A/N: Just some Valentine's day fluff, enjoy!
Violet walked into the same restaurant that she had so many times before, this time however she was alone. Maybe this was a mistake, she looked around at all the happy couples smiling, eating, holding hands, one couple in the corner full on making out. She huffed as she made her way to the bar and slumped down on a stool, wasting no time ordering her first drink.
"Where's your friend?" came a voice shockingly close to her ear. She jumped slightly as her heart pounded in her chest. She turned to face the waitress who was leaning against the bar next to her, holding a tray of drinks in one hand. She was wearing the same white button up and black skirt that she always wore whenever Violet came.
"Girlfriend..." Violet corrected before faltering, "Um, ex-girlfriend..." Violet glanced at the girl's name tag, no matter how many times she had looked at it, she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. Clementine... she thought to herself. It was almost too beautiful to leave her lips.
"I'm sorry to hear that." the waitress frowned, Violet wasn't sure, but it didn't seem like the frown quite reached her eyes. "That drink's on me." she told the bartender and before Violet could refuse she was gone, handing out drinks to a nearby table and smiling.
Violet slowly sipped on her drink, trying to focus on the tv screen in front of her, but her eyes kept unconsciously slipping towards the brunette girl with the side pony tail. It was probably because baseball was on and baseball sucked. Probably...
She was certain it had nothing to do with the that fact that every time the waitress caught her staring she would flash her an amazing smile. A smile that Violet swore was different than the ones she gave the other customers. A smile that made Violet turn back to her drink embarrassed.
"Another?" the bartender asked as soon as Violet finished her drink, she gave him a distracted nod, glancing back at the girl as she bustled around, smiling and taking orders from a group of rowdy looking guys. By the looks of them Violet assumed that they had already had some drinks before they arrived. She glared as one of the guys purposely knocked his silverware on the ground, getting a thumbs up from his fellow table mates as the Clementine bent over to pick it up, apologized and rushed off to replace it.
Her drink was placed in front of her, momentarily recapturing her attention. "Not eating anything tonight?" Violet jumped, how did she manage to keep catching her off guard when she had spent the majority of the night staring at her?
"Not really hungry..." Violet looked at her drink before looking curiously at Clementine. "Sucks to work on Valentine's day huh?"
"Nah," she smiled, "I asked to work, tips are usually pretty good tonight, a lot of guys try to impress their dates by being big spenders. Besides, I don't have anyone to spend it with anyway."
"No boyfriend huh?" Violet tried to sound casual. She felt like she was being flirted with, but Clementine was just so nice it was hard to tell, she needed to find out for sure.
"No, no boyfriend." Clementine confirmed, Violet's heart dropped. As she started to walk away she turned and added, "No girlfriend either." Back into the kitchen she went, leaving Violet's jaw on the floor.
When she came back it was with a large tray of food, Violet watched in awe as she balanced it effortlessly on her shoulder as she weaved through the tables, distributing the food with a sweet smile at the table of rowdy guys. Violet didn't know how she could smile at those jerks, there's no way she could have. Another reason she could never be a waitress.
Violet watched as Clementine emptied her tray of every plate except for one. Grateful that the guys were too excited to eat to try any more funny business, Violet took another sip of her drink. A warm plate of food was set in front of her. She turned, confused, "but I didn't order anything."
Earning herself a wink from Clementine "It's on me." She practically twirled away from the bar, back into the kitchen, leaving Violet with butterflies in her stomach.
She looked down at the plate, unable to stop the grin that spread across her face. Chicken nuggets, french fries and all her favorite sauces. The only thing Violet loved as much as chicken nuggets was the sauces she dipped them in. She couldn't believe that Clementine remembered them all, honey mustard, chipotle ranch, sweet and spicy ketchup and her absolute favorite tangy barbecue.
Minnie always hated when she ordered chicken nuggets at a sit down restaurant, said it embarrassed her. It embarrassed her even more when she listed off all the sauces she wanted brought out. Come to think of it, almost everything she enjoyed seemed to embarrass Minnie. Comic book shops, scifi conventions, she wouldn't even watch Star Wars with her, saying they were boring and pointless. Violet looked down at her Batwoman t-shirt, Minnie would have insisted she change before she would go out in public with her.
No, things were never that great with Minerva to begin with, but it was nice not being alone. Violet really missed not being alone, but being alone was the first step to finding someone new, someone right. And honestly even when she wasn't alone physically, she still felt like she was emotionally, and at least this way she wasn't having to pretend to smile at all of Minerva's pretentious parties. Forced to talk to all of Minnie's musician friends that always talked down to her because they had 'heard of that band before it was cool' or they just 'can't believe you listen to them, they are so mainstream'.
"D-did I get something wrong?" Clementine appeared again, Violet could see the hurt in her eyes as she noticed Violet's untouched plate.
"No!" Violet said a little too urgently, "no... you're perfect-it's perfect. I just got a little lost in thought, thank you... for this." she gestured towards the plate, taking a chicken nugget, dunking it in barbecue and shoving it in her mouth to prove a point. A smile of relief formed on Clementine's lips as she wandered away to deliver her tray of drinks.
Violet followed her with her eyes as she walked past the table of rowdy guys, the one closest to her winked at the rest of his buddies before quickly pushing his chair back, making as if to stand, causing the normally graceful Clementine to trip, her tray of drinks went askew. Violet saw that they were going to spill, there was no stopping it, but ever the professional, Clementine was able to tilt the tray towards herself to prevent a cascade of drinks to go flying out onto unsuspecting customers.
She was drenched and the table of boys cheered as she crouched down to pick up the tray and glasses, apologizing profusely for the mess. Violet seethed at the guys as they grinned and elbowed each other in a congratulatory manner. Clementine passed by Violet, red faced and unsmiling for the first time all night as she went back into the kitchen, emerging a minute later with fresh drinks and only slightly less damp. She was smiling again and Violet admired her determination.
Violet continued to eat her food, keeping one eye on the brunette as she delivered the drinks to the appropriate table, apologizing to the group that looked like they were on a double date. She pulled out a towel as she turned around and began sopping up the mess. Violet noticed as the guys stared and she was grateful that Clementine was wearing a thick undershirt, so they didn't get the show that they were hoping for.
Clementine finished cleaning up and rushed around busily taking care of all of her tables as Violet finished her food off and started her third drink. Soon tables started to empty without refilling.
"No rush, this is just-uh-for whenever you feel ready, okay? No rush." Clementine set a piece of paper upside down on the table, looking nervous and continued about her work. Violet reached for it curiously, she had already paid her bar tab, she had insisted that the bartender take her money. She flipped it over in her hands, heart fluttering at the sight.
'Call me whenever you're ready,
if you're interested...
(202) 867-5309 Clementine 3'
Violet pulled out her phone without a seconds hesitation, adding Clementine's number to her contacts before starting a text.
Me: This is Violet, you know, that girl sitting at the bar right now? When do you get off shift? I think I'm ready for dessert, like a good dessert, not one from here. No offense.
Violet hit send and reread her message, rolling her eyes at her own cheesiness. Clementine was busy clearing dishes off the now empty table once occupied by the rowdy boys. Violet could see that her cheeks were red and she was purposefully looking anywhere but in Violet's direction. She carried the dishes back into the kitchen and a minute later Violet's phone vibrated.
TooBeautifulForWords: I could go for dessert, give me ten minutes :)
Violet smiled at the message and finished her drink, maybe this wasn't a mistake after all.