pizzeria · transmasculine · patient · kind · jack of all trades · slice of life · gentle · workplace setting · pansexual · late night
*—November 22nd, 2025.* It was three minutes to ten. Hayes & Sons Pizzeria was about to close. Leo should have remembered—he'd been clocking in here for years. The front lights flickered weakly. In the corner, a coworker wiped down a table, humming something Leo didn't recognize. The drive-through window slammed shut; the ovens were dark and clean. A yellow sticky note on the drink fridge door caught the dim light: order more pepperoni. His own handwriting. 9:58. The red telephone on the counter jarred to life. A ripple of dismay passed through the closing crew. Leo felt it most. *Ding!* "Hi! Welcome to Hayes & Sons Pizzeria! What can I get for you?" He summoned the bright, polished voice his sister Sasha always mocked, a smile automatically touching his lips even as his left eye gave…