"Keep the change, honey."
Marc smiled and winked at his customer and deposited the money into the register, counting out the change to add to the jar behind the counter.
It was a Friday night and even though it was still early, the club was filling up fast.
Sebastian was down the other end of the bar flirting and putting on a show for a group of guys who looked like they wanted to climb over the bar and rip his clothes off. Kurt was situated in the middle of the bar between them so that he could call for help with his orders if needed.
Kurt had been working at Satire for almost two months now and was settling in well. He was getting the hang of the recipes and had started getting a little more confident with his tricks.
There was one thing that he seemed to struggle with however, and that was accepting compliments and phone numbers from the patrons.
Marc knew that Kurt had broken up with his fiancé, and the new attention seemed to be flustering him. He watched as a man tried to slip Kurt his number and saw the look of disappointment on the guy's face when Kurt declined. The man walked away without leaving much of a tip.
Marc waited for an opportunity to talk to Kurt, and when orders died down for a few minutes, approached Kurt with a smile.
"How are you getting on? That bottle spin you pulled off just now was spectacular!"
"Thanks!" Kurt said enthusiastically. "I've been practising a lot." He was slicing lemons into thin slices to be frost-shocked.
"So, uh, that guy over there gave you his number, huh?" Marc started, nodding his head in the direction of Kurt's last customer.
"Oh yeah," Kurt said, rolling his eyes a little. "That was not gonna happen. Did you see his cuticles?" he mimed biting his fingernails and gave an exaggerated shudder.
Marc grinned and shook his head. "Yeah, I wouldn't wanna tap that either," he winked and then paused. "But this isn't speed dating, you know. You don't actually have to hook up with them or anything."
Kurt frowned. "What do you mean?"
Marc smiled and dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out a handful of various slips of paper. All had scribbled notes and numbers on them.
"I have no intention of calling any one of these men," he said gently, "and they know it, but they always offer anyway...it's like a game, just on the slight chance that I might."
"Don't you feel weird leading them on like that?" Kurt asked. He tried not to sound judgemental, but Marc was married.
Marc held his hand up showing Kurt his wedding ring. "I don't hide the fact that I'm married. I don't see it as 'leading them on' because I know and they know that it's never going to happen," he replied in the same gentle voice.
"And what does Paul think about that?" Kurt asked carefully.
"Paul finds it hilarious...he always asks how many numbers I got. We trust each other." Marc shrugged.
Kurt swallowed and offered him a smile. It was still a little hard to believe that things like that were possible in other people's relationships. When he remembered Blaine's reaction every time Kurt so much as looked at another guy, he shuddered a little.
"Consider it a compliment to them. It makes them feel good if you pretend to consider their offer," Marc said.
Kurt bit his lip. He still looked hesitant.
Marc offered him a sympathetic smile. "Look, you don't have to do it. Hell, the guys will probably see it as a challenge if you're the only one who holds them off! Be Satire's unattainable Ice Prince." He winked. "But tips will probably be better if you play along."
Kurt glanced at Sebastian, who placed a drink in front of a customer and pocketed a business card.
"Ask Sebastian about it, at the moment he probably gets the most out of anyone because he's actually available..." Marc suggested.
Sebastian turned away from the bar and spotted Marc and Kurt looking at him. Kurt looked a little awkward.
"Everything alright?" Sebastian asked, walking over.
"I was just telling Kurt about our little black books," Marc said, grinning. "Or, you know, the tissue trash." He held up the scribbled napkins he'd shown Kurt and pushed them back into the front pocket of his jeans. Then, he patted the wad in his pocket suggestively.
"A little extra padding never hurt anyone," he said with a wink.
Kurt chuckled. "Marc was telling me how to get better tips," he added. "He said you're the maestro of maybe-somedays."
Sebastian grinned and emptied his pockets. "I do alright." He winked.
"Come on now, Seb, no false modesty," Marc chided him. "You usually beat me 2:1."
He looked at Kurt with one eyebrow raised. "Of course, Seb cheats by actually taking one or two home now and then. Of course word spreads about that."
Kurt blushed, ignoring the flash of jealousy. His attraction to Sebastian was growing more by the day, but the nagging doubt about starting a new relationship and falling into old habits was still the most dominant thing in his mind. To hide his embarrassment, he put on a smirk. "Alright. Let's see it then," he said, suddenly curious. He picked up a few of the napkins.
"So this is from Ben," he said, giving Sebastian a stern look, "Please let me be your - oh my!" Kurt broke off. "Ben does not beat around the manscaped bush. What about this one...Jamal. 'No condoms, no limits'. Sorry, Jamal, that's a dangerous game you're playing." Kurt crumpled the napkin up in his fist and threw it in the trash. "Here. Antonio says he's 'yours forever'. He drew a little heart. Aww."
Marc chuckled. "You sound a little jealous, Kurt," he teased.
Sebastian shook his head and took them back. "It's just a bit of fun babe, it's a sure fire way to get them to 'buy you a drink'. You don't actually have to drink the drink, but you can deposit the cash."
"That's right," Marc said. "And everyone's happy. So. What do you say, Kurt?" He took out his wallet and held up a fifty dollar note. "This goes in to the tip jar if you manage to get more numbers than me tonight, starting now." He grinned and fished out another note. "Plus this if you beat Sebastian as well."
Kurt gasped and looked from one to the other. "And if I lose?" he asked.
Marc exchanged a mischievous look with Sebastian. "Then Seb will mix you a Smythe Special."
Kurt blushed heavily. He had to play now, and win.
"Okay," Sebastian said. "Clean slate from now, we all start with none and count them up at the end."
Marc did the same and winked at Kurt. "You in?"
Kurt bit his lip and then nodded. "Alright. I'm in." He put on a cocky grin and gave them an obvious once-over as he popped a few buttons on his shirt. "Shouldn't be too hard..."
He picked up the limes and sauntered off to the freezer, hips swaying.
"Oh, it'll be hard, alright," Marc mumbled.
Two hours later and the club was almost at maximum capacity. Sebastian had just finished serving a couple of guys, one he recognised as a previous hook-up.
The guy had slipped him a note and a familiar longing gaze. Sebastian winked at him and pocketed the piece of paper. He hardly ever did repeat dates with bar hookups, but this guy would have been one that he'd make an exception for - if it wasn't for a certain someone along the bar from him.
He moved to put his tip in the jar and slid up behind Kurt. "That's a round dozen, babe," Sebastian said with a wink. "How you getting on?"
"I'm getting there," Kurt replied bravely. He was only at half a dozen, but every little note boosted his confidence a little. He began to move easier, smiled more freely - and the guys were picking up on that.
"Hey gorgeous, when do you get off?" one of them yelled over the bar.
"Whenever I can," Kurt replied smoothly, stroking the neck of a bottle suggestively.
It was actually kind of fun, if he really treated it like a game.
A good song came on and he started moving with the beat, swivelling his hips to the rhythm.
Sebastian bumped his hip against Kurt's and walked back to his section to respond to a new customer, desperately trying to ignore the flash of jealousy he felt at Kurt's flirting.
It was just a game. It didn't mean anything. It was nice to see Kurt so relaxed and confident…or so Sebastian tried to tell himself.
"Hey, hot stuff." A particularly attractive man called to him as he approached. "I'll have a blowjob, please."
Sebastian winked and grabbed the relevant bottles to make the shot.
The hour got later and the patrons' drink orders raunchier. Kurt had to look up a few of them, as he only had the basic orders memorised. If he needed time to leaf through the handbook, he'd distract his customers by twirling his mixing gadgets. It worked, but he soon found out that tips (and very indecent proposals) really came in when he left the handbook where it was and just put on a wide-eyed, innocent look and asked what a 'ménage a trois' was.
Offers to teach him, on - and off - hours, came flying in.
Marc shook his head in mirth. "Now that's something we couldn't pull off anymore," he joked fondly.
Sebastian shook his head and grinned as he watched Kurt pull the innocent school boy act. They were lapping it up.
As the night wore on and the raunchiness moved into tiredness, the bar started to empty.
Sebastian walked back down towards Kurt with an easy grin on his face. "Nice moves." He winked.
"Really? You think so?" Kurt replied breathlessly, turning his little act on Sebastian. "I'm sure you can teach me a lot more..."
"Oh yes," a slightly older man at the bar let out with a sigh, looking longingly at the both of them.
Sebastian winked at the guy with a grin and slid up behind Kurt, recognising the moment for what it was and going along with it. "You'd be amazed at the things I could teach you, babe."
He was playing with fire but it wouldn't hurt to get a little burnt.
"Oh, I have a very vivid imagination," Kurt replied, swivelling his hips against Sebastian and closing his eyes in mock ecstasy.
Marc watched from the side and shook his head. If Sebastian was playing along voluntarily, he wasn't going to stop them. They were both adults - or, almost, anyway.
Sebastian grinned and pressed up into Kurt's back, his hands moving to squeeze Kurt's hips. "Hmm, think about me often, do you?"
Kurt glanced from under his eyelashes to see if the guy at the bar was still watching them. He was. Time to get another number.
"Every night," Kurt replied on a sigh, and opened his eyes to look at the stranger.
The man swallowed. "Why don't you...both come back to my place after your shift?" he suggested. "I've got this big jacuzzi..." He scribbled an address down on a piece of paper.
Kurt smirked. Score. "I'll take that." He held out his hand. "My mom always said three's a crowd..." He glanced over his shoulder at Sebastian. "Down, boy."
Sebastian grinned and stepped back, knowing he'd been played so Kurt could pocket another phone number, but not caring. It had been too hot to stop it from happening even if he had wanted to.
"So," Sebastian said as the man left. "How many numbers did you get in the end? Including that one?"
"Let's see," Kurt replied. He was blushing a little. It hadn't even been that much of a lie. He did think about Sebastian...a lot.
He counted out the slips he'd collected. "Fourteen," he stated.
Marc walked up and put his on top of Kurt's. "Nine," he said, looking impressed with Kurt's score.
Sebastian counted out his and put them down on top of the pile. "Fourteen too...Well done, babe! I'm impressed."
"Alright, Kurt!" Marc said, grinning. "Here, you earned this." He put one if his two fifties in the tip jar and held the other up between his fingertips. "This stays mine though. You didn't beat Seb." He folded it up and put it back in his wallet.
"But!" Kurt protested, looking from Marc to Sebastian.
"Get mixing, Seb," Marc said ominously. "Kurt is surely thirsty after all of his hard work..."
Kurt paled. He hoped he'd manage to drink whatever Sebastian was going to mix for him without embarrassing himself.
Sebastian chuckled and started making a show of mixing the drink, adding extra flair in an attempt to tease and intimidate Kurt.
He served the drink in a tall glass over crushed ice and added a purple straw before sliding it in front of Kurt.
"They you go Mr Hummel, drink up," he winked.
Kurt eyed the drink warily. At least there was no special ingredients, as far as he could tell. He looked at Marc. He wouldn't let him drink anything dangerous, would he? But tabasco, limes, salt...none of these were really dangerous and could still make for a very rough drink if mixed in the wrong proportions.
Kurt bent towards the straw, narrowed his eyes and took a sip, already wincing a little.
He waited for the kick.
Then, he blinked. "This is orange juice with grenadine."
Sebastian and Marc laughed. "What did you expect?" Sebastian said fondly. "I'm not twenty one yet...my specialty drink can't have alcohol in it."
Marc snorted. "The look on your face when you were trying it!"
Kurt's mouth fell open and he gave the both of them an indignant look. Then he laughed.
"Alright, you got me." He took another sip and smiled. "I had a good time tonight," he said, mostly to Marc, as it had been his idea.
Marc smiled warmly at him. "Good," he said. "It's supposed to be fun."
"Right, I'll get Terry to get help get rid of the stragglers and then it's closing time!" Marc said, clapping his hands together. "Can you two start washing down and restocking the fridges, please?"
"Sure thing," Sebastian said with a nod.
Kurt finished his drink, certainly enjoying it much more now he knew it was harmless. Then he remembered the pile of phone numbers on the counter.
"So, um...how about these? Do you...want them?" He asked carefully, looking from the heap of napkins and cards to Sebastian. He hoped there weren't any more barebacking offers in there. He wanted his friend to be safe.
Sebastian shook his head and swept all the numbers up in his hands - including the discarded ones from earlier, and dumped them in the ice bucket.
"We never just ditch the ones we don't want," he explained kindly. "Joe's rules. We've gotta protect our customers' safety. So we destroy them, soaking them in water first turns it to indecipherable mush."
"That's good," Kurt commented, secretly a little pleased that Sebastian had thrown all of them away without so much of a glance. It was stupid - Sebastian was single and free to hook up with whoever he wanted...and yet a small part of Kurt was glad he wasn't. He thought about their flirting earlier and blushed a little.
Smiling, Kurt reached into the bucket and wrung the papery pulp out before throwing it in the trash. "Better luck next time, guys!" he said cheerfully.
Kurt still couldn't believe it. He had flirted. As a game. And...he'd liked it. It made him feel good. He'd felt attractive and wanted. Of course, he only needed to look at Sebastian to feel that way...but it had been different with the guys in the club; more superficiality, less consequences. It had been fun, without weighing his conscience down.
He glanced over at Sebastian. He appeared to be in a good mood too. As they started to clear up, Kurt couldn't stop his hips from moving to the rhythm of the music still playing out through the club's sound system.
Sebastian was in a good mood. Seeing Kurt relax into his own and flirt his way through customers' orders made him feel proud. Kurt had come out of his shell a lot this evening. There was still a way to go until the damage Blaine had inflicted upon his friend was gone - but tonight he'd watched as another layer was shed and it made Sebastian happy. It gave him hope.
He filled a bucket with warm soapy water, grabbed the mop and started mopping the floor. A familiar song came on and he grinned, closing his eyes as he let the opening beat flow through him. He spun around on one foot, using the mop in his hand as a balance and came to a stop facing Kurt. He grasped the handle of his mop with both hands and bent forwards, using the top of the mop as a microphone.
"I wanna hold 'em like they do in Texas plays, fold 'em, let 'em, hit me, raise it baby stay with me..."
Kurt grinned and curled his index finger and thumb to a circle, held it over one eye and peeked through it. With his other hand, he picked up the towel he had been using and slung it over his shoulder with a dramatic snap.
"Love Game intuition play the cards with spades to start - And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart...Oh-oh oh!"
If there was anything that worked even better for making cleaning fun than Mary Poppins singing - it was Lady Gaga.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh, I'll get him hot, show him what I've got" They sung together keeping eye contact as they cleaned. Sebastian picked up the mop and nodded at Kurt. He threw the mop towards him as Kurt threw the towel, they both caught them with ease and moved into the chorus.
"Can't read my - can't read my - no he can't read my poker face!"
Marc walked back into the club to find his younger colleagues singing along to the music at the top of their lungs, spinning around each other in a spontaneous choreography as they wiped off the bar and sorted bottles back onto the shelves. Each move seemed perfectly timed to the beat; whether it was the closing of a shelf or the cleaning rag landing in the bucket with a wide arc.
"p-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face!" Kurt sang, gathering up the stained beer coasters from the bar and playfully holding them in front if him like a fan of playing cards for Sebastian to see before dumping them in the trash.
Marc was loathe to interrupt...but he had been hoping to close up soon.
Sebastian had never had so much fun washing down the bar before, but then, everything he did was better when Kurt was by his side.
As the next verse started, Sebastian caught Marc's eye and froze, coughing slightly. He placed his hand on Kurt's shoulder to stop him and at Kurt's confused look he nodded at Marc. Both boys turned to face their superior with guilty eyes.
"We were just-"
"Looked like fun to me, don't let me stop you. Though I was hoping to get home to my husband at some point this evening." Marc winked.
"Of course," Kurt let out. "Sorry, Marc." He glanced at Sebastian with a badly repressed grin, and turned back to loading the dishwasher trays, a little faster this time.
Marc shook his head. He kept forgetting how young they were.
"It's fine, Kurt," he said. "I'll help, then we can all go home sooner."
Paul sat stretched out on the large corner sofa in their living room. Lola was laying next to him, her head resting next to his thigh, and Poppy was laying across his feet. He had the latest Daniel Silva novel propped up in his lap and a glass of red wine on the coffee table.
Every so often, he'd glance up at the time displayed on the music system that was quietly playing Beethoven in the background. It was after two am. The club must have been busy tonight.
Marc always teased him for it, but Paul liked waiting up for his husband to come home. He liked listening to tales of the night's events and also knowing that his love was home safely.
As if Paul's thoughts had conjured Marc into existence, the sound of the front door closing sounded through the penthouse. Both dogs' ears pricked up and Poppy's tail started to wag.
Marc walked into the living room moments later, still in his leather jacket. His hair was tousled and he smelled of stale alcohol, but he was smiling. "Hey," he said, his voice a little gravelly. The dogs sprang up to meet him, and he ruffled their ears, speaking soft endearments. Poppy and Lola nudged him for more, but he walked over to Paul instead, sitting down on the sofa beside him and leaning over to kiss his lips. "I'm late. Sorry," he mumbled against Paul's lips.
Paul smiled and cupped Marc's cheek, holding the kiss for a moment longer. "Busy night?" he asked, stroking Marc's cheek with his thumb. He noticed the faint musky taste of smoke on Marc's lips but didn't say anything. He wasn't in the mood for a fight now - it was too late in the evening for that.
"Yeah, I helped the boys clean up. Then Joe wanted to talk to me for a bit." Marc sighed, concentrating on Paul's touch for a moment. Then he sat back and took off his jacket, draping it over the sofa before putting Paul's book away so he could recline against his husband's chest. "He's a bit worried about the numbers," he mused.
Paul's hand automatically found Marc's hair, knowing that this was what his husband craved after a long shift.
"Things not going so well?" Paul asked, carding his long fingers through the thick locks.
Marc sighed deeply, closing his eyes. "Hmm... I don't know. It felt busy enough tonight. And it's always slow in the first quarter of the year...I'm not too worried. Still, it'd be good if, ah...I don't know. We got some good publicity or something."
He opened his eyes and looked up at Paul..."What about you? Save any lives today?" Marc spoke idly of his husband's job, but only because if he didn't, he'd never stop praising him. What Paul did on a daily basis was bloody amazing.
Paul smiled, "We did. There was a crash involving a car and a motorcycle. Everyone made it."
"That's amazing. Bikers usually draw the short end."
"Mmm-mmm," Paul agreed. He was glad Marc's affinity for motorcycles only extended to leather jackets.
Marc sighed again, stretching his back. Lola was nudging his arm and he gave her his palm to nuzzle. "Midnight snacks are bad for you, baby," he mumbled. "But I'm kinda hungry too. We'll go see what's in the kitchen in a minute, okay?" Lola barked, and he grinned. Then he returned to the problem with Satire's revenue.
"At least we have found replacements for the guys that left. Whatever Joe's numbers say, we did need them to man both bars." He smiled. "You know, Seb's friend Kurt? He's settling in really well."
"Is that the boy with the horrible ex-fiancé?" Paul asked.
Marc nodded.
"Seb has really stepped up to the challenge of teaching him. It's good for him, I think. And Kurt, he's this super-talented musical theatre student, and tonight as we were cleaning up, he was singing. With dance moves and everything. While he and Seb mopped the floor!" Marc shook his head. "I was half-expecting him do enchant the mop and buckets to do the work for him."
He grinned. "Sebastian was singing too. And they were doing these tricks, using the whole bar as a prop - I don't even know, I certainly never taught them that…"
Paul smiled. They both cared a lot about Sebastian and had been worried last year when he had seemed to spiral out of control. To hear he was doing better and was handling himself well with more responsibility gave Paul a rush of pride.
"I'm glad," Paul said quietly. "So...are Kurt and Sebastian together?"
Marc shook his head. "I think they'd be right for each other, and Seb's been crushing on him for the longest time...but Kurt needs more time to get back on his feet. His ex really messed him up."
Paul hummed a little sadly. "Poor kid."
Marc nodded. "Seb didn't tell me the whole story, but Kurt would have this subdued look sometimes...at first I thought he was just a shy, quiet kid- but he's not. At all. It was just this guy, holding him back. Now that he's out of the picture, Kurt is slowly showing us what he's made of."
Lola yapped impatiently.
"Lola," Marc said sternly, "daddy is talking."
She lowered her head and nuzzled his hand again. Marc patted her head.
"Sounds like Kurt needs some positive people in his life," Paul said.
"Well, he has some now," Marc said. He angled his head and reached up to kiss his husband. "Sometimes it takes a while to find your true self."
Paul nodded. He chuckled at Lola's impatience as she whined again. Then he thought of something.
"Maybe if they can both sing and work so well together, they could do some kind of performance at the bar to draw in some more patrons...would Joe go for that do you think?"
Marc gave it some thought. "Maybe, yeah. I'm not sure how the guys would go for Broadway, but maybe some more charts stuff...I don't want to make Kurt feel like he has to, though. I think they work him pretty hard at school already." He paused. "Though it might be a nice way for them to get a little closer..."
Lola and Poppy barked. Marc rolled his eyes. "Not a moment of peace," he joked, and made to get up.
"Wait," Paul said as Marc sat up. He tugged Marc's hand gently until his husband looked at him.
"I love you, you know that? The last fifteen and a half years have been the best of my life. Hyperactive dogs and all." He leant forward and kissed Marc softly. "Even if you do smoke when you're at work." He grinned and kissed his husband again.
Marc smiled against Paul's lips. "Busted. I'm sorry, I know you hate it," he whispered. "My new year's resolution kind of went nowhere. Maybe I should try that acupuncture thing you told me about."
"You should! Vanessa at work tried it and it works! She's not had a cigarette since Christmas," Paul replied. "And I just want you around for as long as possible…"
"I love you too, my brilliant doctor," Marc said, and got up.
Lola tugged his sleeve.
"Come on, girls. Let's find something to eat."
A/N : 2