Page 13 of Bad Daddy

It had almost scared Danny away from the restaurant completely, but the food had been good and cheap, and the portions had been large enough that he’d had leftovers to take home. So Danny had gone back. Antonio had been just as happy to talk at Danny the second time around too, and had been delighted to discover Danny spoke Spanish.

Ever since, he’s always sought Danny out whenever Danny popped in for food while he was working.

Several months in, Danny knew a lot about Antonio and Antonio’s incredibly large extended family. He didn’t mind, truth be told. Even with all the dramatics that Antonio frequently regaled him with, it was kind of nice to see how a happy, loving family operated. It sometimes felt like being a part of one, in a way.

At the moment, with Haru to impress, Danny wasn’t sure he was up for Antonio’s antics. He was just so loud.

“Just been busy,” Danny replied in Spanish.

Antonio scoffed. “I’m in college too, you know! All work and no play, etcetera.”

Danny snorted, then realized Haru was watching them and, possibly, was being left out of the loop. “Sorry,” he said quickly. “Um, this is Antonio.” He shot Antonio a look. “I’m assuming he’s here to actually be our waiter, and not just give me a hard time.”

“You know what they say about assuming,” Antonio shot back cheerfully. “It makes an a–”

“Antonio,” Danny hissed, now kind of hoping Haru didn't understand. “This man is someone I need to impress and he’s doing me a huge favor by giving me his time, could you not.”

Antonio blinked and looked at Haru as if seeing him for the first time. He then did a very exaggerated double-take. For the second time in two minutes, Danny tried not to groan and shove his face in his hands.

“Hello,” Haru said with a bemused smile, all cordial.

“Haruto Nakamura,” Antonio said, leaning in closer and waving a finger. “Right? Haruto Nakamura!”

“Yeah, that’s me.” Haru said, while Danny inwardly gaped. Antonio recognized Haru? How? Was Haru that big a deal? “Are you a friend of Danny’s?”

“How do you know Haru?” Danny asked, before Antonio could reply to that. He didn't mean for it to come out suspicious, but it probably did.

He watched in real time as Antonio realized he’d stuck his foot in his mouth, darting a look at Danny. “He’s a local celebrity! He’s the guy who did that pro bono work to save Kit Kat Animal Shelter from that hostile takeover thing a couple years ago. How do you not know this? He was in the news and everything. I follow him on Instagram.” His eyes widened. “Wait, can he speak Spanish?”

“You’re being rude,” Danny pointed out in English. He threw an unhappy glance at Haru. “Sorry about him.”

Antonio made some sort of choking noise, but he seemed to realize that yes, he was, in fact, being rude, because then he cleared his throat. “Are you, uh, ready to order? Or I could get you drinks while you look at the menu?”

“Do you need more time?” Haru asked him. “You just got here.”

Danny shook his head. “I’m ready if you are.” He tended to cycle between the same few orders. He knew what he liked at this point, and would also leave him with plenty of leftovers.

“Alright,” Haru said to Antonio. “Then I guess we’re ready. One check, please.”

“Of course, yeah,” Antonio said meekly. “What can I get for you?”

They both ordered, and Antonio seemed to be intent on making up for his faux pas, because he was back in a matter of moments with their drinks—coffee for Haru, horchata for Danny. He assured them that the food would be ready in a few and left them to it.

“He seems nice,” Haru commented. “Friend of yours?”

Danny colored. “I don’t know him that well? It’s his abuela’s restaurant. Antonio’s one of many descendants who work here part-time in some capacity. He just likes to talk.”

Haru nodded and took a sip of his coffee. “I didn’t know you could speak Spanish,” he said conversationally.

“I picked it up here and there,” Danny said with a shrug. “I’m not that good at it, really. I can only speak and understand–I can’t read it or anything.”

“Just because you can’t read it doesn’t mean you aren’t good at it,” Haru said. “I’m close to fluent in spoken Japanese myself, but I can’t read kanji for love or money. It doesn’t change the fact that I know the language.”

“Oh,” Danny floundered. “No, of course not–I didn’t mean–”

Haru’s smile was soft. “You didn’t mean to put me down, by putting yourself down?”

Danny stared at him, not knowing what to do. “I…”

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