Page 26 of Bad Daddy

Danny did his best to put it out of his mind as he walked home from the cafe after their meeting. He’d try and not think about Haru. He wouldn’t think about not getting to see his smile again, the way he quizzed Danny on what he liked to eat, his quirky sense of humor. The soft way he spoke, and the selfless way he had made time for Danny when Danny had needed it most.

“Sometimes it’s nice to do things for other people just because. I thought you might like a scarf. I was hoping it might help keep you warm. That’s all.”

He caught himself standing just inside his apartment, stroking his fingers over and over the softness of the scarf and made a frustrated sound, unwinding it from around his neck and shrugging off his jacket. Normalcy. He needed to get back to normalcy.

Usually Danny had plenty to do on the weekends. It was his time to cram in as much studying as he could to get to be ready for the week ahead. He’d be able to distract himself no problem–

Except, no. Because all of Danny’s school work was done.

Instead of having to spend hours and hours trying to get through reading assignments and worksheets, Danny had been able to listen to his lessons throughout the week, do his homework in a third of the time, and even finish an extra credit assignment for his business law class. He hadn’t had to lose sleep desperately trying to read ahead in his textbooks because he had programs at his fingertips, ready to recite the words out loud for him.

All of a sudden… Danny had free time.

It was hard to figure out what to do with it. He’d spent so long being run ragged that time was a luxury he’d never before encountered. What did people even do when they weren’t so busy and stressed out that they wanted to be sick?

He still hadn’t figured it out by the time he was ready for dinner, but he had done his laundry, cleaned his entire little apartment top to bottom, and had made it almost all of the way through the first audiobook in The Murderbot Diaries series. He hadn’t had the luxury of reading just for fun in ages, and it was so nice.

Riding the high of what had been overall a stupidly good week, Danny decided to treat himself and go out to eat.

It was with great pleasure that he put on his heavy brown coat and wrapped his new scarf around his neck before he headed out.

Grand Azteca was as warm and welcoming as always, but it was already full when Danny showed up. Which made sense, considering it was a Saturday night. Something Danny had kind of forgotten to take into account. Isabella was working as host though, and she smiled at Danny when she caught sight of him, motioning him forward.

“But you’re so busy,” Danny said as she led him to a little table in the back.

“Seating for one is a lot easier to swing,” Isabella said with a shrug. Then she grinned at him. “And Antonio’s serving. He’ll be happy to see you.”

Danny gave her a baffled look, which didn't go away when he realized– “Wait, what are you even doing here? I thought you stopped working here when you got that fancy communications gig.”

Isabella waved a hand. “We were short-staffed, so I was called in. Needs must, etcetera. When Abuela wants my help…” She snapped her fingers. “And we’re still short-staffed, so I gotta get back to the front. See ya!”

Antonio showed up a few minutes later, plunking a water down on the little table. He looked frazzled in a way he didn't usually, and barely even teased Danny.

“Everything okay?” Danny asked, after he gave Antonio his order.

Antonio waved his arms wildly. “We’ve got a private birthday party, two anniversary dinners, our regular crowd, and three people who called in sick with the flu. I’m dying.”

“Do you… need help?” Danny asked hesitantly.

Antonio made a face and opened his mouth… then closed it again, expression turning considering. “Are you offering?”

Danny had no idea. Was he? “I guess?”

Antonio blinked a few times, then shook his head. “Okay, okay, I’m probably crazy but you know what? I don’t care. You speak Spanish, you know the menu, and you’re cute so people will forgive you if you look a little grumpy. I can save this table and put in your order. Even if you just helped out until it was ready…”

“Okay,” Danny’s mouth said before his brain could catch up. “But are you even allowed to–”

“I’ll take the heat in twenty minutes,” Antonio hissed, pulling a second notepad and pencil out of nowhere and shoving them at Danny. “Just refill drinks and ask if everyone’s enjoying themselves and if they’re ready for dessert. I’ve got to check the bathrooms and make sure they aren’t trashed and still have toilet paper.”

And then Danny was left by himself, clutching a tiny notebook, and wondering what the hell he had just gotten himself into.

He had a brief fleeting thought of just leaving, but not only did he not want to do that to Antonio, he also wanted to be able to come back to Grand Azteca in the future. Which meant he couldn't just high-tail it now that he’d offered to help.

All that was left to do was set his shoulders and try his best.

He headed to the kitchen to locate a water pitcher–refill drinks Antonio had said–and when he arrived, there were several trays of freshly-made food just sitting there. Waiting to be taken out.

“Uh,” Danny tried amid the bustle and noise of the kitchen. “Who is this for?”

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