This one's for Crash519 who requested some Hap giving Juice shit...with the added bonus of Kozik because I couldn't resist! ;)
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Juice sat at one of the booths in Flo's Diner all alone. It was his birthday. His first since he escaped New York and headed to California, and while he loved his new place and his new 'family', he was sorely missing sitting in Mrs. Zelman's diner with Angela laughing over a piece of cherry pie back in New York. Mrs. Z would give him a huge scoop of ice cream on the side, and he'd eat the pie while fending off Angela trying to sneak in a spoonful of ice cream despite the fact she usually had a slice of cheesecake in front of her since she didn't like pie. The cheesecake didn't come with ice cream, and she insisted she didn't need a scoop, that the cheesecake was enough. It wasn't, though, and she always ended up eating some of his. He never minded, he knew Mrs. Z gave him an extra scoop to share, but, he loved pretending to fight with her over it. Love the sound of her laughter as he blocked her spoon with his.
Even that diner pie was a poor substitute for the homemade pie his sister, Jo, used to make for him every year since he was six, and she was nine. Her recipe grew with her until she had it down, and it was damn near perfect. His mouth watered at the memory of it. He wondered what she was doing, if she was thinking of him or hoping to hear from him. Grabbing his phone out of the inside of his prospect's cut, he flipped it open, his fingers hovering over the number pad as he considered calling her. He couldn't bring himself to do it, though. He was already feeling homesick, hearing her voice would only make it worse, and he didn't want to end up crying in the middle of the diner. Inevitably someone would see him and probably tell one of the club members, and they'd give him shit for it or worse, think he wasn't worthy of a cut. He was still just a prospect after all.
To be fair, no one in SAMCRO knew it was his birthday save for Gemma since she had his employee record. She hadn't said much, though. Just a quick "Happy Birthday" with a hug before she pushed him back towards the garage bay and said, "Now get back to work."
He'd spent the day fixing engines and cleaning the floors of the clubhouse. Not the ideal way to spend his birthday, but at least he was alive to see another year. The highlight of the day had been the voicemail he'd gotten from Angela. He'd been bummed to have missed her call but hadn't been able to stop to return it. He opened the phone again and held down the number two for his speed dial.
Angela answered on the first ring. "Happy birthday, goof!" she exclaimed before he could get a word out, the warmth in her voice making him grin like an idiot. "What are you up to?"
"Sittin' at a little diner with a subpar piece of apple pie," he muttered, stabbing at the melting ice cream with his fork. "Missin' our tradition."
"Me too," she answered, her voice a little sadder. "I got a piece of cherry pie and ice cream by myself at the diner. Mrs. Z got upset that I wouldn't eat the pie, so I took a few bites just so she wouldn't be offended. Wasn't half bad. Still think a piece of cake is better suited for a birthday but whatever."
Juice chuckled. Cake versus pie was another argument they had on their birthdays. Angela was adamant that wanting pie instead of a big ole cake to celebrate a birthday was all kinds of wrong, and he loved arguing against her. Still, she never tried to change his mind, and every year, she dutifully got him a piece of pie for his birthday. "Yeah, well, I beg to differ. What are you doing up?"
"Was waiting for you to call me back," she answered, yawning into the phone. "Wasn't gonna go to sleep until I wished you a happy birthday."
His heart skipped a beat. God, he missed her. Missed the way she cared for him. Missed their long talks on the roof and just knowing she was nearby if he was ever feeling lonely. "Miss you, Angel."
"Miss you too," she said on a sad sigh.
"Juicer!" a shout came from behind him, scaring the shit out of him. Kozik walked towards the booth, Happy trailing behind him.
Angela laughed softly on the other end. "I know that voice. I may or may not have told him it was your birthday," she stated, and he could practically see the amused twinkle in her eyes. "Say hi for me. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Juice frowned, hating to hang up so soon. As nice as it was for Hap and Koz to be there to celebrate with him, he would've rather stayed on the phone with Angela. "Will do. Talk to you later, Angel."
He hung up the phone just as Kozik threw himself down into the booth next to him, presenting him with a badly made Spiderman plushie Juice knew he'd seen in the claw machine by the front door of the diner. "Happy freakin' Birthday!"
Happy sat on the other side of the table, setting a brand new white Bic lighter and a Playboy down on the table. Juice picked up the lighter, noting his name was drawn on it in Sharpie. The letters were done in a cool tribal-style design he'd seen Happy playing around with in his sketchbook. "Happy Birthday, idiot," Hap said on a nod.
Juice pocketed the lighter and quickly put the stuffed Spiderman and the Playboy on the booth beside him so the waitress wouldn't see. "Thanks, guys. These are...great," he said, loving each present despite the fact he knew Happy's were from the gas station and Koz's came from some cheap game. He still appreciated the thought.
"This is from the kid," Happy said, throwing down a little box. It was perfectly wrapped with a nice blue bow on top. "Ma wrapped it."
"She got you shit too, but she wants to do a dinner later this week," Koz said, grabbing a fork off the table and digging into the apple pie without even asking. He waved over the waitress, giving her a big grin that made the girl blush. "You got a candle or somethin', sweetheart? And another slice of this pie! And some ice cream! It's this guy's birthday!"
Juice couldn't stop smiling as the waitress brought another slice of pie with a candle sticking out of it. He hovered over it looking between Hap and Koz for a second. Hap gestured to the pie. "Ain't gonna sing to you. Make a wish and blow that shit out," he ordered on a scowl.
He chuckled, blowing out the candle before taking a bite. With his fellow brothers there, even the apple pie tasted a little better. "Thanks, guys."
Happy ignored him while Kozik shrugged off his thanks. "So what'd the kid get ya?" Kozik asked, nodding towards the box. "She was stressed it wouldn't come in time. Called Lena every day to see if it got there."
Again, Juice was struck by how much Angela cared about him. He lifted the box, surprised by it's weight. It was about the size of his hand, and it couldn't have been cheap to send across the country. Carefully, he slid his fingers under the tape to unwrap it only to have Kozik scoff. "Fuckin' open it, dude! Just tear that shit, c'mon," he said impatiently.
Happy smirked. "You tryin' to keep it or some shit? Ma's got a whole roll, fuckin' idiot."
Despite the way they were berating him, Juice carefully unwrapped the gift to reveal a black box. Opening it up, he found a big silver metal skeleton hand holding up a middle finger. He picked it up with a smirk; only Angela would think to buy him a belt buckle like that.
"The fuck is it?" Hap asked, barely managing to hide a smirk when he showed him. He nodded in approval. " 's a good one."
Kozik laughed, slapping the table. "Fuckin' Ang. Always with the belt buckles. She knows how to pick 'em. Buckles and rings."
Juice had seen the somewhat flashy belt buckles his brothers wore but had yet to pick one up himself. It was almost as if Angela knew he was missing something and was doing her best to help him fit in. The belt buckle itself reminded him of her. Her obsession with skeletons along with the middle finger, which she often flashed his way when they were teasing each other. It fit in with the SAMCRO reaper style too, of course, but he had a feeling she got it to remind him of her. He smiled, rubbing his thumb over it. "Gotta call her later to thank her. Can't have been cheap."
"Nah. Kid ain't cheap like some people," Kozik said, nodding towards Happy.
The Tacoma killer threw a balled up napkin at his face in response. "Ain't nothin' wrong with bein' mindful of excessive spendin'. Just supportin' my family."
Juice fought the urge to roll his eyes; Happy was the cheapest person he'd every met, and he hadn't known him long. Kozik snorted, shaking his head. "Yeah, that why you re-use condoms?"
That was a new detail. Juice blinked at the Tacoma Killer, furrowing his brow in confusion. He couldn't even fathom how that would work. "Are you serious?"
"On occasion," Happy answered, shrugging a shoulder. " 's long as they ain't broken."
"How do you not have like fifty kids?" Juice asked dumbfounded.
Happy shrugged again in answer while Kozik laughed and said, "He just might."
"Ain't heard a one yet," Happy stated, looking almost proud of the fact. "Already got a kid. Don't need anymore."
It took him a second to connect the dots that the kid Happy was referring to was Angela. It made sense. He never heard him call her by her actual name. She was always just "the kid." Juice wondered if he'd every called Ang by her full name. If it wasn't Happy, he'd ask, but he knew the Tacoma killer did not take kindly to people asking him about his personal life.
He was aware of Koz and Happy talking around him, but he couldn't' stop thinking about Angela. He stared at the belt buckle, running thumb over the ridges of the skeleton hand. He pictured her finding it in the store and thinking of him. Her graceful fingers with the perfectly painted nails tracing over the little bones. She could probably tell the names of each bone since she'd taken anatomy, her dark eyes lit up and sparkling as they usually were when she talked about what she was studying. He missed her. Wished she was there with him instead of forced to stay in New York for summer school since she'd missed so much class while grieving for Raj.
"Kid's graduating soon," Happy stated, breaking through his thoughts.
Juice knew that. He'd been counting down the days, trying to figure out something to send to her on the day. "Yeah. Wish I could go."
"Why? To see some idiot read names and then the kid go walkin' across the stage to get a piece of paper?" Kozik asked on a shrug. "Saw her do that in high school. Same shit, different colored robes."
Juice shook his head slowly. "Nah, 's more than that. She worked hard for that piece of paper," he stated on a sigh. "Pulled all nighters and shit. She's smart, but it wasn't easy. Lot of times I'd stay at the apartment with her. Playin' games and shit while she studied just to give her company."
Happy tilted his head to the side, eyes slightly narrowed. "Her boy wasn't there?"
"Not when I was. He usually would be out at his study group or somethin'. She'd invite me over for dinner, make me pick it up, and then we'd just...hang out," he explained, smiling just a little at the memory. She'd be in the kitchen, and he'd be on the living room couch. They could see each other from their respective spots, and every so often, she'd stop studying to relay a fun fact or curse at the material. Sometimes, she'd throw him a stack of flashcards and sit on the other side of the couch, asking him to test her. He didn't mind; he didn't have anywhere better to be. Angela was the closest thing he had to a family, and he'd rather be at the apartment with her than alone at his own place. "I'd sleep in the guest room a lot. Sometimes I'd wake up, and she'd be passed out on the table, so I'd wake her up. Make her go to bed."
Happy nodded slowly as if in approval as he played with the butter knife on the table. "Used to carry her to bed when she was a kid."
"Yeah, no middle schooler should be pullin' old nighters," Kozik said on a scoff.
"She must've been worse when she was in high school," Juice commented, chuckling a bit. "She told me about all the advanced classes she was in."
Happy and Kozik both went very quiet. Happy's jaw ticking just slightly before Kozik said, "We were inside while she was in high school. Don't really know what it was like for her. Know she graduated top of her class, though...also know she was almost suspended for skippin' class."
"Fuckin' dickhead," Happy muttered, shaking his head. He looked like he wanted to launch that butterknife at someone.
"We got her outta there, though," Kozik reminded him. "Turned out just fine."
Juice looked between the two, amused as he always was at Angela's two "dads". He'd never call them that to their face, but he knew that's how she viewed them. She talked about them often, though she always found excuses for him to avoid meeting them in the past. He never cared; he'd kept her from meeting his own sister. "She did. Can't wait for her to come home."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Kozik slapped him on the back. "Soon, Juicer, soon."
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This one was fun to write!! Thanks for the request, @Crash519!
I like to think Juice's Birthday is some time in June-ish? He gives me mad Cancer vibes! Does anyone else have another theory? Is there a better astrological sign you see for Juicy or for any of the boys??
If any one has any other requests, please let me know!! :)
Have a great week!
~Love Ink
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