Chapter Text
"can you make me something strong?" asked a handsome stranger with hypnotic blue eyes and unruly black hair.
nick, as a bartender at one of the busiest bar-clubs in west london, was used to this question, but he wasn't used to the asker being so... mesmerizing. he cleared his throat to snap out of the trance he was under. "it's what i'm here for. what are your preferences?"
the stranger looked somewhat surprised, then smirked, and appeared as though he wanted to give a different answer to the question... "i prefer clear liquors, but i also don't hate rum, but i'm also mentally 16 so i like really sweet drinks," declared the man with a laugh.
nick knew just the cocktail, and he was going to put more effort into preparing it than usual just to please the stranger. he was just so... pretty. usually, customers make rather extreme, often embarrassing, efforts to make themselves memorable to the staff-- whether that is through obvious flirting, or excessive touching, or forced conversation-- but he had a feeling that this man wouldn't have to do much to plant himself firmly into nick's subconscious.
as nick gathered the ingredients from under the bar, he asked, "what's the occasion?"
the man ran a hand through his gorgeous curls and sighed. "i just saw my ex and i don't want it to ruin my night. luckily..." he paused, "...they didn't see me. so i'm just gonna pretend they're not here."
nick wondered if the man hesitated before labeling his ex on purpose. he tried not to think too much of it. once he sensed the man's discomfort, nick replied, "i've been there. well if they bother you just let me know."
the man smiled, but then he started to fidget with his bracelets. "thanks. i'm not gonna unload my life story on you because we would be here all night, and no one wants that."
nick wanted to reply, I want that more than anything, stay here forever if you want, but obviously didn't. what spell did this man have him under? instead, nick started pouring shots of various liquors into a glass and replied, snarkily, "that's literally part of my job."
laughing again, the customer sat on the bar stool to make himself more comfortable, which nick took as a good sign. if nick could bottle that man's laugh up and listen to it all the time, he would. "well in that case, maybe once i have more booze in me."
after combining all of the beverages, and using a shaker to really elevate the drink, he added salt to the rim and a lemon slice for good measure. once he was finished, he saw the man's expression change, from subdued contentment to obvious delight. nick declared, "i'm not usually one for symbols or cliches, but here's a drink that's not only strong, but is also something you can say to your prick ex."
adios motherfucker.
the handsome stranger honest-to-god cackled at that, and nick had never felt prouder of himself in his life. his sole mission for the rest of the night was to keep making the man laugh. the pleased customer stated, "you, sir, are the sole reason why bartending remains an art form."
nick beamed at the compliment and then started to blush when the stranger swirled his tongue around the straw. for anyone else, it would look a bit stupid, but somehow this man made it the hottest thing that nick had ever seen.
they remained in comfortable silence for a few moments while the stranger sipped his drink, until nick voiced a concern he believed he should've thought of earlier. with the least tact humanely possible, he asked, "are you here alone?"
the poor guy looked shocked out of his mind, probably surprised at the forwardness of the question. "...uh..."
nick suddenly realized his folly. "oh, no, uh..." nick stammered (he never stammers), "i didn't mean in a creepy way, i just meant, if you had friends here with you or something so that you wouldn't be as worried about bumping into your ex."
the man audibly sighed with relief. nick immediately felt bad for worrying him. he replied, with the same cheerful tone as earlier, "oh yeah, my friends tao and elle are over there in the back, against that wall." he pointed to them, a tall woman with a medium-brown complexion, round, large-framed glasses, and braids running down her back, standing next to a shorter asian guy wearing a beanie. "...and no, they're not together," the man continued.
"but they look so coupley," nick replied.
the customer smiled again and said, "believe me, you are not the first or last person to say that. it seems that everyone sees they're hopelessly pining for each other except for... them. in fact, although they would never say it, they probably were secretly happy that i stepped away to grab a drink. this is delicious, by the way."
"i'm glad to hear it. stay here as long as you need."
the man took another long sip of his drink, and then looked up at nick as he batted his eyelashes. nick felt himself turning red, then slowly realized the charming customer was definitely aware that he was eliciting some kind of reaction out of a normally suave bartender. to both of their dismays, nick's coworker tapped him on the shoulder to ask, "can you help those two at the end of the bar?" nick wanted to roll his eyes but realized that would be unprofessional. he was an employee in the service industry, after all. nick sighed, "well it was lovely talking to you. i'll try to come back if you want to stick around, but it's getting busier so unfortunately, i have to do what i'm told."
as he turned to leave, the stranger grabbed his arm. the sudden contact caused nick's entire body to heat up, like he had been lit on fire. "how much do i owe you?"
after he let go, nick could've sworn he was burned, the sensation of the man's hand on his arm remaining. he blinked, realizing that he had forgotten to charge the customer. in order to play off his error, and in a last minute attempt to charm him, he decided to play it cool and winked. "it's on the house."
the man undeniably blushed, then. he asked, "are you sure?"
nick felt himself getting bolder. he smiled with his signature lop-sided grin, replying, "of course. plus you already paid."
looking genuinely puzzled, the man responded, "what do you mean?"
in the smoothest way possible, to make up for his hiccups earlier, he stated matter-of-factly, "well, dashing looks and decent banter go a long way."
the customer's blush was replaced with another smirk. clearly he liked the challenge, so he took another drawn-out sip. "well thank you..." the man pondered for a second, then held nick's name tag in between his fingers. "...nicholas."
nick froze. the man was so close to his face and had definitely beaten him at his own game. before nick could finally ask his name, something he was surprised he didn't ask earlier, the handsome stranger walked away, with an obvious pep in his step. nick cursed himself for it. he was holding on to the hope that the man would come back at a later point in the night. laughing to himself, nick realized he had never been so dumb-founded but attracted to someone in his life. ultimately, he forced himself to snap out of it, then got back to work.
****
about an hour later, once nick was fully worn out by the friday night rush, he spotted the pretty customer from earlier in the crowd. seeing him again was like an energy shot to the brain. he desperately wanted to talk to him once more, flirt shamelessly, hear the life story he alluded to earlier. nick could tell that the AMF had been effective because the man was laughing loudly and dancing freely with his friends, without a care in the world. he was glad he could play at least a small part in reducing the man's anxieties. nick turned away for a few moments to put some empty glasses away, and once he turned around, nick had lost sight of him. he saw the curly-haired customer's friends, tao and elle, dancing together, in their own world, but couldn't find him. after scanning the area once more, nick saw the man being dragged, rather aggressively, away from the crowd by another, slightly taller man. the offender had a tight grip on his arm, and he was clearly struggling. without thinking twice, nick sprung into action, beelining it to the pair. that must be the ex, nick thought.
nick followed them down a hallway towards the bathrooms, but before he made his appearance known, he eavesdropped on their conversation from around the corner, hoping it was just some misunderstanding. the last thing nick wanted to do was pry, be where he shouldn't, or interrupt an intimate moment.
the taller man asked, "have you stopped sulking?"
clearly drunk, the other man slurred, "i don't know what you mean, ben."
ben. what a name for a colossal prick, nick thought.
getting more aggressive, ben replied, "for fuck's sake, you're just scared of us getting caught."
nick thought to himself, was that why he hesitated earlier? is he not out?
his question was clearly answered when the man replied, much louder, "you're the one who's scared! everyone who matters already knows i'm gay. yeah sure, i don't volunteer the information unprompted but i'm also not terrified of it."
nick couldn't see his face, but he could imagine that ben was incensed by the way the man read him. it was a burn if nick had ever heard one.
he heard someone get shoved into the wall; then ben shouted, "don't be angry at me for not wanting to come out yet! that's a real dick move."
the other man's voice was shaking now. "i'm not angry about that! i'm angry because you never once cared about my feelings, and it only mattered when you wanted to do stuff, when you felt like kissing a boy!"
ben replied, breathless, "god, you're so hot when you're angry."
"wha--"
it was then that nick heard, he wouldn't even describe it as kissing, but a struggle, ben forcibly pressing his lips onto the other man's.
"stop--stop it!"
"c’mon, i know you still like me.”
“no... stop... please--”
seeing red, nick finally revealed himself, shouting, "he told you to stop!!!" he then pulled ben off the other man.
ben looked terrified, and if nick had to guess, it was probably more about another person knowing he was queer than being caught assaulting someone.
nick shouted again, "go on then!!! fuck off!"
he ran away, disappearing into the crowd. nick looked back and saw that the man had tears running down his face. but his eyes..so remarkably blue, nick saw so much hurt in them. in that moment, nick decided he was going to chase ben, make him pay for what he'd done.
as he began to leave, nick felt a familiar rush when the stranger grabbed his forearm, reminded of the glee they both felt barely an hour earlier. he said meekly, "no...don't. it's... he's not worth it."
"but--"
the other man looked so much smaller now, the confidence from earlier, making him larger than life, had been washed away."please, don't."
nick sighed, disarmed by the man's pleas, the look on his face, not wanting to push further. "fine." nick felt the urge to caress his arms, to comfort him, but given what just happened, quickly realized that wouldn't be advisable.
furrowing his brows, the man asked, "how did you know to find me here?"
nick didn't want to lie. "uh, well, i just happened to spot you in the crowd." he realized that sounded creepy, so clumsily backtracked, "but i wasn't, like, watching you or anything. but yeah i turned around for a sec, saw your friends, but you were gone. and then i saw you getting dragged away by..."
oddly enough, he just laughed weakly as a response. "ah. well if you heard our conversation as well, you probably know that's the ex."
nick was relieved that the man wasn't creeped out by nick's obvious interest in him. "i figured as much. this might be dumb to ask, but are you feeling okay?"
the man shrugged. "well, i am kinda drunk right now, so probably explains the crying. i think i'm okay, but yeah, enough to not have any sense, like calling out to my friends, or..."
nick shook his head, lightly scolding him, "hey, hey... what we're not going to do is blame ourselves. i don't know who the fuck he thinks he is, but he won't be allowed to step foot in here anymore."
"thanks..." the man looked down at the name tag again and smiled. "...nick."
"there's really nothing to thank me for." in an attempt to prevent any awkward silences, he kept talking. "but of course, you're welcome. don't even mention it." nick hesitated, wanting to ask the man's name, but was afraid to cross any boundaries. "do you need help finding your friends?"
"oh shit, yeah," the man replied, digging his phone out of his pocket. "fuck, two missed calls from tao and elle. they're probably wondering where i am. fuck, i..."
nick noticed that the man's breath began to quicken and desperately attempted to calm him down. "hey, hey, it's okay. do you want me to talk to them?"
the man instantly looked a bit more relaxed. "could you? i don't really wanna have to explain, or tell them right now--"
"yeah, of course. i get it. whatever you need."
he handed nick the phone, and nick decided to call elle, the first name on the screen. the line rung, and the most gentle voice responded, "hey, are you okay? where are you?"
"hi elle, this is nick, one of the bartenders. he's..." why did he still not know his name? "... with me, he had a bit too much to drink so just needed some water. can you guys come up to the bar?"
he heard her sigh with relief on the other line, "oh of course, thank you so much, we will be there in a few."
without thinking too much of it, nick offered the man his hand and led him to the bar. they exited from the back and went around to the employee entrance in order to evade the crowd. he imagined that the frightened customer didn't want to deal with any more crowds tonight.
about thirty seconds after they arrived, elle and tao were walking up to meet them. she threw her arms around the man, yelling, "oh thank god."
tao examined his face for thirty seconds, noticing the dried up tears and bloodshot eyes. "are you okay?"
nick noticed the panic in the (still unnamed?!) man's face, wondering what he was going to say. "yeah i'm fine, i just needed water and nick over here just said something extremely funny, so i just cry laughed for a good 5 minutes. sorry for disappearing like that, i just was thirsty and you guys seemed like you..."
suddenly, tao looked like the panicked one. "... just forget about it. glad you're okay though. ready to go home?"
the man nodded, then looked at nick, with his piercing blue eyes, looking like he wanted to say something but just didn't know how. why didn't he tell his friends the truth? was he expecting nick to say something?
elle, looking down at her phone, declared, "i've just ordered the uber, it should be here in 5 minutes. should we wait outside?"
"yeah, i'm knackered. everyone thank nick over here for making a mean AMF, because now i'm sleepy, and wanting cuddles."
tao clapped nick on the shoulder. "well thanks for hydrating him. after he recovers, we'll be back soon for those AMFs."
nick smiled at the three of them, glad that the stranger was in safe hands. "of course. have a good rest of your night."
"you too!" elle replied, as she held up her intoxicated friend's body weight.
the man gestured "just give me a sec" to elle and tao, and as the pair made their way to the exit, he boldly whispered to nick, "about earlier, i wouldn't have been mad if you had been watching me."
nick was left speechless as the man walked away from him for the second time. before he could think too much about it, nick found himself staring those blue eyes for the final time that night, desperately hoping they would meet again.
****
about another hour later, the bar had just closed, and nick and two other staff members were in charge of cleanup. after losing a rather competitive game of rock-paper-scissors, nick was left in charge of cleaning the bathrooms. as he walked down the narrow hallway, nick was reminded of the harrowing events from earlier. he quickly tried to shove the thoughts away and brace himself for whatever disaster he'd encounter behind the bathroom door, but before he could enter, he noticed a wallet on the ground outside of the door.
nick bent down to pick it up and after he opened it, was met with an ID picture of the gorgeous, curly-haired, blue-eyed stranger from earlier. with a smile as bright as a thousand suns.
he read the name and smiled to himself because of how well it fit.
charlie spring.