Knock. Knock.

"Robert?"

"Fuck off!" Robert shouted. "I don't want to talk about it, Bonzo - so fuck off!"

A dry, grown-up cough issued from the opposite side of the door. "Actually, this is your father speaking. Your mother and I would both appreciate it if you could drag yourself away from this teenage melodrama you are enacting and help out at the restaurant."

Robert gritted his teeth and all but growled, "I'm not feeling well. I told Mum I-"

"Your mother told me that you had some kind of job interview yesterday. Judging by your current mood, I'd say that things did not go well." His father paused. "But that's life, son. We all have to accept defeat, cut our losses and move on."

Rolling his eyes dramatically at his father's weak attempt at being 'comforting', Robert propped himself up in bed. "I don't want to go to work today." he muttered, somewhat petulantly.

"Well, you have to." There came his father's sharp reply. "Or have you forgotten that your friend, John, works at our restaurant too? Is it fair for him to have to do twice as much work because you're sitting in bed, feeling sorry for yourself?"

Robert grimaced and fidgeted self-consciously. "When you put it that way..."

"I expect to see you downstairs and taking patrons' orders in five minutes. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear." Chastised, he scowled at the mass of blankets at the foot of his bed. Fuck the restaurant. Fuck the patrons. Fuck...Jimmy.

Angrily yanking a t-shirt over his head, Robert reflected on the fact that life was a hard-arsed bitch. Seven minutes later, he was bounding down the stairs and entering the restaurant's kitchen through the staff door.

"Morning, love." Mum was in the process of frying a pan of bacon.

The smell was heavenly. His stomach grumbled, and yet he wasn't in any fit state to fling food down his gullet.

"Pass those plates to John, would you, darling?"

Robert did as he was told, albeit like some depressed, scowling automaton.

Bonzo chuckled, catching sight of his friend's face. "That bad, eh? Does he have a girlfriend? A boyfriend? Oh, oh - did you walk in on the two of them at it?"

"No!" Robert snapped.

Bonzo winced slightly at the force behind the other's words. "D'you want to talk about it, mate?"

"You've got to get those plates to the diners before the food goes cold."

"I asked you a question, mate."

"And I gave you an answer." Robert flung his leonine mane over one shoulder. "Now don't bother me - we've both got work to do."

Worry washed across Bonzo's face. "Percy, are you-"

"If you're asking me if I'm alright, the answer's no. Fucking hell, no." Robert's voice trembled, in spite of the fierce expression on his face. "Now leave me alone, before I do something embarrassing." Oh, who am I fooling? My life is one big, fat embarrassment.

Bonzo didn't bother him after that, though Robert did catch sight of him casting worried glances his way. Wonderful - now I'm being an awful friend.

Come lunchtime, Robert was feeling positively lightheaded. He'd never skipped a meal before, and from the nausea roiling in his gut he'd never repeat the experience. But, then again, he'd never been so heartbroken and humiliated to necessitate skipping a meal before.

Pressing through the service, his stomach proceeded to turn into a gurgling nightmare. Diners, less than enthused with being serenaded by the tunes of Grumbling Tummy, took to casting annoyed glances at him whenever he passed their respective tables.

Finally, after moodily chugging down a second glass of water in the kitchen, his mother tapped him on the arm,  passed him two wrapped packets of sandwiches, and said, "Take a break for lunch, love. And take John with you. The boy needs a rest, he's been working like a possessed man. Your father and I can hold the fort for a bit."

Robert wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Pressing a grateful kiss to his mother's temple, he seized Bonzo by the sleeve of his shirt and departed.

On their walk to a nearby park to have lunch, Bonzo wore a lost expression on his face as though there was something he wanted desperately to say and yet he couldn't get the words out.

Robert decided to put him out of his misery. As a testament to their close bond, Bonzo didn't laugh once. "He's a sharp chap." he said, once the tale was over and Robert had decimated the best half of his sandwiches. "If circumstances were different I'd tell you to steer clear of him, now that we know what he's like. But it doesn't sound as if you can wriggle out of this, mate. If you refuse to do what he tells you to, he'll out you as a gay."

"I know." Robert groaned. "I feel like such a fool, Bonz. The first chap I fall in love with turns out to be a manipulative bastard. What are the odds? Maybe I'm not destined for love at all."

Bonzo cleared his throat. "You might hate me for this, Perce, but I think you ought to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Yes, you've made a mistake and yes, it's bleeding humiliating, but it sure isn't the end of the world." He shifted slightly in his seat, under Robert's questioning gaze. "I mean, if he's such a clever bloke and he's already a minor celebrity with, y'know, being in The Yardbirds, doesn't that mean his group's got a better chance than most of making it big?"

Robert stared.

"Come on, Percy. You still want to be a blues singer, don't you? Or has Jimmy cured that for you as well?"

"No," Robert bit his lip, "you're right. Jimmy might be a blessing in disguise in that regard. But he wants full control of...everything." Petulantly, the corners of his mouth turned down. "If I do something or write something, I'd like to get credit for it."

Bonzo simply shrugged. "Once you've made a name for yourself, you can. Jimmy won't have any control over you." He sat back in his seat. "You've got to weather the storm, Percy."

Heart feeling as heavy as lead, Robert turned his attention back to his remaining sandwiches. His mate did have a point. But what a dismal prospect it seemed!

The rest of their lunch break was spent in silence, and then it was a brisk walk back to the restaurant. Robert's mother beamed at him as he entered. "Good news!" She had flour on her nose and looked rather manic.

"What sort?"

"A lovely young man dropped in a little while ago. He was looking for you, Robert - he told me you've got the job," she smiled, like an eager mother-hen, "and that you're supposed to drop by his house at ten o' clock tomorrow to meet one of your co-workers."

Robert and Bonzo traded glances. There were no guesses as to whom that 'lovely young man' was.

✦✦✦

[UPDATE 2022: I don't think I quite specified at the beginning of this fic that the characterisations were to be rather OC, so I've amended that. Needless to say, portrayals of real life figures in fanfic have to be taken with more than a grain of salt (in that they're heavily dramatised, and not a trustworthy account of behaviour).]