Work Text:
"Hey, RJ, try this," Alex called, sliding a glass down the bar.
With barely a glance, RJ caught the glass. He didn't even stop mixing his own drink. A measure of amaretto liquor, a measure of lemon juice, a measure of smoked vanilla syrup, an egg white. Seal the shaker and dry shake for fifteen seconds. In almost the same motion that RJ popped the seal on the shaker and reached to add ice with one hand, he grabbed Alex's glass with his other and took a sip. Then he set the glass down and resealed the shaker on his own beverage.
"Oh," he let out, finally pausing. He shot Alex a beaming smile. "That's really good, Alex!" RJ pointed to the glass. "Can I have the rest of this?"
Alex motioned to the glass, a silent 'all yours.' With another smile, RJ went back to his own concoction, expertly chilling the drink inside with a few shakes. Then he pulled a chilled glass from the fridge—with more flair than Alex would've—dropped a few ice cubes into it, and strained the drink into the glass. A beautiful, creamy, frothy beverage that he topped with a few drops of bitters and a lemon peel.
"Smoky Vanilla Amaretto Sour for you," RJ announced as he slid the drink over the bar to the woman standing there. He even threw in a smile and a wink.
The woman blushed prettily, her delicate fingers wrapping around the stem of her drink glass. Looking at RJ through her eyelashes, she said, "Thank you so much," her voice sultry enough that RJ would have to be deaf and blind to miss the flirt. "You're so good with your hands."
Laughing softly, RJ said, "Thanks. I learned everything I know from him," and he motioned to Alex down the bar.
The woman barely glanced in Alex's direction, so he didn't bother waving. Even as Alex continued making his own drinks for customers, he listened to the woman flirt with his younger counterpart. People flirted with RJ all the time, and he flirted back. That was part of being a bartender and made for good tips. Yet, it always turned Alex's stomach to see it happen. To hear people proposition RJ—sometimes so blatantly Alex almost wanted to throw them out of the restaurant entirely.
At first, Alex had argued (with himself) that it was because RJ was so young. These people were trying to take advantage of someone barely old enough to serve alcohol. But it had been two years since RJ came to White and Black (?). He was a deft hand at bartending, and getting better by the day. He looked way more mature now than he had, though still young. And Alex had long since admitted that the bitter, twisted feeling in his chest came from plain old, ordinary jealousy.
It shouldn't matter. They were bartenders. It was part of the gig. Besides which, he and RJ had become official ages ago. He knew who RJ was going home with that night. But Alex couldn't logic his way out of the feeling.
"Yo, Alex?" RJ questioned, coming up beside him during a lull in orders. "Are you okay?"
RJ had grown a few inches since first kissing Alex and breaking some plates, but he was still several inches shorter than Alex was. He still had to tilt his head up when they were side by side, almost like he was asking for a kiss. To be fair, he usually was asking for a kiss when he stood this close. But they were at work, actively in front of customers, so no kissing was allowed.
Taking a half step back so he could breathe, Alex said, "Fine. Why?"
RJ gave a small snort of disbelief and held his hands up like a sarcastic 'I don't know' even as he said, "You look like you tasted a really sour lemon and have for the past, like, hour."
For a moment, Alex cast his eyes around the room, watching Bai Lang interact with customers. He knew RJ would like hearing he was jealous, but he'd never been jealous of anyone in his life. It felt childish. It felt like he was insecure in his relationship. But maybe that was what had been missing in his previous relationships. He'd never felt strongly enough about his partners to be jealous. Ever.
It was a moot point, anyway.
With a sigh, Alex wiped his hands on a nearby towel and then reached into his pants pocket. He held out a hand toward RJ and, when RJ just stared back, lifted an eyebrow. RJ glanced around the room like he was checking if anyone was looking their way, then hesitantly reached out and held Alex's hand. He was so darn cute sometimes, especially when he misunderstood things. Shaking his head fondly, Alex turned RJ's hand over, then took his right hand from his pocket and dropped a necklace into RJ's waiting palm.
RJ let out a small gasp and pulled his hand back. Then, curiously, he lifted the pendant part of the necklace out of the mess of chain.
"A and R?" he read.
Yep. That's exactly what it was. A stylized A and R that intersected. RJ could read. But did he get it? Gosh, it felt so stupid now that Alex had handed it over. His face started to burn.
In front of him, RJ mouthed 'A and R' once more. Then his face lit up. "Alex and RJ?" he said.
Face feeling even hotter, Alex nodded.
RJ jerked in place, like he'd almost jumped forward but stopped himself. No doubt he would've literally jumped Alex had they not been behind the bar during business hours. Taking a deep breath, RJ visibly composed himself. Then, with hands that shook with excitement, RJ clipped the necklace on. Then he held the letters in his hand and stared down at them with a loving smile.
Alex was still getting used to how much RJ loved, even almost two years into their relationship. It was enough to bowl him over, some days.
Lifting curious eyes, RJ looked at Alex's face, then down to his neck. "Do you have—?"
This was the even more embarrassing part. With a sigh, Alex pulled the second necklace from his pocket. A match to RJ's. A couple's necklace.
Well, the look on RJ's face was worth being embarrassing, he supposed.
RJ reached out but stopped just before touching the necklace in Alex's hand. "Can I—Can I put it on you?" he asked.
If Alex let RJ put the necklace on for him, there would definitely be violations to the 'No Romantic Activities At Work' rule. So Alex closed his hand over the necklace and stuffed it back in his pocket.
Before RJ could look too crestfallen, Alex said, "Maybe back at home." He even threw in a wink.
"Alex!" RJ squeaked, face going bright red and his hands flying up to cover it.
A new couple of customers was approaching the bar. That was fine. Alex was toeing dangerously close to breaking his own rule.
He nodded toward the couple. "More customers for you," he said.
RJ glanced between the couple and Alex, twice, before letting out a whine of, "You don't play fair, you know?"
Even as RJ moved to the other end of the bar with a pout that morphed seamlessly into a welcoming smile, Alex grinned. The A and R necklace caught the dim lights above just enough to be noticeable, but not distracting. To most people, it wouldn't mean much. They would probably miss that it was a couple's necklace, even. But at least RJ was now wearing proof that he and Alex were taken. At least now, in some subtle way, Alex had made his claim.
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