The rest of the work day went by fairly fast, at least relatively. Considering that his shifts never consisted of cooking, they usually went by painfully slow, but, apparently, making a new friend makes days go by considerably quicker. The majority of the day was spent speaking with Razz or, more specifically, griping about the techniques of the so-called "professional cooks" working in the kitchen. They had found a dirty corner of the kitchen were they wouldn't get in the way but could still see everything.
"Ew. Look at the way that he stirred that batter!" Razz huffed, gesturing towards a nearby cook. "So clumsy. I'll bet that it's super lumpy."
Blue snickered and nodded in agreement. "Do you think he even mixed in the egg completely?"
"No way." Razz snorted. "He didn't even wash his hands. Disgusting."
"Wait, really?" He gasped.
"Um, hell yeah! Apparently humans haven't heard of hygiene." He frowned and slid down the wall he was leaning against. "I thought it was universal."
"Gross." Blue cringed. "And they keep us out of the kitchen?"
Suddenly, the other perked up, a devious smile spreading across his face. "We should report him to HR."
Bristling, Blue shook his head wildly. "No! He'll lose his job!"
"So?" Razz retorted. "He's probably spreading disease to all the customers. Isn't it our 'duty' or whatever to report him?"
"No, Razz! That's awful!"
The other chuckled softly, arms crossed. "You're no fun. I guess you're right, though. It's a pretty bad idea." Anger flared in his eyes. "We'd probably lose our jobs, and he'd get promoted."
With a frown, Blue watched as said cook fumbled around the kitchen, nearly spilling another cook's stir fry. He could do better than that in a heartbeat if they would just give him a chance. Yet, here he was, watching the cook of century burn his cake as Blue sat in the corner pouting and making fun of him.
"You know what? You're right. Let's get him fired," Blue mumbled, drawing out a shocked noise from the other.
For a moment, Razz just stared at him, eye sockets wide, and then he broke into an indescribably wide smile. "Maybe you're more fun than I thought."
"So, do we go report him to HR, then?" Blue asked. He was shockingly excited to do something so devious. To give the cook what he deserved. Maybe he or Razz would finally get a chance once he was gone.
Razz snorted, placing a hand on the smaller skeleton's shoulder. "Absolutely not. We just went over that, remember? Bad idea!" He used his free hand to stroke his chin in an exaggeratedly devilish way. "No, no, what we'll do will be a much surer method of getting him fired, and no one will ever know that it was us." A pause. "If we do it right, that is."
"What are you planning?" Blue leaned closer, intrigued and terrified.
"What I'm planning, dear Blue, is indisputably genius and completely fitting of the Malicious Sans. He won't know what hit him."
"Okay, 'Malicious Sans', do you want to tell me or leave me waiting in suspense?"
Razz's face flushed, and he frowned. "Uh, yes. I'll tell you."
Blue snickered softly. "Go for it."
"So, it's simple, really," Razz began. "All we need to do is steal some things from his station and then wait until he gets accused of it. He'll for sure get fired for that." He gave a sly smile. "Easy peasy lemon squeezy."
The other pondered for a moment before responding. "I don't know, Razz. That sounds more like stressed depressed lemon zest," he said with a laugh. "Wouldn't they know that we're the ones stealing his stuff?"
"Oh, Blue," Razz cooed, putting a delicate hand on his shoulder once more. "Oh, young, innocent, Blue."
"We're literally the same age."
"Don't you know how to steal things?"
"Why the fuck would I know how to steal things."
"Stop interrupting me, I'm trying to teach you, bitch."
In response, Blue flipped him off but allowed him to continue.
"As I was saying," Razz said, sticking out his middle finger with a smile. "Stealing things is super easy if you know what you're doing, and, lucky for you, I know exactly what I'm doing." He held out his hands with a flourish and displayed Blue's phone.
"What the fuck?!" Blue exclaimed, snatching his phone back from the other. "How?"
"The magic..." Razz smiled, "of pickpocketing."
"Okay, but when did you even take it?" Blue asked as he checked his pockets to make sure nothing else was missing.
"When I had my hand on your shoulder and was talking to you, duh. You were so distracted that you didn't even notice."
"I wasn't that distracted!" Blue mumbled.
Razz shrugged. "You were distracted enough for me to steal your phone."
Sticking out his tongue, Blue relaxed, satisfied that all of his things were in place. "You have got to teach me how to do that."
"That was the plan, dumbass."
Lessons began that afternoon within the kitchen itself. As Blue found out, he wasn't very good at pickpocketing. His alternate insisted that it just took practice, but Blue was almost sure that he'd never get it down. The particular way that he needed to speak, create contact, and slyly steal something from within the person's pocket was extraordinarily difficult. It was fairly easy to get steps one and two down, but the actual physical process of taking the object from Razz's pocket seemed nearly impossible. After about five-hundred or so attempts, Blue sank down onto the floor and sighed dramatically.
"That's enough butt touching for today, thank you," he said, exasperated.
"I don't like that you keep referring to it as that," Razz said, sitting down next to him. "You don't actually touch their butts, ya know."
"Maybe if you can do it right," Blue said with a laugh.
"Whatever. You'll get there eventually. Just keep practicing." Razz gave a reassuring smile.
"Maybe..." The smaller skeleton frowned and sank further into the ground.
Noticing his friend's deflated mood, Razz shoved Blue's shoulder softly. "Hey, let's leave."
"Leave?" Blue asked.
"That's what I said, isn't it?"
"Won't we get in trouble?"
Razz scoffed and crossed his arms bitterly. "As if! They probably don't even know that we're here."
Blue considered for a moment, but he knew that Razz was right. Aside from making sure that they had punched in and were present, they weren't told to do anything other than menial and unnecessary tasks that could be done by anyone. "Yeah, okay."
"Cool," the other said with a smile, gathering his things and heading to the back to take off his apron.
Blue followed close behind, untying his apron and removing his hat with a practiced precision. After he placed his phone on the table by the lockers, he neatly folded the clothes and placed them inside his locker, watching as his friend did the same, clothes in perfect squares, then grabbed his keys.
"You have a car?" Blue asked.
Razz gestured to the keys in his hand. "Obviously. You don't?"
"No, I do," Blue said. "I just let my brother use it."
"Ew, what a softie," Razz teased. "My brother can work until he can afford his own car, thank you very much. That lazybones needs to gain some sort of work ethic, and what better motivation than trying to avoid exercise?"
Blue stared at him, starry-eyed. "You're a genius."
"I know." He waved for the other to follow. "Now, come on. We only have so long to be out before 'work' is over and we have to take care of our lazy brothers."
They easily walked out the back door without drawing attention from any of the other workers and made their way towards Razz's car. Blue had offered to walk or pay for gas money, but Razz had simply scoffed and told him that driving him around was the least he could do when he was such a bad influence. That had gotten a laugh out of both of them, but they both knew that it was true. Blue certainly didn't mind, however. Sometimes, a little bad influence is just what a person needs. Besides, who knew when pickpocketing would come into handy? Aside from actually pickpocketing, of course...
"I know a really great place," Razz said as he started the car. "It's not too far away, either. Not to mention the exceptional service." He sighed dramatically, placing a hand to his forehead. "You just don't get that anymore."
Blue snickered and buckled up, frowning as the driver did not do the same. "Aren't you going to buckle up?"
"What are you? My mother?" Razz scoffed.
"No, but I am concerned for your life."
Sighing, Razz reached across his shoulder and snapped the buckle into place. "There. Happy?"
"Very." Blue shot him a sugar-sweet smile. "Now, onwards, dear Raspberry!" he shouted. "The Magnificent Sans wants to eat!"
"You're such a fucking dork," Razz mumbled, but he smiled and put the car into drive, pulling out of the parking lot.
The car ride was filled with idle conversation, topics ranging wildly; nothing too meaningful, but nothing too boring, either. Once the streets became more and more familiar, however, Blue found it harder and harder to make small talk. He couldn't help the nervous bubble that formed in his non-existent stomach. The closer they got, the more afraid he became. He said not a word, however. All he could do was hope that they weren't going where he thought that they were. Surely it was just paranoia, he told himself. The chances of that were so ridiculously small, right? There was absolutely no way that they were going there.
When Blue's eyes were greeted with the familiar sight of wilting purple flowers and a warning sign that spoke as to how poisonous those flowers were, he knew exactly where it was that they were going, and he knew that it was the one place that he wanted to be the least right now.
Razz pulled the car into a nearby space and put it into park. "Here we are!"
Blue glanced upward and was greeted with an overly cheery sign that read: Latte Lovers.
"Welcome, Blue, to" the cafe.
That wasn't fair.
What had he done to deserve this?
He thought that he had been good.
He thought that he had been nice.
Why was this happening?
He was supposed to move on from all of that.
But, instead, he kept getting dragged back over, and over, and over again.
Until every little bit of himself that he's uncovered from the rubble is hidden under an avalanche once more.
"Uh, Blue?"
Razz's voice cut him out of his thoughts for the moment, and he vigorously shook his head.
"Yeah," he mumbled. "Yeah, this is great."
The other's eyes darted away for a moment, his eyebrows creased. "Yeah... do you... want to go in?"
"Ah." He hadn't even unbuckled, it seemed. "Yes, let's go."
Once they arrived inside, Razz had claimed them a table by the window saying that "good views aided digestion". Blue was sure that he was simply trying to find a way to distract from whatever problem was currently taking place within Blue's mind, but the window seat simply provided him the perfect view of those purple flowers. The ones that always seemed to be in bloom no matter how deep into the winter it was. Perhaps that was just his imagination, however.
"Do you want anything?" Razz asked. "They have lots of interesting things that you could try. Do you need a-"
"Hot cocoa." Blue interrupted. "They have good hot cocoa."
For a moment, Razz seemed shocked, but he quickly pulled himself together. "Oh, so you've been here before?"
"A few times."
"I... Are you...?" the other hesitated, hand slightly outstretched. "I'll go get you some hot cocoa."
"Thanks."
It wasn't fair to his friend that he was having... a moment. He should pull himself together, and they should have a good time together. It was just a place, afterall. Did it really matter what had happened there before? Did it really matter what it stood for? Minds hold memories, not objects. Somehow, though, Blue couldn't seem to convince himself that it was fine. It was almost as if something bad was just waiting to happen. As if, at any moment, something would jump out from around the corner and yell "boo". Only, it wouldn't stop there. It never stops there. Not anymore.
Feeling a buzz in his pocket, Blue retrieved his phone and turned it on.
He was greeted with a text notification from a contact labeled: Dust.
Underneath said notification, read about thirteen others along with a few missed calls.
The text read: "Where the fuck are you?"
"Fuck," Blue squeaked.
Panic bubbled up within his chest, and his hands shook as he rushed to respond. He clicked on the notification and entered his passcode, bringing up the message menu. He typed furiously, nearly dropping his phone when Razz came back and spoke.
"I've got your hot-" he stopped when he saw the state that Blue was in. "Woah, what happened?"
"Nothing!" Blue blurted, hands still shaking. He took a stuttering breath. "Nothing, nothing. Everything's okay, I just need to text someone back, is all."
"Oh, that's all, is it?" a new voice sounded. It was gruff and pierced the tense atmosphere like a needle pierced a balloon.
Blue yelped at the sound, shutting his eyes tightly, but he said nothing.
"Who's this?" Razz asked softly. He gently pushed himself in between the new hooded figure and the shaking figure of his friend.
"I'm," said the voice harshly, "his fucking boyfriend. Who the hell are you?"
"He's just a friend, Dust!" Blue yipped. "From work! We're here for work!"
Dust pushed past said friend and slammed a hand onto the table. "From work? Work?! You're telling me that that's why you weren't texting me back?!"
"I'm sorry!" the smaller yelped, bringing up his hands slightly.
"You should be! I come all the way here because I can't find you anywhere else, only to hear you talking shit about me! 'It's nothing'? Like hell it is! It sure as fuck isn't nothing to me!" Dust raised his arms and Blue flinched, but the two ended up in a tight hug with a silence that seemed to last just a little bit too long. "I was worried sick, you know," Dust whispered in his ear. "You weren't answering your phone. I had no idea where you were. I didn't know what had happened."
"I'm sorry. Sorry."
"It's okay, Blue. You're okay," Dust said with a squeeze. He slowly pulled out of the hug, holding the other at arm's length. "Please, though," he started, eyes narrow. "Never do that again. I was very worried about you."
"Yes, okay. I'm sorry."
Dust released Blue's shoulders and gave him a warm smile. "Well, I'll let you two continue your work, then. We'll talk later, Blue." Frost tinted his final words.
The smaller skeleton was unable to speak and simply waved shakily as the other left, who shot a final glare at Razz who had been standing by completely and utterly confused and terrified.
"What the fuck just happened?" Razz blurted as soon as Dust had gone.
Blue just shook his head, staring down at his untouched hot cocoa. "It was nothing," he said. "Don't worry about it. He was just worried."
As much as Blue wanted to believe those words, they sounded empty even as he said them aloud.
Razz carefully sat down in the chair across from his friend, holding a pastry but losing all appetite to eat it. "That sure didn't seem like 'nothing'," he growled. "That's your boyfriend?"
Blue nodded shortly.
"Why are you so afraid of him?"
"I'm not..."
"Bold words from someone who's still shaking like it's below freezing and you forgot a jacket."
"I'm not afraid! He can just be... intense... when he's upset."
"Okay, but, you know how unhealthy that is... right?"
Blue nodded once more. He refused to look up at his friend. "I know. I know it is, but he said that he changed. He promised me."
"What do you...?" Razz paused, holding back a grimace. "Blue, what happened? It's okay if you don't want to tell me, ya know, since we just basically met and all, but you need to talk to someone. Does your brother know?"
"No, no! It's fine!" Blue shook his head frantically. "He's different from how he was before! He went to therapy! He went to rehab! He's different!"
"Blue!" Razz said sharply. "That's not how that works!"
"He's different! He promised!"
"That's not how that works! He's hurt you, hasn't he?!"
"What?! Why would you-"
"I saw the way you flinched, Blue!"
"It was only one time, Razz! One time!"
"One time is one too many!"
"He would never do it again!"
"You don't know that!"
"Yes, I do!"
"How?! How can you possibly know?!"
"Because he loves me!"
"If he loved you, then he wouldn't have done it in the first place!"
"It wasn't his fault!"
"How?!"
"I deserved it, okay?!"
"No, Blue! No one deserves something like that!"
"Well, I did! You don't even know what happened!"
"Then tell me!"
"I can't!" That was when the sobbing began, large, wet blobs concealing all vision. "I can't talk about it! Not again!"
Suddenly, Blue was engulfed into a hug, but this one was softer than before, more comforting.
"Listen," Razz said, voice trembling slightly. "No matter what you did, you did not- do not deserve this. I want to help. I really do. I know that we just started talking, but I'm worried for you. You know what that's like, right? We're basically the same person, afterall."
Blue laughed wetly, leaning into his friend's shoulder gently which drew a smile from the larger skeleton.
"I don't want to pressure you," Razz continued, "but I really think that you should talk to someone. Clearly, this isn't the first time that he and you have had a... problem."
"He's a good person, I swear."
"I know," the other lied. "I know he is, but maybe he's not right for you. Sometimes that's just how relationships are."
Blue took a shaky breath before responding. "But... he doesn't have anyone else."
"You want to help him," Razz said with a nod. "I get it." He gently stroked his companion's head. "You can't help him, though, if you aren't healthy either."
There was a heavy pause.
"I can try, though... can't I?"
Razz snorted. "No, dipshit. You're gonna wear yourself out."
With a frown, Blue shoved out of Razz's arms, but he couldn't help the twinge of a smile that touched his lips. "You ruined the moment, asshole."
"Thank god, too!" the other laughed. "It was getting way too serious."
"You're a fucking idiot."
"Yeah, well, so are you."