I am so incredibly excited to finally post this fic! Mainly because it was a collaboration with the crazy talented, incredibly sweet @karasawr who created not one, not two but eight absolutely gorgeous illustrations for this piece! She’ll post them as the story progresses and I really can’t wait for you to see them.
Jean looked up from where he was peeling pomegranates when he heard the loud clap followed by Erwin’s booming voice out in the hall.
“Alright team, gather round!”
With a quick look at the clock ticking away on the wall he rinsed his sticky fingers and removed the apron, leaving it on the counter next to the half filled bowl of red seeds. There should still be some time left until the guests arrived, he could finish here after the meeting.
When he slipped out of the kitchen and behind the bar he found most of his colleagues already gathered, Mikasa polishing glasses while Sasha and Mina bickered about who got the good pen today. Jean had started bringing his own because he was wise and very tired of his pens always running out of ink when he needed them most.
Erwin was sat on one of the bar stools, arms crossed on the counter, and watched the spectacle like it wasn’t his fault their pens sucked. On the other hand, he had tried replacing them several times but they just kept breaking. Jean would probably have given up as well by now.
“Okay”, Erwin began when the squabble had finally died down. “This will be mostly a standard affair, normal wedding celebration, about a hundred guests expected. They’ll be here in about an hour and we’ll start out with a champagne reception in the foyer. Same as always, get a table out front and two of you in the crowd.”
“What about canapés?”, Mikasa interjected as she placed the last glass back on the shelf and hung the towel up neatly. Erwin nodded.
“In the cold storage. Prepare the trays ahead of time so you just have to pick them up in the kitchen.”
Jean nodded, only momentarily distracted by the way Mikasa tucked a strand of sleek black hair behind her ear before he focused on Erwin again.
“Appetisers go out to the tables at seven, then we prepare the main buffet. Keep an eye on it, refill as needed, same old. I’ll let you know when it’s time to clean up. Mike will drop by to help in the kitchen during dinner time as well so everything should go smoothly.”
Jean nodded along, he knew this dance by now but going over the battle plan was never a bad idea to get all of them on the same page.
“Wedding cake at ten. I’ll probably also bring out the popcorn machine and the slushie maker for the kids…”
“And later the adults, right?”, Sasha grinned and got elbowed in the side by Mina.
“No vodka slushies before closing time, Sasha”, Erwin said but there was the hint of a smile in his voice before he continued. “So I might need one of you to keep an eye on those as well. But we’ll see if there’s any demand.”
There was always demand. Everyone loved the popcorn option way too much and the slushies, well … Jean grinned, already looking forward to after work drinks the next morning.
“There’s an open bar today but please still track your drinks so I know what to stock up on. Aside from that just keep your eyes open and we’ll get through this just fine. Any questions?”
“Yeah”, Jean began, looking at the three ladies by his side. “If we’re all working the room who’s our bar bitch tonight?”
“That would be me”, came a gruff voice from behind him. Jean jumped and met Erwin’s unfairly amused eyes before slowly turning around.
“Levi”, he chuckled awkwardly at the man who was scowling at him with crossed arms. That didn’t necessarily mean he was pissed, though. Levi just always looked like that. “Didn’t see you there … you tiny, terrifying man…”
Levi rolled his eyes and shoved past him with an air that screamed I will spit in all of your drinks. Jean really hoped he was reading that wrong, though.
“Alright!” Erwin clapped again and slid off the bar stool to dismiss them. “Back to what you were doing then. Jean, can you give me a hand in the kitchen real quick?”
Jean and Mikasa were still carrying boxes of glasses and crates filled with champagne bottles into the foyer and hiding them under the wide table when the front door opened and a man slipped inside. Jean shot a half-panicked, half-annoyed glance at his watch. Still fifteen minutes to go, the guy was obviously early, they weren’t done yet. But they also couldn’t send him out.
They exchanged a quick look, Jean shrugging as Mikasa pulled out a glass and moved to open the first bottle to offer him a drink.
“Oh, no no!”, the man rushed out before she could pop the champagne open, halting her in her tracks. “Please don’t hurry for me, I just wanted to drop by before everyone else starts swarming the place. You still have some time.”
His smile was so wide and warm it was almost blinding and Jean froze for a moment when the guy reached out to shake his hand. He was unfairly handsome, tan with dark eyes and darker hair, freckles smattering his soft features. The suit he wore fit him like a glove, like it was tailored.
After a few seconds delay Jean finally kicked himself back into motion and shook the man’s hand.
“I’m Marco, I’m with the wedding reception”, the guy continued, then shook Mikasa’s hand as well. “You are catering, right?”
“Yes”, Mikasa answered when Jean couldn’t find his voice fast enough. At least he managed to put on his customer service smile after a rude amount of time spent just staring at Marco.
“Great, I wanted to talk to you real quick!”
“Everything’s right on schedule”, Mikasa assured him with a polite smile. “But I can go get Mr. Smith for you if there’s anything…”
“Oh no”, Marco waved her off with a warm smile. “I’m sure everything will be perfect! No, I wanted to talk to you guys specifically.”
Jean furrowed his brows for a moment before schooling his expression back into polite anticipation. This didn’t happen all too often, guests just coming early to talk to them, not their boss but them specifically. But then again Marco seemed nice enough to at least hear him out.
“We invited lots of great people so I don’t think there will be any problems…”
We? So this guy was the groom? Jean could barely keep from rolling his eyes. Of course the one time he met a smoking hot, sweet, well dressed guy he turned out to be not only straight but also just married.
“But if there are please don’t hesitate to let me know and I’ll take care of it. I know open bars can be … hard to deal with for some people. But being drunk is no excuse to be rude and I won’t stand for anyone treating you with less than the respect you deserve.”
Jean’s pleasantly neutral expression slipped and he found himself gaping. Was this guy for real? Regardless of Marco’s real intentions, if he was being honest or just spewing platitudes, this was like a wet dream come true.
Sure, they’d had their fair share of nice customers and guests, Erwin could afford being picky with the jobs he accepted and liked to choose people that didn’t seem like complete assholes. But someone outright voicing they deserved respect and offering to defend their honour or whatever in the same breath? That was new. Jean could get used to it.
But before he could forget himself and say something stupid Mikasa had already nodded and given Marco a warm smile.
“Thank you, Sir”, she said. “We appreciate that.” Marco nodded, obviously pleased with himself.
“Let your colleagues know as well, okay? I want everyone to have a good time today and that includes you guys.”
He’d barely finished his sentence when there were voices rising on the outside of the building, shouting strings of sentences that didn’t make it through the heavy front doors.
“Shoot, they’re here already. I gotta run for the pictures”, Marco mumbled, flicking his eyes down at a tasteful, expensive watch. A wedding gift, maybe? “Sorry to have kept you from work, you’re doing a great job! I’ll stall them for a bit so you can finish up in here, okay?”
Jean cleared his throat, determined to say at least one thing before gorgeous, married Marco left again but when those dark, warm, surprisingly intense eyes landed on him he spluttered and choked.
“That … great”, he coughed, completely void of any elegance. An intrigued smile curled Marco’s lips as Jean’s cheek started to heat up. “I mean…”, he tried again, voice still rough and throat scratching. “Thanks.”
“No problem”, Marco smiled, sounding way too suave compared to Jean. And then those big, dark eyes flicked up and down Jean’s body, quick but still obvious enough to notice, taking in the black waistcoat hugging Jean’s form, the white apron wrapped tightly around narrow hips. Was Jean hallucinating or had the guy just checked him out? Maybe he wasn’t that straight after all…
But as fast as it had happened it was over again and Marco turned around with a little wave, heading back to the entry.
“I’ll see you later”, he promised with a wide smile before slipping back outside. Jean stared at the closed doors for a good few seconds after he’d disappeared.
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