Peter starts his day at dawn. His analog clock beeps him out of bed but his cats make sure to beat the alarm five minutes before. Peter gets up per request of his feline companions rather than the grating noise coming from his bedside table.
He clicks the off button on the alarm and begins his morning routine. At least today is Friday and he gets a day off tomorrow.
Peter rubs his eyes away from sleep and squeezes himself in the shower. Knowing he has a rough day ahead with the new co-driver on his route is sure to cause some mishaps, clean or messy.
As the water runs, he sees the water collecting at his feet swirl with black boxed dye. Procrastination catches up with any soul. Even the ones that didn't feel so alive. Mentally, he curses at himself, wondering if today was going to be a shit one. How the tub floor was lightly stained with the remnants of his past, he couldn't help but think of himself.
What a fucking joke.
Peter gets out and dries himself off with two towels. He doesn't like to dry his face and hair with the same one he dried his ass with but just sometimes it could be done. They were interchangeable, after all.
After he brushes his teeth, he dresses himself accordingly, slipping on some stonewashed jeans and a green button up. Peter puts on the thick and durable jacket that had the NYC Parks Enforcement badge on the chest. He wears it proudly and the sight of it makes him happy.
Peter loved his job. He loved the routine, the dirt, the grime. The harder the job, the better feeling he had after the job was complete. He found pride in helping others, the city he grew up in. To many it could be described as mundane. There were no changes. There was nothing that was super out of the ordinary. It was the same every day.
Just the way he liked it.
"Mornin' Nix.' He said with a little smile, seeing one of his cats, Nixon, sit by his bowl expectantly waiting for breakfast. Peter also loved his cats. Some were rescues, others were just taken in by others from the family. Peter loved all five of them. Grizzelda, Weena, Sexy, Tito and Nixon were his children.
Who were also waiting for their mopey human to feed them.
Pete poured each cat their own set of food, making sure there was water before starting his day at work.
The new guy, Mike, was the chattiest person ever to exist. He'd be a bit shorter than Peter was, tall and lean. There isn't much meat on his bones and his curly long hair was a telltale sign that he was a hippie. Pete was no snitch, the guy smelled like he slept with a stench. His sympathies however would lie with the skunks more.
Mike's eyes are half lidded with pot and his smile doped as ever. He'd see Peter (surprisingly) down the hall and he wishes he could just completely dodge the guy.
''Heyyy Pete! What's goin' on man?'' He'd ask, a bit too jovial for the early hours of the morning. He was quickly glued to his side as Peter clocked in at the Parks main building.
''Back on the grind. Nothin' more, nothin' less.'' Pete said with a small chuckle. Although, Mike laughed a bit too much. It wasn't that funny.
''I totally get it man. You know, I'd say ''stick it to the man!'' but my dad squeezed me into this job, saying that he didn't want me like some hippie fucker or whatever.''
'Yeah, it may be too late for that'. Peter thought while giving a polite nod and smile.
''Ahh, well, good work pays off. Hopefully you'll be able to pay off your water bill this month.''
Peter begins walking to grab the garbage truck keys that hung by the entrance. A confused Mike follows, brow raised.
"Why's that?''
For a moment, Peter doesn't respond as he climbs into the vehicle and starts it up. Usually, Mike drives and he empties the bins. Though, he had other plans.
''Because of you fuckin' up the trash pick-up schedules, you're gonna be pickin' up trash, man.''
Peter shuts the driver's door with a heavy thud. Mike's mouth is agape in confusion before he groans and stomps off to the back of the truck. Peter sees him in one of the mirrors and snickers a bit to himself, feeling like this would be a good lesson not to fuck up his routine. His schedule.
Some hard thuds of Mike hitting the side of the truck is a sign that Peter is alright and okay to go.
The route around Brooklyn is fairly easy. That is if you've been doing the same job for a good amount of years. The regulars read their morning newspaper out on their porches, talking to the neighbors. Some, which is most, ignore their neighbors and cuss out those who'd be honking incessantly at nine in the morning. Peter loved it. There wasn't a day he didn't. Okay, a bit of a lie but at least the chaos was expected.
"Alright man, next stop!'' Mike bellowed over the loud roars of traffic and the rumbling of the garbage truck. Pete took note of the thuds on the side of the truck and began to drive again.
The kid just needed some direction and Peter understood it. Some punishment was needed and turns out he was working well. Course, the slip ups were expected since he was new. Peter just didn't want to have to deal with some slacker who just got the job because of his dad.
After a few more stops, it was lunchtime and man was he starving.
Peter parked the truck at the usual spot. It was on the side of some more quiet road near the outskirts of Brooklyn. Mike scrambled to the passenger seat, sweating bullets. His blonde hair stuck to the sides of his face, bandana around his head catching the majority of sweat that poured out of him. He huffed and Peter chuckled.
"How you feelin'?''
''Like shit!'' Mike exclaimed, earning a genuine laugh from Peter who dug out their lunch boxes from the console between them.
''Good. Means you're working.'' He took out his lunchbox while Mike followed suit.
Peter was quick to dig into his Chinese take-out left overs and for a while, a heavy silence struck the both of them as they ate.
He could see that Mike had this soggy BLT. He ate it greedily and Peter turned the other way. He may have been fighting the munchies after a few hours. Or maybe he just worked him to hunger, who really knew?
"So,'' Mike piped up, mouth full of his sorry excuse of a sandwich, ''How long have you been working here?"
"Long time." Peter replied shortly as he twirls a plentiful amount of noodles around his fork and eats away. Mike hums in response, chewing ridiculously loudly. Luckily the city ambience drowns most of it out.
"You got a girlfriend or anythin'?" Mike asks yet another question and Pete freezes just for a split second.
"No. I don't."
"Then what's up with that charm in your lunchbox?"
Pete looks down to see he still has a bear charm around the strap of his lunchbox. The moment his sight is set on it, his heart squeezes in pain. His brows furrowed and he was quick to unclip it and shove it in his pocket.
"Had one. A girlfriend. We didn't end on good terms. Guess I forgot to toss this out." Was all Peter said and his tone dropped, hopefully telling the message he didn't want to speak of it. Mike nods quietly as he inhales the rest of his lunch and sits back.
The cool breeze of the AC unit cools them both down. Peter eats the rest of his lunch even though he felt like he lost the rest of his appetite. Mike notices the silence growing longer and more tense.
"Sorry for askin'. "
"Don't worry about it man. It's not like every tall guy like myself has some dumb bear hanging off their lunchbox like some kid." Peter smiles, joking. It lightens the mood some and Mike goes back to his post after lunch is over.
The rest of the day goes smoothly and by around 2:30 pm, Peter is home.
He's not sure what to do. After changing out of his work clothes, switching them to some comfier ones, his brain goes blank.
He can't help but stare down that bear clip. It holds a heart in his furry paws, the words inside in big bubbly letters
I love you bear-y much!
It's small in his large hands and he sits back, sighing. Some days, he really missed her. He'd remember how happy they used to be. All the smiles they shared. All the laughter.
All that fighting.
ring ring! ring ring!
Peter's phone blares a loud ringing that jolts him out of his mourning thoughts. His cats who'd be laying by him peacefully would get up out of their places as Pete reached over to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hey Pete! Hope I ain't callin' at a bad time."
It was Johnny.
"Hey man and no, you're not. You caught me just at the right time. What's up?" Peter could hear the sound of loud live music and chatter through the call. "Where the hell are you?"
"Kenny and Josh are down here at Duff's with me. We're wondering if you wanna have a few drinks with us."
Peter weighs his options thoroughly. One, he could stay home with his cats, continue to mow down his Chinese take-out, watch Law & Order and lament about his past.
Two, he could go out to Duff's, have a few drinks, listen to live music and be with his friends.
"Nah man, had a hard day at work."
"Isn't that more the reason to come down and hang out?" Johnny asks and Peter can already see the stupid grin on his face.
"Fuckin'...fine. Alright. I'll be down there in fifteen."
Pete hangs up the phone and looks at the clip momentarily, wondering when he'd get the strength to throw it out. Maybe it was the large part of himself that he hated but even after all this time, he couldn't let go.
He couldn't let her go.
With a small sigh, he carelessly takes the clip and puts it on his shelf and tucked between two books. At least it wouldn't be on his person anymore and the thought of his friends waiting on him down at Duff's strung him out of his late night tidal wave of emotions.
Grabbing his keys to his car, he set out on a small drive out to the local bar. It was filled with regulars. Most knew who he was and his stature was one that made everyone's head turn. Tonight, he'd sacrifice a part of himself that was filled with anxiety being around all these people. It wasn't hard to search over the many heads to find the familiar ones.
There sat Johnny, Kenny and Josh at the bar, flooded with the red lighting that illuminated from the wall. Kenny's head turned over, noticing Peter's arrival.
''Hey Pete! Thought you were dead or somethin'!'' He joked over the loud music. Peter let up a grin as he squeezed himself in with his lifelong best friends who also greeted him.
''Ahh, not yet.''
Peter ordered himself a cheap wine. He'd swirl the contents in his glass before beginning to sip away. Drinks weren't all that common in his day to day. Although, when accompanied by his friends, a few couldn't hurt. It's not like he had to work tomorrow.
''That's about the most optimistic thing I've heard you say.'' Johnny snickered and Peter shrugged with a grin.
''Yeah, been doin' a bit better, anyways.'' Peter took another sip of his red wine. His friends were nodding, looking genuinely happy he was doing better. Aside from the occasional lamenting over his lost love, life seemed to be pretty okay.
''Ay, so uh, who was the chick you brought out over in front of L'Amour's the other day?'' Kenny asked, chugging what seemed to be his third beer of the night. Not even the pure darkness of Duff's could hide the little glint in his eye as he leaned in curiously.
Peter felt confused, racking his brain about the chick in question.
Y/n.
"Oh, she's some new girl in town.'' Peter replied, already feeling some sort of oddness fill his stomach mentioning her. ''She got lost and I offered her to help her out some.''
''Help her out?'' Kenny laughed. ''Is that what we're callin' it now?''
Peter rolled his eyes and lifted the glass to his lips, realizing that it was empty. He motioned the bartender over so his cup could be refilled. While doing so, the guys shared some laughter.
"She's the one with the camera, right?'' Josh asked, finally breaking his quiet streak. His face was nearly completely covered in his poodle hair that was so commonly called by the others. ''What's her name? You know?''
''Yeah, her name is Y/n. She's...''
Peter really thought about it. The buzzing in his head from the wine makes him smile. The memory of her in the passenger seat almost wipes out the memory of his vile ex in that same spot. Almost. His gaze lifts from his red wine to his friends.
''Nice.''
''Nice. Damn, wasn't expecting that.'' Kenny chirps up, followed by Johnny.
''Yeah, I was really expecting some long winded purple prose speech.''
His friends sit in a quiet Peter feels bad bringing upon the conversation. Did he bring down the mood again? Usually, he was the light in the room, as everyone else put it like he actually was dead. Guess he must've been in his head for too long.
But he was wrong. Johnny, Kenny and Josh look at one another as if they were speaking telepathically. Pete watches the gazes flicker back and forth, wondering what the hell they were thinking.
"What?'' Peter questions, taking another swig of wine.
''You gonna ask her out or something?'' Johnny turns his head back over, that dumb grin he imagined earlier making its appearance before him. Before Peter could interject, Kenny adds his piece.
''Yeah man, it's been awhile since you've gone out.''
Josh nods, silently agreeing to the others. Peter waves it off dismissively, setting his glass down.
''I'm not so sure about that. I just met her. Hey, how the hell did you guys know about us stopping at L'Amour anyways?'' Peter asks and Johnny shrugs.
''We just saw you two climb in your car after stopping at the corner store around the block. After you came back, you had this weird look on your face.''
Kenny snorts. ''It looked like you were constipated.''
''Emotionally, maybe.'' Peter chuckles and flicks a strand of hair over his shoulder. He can feel his body be cloaked in a warm buzz as his chest feels a little lighter. He really needed to get out of the basement more often outside of work. Johnny sets down his beer bottle on the bar.
''But listen man, it don't hurt or anything to try. So she's new, so what? Show her around. Take her to those botanical gardens or some fancy restaurant. I think it's been enough time since...'' Johnny trails off and Peter understands where he's going.
''I mean, what if-''
''She ain't coming back, Pete.'' Kenny pipes up and Josh drinks his final beer for the night. Peter can only describe those words as a harsh slap to the face but one that was needed. Johnny pats Pete's shoulder for comfort.
''It'll be good to get back out there. It's been three years. If you're not ready, that's fine but you know, maybe if you try, somethin' good will come out of it.'' Johnny smiles and Peter can't help but feel his head flood with so many remarks.
How could he move on? Has it really been three years? Time seemed to go by much faster when he took refuge in his own head. Suppose wallowing in his own sadness hadn't helped much to the cause of healing.
''Yeah, you're right.'' Peter says shortly, deciding to cut himself off after four whole glasses of wine. At this point, he would be drinking the whole bottle. Kenny was right, too. She wouldn't be coming back.
So why did he wait?
"Alright, I gotta get on home. Promised my girl I wouldn't be out too late.''
Peter checked his watch on his wrist that displayed 11:30 pm. It neared midnight and once Kenny called it a night, the others slowly followed.
At one point it was just Josh and himself but even he had to go home to his girl.
Peter eventually paid for his drinks, the cost not only a dent in the wallet but his mind as he dragged himself out of the bar into the city street. His boots scraped against the concrete, making his way to his car and sitting in the driver's seat for a while.
Peter didn't want to go home yet. He knew he'd just be rotting on the couch, bummed out rewatching all the episodes of Law & Order again. He started up his car and decided to drive to one of his favorite places.
The hardware store.
It would be a small shop, tucked in between a hole in the wall restaurant and an unrented building. It was open 24 hours, its motto saying: It's never too late to fix your messes!
''Yeah, tell that to your neighbors at midnight.'' Peter mumbled as he read the sign and stepped inside.
He was greeted with bright overhead lights and distant music playing on the store speakers. It was a stark contrast from the dark and dim of Duff's so his eyes squinted as he began to make way over to the nail aisle.
His eyes scanned the plethora of nails that were displayed on the shelves before him. Framing nails, sinker nails and even spiral shank nails. All which he didn't need at this moment but good to see they rotated stock at least.
After Peter felt like all was seen in that aisle, he went down and turned to the next only for his heart to skip a beat.
It was Y/n.
Within the fleeting moment he saw her, she looked concentrated. Hooked around her arm was a basket, filled with a lot of tools and other things.
Peter however forgot to shield himself from her sight, now just standing at the end of the aisle like a total dork. So when Y/n's attention turned towards him, it was too late for Peter to make a break for it.
''Hey, it's you again.'' Y/n smiled, although Peter could notice that she appeared a little baffled by them running into one another again. Such a big city for this to happen in, he couldn't blame her.
''Hey, yeah. I guess it is.'' He replied and returned a small smile back, suddenly aware of what his friends said earlier that night.
''You're doing repairs?''
''Ahh, yeah. I'm going try to anyway. Once the landlord gave me the go ahead, I gotta at least try. To be honest though, I'm not all that skilled in being a handyman but maybe it'll be a learning experience.'' She chuckles and eyes the items in her basket before looking up at Peter.
''I would have hired one but money is a bit tight.'' Y/n says and Peter notices what she has in her basket. What she has is right but by the looks of it, there must be some holes to fill with all the spackle and tools.
Peter takes a small step forward and tilts his head slightly, the buzz from the wine finally settling. Y/n isn't sure how to react, simply looking up at Peter in curiosity. He couldn't help but to also notice how her cheeks were dusted pink by the fleeting closeness the two shared.
Peter smiled at that. How adorable.
''Hey, I can help you. I'm actually off tomorrow and I can bring over some of my tools too, fix whatever else needs to be fixed. No charge either, sweetheart.''
Y/n smiled, face flushed by Peter's kindness.
''Are you sure? Can I at least pay you back somehow? There's an awful amount of fixing to do and...''
Peter could see how badly she wanted to return the favor. The way her brows lifted, searching in his expression any answer to reassure her that there really wasn't anything she had to do. However, something did come to mind.
''How about you surprise me? If there's a lot of fixing, it could take a day or two. That should give you some time to think of something, right?'' Peter grinned, earning a nod from Y/n who snickered.
''That should be, yeah. Oh, hold on a sec.''
Peter watched as the woman before him dig in her purse, find a cute novelty pen and a crumpled up piece of paper. Quickly, she wrote a string of numbers down on a shelf nearby before handing it over to him.
''My number. Just so we don't have to keep running into one another to chat.''
Peter takes the slip of paper, eyeing over her phone number. He practically begins to absorb the numbers in his hand before he puts it in his jacket pocket.
''Wasn't that our thing?'' Peter jokes and earns a little laugh from Y/n.
''Easy there.'' Y/n smiles and continues. ''Give me a call sometime tomorrow, okay?''
''Sure will.''
Peter then watches her wave and walk off with that smile he returned. He wasn't sure how to feel in that moment once she turned the corner and out of his sight.
He'd drive home that night, feeling a little more interested in the new girl in town.
Maybe that was just the wine talking...
--
Happy Easter! Hope you liked the chapter and stay tuned for the next <3