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“Do you have any hobbies, Miss Bartender?” Ema asked with a wink as she raised her empty martini glass.
Aoi smiled and the lie came all too easily, “Not in particular. I don’t have much time to myself since I work odd hours here but I would like to learn Spanish. I hear there’s an app for it.”
Aoi reached across for the glass and took it off Ema.
“There’s an app for everything these days.” Kyoko complained. “But learning a new skill, especially a foreign language, is good for the brain. Even ten minutes a day is better than nothing for your neuroplasticity.”
“Good to know.” Aoi replied and it had to mean something.
Such sage advice was coming from a doctor, after all.
“Why Spanish though?” Ema asked.
And that’s where Aoi had to dodge.
She knew why she wanted to learn Spanish but her patrons did not need to know that. She actually had plentiful hobbies and was good with her time organisation even with the true seed of her having to work odd hours as a bartender at the Sophisticate Bar and Hotel.
Cosplay, fanfiction, fanart, and even doujinshi . Convention circuits and day of release lineups at GL bookstores. Aoi did it all. Especially for her favourite series which spawned out of a children’s book called Blue Angel . It had actually been the genesis for all her fandom proclivities and twenty years on, her OTP was still the titular Blue Angel coupled with her best friend, Pink Angel. Shipping and fandom was her passion, her one true calling, even. Serving drinks and wiping cups merely paid the bills.
Aoi merely wanted to learn Spanish because she hoped the fandom drama in the Spanish speaking side of the internet would be more minimal compared to other sects of the west. Yes, Aoi was an avid internet user and even content creator but such aesthetics conflicted extremely with what she felt she had to project as a bartender at a cool and suave location such as the Sophisticate.
“I thought it would be challenging.” Aoi shrugged.
“Good girl.” Kyoko smiled. “Well, good luck with it.”
“Cheers to that, let’s have another round… to learning new things.” Ema said. “And I want to learn what a drink called a “Twelve Mile Limit” tastes like.”
Kyoko chuckled. “You are incorrigible. But yes please, I’ll stick with a gin and tonic, though.”
Oh no, Aoi thought, she felt a prickle under her silk vest, here it comes. Her bad habit. She couldn’t help herself. She just got carried away, every worker no matter the colour of their collar had it, that dream they clung to to keep the smile dial up and ticking. For Aoi, it was keeping her shipping goggles firmly on and letting herself squee over things that weren’t there.
But it didn’t help that Ema was an affectionate person.
She burrowed into Kyoko’s side with her head, laid all over her and ran her fingers over the edges of Kyoko’s slender hands. Their relationship was such a mystery to Aoi, it made her want to unravel it in fiction. A doctor and a freelance hacker, just how did these two meet?
Then become so entwined with one another as Kyoko leaned into it. Literally. She sighed contentedly as she let Ema touch her practically all over. Aoi got hot under the collar as she imagined the sparkles and roses that surrounded them. Sparkles and roses which were sure to enjoy another round of drinks.
“I’ll pay.” Kyoko clarified, a sly look which went up from her hands to Aoi’s gaze.
“Of course.” Aoi replied. “I will fix those up for you right away.”
On the inside, she was howling. She couldn’t wait to get home later and scribble up some new doujinshi inspired by this interaction.
But there was still quite the hefty shift ahead of her given it was a popping Saturday night. She farewelled Ema and Kyoko about half an hour later after their last drinks. She scooped up their empty glasses and waved them goodbye. Such was the life of two sexy and mysterious women as they had people to see and places to be. Aoi could only imagine what escapades they got up to once they left her automatic sliding doors. After all, this was probably just the start of their night.
The crowd that she got typically started their nights here that wasn’t always the case. Such as with the two women who happened to come through her door next. Aoi welcomed them warmly and watched as they came through, pant suits and all, flashy jewellery and of course, expensive tastes fitting their high financial caste.
Next up, some more favourite regulars of Aoi piled into the chairs that Ema and Kyoko had once occupied: a boss and her beleaguered assistant. Not just any boss though, her brother’s boss. The six degrees of separation were not separate enough for Aoi’s liking and yet, she eyed them up curiously as they made for an amusing, and sexually harassing, odd couple.
Queen was an indomitable woman with a smirk and a calculated look in her eye. She always brought along her gofer, too, who was an office lady named Hayami. Hayami was a nervous and weaselly woman who seemed like she could never do anything right but that appeared to be part of her charm. Queen seemingly kept her like a pet but there was a desperation in Hayami’s eyes which Aoi just knew meant that she wanted to be treated worse.
They were the sugar, spice, and everything but nice that the trashiest of BDSM porn rags were made of. They were Aoi’s guilty pleasure as she had to withhold a blush whenever she overheard something particularly scandalous between them.
Truly, it was always something with them and if Aoi didn’t know any better, she would say that they put it on as a show just for her. Even tonight. No, especially tonight. They were going at it. Pet names and insults all the same as they took aim at one another and even some collateral. Like her brother, for example.
From what snippets of conversation that Aoi heard, it sounded like something had gone south in the business meetings but not so south to be actually bad. More like a mild hiccup. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it but it was certainly something to watch as she helped them throw back shot after shot.
“You are naughty, Risa.” Queen slurred. “You need to be punished.”
She leaned across and bopped Risa on her nose. Risa went bright pink and dissolved into a mess of giggles afterwards.
“A-And how would you punish me, ma’am?” Hayami asked.
“I’d give you a spank.” Queen said with a smirk. “Right on your bottom.”
She poked Hayami’s nose again. It was as flirtatious as it was malicious but surely it had to be in Aoi’s head. She couldn’t look at either of them directly as they well and truly made themselves at home at her counter at the bar. They weren’t exactly sober and it showed in how Hayami slumped over the bar, all sleepy and full of hiccups and with how pushy Queen was getting.
Aoi had to imagine that they were completely different in a meeting with the executive board members. How else would they have a job? But that distance thrust between them only made them clingier out of hours. That’s how she would write the story to weave in elements of slow burn and pining anyways. High powered corporate roles and office settings were all the rage for certain purveyors of GL who had grown beyond the wholesome roots of high school.
That’s why in their sloppy drunkenness, Aoi did wonder if she was just as goggled. After all, she was seeing spicks and specks of scissoring where there was likely none during the day. Either way, their exchanges were searing and sexually charged. That had to mean that they were definitely at their cut off point now, she wasn’t going to let her give them so much as a cent now for even a sip of tonic water.
Though they tried, Aoi was committed to her role as a responsible salesperson of alcohol. No matter how Hayami sulked or worse, how Queen tantrumed. They pushed and pleaded for just one drop but Aoi showed them the door.
Queen got up dramatically, “We’ll find somewhere else.”
Maybe. Aoi didn’t doubt there were irresponsible bars and clubs in the area. Though she hoped that the bouncers had good heads of their shoulders if Queen or Hayami even tried but then she watched something shocking.
Queen grabbed Hayami closer. Partly to lean on her and partly to caress her face as she kept her under her wing in a possessive embrace.
“I think there’s still one place for us to go, don’t you think, Risa…?” Queen whispered.
Aoi could have gotten a nose bleed. And Hayami wasn’t much better. Her eyes went wide and she could have barked like a dog for Queen then and there on the charcoal grey carpet of the establishment.
Queen smirked and she let go, she twisted at the hip, “Barmaid,” she snapped, “call us a taxi.”
“With pleasure.” Aoi nodded cooly.
She rang them through and there was one a couple minutes off. By the time they stumbled through the door again, the taxi would likely be there to pick them up.
“C’mon, let’s go.” Queen said.
She smacked Hayami on the bottom. Just like she said she would if she misbehaved again. Hayami yipped and Aoi couldn’t believe her eyes. Or her ears. The noise of Queen’s hand as Hayami’s polyester slacks had been loud and salaciously crisp.
Good thing the end of the night was here. Aoi had a feeling she would have been too gay to function after that but she managed to compose herself. She kept a careful eye on them as they boarded a taxi. She tried not to think about where they were actually off to, whether it was an apartment or a love hotel but either way, she was hot under the collar. She had to keep her cool. Especially now that it was the actual best part of the night: knocking off.
She went through all the end of night procedures. She pulled up chairs, wiped down counters one last time then wiped her brow. She was all done and dusted.
Truly, it was all in the hard day’s life of a cool and sophisticated bartender with a secretly geeky inside – or so Aoi thought to herself as she locked up at the end of her shift. She was full of plenty of inspiration thanks to her unlikely sources of reference. But first, it was time to get home and get some sleep.
She couldn’t perform her best creatively without at least a little bit of sleep and self care. A meal, too. Aoi had her life completely organised and timed perfectly. Since she worked the graveyard shift, she slept through most of the day and was most active at twilight. It almost made her a vampire but it worked for her and allowed her to afford her indulgences.
Even if she did have to lock them up just the same once she put on her skirt and tie as part of her work uniform.
Which she did once again and it was time to clock on. She arrived five minutes before and paid her dues to her other coworkers with whom she shared the bar. It was all very mundane and routine for her. Nothing at all eventful and worse still, tonight’s patrons had been mostly men. How boring.
It was shifts like these that Aoi cursed what a sausage fest the line of work she was in. Even most of her coworkers were male. So, she did what she normally did without so much as a sparkle in her eye. She prepared drinks, she cleaned the glasses and the counter. She checked stock levels. It was basically robotic as she waited and waited for someone interesting to come through that door.
And at half past ten, her prayers were answered but what she got was even more heaven sent than she could have possibly asked for.
The bell above the door tinkled. Aoi looked up from the cash register and was mildly surprised by who she saw come through: a woman all by herself.
She also was not exactly dressed to the nines. Dressed nice, sure, but not quite to the standards of the bar. She looked like she should have turned up at one of the night clubs or other bars in the vicinity of the entertainment district they were located in.
But most unusual of all was her handbag… It wasn’t just any ordinary handbag, pulled off a sale rack of some department store nor was it Gucci or Miu Miu. It was an ita bag.
Aoi’s heart stopped as she tried to piece together this woman who had come in. Time slowed as her fangirl brain not only activated but went into overdrive. She had a cute, friendly face with a smile, steely blue eyes and brown hair which seemed recently straightened. She wore a white long sleeved blouse, powder blue scarf, and a tartan, blue skirt, pantyhose, and big stomping boots.
And she was gripping the frilliest, silliest ita bag that Aoi had ever seen dedicated to the multimedia franchise icon: Blue Angel.
The bag itself was leather and dyed a pristine white. It was adorned with a royal blue ribbon rosette with a depiction of the original book’s Blue Angel inside of it. Then, on the inside of the plastic window was full to the brim with tin can pin badges printed with the anime’s stock photo of Blue Angel and there were tens of them. Aoi couldn’t count them quick enough as the owner got closer and closer to the bar.
She flashed a smile. She drummed her fingers on the counter. Aoi had to keep her jaw locked so it wouldn’t go slack.
“Good evening, Miss Barmaid, I’m looking for a vodka and lime soda if that’s all good with you.” she said.
A basic taste, to the point of being boring, as it was a drink beneath the level of a gin and tonic but Aoi would never make fun of a guest’s preference. Given she was out and about alone, it would make sense she wouldn’t want to drop her defences too low.
“Of course, I hope you enjoy.” Aoi replied as she organised the drink on her cash register’s digital menu. “It won’t take too long,” she pushed forward the EFTpos machine, “pay here.”
The woman nodded and she zapped her debit card quickly enough. Whilst she did that, Aoi prepared her drink. It took a squirt or two but it was done basically by the time the woman put her plastic away back into her wallet.
She glanced around and sat down at the counter, “Slow night?” she asked.
“A little.” Aoi replied.
Aoi was unsure of how chatty she wanted to be with this young woman but she anticipated that this woman was here to see the sights and decompress. She seemed so out of her depth here, out of place. Not even solely because of her clothes but because of how she drank her drink, too. Little sips, then a big sip, and then she got embarrassed.
She looked around. Aoi pretended to do work. Before either of them could say anything to the other, whether to make small talk or otherwise, the woman’s phone rang.
“Ah, sorry, do you mind if I take this here?” she asked, cringing. “It’s my Mom.”
“No, go ahead.” Aoi replied.
“Thank you, thank you.”
Aoi excused herself but she didn’t go too far. She pretended to clean the glass cabinet of wine behind her. She rearranged them but nothing was out of order and she couldn’t help herself. She eavesdropped but bless this woman, she was trying to be polite by not being too loud.
Besides… Fraught mother and daughter relationships could be juicy for angst.
“Yes, Mom. I’m at the bar you found online. Yes, it’s nice. Way too classy for me. Yes, I bought a drink. It’s nice.”
Or maybe not.
Aoi let go of her hackles. It just seemed like the usual nannying to be expected of a mother unto her daughter. The conversation continued for another couple of minutes and then that was that.
The woman was able to hang up and put her phone away. Back into her Blue Angel ita bag no less.
She sighed and glanced at Aoi, “Sorry you had to see that. My mother is… Overprotective and just doesn’t get me at all.”
Aoi shrugged. She couldn’t relate. Her Mother had been killed in a car accident when she was young but a stranger didn’t need to know that. Conversely, the woman understood that Aoi didn’t need to know too many details either. She was a stranger right back.
“Anyways,” she said, awkward, “my name’s Miyu and I don’t belong here.”
“Nonsense.” Aoi replied. “Anyone who comes through our door is welcome here.”
“That’s sweet.” Miyu giggled. “And very corporate.”
“Eh, a little.” Aoi agreed with another shrug.
“But nah, I’m too lowbrow for a place like this.” Miyu commiserated. “I’m fresh from the electric city and all the nerd shops. My Mom wishes I’d grow up and stop watching kids cartoons.”
Aoi felt her heart leap to her throat.
She didn’t disagree but she definitely didn’t agree but she couldn’t say that. She couldn’t ruin her image but at the same time.
She was Blue Angel’s number one fangirl. Maybe. Aoi was willing to bet that this Miyu girl could give her a good run for her money but now was not the time to huff and puff and start a wank. She was at work.
But she could empathise. She was in the same position. She didn’t want anyone to know about her inner nerdiness for the sake of mythology she had built up around her position as a bartender in a swanky bar.
Her heart quaked in her chest. Her hands at her side curled into fists and she looked deep into Miyu’s eyes. Deeper than she meant to but it was strange. She couldn’t help but feel a kinship with this woman just because they shared a singular interest of fandom.
And if anything… Aoi felt jealous of Miyu.
Aoi wouldn’t be caught dead, parading around with an ita bag of her own. Hers was collecting dust, mounted to her bookshelf which was immaculately organised with all her display of books and DVDs. The most she could do was post anonymously online.
She swallowed, “I think you should be allowed to like what you like.” Aoi confessed. “Who cares what people think?”
How hypocritical. How trite. It was the perfect script though. Only for Miyu to see right through Miyu.
“And what would you know about that, huh?” Miyu asked, incisive. Cynical, even but not cruel. It was merely that stereotypical words were lost on her. “I bet you're only into cool things, eh, Miss Bartender?”
“I love Blue Angel.” Aoi blurted out. “She’s been my favourite fictional character since I was six. I do cosplay online. I draw fanart.”
Miyu blinked.
Aoi’s heart froze.
This was part of why she didn’t like to bring her hobbies into real life. It was territorial and only invited infighting. Other times, it only invited mockery.
“What’s your username?”
Aoi wanted to vomit. She shouldn’t have said a thing. Her silence only inflamed Miyu some more. She got embarrassed in turn. Her hands turned a flurry in front of her.
“Sorry, that was rude!” Miyu exclaimed. “What I mean to say is… I’m RaindropIGN and-”
Aoi’s ears rang with that username.
She knew that username. She knew that username really well, even. She had never directly messaged the user it belonged to but they commented on each other’s postings quite frequently. Aoi would even go so far as to say RaindropIGN was a favourite mutual of hers.
They had never spoken, however, despite being mutuals who interacted in public forums quite frequently but the only reason they had never spoken before was because Aoi had been too shy to initiate a conversation with someone as cool as RaindropIGN. She had also assumed that RaindropIGN hadn’t made the first move either because Aoi was just parasocial and had their relationship as mutual follows all wrong.
But still. Aoi couldn’t help but admire the user behind the username RaindropIGN and her avatar which depicted a little blue slime.
Even through a screen, RaindropIGN came across as kind and generous to Aoi. She always had the best takes. Her fanart was divine, even her scribbles were beautiful and symbolically loaded. Aoi ate so good whenever RaindropIGN dropped a new fan book: she had them all on her shelf, too, with her ita bag that she wasn’t brave enough to wear around.
“I’m Blue underscore zero-zero-one.” Aoi replied shyly.
The admission of her username was awkward. She didn’t know if she should feel pride or if she should hide. A fear of arrogance began to well up in Aoi as she had no idea how to be her online alter ego in real life.
She didn’t know how to be her real life self online either.
Online, she would describe herself as happy and bubbly, unabashedly geeky and nerdy with no fear of cringe or tribalism. In real life, she was so secure in the little box that she put herself in that kept her still and away from her hobbies. All so she could appear as a cool and repute bartender. She didn’t want to bring shame to her employers who kept things quite classy and sleek up here in their establishment.
Almost like… Miyu’s mother, really.
And yet, Miyu’s eyes shone. She couldn’t believe it. Nor could Aoi. It was the sort of coincidence that only happened in sappy, fluffy love stories. The sort she could never be a protagonist of or maybe…
Aoi’s antenna for stories began to perk up. For so long, she had pushed herself to the corner like a wallflower and let her imagination go wild about the different women who came through her bar’s doors but she had never once put herself in that situation. She wasn’t all that interesting, surely. Geeky and giddy on the inside, cold and dull on the outside but maybe… Just maybe…
Miyu had come alone for a reason and that reason was to meet her. They even had the same top and bottom preferences for Blue Angel x Pink Angel after all. If that wasn’t a sign of soulmates, Miyu didn’t know what was.
Miyu gave her the biggest grin, “I can’t believe I get to finally meet my favourite mutual in real life. This is so crazy.” she exclaimed.
Aoi’s heart leapt to her chest. The feeling really was mutual: they were each other’s favourite mutuals. It made her so, so happy. Happy enough to smile when she so very rarely when she was at work: a happy, genuine smile.
“It’s my pleasure. I’ve… I’ve always wanted to talk to you but I didn’t want to bother.” Aoi confessed.
Miyu adjusted her bag, its shininess reflected brilliantly off the lights of the bar, “Well, now’s as good as any, if you’d be so kind as to give me a Shirley Temple this time.”
“Do you want it plain or should I add something?” Aoi asked, jokingly.
“Surprise me.” Miyu replied.
More vodka it was then. Even if it was a little non-traditional for a mocktail like a Shirley Temple, Aoi wanted to loosen up some more, too. She prepared one for herself and they were both tabbed as being on the house. Aoi got comfortable and she glanced at her coworkers. Yusaku and Takeru peeped curiously from the back of house where they were cooks.
She did her best to pay them no mind and focused on Miyu. She took a breath and took courage from her online alter ego and the two had a fantastic discussion about all their favourite things about Blue Angel. By the end of it, they both had a lot of inspiration for a future collaboration about love at first sight between Blue Angel and her beloved Pink Angel.