Post by newwwwusername on Dec 17, 2023 20:25:35 GMT
Full title on AO3 : The Bricklayer and the Businesswoman
Warning : Period-typical sexism
Prompt : Surprising the other by coming home early
Chronology : Post-canon
Background relationships : Donald/Rheba (mentioned), Penny/Paul (mentioned), Ed/Essie (mentioned)
After Tony quit his job as the vice president of Kirby and Co., he became a bricklayer, which was a nice change of pace. It was easy, mindless work, and he liked the feeling that he was actually a part of something, contributing to something good rather than just calculating stocks.
Alice still worked at Kirby and Co., but she was different. She was one of those business types that Grandpa would often talk about. She actually liked the business side of things, and she filled in as vice president after Tony left the company. It was a bit of a controversial decision, to have a woman as vice president. She understood this and generally signed important documents as A. Sycamore so she would still be taken seriously by less enlightened folks. She didn't mind, though. She was just glad to still have her job.
She usually got home earlier than Tony did. After all, she had pretty set-in-stone hours that she would be at work for. Tony didn't have that, not really. Sure, he would usually have a rough estimate, and there was a certain point each day where he could clock out if he wanted to, but he liked stopping off at good points, and would often stay pretty late.
One day, though, he finished off his work surprisingly quickly, only a few hours after he got there. Because he didn't have anything else to work on for that day, his boss let him go home, so he did. Alice wasn't there when he got back, which made sense. It would still be another few hours before she would get off of work.
The rest of the family was still there, though. It made sense. Out of the members of the family who did work, Alice was the only one who left the house to do so. Rheba worked as a helper around the house, Paul and Mr. De Pinna always did their fireworks stuff in the basement, Ed did his print work in the corner, Essie made her candies in the kitchen, Gay (when she wasn't drunk), would rehearse whatever parts Penny gave her, and Penny was always at her desk, typing away at plays that hardly ever got performed. Then there was Donald, who was on relief, and Martin, who'd quit working thirty-five-ish years ago.
Tony decided to help out Rheba in the kitchen for a while. She was working on dinner for when Alice came home. She always made more than they typically needed, just in case Kolenkhov or Mr. and Mrs. Kirby or some other lost soul ended up being there. He thought that was awfully considerate of her. She didn't seem to mind it. Something about enjoying the process.
He was helping her out for a decently long time but suddenly paused when he heard the front door open. He tilted his head so he could see through the kitchen's doorway into the living room and smiled as he saw Alice. He'd been having such a nice time helping out Rheba, he didn't even realize so much time had passed.
He walked out into the living room to greet her, and she was visibly surprised. "You're home early" she commented, giving him a kiss. "You weren't fired, were you?"
"No, no" he chuckled lightheartedly. "I just finished up early" he explained. "I thought about coming by the office, but I figured that it would be more fun to just surprise you when you came back home"
"Oh, you're a gem, Tony" Alice praised. Penny looked over her shoulder briefly to watch the pair and smiled. She was glad to see her daughter so happy and in love, just like she was with Paul, and how Ed was with Essie, and how Donald was with Rheba. Love is all that is left in the world, she thought, Kolenkhov's words echoing around in her brain. "I love you"
"I love you too, darling" he told her, smiling warmly. Rheba left the kitchen and smiled as she saw them.
"I was helping her with dinner" Tony said to his wife.
"You're the best" she said. She truly didn't understand how she'd gotten so lucky as to have him as her husband.
"Hardly that" he laughed. "Rheba, do you need help setting the table?"
"No, no, I got it" she dismissed. "You two go enjoy yourselves for a while. I'll get Donald to help. Donald!"
Donald came running over and went into the kitchen to get the plates. Tony and Alice chuckled at their antics and then began up the stairs to their room.
Everything was perfect.
Warning : Period-typical sexism
Prompt : Surprising the other by coming home early
Chronology : Post-canon
Background relationships : Donald/Rheba (mentioned), Penny/Paul (mentioned), Ed/Essie (mentioned)
After Tony quit his job as the vice president of Kirby and Co., he became a bricklayer, which was a nice change of pace. It was easy, mindless work, and he liked the feeling that he was actually a part of something, contributing to something good rather than just calculating stocks.
Alice still worked at Kirby and Co., but she was different. She was one of those business types that Grandpa would often talk about. She actually liked the business side of things, and she filled in as vice president after Tony left the company. It was a bit of a controversial decision, to have a woman as vice president. She understood this and generally signed important documents as A. Sycamore so she would still be taken seriously by less enlightened folks. She didn't mind, though. She was just glad to still have her job.
She usually got home earlier than Tony did. After all, she had pretty set-in-stone hours that she would be at work for. Tony didn't have that, not really. Sure, he would usually have a rough estimate, and there was a certain point each day where he could clock out if he wanted to, but he liked stopping off at good points, and would often stay pretty late.
One day, though, he finished off his work surprisingly quickly, only a few hours after he got there. Because he didn't have anything else to work on for that day, his boss let him go home, so he did. Alice wasn't there when he got back, which made sense. It would still be another few hours before she would get off of work.
The rest of the family was still there, though. It made sense. Out of the members of the family who did work, Alice was the only one who left the house to do so. Rheba worked as a helper around the house, Paul and Mr. De Pinna always did their fireworks stuff in the basement, Ed did his print work in the corner, Essie made her candies in the kitchen, Gay (when she wasn't drunk), would rehearse whatever parts Penny gave her, and Penny was always at her desk, typing away at plays that hardly ever got performed. Then there was Donald, who was on relief, and Martin, who'd quit working thirty-five-ish years ago.
Tony decided to help out Rheba in the kitchen for a while. She was working on dinner for when Alice came home. She always made more than they typically needed, just in case Kolenkhov or Mr. and Mrs. Kirby or some other lost soul ended up being there. He thought that was awfully considerate of her. She didn't seem to mind it. Something about enjoying the process.
He was helping her out for a decently long time but suddenly paused when he heard the front door open. He tilted his head so he could see through the kitchen's doorway into the living room and smiled as he saw Alice. He'd been having such a nice time helping out Rheba, he didn't even realize so much time had passed.
He walked out into the living room to greet her, and she was visibly surprised. "You're home early" she commented, giving him a kiss. "You weren't fired, were you?"
"No, no" he chuckled lightheartedly. "I just finished up early" he explained. "I thought about coming by the office, but I figured that it would be more fun to just surprise you when you came back home"
"Oh, you're a gem, Tony" Alice praised. Penny looked over her shoulder briefly to watch the pair and smiled. She was glad to see her daughter so happy and in love, just like she was with Paul, and how Ed was with Essie, and how Donald was with Rheba. Love is all that is left in the world, she thought, Kolenkhov's words echoing around in her brain. "I love you"
"I love you too, darling" he told her, smiling warmly. Rheba left the kitchen and smiled as she saw them.
"I was helping her with dinner" Tony said to his wife.
"You're the best" she said. She truly didn't understand how she'd gotten so lucky as to have him as her husband.
"Hardly that" he laughed. "Rheba, do you need help setting the table?"
"No, no, I got it" she dismissed. "You two go enjoy yourselves for a while. I'll get Donald to help. Donald!"
Donald came running over and went into the kitchen to get the plates. Tony and Alice chuckled at their antics and then began up the stairs to their room.
Everything was perfect.