#dinner rush

(MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS)

I have already watched all the episodes of Zootopia+. Sam is such a cute otter character! The best part of this episode is Larry and Gary as background characters. (The 2 wolves who howled together)

Didn't Nick and Judy originally stop Flash because he was drag racing? And they just got on duty. How can they be attending the Gazelle concert too if they've only been at work for like ten minutes?

Listen, listen, I’ve had these OCs and this idea in my head for a while, now y’all gotta deal with them. Forgive me for the length I just got real excited about it 🧡

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It was a warm evening, the streets packed with cars glistening under street lamps and people wandering about with friends, all with wide eyes and rolling laughter. Now that summer had rolled along this beach town was filled with tourists, all eager to get away from their mundane cities and live life to the fullest. Which, in Beto’s case, meant it was a full house at the restaurant.

Beto was a slender man with short, curly brown hair with some lighter brown highlights to it, while along his jawline he kept a nicely maintained scruff of hair against tanned skin. His eyes were a darker brown, but they seemed to have a certain glint of color whenever exposed to the light. He was never one to openly complain or make a fuss out of things, and overall most liked him for his calm demeanor and almost lazy smile. Always quick to fulfill everyone’s needs and eager to ensure things went smoothly, lest his manager Valencia catch wind of a table meltdown or employee scuffle. Normally he would have been left to greet customers and show them to their tables, but he found himself blinking in surprise as Valencia shoo’d him from the front counter.

“Gina just jumped ship, I need you to serve up top tonight.”

“What..?” He put aside the menus he was holding, but before he could ask more the manager waved her hands dismissively.

“Bitch said something about her gerbil, ran off crying like usual, don’t have time to be pissed about it! Can I count on you? Please, I can’t afford to lose anyone else tonight.” He scanned the worried look on the woman’s face and gave his usual lazy smile, rolling up his sleeves as he spoke.

“I won’t let you down, Val.” This calmed her down enough to smile at least before she shoved a notebook and pen into his hands and shoo’d him along. “Keep service quick, we’ve already got a big party seated up there so good luck!” And with that he gave her a polite wave and made his way upstairs.

Much to his delight, the top floor was already brightly lit by the hanging lights around the parameter. Each season the restaurant took great strides in giving the rooftop a different theme, complete with heaters in case it got too cold, and nice decor to give things a splash of color. This season, he found himself staring in awe at large flower arrangements, filled with things like Chrysanthemums and Sweet Peas, as well as others that he couldn’t recall seeing before. Their petals shook with a gentle breeze, and he found himself closing his eyes with a soft sniff to take in the aroma around him. Simply gorgeous... But, he had a job to do, and he could already see the large table waving him down. With a smile he strode over, the smell of the flowers hitting him much better now that he was closer.

“Buenas noches, and welcome to La Fuente! I’ll be your server tonight, you can call me Beto. Is there anything I can get you guys started with..?” He looked over the eager faces with his usual smile and began writing down each drink order. As he listened though he found himself sniffling lightly, a curious tickle appearing in his nose. He wiggled it a bit in hopes it would pass, but it was steadily becoming a prickle, and a distracting one at that. “Ah, pardon, what was that..?” He asked with a scrubbing of his nose.

“Are the sangrias any good?” He glanced over to a man sitting at the end of the table, short red hair cropped and styled into a neat fohawk and thick eyebrows raised slightly to punctuate the question. He couldn’t help but notice the deep blue in his eyes and the more square jaw, he was quite handsome. Beto smiled back despite another sniffle and nodded “Y—Yes, the kitchen just got a new wine and it’s to die for, fresh pears, some grapes, crih... Crisp...” With no more warning than a finger raised he hid his face behind the long notebook and dipped back with a loud “ghhTSHhh!”

Quick to recover he popped back up with a soft laugh and smile, waving the notebook in front of his face “‘Scuse me! Crisp pink lady apples, I just saw them come in today.” The man seemed to be interested, but he lingered a moment before nodding and popping up the menu again.

“Yeah, sounds good, I’ll take that. And bless...” Beto beamed at this and dipped his head respectfully “Thank you, and I’m sure you’re gonna love it! Now, anyone decide on appetizers, or entrees? We have a few new specials..” Beto swung himself back into the usual routine pretty cleanly in his opinion, but the tickle wasn’t going away just yet. He would start listing off some ingredients or answering a question and in between his breath would start hitching lightly while a glazed look in his eye set in. Worst still he couldn’t help feeling self conscious, a couple of them were exchanging looks, but none were really staring like the man across the table. Not that he could blame him, but he couldn’t really control it, and eventually he dipped behind a menu like he’d done before “H-Hih-! Gtschhhh! Hih’ktsschxx! Hihh..... S-So sorrhITSCHHH!” A few people at the table winced sympathetically and offered a few blessings, but he didn’t have the heart to look them in the eye. An embarrassed blush was appearing on his cheeks, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what was overwhelming him. “I-I’ll get right on this, I’m so sorry.”

He rushed downstairs and placed the ticket on the counter, scrambling into the kitchen despite some confused squawking from coworkers. He ripped a few paper towels off and rushed into a corner near the oven, body shuttering with a sharp gasp as he buried his face deep into the rough material “Huh’Resshh! Hah—Esshhh- kshh!”

“Hey, hey, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” The sous-chef grabbed him by the collar to tell him off, but his face only buried deeper into the paper towels, tears starting to spill from now red rimmed eyes “Huh’tschhhh! Hah-! Esshhhh! Heh’tschhhh!”

Some of the line chefs paused to check out the display before them, all murmuring something about what was going on and some questioning if he was alright. But the man holding him was scowling, and called overhead “Val, get his ass out of the kitchen!”

“What?” The manager stormed in just in time to see two more sneezes rip through Beto, wincing a bit when he finally raised his face enough to show how flushed it was “What the fuck- did you come to work sick? What’s wrong with you, you said you could handle things!”

His mouth gapped, but he lost this battle before it could even begin “I-I—I’b dot—gUH’TSCHHhhh!!” Just barely he shoved his face into the paper towels, and the sous-chef was quick to shove the waiter in her direction. Valencia was less than pleased, but she at least took him by the shoulders and guided him to the employee restroom, shouting over his sneezing to get back to work.

Once inside she waited for him to let out one more sneeze before taking his face in her hands, feeling against his cheeks, forehead, and neck “Okay, no fever, not clammy yet... Your eyes are looking a little puffy though, ugh. Why the fuck didn’t you call in sick?” In all honesty, it broke his heart she would even ask that. He had felt just fine beforehand, she saw he was fine! Holding up a finger to pause this conversation he looked away to blow his nose, wincing as the paper scraped against the sides of his reddened nostrils and a pressure built under his eyes.

“M’not sick,” he insisted “I was doing fine and then all of a s-suhhh... Sudden my nose started to t-tihhih— tickle...”

“Then are you getting sick, do I need to send you home?” Her words were sharp, but there was a clear worry in her eyes as she looked over him. These two had been working together for years, she knew this wasn’t like him “What set you off?”

“I... I don’t know...” Beto admitted, deflating with a light sniffle “Please, whatever it is, don’t send me home yet. I can finish at least a c—couple-” he raised the paper towels once more, but when nothing came he let out a shaken sigh “Just a few more tables... Please, it’s packed tonight. I can’t strand you with this.”

He could see it on her face. A genuine flash of worry, anger, and consideration. So much was going through Valencia’s mind, and the most he could do was look to her pleadingly. When she finally spoke again it was with a heavy sigh and a pointed finger pressed against his chest “You get a few more tables. I’ll help out up top where I can, but if you can’t get this under control I’m sending you straight home. If for a second you feel about ready to drop, you tell me and head right home. Understood?”

His face managed to light up, and with a nod in agreement to her, she merely patted his shoulder and walked out. Alright, if he was gonna stay, he needed to get cleaned up first.

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At first things were looking up. After a quick wash of his face and another nose blow he was back to serve his previous tables and greet new customers. At the table where it all began, a few of the guests asked if he was feeling alright, to which he assured it was only a mild tickle and apologized. But, there was two things he couldn’t shake.

The first was a low buzzing sensation in the back of his sinuses. He managed to get it together in the bathroom and even stave off the tickle, but the longer he was up here the more he was feeling it build. And the other, was the gaze of the blue eyed guest. Every now and again while serving drinks and bringing food they would happen to catch a glimpse of one another, always when Beto least expected it.

When he rubbed his nose, when he was sniffling under the cover of chatter, there was the man’s eyes again. They didn’t feel judgemental by any means, but there was something there as they would both glance away rather quickly. What a mess he must have looked...

“Excuse me, sir?” Beto’s attention snapped back to said table and, much to his dread, it was the blue eyed man again. Beto’s cheeks carried a light blush as it caught him off guard, but he quickly shook it off to be near him with the usual lazy smile.

“Yes, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Maybe, but um, seems a little silly.” The waiter tilted his head at this but merely grinned, internally cursing as he felt the tickle slowly build further “N... Nonsense sir, your comfort is our priority. Another drink maybe, some sides..?”

“No, no, I.. I was curious about these.” The pale man reached over to one of the smaller flower arrangements on the table, holding it up to the other “Any idea what these are called?”

“Oh! They’re quite beautiful, aren’t they? Let’s see, ah... Chrysanthemums, a little Sweet Pea, which I always think would look like actual peas, but they’re just pretty flowers?” Beto chuckled at this and pointed to a few others “For sure sunflowhh... S-Sunflowers, but I don’t...” Oh no, not again. He tried to sniff sharply, but the fragrance of the flowers only seemed to make it worse. The customer, on the other hand, filled in the blank.

“Yeah, I’m trying to figure out these ones,” he pointed to a few more vibrant flowers, a deep burgandy and orange “At first I thought they were Zinnias, but the way the petals fall they’re so much closer... They’re all over the place, but I can’t say I’ve seen them before.” As he man looked back to his waiter he blinked calmly, watching as Beto hid the lower half of his face behind his notebook and watery eyes screwed shut.

“Th—They’re gorgeous, but I c-can’t... Can’t-!” With a sharp gasp he bent to the side, trying desperately to stifle “HIH’TXxxx! G’htsxx! H-Hih... Hah-! Huuh’tschhhh!” He tried to look back to the man to apologize, but the oberwhelming smell and sharp tickle threw off all concentration, and he was helpless to do more than double over again, catching his face in the crook of his elbow as two sudden, wet sneezes burst from him “Hih’pTSCHHhh! E’TSCHhh..!”

The sneezes left his ears ringing, he could hardly hear the sympathetic blessings offered from the table over the crowd’s usual chatter. Unsure what else to do he simple rushed off from the table, going to the closest restroom he could to ride out the fit.

The first sneeze struck just as he opened the door, then again half way in, and ended with him desperately clinging to a sink as they continued to tumble through his system. His eyes stung, he could hardly catch his breath between harsh sneezes, but worst of all, he knew deep down this was it. He had to admit something was wrong, and his manager would find out any minute. As he blindly reached for paper towels to wipe the mess now dripping from his nostrils, the door swung open with a slight squeak. Oh, wonderful.

But there was no disgusted noise, at least not that he noticed as he gave a gurgling blow into the rough paper. Instead, he was met with a firm hand on his shoulder, and what sounded like a rattling bottle.

“I’m sorry, I can’t take it anymore.” Confused, Beto wiped his eyes, seeing before him a clear bottle filled with long white pills. Blinking softly he looked up, far too drained to do more than stare in a daze at the one who offered them. The man with the red fohawk and bright blue eyes. Only this time, they were much softer, full of a sympathy he never would have expected from a stranger “I promised my sister I wouldn’t say anything, but you’re really dying out there. I was hoping you’d give up and take a break, but... Now I just figure you don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

“Wha..?” Beto took the pills from the man and scrubbed his eyes to get a better look at them. Off-brand antihistamines. At first he opened his mouth to question it, but as realization struck, it closed again. Though the man merely smirked, a bit playfully, and continued.

“Allergies, Einstein. From the look of it, bad ones at that...”

“I... I don’t understand, I‘ve never hahh... Ngh, had allergies..”

“Actually,” he corrected “you just didn’t know you did. It’s cool man, I’ve got some bad allergies myself, so I assumed you just didn’t want to admit to it. But turns out you’re just dealing with a flower you haven’t had the pleasure of smelling yet...” As if out is sympathy the man scratched the side of his own nose, sniffing a bit with a chuckle.

“I doped myself up long before I got here, but I don’t mind sharing with a guy in need...” There was a certain relief to hearing the other say that. If it was allergies it could be cured, the endless sneezing could stop. Not hesitating a moment he took out a couple pills out and downed them, using the sink to get some water and grimacing at the taste. After, he turned to the man with a relieved sigh and handed him back the bottle.

“Sir, I can’t thank you enough. Can I get you a free drink, maybe your meal on the house? I feel awful f-for hhh... How I’ve been all night..” The man smiled at Beto and shook his head, pocketing the precious pills in his jacket. “No way, I just wanted to help a good guy out. And you’ve been holding up great all evening, it was just my dumbass that pushed you over the edge.”

The two of them laughed at this, though Beto’s was a bit hoarse at this point. As things settled though the man paused, putting a hand on his shoulder again “Though... I wouldn’t complain if I maybe got one thing...” His attention caught, Beto straightened up a bit.

“And... What would that be, sir?”

“... Your number, maybe?” There was a long silence that hung in the room. At first the other man felt it was due to it being a ridiculous request, but as he saw Beto’s already red face grow redder, he knew it just needed a moment to process.

“... W... We can... Trade...” Oh god, was that stupid? It felt a little stupid as Beto watched the man snort out a laugh, but when he took the notbook from his hands and started writing, suddenly everything shifted. The two of them wrote on the same piece of paper, Beto being careful to rip off his number and hand it over to the kind man.

“I guess I’ll be seeing you around then, Beto..” The waiter’s knees felt weak as the man smiled, god he smiled with his eyes, they just lit up the whole room in such a quick moment.

“W—Wait, what’s your name?” He called right as the man reached the door, another pause before he came back with that smile. He wasn’t taller than Beto, but in this moment the waiter felt like they were on the same level as his heart skipped a beat.

“Lucas Beckett. Everyone calls me Lu though.”

“... B... Beto Perez...” The two of them stood there grinning for a while, and when satifsied Lu nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets, already turning for the door “I’ll see you around, Beto. Let me know when your schedule is free, alright?”

“Sure thing..” And just like that the handsome man was gone. He needed a bit to blow his nose and wipe up his face, but there was a new excitement in his body that he couldn’t describe. Mr. Lucas Beckett... Beto’s mind was swimming with ideas about him, and for a moment he wondered if it really happened, if the man was truly thinking of him like that.

“Hih’tSCHHhhhh!”

When all the items are for your station