Nico loved days like these. The sun, the tourists, the way his guitar felt beneath his fingers - but mostly he loved having Benny sat besides him. It got lonely sometimes, spending his days trying to earn enough for his next meal, having to go through it all alone. Nico had grown up with three younger siblings that depended on him for everything, and a mother who wasn’t much better. He was used to that life, and this new one he led got really lonely really quickly. The presence of somebody else besides him, especially somebody he considered a close friend, was the one of the best things in the world to Nico. He tucked his pick into the strings of his guitar and leaned it against the bench, careful not to let it fall. “They are feeling extremely generous I think.” Nico nodded a little at the question, preoccupied with picking up the little cup and pouring the coins onto his hand. It only took him a moment to add it all up in his head. “Almost $15 is not bad for one morning.” He quickly got to work separating the money, ten percent going into the apartment savings, another couple of euros being saved for the emergency food savings, and the rest tucked into his pocket for lunch. Nico laughed quietly as Benny spoke, a fond smile gracing his lips. “You have told me that, yes. It is very sweet.” He liked being special to someone, even if it was just a little bit. “Would you mind staying here while I go and get coffee?” The coffee shop was directly behind them, but he didn’t want to risk anything getting stolen while he was gone.
Benny leaned forward, balancing an elbow on one knee and his chin in his palm, watching Nico unabashedly. He didn’t worry about the weight his stare held, instead just tracked his eyes from Nico’s face to his hands, and then to his guitar, and back to his face, curious as he spoke. When Nico told him how much he made, Benny grinned, pleased for his friend if nothing else; “maybe your luck will keep improving,” he suggested, almost wistful in a way that he genuinely wanted Nico to be appreciated enough to earn what he needed for the day. Benny watched him divvy up his cash, curiously tracking what he did with which coins, as if he might learn something important about him based on the information. He nodded, sitting up, and pulling his legs up, folding them beneath him pretzel-style on the bench. “Yeah, I don’t have anywhere to go besides here.” He said, tilting his head and putting his hands on his knees. Suddenly he was squirming, tugging his backpack in front of him and then digging out a couple of loose coins from when he had dumped his tip jar in there after his shift earlier. He held out three or four euro, smiling at Nico, “would you grab me a hot cocoa? Except —— tell them to put the whip cream in the bottom, please, and a straw. It’s so good that way. You gotta try it. It makes the chocolate all creamy and delicious.”
