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When she had started working at the Hunter’s Moon as a bartender, Clary hadn’t expected to enjoy it as much as she did.
She had taken the job purely because she needed some quick money and had heard about a bar that only hired college students and was generally a nice place to hang out at. She had checked it out a day later, gotten an interview with the – extremely hot – manager, and had been hired on the spot.
Still, she had expected it to be more of a chore than anything, something that kept her up late and made her rush through her essays in order to get to her shifts on time. Instead, she was welcomed warmly by a group of people who knew exactly what she was going through and were determined to help each other succeed. It had barely taken her two days to fall in love with both the bar and the people in it.
It certainly helped that she was never alone behind the bar, since the manager wanted to make sure her bartenders didn’t get harassed. Nights were so much nicer when there was someone at your side, asking about your day and joking about crappy patrons.
The best nights were by far the ones when all four bartenders were asked to come in for an event. It was the perfect time to show off their skills and let their competitive sides out. Aline and Alec were especially invested in these events and had apparently created an entire set of traditions every bartender had to follow. Even Raphael, who was known for not caring about anyone or anything, had looked delighted at the prospect of an evening all together.
Their first two events went smoothly. They were higher-end parties with minor celebrities who wanted to mingle with each other as well as the press. The quartet of bartenders had spent the entire night laughing at how uptight everyone looked and betting on who would get drunk the fastest.
It was hilarious, liberating, and yet another reason why Clary adored her job. So when a third event came around, she was delighted. She made sure to dress up a little fancier than usual and arrived at the bar thirty minutes early.
Unsurprisingly, Alec was already there. For all that he was a sarcastic and competitive guy, Alec was also one of the most serious and fair people Clary had ever met. He always agreed to cover for them when they needed a day off and generally acted like the big brother none of them had.
He greeted her with a quick hug and a few questions about her day. It was crazy how comfortable she felt around these people she had known for less than two months, but she wouldn’t change it for the world.
Raphael and Aline arrived together, which made sense since they went to law school together. They were in the middle of a passionate debate about something Clary couldn’t have understood even if she’d tried, so she waved at them half-heartedly and turned back towards Alec instead.
“Tonight’s a bit of a wilder party, isn’t it?” She’d heard all about the huge birthday party someone was throwing at the Hunter’s Moon. Even Simon, her best friend who had never been to the bar before, had heard about it. The guest of honour was some popular senior who was on good terms with the manager, so Clary was expecting something a bit more entertaining than the past two events.
“Should be, yeah,” Alec confirmed, dragging her into the bar’s main room and starting to move the tables around so everyone would be able to move more freely. They weren’t a night club but, with a bit of help, they could create a decent dance floor. “Magnus Bane is the talk of the town, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we surpassed our maximum capacity. I just hope we don’t have to throw anyone out.”
“In a room full of college students? Don’t hope too much, Lightwood.”
Alec narrowed his eyes at Raphael, who had snuck up on them to help with the furniture. Clary left them to it, knowing she wouldn’t be much help, and went to join Aline behind the bar instead.
Events meant having people both behind the bar as well as others walking around to hand out refills, pick up trash, and act as pseudo-security. Mostly though, it gave the bartenders an excuse to talk to people and bring back as much gossip as possible. Somehow, Raphael had been the one to win their information exchange at the past two events.
Clary was determined to dethrone him this time around.
“Are we pairing up like last time?” Clary asked, referring to the male/female rotations they had put in place to make sure no one tried to hit on Clary and Aline too intensely. “Because no offence, but I want Alec this time.”
“Got something against my classmate, Clary?” Aline laughed. “I’m sure he would be wounded to hear you think so little of him. He truly likes you, Fray, and you’re going to break his heart by betraying him for Alec, of all people?”
“Oh, cut it out,” Clary rolled her eyes, though she was giggling softly under her breath. “I just want to see our socially repressed bartender mingle with people our age. Say, didn’t you mention something about a dare the last time we attended one of these events?”
“Hmm,” Aline smirked. “We do this for the bigger events, and Alec always fails miserably. It’s pretty simple, really. We’re each assigned another bartender and, at any point of the night, we can dare them to ask out the next person to walk into the bar. Obviously it’s smarter to do this at the beginning when there are plenty of people coming in, but there was one remarkable time when Raphael-”
“What are we talking about here?” The bartender in question appeared besides them, as quiet and fast as always. “Because if Aline was about to tell you about the time I lost the dare on the strangest woman ever, I’ll have to mention how she ended up flirting with the wrong target.”
“And that’s how she met her girlfriend,” Alec cut in, smirking at Aline who stuck her tongue out at the men childishly. “Really, even Raphael got a good relationship out of it once, though we never talk about it because it was with my sister and I was extremely weirded out.”
“He punched me, once,” Raphael nodded seriously. “He apologised later, of course, but it still hurt like hell. Point is, this is one of the best parts of these events and I cannot wait to see you make a fool out of yourself.”
“Who’s to say I won’t kill it?” Clary pouted. She knew she wasn’t the most sensual or seductive person out there, but she could handle a single person just fine. “And we’re taking sexuality into account, right?”
The looks on her co-workers faces told her that no, they did not care about sexuality during their games. Then again, if Aline was participating despite having a girlfriend, there were clearly no expectations to take the person home at the end of the night. Still, Clary grimaced at the idea of having to flirt with a man.
“Alright, so how do we determine who gets who?” she asked instead, deciding she’d deal with the man problem later. “Do we pick it out of the hat? Do we pair up with whoever we’re working with? Are there rules to this thing, or is it just may the best bartender win? And how do we win, exactly?”
“Usually it’s just whoever asks for someone first,” Aline shrugged. “For example, I’m getting Alec tonight.”
“And I’m getting you, Fray,” Alec smirked at her. “Especially since you seem so determined to be partnered up with me. The least I can do is repay you with a completely random target to seduce.”
“Oh yes, your gift is truly appreciated,” Clary rolled her eyes. “So this leaves me with Raphael, and Raphael with Aline, right?”
“Indeed,” Raphael sighed. “Don’t try to convince yourself this was random, by the way. Aline refuses to let anyone but me choose her targets because I have the worse luck and always select someone easy for her.”
“As for your question about winning, the only prize is a date with your target as well as eternal glory,” Alec grinned. “Really, it’s all about who can get their target’s number first or, if they already have the target’s number, something a bit more significant.”
“That’s already happened?” Clary asked incredulously. “How many times have you done this, exactly?”
“Of course it’s already happened,” Aline snorted. “We just told you Raphael once got Isabelle as his target. It would have been way too easy for him to get her number by claiming he was Alec’s friend.”
It was a fair point, so Clary let it go and started working on the events’ preparations again. She let her co-workers’ voices fade in the background and thought about what the night had in store. Part of her was excited to find out who her target was and how easy this would be. The other part of her was terrified she’d get fired for being unprofessional.
Her worries were probably unfounded, since none of the other bartenders had been fired for their own dalliances, but it didn’t stop her from overthinking things. She tried to remind herself their manager probably wouldn’t be there to see her flail as she tried to flirt with someone she wasn’t attracted to.
By the time the event started, she was torn between delight and terror, and she kept glancing at Alec to see if he was going to choose someone for her from the very start or spring it on her at the last minute. It was thrilling, in a sense, though she knew she would have to wait a while longer when Aline called out to Alec barely half an hour into the party, saying the next patron was his.
Clary’s partner for the night rolled his eyes but dutifully leaned against the wall, eyes fixed on the entrance door. Five seconds later, a beautiful man with glitter in his hair and sparkly clothes walked into the room. Clary started giggling because really? This was who Alec was going to have to seduce?
But then she turned to look at her friend and found him gaping at the stranger, practically drooling on the spot. She had never thought about what his type was, but apparently this mystery man was it.
“Lucky guy,” she smirked. “Do you think you can handle all of that?”
“Of course I can,” Alec scoffed, though his gaze was uncertain. “It’s only Magnus Bane. No big deal.”
Clary choked on air, her eyes darting back towards the stranger who was apparently none other than the man of the hour. Because of course he was. The redhead chuckled, patting Alec’s arm comfortingly. What were the chances that he would even manage to get Magnus alone, let alone long enough to steal his phone number?
Alec glared at her and pushed off the wall, straightening up and readjusting his shirt before heading towards the guest of honour.
“Don’t look at me pityingly, Fray,” he chuckled, looking back at her one last time. “I haven’t lost yet.”
Clary burst out laughing as her friend weaved through the crowd and reached his target, ‘accidentally’ bumping into the man and probably stuttering out a sincere-sounding apology. She rolled her eyes and looked away, focusing on her job instead of Alec, though she kept glancing his way as he expertly flirted with Magnus Bane.
She had to commend him for his efforts; the man looked like he was having a wonderful time, beaming at Alec as though he had never seen anything quite as beautiful. Obviously, Alec would have no problem getting his number of the night – and maybe a bit more than that.
She was so busy focusing on his own love story, she almost missed it when he gestured towards her and pointed towards the door. It took her a second to understand what he meant, but then she registered the mischievous look in his eyes and she gulped nervously, keeping her gaze fixed on the door.
She waited a few seconds, a minute, and then someone finally entered the bar, looking around like they owned the place.
Probably because they did.
Clary froze at the sight of Maia, their manager, strolling into the bar, completely oblivious to what her bartenders had in mind for her. When she looked back towards Alec, the damned man was smirking at her triumphantly, and Clary took a moment to wonder whether or not he had rigged the game.
After all, it wasn’t a secret that Clary had the biggest crush on Maia. She tended to make a fool out of herself every time their manager was in the room, and she cursed herself for it every time. It didn’t help that there was no way the woman would want to date her. Clary was her employee, and that was a disaster waiting to happen.
But now here they were, Clary having been dared to go up to Maia and ask her out. She couldn’t just ask for her number, of course, since all the bartenders already had it in case of emergency and for work-related questions. She swore under her breath, wondering why she couldn’t have gotten a dazzling stranger like Alec or an already-drunk girl like Aline.
Which reminded her she still had to choose a target for Raphael. As she tried to calm down from her Maia-induced panic, Clary sidled closer to the bar and gestured in Raphael’s direction, making it clear she wanted to talk to him.
“Fray,” he said dryly, obviously knowing where this was going. “Finally decided to give me some poor soul to torture?”
“Whoever comes in next,” Clary nodded, turning towards the entrance, and hoping for someone just as bad as Maia. Not that Maia was a terrible person, quite the opposite, but she didn’t want Raphael to have it easy. It took five minutes for someone to appear, and Raphael had to leave twice in order to take care of a patron but, finally, someone walked in.
Clary promptly burst into laughter.
“What’s with the hysteria, Fray?” Raphael asked her, raising an eyebrow. “You think Lightwood can seduce Magnus but I can’t handle this nerd?”
“First of all, don’t call Simon a nerd,” Clary chuckled, although she had to admit her friend fit that description quite well. “And secondly, I think Simon will be completely oblivious to any of your attempts at flirting. He has no clue how to deal with cute girls, let alone cute boys.”
“You know him?”
“He’s my best friend,” Clary nodded, waving at Simon as he spotted her. “And I’ve just given you an in with him. Take advantage of it while you can, and hopefully you manage to get a word in. He can get a bit… chatty.”
Before Raphael could ask her what she meant, Clary moved further down the bar to where Maia and Aline were talking. She had no clue whether they were discussing business or just hanging out as friends – they had known each other for a few years, after all – but her heart beat faster as she approached them.
Aline was the first one to see her and, if the smirk on her face was anything to go by, she knew exactly who Clary’s target for the night was. Which meant this conversation was going to be either painfully uncomfortable or just downright painful.
“Clary!” Her traitorous friend was grinning like a loon, mixing a drink like she had been born to do it. “Maia stopped by to make sure everything was going alright. I have patrons to take care but you don’t look too busy. Mind updating her on things whilst I go do my job?”
And just like that, Aline was gone, leaving Clary alone with Maia.
The manager looked completely at ease, sitting on her stool like it was a throne and looking at the crowd of people around them proudly. Clary hadn’t been part of the staff at the beginning, but the Hunter’s Moon had apparently been a pretty small business. It made sense for Maia to be happy with the way things had turned out.
“I hadn’t realised you were planning on coming to this event,” the redhead said awkwardly, wanting to fill the silence. “You weren’t there the last two times, were you? Or did I just miss you?”
Unlikely, since Clary was always extremely aware of Maia’s presence. Still, it didn’t hurt to ask. Unsurprisingly, Maia shook her head as she took another sip of one of those disgustingly sweet cocktails Clary hated.
“I know Magnus,” the curly-haired woman explained, gesturing in Alec and Magnus’ direction. “I’m here as a guest more than anything else. Aline left too fast more me to tell her. I wasn’t aware my staff spent more time flirting with our patrons than actually working, but I suppose that’s one way to get someone to come back. Magnus looks completely smitten.”
He really did, Clary thought. Alec and he had started swaying to the music, though her friend looked like he had no idea what he was doing and was begging for a way to get out of it. He was flushed and grinning, and Clary knew he would be grumpy when she had to drag him behind the bar for their turn at mixing drinks.
“I’m not looking forward to breaking them apart,” Clary grimaced, perking up internally when Maia laughed. The woman was so beautiful and Clary had no idea what she was supposed to do. She knew her friends would tease her if she didn’t ask Maia out, but they probably wouldn’t blame her for her reluctance.
Dating a manager was a bigger deal than flirting with the birthday boy or exchanging innocent words with Simon. This was Maia, their boss, the woman who could fire Clary whenever she wanted to. Not that Clary thought she would, since Maia also happened to be one of the most compassionate human beings the redhead had ever met, but one could never be too certain.
“Why aren’t you out there taking care of the trash and our drunk guests?” Maia asked. Her tone should have been accusatory or reprimanding, but it was mostly just amused, so Clary didn’t think she was in trouble for anything.
“Everyone’s been surprisingly civil so far,” she shrugged. It was true; before Magnus had walked into the bar, Clary’s night had been full of gossip and conversation rather than actual work. That would change as soon as she was behind the bar, but she was glad to know this party wasn’t about to get out of hand. “It seems this Magnus guy knows how to pick his friends and guests. And his partners, obviously.”
“Obviously,” Maia grinned, leaning in closer to Clary conspiratorially. “Do you want to hear about the first time Alec tried to flirt with someone at this bar?”
Clary’s eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly. She wasn’t about to decline hearing about something she could use to blackmail or bribe her co-workers at a later date. Alec usually covered her shifts no matter what, but it couldn’t hurt to make sure he truly couldn’t refuse.
And so Clary sat there, grinning dopily at Maia and laughing along to her incredible stories about the other bartenders. She knew her shift at the bar was coming up and wasn’t looking forward to it, but she didn’t think Maia was going to leave, even once Clary started preparing drinks. There was something warm and inviting in the woman’s gaze that Clary had never seen before, and it gave her a little bit of hope.
Not too much, though, because Clary was nothing if not a pessimist when it came to love.
As predicted, getting Alec away from Magnus was a nightmare, and Maia had to physically drag him away from his new man. Clary rolled her eyes at him and nudged him playfully whilst Aline bragged about her superior skills in matchmaking.
“What about you, Clary?” Alec grinned, glancing between her and Maia with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Thankfully, their manager was too busy checking on Raphael to notice. “Having any luck with your target of the night, or were you too busy pining like you always do? I swear, I’ve never been matched someone quite so perfectly with a target. This is your chance, Clary! We believe in you!”
His whole speech was delivered in between fits of giggles, so Clary just pouted at him and started mixing a drink for her first patron of the evening. After that, she alternated between talking to Alec, giving drinks out, and chatting with Maia whenever she had an instant of free time.
“Really, it was the only time I ever regretted giving up on my studies as a marine biologist,” Maia sighed. She had just told Clary a story about an aquarium she had visited once that was downright horrible to its animals. To no one’s surprise, Maia had fought tooth and nail to make sure the place was shut down and the animals taken to a safe place where they would be cared for.
It was yet another thing for Clary to love about Maia. The list was getting longer by the minute, and she didn’t know if she could handle much more than what she already had. Maia was a wonder of a human being and Clary had no clue how to go about asking her on a date.
“You know, I noticed you haven’t gone off to find your target,” Maia said a few minutes later, raising a questioning eyebrow in Clary’s direction. The redhead could only gape at her because apparently, their manager knew about the bartenders’ little game and just didn’t care. “Oh please, Alec and Aline have been working for me for three years, of course I know about their stupid challenges. So tell me, have you already given up on yours or have you just not gotten the signal yet?”
For a moment, Clary stayed quiet, focusing on the drink in her hands rather than the beautiful woman in front of her. The last thing she wanted to do was give herself away and get laughed at.
“I’m working on it,” she ended up saying, cursing herself for being so obvious. There was no way Maia wasn’t going to realise who her target was and what Clary had been doing for the past hour or so.
And what if she thought this was all pretence on Clary’s end? What if she got angry at the redhead for going ahead and trying to flirt with her manager for the sake of a stupid game. The last thing Clary wanted to do was alienate herself from Maia even more. She struggled enough as it was.
“You’re working on it… from here?” Maia raised her eyebrows incredulously. “Sorry to tell you this, Clary, but you won’t get very far if you don’t talk to your target.”
“Maybe I don’t care about the game,” Clary pointed out. It was a lie, of course, since Clary was almost as competitive as her colleagues, but Maia didn’t need to know that. “Maybe I find you more interesting than whoever I’m supposed to be seducing tonight.”
She froze as soon as the words left her mouth. Way to not make a fool out of herself. Seriously, could she have been any more obvious about how attracted she was to Maia?
“You think I’m interesting?”
Clary almost scoffed at the question, because how on earth could someone like Maia not see how wonderful she was? However, she could hear a hint of doubt and insecurity in Maia’s voice, and she refused to let that go on for a second longer.
“Of course I do,” she answered firmly. “You’re one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met, and I’d be a fool to bail on your company just for some random person I’ve never talked to before. Alec may have found the love of his life tonight, but I’d rather get to know someone before jumping on them and asking for a date.”
“So you’re saying you wouldn’t mind asking me out on a date?” Maia asked, a smirk playing at her lips. Clary’s face turned a bright red as she tried to correct herself in a way that didn’t make her seem like even more of an idiot. “I’m flattered, Clary, really. I didn’t think you’d ever work up the courage to do something.”
Clary was struck speechless, torn between the desire to ask Maia what she meant or to simply kiss her right there and then. Because that, right there, had sounded dangerously like Maia wouldn’t mind going on a date – or two – with Clary.
“You’re flattered, meaning…?”
“Meaning if you were to ask me out, I wouldn’t say no,” Maia rolled her eyes, as though her answer hadn’t completely thrown Clary off balance. “Seriously, I’ve never said anything because I’m technically your boss and it would be completely inappropriate, but as long as you promise to keep things strictly professional when we’re both here on business, I couldn’t care less about propriety.”
“I…” Clary gaped, swallowing and clearing her throat in an attempt to get words out. “I mean, what? But why would you want to date me? You’ve got your whole life together, and I’m an art student who needs to work nights at a local bar because I can’t afford my rent otherwise!”
“And that’s exactly how I started out too,” Maia shrugged, clearly not seeing why this was a big deal. “Look, I don’t hire students just because I think it’s cool and will get more people to visit this place. I know what it’s like to be struggling to make ends meet, and I’m really not that much older than you. In fact, I’m pretty sure Alec and Raphael are older than me. There’s nothing weird about this unless you make it that way.”
Clary continued staring at Maia incredulously. There was a huge difference between having a crush on someone and thinking it was unrequited and having a crush on someone and knowing they wouldn’t say no if you were to ask them out on a date. The question was, did Clary want to do something about it or did she want to forget about this conversation and pretend it never happened?
“So… If I were to tell you you’re actually my target for the night,” Clary started, blushing a bright red. “And that I’d really like to go out with you, not just to win this stupid game, but also because I think you’re a stunning, smart, and incredibly kind person…?”
“Then I would say yes to the date,” Maia beamed. “And then I would thank whichever one of my employees made this happen. I’m betting it was Alec. He sent me a text asking if I was still coming and I warned him I was arriving.”
“I knew it!” Clary exclaimed, raising her voice and running towards Alec. “I knew you rigged this stupid game! Don’t think I’m going to let this slide, Lightwood! I’ll get my revenge!”
“Revenge for what?” her colleague shot back. “Getting you to finally ask your crush on a date? If anything, you owe me a gift. I’m expecting something extra nice on the bar when I come in for my next shift. Or actually, I might just ask you to cover for me when I go on a date with Magnus.”
Clary stuck her tongue out at him before turning back towards Maia, a sheepish smile on her face.
“So…” she said softly. “A date?”
“Definitely,” Maia answered just as gently. “Give me a time and a place, and I’ll be there. Although maybe we shouldn’t choose my own bar.”
“Of course not,” Clary scoffed. “I know just the place to take you.”
“I can’t wait,” Maia smiled. Her features turned mischievous a second later, and she rested her elbows on the bar as she leaned across the counter. Their faces were inches apart and Clary promptly lost her breath. “Now, how about we make sure you win this round by sealing the deal with a kiss?”
Who was Clary to refuse an offer like that?
She pressed her lips to Maia’s, sighing into the kiss and wrapping an arm around the other woman’s neck. Everything about her was soft and warm and exactly how Clary had imagined it would be. She lost herself in the kiss and ignored her co-workers’ cheering in the background.
She hadn’t expected to like working at the Hunter’s Moon so much but, as she kissed Maia, she thought there wasn’t a single place in the world she would rather be.