Chapter Text
monday, midnight.
The crisp sound of ice cubes, the refreshing scent of mint, a splash of some vintage distillate and some bubbling soda.
The door opens and a second later an high pitched sound resounds from the doorbells.
“the usual, thank you.”
A classy and vintage-shaped glass containing a freshly made drink slides through the counter and the regular customer picks it up quickly.
A slender woman with a blue dress and silvery long hairs down the drink in a single move.
“Yours is the best. Also, it always mesmerizes me how you manage to make them without me even noticing”
The bartender only answers with a light smirk. Trade secrets aren’t to be revealed, and so they deflect the curious customer with another question.
“You usually come on Thursday nights, what brings you here?”
The woman plays with her hairs, a long sigh escapes her lips.
“Stress. my ‘workplace’ is more like hell right now, everyone doing the perfect opposite of what I tell them and upper management still hammering down on me for not reaching the fixed goals. And to add more on it, they don’t even let me participate during these meeting where they schedule all the goals etc, maybe they’re scared of th-
The door opens, the doorbells ring again.
A pale customer enters and is met with the shocked stare of the white haired woman.
The pale customer looks like a wealthy prince, or princess, they’re quite androgynous if one asks me.
A small crack appears on the doll-like face of the latest customer, only to disappear in a flash.
“Good evening bartender, I would like to order a ‘musician’s flare’, and please make it strong, some alcohol is very much needed”
“Of course”
The bartender masterfully takes the necessary ingredients and mixes it all up. It may seem like easy work , but every drink is tailored to the needs of every customer.
The white haired woman is taken aback from the other customer’s order.
“I didn’t know you were one to drink your sorrows away”
“How dare you- no. I'm not that kind of person. Also I don't owe you any explanation about my personal life.”
“Still nervous as usual i see, you should really try to calm down a little”
The pale customer seems to be about to say something, only to stop and stay quiet, it seems like they won't let the other ruin their favorite place with her usual annoying babbling.
“Here’s your drink, do you want me to add some blue fervor?”
“No but some golden delight would go really well with it”
“excellent choice as always”
The drink has three layers and is contained in an elegant champagne coupe, the first layer is a deep and red syrupy liquid, so dark it resembles purple. The second one, an almost transparent watery layer, but with thin golden streaks, that is the golden delight. And the last one, a thin layer of blue, seals the drink and gives it a bitter taste. And the last touch, a golden lime’s slice to decorate the drink and give it a sour touch.
It looks almost sacrosanct, but profane nonetheless.
The doll-like face of the customer is almost shocked, they saw this drink multiple times, but they can’t really get used to it in this place.
They savor the drink little by little, their face emotionless and eyes closed, but the bartender knows they are really enjoying it.
The white haired woman peeks at them every now and then, only to lower her gaze and stare at the counter.
Time passes, and after the pale customer finishes their drink they get up, pay the bartender, and exit the place.
“I’d like another drink, please surprise me”
“I would like to make you one, lady, but i need to remind you that drunk driving is quite dangerous, and you still have work to finish i fear”
“...you're right, well, good evening to you barkeep. See you another time”
“Have a safe trip back.”
When the barkeep thought no more clients would come in, a chime came from the bells announcing the arrival of an unexpected guest.
A slightly annoyed frown appeared on the bartender’s face, only to disappear an instant later. If someone were to see that, they would probably dismiss it as a trick of the lighting.
The customer was “lovingly” dubbed as the “dark skinned clown” by the barkeep, and even though the clown had presented himself more and more times, his name just kept slipping from the barkeep's mind… oh well it doesn’t matter.
“Hello my dear rival, how is your respected business faring?”
“Everything was going smoothly, until now.”
The fool made an aggrieved, exaggerated and dramatic expression.
“Oh don’t be such a whiner, I just came by again to try one of your famous drinks, may I have the honor?”
“Everything for the customer…the usual i presume?”
Instead of saying yes as any normal customer would have done, the clown just opened a box, twisted the handle until it made a click, and then a spring with an enormous hand with a thumb up came out of the box…
Filling the counter with confetti and glitter.
The barkeep was pissed, but still made the drink the fool was there for, hoping that the faster it was done the faster he would have gone away.
The drink was inside a long glass, topped with some whipped cream and a cherry, it had three layers which were separated by weight and thickness, the first one at the bottom was blue with some moon-shaped candies, the middle one was orange, with cloud-shaped candies, and the last was red, with some star candies.
The last customer started sipping it, cautiously at first, almost scared of what flavor would meet his tongue, but then he started to drink it greedily, as if the drink wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy his thirst.
“Oh now I see… I can hardly be your ‘rival’ for now. That was incredible. It doesn't matter though, i’ll still come by to cause some trouble and get some drinks”
“Please dear customer, refrain from activities that could damage the property and annoy the customer” the barkeep had forced an elegant and cold smile, almost a threat.
“Then I'll annoy you, there isn’t a rule for that, am I right?”
And after saying his last word the dark skinned guy disappeared in thin air, probably some clowney trick of his.
And so the clock ticks for the last time, the lights and the machines are turned off too, the bartender finally turns the sign on the door, the bar is now closed, but another day awaits, and new customers will come, bringing more interesting and subtle stories.