Brick narrowed his eyes, looking at the bags under his master's friend's eyes. It was clear that.
Peppino needed this break, and he doesn't know himself as much as he thinks he does. He led Peppino back to the couch and made him sit down again. They went back and forth for a while. Peppino trying to leave the break room while Brick would block the door and make him sit on
the couch. Eventually it tired Peppino out and he sat down trying to catch his breath.
"You're persistent, aren't you, rat?" He was beginning to lose his patience, which he was surprised he had any left at this point.
Brick nodded and folded his arms. He sat by the door to make sure Peppino wouldn't leave. Gustavo wanted Peppino to rest, and he wanted to make sure that's what he got. Peppino tried so hard to fight off his tiredness, but it was starting to get to him.
"I'm not tired. I swear I'm not," Peppino said to Brick, trying to keep up his determination not to give in to sleep. Deep down, he wanted to go home and get in bed so badly, but why do that when there was work to be done? There were a lot of thoughts on his mind, but they were slowly starting to meld together into mush. Everything started to become fuzzy due to how tired he was.
Brick kept his eyes on him as he watched Peppino still fight his tiredness. He finally closed his eyes and fell asleep. Brick got back in his bed, curling up and going to sleep along with him.
Gustavo came into the breakroom a little later and saw Peppino sleeping on the couch and Brick in the pet bed. He shook his head, knowing Peppino tired himself out from being so stressed. He wished there was more he could do to help him, but that was going to have to wait until the pizzeria was closed for the day.
Peppino woke up about an hour or so later, stretching himself out and cracking his joints. He remembered he was at work and immediately jumped off the couch to help Gustavo. Brick swished his tail when he heard Peppino slam the door of the breakroom. So much for a peaceful nap.
"Oh, you're awake," Gustavo said, "how was your nap? Do you feel any better?"
Peppino was a little more relaxed in his posture, but he still retained some of the nervous energy he usually had. "A little, thanks, Gustavo. Everything must have caught up to me, I'm so sorry."
"For what, Peppino? You didn't do anything wrong."
Peppino helped Gustavo go over the stock in the kitchen. "For the way I acted earlier. I shouldn't have done what I did."
"Peppino, I know you've been going through a lot. That's why I wanted you to take a break earlier."
Peppino didn't respond to that and continued the task he was in the middle of. He didn't want to admit he had a lot of things floating around his mind. He was in denial about what was really going on in his life. Peppino wanted to pretend that everything was okay even if it really wasn't.
He had to keep his business going, because without it he was nothing. Peppino's mind was always in a loop of, "must get this done. Everything must go as planned."
Gustavo continued to worry about Peppino even after he told him to take a break. He didn't seem entirely rested.
"Peppino," he started, "I want you to know that I'm really worried about you. The last thing I want to happen is for you to burn out. So, please, take care of yourself."
Peppino's anger started to rise again. "Why are you so worried about me, Gustavo! Everything is fine! How many times do I need to say it? I'm fine! I'll get a new car someday, right? And I'll pay off all my debts soon, right?"
He was beginning to spiral, and Gustavo started to worry even more. "Peppino, please-"
"I'm going to keep the business going! I can't let it go! It's all I have… Even if I must walk here every day… I don't want to let it go! I can't lose anything else. I can't!" Peppino's eyes were wild with anxiety. He didn't know where he was anymore, and Gustavo did his best to talk him down.
"Peppino, listen to me. Tell me five things you can see, touch, taste, hear, and smell." Gustavo remembered hearing about this technique from some self-help books he read about anxiety. He went out of his way to educate himself on mental health to help Peppino.
Peppino started to name off a few things, slowly. After a few moments he started to come down a little and looked at Gustavo. He was thankful that he was around to help whenever things like this happened.
"How're you feeling now, Peppino?" Gustavo asked.
"Better," Peppino answered, "I don't know what I'd do without you, Gustavo."
Gustavo patted Peppino on the back. "I'm always here for you. Don't ever forget that."
Peppino smiled. As small as it was, it wasn't left unnoticed by his friend. That was the first genuine smile Gustavo had seen on him in a long time! He wanted to treasure it as long as he could. The chef had so many worries in the back of his mind, but Gustavo kept him grounded and able to get things done. He truly didn't know what he would do without him in his life.
At the end of the day, Gustavo and Peppino closed the shop and got ready to head home. It was one of the busiest days they'd had yet, and they were both exhausted. Gustavo looked over at Peppino, who looked more tired than he. He hoped that he would get better sleep tonight, but he wasn't sure. There were so many things that he wanted to tell him, but he knew he couldn't.
For a long time, Gustavo wanted Peppino to go back to therapy. He remembered him talking about it a while ago, but he was afraid to go back. Peppino told him about the bad experience he had and didn't think it would work for him. But Gustavo was so worried about Peppino burning out that he had to give it a shot and ask about it again.
"Peppino", Gustavo said, "I've been thinking about this for a while, but… I think you should try going back to therapy again."
Peppino widened his eyes and started to fidget nervously. "I can't. You already know it didn't work for me."
"I know, but it wouldn't hurt to at least consider it." Gustavo put his hand on Peppino's. "But if you really don't want to go back, I understand."
Gustavo and Peppino got on top of Brick and got ready to head to Peppino's apartment first. Gustavo didn't say anything more on the subject and tried to lighten the mood with mundane talk about sports and TV shows that they both enjoyed. It was something they always did at the end of the day. Peppino felt better that he got some things off his chest, but he couldn't shake the feeling he had about going back to therapy. He wasn't ready to talk about it with anyone, and he tried to push it away from his mind.
Gustavo could tell that Peppino wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying. He tended to get stuck in his own head, and he did his best to bring him back. Gustavo continued to make small talk with Peppino until they arrived at his apartment. He helped Peppino dismount from
Brick and spoke to him before he went back inside.
"Peppino," Gustavo said, "don't forget that if you ever need anything, I'm here."
Peppino gave him a tired smile. "I know, Gustavo. Thanks for being there for me." He turned around to go inside the building, but Gustavo stopped him to give him a hug. Peppino was taken aback by the sudden affection, but he accepted it. They didn't exchange affection like this often, but he knew that Gustavo was worried about him that day. And to be honest, he felt like he really needed it.
They pulled away from each other and Peppino gave his friend one last goodbye before entering the apartment building. Gustavo watched him go inside. Once he was out of sight, he jumped
back on Brick and returned home. He still thought about what Peppino was going through and wished that he would be free of his inner turmoil someday. No matter how long that took, Gustavo would be there for him.
Author's Note: This is a story that I wrote while in a stream of consciousness. I thought about Peppino and Gustavo's relationship and how I think their dynamnic would be. I see Gustavo as the friend that always worries about you and wants to make sure you're safe and happy. I think Gustavo worries about Peppino a lot, and he does his best to help him in any way he can. Peppino has a lot of nervous energy and needs someone to ground him.