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Remus had noticed the new server almost immediately. He knew everyone around here rather well, both employees and customers, and he would know if someone was new. He liked knowing people, he liked having a chat here and there. That was the best part of the job, after all. If he had no one to talk to, what was he supposed to do? Just stand around, making drinks and looking pretty? As much as he liked doing those things — and he was rather good at it, if he said so himself — that wasn’t why he took the job. If it was, he could just stay at home and make drinks for himself.
But there was a new server and Remus noticed this the second he laid eyes on him. Even if it wasn’t the obviously new and unfamiliar face, he wasn’t as experienced as the others around and it showed in his movements. They weren’t as fluent yet. All in due time, of course.
And then the guy came up to the bar with an order. It was quite early in their shift, just a bit before seven pm, so it wasn’t too busy yet. Most people were still having dinner at this point, so Remus leaned forwards a bit to look at the other with a grin.
“So,” he dragged out a little, “first real day on the job?”
The server nodded, but he didn’t offer much of a verbal response. This got a small chuckle out of Remus as he got moving to make the drinks that were ordered. He kept a close eye on the new server, though. Just to get an idea of who this guy was.
“We’re happy to have you,” he said with a smile to the new guy. “Remus, by the way. You didn’t ask, but I figured I’d tell you.”
“Logan,” the other responded, though it was clear he still needed to warm up to the conversation. It was okay. He was new, so it was only logical that he was holding back a little. He’d warm up eventually.
“Well, Logan,” the bartender responded as he set down two glasses. “Here’s your order. You’re very welcome.”
Logan muttered out a soft ‘thank you’ as he set the glasses onto a tray. He shot Remus a small smile and turned around to bring the customers the drinks they had ordered.
Over time, Remus did whatever he could to make Logan as comfortable as he could. Cracking stupid jokes, making remarks and involving Logan in a conversation he was having if the other had a second to himself. It became clear to Remus that the other wasn’t uncomfortable or anxious, but just rather reserved and closed off. And there was nothing wrong with that, but Remus was dying to get to know Logan a little better. He was so intrigued by the server and he just wanted to talk to him. A little more than the bits and pieces he got during their shifts, if that was possible.
After a couple of months, Remus liked to think he had formed a careful friendship with Logan. He didn’t know if Logan felt the same way, but he sure hoped so. What was he supposed to do? Ask? No, no way he would ask Logan if he felt they were friends. It was a weird conversation to have, and while Remus didn’t care about weird… he didn’t feel up to that. He would just have to hold on to this thought.
Even after a few months, Logan wasn’t an easy person to read. Remus liked to say he could read people fairly well, and he was sure that he did. But Logan was a bit of an exception to that rule. He was a weird fellow. Coming from Remus, that was only meant as the best possible compliment. Weird was so much better anyways.
One day, Remus worked up the courage to actually go a little further than just that. Although- ‘courage’ was a big word. He just felt like he’d known Logan long enough that it wasn’t too weird or off-putting if he did. He was a little more careful in this than he usually was. Most of the time, Remus didn’t care about that. He didn’t care about being weird or scaring people off. But there was something about Logan that made him more cautious. He didn’t want Logan to think badly of him. He couldn’t exactly explain it, it was weird. But it just… happened. Somehow.
But that one fateful day, both of them were working — obviously — and it was quite early in their shift, which meant that it was still relatively quiet. Remus found his opportunity when there was a bit of downtime. Neither of them had a lot to do, and he managed to get Logan’s attention.
“Hey,” Remus called out to him, leaning forwards a little bit, “I was wondering if you’d be up to go out sometime, go somewhere.”
Logan raised an eyebrow. “Like where?” he retorted, though he didn’t immediately refute the idea.
“Who knows?” Remus shrugged with a small smile. “As long as it’s not a bar or anything like that.”
At this comment, Logan managed a smile. “Sounds good,” he nodded.
“Perfect,” the other grinned. “It’s a date, then.”
They didn’t get much time to discuss things after that, busy with their respective jobs — and it was a bad idea to talk about it with customers around. Especially once the regulars came in. They didn’t need to know any of this. They were great people, but Remus didn’t need them sticking their noses in his private affairs.
After their shifts, there was a little discussion, but it was late and not quite ideal for an in-depth talk of what they would do when and where. But, they did exchange numbers so they could talk about it a little later, when it wasn’t so late and they were a little more willing to talk about it.
With their schedules the way they were, it wasn’t easy to find a good moment to actually go out together. Eventually, the two decided that the best plan was to meet up and grab a bite before their shifts started that Saturday. It was the best option, since their jobs didn’t make it easy to arrange anything else. It would be fun regardless, Remus reasoned. As long as it was just them, he would be content.
The day of their dinner date, Remus felt… nervous. He didn’t know why, since he didn’t tend to get nervous. He was confident in himself, he was confident about who he was and he didn’t usually get nervous about anything. So why was this any different?
He spent more time on picking his outfit than usual — he wanted to look nice, but he didn’t want to look like he spent too much thought in it or come across as desperate. And he even contemplated putting on a little more make-up than he normally did. Remus often wore some degree of make-up; mascara, eyeliner, maybe a bit of eyeshadow if he felt especially fancy. Maybe he could go for the eyeshadow and add a hint of eyeliner? Would Logan notice that? Or, more importantly, would he think anything of it?
(Again, why did Remus care about what Logan might think of him? If he wanted to wear eyeshadow, he was going to wear eyeshadow, right? What did someone’s opinion on that matter? Plenty of people would have something to say about him wearing any sort of make-up, so why did he care about this of all things?)
In the end, Remus decided to wear just a hint of lipstick — it was very light and he doubted it was noticeable, but it looked nice enough — along with the mascara, eyeliner and a slight bit of green eyeshadow which made his eyes look just that bit better. According to the internet, at least. He wasn’t some make-up expert, he just followed the directions of people online who seemed to know what they were doing. Remus made sure for it not to be too much, though. He didn’t want to seem desperate and he also didn’t want to go to work with an extravagant look. But it looked pretty.
He made it to the cafe where they’d be meeting rather early, yet Logan had beaten him there either way. It wasn’t anything fancy, since neither of them wanted to have to spend hours and hours in a restaurant waiting for their food. They didn’t have the time anyways, since they were expected at their job at six.
As he saw Logan sitting at a table at the window, Remus' heart made a little jump and he had to take a breath or two before he actually walked up to the other.
“Hey there,” Remus smiled as he approached, feeling more nervous than he ever had in his entire life. He didn’t understand. He’d rarely felt nervous. What was this guy doing to him and why was his heart going fifty miles a second? “Is this seat taken?”
Logan looked up from his phone and smiled at Remus. “Now it is,” he nodded as he put his phone aside, still looking at the man in front of him. “You look… good.”
“Thanks,” Remus said softly as he sat down. Logan was almost unfairly handsome. He always was, but tonight… there was something about it that made it… different. Remus couldn’t lay his finger on it, but something was different. Had he done his hair differently tonight? Or maybe it was his glasses, or- “You too. Is that eyeliner I spot?”
“It is,” Logan said, adjusting his glasses with a smile that made Remus’ breath hitch for a second. This man was prettier than anyone he’d ever seen. And Remus had seen a lot of people in his life. “I’d ask you the same question, but I think I know the answer.”
Remus let out a soft chuckle. “I think that’s rather obvious, yeah,” he laughed. “I felt like it. Haven’t had a better reason to go all out lately, so why not?”
“That’s a fair decision,” Logan nodded. “It looks good on you.”
“Thanks.”
There was a short silence that was broken by a waitress coming up to their table to take their orders. Remus took a quick look at the menu before giving his order. After that…
Why was it so damned difficult to start a conversation right now? It wasn’t as if this was the first time they’d spoken, it wasn’t the first time they’d been together. But for some reason, it was so difficult to speak right now. Remus’ heart was beating so loudly that he feared Logan would hear it in their brief silence. Why was it so damned difficult to talk?
“Tell me about yourself,” Logan said after their casual conversation had died down. “I don’t think I know that much about you.”
“What do you want to know?”
Logan shrugged. “Anything you deem interesting enough.”
Remus bit his lower lip as he repeated those words. What was interesting enough to talk about? God, he didn’t even know. He didn’t like talking about himself. He liked getting attention and he liked talking to others, but he didn’t enjoy it when the conversation shifted to him. He didn’t mind but he had so many more interesting things to talk about. Yet somehow, he couldn’t think of any of those subjects right now. It was as if his brain short circuited and it was incredibly frustrating.
“I’m afraid I don’t have that many interesting facts about myself,” he finally answered.
“There must be something,” Logan pressed. “How did you end up here?”
“In this job?” Logan hummed in response, confirming this and Remus nodded. “I started bartending as a side job, to pay for university. And I guess… I never quite stopped. I liked it, so I continued. I got this job about two years back.”
“What did you study?”
“Chemistry and theatre.’”
Logan raised his eyebrows. “Those are two very different studies.”
“Trust me,” Remus said with a chuckle. “I’ve heard that all the time. What can I say? I’m a person with broad interests.”
“It would seem so.”
“I work my ass into debt and end up doing something entirely unrelated,” Remus scoffed. “Could have saved myself a whole lot of money, but life wouldn’t have it, I suppose.”
They fell silent for a bit when their food arrived. But after that, it seemed to be far easier to have those conversations. As it turned out, Logan had studied to be a teacher — coincidentally, a chemistry teacher. However, it was rather difficult to find a good job in the area and Logan needed some form of money to afford to live. So that was where the new job came in.
“It seems like a good thing that you couldn’t find a job, then,” Remus said with a small grin. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have met.”
“I suppose so,” Logan said, a small smile playing on his lips. “There is a silver lining to anything, it would seem.”
“It would seem that way, wouldn’t it?” Remus pushed his now-empty plate aside and leaned forwards a little. “You’re doing a great job, though.”
“Why, thank you.” Logan gave Remus another one of those smiles that made his heart beat a little faster before he turned away to look at his watch. “I think we’d better round off and get to work.”
“That late?” Remus hummed as he grabbed his phone to check the time. It felt like they’d only been talking for a couple of minutes, but one look at the time told him that they needed to be at work in a little over twenty minutes — though, luckily, it was only ten to fifteen minutes to get there from here. “You’re right. Let’s get going.”
On his insistence, Remus paid for the meal. Logan didn’t quite agree, but Remus had already paid before the other could even make an attempt at a full protest.
“Too slow,” Remus grinned as they made their way outside.
“Next one’s on me, then.” Logan held open the door for the other and followed Remus out on the street.
At first, Remus hummed and took it as a fair deal. But that was before the words really sunk in. Because when they did sink in, Remus stopped in his tracks for a second, needing a moment. He didn’t mishear this, right? He heard this correctly, right?
“Are you saying there’s going to be a next one?”
Logan stopped as Remus did, though a few steps ahead of him. He turned around, head slightly tilted as he looked at the other. “I’d like that,” he said with a calculated nod.
“Me too,” Remus grinned, his heart beating a little faster in excitement. He had trouble believing that someone would actually want to go out with him. It wasn’t often that this happened to him. He quickly started walking again, taking Logan’s hand in his to drag the other along. “We better get to work first, though. Come on.”