Day 6 for the #BFRarePairWeek: Jewelry
Clumsy Want
It had gotten to a point where, once Michael was in bed, he would slip back into his shoes and leave the house. Jessica wouldn't make any more questions; he wouldn't even wish her a good night. He did feel her gaze on his back, though, and it was a heavy burden he would shed with a couple of glasses. The bar he usually went to wasn't really helpful for his depressed state of mind. Always the same gloomy patrons, hunched in some corner or by the bar, drinking in silence while the radio sung slow ballads about heartbreak and lost love. Definitely not the place he should be, nor the solution to his collapsing marriage.
It was a Tuesday that night. He was feeling already a buzz behind his ears and his lips felt a light numbness. Yet it was not enough, so when he felt movement in front of him, he waved his empty glass.
"Another".
A pale hand took the glass from his. "What did you have?" a soft but somehow heavy voice, almost like liquid gold, asked. Max blinked trough the drunken veil, seeing a bright green stone before noticing the shiny bracelets. "Sir?"
"Ah… uh, whiskey," he answered, having some trouble with his tongue. Or maybe it was those eyes.
Was this guy new here?
"Yes, I just started today," he replied and until then Max didn't realized he had asked out loud. "So, whiskey… which one?"
"Ah, Yut Lung, here!" One of the bartenders he already knew came along and reached the new guy a bottle of his usual choice. Yut Lung (weird name) took it and poured his drink. Max observed with curiosity, noticing how far his movements were far from as fluid as Shorter or Ash's, yet there was some kind of fluidity in what he was doing. He hand was shaking a bit after he left the glass on the counter and the liquid trembled. Max payed after thanking him, feeling unable to tear his eyes away, however, at the same time, feeling weirdly scared to stare too much.
"Soo… Yut Lung" he mumbled, slurring the words as his eyes stuck to the rings on his fingers. That guy, apparently, really liked jewelry. Somehow his mind wandered back to his still wife. Jessica never liked wearing rings, bracelets or necklaces. He had gifted her a few but eventually desisted. Not that he minded not having to choke up expensive gifts for her.
She didn't wear their wedding ring anymore. He kept his own in his pocket.
Yut Lung had ornaments in his hair, which was dark and longer than any woman's he had ever met personally. It looked well-kept and made the shimmery knickknack seem expensive. Was it though? He wouldn't be working there if he could afford that kind of bling, right? It probably was all fake but greatly imitated… or the dude was deeply in dept, that was always an option. Didn't change the fact that he looked ridiculously good and seductive for a guy working in a bar full of old, boring men.
The young bartender chuckled.
"When you're ready, you can take your glass." He smiled at him but Max felt like he was just being held at gunpoint, so he quickly took his glass and downed it before paying and leaving.
He eventually went back. Back sober, he realized how stupid he had acted. Just because a man was beautiful didn't mean he had to feel threatened. Maybe that was his closeted homosexuality, Jessica would snarl, but he made sure to quickly throw that thought away. He started to get used to Yut Lung's piercing eyes. His smile, however, still made him uneasy and sent the occasional shiver down his spine. His eyes would evade his face and ended always on his hands. He had delicate hands, even though he could slowly see that the constant handwashing was passing its bill. Still it didn't change that he had pale, long and sleek fingers that looked cold and made a great contrast to the heavy ornaments he put on them. Especially that green stone on his ring finger. He thought it was weird to see a bartender with that many trinkets on him. He was used to Shorter or Nadia, who weren't as refined as this guy. Nadia had this elegant air on herself that made her look even more mature and level-headed than she actually was, yet aside from the thin, silvery chain with the small pendant she rarely wore any jewelry. Ash had his easily unnoticeable earrings, which he eventually replaced with expansions. Shorter had just his glasses which he had to take off when Nadia was near. Could he even see anything in that dark place? Max didn't really care; he had never spilled anything so it wasn't an issue.
Yut Lung. It didn't look bad, though. Just out of place. And expensive, holy shit. This dude looked like he had a sugar daddy, yet if that was the case, he wouldn't be working there… right?
"Good night, the same as always?"
Speaking of the devil. He really looked like an evil being. A beautiful evil being.
Max sighed.
"Hi, Yut. Yeah, please."
The bar was, like during any other week day, almost empty, so he was working alone that night. Not that he had a lot to do. When he left the glass on the counter, Max's eyes caught again the shiny, green stone crowing his hand.
"Can I see that?" He asked impulsively. Yut Lung blinked until he understood what he meant.
"Sure," he said and took off the ring, passing it to Max. "Not that is anything expensive, just a trinket I got from an ex."
No sugar daddy then, his mind whispered. At least not in the past…
"And you're still wearing it?"
"It looks good on me. Like everything, actually." He laughed and Max raised a brow, looking then down to the ring. It was cheap indeed, now that he had a closer look.
"Well… I can't deny that," he murmured and attempted to give him back the ring. However, as most times, his clumsiness struck to make him drop the ring. It fell stone first on the counter, bounced and then hopped down onto the floor. Yut Lung jumped back, just in time to see it bounce again and roll under the counter. He kneeled down to look under it.
"It's all in the back…" Yut Lung got up again, sighing. "Well, guess it's gone."
He looked at Max, whose face was bright red, his mouth open in utter shame.
"I-I'm… agh, I'm so…"
"Don't, I told you it was cheap."
"I cold try to move the counter…"
"It's fixed to the floor."
Yut Lung smiled but he did look annoyed.
Max felt so stupid. And in danger.
He paid again for his drink and left shortly after.
Some time passed. He didn't want to go back, too ashamed of his own stupidity to face Yut Lung. The thought didn't let him alone, though. It would follow him through his daily life, sit beside him as he was eating dinner and listening to his son tell about school and his friends. Usually nothing would keep him from listening and he knew it looked suspicious. Jessica would give a knowing glance but never commented on it. And he was thankful for that, considering that his own mind was already burden enough.
It wouldn't be him if he didn't overthink everything obsessively after all.
It might have been some curse someone put on him but after a few days a new shop opened on the other side of his office street. A jewelry store. Just. In. front. Of. His. Window. He had to be cursed, definitely. He worked a few days with the blind pulled down or, alternatively, staring stubbornly onto his screen. The result was days of headaches until he gave in.
He took the opportunity during his lunch break, crossing the street before he could regret it. A tiny bell rang when he opened the door and stepped in. A friendly, young shopkeeper greeted him with a polite smile and he, still a bit reluctantly, asked for rings. She gestured him towards the counter and started to show them what they had in store.
She asked for measures and he hesitated.
"Uhm… do you have some sort of chart?"
"Yeah, sure," she immediately answered and showed him the different sizes. As he was deciding on how thin Yut lung's fingers actually were, she casually asked:
"Is it for your wife or girlfriend?"
The question was nothing but a well-meant, service courtesy, yet he almost groaned exasperatedly. He knew the girl didn't know at all about his situation, but neither could he just say it was for his favorite bartender.
Wait, favorite?
"Give me this one," he hastily requested, pointing on a rather bulky ring of dark gold, decorated with a purple stone. It did kind of remind him of the ring that was still stuck under the bar. He did hate himself as he walked back to work and not only because of what the ring had costed.
He finally went back that Friday night, hoping maybe his little nightmare would not be there or at least not alone. He avoided his usual spot, going for a seat closer to the wall, and sat down as his eyes wandered around the room, searching for the servers and bartenders.
"Ah, Max, what are you doing so far in the corner? Hiding?"
Ash grinned at him as he slid his glass over to him. Max suppressed a groan. Ok, at least it wasn't Yut Lung. Ash was wearing his usual white, plain shirt and disturbingly tight blue jeans. And of course, his trademark smirk.
"Those are bigger than last time," he pointed at his ears. Ash nodded, seeming pretty pleased with the question.
"I know, I exchanged them myself. Well, with some help from Shorter."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Doesn't it hurt."
Ash shrugged.
"A bit. Anyways… what are you looking all mopey today? Should I get Yut Lung to cheer you up a bit?"
"No," he grumbled, knowing all to well that Ash was now totally teasing him. The little box in his pocket mocked him too, saying he should just have agreed.
Ash's grin grew even more.
"Well… I will just warn you then that he's still pissed over his ring. Did you bring him something expensive and Gucci-like to compensate your lack of ability to flirt?"
Max rolled his eyes at him, yet he was now freaking out inside. He shoed Ash off, telling him to not come back unless it was to fill his glass. The college student laughed it off but finally stopped torturing him and went to work. He had now time to sip on his whiskey and inspect the room from over the rim of his glass.
Yut Lung was in the back, tending on the tables. He just came to the counter to get drinks from Ash. He was sure he had seen him; he wasn't the type of person to not notice someone staring. He was great at acting as if it was not the case, though. Max was a few glasses in when he finally stayed behind the bar as Ash took a brief break. Max continued to spy on him and act like he didn't notice his presence near to him, not even when the young man approached him.
"Another glass? Although I would say you already had quite some…"
Max nervously tried to hide behind a sip, noticing then that his glass was empty again.
"Ah… sure," he mumbled and passed his glass. As Yut Lung took it, he noticed he wasn't wearing any ring that night. Or maybe anymore.
"Uh… about your ring…"
"Hey, it's ok" Yut Lung interrupted him. "I should have stopped using that piece of trash anyway."
"But I'm sorry," Max insisted and, before he could get cold feet, he pulled the little box. "Here, this is for you," he muttered, hoping no one was watching them.
It was Yue's time to look surprised and raise an eyebrow. He slowly took the boy and opened it.
"Are you proposing to me?" He then laughed, and Max frowned.
"No, I'm making up for the ring you lost because of me."
"It was an accident," Yut Lung replied. "But thank you, I'm taking it anyway."
And he took it directly from the box and put it on his finger.
"Huh, a bit loose…"
"Yeah… Didn't think your fingers were that bony," Max mumbled and the bartender arched a brow.
"Did you say something?"
"Oh, no, no. Do you like it?"
"I took it, so yes." Yut Lung smiled at him as he proceeded to pour him a drink. "So…"
"Hm?"
"…what's the price?"
"You don't tell the price of a gift." Max hastily shook his head., but Yut Lung rolled his eyes.
"No gift comes without a price."
"…I think you haven't quite grasped the concept of a gift."
The bartender seemed to want to argue, but then he halted and went to tend to another patron. There were some more customers than during the week, so it took a while before he was back, leaning on the bar as he looked down on the ring.
"It does look pricey."
"Do I look like I have a lot of money though?" Max laughed dryly and Yut Lug smiled.
"Oh, good you mentioned that. Wouldn't want to get involved with you only to discover that you are penniless. You do look like you don't really think before spending, though…"
Max rolled his eyes, hoping there was no blush again on his face, and Yut Lung laughed this time. He loosened his hair and started braiding it, watching bored the patrons. Ash came back, smelling like cigarettes. Yut Lung didn't move at all so he had to wash his hands and go directly back to work.
"How are you still working here?" Max wondered and Yut Lung laughed.
"The Wong's took pity on me," he explained and Max arched now both brows. He didn't say anything until the younger one eventually talked again. "So… are you finally going to invite me to you place tonight?"
Max felt the impulse to say yes. He must have showed some sort of conflicting expression, because Yut Lung immediately laughed again and shook his head.
"It can be my place, too," he then added in a softer voice and Max looked surprised at him.
Not because of the offer, but because of the tone. Yue kept smiling and took his again empty glass. He didn't wait for an answer and went back to work, leaving Max back with his own inner turmoil. Unexpectedly, though, a strange calm started to take over Max. He wondered if he was actually caring about the mess he was getting into. The occasional smile Yut Lung threw in his direction made him belief that no, not really. Not at all.