A charming and rather colourful doctor finds himself in Bath's local pharmacy, and ends up catching Glenn's attention.

November 02, 2022

Whenever he went to any store, he'd always draw attention. Naturally… His demeanor, colourful clothes, and the fact he was strolling through the store with an electric keyboard unsurprisingly brought a lot of attention to him. He walked through the medicine aisles, occasionally playing small rifts on his keys while he whistled. "BOOP BOOP SHIBBY DIBBY DOO - WAH WAH!" he sang to himself enthusiastically, while also looking completely insane.

As for the storeowner, the day hadn't been particularly busy; in fact, it was rather dry. Miss Valencita had come in, gossiping about the drivel her flamingos had told her. Glenn’s attention only perked up when Neighbor was mentioned, only for him to quickly lose interest when she continued on about that short busker that’s been following him around. It had been a very slow and boring day indeed, with Glenn having resorted to looking at the cracks in the walls, wondering if it's worth his budget to patch them up or to just stick on some tape and call it a day.

He only briefly glanced up to see who walked in when he heard the familiar door chime, yet became bored once more quickly after. That is, however, until he heard a most OBNOXIOUS noise, startling him from his daze. The man accompanying the noise seemed to be equally obnoxious as he bellowed around the store, who did this guy think he was? Glenn squinted through the aisles, trying to figure out who the hell had come into his store like this, walking around like they owned the G-ddamn place! He was going to have a talking to with this guy, whoever he was.

When Glenn saw the man responsible for the noise, however, his angered expression faltered in surprise. Well, this was quite the sight to behold. With his eyebrows furrowed and mouth agape, he gave the other man a look, trying to process the, er…spectacle in front of him. Very colourful, to say the least. He certainly seemed to hold a lot of confidence. Glenn swallowed hard upon looking this stranger up and down, hot damn! He feels himself begin to sweat under his collar.

The loud man made his way to the pharmacy check-out when he figured he had everything he needed for the day, whistling merrily as he approached the counter. He laid out a box of gloves, a bottle of vitamins, and a juice box. He spotted zebra fruit stripe gum at the check-out counter, which he immediately went to grab.

"Fruit stripes? Don’t mind if a’ do!" He dramatically, in 'slow motion', laid the gum on the counter. When he lifted his hand, he made a poor impression of an explosion.

"BOOM!" He paused and looked at the pharmacist. Silence. He slid an elbow on the desk and rested his head in his hand as he stared on.

"Heya. How you doin'?"

Glenn had slightly jumped when the man bellowed out. He had watched as the man lowered the gum onto the table, glancing back up at him above his glasses after it was set down. Glenn leaned back a bit as his eyebrows raised when the man slid an elbow on his desk and stared at him intently, wondering what he was doing until…

Oh man, oh man! Was this guy flirting with him? He can't be. There's no way. Internally, Glenn thought to himself, 'Okay Glenn, play it cool. You can be confident too, just talk!’

In an awkward attempt at leaning forward himself, he gave the other man a strained smile back. “H-hey.”

‘Geez, Glenn. That was real smooth.’

The man didn't quite catch on, rather oblivious to his nervous demeanor and strained smile. He eyed Glenn up and down, himself. Ohoh , this pharmacist is relatively attractive. Look at that nose! You don't see that every day. His neatly proper sweater, ginger wavy hair and a belly that makes him look soft like a teddy bear. That's endearing.

"Nice pharmacy you have here." He voiced with a low and flirtatious tone. "Usually pharmacists are little old ladies or guys named Carl that want to hurt me.

"...But they're not as pleasing to look at, if you catch my drift." He did a goofy wink, with a toothy grin that showed off his tooth gap.

Glenn couldn't believe his ears. This guy shows up, playing his keyboard, and then? And then??

He hits on him twice?

It would be an understatement to say that Glenn was quite surprised. Hardly anyone actually took interest in him as a person, yet this was the first time he'd been outright flirted with by a man! He glanced around from side to side, making sure it's him that’s being flirted with, now sweating intensely under his collar. Both from the comments towards him, the strong allure of the man before him, and the fact that-!

Glenn's not gay. Neighbor's just being friendly to him, and this guy...this…. man ……with his looks and confidence, his bright hair and charming tooth gap…And damn, those lips…

Ah, fuck.

Glenn swallowed hard, trying to process what the man had just said to him. Something about a guy named Carl? Are pharmacists this guy's type…?

Glenn blinked again, throat choked up. ‘Damnit, Glenn, just ring him up already!’ Averting his eyes from the other man, who he hoped could not see his forming blush, he cleared his throat, hands trembling slightly as he rested them on the counter.

"Ahah, w-well I'm glad I can beat out old ladies in the looks department..." Glenn wanted to say more, wanted to say he's a real treat for the eyes himself, yet the words turned to putty on his tongue, and all he managed to choke out was, “Ah, um…Will this be all for you today, sir?”

The man took note of the pharmacist’s sudden avoidance to look at him... Oh no, did he come on too strong? His face fell for a moment, eyes wide and lips pursed outwards with furrowed bushy eyebrows, in slight confusion of whether or not he made the pharmacist uncomfortable. However, he then noticed the bright red spots on his cheeks, telling a different story. He smiled.

The ‘old lady’ comment had charmed him and he let out a genuine chuckle, a tad bit boisterous, with his tooth gap prominent as he laughed. He looked back at the pharmacist, smile still present on his face.

At his outburst, Glenn felt his heartbeat physically pick up its pace, feeling it thud in his throat as he tried to swallow it down.

‘Oh, no. He laughed. Hooboy...’

He's very visibly sweating now if he hadn't already been before, biting his cheek to try and quell his reactions. That tooth gap, that expression, that face! Was it hot in here or was it just that guy?

The other man paid no mind to Glenn’s reaction, simply getting ready to pay. "S'ppose that's all I need for now, thanks a bunch!" His hand dug into his pants pocket to pull out a wallet, readying to pay the pharmacist. As he whipped out the money to fork over, his eyes glanced over at the glove box he'd set down, and a sudden idea came over him. But…he wasn't sure whether or not to go for it. Maybe this guy was already taken, or…not gay. Many people these days were open with their sexuality or experimenting, but some were met with…harsh critics, to say the least. Well, he isn't one for playing it safe! He's going all in.

"On second thought…There's just one more thing I might need from you. You got a marker on you by any chance?"

Glenn tried to shake off his former reaction - he's still got to ring him up, and as he began to prepare to take the money and then shove this reaction down inside, his concentration broke. Another thing? Oh, of course! Silly, silly him. ‘Way to rush ahead, Glenn. Got too caught up in the moment to pay attention to your own damn customer, huh?’

"O-oh, of course! What do you need, I-" His words had spilled from his lips before he fully processed what the other man asked.

"Huh?"

From him?‘No, Glenn. It’s not from you, specifically. He's just probably one of those guys that flirts around with anyone they think is mildly attractive. H-he probably just forgot something on his list, that’s all.’

Swallowing hard once more, he reached under his table, hands fumbling until they somehow caught ahold of a marker for him, gesturing it out to him. "S-sure! It should still be working, I was just using it this morning..."

The man’s eyebrows raised with slightly pursed lips as he watched the pharmacist lean down in front of him, hot damn... He looks good from all angles. That belly has bewitched him, body and soul! ‘Ha-ha, but really, he looks soft though.’

By the time Glenn had looked back, the man’s expression quickly changed into an agape smile, cartoonish exclamation point above his head.

"Thaaaaank. You!" He happily accepted it, although he took a brief note that it was...awfully sweaty for some reason? No matter. He reached to the box of gloves, tearing it open to take one of the white gloves from inside. He then, like an absolute crazy man in the middle of a convenience store, began to blow on the opening of the glove like a balloon. He took the most dramatic breaths and inhales, as the glove expanded outwards until it was overtly round, alike to a balloon.

Glenn watched him curiously as the other had opened his box of gloves, now even more thoroughly confused. His brows furrowed in intrigue, quizzically raising one as he watched him draw a glove out from its box. What did this have to do with the marker? All wondering stopped immediately when the other man began to loudly blow up said glove.

WHAT WAS HE DOING?

His pupils shrunk and eyes wide, he couldn't help but watch as this man continued to confuse him further and further. And shit, if he wasn't good with those lips. He curses at himself internally for becoming slightly aroused at the spectacle before him, all his breaths and his grasp...

‘No, no, no. Don't imagine THAT!!’

How Glenn managed to find pleasure in watching this was beyond him, but boy was it making itself known. Glenn was very thankful that there was a desk separating him and the other man, as he would not be able to look the other man in the eye otherwise.

Finally, the man took his mouth off of the end and tied it, a nonchalant smile on his face. With the marker, he scribbled a smiley face on one side, before turning over the other and quietly writing his own personal phone number on the back - which caused him to slightly blush. He then presented the smiley faced side to the pharmacist.

"TAA - DAA! I learned this in medical school. I'm a doctor, you know." He winked once again, playfully, before gesturing it for him to take. "Consider it a tip, for your hospitable customer service..."

Glenn’s reactions mellowed out once the other man finished his work, his eyebrows raising as he was presented with...honestly, a really sweet gift. Glenn's face split with a zigzagged smile, trying to ignore the prodding sensation below his belt. His expression melted a bit, blush now very evident on his face, as he gingerly took the smiling balloon from him, heart thumping once more at hearing he is a doctor. Goodness Glenn is a mess… He smiled down at the balloon in his hands, with half lidded gaze and genuine smile. No one ever really put in any effort to try and make him smile, and as such, this gesture melted his heart.

He chuckled slightly, slipping out his internal thoughts in a lower voice. "Heh, well, it certainly charmed me..." He catches himself after he realized he spoke aloud, causing him to jolt slightly, looking back up towards him. "I - I MEAN, th-thank you for the tip... It is...greatly appreciated." That smile, that crack of a genuine smile, melted onto his face once more, a bit wiggly, but he genuinely can't help himself.

The doctor thought to himself that a smile looked good on this man, it really did. He could tell through the wiggly smile on his face that the pharmacist thought highly of his silly gift. His reaction, although he could only see the response on his face rather than somewhere else, made it worthwhile. These sorts of things are why he wanted to be in the medical field to begin with, surely a pharmacist like him could relate. Which...he found to be a desirable trait.

"I'm glad I could charm you." He caught the comment, despite it being spoken at a bit of a lower volume, and he had a satisfied grin on his face. He slid the money on the counter toward the pharmacist, waiting to be officially rang up.

"Hey now, it’s no problemo! If you're ever feeling lonely, why don'tcha drop me a line? After all, you have it in the palm of your hand..."

Glenn's blush deepened even further when he heard the other man's remark to his comment, SHIT!! He had been hoping he couldn't hear what he said, yet when he looked up towards the man, he noticed the grin on his face. Any frustration dissipated into slight shock - he was definitely going to need to put everything through the wash tonight. He was sweating harder than a popsicle left on the pavement!

Completely out of his element, he reached forward with shaky hands to accept the money, clanking his cash register before gesturing out the change.

Before he's able to speak up, however, he's stopped in his tracks by what the man said next. Drop him a line if he's feeling lonely? His brows furrowed quizzically, looking down at the money in his hand. Was he suggesting that he's a prostitute? He looked back up at him with a confused expression.

"Wh-" He cut himself off as his eye catches the back of the balloon out of the corner of his eye, seeing what appeared to be a number. His eyebrows raised as he realized what the other man meant, hand with the change still extended.

"- Oh."

The man wasn't too sure how to read Glenn’s verbal reaction. Did he come on too strong? Was it too much for this poor guy to handle? Was he already in a relationship? To get some better clarity on his response, he spoke up again. "I hope that's okay by you…" He threw out in case of any discomfort, unsure if he went too far in his gesture to the pharmacist. He extended his hand underneath to inevitably catch the change. Well...whenever he would drop it, that is.

"I didn't catch your name, by the way... Everyone calls me Doctor Funtimes, it's my, uh, public title. But, I'll let you in on a little secret... My real name’s Alfredo. You can call me Alfie!"

Glenn came to once more when the man spoke up again, remembering he was still, y'know...here. Glenn cleared his throat, blush still prominent on his face. Was this okay by him? I mean, sure, he's found other men nice to look at before, b-but he wasn't! He isn't!! He can't...can he?

Before he can come up with a coherent response, the other man spoke up again. Doctor Funtimes?? ‘Are you SURE he's not a prostitute?’ When he spoke his real name, Glenn almost doesn't think he's serious. ‘Why does everyone here have such weird names?? Am I the only one with a normal name around here???’ However, despite that thought, a smile cracked through his face once more, causing him to chuckle slightly. ‘Damn, Glenn, what's gotten into you?’

"W-well, it's not every day you meet someone named after a pasta dish." He looks down to his hand, realizing he still had the other man's change. His sweaty, sweaty change. He gently let it go into his hand, taking in a deep breath. "Ah, m-my name is Glenn Harod... It's been a pleasure to meet you, Doctor...erm...Alfie."

That got another laugh out of Alfie, boisterous as the last one. Keen sense of humour! He really likes that, this man is winning over his heart already. A tint of blush crept over his features, between the quirky comment and the fact it was a technical compliment. "HA! It's one of the few sauces I can actually eat, true story!" He can feel the drop - er, splash? - of the extra change in his palm. He looked down at it, a bit confused for a second, but then nonchalantly tucked it into his pocket. He looked back up.

"Glenn, huh? Oh! That's really groovy that you named yourself after the store! That's some dedication right there. You should be employee of the month for that." He spoke...very seriously. Like, absolutely obliviously, with a genuinely soft smile on his face.

Glenn couldn't be sure if he had been serious about that comment or not, but regardless, he found the comment humorous. Well, at least this guy had a sense of humour! That's more than most of the indifferent schmucks that passed through his pharmacy. He debated whether or not to correct him and tell him he owns the establishment, but then decided to play along with it instead.

"Hah! Maybe I should, then, huh? At least then I'd get acknowledgement for the work I do around here."

He paused for a moment, glancing towards the balloon. It was a bit cheesy, a bit unconventional, but it had an effort put into it. And that's more than he could say for most people. A hand reached for the back of his neck, shyly resting it underneath his hair.

"Y'know, most people that come in here don't even say ‘hi’ to me, so, uh..." He offered up a shy smile, very unlike his usual grouching state. "...Thanks. For, y'know, talking to me. I'll, ah, keep that number in mind if I ever...want someone to talk to."

Alfie smiled back at him, once more showing off his tooth gap. "Well, Glenny, if you're ever feeling chatty, you know who to call. I'm home most afternoons and nights, if you wanna reach me."

He gathered up his items and began to head towards the door, reaching out for the doorknob. But before he left, he turned around, looking back towards Glenn. "I'd love to see you again. See ya ‘round!" And with that, the charming doctor made his way out the door, the notes of his electric keyboard once again striking up as he walked along the streets.

Glenn turned the balloon over in his hands, smiling gently with slightly knitted eyebrows. 'Maybe one day I'll get the courage to call...'