/Why does he come here every day?/ Arthur wondered. The bar was closing up for the night, well, morning now. He had just finished cleaning the last of the tall glasses; the ones used for drowning sorrows slowly instead of gunning them down with shots. They clinked sleepily when he tucked them into their shelves.
/He/ was still camped out at a bar stool, not taking the hint that it was time for the customers to leave. Arthur sighed. The man stayed this late almost every day of the week. He would sit in the same spot and chat up whoever sat next to him. When the crowd thinned out, he resorted to messing around on his phone.
He didn't even drink that much. The most he'd ever ordered was two drinks a night. If he didn't draw in other customers with his chatter, it would have been bad business.
Even if his presence was annoying and meant Arthur had to work later, he didn't mind as much anymore. Something about the dim light glinting off his glasses or his bomber jacket hugging his strong shoulders was intriguing. No wonder people talked to him so much.
"Oi," Arthur finally broke the silence. What he said next should have been, 'We're closing,' or 'It's late, you should go,' but other words tumbled out instead.
"Would you like one last drink?"
The man looked up at Arthur and smiled brightly. "That'd be awesome," he admitted.
"So," Arthur continued while reassembling his mixing supplies. "What's got you down, chap?"
The man's eyes widened. "I didn't say there was anything wrong." His accent was clearly American.
"Please." Arthur calmly poured in a portion of alcohol to the blend. "No one comes to a bar as frequently as yourself if they aren't having /some/ kind of trouble."
"Do you really want to know?" The American leaned on the counter, resting his chin in one hand.
Arthur made a hrmf sound. "Why would I ask if I didn't?" He began to shake the beverage in its metal container. The sheen of the object reflected on the the glass bottles behind him.
The man looked thoughtfully out the window. The street outside the bar was devoid of anything worth looking at.
"I'm in love," the man said simply.
A surprised expression alighted on Arthur's face. He didn't even know this man's name, and he was ready to tell him something so personal?
"What's wrong with that?" Arthur asked. He unscrewed the top of the mixer and poured the drink into a fresh glass.
The man nodded his thanks when handed the drink. "It's… a doomed situation."
Arthur quirked an eyebrow. He was curious, despite himself.
"He doesn't even know my name," the man ran a hand through his hair and gave a shaky laugh.
Arthur leaned on his side if the counter, his expression serious. "You can't give up," he said. "They won't ever be a greater part of your life if you stop now."
The American gazed up at him. He hadn't touched his drink.
"Approach them," Arthur suggested. "Tell them your name. It's the start of a new day, might as well make use of it."
He straightened up and went to the register to ring up the man's tab. The American didn't say anything. Quite unusual.
"I don't mean to kick you out," Arthur explained, "but I have to get some rest."
The American nodded. He took his first and only sip of the drink Arthur had prepared for him and got up. He walked to the register and fumbled in his pockets for a credit card.
/That's odd,/ Arthur thought. /He usually pays in cash./
"I'll need a signature," Arthur said, sliding the card through the machine and handing it back.
"Sure thing," the American murmured and hunched over the receipt. It took him a bloody long time to sign it.
The man slid the thin paper across the counter. Their hands just barely touched when Arthur retrieved it.
Immediately the American's hands went into his pockets. He sauntered purposefully out the door, waving over his shoulder without turning back.
Arthur shook his head. The most interesting part of his job was people like him. He picked up the receipt. A messy note was scrawled in the margin by the signature. It read:
"Alfred F. Jones; now you know my name."
americaengland from le tumblr is the original source of the art that inspired this, I believe. Check out their stuff, it's super awesome!