I'm Free! | By : EvaBrick Category: 1 through F ? > Are You Being Served? Views: 1405 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own nor did I create AYBS. I am not profiting financially from this story. AYBS and the characters belong to Lloyd and Croft. |
Mr. Lucas squatted down along the back row of shelves and started to reorganize the wool sock drawers. It was another slow day at Grace Brothers and there wasn’t much else to do. He sighed heavily and looked around at the out-of-date clothes… if Mr. Grace spent half as much time working as he did cuddling that secretary of his he’d see that the store was horribly behind the times. He snorted and shook his head. It was 1981 for goodness’ sake! No one wore trilby hats anymore! He moved on to the next drawer and wondered if the store would even last until the 90’s with its dismal sales. He doubted it, somehow.
Lucas sneered at the fancy socks and wished he could afford a pair… all of his had holes in them. He could hardly afford to take the bus home though, since the recession had hit. For a moment, the thought of stealing a pair danced across his mind, but he pushed the thought away. Jobs were too hard to come by to risk being fired over a pair of socks. He snorted again - it was so pathetic to even consider stealing socks. Pathetic… that was his middle name. Dick Pathetic Lucas, who couldn’t afford to move out of his mother’s flat, let alone take a girl to the pictures. He knew he worked harder than the rest of the floor staff, but he got paid the least. Granted, he was inexperienced and was a bit fresh with poor Mrs. Slocomb, but he, as the youngest and strongest, was the one who did all the running around and errands… usually on an empty stomach, too. If someone said “jump,” he was expected to say, “how high?” His stomach rumbled as he thought about food. Bloody miserable economy. He glanced up as Mr. Humphries’ shadow fell across the shelves, then disappeared again. He seemed to be in a hurry. Lucas doubted that he’d even noticed the lowly junior assistant as he’d hurried to the stockroom. He stood up and followed the senior sales associate to see if he needed help with a customer. Mr. Humphries, however, seemed to have disappeared. Lucas was about to go back to his socks when he heard it - a sniffle. He frowned and looked around - there were feet on the other side of the rack of bathrobes. He hesitated a moment, then cleared his throat to make his presence known. “Are you alright, Mr. Humphries?” he asked gently. Mr. Humphries coughed and blew his nose, then stepped out from behind the rack. “I-I’m fine, thank you, Mr. Lucas,” he said shakily. Mr. Lucas rolled his eyes and leaned his shoulder against the shelves. “Liar,” he said. “In all the years I’ve worked here, I’ve never seen you get this upset during working hours - this isn’t like you at all. What’s wrong?” Mr. Humphries wiped his red eyes with his handkerchief and shrugged. “It’s nothing really… I just… I just had a falling out with a friend.” He gave Lucas a wary look and the junior salesperson hesitated for a moment before answering. Everyone in the store had a pretty good idea about what the nature of Mr. Humphries’ “friends” were, but no one ever asked him about it and he never shared any details. You just didn’t discuss these things at a time-warped place like Grace Brothers. Lucas decided that he didn’t care about Grace Brothers’ stodgy rules. Mr. Humphries was the only person in the whole store who’d ever been friendly and kind to him. The least he could do was return the favour. He squared his shoulders. “Do you want to talk about it? I’ve had a few heartbreaks myself.” Mr. Humphries sighed and tried to straighten the wrinkles in his handkerchief. “Thank you for offering, but… it’s different.” He folded the cloth and stuck it in his top pocket. “You mean it’s different… when it’s a man,” Lucas asked, hesitantly. “Two men.” Mr. Humphries’ back stiffened and he looked away. “I know you mean well, Mr. Lucas, but you really wouldn’t understand.” Lucas folded his arms and looked down at his shorter friend. “Why not? I know I act like an idiot, but I know what it’s like to be hurt.” Mr. Humphries sighed again and unbuttoned his waistcoat and shirt. “No, Mr. Lucas,” he said. “You have no idea.” He spread the clothing just enough to show the black and blue marks on his ribs, then buttoned them up quickly. Mr. Lucas’ jaw dropped open and he stood up straight. “He hit you?” “Keep your voice down,” Mr. Humphries snapped. Mr. Lucas dropped his voice to a harsh whisper. “Are you alright? Do you need me to straighten him out?” Mr. Humphries rolled his eyes. “I’m not a woman, Mr. Lucas. I can take care of myself.” “So… you hit him back?” Mr. Lucas asked. “Of course,” Mr. Humphries. “I haven’t spent all that time with sailors and not learned anything. I broke his nose.” Lucas laughed. “I wish I could have seen that.” Mr. Humphries sniffled again and pulled out his handkerchief. “I feel so awful,” he wept. “I hurt somebody! How did I get myself into that mess? I didn’t think he was like that!” Mr. Lucas ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know if I should hug you or slap you on the back and tell you to keep a stiff upper lip,” he admitted. To his surprise, Mr. Humphries actually laughed. “You could give me the pep talk about how there are plenty of other fish in the sea,” he chuckled. Mr. Lucas stood up to his tallest and took his lapels in his hand like a stuffy board member from upstairs. “There are plenty of other fish in the sea, Mr. Humphries. Bigger, better fish that won’t smell like that old trout you just threw overboard.” He let his lapels go and leaned back against the wall again. Suddenly Captain Peacock’s voice thundered through the store. “Mr. Humphries, are you free?” On an impulse, Mr. Lucas leaned down and brushed a kiss against his friend’s cheek. “Go get ‘im slugger,” he said in his best American accent. It could have been an awkward moment, but somehow it wasn’t. Mr. Humphries flashed his friend a quick smile and stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket as he hurried out to greet the customer. “I’m free!”While AFF and its agents attempt to remove all illegal works from the site as quickly and thoroughly as possible, there is always the possibility that some submissions may be overlooked or dismissed in error. 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