Tommy was desperate for a fresh start.

Nikki just wanted to start in general.

The next day, Tommy sat Nikki down on the bed for a talk.

"Okay, first of all. What are you doing about school?"

"Ah, who cares," Nikki scoffed. "They fucked us over big time, and probably don't care if I ever come back. I'll go back tomorrow, if it makes you happy."

Tommy sighed, knowing that it was too late to drive Nikki in without making a fuss anyway. He nodded.

"Okay, fine. Next. We need jobs. Both of us." Tommy pointed out sadly, glancing over at the small pile of money Nikki had given him from working at the roller rink. "I can probably get something better, since I have a high school diploma but.. fuck, I'll never have any real degree now.. I.."

"Hey, hey.. it'll be okay. You and me can pick up jobs at the old record store, yeah? It says they're hiring out front. Meanwhile, we can really pull this band together.. Mick and Vince are cool with you, so we can take the offer. I figured it'd be better to get ourselves back on our feet before we do that, though." Nikki murmured, rubbing Tommy's arm.

"Will that even bring in enough to keep this place? It's so expensive, even for just a small apartment."

"Don't start gettin' doubtful now, babe. You've stayed strong this entire time. I know we can do this. Between us, we should easily be able to bring in enough. Do you wanna go down there today and fill out applications?"

"Yeah, actually.. that sounds good." Tommy smiled softly, appreciating that he wasn't the only one who had to do the comforting around here.

They quickly dressed themselves before leaving the apartment, driving the short ways to the familiar old record shop. The bright yellow 'Now Hiring!' sign out front stuck out in the dreary colors of the worn town.

They trotted inside, finding a stack of application papers and filling them out. They handed the sheets to one of the employees before going to check out what new records had come in. Nikki hadn't been here for a while, staying away so he could save his money. Tommy knew he shouldn't look because he would want to spend money, but they should be getting new jobs anyway. He could afford to buy a little gift for Nikki, and maybe something for him, too.

Tommy followed Nikki through the aisles, watching his smaller boyfriend finger through the stacks that were in no particular order.

On their way through the store, Tommy smirked, scooping up a new-looking copy of Houses of the Holy and keeping it tucked under his arm. His copy at home was scratched and skipped on D'yer Mak'er; he had been hoping to get a new one for a while.

Nikki paused a little ahead of him, biting his lip. Tommy watched with a lopsided smile as Nikki tugged out a Master of Reality record that was slightly worn around the corners of the cover.

"I've been looking for one of these for so long. They almost never come in, and I always miss 'em when they do," He growled softly, flipping it over and gazing lovingly at the back. "Man, I love this album."

"It's yours, babe." Tommy smiled softly, wrapping his arm around Nikki and his newfound treasure.

"What? You aren't buying me anything. Actually, I shouldn't even be looking. We need the money for other stuff-"

"No, shh. I'll get it for you. It's only ten bucks, anyway." Tommy pressed a soft kiss to Nikki's cheek, gently taking the vinyl from him and tucking it away with his record.

"Thank you.." Nikki smiled sheepishly.

"Aren't you used to people buying you things?" Tommy laughed softly, his hand on Nikki's lower back guiding him to the counter.

"Not since I was little.. and anyway, you treat me like too much of a princess. I really need to put the reigns on you." The smaller boy laughed, leaning on the counter as they waited for someone to appear to ring them up.

A minute later, a short lady with long black hair popped up in front of them.

"Hey! All ready?" She smiled, taking the records from Tommy and scanning them when he nodded.

"Alright, that'll be $17.02." She grinned. "Hey, wait - you're the guys who dropped off the applications before, right?"

"Yep, that's us." Tommy smiled, taking out a twenty from his wallet.

"Oh, cool. Do you guys have time to do a quick interview now? We had someone else coming in, but we've waited half an hour and we don't think he's coming. We're all set up for an interview now, anyway. Boss man already looked over your applications, he thinks you're both fine for the job."

"The job?" Tommy asked, taking the bag from her as she passed it over the counter.

"Oh, jobs. Of course there's room for both of you, we always need extra help around here." She grinned. Nikki liked her, she was bubbly.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, we've totally got time. Who would you like first?" Tommy smiled politely, feeling Nikki reach down and gently lace their fingers together.

"Let me just ask him.." The girl smiled, retreating into the back room behind the counter for a second. She trotted back around to them.

"Tommy first, please."

"Alright." Tommy handed the bag to Nikki, exchanging a quick kiss before following the girl into the back room.

She led him into a small room where a man was seated at a desk. He was wearing jeans and a plain black tee. He seemed casual enough. Tommy was sure he had seen the man working the counter sometime he was here in the past.

"Hey, I'm Steven. I'm in charge here. Please, take a seat." He smiled, leaning forward on his hands. Tommy did as he was told.

"So tell me, dude - what's your name, what's your past work experience, you know the drill." Steven was surprisingly calm. Tommy knew that he'd like him.

"Well, my name's Tommy Lee. My first job was being a waiter during high school. I went to college for about a year for being a teacher, but in the end, I just figured it wasn't right for me. So I'm trying to start again." He smiled convincingly, keeping his tone light.

"Ah, that's cool, man. You buy a lot of records?" Steven smiled.

"Yeah, actually just bought two just now." He grinned.

"Nice, nice. What did ya get? I like to know the music tastes of my employees."

"Well, I got Houses of the Holy for myself, and Master of Reality as a gift for my boyfriend." Tommy smiled softly, hoping Steven wouldn't judge him.

Steven nodded and smiled, appreciating Tommy's honesty.

"Awesome, man. Is that the guy you came in with? I think he applied, too."

"Yeah, Nikki. He did." Tommy replied, drumming his fingers gently on the desk. He and Steven ran through a few more workplace-related questions before he grinned and took Tommy's number.

"I'll call you later about the job. You can send your boyfriend in, now."

Tommy smiled sweetly, standing up from the desk and shaking hands with Steven.

"Thanks, man. Talk to you later."

Tommy exited the room, trotting back to out front where Nikki had struck up a friendly conversation with the girl from before.

"Hey Nik, you're good to go in." Tommy gently tapped Nikki's shoulder, taking the bag from him as he went inside and the girl showed him the room. She didn't come back this time, instead vanishing into another back room, probably to take her break. Tommy yawned, deciding to trail around the store and lazily browse what they had to offer while waiting for Nikki.

About fifteen minutes later, his boyfriend appeared behind him, bouncing excitedly.

"Oh, hey!" Tommy laughed, feeling Nikki latch onto him.

"Hi! That guy is so nice! He told me that we both are getting the jobs, and he's just gonna call later to sort everything out with hours and wages and shit." Nikki grinned widely, starting to walk towards the exit with Tommy.

"Aw, that's great! I hope we get similar hours." Tommy smiled softly, leading Nikki out the door. He looked behind him to see if the girl was at the counter to say goodbye. She wasn't, so they left, smiling happily to each other.