Severe Companionship
Work Safety
"Hey toots!"
Rei mentally cringed at the nickname, called across the room by a red-faced bar-goer. Being a bartender and slash or waiter at a popular gay bar slash nightclub had its pros and its cons. This being one of them. Pasting on a friendly How-May-I-Help-You smile, Rei turned on his heel and trotted back towards the patron who had called him over.
"Mind getting' me a Bloody Mary an' your phone number on the side?" The drunken man rumbled. Was there a word for a male cougar, because this guy must've been in his mid-forties, a stark contrast to Rei's nineteen-going-on-twenty. Well, he supposed the uniform didn't help either. Low-rise leather pants, a fine fishnet sleeveless beneath an open leather vest while combat boots and a bell-adorned cat collar topping it off did call for some attention. Although the bar's uniform wasn't the same for all, the assistant manager always designed it for each employee. Said employer nearly fanboy screamed when he'd been told a deliciously bishounen Nekojin had been hired. People and cats these days.
Keeping that damned smile plastered on his face while wondering if it would be out of bounds to personally castrate the customer, Rei shook his head slightly. "I can get the Bloody Mary for you but my phone number is reserved for members of the same age group." With that, the Chinese picked the empty glass from the table and placed it on his tray.
God damn, where were the others? Tala and Bryan had come down for a couple weeks (or possibly longer as Tala had suggested) and Kai had taken to kicking around with them for the day. Kai had said they'd pop in later that night, although Max and Tyson couldn't make any promises. Kenny was terrified of the place, being as straight as rod and Hilary, well… Hilary popped in once in a while when the place was practically dead, as to minimize heterophobic harassment. Quite frankly, Rei was contemplating smashing a couple customers' faces into the table or bar, depending on where they sat. The bouncers weren't doing jack because they were either checking out patrons as they filed in or were checking each other out.
God damn!
Rei cursed in Cantonese as he spilled liquor over the bar when a co-worker bumped into him. He shot a pleading glance to him and he only smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry, Sugar!"
Exhaling in a heavy sigh, Rei proceeded to clean up and make the ordered drink. Once finished without further fault it was delivered to the Cougar. He'd thought he was in the clear as he passed the last table of the row, but clearly he wasn't as he was abruptly yanked into someone's lap.
"Well hello there, Kitten!" A less-than-attractive Western visage slurred and contorted with the English words spoken. It took a considerable amount of Rei's self-control to keep himself from shuddering. "I've got twenty bucks 'Merican with your name on it if you take it off for me."
Being attractive in other's eyes is becoming dangerous, Rei mentally noted. He didn't think he'd be far off if he suspected that he'd be raped or at least molested in some way before the end of the shift.
"I'm not a stripper, sir. Come back on Saturday, that's when the strippers are in." Rei replied casually, with a certain edge. Mm. He liked speaking English, for some reason.
A pale hand rested itself on the American's shoulder and Rei's honey-gold eyes shifted up to meet the similarly Caucasian face of Bryan, expression fierce. It was the type of expression that said he'd hurt you in some way no matter what you did to get out of the situation.
"Rei takes it off for no one, and I suggest you release him now because all night he's been doing nothing but serving you. The least you can do is keep your filthy hands off of him," The Russian growled in English, words slightly slurred with his native tongue.
"Yeah? Well he ought to serve me the way I want!" The irate patron attempted to slip a hand up Rei's sheer shirt, but was promptly halted by those nails of his. As the male retracted his hand with a cry, Bryan ploughed his fist into his jaw. Both Rei and the victim of the punch tumbled to the floor, and the vast majority of the bar halted to become spectators of the event.
Tala was instantly there to pull Rei to his feet and ensure he was alright.
Meanwhile, Bryan drove his steel-toed boot into the floor man's stomach, "Oh, and only I'm allowed to call him Kitten." With that, the lilac-haired man strode casually to the bar, behind which Rei had retreated.
Tala was snickering whereas Kai (who had watched the event from the bar) was indifferent for the most part. Bryan didn't look too impressed but was encouraged to calm down, and did so when the narcissistic bouncer hauled the sorry American away.
"Well, that was interesting," Kai murmured quietly. "With that unfortunate knack of yours, you ought to get a safer job."
Rei, exhaling in exhaustion, took to cleaning the bar top meticulously. Shorter tresses of ebon' too short to stay in a ponytail for any length of time slipped from said trap and framed his face delicately. Already, most of the bar had cleared out by this time. "The pay's good. I've got to live somehow."
The Russian-Japanese leaned forward on the barstool and rested one elbow on the countertop. "I've told you this before; you can live with me. I have more than enough room and money to house you."
The Chinese shook his head and ducked behind the bar to rearrange the various bottles or liquor. "No, Kai. I can't depend on you for everything. I've got an apartment and a good job." After Tala requested a glass of vodka, Rei poured the last of the Smirnoff into a glass and slid it over to the redhead.
"Yeah, a shitty one-room apartment with a mouse problem and a job that'll get you raped sooner or later. Hell, you almost did get raped a couple of minutes ago." Bryan grunted, stealing a sip from Tala's vodka. The owner of the drink squealed, displeased that his precious alcohol had been stolen from him momentarily.
Pulling up a chair, Rei plopped down and rested his head on the table. "I don't need more than one room. It has everything I need."
"The bathroom is across the hall, Rei."
Kai spoke up once again, "And, coming back to a previous statement, the pay is not good. Your paycheque in combination with the tips you get is just barely enough to cover the rent. How long have you gone without electricity?"
"A month." The Nekojin replied sheepishly, drawing designs in the water left by the condensation on Tala's glass.
"Exactly."
"Well I've survived this long, haven't I?"
"Maybe, but in this country the standard of living is higher than that. I'm not one to force people to do things, but this is a necessity. You going to stay with us whether you like it or not, and you're quitting your job." Kai announced with an edge of finality in his baritone voice.
Tala piped up, "Oh, oh! Does he get to keep the uniform?"
----antidisestablishmentarianism----
Okay. First contribution to Beyblade in a while. I hope my writing improved at least somewhat… xD However, I do hope that some of you review, because without encouragement my will to write wanes and eventually dies.
Did I mention that I have an infatuation with long words? The first person to give me the definition of floccinaucinihilipilification will be rewarded with… a secondary chapter to Severe Companionship D