Preface: Given that my last story featuring a non-binary character received a lot of comments about my use of they/them pronouns, I figured I would just give y'all a heads up right off the bat that one of the main characters in this story, who are loosely based on a couple I know in real life, identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. If that is likely to bother you, then please be aware that at least one element of this story is going to bother you as you make your decision whether you'd like to engage with it. I plan to write more about these two, and I won't do Leigh dirty and misgender them like that ;)
The few months when he and his partner, Leigh, got to work together at the Renaissance Faire were Quinn's favourite time of year. He treasured the time spent together during the work day, their easy banter, and their eye-contact-only conversations across the crowded tavern where he worked tending bar and they played the role of serving maiden. But Quinn couldn't deny that part of the appeal was the tavern maiden costume Leigh wore when they played their role of Rosamund the Serving Maid.
While Leigh found corsets
extremely
comfortable and had taken to wearing them year-round, their usual day-to-day clothing of t-shirts or sweaters and jeans or tights tended to favour comfort over style. Quinn appreciated his partner's sexiness no matter what they wore and really just wanted them to be comfortable, but he couldn't help but appreciate the way the corset-style tavern maiden dress emphasized their large breasts. Quinn knew that Leigh very much appreciated how their costume looked on themself as well, which only added to his adoration of the ensemble. He knew that it was a lot of work to dress up like that every day, which was why they didn't do it unless they had to for work, but even Leigh couldn't take their eyes off themself when they saw the fruits of their labour.
Today's rendition of Leigh's costume (they had a few versions- with a 6-day work week, they needed a rotation) included a ruffled white short-sleeved blouse underneath a green corset-style top that laced across their breasts, which spilled out the top just a little. They wore a brown leather belt and a layered skirt with flowing tan, green, and brown fabric. Their outfit was completed with a pair of brown, ankle height lace-up leather boots. Quinn was so distractedly taken with their appearance today that Leigh had to help him pick out his coordinating outfit of a white flowing tunic, long green vest, brown tights, and brown leather boots and belt.
Once Quinn was all dressed and adjusted that morning, Leigh had looked him up and down and giggled. "It's a good thing you spend most of your time behind the bar," they teased, eyeing his erection. "Those tights don't leave much to the imagination."
Quinn pulled his tunic down a little to cover his crotch. "It's not
my
fault you look so hot in that getup," he grinned, taking Leigh in his arms and dipping her.
Leigh put their arms around his neck and kissed him sweetly. "Time for work!" they said, breaking the kiss and bounding off mischievously. Quinn, not having had his coffee yet, trudged after them. They certainly had different energy levels in the mornings.
Quinn and Leigh arrived at the tavern and took up their roles as Fitzwilliam the Bartender and Rosamund the Serving Maid. Since they closed up at the end of the night, they could arrive just before opening, after some of their colleagues had been there for an hour and a half getting the place ready for guests. With a chorus of "Good morrow!" Leigh and the rest of the serving staff greeted the first guests of the day.
For the most part, it really was like any other food service job, just with a few added "Huzzah!"s. Leigh played the role of Rosamund with a joyful exuberance, greeting the last guest of the night with the same enthusiasm as the first. Throughout the day, they never lost that twinkle in their eye. They knew that their husband was having trouble keeping his eyes off her, so they made sure to jump in just the right way to make their breasts jiggle with every "Huzzah!" and to curtsy extra low with every "Good day" when they saw him watching.
Right in the middle of the lunch rush, Leigh stood back up from one particularly low curtsy to hear the sound of glass shattering. They looked up to see their husband standing behind the bar, staring at them open-mouthed. One of the other bartenders elbowed him and muttered something to him while Leigh giggled. "
Okay
," they thought. "
I had better stop teasing him quite this much, at least while we're busy.
"
Quinn was
mortified
. There he was, watching his wench of a partner showing themself off, standing there slack-jawed with only his tights, his tunic, and the bar shielding his raging erection from anyone who cared to look, and of course he had to drop the glass in his hand and draw attention to himself. They'd been making eyes at each other and Leigh had been treating him to views of their luscious breasts all day, but the thought that had him completely mentally checking out was how they deserved to be bent over the bar and... well, gotten back at in ways they would both love for the way they were teasing him.
The other bartender on shift, Fred (or Frederik, as he went by with guests), leaned over and whispered, "Dude, you good?" Quinn assured him that he was fine and started to go about carefully extracting the glass shards from the sink where they'd landed. Luckily, of the dozen or so glasses in the sink, only the one he had dropped and one other had shattered. He caught Leigh giggling and winking at him out of the corner of his eye and raised one eyebrow at her. They blushed and turned around to hide from his gaze under the guise of clearing a table.
In the ten years or so Quinn and Leigh had been together, they had always kept that lightness and playfulness in their relationship. They ordinarily had a very active and satisfying sex life, but they did tend to slow down quite a bit during Faire season, especially now that they were ten years older. Even so, today was going beyond their usual flirtation, especially at work. Leigh was
clearly
feeling rather needy today.
Leigh finished clearing the table and brought the dishes back behind the bar. "Sorry about that," they grinned, looking only
very
slightly repentant. "I'll cool it in front of the guests!"
"Much obliged, unless you brought me a change of tights with you today."
"Careful not to cut your hand on that glass, my love."
Leigh winked and giggled again, curtsied to a normal degree for the first time that day, and bounded off to bus more tables. The glass cleanup and lunch rush finished without further incident and with only the odd adoring glance shared between them. Quinn watched his partner, struck as usual by the way they charmed each guest with their easy manner and dazzling smile. Leigh could be very shy and awkward day-to-day, but when they slipped into their role as Rosamund the Serving Maid, they positively
radiated
confidence. Quinn adored all the different sides and facets of his partner, but he particularly enjoyed watching this side of Leigh precisely because it didn't come out so often and wasn't so naturally accessible to them. It was a treat made all the sweeter by its rarity. He strongly suspected that Leigh enjoyed showing off this side of themself to him for similar reasons.
The crew was able to find some downtime in the quiet after the lunch rush, but before they had to start prepping for dinner. They typically either took turns walking around seeing what was going on in the immediate area around the tavern or all hung out together in a group. Since it had been a particularly busy lunch rush, the team decided to hang out together, chat, and rest. Shortly before they needed to get moving to prepare for the dinner rush, Leigh briefly took their leave of the group, presumably to use the washroom.
As they walked towards the restrooms, Leigh smirked to themself. This was their last chance to tease Quinn before things got busy again, after all. But Leigh? They had a
plan
. Something that would drive Quinn wild without alerting anyone else on the crew. This was, after all, a workplace, and they didn't want to make any of their friends uncomfortable. Something subtle that nobody but Quinn would notice.
A few minutes later, Leigh returned to the group and gave Quinn their customary, fairly chaste hug and peck on the cheek before going off to start setting tables for the dinner rush. Unusually, Quinn felt Leigh slip something into his pocket, too subtly for anyone watching to notice, but patting his pocket to make sure he felt it. Trying to be subtle, Quinn peeked into his pocket to find his partner's very clearly damp panties sealed neatly in an airtight food storage bag. He groaned to himself with the knowledge that his partner was now walking around without any underwear on, even at the same time as he chuckled at their care to keep everything sanitary, given where they were. It was going to be a looooong evening.
It didn't take long for the dinner rush to pull Leigh and Quinn's attention away from each other, though they continued to check in with one another with brief glances and smiles across the room as they normally did. It was this comfortable and casual connectedness that they both so cherished about getting to work together these few months of the year. Separate enough to not be in one another's hair all day and still have some stories to share at the end of the day, but close enough to feel their connection and the other's warmth and comfort. They were one another's rock in a job that could be terribly hectic and stressful.