A/N: I'm really excited about this one shot. Tate and Violet are alive and work in a restaurant together. Violet is being sexually harassed by her boss. Tate falls in love with her and finds out…
Be aware that the story does not go in chronological order.
This is for jandjsalmon, who has been having a tough time, and she deserves all the fic presents because she is so awesome and supportive of this fandom.
For recommendations, read everything by ohyellowbird, Gray Glube, ScarlettWoman710, LolaBleu, jandjsalmon, GinHermi, BlondeTate, Lovely Helena, Captivation, TheDevotchka, and venom with love. They're awesome.
Make It Hurt
"Fuck."
He had forgotten about Table 2's order while he was doing damage control on Table 7 for a new waiter that spilled an expensive 2004 merlot into the lap of some politician's wife. Now the prissy, spoiled daughter was throwing a bitch fit because she was still waiting on her barely there Caesar salad that was more air than substance. He wanted to tell her to shut up since she would probably just puke it up later anyway since he knows that girls like her think that being a size 2 is some horrific failure, that having some weight on their skinny, protruding hip bones would automatically repulse all men in a three mile radius. He keeps his mouth shut, can feel the teeth grinding with the effort of keeping his sarcasm in check and his job a reality, as he hurriedly retreats to the kitchen, looking frantically for the right orders and trying to keep the rising panic at bay when he doesn't see them.
"Don't worry, Tate, I got their food to them just now."
Violet came up to him and placed a sympathetic hand on his arm and it took all he had, every fiber of willpower, not to moan at the contact, not to clue Violet into the fact that he imagines, dreams, fantasizes about her warm skin touching his own, his longing like a constant ache in the back of his mind and heart.
"Thanks, Vi, really. You always save my ass."
"You're damn right I do. What would you do without me?"
He knows what would happen to him if she was gone – he would cease to exist. He couldn't even conceive of a world devoid of her beauty and light. But he only sighed and playfully wiggled his eyebrows at her, a smirk crawling its way up his cheeks.
"Probably get all your tips?"
She playfully punches him and dances out of his way when he tries to lightly tickle her back, her laugh filling the air like bells and her hair swishing across her face and her teeth catching her bottom lip to turn it cherry red and he almost can't handle himself.
"You're such an ungrateful ass."
"But you love me anyway."
"It's hard not to with your spot-on wit and bang-up personality."
He could feel his heart ripping ever so slightly at her teasing response because the love she was talking about was not the love he had for her, the love he wanted her to have for him.
"It's not my fault I'm irresistible."
"Whatever you say, stud."
They shared a special grin just between them before the bellow of the sous chef got their attention.
"Tate, Violet, stop fucking around and get Table 11's order before Gabe makes my ass grass!"
"Coming, Larry!" They chimed in perfect unison before looking back at each other in surprise. Violet's mouth split back into a grin and he knew she was going to taunt him, but he didn't mind because that was another moment where she was focused only on him.
"I'll bet I'll get there first."
"You wish."
"Race you."
"You're on."
And he let her win – of course he had let her win, she's already won everything, his heart, his mind, his sanity, what's one more thing? – and he made a show of tripping over the power cords to the freezers, making a dramatic fall and desperate scramble to the finish line as she giggled, stepping over him with the plate of food for Table 11.
"I beat you."
"Yeah, you did."
If only she knew how much she beat up on his heart, too.
"Hi, everyone. I would like to introduce you to our newest staff member, Tate. Try not to traumatize him."
Gabe, his new boss, clapped him heartily on the back as he introduced him to a room of about ten people who were chuckling lightly at his expense. He was sure that he looked really fucking uncomfortable, scratching at his shoe with the other, blonde curls falling over his eyes as if he was trying to hide himself, which he was. He had just gotten this job the week before and needless to say, he was nervous. He didn't particularly care whether or not his new coworkers liked him or thought he was cool, but he did want to get through the first meeting relatively unscathed.
"Why don't you sit next to Violet?"
"You always stick me with the newbies."
At the sound of her voice, he looked up and saw her. She had big, expressive eyes, straight dirty blonde hair that fell softly around her shoulders, and a mouth curled sinfully around a cigarette. She was perfect, every wet dream and fantasy he had ever had rolled into a petite girl with a fierce attitude problem. He really hoped his own mouth wasn't hanging open.
"You're in charge of teaching him the ropes."
She heaved a heavy sigh before catching his eye and winking. He felt his heart flutter like her eyelashes did.
"You got it, boss."
She patted the empty chair next to him.
"Have a seat, slugger."
He walked towards her like he was in a daze, mesmerized by her – it felt like all his limbs were strings and she was the puppeteer controlling his every move – and when she laughed at him, tingles shot through his spine down to the very tips of his toes.
Gabe started talking about the next issue as he slid into the seat next to her, resolutely maintaining eye contact with the floor. He only managed to look ahead at Gabe, pretending to hear and understand everything that he said, before he couldn't resist sneaking a glance at her.
She was staring right back at him with a smirk that reeked of triumph, that said "I caught you, you little bastard" without actually saying the words.
"Looks like you're stuck with me."
Come on, Tate, she's talking to you. Say something! But his brain was moving too fast and too slow at the same time, wires crossing the wrong way, and he only succeeded blurting out one word.
"Yeah."
He wanted to punch himself.
"You're a talkative one."
"Sorry."
Another one word answer and now he felt like he just wanted to claw his eyes out with embarrassment or better yet, just have a hole open in the ground and take him away to the hell his mother always said he'd be going to. But to his surprise, she placed a small hand on his knee and leaned over so that her mouth was right next to his ear. He could feel her breath on his skin and he wondered how it was that this girl who he did not know existed five minutes ago already had him by the dick and was dangerously close to having him by his heartstrings as well.
"It's okay. It's a bit overwhelming. I felt the same way when I started working here."
He barely suppressed a shudder at her being so close to him.
"Just stick by me and you'll be fine."
"Okay."
She withdrew from his personal space and he was stuck by the realization that he wanted her back in it, something he had never wanted before with anyone.
She was looking ahead at Gabe, a somewhat hard expression on her face, and spoke so softly that he almost didn't hear it, but he did and it felt like a secret even though it couldn't be because how could someone's name be a secret? But it felt special and just for him.
"Call me Vi."
It was then that he knew he was a fucking goner.
Vi taught him well and after that first week was over, he was holding his own with no problems. He was a little sad that his training was over because when he was "the fresh meat" as she would call him playfully, he got to spend every minute of his day with her. He followed her around, watching her as she gracefully dealt with problem customers and juggled complicated orders with ease, and the best part was that no one could call it stalking or creepy because he was supposed to be there with her. He got to be in her presence, command her attention, receive her smile and praise, and he fucking reveled in it. However, now that he was deemed competent, he couldn't follow her around like the little puppy dog he knew he was for her, but whenever he had a question, she was the first one he sought out and he knew she thought it was cute.
She came running in the back and caught sight of him, sighing in relief as she threw off her apron and collapsed into a chair.
"Newbie, can you put on another pot of hot water for me? I got some old wrinkly bitch demanding some lemon-ginger-pomegranate tea or some bullshit and she wants it 'scalding or I'll have your job, missy!'"
He chuckled at her exasperation as he reached for the tea pot.
"No problem, Vi."
"Thanks, newbie, you haven't been here more than a week and I don't know what I'd do without you."
He could feel his heart twist.
"You managed just fine without me before, though, didn't you?"
She propped her feet up on a stool and reached her arms around back her head to swiftly tie her hair into a ponytail. Tate felt his treacherous dick twitch and fought hard to suppress his urge to kiss her senseless right there.
"Yes, you could say that, but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful for you being here now."
"That means a lot."
"I don't say anything I don't mean. You're a big help. I feel…I don't know, protected with you around."
He would gladly rip the throats out of anyone who tried to hurt her. He thought it was interesting that she had subconsciously picked up on that fact or maybe he has projected that mentality into his actions. His mother always said he had trouble keeping his emotions in check and with her around, it was flat-out impossible.
"Well, if any old bitch threatens you again, you know who to call."
She hopped up off the chair and grinned at him as she took the steaming mug of newly brewed tea from him.
"My knight in shining armor. Or more like my newbie in a white apron."
"Don't underestimate my skills with a frying pan. That thing packs a punch."
"I'm sure it does."
She sauntered back out the kitchen door and he wanted to whoop with joy because she had called him her newbie.
He wanted to be hers in every way.
As the weeks rolled by, he and Vi became inseparable and he fell even harder for her every time a conversation, an inside joke, a venting session about some horrible customer brought him a little closer to her.
They went out for coffee one time and he didn't work up the courage to hold her hand and he wanted to kick himself when he got home.
They went to a movie another time and he was going to tell her how he felt, he swore he would, but he pussied out again – fuck, Tate, grow some balls, you have violent fantasies about killing people yet can't tell a girl you like her – and when she gave him a friendly hug when he dropped her at her doorstep, he wanted to die both from happiness and despair because she was so close, pressing herself into his chest, yet so, so incredibly far away.
Now they were at his favorite place – the beach. He listened to the sounds of the waves and the seagulls' cawing while watching Violet comb the sand for shells and sea glass, skirt billowing in the breeze. He laughed when she stepped on a hidden crab which promptly nipped her big toe and she came rushing back to him, plopping down on the blanket and shooting him a mock stern look at his laughter only increased.
"Oh, you're so mean to me!"
He looked up at her, his laughter now fading away to huffs, and her face was just so beautiful that he couldn't help his sharp intake of breath.
"Kiss it better."
He whipped up to a sitting position and gaped at her with wide, questioning eyes. She smirked back, her eyebrow raised as if daring him to refuse, which was absurd because he couldn't refuse her anything, not that he wanted to.
She raised her slender, smooth leg to settle over his lap and he was instantly hard.
She looked at him expectantly and he prayed that she couldn't feel the desire rolling off him in waves not unlike the ones crashing on the shore.
He picked up her leg by her calf, savoring the softness of her delicate skin, and brought her big toe to his lips and gave it an innocent kiss right over the small bruise he could see beginning to form. He looked back at her and saw something in her eyes – lust, desire, love, he didn't know – before they went back to their usual playfulness.
She swung her leg back around under her and suddenly her mouth was by his ear again, hand threaded lightly in his hair.
"It feels better already."
She gave him a quick, chaste peck on the cheek before dashing away back to the shore, leaving him with a raging hard-on and a mess of a heart.
Both of them were working the closing shift that night. He had been spraying her with the heavy duty kitchen hose, making her shriek with mock indignation but genuine glee, and trying not to stare at her chest when Gabe came in back.
"Hey, Violet, can you come into my office for a second? There are some things we need to discuss." He thought that she had stiffened for a second, that the set of her shoulders had gotten infinitesimally harder, but it was gone so fast he couldn't be sure of it.
"Okay."
Gabe put his hand on her arm and that time he definitely saw her jerk slightly away from him and a sliver of fear run across her eyes.
"You'll be alright finishing up here by yourself, right, Tate?"
He shook his head to clear his confusion before brightly meeting his boss's gaze.
"Yeah, no problem."
"Thanks, Tate. Come on, Violet."
Gabe led Violet out of the back towards his office, leaving Tate with a puzzled expression on his face.
What had just happened? Why did he feel like there was something sinister or ominous in the atmosphere? The air felt acrid and menacing and he had a bad taste in his mouth.
He swept the floor, lost in thought. Why was Violet afraid or wary of Gabe? He didn't get a bad vibe off the guy, but there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes.
He had trouble falling asleep that night.
As the weeks continued onward, he grew more and more convinced that something was wrong. The dark circles under her eyes were becoming more pronounced and though she claimed it was just because she had been working a lot of double shifts lately, he knew better. She flinched every time Gabe came near her and averted her eyes from him during their staff meetings. It was as if the light and happiness went out of her eyes, her normal bravery and sharp tongue suddenly went missing, and she retreated into a skittish, meek creature that he barely recognized as the girl he quietly had fallen in love with.
"Vi?
She jumped at his voice, whirling around with a hot pot of coffee and splashing it on her shirt. She hissed at the scalding liquid burning her and barely managed to set the pot down before ducking behind the counter and hastily unbuttoning her shirt.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, that hurts!"
Somehow he didn't think she was only talking about the coffee.
"What is it, Vi? Are you alright?"
She didn't answer him, sucking breath down hard, and he ran around the bench to find her only in her bra. However, his lust was quickly replaced by anger when he saw the bruises peppering her stomach and side.
"Jesus, Vi…"
She only whimpered in response as he quickly picked her up and rushed her to the staff bathroom, not caring about the surprised and scandalized looks from the patrons. He locked the door and laid her against the wall, lightly touching the black and blue marks while trying to keep the murderous voices urging him to kill the son of a bitch who did this at bay. He grabbed some paper towels and wet them with cool water, pressing them against her forehead and injuries. He was just about to get up to get more when he heard her voice and felt her hand weakly tug at his shirt.
"Tate…"
He scrambled back down, searching her face for anything, anything that might tell him who hurt her or how he can make her feel better.
"I'm here, Vi. Tell me what happened. Please."
She shook her head.
"No, I don't want to get you involved. I don't want you to get hurt."
It took everything he had not to tell her that nothing could hurt him more than watching her get hurt, that her in pain was the one thing that would cause him the most unfathomable agony he could imagine.
"Vi, please tell me who did this."
And I will fucking kill him.
She shook her head again and sighed.
"Just hold me. Please."
That's all I want to do. I will do anything for you. I will hold you until the world ends.
He gently pulled her into his arms and let her cry softly into his shirt until they both lost track of time.
He didn't realize that he had forgotten his wallet at work until he had gotten home from the closing shift, so with enough choice swear words that would make his bitch of a mother blush to the roots of her hair, he went back even though it was almost 12:30 in the morning. He found his wallet sitting on the countertop just where he expected it would be and was pocketing it in his jeans when he heard words from Gabe's office. He snuck closer to the door until his ear was firmly pressed against the wood.
"You will suck it, missy, if you want to keep your job."
What?! His mind was on overload as his face twisted in disgust. Gabe was sexually harassing an employee?!
And the next thought that crossed his mind made his whole body go cold.
No, it couldn't be –
"You're a disgusting, despicable man! Fuck you!"
Tate heard a crash behind the doors of Gabe's office and then Violet cry out.
And suddenly all the pieces fit together.
The next thing he knew, he had ripped the door off its hinges to see Gabe's hands forcing Violet's head down towards his crotch.
At that instant, all he saw was red.
"You fucking bastard!"
His boss looked up at him bewildered for a split second before fear overtook his features as Tate's fist collided with his jaw to the backdrop of Violet screaming at him to stop and just fucking think for a second.
"You sick fuck! How fucking dare you –"
His fist hit its next mark with perfectly lethal accuracy, easily breaking Gabe's nose. Tate relished his boss's strangled groan and the hot, fresh, red blood gushing down his face, but he positively swelled with glee when he savored the absolutely terrified look on his face.
Tate stalked towards him, slinking around the desk and hauling him up by his now-stained shirt. His eyes glittered like cold, hard diamonds, and his low voice dripped with menace as he spit in Gabe's face.
"If you ever touch her again, I will kill you. I will make it slow and I will make it hurt so bad you will wish for death. There is no pit in hell deep enough for you."
He threw Gabe across the room, his now ex-boss smashing into the painting hanging on the opposite wall with a satisfying thud.
He picked Violet up against her protests and little fists and never looked back.
He quickly put her in his car and gave her a no nonsense look when she started her protests back up, which silenced her, but not without her shooting him a disapproving look back.
He plopped down in the driver's seat and started his car up, hands gripping the keys and steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. His breath was labored and harsh as he tried to quiet the voices that were positively screaming at him to go back and kill Gabe, to delight in his screams for mercy as he dismembered him limb by limb –
"Tate?"
Her meek voice snapped him back to reality.
"You're staying at my house tonight."
It was a statement, not a request, and he was happy she had the good sense not to fight about it. He drove them to his house in the quiet of the night, the only sounds permeating the silence between them was her almost inaudible sobs and his controlled breathing.
He threw open the door to his house and ushered her inside. She looked so lost, so forlorn in his living room that he felt his heart break.
"I'll get you some clothes to change into."
She looked up at him and he wanted nothing more than to kiss away her fear, to protect her the rest of his life.
"Thanks."
He put on some water for tea and retrieved a pair of sweatpants and a loose T-shirt, which she gratefully accepted. He tried extremely hard not to think about the fact that she had been naked in his bedroom when she returned to the kitchen.
He placed a steaming cup of tea in front of her and waited expectantly for her to talk as she stirred her sugar spoon around and around. Lastly she sighed and placed her spoon on the table, taking a steadying breath before she met his eyes.
"It's been going on for a while. He said he would fire me if I didn't do it. I didn't want to, but I had a hard enough time finding this job to begin with and he threatened to blackmail me to all his other restaurant owner friends so I couldn't get a job anywhere else."
He reached over and grabbed her hand, stroking it soothingly as she continued, hoping that little gesture would convey a fraction of the love he had for her.
"I felt like I didn't have a choice even though he fucking disgusted me. I hated it, dreaded it, even thought about killing myself a few times because I felt like I had no other options."
He sucked in a sharp breath – how could he have not known sooner?
As if she had read his mind, she placed her hand on top of his.
"You couldn't have known. I tried very, very hard to hide it. Please don't blame yourself."
And it was then that he cracked, his cool, calm façade crumbling away like shattered glass.
"God, Vi, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."
"Tate…"
"It's because I'm a fucking coward. I failed you, Vi. I'm so sorry."
He was overwhelmed by the flood of emotion that hit him like a freight train and he had to let it out, let it out before he drowned in it.
"Fuck!"
He slammed his fist down on the countertop in his anguish, making her flinch.
"What are you talking about?"
"I love you."
It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room and that time had stopped, but he had already taken the plunge, gone over the edge, and he was powerless to stop the torrent of words that spilled out of his mouth.
"I've loved you since the moment I first saw you. You were beautiful and perfect and funny and smart and I couldn't help but want to kiss and hold and make love to you forever, but I couldn't tell you because I was so scared to lose you and that I knew I could not bear. I hated myself for being so weak, so frightened to tell you all the things I felt, but I vowed I would make up for my pathetic existence. I swore I would always protect you. I promised myself that I would never let anyone or anything hurt you. But I failed miserably because I let you get hurt in the worst way. How can you ever forgive me, Vi? How can you even bear to look at me?"
Suddenly she leaned across the table top and they were nose to nose, her lips hovering mere centimeters from his. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak, he couldn't move as her lips closed down onto his and pure bliss enveloped him.
After what seemed to be much too short a time, she pulled away and he met her eyes with a shocked look, still half in the mental haze that her lips on his induced. She smiled back at him, a deep, warm smile that felt like sunshine on his skin.
"Don't ask for forgiveness, Tate, because there is nothing to forgive. Rather, ask for something else."
Realization dawned on his face.
"Vi, will you let me hold you forever?"
"I've been waiting for you to ask me that question for a long time."
She led him upstairs, the echoes of her whispered 'yes' and 'I love you' reverberating in his ears, and they fell into each other's arms together.
A/N: Hope y'all, especially the fabulous jandjsalmon, liked it. Reviews make me happy!