Chapter 6: Decisions, Decisions...

  The hostess walked up and greeted him. She was one of the students. While he didn't remember her name, he did remember he'd seen her with a chef coat in the back the last time he was there. The students would switch off in groups to work in the kitchen and work up front. Both were obviously important jobs, especially the front end, since that was the first impression of an establishment a customer got. That's why the owner of the shop he worked at, old man Jace, had the building recently renovated and made over.

  As he took a seat at the breakfast bar which lined the right side of the restaurant, he wondered if Dillon would be in the front or back that day. To his knowledge, he hadn't said. Along the whole right side of the room and behind the breakfast bar were huge windows so that people could see into the kitchens. Parents and friends of the students liked to see their chefs go at it in real time. Dillon had said he hated it because it caused a lot of nervous mistakes. Student chefs were fumbly enough already without the added pressure of people's eyes on them constantly. 

  Tony didn't see Dillon anywhere through the windows, but that didn't mean much. Chefs moved around a lot so he may have just not looked in the right place at the right time. It was busy that day, so the wait staff were a bit behind. Luckily for him, it was only ten of two, so he had time. He enjoyed the soft sounds of people's voices and the delicate clinks of silverware. That paired with the ambiance, music, and his good mood had his appetite fired up. He was too lazy for breakfast that morning so he was famished.

  When he looked away from the furthest window, Tony started a bit when he saw Dillon right in front of him behind the counter. He was in his chef whites, which included his pants, under shirt, jacket, and hat. None of them had those poofy chef hats like in the movies. No, the ones they wore fit more snugly to their heads and had a flat top with the restaurant's insignia on the front. Damn, was he sharp in all of it. It hugged his body nicely and the white of his uniform complimented the blue fire in his gaze beautifully. It was easy to tell he was passionate about what he did. He was so comfortable and at ease, which also gave him a very professional vibe.

  "'Sup, man! I was wonderin' when I'd see ya," Dillon said brightly. It looked like he was on break for a minute while someone cleaned some kind of mess off the floor. "Yea, they spilled two bowls of sausage and escarole soup. Fun fun."

  "Aww, fuck is there more? What's good, brother?" He asked as they shook hands. 

  "I'm good, kinda tired already. It's been pretty busy. Yeah we got a whole 'nother pot of it, no worries. How's yer birthday been?" Dillon leaned on the counter as other people squeezed past him.

  "Quite dull, haha. Then you sent me that text, so I been goin' nuts," Tony said lowly. He made sure to mouth the word 'that'. Dillon winked at him with a bright blue spark in his eyes.

  "Yea well, not much longer. Hang in there, food is at hand."

  "Y'sure I can't just take you with me?" He asked as he spun his phone on the counter lazily.

  The spark left his eyes. Kat was right. Dillon's eyes were the window to his soul. Tony was very grateful to her for that bit of insight. He didn't forget the electricity in her eyes when she warned him to not hurt the kid. She had a powerful gaze as well and cared deeply for her friend. Totally understandable, but not necessary. Tony could never and would never intentionally or otherwise hurt Dillon. That he swore on with his life. 

  "I- uhm, did you bring Harley or Bertha?"

  "Damn it, Harley. Didn't think of that," he replied. How hadn't he thought of that? Dillon's desire to avoid attention had been on his mind all damn day.

  "Yea, sorry…"

  "No, no don't apologize. I understand. I'm sorry for my pissy attitude earlier. I was a bit hurt, but after I put myself in yer shoes, I get it now. One day right?" Tony smiled at him. The blue flames that were his eyes brightened again in what appeared to be relief and gratitude. 

  "Y-yea one day, definitely! Thanks, Tony. It helps a lot," he said as he turned around and saw that the mess was cleaned up. "Love you," he added in a low whisper.

  "Anytime." Tony winked. 

  "Yo when yer done, request for me! I earn points when people call me out to compliment me. Gotta get back to it," Dillon called back to him as he disappeared into the kitchen. 

  "You got it!"

  That went well. He was able to take some of the weight off the kid's shoulders. All he needed was a bit of space. When he thought even further, there was indeed a time and place to be as close to Dillon as he always wanted to be. They couldn't live their lives joined at the hip even if the whole world knew about them. All Tony had to do was remind himself what Kat told him. Just the amount that Dillon loved him and for how long was enough to cancel out any residual hurt. It brought a semi-permanent smile to his face to think that anyone would want some dumb orphan mechanic like him so much. Well, the kid wasn't on his own; Tony wanted him more than he could possibly understand. He needed him and not in the sexual sense(although that was true as well)

  "Hey, how's it goin'? I'm Sarah and I'll helpin' ya today. Start ya with somethin' to drink?" A short, slightly husky girl with long, dark hair and kind eyes greeted him.

  "Hi- uh, could I just get a coffee? And I'll probably need a minute for the other stuff," he replied.

  Tony rubbed his hands together as he mentally groaned at his failure to look at the menu. Quickly, he flipped it open and started to browse their selection. He was so hungry and now he had to wait for who knows how long for her to come back for his order. When Tony got hungry, he got bitchy. Hey, he wasn't as bad as Dillon sometimes with his occasional low blood sugars and extreme attitude if he was hungry.

  Decisions, decisions… For a school restaurant, they had quite the lunch selection to choose from. He was in the mood for some kind of steak, but then he saw the shrimp and grits farther down the list. As much as he adored shellfish and all seafood, if Dillon wouldn't touch him with mint, he would break up with him for shrimp. It made sense, the kid was deathly allergic to shellfish. He loved fish, at least. 

  Their pasta selection tempted him too, but Dillon would be on him with 'dude, you eat too much fuckin' spaghetti and pasta. Eat somethin' else for a change,' he'd say. It was his day off and he wanted linguini alfredo. He saw the fried catfish option with hushpuppies, corn on the cob, and fries and jumped on it. After he saw those shrimp, it was essential that he got something caught from the water. He also subbed the fries and corn for extra linguini. 

  Crap! Tony forgot to ask Dillon about the cake pops! Hopefully, Dillon put some aside for him when he first arrived. Those chocolate ones were unbelievable. They weren't obscenely expensive there like they were at Starbucks, either. The school knew it was wrong to charge almost five dollars for little balls of cake crumbs and icing on a stick, as delicious as they were. Tony would gladly pay even up to three dollars each, but five was just too much. 

  Surprisingly, Sarah came back quickly when he waved her down. Once he submitted his order, he sat with his coffee and checked his phone. It was almost twenty after two. He saw the reply text from Kat from earlier, and three missed texts from Ethan. For a minute he was surprised before he realized it was his birthday. It wasn't that they didn't talk much, they just both got busy with work and their lives. Both Ethan and himself were workaholics at their core, and had the tendency to put most else to the side. Besides, Ethan might have possibly been more busy than Tony. He had old man Charles and Chloe to help with, along with his own job, his sobriety, NA meetings, and household chores to do.

  While it was a lot to take on for anyone, Ethan took it in stride. Even he recognized that as an addict, he needed to keep his hands as busy as he could. From everything Tony had seen and heard the few times they'd hung out since Christmas, the guy actually enjoyed it. It brought Tony a pang of pride and affection both, for his brother had taken himself and his life back. The present Ethan was the Ethan that he recognized as his brother. Physically and personality wise, he was who he was before he got hooked. It had been a while since they'd seen each other. Perhaps it was time to hang out again soon. Old man Charles was a riot and Tony's plan to pupnap Chloe's cute little butt was still in development.