A/N: Another one of my lackadaisical whims. Clearly this is based off the general idea of the anime, Bartender...Since this category is horridly lacking, I thought, well why not. I'm going to start a series of one shots using bartender, and well, any other series that seems fun to do. This is the first one.

I do not own Bartender.
I also do not own Mai HiME.

Bartender: Lovers' Cocktail

The roads were slick with rain, but that didn't bother her as it pelted down from all sides. She just continued to ride on, looking for the name of the new bar that her fiends were already at. Their usual spot was down for remodeling, and her friend had found a newer, classier place, deep in the heart of Tokyo. The woman hadn't left work early, and instead had stayed later, just so that she could look at the maps online studying the roads.

She didn't think her plan would hit such a snag. Now that she was driving in a storm, she found herself unable to easily navigate the area. She didn't come into Tokyo often...never in fact. She made a point to avoid busy places, where she would have to drive slow. The speed demon that she was got easily bothered by it. She would need to find a place to stop, and gather her bearings.

She parked her bike and looked around, discovering a very average looking place. A wooden door was not nearly enough to state what gifts hid behind the threshold. The sign was a tiny little thing, in a silver plating. "Eden Hall." Squinting as she'd read it. "Funny name for a bar." She muttered to herself. No one would notice it, if they weren't looking for it. The woman glanced around and sighed.

She wanted to get out of the rain, and this was the only way she could, for now.

Slipping through the thick wooden door, one meant to keep those unwelcome out, she marveled at the weight. This wasn't her usual haunt, but, still it was divine. It was dark, not unfriendly. Cozy, but not cramped. Still, there was no one else to indulge in the drink. The person that was there, was one man. A kind looking bartender, who seemed a bit over dressed for the occasion. After all, until she had entered, he had been alone. Still, he seemed to be waiting, amber eyes glinting in the slightest of worry.

Without even saying a word, he placed down a simple napkin, and nodded gently.

Rain water dripped from her biking leathers, leaving a puddle that was being sucked in by the door mat. "Slow night?" The woman asked from behind the helmet she had on, a soft husk to her voice, defeated, and tired. It was odd to walk into a bar on a weekend, and not actually see anyone enjoying themselves. Her eyes trailed to look under the tables, just to see if someone might be hiding, but, she came to one conclusion. She was the only one there, besides the man who cloaked himself in near perfection. "Or did you just open, maybe?"

"Not at all. I've been open for hours." He said with a cool laugh. "You're here after all, so I wouldn't call the night slow, either."

She accepted his humorous words for what little they seemed to be worth. "No need to entertain me." She explained as she sat down. "I won't be staying long, just until the rain lets up." It seemed as if something was off. Such a classy place like this, without anyone else to enjoy the ambiance, had to be unheard of. "I would like something to drink while I wait." Still, she attributed it to the fact that it wasn't well advertised. A hole in the wall establishment, perhaps. One that only particular locals, and the occasional lost woman would know about.

That had to be it...why this place was so empty.

"A passer by, looking to share in the land of milk and honey while she waits." A penny for the troubles of mankind, that seemed to be this man's motto. "I see." With his jet black hair slicked back, and his easy going mannerisms, it was easy to see that he was happy for the company. Almost, as if he'd been awaiting it. "And, what would you like to drink?"

"Oh, I don't know." The woman shrugged. "Anything will do."

"Something to help keep your thoughts company." He said aloud, as if weighing his options. "Or perhaps, quell them altogether?" His questions went unanswered, the woman just shrugged again.

"I'm not picky." She muttered then.

"Well, if I may, I shall surprise you." He quickly got to work, preparing the woman's drink. He stirred kahlua and tequila with ice, before straining it into a cocktail glass and decorated it with a cherry. "This should be to your liking, Miss." He gave a small bow as he presented the drink. "It's known as a lovers' cocktail."

"Thanks." She told him. "You like irony, don't you?" She pulled off the helmet that covered her face, and midnight tresses fell freely down her back, spilling over her shoulders. Emerald eyes blinked away the stress of the day, and she took to great efforts pulling off her leather gloves. "Of all the drinks to get in a bar."

"Does it dissatisfy you?" He asked her, to which she merely denied the claim, and took a sip. "Are you sure you wouldn't like something else?" He asked again.

"I'm sure." Her eyes wandered around the room, the dim lights were something that soothed her, and the barkeeper was a soft and gentle man. It only added to the tranquility. "I just think that you got really lucky." She considered her statement. "Or, that you're some sort of stalker." At his slight frown, she smirked at him. "Either one works for me." She partook of some more liquid in her glass. "It doesn't matter anyway, the irony isn't lost on me, no matter what way you put it."

"People are funny like that." His mellow voice wafted so easily, like a gentle melody. "Saying things don't matter, when in fact, it's the most important thing in the world to them." He said, as he leaned over ever so slightly. "The interesting thing about bars, is that people go there in search of something."

"I'm sure that's not always the case." She averted her eyes from his warm stare. It was uncomfortable that he seemed to be seeing through her.

"Always, without fail." He told her then. "The person who walks through the doors of a bar, with such a door as mine, comes seeking something." He smiled softly. "Could it be, that you're also in search of something?"

"Answers." The woman muttered. "But you can't help me with that buddy, it's way over your head."

"Nothing is over the head of a person who merely wishes to lend an ear." His casual reply drew the woman in, and she finally relented, leaning heavily on the fine wood of the bar.

"My name is Natsuki." She licked her lips, and returned to her drink, sipping on it before sighing. "This is stupid. It doesn't matter what my name is."

"It matters, even if it only remains important in the shadows." The bartender told her plainly. "Perhaps, it matters to the one you hold in your heart."

"Excuse me!" She spluttered, coughing. "How the hell do you know something like that!?"

"Bartenders are uncanny people." He replied cryptically. "In any case, your name is unimportant, or so you say, Natsuki." With the mildest of shrugs that he could produce, he nodded his head a little in her direction. "However, if it were the case, you wouldn't even have a name. I believe all names are important, as are the stories that come in and out of this bar. All of them, they come from a name, just like yours." He was sure to keep his tone even, and his eyes as gentle as they could be. "Simple words can become great things. This person, they are undoubtedly more than a name too."

"Shizuru..." Natsuki stammered then. "Her name is Shizuru."

"Tell me about her." He said with interest.

Natsuki obliged.

…

Well, I guess, I should start with the beginning. Though, I don't think it'll sound as good as you think it will.

Events from my past not withstanding, I thought to myself many things, when I first saw Shizuru. On our first few meetings, it seemed a bit like I was being followed around. She wasn't exactly keen on letting me out of her sight. It bothered me, and I used to make jokes, telling her she was a stalker...but I used to do it in a mean way. I didn't want her around, you know.

She was just, well, to be blunt...she was this weird girl that wouldn't leave me alone. Everyone loved her, and her popularity was giving me unwanted attention, because really, whenever she talked to someone everyone knew about it...I really didn't want little squawking girls chasing me down.

Shizuru's the kind of woman that has a lot of fans. When we were still in school, merely by standing in one place, everyone was drawn to her.

She grew on me, as a friend of course. Don't give me that look! I couldn't help it, alright? When you have someone hanging on you like glue all the time, following you around so that you can't escape, you have no choice but to get used to them. I hated it at first...but then, it turned into mild disinterest...and then...well, we just somehow became friends. It's weird to say that word when talking about her.

Trust me buddy, there's an entire slew of reasons that I don't want to get into...just trust me on this...calling Shizuru a friend is weird.

Shizuru's just naturally the type, that if she wants to do something, she'll do it. A real go-getter, but, she's also got this relaxed side to her. Very easy going, and not at all stern...it's just weird, in a lot of ways. Things she can tell...the stuff she can see beyond...it get's freaky really quick. When she notices a person, well, you get my drift. She's just got a gift to read other people around her.

A friend has a close bond with you, and you know that closeness will forever be engrained and an identity that the two of you share...best friends hold secrets, they know things...and Shizuru's unusually sharp for a person. You know how it goes though, right? Well, things just happened...and with us...oh man, did they ever. So much so, right now, I don't know if I'm coming or going.

Shizuru's kind of, well, how do I put this...flirty. That's it, she flirts a lot. Sometimes, it's just a few perverse jokes she just tosses out into the open...and other times...she says truthful things to embarrass me. I don't mind it...when she does. Anyway...we've kind of...been well...um...

…

"Dating?" He asks with a slight twinkle in his eye.

"Yeah, that." Natsuki coughed before looking away for a few moment. "Not like, dating...but kinda...sorta..."

"So, let me see if I can fathom this." He said then, as he replenishes Natsuki's drink with ease. "You're kind of dating a friend of yours, who is a woman. You are close to her, for several reasons, though, you do not wish to share them, correct?" He asks with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Yeah." Natsuki agrees lamely. "It's complicated, and stupid, and it takes more time than you have booze, I guarantee that much." Natsuki told him as she peered down into her drink. "Anyway, we started dating a few years back."

"This is a cause for concern." He could see that it was. He had no need to question that fact, but, he wished to know the reason. "Why?" He was good at talking to people, drawing forth answers from between lips that normally stayed sealed. That was his specialty.

Her fingers toyed with the condensation on her glass, as she released a vexatious sigh. "Shizuru and I, well, we aren't the type of people to talk freely. We just can't seem to say what we both want. Call it a downfall, I guess." Natsuki shrugged. "We have a bad habit of pushing each other harder than we should, or, just not pushing hard enough." She dared to look up at him, but he didn't seem phased by her words, he merely drank them in as freely as she drank the liquid in front of her. "I wanted to be in a different place by now, really."

"Or rather, you assumed you would be." He nodded. "That is the plight found by many. A different place, a different time...hopes and dreams that are not completely unreachable...yet, they are not directly within one's grasp." Again, he merely offers his guest another one of his tasty concoctions, and then he pauses to look at the clock. Hours had gone by, and yet, it seemed as if they hadn't. He smiled at that. "Yes, that is truly a romance to be weary of."

"Trust me, I know." Natsuki nodded, though she couldn't help but feel a little aggravated at his amusement.

"Do you now?" Compassion, that's what lingered between the lines. What his eyes tried to project, while his voice remained the same.

Yes..." Natsuki admitted. "I do."

…

After some pretty unsavory events, I thought to myself, that I should avoid the situation. It was one of those times where we both sort of pushed harder than we should have. I wanted her to just give me space, but we both knew the truth. If I had that, it would destroy us both...so, Shizuru, who is good at dealing with me, I guess...she took the situation fully on her shoulders.

I am a bit stubborn, and I over think things a lot. Shizuru senses this, I'm sure. So, with her normally inviting ways, she casually dances around topics that I know would bother me.

Shizuru has a very sharp wit about her, and that can be deadly...it can also be very soft and gentle. She's untamed when she's angry. I can't contain all of the anger inside of her. Mine just sort of spills out, even when I don't want it to. Hers is so well controlled, we contrast even in that way. Sometimes, I think she holds herself back more than she should...but, Shizuru isn't bothered by it.

She was always confusing me, so, I got used to easily being flustered by her, even from the day we met. I don't know what she was trying to do. Soften me up? Calm me down? Get me to just open up and talk to her? I don't know what she wanted, because Shizuru is just the type of person that lets things flow naturally.

She won't say things, if she doesn't have to.

She eased me into the dating scene, and that was fine. Hell, I almost didn't realize it when she kissed me on the cheek. Her hugs were barely there at all, and the way her fingers would rest themselves on my shoulders, expertly eased me into her touch. I was okay with some of the things we did, because, well...I didn't notice the fact that it could mean something...I knew she cared about me, loved me...in that way. It's just that Shizuru has this way to pull you into the moment of things, and that's a skill she's always had. Normally she uses it to divert attention away from her.

With me, it was different...it was like, she could pull the attention away from what we were doing. It was like, the only thing I could think about, was how she felt. My own feelings didn't matter to me back then, and I'm thankful for that.

…

"If you'd allowed your feelings to take over, what would you have done?" The man behind the counter asked then.

"I would have kept pulling away." Natsuki shrugged. "I told you, I get thrown off guard easily when it comes to Shizuru. So, letting myself think about the type of things I was doing with her..." Natsuki bristled at the thoughts running through her mind. Sitting a bit more upright, she looked at the ceiling. "I think, if I considered it back then, I would have stumbled through a lot of things. Feelings in general, make me uneasy." When she considered that, she knew why Shizuru had approached the situation in the manner that she had. "Hell, I may have ended up pushing her away...not because I wanted to...but because I wouldn't know what to say, or what to do."

"With that revelation, why have you come to this bar?" The question itself begged for answers. He thought the woman might have difficulty answering. "Why perch upon the stool that you have, and sip spirits idly? The answer is simple to me." Tending to the souls that were lonely or lost, that's what he took pride in. He found that a drink, when prepared properly, filled the soul with answers. Beseechingly, he helped to seek them, and gift them upon the flavors that burst truth, through even one sip. "Thus, wouldn't it be simple for you?"

"That isn't the answer I need." Natsuki murmured then, just a little bit bothered. "I know that I've grown to love her, and even that, I can say easily." Her eyes slipped closed, and she shook her head. "The answers I want, I would never receive, unless I ask her." She passed a few bills in font of the man, and nodded. "I didn't come here on a whim, I just got lost...I was going to meet a few friends at the bar, drink, and sing some stupid karaoke."

"Why did you stay?" The man looked surprised, and frowned a bit. "You could have left at any time."

Natsuki shook her head. "I knock ones back with friends all the time." She slowly pulled on her gloves. "The truth is though, I'd rather drink alone." Then, she clipped on her helmet. "It's better that way, I like thinking, and just enjoying time to really put my thoughts together...without my friends meddling."

"If I may, Natsuki, what is it you would like to ask her?" His amber eyes twinkled as the wooden door opened, and she paused.

Slowly, she turned around to face the man that had offered her such a difficult task. That was not something she could just toss out into thin air, as much as she wished she could. "It's nothing important." Natsuki shrugged.

"Still, if you could ask her one thing?" He pressed a little harder. "What would that be?"

Natsuki sighed at that. "Shizuru's the kind of person, that if you have to ask her, you'll never really know. She'll just smile softly at you, and deflect the question...if I had to ask her one thing though...it would be a request." Even though he couldn't see it behind her helmet, Natsuki was pulling her lower lip between her teeth. "I would ask her to believe me, when I tell her that I love her...I know that she has doubts...and I also know...she doesn't want me to see that."

The door slipped closed like a finality, as the costumer he was serving left for the night. The room seemed lonely, but with a smile, the bartender looked down at the woman who crouched behind the bar. "Does that ease your worries?" He asked her, as shining red irises glimmered in a profound acceptance.

"Yes." Shizuru murmured as she stood from her hiding place.

"I'm glad." He nodded as she also left his side.

When he was finally alone, he washed out the glass Natsuki had used, and then he cleaned his counter. The night was good one, and he attributed it, as always, to the drink he served. As he turned off the light, Eden Hall became dark, and he too slipped beyond the door, the sanctuary closed for the night.