Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Being a college student was expensive.

Tuition, dorm fees, laundry, food, textbooks, and anything else you could think of. Which is why Collie immediately started applying for jobs in and around his college town when he moved into the dorms for his first year of college.

He was walking back to his dorm building when he got an email saying that a local sports bar had officially hired him, and that his first day was the following week.

The news immediately put a spring in his step, things were finally starting to fall into place so he could settle back into a comfortable routine like always.

It wouldn't be a hard job, Collie had plenty of experience in restaurants given the fact his family owned a diner for generations.

But he didn't anticipate that the hardest part of his job would be dealing with Gary Barkovitch. A seasoned line cook with odd tattoos, a bad attitude, and a strange affinity for mid 2000's pop stars.

At least the money was good.

~~~

Collie met Barkovitch on his last day of training.

He was chatting with Ray Garraty, a fellow server, as they waited to get sat, when Garraty spotted someone behind Collie and smile warmly.

"Barkovitch! I haven't seen you in forever!"

When Collie turned around, Garraty had an arm slung around the person and was guiding them towards him.

"This is Collie, the new server I was telling you about. Collie, this is Gary Barkovitch, he's been working here forever so if you have any questions he probably has the answer." The man, Barkovitch, was stiff under Ray's arm, clearly looking for an out.

"Don't fuckin' volunteer me for shit, Garraty." He muttered, tightening his hold on the strap of his messenger bag.

After a beat, Barkovitch looked at Collie; well, he looked at his forehead, "Nice to meet ya." He said.

Now that he was facing him, Collie could more clearly see the face that was hidden under a mop of dirty blond hair. He was pretty cute, but there was a perpetual scowl on his face that seemed to be a conscious effort to maintain.

Garraty patted Barkovitch on the back and gently pushed him forward, "Okay, I'll let you go hide in the back now."

Barkovitch scoffed and rolled his eyes, "The only people I see hiding in the back are you two idiots." With that he disappeared down the hall to the break room.

Garraty said a quick goodbye before turning back to Collie. "I know he's a little prickly but he's always like that with new people, I promise he'll warm up to you eventually."

That was a fucking lie.

~~~

Gary hummed along to the music playing through the speaker as he boxed up a to-go order. Three years ago, he had mounted it to the wall using a ridiculous amount of gorilla tape; it had probably fused with the wall at that point.

He was usually the one who controlled the music, always pulling the seniority card. Stebbins was forbidden from being on aux after they found out he only listened to classical music. Olson never particularly cared much about the music, but would sometimes request a song.

Sometimes he let Pete take over if he wanted to get into his good graces that day; and reluctantly gives up totally control during February for "repatriations" or whatever the hell that meant.

Despite his strange tastes, no one usually complained unless one of his favorite songs started playing, because then he'd start singing horribly and loudly.

Gary was having a pretty great day, all things considered. He got paid today; all those closing shifts really helped to pad out his paycheck, and Richie agreed to buy him a pack of cigarettes and a case of beer for the kitchen in exchange for rushing a massive order he forgot to ring in.

And then his good mood was interrupted by the agitating voice of Collie Parker.

"They said their burger was cold in the middle." Parker said as he pushed the tray through the window, crouching down to look at Gary.

He scoffed. "Well maybe if you stopped letting your food die in the window we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Will you just shut up and drop me a new one. I'm not in the mood Barkovitch." Parker retorted.

Before Gary could say anything worse, Pete chimed in, "It'll be up in like ten minutes."

"Insubordination!" Gary shouted, mouth agape.

Pete smacked him with a spatula.

~~~

The day dragged on, and soon the only people in the restaurant were Gary, the manager cooped up in the office, and Parker.

As Gary mindlessly worked through the dishes piled up in the sink, Parker appeared from around the corner holding two buckets of sani water they used to wipe down tables on the floor. Parker crouched down to open the sink drain. The handle had broken off a few weeks ago, but Rank figured out that you could just twist the knob manually; the kid's ingenuity was one of the many things that made him one of Gary's favorite co-workers.

As Parker dumped the buckets into the sink, he looked over at Gary. "You know you're supposed to use more soap right?" He commented, squeezing out the rags and placing them to the side.

Gary clenched his jaw tightly before responding, "How about you clean them huh? You fuckin' servers don't do shit anyway. All you do is take orders and loiter in the window bothering us about when the food you rang in five minutes ago will be ready." There was venom dripping from his words, but Parker knew he was more bark than bite.

"I'm not gonna fall for that because I know you wouldn't last five minutes out there. You'd be fired so fast it's not even funny." Parker laughed to himself.

Gary instantly snapped back. "Yeah, well you wouldn't last five minutes in the kitchen before complaining that the humidity is fucking up your hair."

Parker scoffed, "What crawled up your ass and died. You've been acting more whiny than usual all day."

"Absolutely nothing Parker. Now are you gonna do something about it?" Gary's voice dropped an octave as he looked over at Parker.

Parker grinned and took a step towards him, "Maybe I will."

Instead of responding, Gary dropped the brush in the sink and stepped into the walk-in fridge with Parker close behind.

Chapter Text

Immediately Gary found himself pinned against one of the wire shelves, Collie's hand holding the back of his head as he captured Gary's lips in a bruising kiss.

There were almost no words exchanged in these moments, just quiet sounds of pleasure floating through the cold air.

As Collie trailed his lips down Gary's neck he reached for Gary's belt, yanking his apron to the side roughly.

Gary never really understood why he was always the only one receiving any pleasure during these moments; apart from the handful of times he had gotten down on his knees in the same walk-in. But he decided long ago not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Collie jerked him off with quick short strokes as he sucked a hickey into Gary's collarbone, biting down just enough to leave a mark.

And while he hated to admit it, Gary never lasted long; they were typically in and out in just five or ten minutes. Something about the combination of Collie's rough hands, soft lips, and harsh tugs on his hair always made quick work of him. This time was no exception.

Gary was so pent up that he wasn't able to muster up a single snarky comment, only able to bask in the pleasure Collie was providing.

Collie continued to mark up Gary's neck, he always had a strange affinity for leaving as many marks as he could. The traitorous part of his brain hoped it was out of a need to claim Gary as his and not just some weird kink.

As Gary tensed up at the feeling of his approaching orgasm, Collie's lips moved to his ear.

In a soft yet deep tone he murmured into Gary's ear, "That's it sweetheart, cum for me."

When Gary spilled into Collie's hand with a muffled groan at his words, Collie simply wiped his hand on the underside of Gary's apron and zipped him up.

With one last oddly gentle kiss, he pushed open the door and disappeared around the corner.

And Gary stubbornly ignored the sharp pain of something he couldn't understand in his chest.

~~

Gary liked living in the dorms. His roommate was his best-friend, he lived in the same building as all his other friends, and the dorm food was decent. Though definitely not as good as his Meemaw's cooking or even his own.

Speaking off his roommate, he was currently pacing the length of their room ranting to him about Stebbins of all people.

Richard Harkness, or Richie, as Gary liked to call him, was his roommate and best-friend since first grade. They were a strange pairing but it never seemed to matter much.

Gary tuned back in to catch the tail end of Richie's rant. "It's just that he's so cool! Why would he ever want to go out with me of all people."

Gary put his phone down and looked over at Richie with a disappointed look on his face. "Richie, you know I love you right?" He nodded after adjusting his glasses. "Stebbins is the most boring mother fucker I've met in my entire life. You just think he's hot shit because he's all fuckin' stoic and broody." He returned to his phone, ignoring Richie's annoyed sigh.

"Don't you have class? Fuckin' Lois Lane 101 or some shit?" Gary asked, looking at the time on his phone.

Richie froze and looked at his watch. "Oh my God yeah I do have class-" He scrambled to gather his things and bolted out the door.

"You need to start setting some fuckin' alarms, Rich!" Gary yelled as he left, not looking up from his phone.

He waited a few minutes to make sure Richie wouldn't come back for something he forgot before texting Collie.

Me - richies gonna be gone for a while u dtf

After a moment Collie replied.

Waitress - Sure. I'll be there in 15.

Gary decided to pass the time making his side of the room look less like a war zone. Tossing all the trash and brushing the crumbs off his bed.

Almost exactly fifteen minutes later there was a knock the door.

He had intentionally striped down to just sweatpants and tried to look as naturally sexy as possible without embarrassing himself, which was a difficult task. He never really understood his need to impress Collie; the need for Collie to find him attractive and desirable.

Before he could over think anything else, he got up and opened the door to see Collie casually leaning against the door frame.

Collie's eyes instantly locked onto the dozens of bruises that covered Gary's neck from the night before, a grin spread across his face as he walked in, closing the door behind him.

Collie was on him immediately. Pushing Gary down onto the bed and getting onto of him, his hands finding a home on Gary's hips.

After a moment of Collie seemingly admiring Gary's bare chest he leaned down to connect their lip in an uncharacteristic slow and sensual kiss.

While Gary relished in the feeling of Collie's lips and hand he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to a darker place.

As much as he loved the sex, he's started craving the sickly sweet, vomit inducing sides of a relationship. Holding hands, going on stupid dates, falling asleep in each other's arms.

It gnawed away at him constantly; feeling the disgust rise in his throat as the deeply embedded roots of 'internalized homophobia', or whatever the fuck Garraty called it, started worming their way back into his brain despite his best efforts.

It was his fault for catching feeling. He was the dumb ass who made the mistake of letting Collie into his heart knowing that he'd never feel the same.

Gary knew he needed to put an end to this and fast. He wouldn't be able to handle the pain of Collie breaking it off when he inevitably finds someone better.

"Stop-" He said firmly, trying to push Parker off of him.

Instantly Parker froze; assessing the man underneath him, looking for what was causing the problem.

"What's wrong sweetheart, are you hur-" Parker couldn't finish his sentence before Gary cut him off.

"Just- Just get away from me!" He shouted, pushing Parker off of him and curling up into a ball as close to the wall as he could.

Sweetheart. What a load of crap. Talking to him like he's his fuckin' girlfriend instead of an easy fuck to pass the time. Like he's not just a stray dog begging for scraps of affection.

Parker had the audacity to look concerned. It filled him with burning hatred.

"Gary, what's going on? Talk to me." Parker asked in that stupid soothing voice of his, fuckin' bastard. Gary needed him gone.

"Just get out! Get the fuck away from me!" He quickly escalated to screaming, banking on Parker leaving to avoid someone calling the police.

Luckily he was right. With a look of horror and hurt on his stupid, perfect face, Parker left the room, but not before texting Harkness a warning.

Me - Can't tell you the full story but Gary is freaking out right now. He screamed at me to get out but someone's gotta be with him or he's gonna end up hurting himself.

Rich Man - I'm in class, but I texted Ray and he's gonna be there in like five minutes max.

Me - Thank you so much dude.

Collie slowly made his way back to his own dorm, unable to keep his mind off of what Gary could be doing to himself. Suddenly he saw Garraty emerge from his dorm and begin running down the hall, giving him a confused and suspicious look as he passed.

Collie could handle their judgment and suspicion, as long as Gary was going to be okay.

Chapter Text

As soon as Ray got the text from Harkness, he hauled ass to Gary's dorm room, completely abandoning the essay he was writing.

When he reached Gary's dorm he used a copy of his key to open the door; they all had one for situations like this.

Before opening the door fully, he made sure to announce his presence. "Gary? It's Ray. Can I come in?" His voice was gentle but not condescending, he knew better than anyone that Gary hated being patronized.

"Fuck off, Garraty." Came a quiet voice from inside. Ray knew that was code for 'You can come in, but I'm gonna be a bitch about it.'

When Ray stepped inside, he felt his heart drop at what he saw. He'd never see the most obnoxious person he'd ever met look so small and so defeated.

He had wrapped himself in a blanket, leaning against the wall with his knees tucked to his chest.

Ray walked over to the bed and sat down a respectable distance away, but close enough that he'd be able to physically stop any destructive behaviors if it came down to it.

He pulled a pair of thick gloves out of his pocket. "C'mon dude, you know the drill." Gary reluctantly pulled his arms out of his blanket cocoon and displayed them to Ray.

There were deep, angry marks along both of his forearms and his neck. Ray would treat them later; right now he just needed to get Gary stable.

He carefully pulled the gloves onto Gary's hands, neutralizing the threat that was his razor sharp fingernails.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" Ray asked, shifting to sit back against the wall next to him. Gary always hated looking at people when he talked about things like this.

They sat in silence for a moment, but Ray was patient, using the time to send a quick text to Harkness updating him on the situation.

Me - he's mostly ok. scratches on his arms and neck but nothing major and i got the gloves on him

Crutchie - Thanks so much dude, sorry I couldn't handle it.

Me - he's my friend too rich, it's not a problem

Crutchie - I'm gonna talk to Collie when I get out of class, please keep an eye on him until I get back.

Me - got it. try not to kill him though

Crutchie - No promises.

Finally, Gary spoke up. "So, uh..Me and Collie have been hooking up for a while. And I think I like him, like. Like, like him."

Before Ray could think he blurted out, "Wait, I thought you were already dating? I assumed this was like, some kind of marital spat."

Gary looked over at him with a confused expression. "Huh?"

"He came over to my dorm grinning like an idiot because he asked you out and you said yes." Ray explained, thinking back to how stupid Parker looked gushing over Gary.

"When was this?" Gary asked, sitting up slightly.

Ray thought for a moment. "I think it was right after midterms."

Gary's jaw dropped, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. "He just asked if I wanted to go to lunch! How is that asking me out?!" He shouted, a familiar vein on his forehead making an appearance.

Ray rubbed his eyes, completely exhausted. "Oh my God, you're both idiots."

They sat in silence for a moment as Ray processed the shear depth of his friends stupidity, but Gary was already forming a plan to attempt to salvage the situation.

But as per usual, nothing in Gary's life goes according to plan.

~~

Collie was visibly uncomfortable as Richard stared him down. Good, he should be.

Richard was proud of himself for not immediately going scorched earth when Ray told him the state Gary was in when he got to their dorm. Because as much as Richard loved his friends, at the end of the day, Gary was the one who's had his back for over a decade. They were like brothers. His first instinct had been to find Collie and beat him to a pulp.

Finally, he was able to filter all the rage out of his words and started to speak.

"Listen. I'm gonna let you explain the situation, but you better have a damn good excuse for why Ray found him like that." His tone was measured, but there was an underlying rage coursing through his words.

"Okay." Parker replied, clearly not knowing what to say.

Richard narrowed his eyes. "Go on."

Parker gnawed at his lip for a moment, gathering his words.

"We've been together for a few months, but we decided to keep it on the down low because, well, you know how he can be." He began, shifting in his seat slightly.

Richard sighed. He was very familiar with his friends feelings on being gay.

"When you went to class he texted me asking if I wanted to, come over — so to speak." A tinge of red made its was to Parker's cheeks as he spoke.

Richard made a face at the thought. He never did get used to the idea that the same person who lost a fight to a squirrel was getting laid.

"We started making out and everything was fine, but then he started yelling at me to stop and get off of him. I tried asking what's wrong but he just kept yelling so I left and texted you." With his story completed, Parker relaxed ever so slightly.

Richard bit his lip as he took in Collie's words. It wasn't that he didn't believe him, he did, he just didn't believe that Gary would be in a relationship and not tell him. They told each other everything, there were no secrets between them.

He knew they were sleeping together, but Gary never said it was anything beyond that, and he told Parker as such. "Wait. He just told me you were hooking up, you thought you were dating?"

Parker made a series of confused faces before answering. "Yes? My mom invites him to every single family gathering, we go on dates all the time, I thought it was obvious?"

Richard laughed. Parker clearly underestimated how stubbornly clueless Gary could be.

"Have I ever told you that he didn't think we were friends until fourth grade? I'm being completely serious right now. It took months for him to accept that you all actually liked being around him." Richard seemed annoyed but Parker could hear the fondness in his tone that was always there when he talked about his best friend.

When Parker didn't respond Richard continued.

"What I'm saying is that unless you beat him over the head with it, he won't believe he's anything other than a quick fuck." His eyes narrowed slightly, "And he's isn't, right?"

Parker quickly shook his head, "No, of course not. I mean- it kinda started like that but not for long." He quickly stopped talking when Richard got a vaguely murderous look in his eyes.

"I suggest you fix this, and fast, before he has time to overthink everything." Richard suggested, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "If you fuck this up you're dead, do you understand me? He may not look like it but he does have feelings, very sensitive ones."

Parker nodded, "I know."

Richard walked to the door and took one last look back at Parker. "Good luck." With that he left to return to his dorm, leaving Collie alone with his thoughts.

It was time to make things right.