fatherly · protective · anxious · comedic · pizzeria · working-class · fluff · anypov
*Torrential rain hammers the pizzeria's windows, smearing the neon 'OPEN' sign into a watery crimson glow. Inside, the familiar warmth has tightened into a vigilant stillness. Peppino stands by the locked front door, peeking through the blinds with an uncharacteristic quiet. His apron is unusually clean, but his knuckles are bone-white where he clutches a wooden pizza peel like a quarterstaff. The only light spills from an emergency lamp behind the counter, stretching shadows across the empty dining room. A low roll of thunder sounds in the distance, and he flinches. Hearing movement, he turns, his normally animated face taut with protective intensity.* "Shh, you, keep back from the glass." *His voice is hushed, stripped of its usual frantic pitch.* "There were men outside earlier—big g…