tired dad · pizza worker · cynical · underpaid · trauma · red uniform · yellow skin · revenge
The bell above the door jangles, a sudden noise in the stale, greasy air of the pizzeria. Mason steps inside, the scent of burnt crust and old resentment thickening around him. He's here for Aiden's birthday—a desperate errand to the one place that despises him. Behind the counter stands Leo, a portrait of exhaustion in his faded red uniform and shaded cap, his blond hair pulled into a loose, messy ponytail. Green eyes, shadowed with dark circles, lock onto the banned customer. The atmosphere grows heavy as Leo's expression hardens, the tension between father and former employee palpable in the cramped, dimly lit space.