Morning

Rays of sunlight poured through the windows, hitting the Italian man's closed eyes.
He let out a tired groan, sitting up and rubbing his face.
It was morning already? Damn.
Part of him wanted to just close his eyes and go back to sleep again, but the other part of him knew that he had work to do.
Which he typically did, anyway.
Just as he was about to get out of bed, he heard a knock at his bedroom door.
'Must be Gustavo', he thought, since Gustavo was more of a morning person than he was.

"Ah.. come in." Peppino said, yawning after.

The doorknob twisted, opening to reveal someone who wasn't Gustavo.
Oh, it was..

"Redd?" He questioned, confused. "Bambino, why are you up so early? Is something wrong?"

"Myawo!" The red panda creature stood there, pajamas and all.

Peppino sighed, his gaze softening.
Of course. Today was 'bring your kid to work day'.
Redd ran over to the side of Peppino's bed excitedly, grabbing ahold of his arm.

"Un momento." He gave the mutant a pat on the head. "I've got to get dressed. Why don't you go to the kitchen, and I'll make something for breakfast?"

"Mya! Myawo!" Redd nodded, marching out of the room.

Peppino got out of his bed, stretching his arms.
He remembered when he was Redd's age, when he had as much energy as they did.
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't the slightest bit jealous. It would feel great to be young again.
He looked at the clock at his bedside.

"Merda.. I've got to hurry." He mumbled, taking a mental note to not forget to set his alarm next time.

...
...
"Aaand, there we are, bambino." Peppino said as he helped Redd put their hoodie on.
They trilled happily, pulling the hood over their head, which had little ears on the top.

"Don't you ever get tired of wearing that thing?" Peppino chuckled. "You wear it every day, you have other ones, you know."

"Myeh! Myaw!" They replied.

"Well, whatever makes you happy, piccolo."

"Hey, Peps!" Gustavo called from outside the room. "Let's get a move on! Those pizzas aren't gonna bake themselves!"

"Alrighty! You ready, bud?" Peppino stood up and looked down at the little creature.

Redd nodded, their tail wagging, and a smile on their face.

"No time to waste, then. Let's-a go!"

...
...
Redd yawned, snuggling into Brick's soft fur as they both sat on the floor
Today was fun, but boy were they tuckered out.

"Hey, 'Pino," Gustavo tapped his partner on the shoulder. "Lil' Redd fell asleep."

"I'm about ready to fall asleep, too, honestly." Peppino fought back a yawn. "Think you can close up shop for me?"

"Of course I can!" Gustavo smiled.

"Grazie, Gustavo." Peppino replied, handing his keys over to the shorter man.

He then walked in front of the counter, and over to the sleeping mutant.
He found it adorable how comfortable both Redd and Brick looked.
He felt bad separating them, as much as he knew he had to.

"Mi dispiace, Brick." Peppino said as he carefully scooped Redd into his arms. "But we have to go home now."

Brick squeaked, before Gustavo lightly scratched behind his ears.

"Haha, he's kinda like you when I wake you up!" Gustavo laughed. "Just as a grumpy!"

"What are you talking about?" Peppino crossed his arms. "I am not grumpy."

"You totally are. Don't deny it, Pep."

"You're lucky I like you so much, Gustavo. Now, come on, I wanna get out of here."

...
...
Peppino finished tucking Redd in, who was still sleeping soundly.
He couldn't help but smile at how peaceful they were right now.

"Buona notte." He whispered. "I'll see you in the morning, Redd."

He could've sworn he heard Redd trill in their sleep, which made his heart melt.
He got up, turning the lights off before exiting the room.

"Pep, hurry, the show's almost on!" Gustavo said as Peppino walked into the living room.

"Coming!" Peppino replied, hurrying to the living room.

It usually took him a while to get Redd to sleep, resulting in him missing most of the episode.
Redd was still asleep when he brought them back here, though, which was a relief.
He remembered when Redd first showed up to the pizzeria. Scared, alone, nowhere to go.
But now, they were happier than before, and Peppino was glad he was able to provide comfort to them, despite not having all the money in the world.

"I'm here." Peppino said, taking a seat on the couch next to Gustavo.

"How's the little guy?" Gustavo asked as he scooted closer to Peppino.

"All good." Peppino replied, wrapping his arm around Gustavo's shoulder.

Brick hopped up onto the couch too, laying across the pair's laps.

"Gus, tell your rat to get up."

"Oh, come on, let him stay there. He wants to watch with us."

"No point in arguing with you." Peppino shrugged. "Ti amo."

Gustavo leaned his head against Peppino. "Ti amo."