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Zayn sighed as he wiped down the bar, watching over the small group that was occupying the large, round booth directly across the room from him. He shook his head, laughing at the large boy sitting trapped in the middle of the group. The boy’s brown eyes were crinkled shut with laughter and there were a number of empty shot glasses on the table and the remnants of a penis cake that had ended up on the faces of most of the party, rather than in their stomachs. Zayn normally hated bachelor parties, but he had to admit that he was entertained by this one.
“You going to stare at the groom-to-be all night or go clear that table?” Harry, the other bartender, asked, knocking his hip into Zayn’s.
Zayn snorted. “You know as well as I do, the second I approach that table there will be some stupid dare that they’ll try to drag me into. Just not in the mood,” he muttered. “You do it. You’ve been eying the loud one all night.”
Harry laughed as he shook out his curly hair before running a hand though it roughly, tugging it into place. “Just this once. Any more trips are all you.” He walked out from behind the bar and sashayed over. Zayn laughed as the loud one at the table turned his blue eyes on him and whistled loudly.
Zayn ducked down behind the bar to grab some more glasses and when he stood back up, he nearly dropped them all because Harry was laying across the table, letting the groom-to-be and the rest of his party do body shots off of him. “Harry!” he shouted, trying to keep the fond out of his voice. Harry held up a hand in a ‘just a second’ gesture and Zayn went back to restocking the glasses and cleaning off the bar.
Harry was laughing when he came back behind the bar and grabbed a rag to wipe off his stomach. “You have to go over there. You should see the list of dares they’ve got. I think Liam is going to die of embarrassment before the night is over.”
“Liam?” Zayn asked.
“The groom-to-be. He works at the garage where I take my car,” Harry told him. “I didn’t recognize him until I got over there.” Zayn turned back to look at the table, surprised to find Liam watching him, lower lip pulled between his teeth before his eyes dropped to the table top. The loud one, leaned over and whispered something, causing Liam to duck his head, but not before Zayn noticed the bright flare of red on his cheeks.
Not too long after, the bar began filling up and Zayn couldn’t be bothered keeping track of what was going on at the table. About halfway through the night, he heard a loud whistle and turned to find the loud one leaning across the bar and waving his arms wildly. He shook his head and walked up to him. “You whistled?”
The boy let out a giggle that Zayn found mildly unnerving; this boy reminded him of an imp and that concerned him. “My mate and I need another couple rounds of shots,” he shouted.
“Of?” Zayn asked and the boy shrugged so Zayn set up a round tray and started filling the glasses with random alcohols, causing the boy to laugh and Zayn quirked an eyebrow.
“I like you,” he said. “I’m Louis!”
“Zayn,” he answered with a nod. “Your mate’s getting hitched, yeah?”
Louis looked over his shoulder at the table. Zayn followed his gaze and was surprised to find the table empty except for Liam, who was looking down at his phone, a small frown on his face. “Yeah. We all figured he’d be the first of us, but we didn’t expect…” Louis trailed off as Harry walked up. “Well, hello, again,” he purred and Zayn shook his head, grabbing the tray.
“I’ll take this to the table. Let you two talk,” Zayn said, escaping just before Louis tried to scramble completely across the top of the bar.
Zayn moved swiftly through the crowd, tray high above his head, and finally reached the table to set it down gently, beaming when he realized he hadn’t spilled any on the trip. “Lou, I really don’t want anything else-” Liam stopped talking when he looked up. “You’re not Louis.”
“Nope. Zayn,” he said. “Congrats.” Liam nodded and Zayn looked at the table, grabbing a sheet of paper that was sitting next to Liam. “Liam’s Bachelor Party Dares,” he read aloud, moving the paper out of Liam’s reach as he grabbed for it. He noticed that a few of the simpler dares, buy a guy a drink, have a guy buy you a drink, were already checked off. “Kiss the bartender?” he said, laughing. “I think Louis is taking care of that.” They both looked over at the bar, chuckling when they saw Louis with pursed lips chasing Harry. “Or trying at least.”
“Yeah, Louis’ sheet is almost full. This is mine.” He shrugged. “Apparently, I’m crap at this stuff.” He looked around the club. “Everyone else already left. They were all Steven’s friends.” Liam’s face flushed and he reached for one of the glasses, taking the shot and choking out a gasp. “Wha-?”
Zayn chuckled and took the bottle of water he’d stored in his apron and handed it over to Liam. “Fireball. Bit hot, yeah?” Liam nodded. “So, Steven?” Zayn asked as he cleared off the table, replacing the empty shot glasses with the full ones and wiping up any spills.
“My fiance,” Liam muttered.
“When’s the wedding?” Zayn was only making conversation, but he couldn’t help feeling badly for the boy as he picked up another glass and sniffed at it before taking the shot.
Liam glanced at his watch and winced. “One week from now, I will be Liam Smythe,” he said with a sigh. “Ceremony will be over by now. Then the reception and then an overnight at a hotel and then back to work.” Liam slapped a hand over his mouth and groaned.
“Drunk babbler,” Zayn said, smiling at him as he turned to head back to the table. “Try to have another thing checked off that list before I get back with some more water?” He winked at Liam and then chuckled when Liam attempted to do the same, both eyes shutting instead.
“And if I do?” Liam shouted after him.
“Maybe I’ll help you with that ‘kiss the bartender’ one!” Zayn teased back. He ignored the look Harry gave him as he reached the bar. Louis was sitting on the other side of the bar, a disappointed look on his face.
“Didn’t get your bartender kiss?” Zayn teased and Louis flipped him off.
“Only thing left on the dare list,” Louis muttered. “I made the damn list and I can’t get it completed.” Suddenly, Louis’ eyes lit up. “Unless…?”
“Nah, mate,” Zayn told him, shoving him away with a hand on his face. “Already promised Liam.”
“What?!” Louis looked over his shoulder and they all looked over at Liam who was talking to someone and gesturing wildly, his face bright red and it looked like the guy was laughing loudly before nodding his head and using his hands to tug down the side of his jeans and gesturing. Liam looked down, his face growing even redder as he let out a little cheer and handed over the sheet of paper and a pen. The guy took the pen and scribbled on the page before leaning in and pressing a kiss to Liam’s cheek, muttering something and walking away.
Zayn felt a flare of something, but chose to ignore it when Liam came racing over to the bar and slapped the paper on top of it before beginning to chatter. “I found someone not wearing underwear! And I got one of five phone numbers!” He jabbed a finger at the number on the paper.
“Now, if only he’d been a bartender, that kiss would’ve counted,” Zayn told him, smiling as he handed over another bottle of water to Liam, intercepting the shot glass that Louis was trying to pass over.
Liam pouted out his lower lip. “But you said-”
“I said, maybe,” Zayn corrected, and Liam stuck his tongue out at him before turning to Harry.
“Harry?” Harry shook his head, a fond smile on his face, but he did lean over and write his phone number on Liam’s paper.
“What’s this?” a voice spoke up next to Liam and they all turned to see a blonde with a big grin glancing at the paper. His eyes ran over the page. “Who’s Liam?” Everyone pointed and the boy shrugged before writing his number on the paper as well. “Two more to go, yeah?” Liam nodded. “Josh! Sandy!” he shouted and two more guys showed up next to him.
“What’s up, Niall?” the one with the blond mohawk asked as the other fiddled with the ring on his finger and shouted into his phone.
“Write your phone numbers on here, yeah? Gotta help this bloke have a great bachelor party or summat,” Niall explained and Josh looked at Liam before shrugging and writing his number. He elbowed Sandy and pointed. The man shrugged and wrote his number down before disappearing with his phone. “His wife?” Josh nodded and they both said, “Whipped,” at the same time.
Zayn looked at Liam and felt a flicker at the excited smile on his face. “I’m doing so good, Lou!” he said.
“Are you having fun now?” Louis asked. “He wasn’t having any fun. The rest of the party was Steven’s friends and brother. They didn’t think these dares were a good idea. Prats,” Louis muttered.
“So much fun!” Liam crowed and Niall slapped him on the back, ordering a round of beers for everyone.
“So, what’s left?” Niall asked. “Figure we got you this far.”
“Dance on a table or the bar,” Liam read and shook his head, but Louis and Niall exchanged looks before grabbing his hands and trying to get him to climb onto the bar. “No! Zayn! Tell them I can’t do this.”
Zayn looked over at Harry with a raised eyebrow, getting a shrug in response. Zayn laughed and hauled himself onto the bar before reaching down and pulling Liam up with him. Liam tried to get away, but Zayn turned him, so that his back was flush with his chest. He wrapped an arm around him, flattening his hand over his stomach and holding him close. Zayn started to move his hips with the music, forcing Liam to move with him.
Liam held his body stiff and looked horrified when the flash on Louis’ phone went off. “Relax,” Zayn whispered in his ear. “I don’t bite.”
Liam giggled and allowed Zayn to move his body with his. They stayed on the bar until the end of the song, earning a bit of an audience and a lot of catcalls when it was over. They clasped hands and bowed and waved at the customers before they climbed down carefully. “What’s next?” Liam asked, checking the list. “A red condom. A stick of gum or breath mint. Ask someone to dance with your friend,” Liam read off and then looked up at Harry. “Will you dance with Louis?” he asked and Harry nodded, grabbing Louis and pulling him towards the dance floor while Zayn had to disappear down the bar to tend to some customers who were growing impatient.
As Zayn worked to make up for Harry spending several songs with Louis, he kept an eye on Liam, who seemed to have hit it off with Josh and Niall. They kept looking over the list and laughing, putting their heads close together. At one point, Josh waved him over and asked for him to change some cash for him and then he disappeared. Zayn saw him reappear later, dropping several handfuls of condoms on the bar and they dug through until Liam held a red one above his head with a cheer.
A few minutes later, he saw Liam laughing and then leaning in to take a breath mint from between the teeth of a quite attractive older man, giggling and running to hide behind Niall when the man tried to steal a kiss. Niall waggled his tongue at the man, causing him to run away, and Liam and Niall exchanged high fives as Liam spit the mint out into an empty glass.
It was only after Zayn hollered out, “Last call for alcohol,” that Harry reappeared and Zayn was able to come back over and check on Liam, who was resting his head on his folded arms.
“Alright?” he asked, opening another bottle of water and giving it to Liam.
“Only one thing left on the list,” Niall told him, showing him the big circle around, “Kiss the Bartender,” and a couple of hearts drawn next to it.
“Well, you made a valiant effort,” Zayn said, patting Liam on the arm as the music stopped and the lights in the club came up. Niall, Josh, and Louis shouted at him and Liam sighed, pushing himself off the stool. It was only after Liam turned away that Zayn spoke again. “Where you going?”
Liam looked back at him with a shrug, lip between his teeth, eyes over Zayn’s shoulder, refusing to meet his. “Night’s over. I failed, but, hey, it was probably still the greatest night of my life.”
“C’mere,” Zayn said, motioning him back to the stool. He waited until Liam was sitting again before pulling Harry to the side. “Can you get this cleaned up without me?”
Harry gave him a suspicious look, but nodded. “I’ll see if I can trick Louis and the others into giving me a hand.” He looked over at Liam, who was rubbing at his eyes, looking pathetic. “He’s a good guy, but from what Louis said, his husband-to-be is not or at least, not good enough for Liam. Still…”
Zayn held his hands up in surrender. “Just going to get him some ibuprofen and talk, yeah? Got a soft spot for puppies, always have.” Harry nodded again and Zayn went back over to Liam, offering him a hand. “C’mon.”
Liam glanced at his hand for a minute; Zayn was almost afraid he wouldn’t take it. After a nudge from Niall and a nod from Louis, Liam placed his hand in Zayn’s and let him lead him away from the bar. Zayn pulled him around and behind the bar and walked him to a door that said, “Employee’s Only” before going down a hall and entering a tiny office.
Liam looked around while Zayn cleared off a spot on the couch against one wall and sat down, patting the space next to him. “Am I allowed to be in here?” Liam asked as he sat as far from Zayn as he could and still be on the same piece of furniture.
“My office, so I would say so,” Zayn told him, leaning into the couch and putting an arm across the back of it; if he stretched his fingers, he would be able to brush Liam’s shoulder, but he didn’t want to spook the boy more than he already was.
Liam looked at him in surprise. “You manage the club?”
“Own it. With Harry,” he told him. “Not as big a deal as you seem to think though. Just lots of hours. Really need to hire more help, so I don’t keep getting stuck behind the bar.”
“You don’t like it?”
“I do, I just…” He waved his hands in the air as he tried to think of how to express himself. “Want more, I guess.”
“Like what?” Liam asked, turning on the couch and pulling one leg underneath himself so he could look at Zayn.
“What you’re getting,” he told him. “A husband. Maybe kids. Someone to spend the rest of my life with. Someone that I can wake up to every morning and be happy to see them. Someone who feels the same way about me.”
Liam looked down at his hands that were fumbling together in his lap. Zayn wondered what was going through his head and reached out his fingers to brush against his chin, tilting Liam’s eyes up to meet his. “You like Avengers?” Liam asked and Zayn had to turn his head to figure out where the left-field question came from; his eyes fell on the poster behind his desk.
“Yeah. Big superhero fan,” he said, pulling his fingers back and reaching over to grab a few comics off his desk and toss them into Liam’s lap. He watched as Liam flipped through the comics, a smile twitching the corners of his mouth. “You?”
“Batman is ace,” he said, pulling open a copy of the said superhero’s most recent issue. “Haven’t read this one.”
“Take it,” he told him, standing. “I have another.” He took the other comics back and put them back on his desk. “So…” He turned surprised to find Liam standing right behind him. He blinked when Liam leaned in and kissed his cheek.
“Done,” he said shyly and started to step away, but Zayn reached out and grabbed his hand.
Zayn didn’t think before pulling Liam back towards him. He let go of his hand and moved to press the hand gently against Liam’s cheek. Leaning in, he pressed his lips against Liam’s, sighing at the warmth and softness. It was only a moment before he felt Liam’s mouth move against his. The kiss was brief, but it was warm and more than Zayn had ever felt from a kiss before.
As they moved away from each other, they both blinked and, after a moment, Liam shook himself. “I...I should go,” he said and Zayn nodded, watching as Liam walked towards the door. His hand was on the knob when Zayn called his name. “Yeah?”
“You know, if anything happens. If…” Zayn took a deep breath. “If next week doesn’t happen. I’ll be here.”
Liam looked stunned for a moment, but then he nodded and hurried out the door, leaving Zayn to stare after him. He was still standing there when Harry came back into the office. He tried talking to Zayn, but his only response was a shake of his head before Zayn walked out of the office to see if anything else needed to be done for closing.
Zayn didn’t leave his flat much that week. He called in a couple of the guys to cover for him at the club and stayed on his couch, watching Avengers and Captain America and sketching the same crinkled brown eyes over and over. He watched Harry get ready to go out with Louis a few times, but didn’t say anything. One night, Harry mentioned taking his car for an oil change and seeing Liam, but again, Zayn just focused on his sketchbook.
When the following Friday came around, Zayn considered spending it as he had the entire week, but somehow found himself in the shower. He tugged on a black and white patterned Oxford, buttoning it up to the top before covering it with a black waistcoat. Paired with his skinny jeans and black combat boots, he thought he looked alright. He spent longer than normal on his hair, working it up, but making it still look soft and messy. He ran his fingers through it a couple extra times, checking himself out in the mirror.
The entire time, he refused to let his mind convince himself that he was doing this ‘just in case’. He couldn’t let himself think about Liam for another moment. The man was getting married in a few short hours. Harry was going to the wedding with Louis, a last minute invitation that Zayn denied bothered him in the slightest. He pulled on his leather jacket and locked the flat behind himself before heading to the club.
The club was packed when he arrived, amazed that it had picked up so early, even for a Friday. He ducked into the office and dropped his jacket on the couch before going out to join the other bartenders behind the bar. He threw middle fingers at George and Jaymi when they whistled at him, calling out lewd offers. “Get back to work,” he barked as he tied an apron around his waist and started filling orders.
It was eight-thirty when Zayn found himself glancing at the clock, George asking if he was waiting for someone. “Guess not,” he said, turning to go towards the office with a shrug. “I’m just going to head home. You lot can cover it from here.”
He had his hand on the door to the back when he heard a commotion behind him and Jaymi making a noise of protest that was cut off by a “Shush” that sounded oddly like Harry. He turned the knob, stopping when he heard his name shouted. Turning, he found Liam standing on top of the bar in the spot they had danced the previous week. He was dressed in a tux, or at least the waistcoat, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, showing off his tattooed forearms. His hair was a mess and he looked tired, but he was smiling.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Zayn asked, not quite believing what he was seeing. Harry and Louis waved at him from the other side of the bar, by Liam’s feet.
“It didn’t happen,” Liam told him.
“Why?” Zayn asked, moving closer, startling when he felt George and Jaymi lifting him and setting him on the bar. He stood and faced Liam, a hand reaching out to grasp his as Liam shrugged a shoulder.
“I wasn’t happy to see Steven this morning,” Liam said, blushing. “I woke up with him and realized I wasn’t happy to see him, that I hadn’t been happy to see him for a long, long time.”
Zayn nodded, his throat tight as he stepped closer to Liam, his hand coming up to touch his face, much like before the kiss he hadn’t stopped thinking about all week. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“I’m not,” Liam said, his eyes disappearing into crinkles. “I’m happy to see you,” he whispered before leaning in to press his lips to Zayn’s.