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English
Series:
Part 1 of Lonely Bar AU
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Good TMA Reads
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Published:
2023-08-16
Completed:
2023-08-17
Words:
2,065
Chapters:
2/2
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44
Kudos:
824
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89
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10,752

Welcome to the Lorelei

,

Summary:

The Lorelei is a seemingly innocuous bar, part of a chain of bars owned by the Lukas family. When Martin, the singer in the bar nicknamed "The Siren", hears that a certain Archivist is looking for him, he prepares a special welcome for the trespasser.

Notes:

Accompanying fic for this animatic: https://youtu.be/KwP4vRtd1HQ

Chapter 1: A Beginning

Chapter Text

"Have you heard? It seems like someone has been looking for Martin lately."

"Huh? For our Martin?" Naomi sat down next to her husband and looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah, the owners of the other bars told me that someone has been going around with his picture." Evan took a drag of his cigarette. "He sounded sketchy, so they didn't answer him, but he might be showing up here soon."

His wife frowned, taking a sip from her wine. "What if it is that Archivist? What if he’s looking for a statement?" she asked. "The Institute has been sniffing around too much since–"

"Do we even need to worry?" They were interrupted by Martin stepping into the bar - the Lorelei - just early enough for him to prepare getting on stage.

He glared at Evan wordlessly, who put out his cigarette with a guilty smile. No smoking in the bar. Especially not if one had a shift later.

Then Martin smiled sweetly at Naomi. His eyes glinted with malice. "If he does show up here, I'll give that Archivist a warm welcome."

The couple shared a look. Biting their tongues, they nodded. They knew Martin could handle it on his own. Though it didn't change the fact that they were still worried about him. Especially when they saw how he did his best to hide a dejected look when Tadeas Dahl came to the bar without Peter. The senior bartender had been trying to bring the captain along for a while now and was still unsuccessful.

Evan watched Martin disappear behind the stage. Then he put his arm around his wife. He moved forward so that his lips brushed her ear. "Do you mind if I'm not at your table today even if I don't have any customers to attend to?"

"I was about to suggest the same thing!" The determined look on Naomi's face made Evan laugh.

They moved to different sides of the bar. Evan saw the raised eyebrow from Tadeas. But when their gazes met, the senior bartender immediately nodded. He must have heard the rumors as well. They needed to be on guard.

Martin checked the electronics of the bar one more time before he looked at the patrons from backstage. He couldn't contain a sigh when he saw that Evan was not hovering over his wife despite the small number of people in the bar. He did tell them that they needn't worry, yet they obviously didn’t want to listen.

Especially when he looked at the people who had gathered. Just the usual crowd: lonely, old men. The best kind of prey.

Today, no one stood out. No one grabbed his attention immediately.

It was going to be a quiet evening then. Maybe he could still go to another bar later on with Evan and Naomi to see whether anyone was worth his attention and his night.

For now, he had a performance to hold.

Despite the dim light of the bar and the brightness of the spotlights on him, Martin could still feel everyone inside this room. Their loneliness were like lighthouses in the darkness.

The man smiled as the music began to spread through the bar. He took a deep breath and let the solitude fill his lungs. The first note to come over his lips resounded in his voice box and the Lorelei. He was the reason the patrons came here night after night.

The door to the bar opened once again.

Martin's eyes immediately wandered to the newcomer while he kept on singing.

It was a new flavor of loneliness. One he hadn't tasted in this bar yet. It piqued his interest. Not only his as he noticed the gazes of his friends leave him and shift to the new arrival. Within moments, Evan was by the table to take the order. The waiter's eyes wandered to Martin with an unspoken question.

The singer nodded, almost imperceptibly. Wisps of his fog reached out, like tentacles, feeling for the new loneliness while feeding on the other patrons. His fog was repelled by the possessive hiss of another Fear as it reached the newcomer.

Ah, no wonder Evan and Naomi were so protective that they even pulled Tadeas into it.

This was someone who could not be enthralled by the Forsaken easily.

Martin grinned.

That was him.

The Archivist.

A certain kind of competitiveness rose in Martin's chest.

He put more power into his voice, more emotion. He let it be carried even further on the gentle dancing of the fog.

As Martin had heard, the Eye was a very possessive Fear, not letting anyone go, even if they did not fully belong to it yet. They say that there was no way another Dread Power could get to the Watcher? As if.

Martin was not nicknamed "The Siren" for no reason. Even without the Lonely, his voice alone was enough to lure people into the bar. Once they had entered, they were already in his domain. And now, the Archivist was here, right in front of him, with no place to hide from his voice.

Singing his song, he watched the Archivist’s face changing from curiosity about the performance to being fully taken in by it.

The eyes did not leave the singer even once.

When the Archivist rose from his chair and took a step towards the stage, the others were immediately ready to jump in to keep Martin from harm.

Martin calmed his friends with a little motion of his hand. A confident smile was on his lips as his voice beckoned the man even closer.

But he did not care for him just yet.

The Archivist was already in his thrall. Martin didn’t need to put any more effort into luring him.

There were other things that needed his attention first, after all: The singer turned to the other patrons. To the customers, who had walked towards the stage one by one. The loneliness they brought to the Lorelei was a familiar kind, almost comforting to Martin.

He reached out to the men, cupping their faces gently as he gifted them an almost angelic smile. He could show them a dream for tonight by being so near yet ultimately out of reach. A gentle soul who could soothe their loneliness, only to let them fall through the cracks the moment he let go, amplifying the fact that they were all alone. The tears streaming down the cheeks were proof of how deeply he struck them.

When his listeners would wake from their dream, they would already be drowning in the Lonely.

When they grabbed his arm like a lifeline, Martin pulled back.

He turned to the Archivist. The Eye's champion hadn't been able to shake free and just stood there in the sea of people, caught like everyone else.

A little smirk came to Martin's lips. How pathetic. He reached out a hand, inviting the fledgling avatar up to the stage just before the rest of the patrons were swept away into the Forsaken. He couldn't swallow the Eye's champion now. Not yet. It wouldn't do good to shift the Watcher's focus on him.

This time, he would be benevolent.

Martin watched the Archivist climbing the stairs to the stage in a daze.

Fog enveloped the man who did not even notice it.

The singer guided the Archivist's hands to himself, letting the man hold him gently by his hips.

Then, Martin raised his arms and slung them around the man's neck, pulling him closer. Their faces were only inches apart when the Archivist finally blinked out of his trance. His cheeks turned red when he realized what situation he was in.

The Siren sang his last note. Then, he grinned.

"Gotcha."

In the bar, where no one was left except for those aligned with the One Alone, Martin swept the Archivist into a dance as the next song started. Instead of singing to it, the Siren began to talk, indulging his dance partner with a statement.

When Martin ended, he leaned forward, giving the Archivist a hug. His lips almost brushed the ears right next to him, when he whispered: “Consider this a privilege for piquing my interest.”

He pulled back, leaving the man void of any touch, and put his hands into his pockets. “Thank you for your patronage. I hope you will grace us with your presence again.”

Martin ignored the snicker he heard from a certain couple in the darkness of the bar because when he saw the already dark blush deepen even further, he knew that he had won over the Archivist.

There was no room for doubt that the man would find his way to the Lorelei again.

Chapter 2: An Epilogue

Chapter Text

“He has a crush on you. He definitely has a crush on you.”

Naomi stared darkly after the Archivist who had just left the Lorelei.

It was the fourth time this week Jon - as Martin had learned by now - had been here, while having a job that definitely didn’t allow him to loiter at a bar so much so late.

Martin laughed, leaning back in his chair, after he had turned off all the electronics and had made sure that Jon was the last person to leave. “That is what I am going for, you know?”

“I know!” Naomi groaned and threw herself on the table. “I had just hoped that he would leave you alone after you gave him a statement on your very first meeting! The Eye has meddled enough with us as it is! This is not its domain here!”

Martin grinned at her concern. For someone marrying into the family, Naomi sometimes took things even more seriously than her husband. He winked at Evan who just consoled his wife by rubbing her back.

“You are not going to reciprocate his feelings, though, are you?” Tadeas’ concerned voice cut into the conversation. The senior bartender placed a Martini on the table and pushed it towards the singer.

With a grateful smile, Martin took a sip. The drink cooled his throat. Then, he shook his head. “I’m not one for relationships, you know that. Jon is fun to hang out with, I don’t mind it. It’s not like he’s a threat despite him being of the Eye. Also, have you noticed something else?” He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial tone. He swung his glass and raised his eyebrows as he waited for the others to answer.

Evan was the first to nod. He chuckled as he replied: “You mean the spike in loneliness whenever the patrons see that you haven’t chosen them for a dance but that Archivist? I’ve noticed that by the second night - so you are doing it on purpose.”

“Of course I am,” Martin replied self-contentedly and took another sip.

Those words seem to at least also soothe Naomi, who sat up again and just watched the singer with her head in her hand.

Pulling out a chair, Tadeas joined them at the table after having cleaned the bar. He looked straight at Martin and said: “You need to rotate to another bar soon, though. You’ve been here for a while and it’s starting to attract the unwanted kind of attention.”

“Mhhm.” The Siren hummed thoughtfully. He looked to the door through which Jon had left. For a moment, there was a calculating wrinkle on his forehead. Then, he smiled. “That’s fine.”

Jon was going to find him again, he was sure of it. Jon was the Archivist after all. And if Jon took the challenge to find him again without any hint or help, maybe Martin could reward him with something again.

He remembered Jon's gazes and smiled even more. "Well, if the Archivist is lucky enough, he might get a kiss from me."

Without skipping a beat, Evan responded: "Ah, the legendary Siren's kiss that every man who has ever entered this bar has long sought but never attained? That Archivist must be extremely special for you to even consider it." Evan grinned with his usual pleasant demeanor and added: "I won't let the Archivist beat me to it."

Laughter erupted and both Martin and Naomi reached out to punch him in the arm.

Tadeas just let out a deep sigh and took a big swig from his beer, before he seriously said: "I'll make sure that Peter doesn't hear about it."

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