HUD: I'm a Star Wars fan, like, big time. Even the New Trilogy. In fact, my favourite character is Qui-Gon Jinn. So, as all lovely slash writers do, I've picked my favourite pairing and guess what? It's Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan! :D Obi is Ben Kender, and Qui has yet to be named in this story, so for those of my readers who are fans of this oh-so-small and older pairing, enjoy! If not, I hope you'd enjoy regardless. I find my descriptiveness to be quite on point, if I do say so myself.
The restaurant was new; Ben had watched it being built for a few months now, driving by nearly every day to get to work and home. It was large with what looked like a hundred tables in sectioned off dining areas and more still surrounding the main hall. In its centre was a round wooden stage, no more than six feet across, and along the back wall was its larger mate, a squared stage of about fifteen feet that seemed just cozy enough. The stage was betwixt two long bars manned by four or more barkeeps, and the entire wall of the round room was lined in mirrors, belaying the illusion that the room was much bigger still. Ben mused that if he were to look down at the building from his office, it would assume the shape of a Mickey Mouse silhouette.
Between the proudly draped Irish flags and dark green-and-rustic-wood décor, Ben had no trouble deciphering that Barley Leaf Pub was an Irish brewery and eatery long before a cute blonde bartender dropped off a menu as she took his drink order. He told her he would order later, settling back to enjoy the dark brew he had pointed to at random. (Having always been more of a shots or wine kind of guy, he was far out of his depth and too proud to ask for a suggestion.) The nearly solid black liquid had a warm tan head of froth and sloshed gently when he pressed his lips to the rim. Despite the dark hue the brew felt light and had an almost chocolate after tone; he made a mental note of the proudly displayed name on the side of the glass, standing out wonderfully in white sharpe font against the dark liquid. He'd definitely be ordering that again.
Even nearly at six in the evening on a Wednesday night, the pub was busy. Ben turned in his seat to watch the milling of the restaurant, counting ten tables being sat back-to-back by several hosts in just the large dining room alone. He could only imagine what the rest of the dining rooms must be like.
Ben looked back to his menu, feeling his stomach churn from the lack of food in his diet for the day. Having been working on a project at his office for the better half of the month left little time to taking care of himself and had been draining - just around four he had proudly finished the final draft and sent it up to his boss just in time for his meeting with the buyer. Everything had gone so well that Ben was offered a promotion to the head of the contract and left work early. Feeling a need to celebrate to keep his buzz of success, Ben Kender made his way to the newest pub in town.
He settled on an Irish Egg to start and fish and chips for dinner, getting his order in just in time. The low lights dimmed even further and drew a hush over the boisterous dining room. Ben turned towards the stages, assuming they were the cause, and saw a trio atop the main. A young woman with dark curly brown hair dressed in an emerald flowing dress stood in the centre of two strong men in a red button down and black pants and open vest, one blond and the other with hair the same shade as the woman. Ben squinted slightly, deciding they could be related.
A soft trill of music slipped over the speakers as green lights hued the edges of the stage. The woman began, hands on hips, displaying soft movements that rivaled ballet in their elegance. She balanced nearly on her toes as her feet hopped between points and kicks; it lasted only a few seconds before the music abandoned the soft trills for a quick-paced jovial tune. The men at her sides joined in with wide smiles as they complimented her genial display with their wide kicks and loud stomps. The dance continued with the woman swinging between both men, trading dance partners seamlessly until the music crescendoed and ended abruptly. All three bowed to thunderous applause and exited stage right. Ben added his own to the cloud, smiling slightly to himself. That was a nice surprise, he thought. There hadn't been any advertisement that he'd seen about live dancing when he came in.
The beginning of Ben's dinner arrived and drew his attention from two women now taking the stage dressed as the brunette before had been. The Irish Egg was as delicious as it looked from the menu, a ball of corned beef and onion flash fried with a poached egg in the centre. He washed it down with the remainder of his beer before ordering a replacement and turning back to the stage.
Ben sipped leisurely as he watched more trios and partners take the stage, each set a different variety of moves and theme. He finally decided that he must have been watching river dancing when ten people crowed the main stage and hooked arms around waists and shoulders for a rowdy line dance of kicks and stomps. There was one particular dancer that kept drawing Ben's eye; he came out periodically as they rotated dancers, sharing the stage only a few times before the lot of them scrunched up together. Ben didn't notice until then that he was the tallest of them, the second tallest still short by several inches. His hair was brown and drawn back by a tie at the base of his neck, trailing down to stop between his shoulder blades. The expression he wore was of genuine enjoyment, his lips quirked slightly in a half smile that was nearly missed in his neatly trimmed beard. Ben sighed slightly when they left the stage, wondering if he'd come back out for another dance. Or to the bar, where Ben could buy him a drink and discover the colour of his eyes.
Ben somewhat got his wish when, only a scare five minutes later, the tall man took the smaller centre stage. Ben nearly choked on his drink - the man was hardly ten feet away! He was so close that Ben could made out the strength in his exposed forearms as he flexed his hands and the slight sheen of sweat on his forehead when every light in the damn room was trained on him.
Ben swallowed thickly as the music started almost immediately and the once serene man exploded in motion. His arms stayed mostly down by his side as he kicked and stomped, his legs swinging up higher and higher with each twirl. The ticks were much louder and echoed fiercely - the engineer in Ben complimented the placement of the stage with the natural acoustics in the room, and quite nearly had to pick his jaw up from the floor when the man left the stage entirely with a high kick/jump/twist combo that left Ben's throat dry and every other patron cheering. The music ended a moment too soon, the tall dancer bowing to his gracious audience and taking his leave. Ben could only blink at where he had been, his lack of presence a void in the atmosphere of the room. The engineer hardly noticed when the bartender brought out the remainder of his dinner.
Ben ate slowly and thoughtfully, wondering when the best time to ask about who that man was. He waited until he was done with his meal and pushed his plate forward to grab attention. The blonde trotted up only a moment later.
"Excuse me," Ben asked before she turned away. She smiled brightly and nodded.
"Yes? How was your supper?"
"Fantastic, thanks," he smiled, turning on the charm he'd been told he had since he was in high school. "I was curious - I rather liked that display, the dancing."
"Oh yes!" She answered, smiling even brighter. "They perform every Wednesday and Saturday here."
"Are they a local troupe?"
She nodded. "Yes; my sister and brother are both members. It's been together now for several years."
"May I ask the name?" Ben pressed, sipping his beer. He flashed his eyes to her name tag. "If you wouldn't mind, Miss Gabby."
Gabby flushed at the added drawl to his last phrase. "Oh sure! They're - "
"Gabby!" Ben mentally cursed his bad luck when another bartender came over. "Gab, table ten's server needs you to the table ASAP." Gabby nodded and smiled apologetically as she passed off Ben's plate to the other bartender.
"I'm so sorry - I'll be right back." Ben smiled and nodded, sipping his drink to hide his grimace. It wasn't so bad - it's not like she'd never be back. He contented himself to wait, watching servers grab their drinks from the well only a few feet away from him. The male bartender that had approached Gabby was quite skilled and fast, knocking out drinks in what Ben had to believe to be record time. The ticket hardly printed before the man was sending out the requests.
Ben checked his phone when Gabby still hadn't returned and was surprised to see that it was nearing nine. He'd spent almost three hours there and hadn't noticed it in the slightest. Ben flagged the other bartender and asked for his check as he was on his way back to the well.
"Soon as I get these out, I'll have it, mate," he answered.
"Take you time," Ben replied, swishing around the last few sips of his Guinness. The man nodded and headed for the well, scooping out glasses and pouring drafts three at a time. Ben watched him work, enjoying the methodical chaos that all bartenders seemed to own so well, when he felt his heart skip a beat.
The tall dancer leaned casually against the well, still dressed in the red shirt and black pants but the vest was gone. Kevin, the man making those drinks his bitch, paused and tilted towards him. Ben could just make out Kevin's murmurs and the other man's voice, touched with a hint of an accent that Ben couldn't clearly hear from his distance. He tried to keep up a casual air and 'lost interest' when Kevin completely paused his work to turn fully towards the man.
Ben could still see the man's profile from the corner of his eye, his brow sharp and leading to an equally sharp nose that had been broken at some point and never properly healed. Ben decided he very much wanted to kiss that small bump, shutting the idea down with horror when the man's eyes fell to him. Not one for showing his discomfort, Ben raised his glass in a friendly gesture before downing the rest in one gulp. Maybe he'll think I'm drunk and dismiss my staring. The man simply smiled back, that half smile that Ben had caught from before turning somewhat sly.
Ben turned away then, not trusting himself in the slightest. He pushed his glass away and flipped his coaster over the top, signaling that he was truly finished. He could still feel those eyes on him, so he fished for his phone and thumbed through the email that arrived during his dinner as a distraction. Eventually his ploy actually worked on himself as he became engrossed in a few outlines for his new projects.
So engrossed, in fact, that Kevin cleared his throat to get his attention. He grinned sheepishly and tucked his phone away. "Sorry."
"You're fine, mate. Just wanted to let you know that your check's been taken care of," Kevin said with a grin, leaning with his arms braced on the bar. Ben blinked, confused.
"Why?" He asked rather dumbly.
Kevin shrugged, but his expression said he knew exactly why. "Dunno; I just do what I'm told." He slid across a coaster similar to the one Ben's drink had used. "Also, your attendance is requested back. If you'd like to know who paid your check, then I'd suggest you show."
Ben could only nod and thank Kevin as he took the coaster. The bartender grinned and nodded back, wishing him a good night before turning back to his well. Ben pushed the coaster into his pocket without another glance and dug out his wallet. He tossed tip for both Gabby and Kevin on the wooden counter and stood. After checking for his keys and phone, Ben headed for the foyer and exit. He would have sworn he felt eyes on him the entire long walk to the front.
A/N: So? Thoughts? :)