#x reader romance

Another night full of cleaning glasses and listening to drunk losers ramble about how lonely they were was definitely not your idea of a fun way to spend your friday night.

But, bartending was what paid the bills. You lived in a small studio apartment close to the bar, and you’d been working as a bartender here for almost 3 months now.

You loved the money it brought in, especially when they drunk guys would pile on tips because you were, to quote them directly, “too pretty not to”. You knew it was the alcohol talking, but took the money happily.

However, the bartending job was rather boring most nights. Sure, it was eventful, but not the type of entertainment that you were looking for. You didn’t care for the drunken bar fights, you wanted someone to come and talk to you. Have a meaningful conversation, not just some drunk blabber.

You secretly hoped that sometime soon, someone interesting would come by and make your night shift a little more exciting, but so far, no luck.

As you cleaned the shot glasses and filed them back into their resting places, you felt your coworker tap you on the shoulder.

“Can you take over the beer tap? I have to run to the washroom” she said before scurrying off to the staff washroom.

You gladly took over, because usually the beer tap was a lot slower paced than the rush of the shots you would pour for the big groups.

The slower pace sometimes meant a good conversation here and there, even if they were few and far between.

As you stood by the beer tap and waited around for someone to order, you decided to make yourself busy cleaning the counter off, as there had been many spilled drinks throughout the night.

That was another thing about being a bartender that you didn’t particularly enjoy; you’d come home every night smelling of alcohol and no matter how much you wanted to save your shower for the morning, you’d be forced to take a shower at the early hours of the morning before you crawled into bed.

Luckily, the bar was within walking distance of your apartment so you never had to drive home. You couldn’t imagine getting pulled over for some routine traffic stop and the officer smelling the disgusting amount of alcohol that had leeched onto your clothes.

You grabbed a washcloth from below the register, and brought it over to the bar counter.

You got the cleaning spray from behind the sink, and started to clean the counter.

Soon, you noticed someone come up to the bar in front of the beer tap, so you looked up to see if they were wanting to order anything.

You made eye contact with a man, who was looking around aimlessly, seeming almost bored.

Not the usual type of customer you got, you thought to yourself.

“Is there anything I can get you?” you asked him.

“Oh, uh not at the moment, thank you” he replied, making eye contact with you.

You figured you would just let him sit for a while until he decided what he wanted to order, and you got back to your cleaning.

You didn’t expect much conversation, because most of the men here were preoccupied with the giant TV that displayed their favorite sports.

But not this man.

“So, how long have you been working here?” he asked suddenly.

You assumed he would be totally disinterested and didn’t expect him to spark up a conversation, but nonetheless paused your cleaning to respond.

“Nearly 3 months now. Just picked it up to pay the bills, you know?” you replied.

“Ah, I see. You ever get any weirdos coming in?” he asked.

“Not really, just the drunk “frat bros” and old guys who don’t have much manners. But no, nobody too weird to be honest” you responded. You appreciated the conversation, as it took your mind off of how boring the night had been.

“You know what, lemme order a beer. You want one too? It’s on me” the man sitting across from you asked.

“No, thank you. I can’t drink on the job. But I’ll get that beer ready for you” you replied, grabbing a beer glass and pouring him a drink.

“Oh, right. Forgot you can’t drink on the job. I guess I’ll just have to buy you one another time then, when you’re not working” he said with a flirty smile.

“You’re gonna have to at least ask me my name first” you responded, a bit surprised by his forwardness, but not put off by it.

“Oh my gosh, that’s so embarrassing. I’m asking you to get drinks and we don’t even know each others names. I’m Gabriel, Gabe for short. And you are…?”

“Y/N. It’s nice to meet you, Gabe” you replied.

“So, I’m not hearing a “no” about that drink offer…” he said with a grin, taking a sip of his beer.

“You’re gonna have to try a little harder, you’ve only known me for…” you glanced at your watch, “…a whopping 10 minutes” you laughed.

“Okay, okay. You’re right, let me earn that drink with you” he said before turning to pull something out of his wallet.

He placed a 10$ bill on the counter gently, and took his beer with him towards the darts area, but only after looking over his shoulder to see if you had been watching him.

You made sure to look away as soon as he looked your direction, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had at least piqued your interest.

You made a mental note of his short brown hair, his captivating brown eyes, and that awful smirk that he gave you. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t a little interested, but you knew you were much harder to get than just a 10 minute conversation.

He was going to have to earn that drink with you.

A while later, you noticed him leave the bar, not caring much about it as you returned to pouring shots. Your friend had come back from the washroom while he was still chatting with you, but she had let you finish talking before swooping in and taking her station again.

Honestly, you appreciated that, because even though it wasn’t the most stimulating conversation, it was conversation nonetheless. God knows you needed something to keep you entertained.

After another hour of bartending, the bar was set to close in around 30 minutes. People began to leave, and you began to clean the tables.

As you were cleaning the tables, you noticed a slip of paper with a number scribbled on it was left on one of them.

“to: Y/N *insert number here* ~Gabe” you read.

You laughed to yourself, knowing that he must be thinking he’s so smart leaving his number like that for you to find.

You threw the number into the trash along with all the leftover napkins and food stuffs that had been left on the tables. He was going to have to try a little harder than that to get you to go out with him.

You finished cleaning and said your goodbyes, and made your way back home.

You arrived at your apartment just past 3:00 am, and begrudgingly hopped into the shower. All you wanted was to crawl into bed, but the lingering smell of spilled alcohol was too much.

You let the hot water relax your body, anticipating the comfort of your bed after you showered.

You finished your shower and got ready for bed, finally getting to rest your feet as you climbed into bed. You fell asleep the moment your head hit the pillow.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The following morning, or should I say afternoon considering you woke up at 12:30, was slow. You made yourself coffee, turned on your favorite TV show, and kicked your feet up. Your bartending shift didn’t start until 6:00 pm tonight, so you had some time to relax.

After watching TV for a while, you got up and cleaned your apartment while listening to some music.

The time flew by, because by the time you finally looked at the clock, it was 4:00 pm and you had to start getting ready for work.

You threw on your usual outfit, which consisted of a grey button up uniform top, a leather mini-skirt, and knee high black boots.

You curled your hair before throwing it into a loose ponytail, did your makeup, and gathered your purse before checking the time— 5:30 pm. You had left yourself just enough time to grab a coffee on your walk to work.

You headed out the door and made your way down the stairwell to the exit of the apartment.

The street was bustling with the early evening traffic, and you saw the sun beginning to set in the distance. Thank God for the summer sunset, you hated walking to work at your old job during the winter, because it would get so dark so early.

You passed by the coffee shop and grabbed a small coffee before continuing on your way to work.

You arrived at work around 5:45, with just enough time to get set up before the bar opened. The building that your bar was in also had another daytime bar that was open until 6:00, but you worked in the bar that was attached to the club, so you only opened when the club opened.

You cleaned glasses and wiped tables, refilled straw holders and redistributed the table cards that advertised the drink of the day. Today’s drink of the day was the Aperol Spritz, one of your favourites. Luckily you weren’t allowed to drink on the job, or you’d be spending your hard earned money on a nice drink.

Your coworker Abby came in 5 minutes after you arrived, greeting you before heading to the back office to get ready.

The bouncers for the club usually came through the bar too, so you got to say hello before they headed to their spot.

As much as you sometimes hated how much drama the club brought in, it sure did bring in lots of customers who tipped well, so you were expecting a good night.

The club opened and in turn, so did the bar. Slowly people began to file in, mostly sticking to the club for the first few minutes.

A few people came up and ordered drinks for their group before heading back onto the floor of the club.

The music was loud, the air was stuffy, and the usual crowd was boring as ever.

The thought of the talkative man from last night coming to see you again didn’t even cross your mind. Until you heard a familiar voice.

“So, you come here often?” Gabriel joked to you.

“No, this is my first time here actually. Got any drink recommendations?” you joked back, continuing to clean glasses.

“I do, in fact. The—“ you saw him glance at the card on the counter that displayed the drink of the day “—aperol spritz is quite lovely, I highly recommend. I’ll actually order one now, please” he said with a smile.

“Oh, I see. Well I might have to try it some time” you replied, playing along as you made him his drink.

“Maybe I can take you out to try it then” he said with a smile as you handed his drink to him.

You laughed lightly, admiring his gentle persistence.

“You really are dedicated, I’ll give you that” you said, placing the clean glasses back on the shelf.

“Well I can’t just let any old guy in here swoop in and take you you out before I get the chance, can I? I’ve gotta shoot my shot while I still can” Gabriel replied with a joking tone, but truth still lingered in his sentence.

“Oh trust me, there are very few men in this joint who would even give me the time of day if I wanted them to. Most just demand a beer and walk off” you said, trying to sound lighthearted, but poorly masking the truth behind your statement; most of the men here were…well, men. Not bothering much polite conversation, just getting their drink and leaving.

“They don’t know what they’re missing out on” Gabriel responded.

“You don’t even know what they’re missing out on, Gabriel. You’ve only known me for a day” you said back.

“And in those almost-24 hours, I’ve already gathered that you are somebody I’d really like to get to know better” he replied, his eyes meeting yours briefly.

Your thoughts slowed for a moment. It had been a very long time since any guy had shown any amount of interest in you, and you had to take in the things you were hearing. It wasn’t like some ground-breaking confession, but he was being honest about wanting to get to know you more, and it made you feel warm inside.

“Well then, let’s start now” you said to him, thinking for a moment about what to ask him.

“What do you do for work? You obviously already know what I do, but I haven’t heard much about your life outside this bar” you asked.

He appeared to hesitate for a moment before responding,

“Im an actor. Nothing big, I mean I’ve had a few roles in movies, but you know…” he trailed off.

“You don’t sound nearly as proud of that career as I would be. Hell, that’s my dream career. I’ll trade with you right now” you half joked.

He laughed and cracked a smile.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, I just worry that I might seem too self-absorbed if I really show how passionate I am about my job” he replied.

“I’d say you have every right to brag, God knows I would” you said looking down at the counter for a moment.

Truth is, you had always wanted to pursue acting, but your parents never supported it, they thought school was more important. Which, you didn’t necessarily disagree with. You had simply wanted to do both.

“Well thanks for the much-needed confidence boost, Y/N” Gabriel said with a laugh.

“Anytime” you replied.

You noticed the crowding around the bar was less now, more people had moved onto the dance floor of the club.

You were secretly happy about it, because less crowd meant more talking to Gabriel.

“So, now that I know what you do for work, do you live around here?” you asked.

“I live about 30 minutes away if I’m walking, but I usually take a cab here so…let’s say I live about 10 minutes away” he said, clearly thinking hard about his statement to make it as accurate as possible.

“I see. And you like it?” you asked.

“Like living around here? Yeah, it’s really nice. I grew up here actually, but I moved away for a while to work on a small film project. I missed it so much that I ended up coming back” Gabriel replied.

“Alright, final question mystery boy, what brings you into the bar? I mean other than the fantastic drinks I make” you said with a wink.

“I just come to unwind after a long day. Honestly, it’s not even the drinks that relax me. It’s the conversation, the social aspect of it all, that I come here for” he replied, “which is why I like talking to you so much”.

“I have to say the same, Gabriel. I live for the good conversation here, as scarce as it is. Talking to you is…fun” you admitted, trying not to sound too overly excited.

“I could say the same” he replied, meeting your eyes again. You could feel your cheeks heat up, the blush creeping onto your face. God, his eyes sure were mesmerizing. Truth be told, you hadn’t taken a very good look at him yet, beyond just making a mental note of the basics.

You noticed his slightly muscular shoulders, his confident posture, and his gentle smile.

It wasn’t long before you had to turn away to hide the fact that you were indeed blushing, so you found yourself organizing the display of liquor behind you.

It needed to be organized anyways, but everybody usually just avoided it until it became too disorganized to function. Today you were grateful for that.

“Well, it was lovely talking to you again. I’ll see you around, Y/N” Gabriel said as he took the last sip of his drink, before placing the empty glass back on the counter.

“Nice to see you again, Gabriel” you said sincerely.

He walked over to the pool table to join some guys, who you assumed were his friends, given the way they were nudging him teasingly and pointing over to you.

You took his glass, and noticed a 10$ bill underneath it. He had already paid his tab, so this was a tip just for you.

You pocketed it, letting yourself smile briefly before returning to your work. You glanced over at him a few times, catching his eye every now and again.

The rest of the night was dull as usual, but you didn’t pay it much notice, because your mind was preoccupied with Gabriel.

Somehow, he had crept his way into the spotlight of your mind. Slowly but surely, you felt that unmistakable warmth in your chest, and you hoped that these late night conversations with Gabriel could blossom into something more.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Your heart pounded and your hands trembled in your pockets until you were far enough down the street to safely assume they would not stop you. You knew what happened to those unlucky enough to somehow provoke the half-breeds, regardless of intention, so you hurried along toward the clinic without looking back once.

When you reached the small, rundown clinic, you were met at the door by a girl in a nurse's uniform who placed her hands on her hips and scowled at you. “You're late!”

You pushed by her and dropped the duffel bag from your shoulder, flopping it onto a nearby cot. You unzipped it and pulled out your own uniform. "My alarm clock didn't go off."

The other girl stood leaning in the door way as you stepped into an empty patient slot and slid the dirty curtain closed. "Terrian is gonna be pissed at you,” she said. 

You emerged from behind the curtain in a white button-up shirt that was a little too tight and a skirt that was way too short. “He'll get over it."

"Yeah, as soon as he see's you."

You laughed. "You're jealous, Anna."

"Because that perverted freak lets you get away with anything?" Anna asked. She was so petite that even the smallest, tightest uniforms Terrian had given them seemed to fit her just right.

"No, because I look better in the uniform."

Both of you laughed as you laid out your supplies on rickety metal tables, organizing them neatly into categories according to how often they were used. The alcohol, thread, and needles were first in line, followed by bandages, then ointments and creams.

The door leading to the main treatment room flung open and a man with shoulder-length, pale blonde hair tied into a short ponytail walked in. He wore wide-rimmed glasses and a lab coat covered in blood stains. He looked angry as he approached, glaring at you, but suddenly froze when he rounded the metal tables and the full length of you came into view.

He smiled brightly, wrapping you into a hug. "You wore it today!"

Anna rolled her eyes and brushed her bangs, the longest part of her auburn hair, away from her face with her hand.

You pulled free from Terrian and adjusted your ill-fitting clothes. "It's the only uniform I had clean."

"And it's my favorite," Terrian said, then glanced toward Anna. "Stingy Anna always wears pants, even though I beg her to wear the skirt with the slit up the side."

Anna gave him a dirty look and he gave her a grin in return. He looked over the supplies then held out a thick stack of papers. "Look at all this. These are all patients who left the clinic in the last month and haven't returned for their checkups. Next week I'll be making a lot of house calls."

Both you and Anna frowned. You hated it when Terrian made house calls. He was the only doctor at the clinic, and you two were the only nurses. Things were hectic enough with the three of you, but when he was gone, the clinic was thrown into absolute chaos.

"Anyway," he spoke up, "we have a lot of patients waiting already. Let's get to work!"

You and Anna had no formal training, had not even finished high school, but you had both been living on the streets three years ago when Terrian approached you about working for him. He taught you two the basics, and the rest you learned over time. In this city, injured people couldn't be picky.

Together, you and Anna wheeled your metal supply tables through the swinging doors into the main treatment area of the clinic. Cots were lined up in two rows, facing each other, for the entire length of the large room. There was only enough room for one person to walk between each cot, and all but a few were occupied. People were moaning, screaming, crying, or unconscious. Anyone not in mortal danger was sent home after being stitched or bandaged up.

Illnesses were not often treated, as serious diseases were most often fatal no matter what the doctor did, but injuries were extremely common. Blood dripped from nearly every cot in the room, and a few patients were bandaged to the point of looking like mummies. You and Anna had both learned quickly to develop strong stomachs.

The two of you were checking on a patient that had been brought in last night with a chopped off leg when Terrian came zooming past you, pushing a stretcher.

"Emergency surgery!" he called, disappearing into the room you had just changed in.

You both dropped what you were doing and ran after him, then stopped dead in your tracks as soon as you were through the doors, staring at the figure on the stretcher.

"Doctor, that's... one of them,” Anna said, her voice almost a whisper. 

The man on the stretcher wore an ornate military uniform - black pants and a long black jacket with golden buttons up the front and matching trim along the cuffs and collar. The uniform was instantly recognizable to every single person in the city, because only they wore them. His skin was ghostly white and his hair a jet-black mess scattered across his face.

Terrian was ripping that glorious black uniform from the man’s motionless body. "I know what he is, Anna, but he's still a patient. And right now, he's dying unless we can stop the bleeding."

You and Anna hesitated just inside the door, looking at each other and then back to the man. Anna shook her head. "I can't... I can't help him. Not after all they've done."

Terrian stopped and looked at her. At first, you were sure he would scold her, but he merely sighed and nodded. "I understand. Go tend to the other patients."

You watched the other girl leave, then turned to Terrian. He looked at you with a pleading expression. "He'll be dead within the hour if we don't do anything."

You took a deep breath, then rushed over to Terrian's side. He held out his hands while you poured alcohol over them, then rinsed your own. Looking down at the young man, he seemed fragile, vulnerable. Almost human. His torso was exposed, revealing a long, deep cut across his abdomen that was gushing out blood. Funny how his body was absolutely impeccable, toned to lean perfection and resembling a stone statue, but marred by that huge red gash.

The cut was so long, and the bleeding so severe, that each of you began stitching on separate ends of the wound so that you would meet in the middle to tie things off. A sloppy job, yes, but the fastest route to closing the wound. He would heal faster than normal people, would probably be fine in a matter of hours, but only if you stopped the bleeding.

Once you and the doctor were finished, you again cleaned the wound and Terrian began bandaging the patient up. "Amazing, isn't it?" he asked when he was done, "It won't even leave a scar. Not on him."

You washed your hands in the nearby sink and thought of Anna. "It's not fair."

"Of course it's not," Terrian told you, wiping the blood from his hands on a stained towel. "Nothing in this world ever is.”

You dried your hands and walked again through the swinging doors. Anna was changing the bandages on a young girl's arm, but looked up when you approached. "How could you stand it? Helping that thing?"

"I didn't enjoy it, okay? But he would've died. This is a clinic, Anna. We're supposed to help dying people."

Anna stood up and stepped away from the young girl's bedside. "Yeah, people. Not them."

"But he's half human, isn't he? Isn't that enough?"

Anna snorted. "Was that enough to stop those creatures from barging into my house and slitting my mom's throat? Was it enough to stop them from crushing my brother's head under their boots? Was it enough to stop them from... from what they did to me?!"

You went silent. You didn't know what to say. You knew the half-breeds had killed most of Anna's family, but you had yet to hear any details before now. Finally, you reached out and took the other girl's hand. "I'm sorry, Anna. I'm really sorry."

Anna pulled you into a hug. "I know. I'm sorry I jumped down your throat. I just don't want to see you be hurt by them too."

"I don't think he's in a position to hurt anyone right now," you told her after you separated. "He's not even conscious."

Anna looked toward the swinging doors. "Be careful. Even when they look harmless, they're still dangerous."

You nodded, and wheeled your cart over to the other side of the room. You stopped at the bed of an elderly man who was missing both his feet. He was sweating and breathing heavily. You took his blood pressure and wrote the results in a tablet. He looked up at you with astonishingly kind eyes.

"If the nurses look like this, I'm gonna have to get my feet cut off more often," he said with a chuckle.

You pulled back the sheet to check his bandages. "You sure are a charmer, Mr. Renaldo," you said as you began unrolling the strips of cloth.

"Don't believe a word he says!" Anna called across the room, "I told him yesterday he could hold my hand while Terrian stitched him up and he said he'd rather hold my ass!"

Rhoswen stopped cleaning the bloody stumps where feet used to be long enough to lightly slap his shoulder. "You shameless flirt!"

He laughed and looked at the man in the bed next to him, who didn't seem to be in such good spirits. "Can't blame me for trying, can you?"

The other man gave a weak smile and looked away.

"Now now, let's not disturb the other patients," you said gently.

"Everybody's so glum. That's what those damn Pagoda want," he said.

You finished his bandages and patted him on the arm. You bent down and whispered to him, "Thanks for cheering us up, Mr. Renaldo."

The next few hours went by steadily but quickly, as you made your way around the room checking on people, giving out soup, changing bandages, and occasionally holding someone's hand while Terrian performed some sort of painful procedure.

Unfortunately, pain relievers were as rare and expensive as genuine jewels were in the olden days, when the sky was still blue. The only way to put a patient to sleep was to quite literally knock them out with a blunt instrument, which was a last resort.

The clinic was dirty and crowded and in shambles. The people were desperate, demanding, and understandably irritable. But you liked being there. You liked being with Anna and even Terrian, who could at least make you smile. You liked helping people who were suffering, because you enjoyed seeing a tiny flicker of hope in their eyes.

Because you could almost grasp a little bit of hope for yourself.

The clinic was all you had after your parents died. And everyday you dreaded returning to your tiny apartment where hope drained from every inch of you like red sun fading into black night. But at least you could always come back the next day, where you could laugh with Anna and everything else would fall away into dust.

It was almost time to go home, and all the patients had been taken care of. Anna left out the front door, not wanting to walk through the back room where she would have to see the lone patient on the stretcher.

You waved to Terrian, who was making one last run around the room to check everyone over, then walked into the back room. The young man was still unconscious and the rest of his clothes had been removed, a sheet draped over his body. You crept up to the stretcher and looked down, watching him breathe. After feeling certain that he was indeed unconscious, you walked into the empty patient slot you had changed in earlier and pulled the curtain closed.

You couldn't walk home in your uniform, as it was dangerous enough for a girl to be alone on the streets in the evenings, but wearing an outfit like that was a definite no. You quickly pulled it off, then reached for your jeans. But before you could even unfold them, you heard the curtain suddenly fly open.

You whirled around in anger, certain that perverted Terrian would be standing there grinning like an idiot. But you were not met with the smiling doctor, but the cold, expressionless face of the now conscious patient. His eyes, one blue and the other lime-green, bore into you, unblinking.

He was completely naked, save for the bandage across his abdomen, and you tried your best to keep your eyes on his face.

You suddenly realized that you were only in your underwear, and backed up until you bumped into a cot, holding your jeans in front of you. The man’s eyes never left you, and your heart was pounding rapidly in your chest. You had never been face-to-face with a half-breed before, not in this close proximity.

There was a pause, where both of you stared at each other for several moments, not moving. Then, in the blink of an eye, the man lunged forward and was inches away from you. You jerked backward, inadvertently ramming yourself into the cot where the metal collided with your bare back. You dropped to your knees, wincing.

When you looked back up, the half-breed was looming over you, and suddenly reached out one hand toward you. You had seen what the hands of half-breeds could do, had treated many a patient who had somehow ran into one of them. In fact, just today you had bandaged up a woman who's left arm had been pulled right off, like the wings off a fly, by a half-breed.