This is based of the Violet Evergarden Anime on Netflix. This came to me while I was on vacation, so I hope you enjoy it. This is a Modern AU oneshot.

The pitter pattering is the rain outside felt oddly soothing despite the gloomy outlook that the weather provided in the city of linden, where Violet Evergarden a young graduate of Columbia university made a living as a ghost writer after graduating from the program in New York courtesy of her father Major Gilbert Bougenvillea. As a child, Violet was adopted by the Major after supposedly being left behind at an army base as an infant by her parents. While she was raised well by the caretakers particularly her teacher Miss Ananthy, she failed to socialize with her peers, even after her adoption. It wasn't much better growing up with Gilbert, as a result of the fact that Gilbert was stationed in multiple locations for most of Violet's childhood. It was hard for her to make friends when she didn't spend more than a year or two before moving again. This made Violet very lonely and she developed a shy almost detached personality, made more difficult when she was exposed to Gilbert's comrades and she made it a habit to emulate their mannerisms. It was almost robotic. Gilbert didn't mind this since the discipline made Violet very efficient with her studies growing up, but it did nothing to improve her social skills despite working well with her classmates. In retrospect it was Gilberts one failure as a father. Yet somehow Violet made it all the way through college with that attitude with quite a few connections and stellar grades. Top of her class in creative writing with a talent for letter writing.

It was because of this Violet got a job at the CH Postal company based in New York after graduating. The best part about it was that it was run by one of her childhood Uncles, Claudia Hodgins, who actually founded the company during Violets stay in College. When deciding on her major, the Child soldier actually went to speak to her uncle about starting a job there as an intern so she could gain some experience as a writer before graduating. Naturally, Claudia was all too happy to accommodate his niece and set her up in the mailing room at first so she could deliver the letters (as it was the only job he had available for her at the time,) which she did so with flying colors (minus the fact that she skipped lunch multiple times over the course of her internship there to do so) and after graduating immediately began working as a ghost writer for those who had trouble expressing their feelings to others. In fact she became so efficient that Violet was soon the CH Postal company's most popular and most sought out employee.

One might be wondering why Violet made a living as a ghost writer as opposed to joining the army like her father despite going through training to keep her in shape and teach her self defense. Well Violet had completed some basic training with her father before college, but by her own admission she wanted more out of life than that. Gilbert did as well. Having been in many battles that last thing that he wanted was to lose Violet like he had many of his allies. That and there was a certain charm to writing that. Violet despite her ineptitude at socializing was able to grasp like she was a poet herself. In her first year alone she had handled dozens of requests many of whom were enamored with her in more ways then one. However Violet never found the time for such things despite her curiosity on the subject and the meaning of the words "I love you". despite her adulthood and experience in childhood Violet confessed that she frankly didn't understand love the same way the rest of the world seemed to. Her father was the only one to ever say those words to her. Even her uncle Dietfried never told her that for he was cold and calculating. He seemed to always dislike Violet even as a child he seemed disgusted with her. Violet never cared though for most of her time was spent with Gilbert or her teachers. However she never found the courage to say I love you to anyone in her life except her father and even then she rarely expressed her feelings to him. Gilbert assumed (despite taking Violet to see a psychiatrist during her early childhood) that this was a result of her abandonment, at least once he revealed to his adopted daughter that she was indeed adopted (it helped that Violet looked nothing like the Bougenvilla family at all, since they had dark hair and green eyes as opposed to her blonde hair and blue eyes.) however Violet got over the fact she was adopted fairly quickly, but never seemed to outgrow the feelings of detached abandonment that came with the revelation of her lack of biological connection to her family

However as an adult Violet was now on her own and other than her roommate Luculia she rarely found time for anyone else aside from her workmates, and even then she was almost detached from them despite caring deeply for them as individuals even preventing one of her workmates Iris from suffering little more than a broken arm after a bad fall, and helping Cattalya with several cases that the latter had to work during the day. An odd paradox yes, but Violet made it work some how, much to Gilberts own pride. He wouldn't be surprised if Claudia actually named Violet as one of the managers of the company someday, but that was a long way away, sine Violet was still very young and lacked the necessary experience to hold such a position. In the meantime Violet seemed quite content writing letters as in her own words "it was better to reach the hearts of others through the words they speak from their own heart" which was such a beautiful sentiment that it actually became the CH Postal company's slogan after Violet had first spoken those words to Claudia when he had asked why she wanted to become a ghost writer (or "Doll"- an affectionate term for the female employees that worked at Claudia's company.)

Sighing, Violet closed her laptop, one of the few possessions that she kept in her small almost cramped apartment she shared with her best friend Luculia and stared out the window. The rain was still going strong as it had been all day, ever since Violet woke up that morning. She had seen days like this before especially during the summer season, but she never quite liked it, despite the soothing effect rain seemed to have on her. maybe because she needed to be kept busy every once in a while so that she could focus on her work. Even though some days Luculia would insist that violet get out of the apartment and do something every once in a while, Violet rarely if ever took her up on said offer because she would rather work. The problem that came into play now was that Violet wished that Lucilia was around to keep her busy because presently she was suffering from writers block and couldn't find a single lick of inspiration to help her write. You see, Violet was in the mist of trying to write her own novel; something that she had been working on as part of a draft for her final project in college. She had the basic points of the novel down, the problem was that she was failing to reach point b from point a. in short she was having a bit of writers block and nothing that she did, whether it be coffee (which she had only this morning, which was more than a few hours ago.) or soothing music (in addition to the rain) or even active music (which just served as a bigger distraction since she couldn't think with such music anyway) was helping her in any sense. It was like the world just decided that because it was raining no one in the area could have a good day at all. Violet hated these days more than anything, but what could she do? Sometimes things like this just happened and there was little that she could do to change it. she had been sitting there for close to a half an hour looking at a blank screen and absolutely nothing was coming to mind.

The worst part was that Luculia wasn't even around for her to talk about it. Luculia usually loved to let Violet rant about her problems to her ( a rare trait for those who knew Violet) because Luculia was one of Violets most trusted friends and while the two didn't work together at the same company had both gone to Columbia (hence why they were roommates now) and usually the red head had good words of advice to give violet that helped her out o writers block. The thing was that she was currently out on a date with someone downtown and therefore Violet was unable to go ahead with her therapy session. She didn't want to call her father about it either because for one, he was to direct and serious to help and she didn't want to complain to him anyway plus he had little to no experience with this line of work and there for was little help with her problem to begin with.

So here she was in her tiny apartment attempting to write a novel that she had been planning ever since senior year of college during a rainstorm that put hurricanes to shame and there was literally nothing that was coming to her to help her even start the novel she so desperately wanted to work on. Running her hand over her face, Violet heaved another sigh before turning back to her desk placing her elbows on the desk with her face in her hands 'what am I going to do?' she thought in annoyance. Gripping her hair in frustration she let out a scream of anger, almost kicking the wall with her foot, but she held back; she didn't want to cause trouble with her neighbors especially during a fit. That was definitely the last thing she needed right now.

"Take deep calming breaths" she began chanting to herself. Gilbert's rules, never let your emotions get the better of you. the moment they do, your opponent will have the upper hand. in this case the enemy being her oh so dreaded writers block. God did she hate having it. as much as she dint want to admit it, maybe there would be some benefit to getting out of the apartment for a little while. Staying in her room certainly dint seem to be helping, so maybe getting out and going out into town might do the trick for once. At least then Luculia wouldn't bother her when she got back (that is to say if she brought her boyfriend back with her; Violet definitely didn't want to be the third wheel in this situation) and Violet could get more coffee or something and see the town to help her get some inspiration. In either case it was a win win since hopefully Violet could finally begin working on her book. She placed her hand on the desk drumming her fingers in thought. The only issue was where was she to go? She didn't want to be caught in the rain for too long, or risk getting a cold doing so, and while most people may not be out and about due to the inclement whether, it was pretty late and there weren't many places close by that would still be open. "Great" Violet muttered to herself. Yet another dilemma that she was going to have to deal with. Of course her training as a soldier helped her in moments such s this as there were simulated training areas to have one survive in some harsh environments that a soldier had to deal with at times, heavy rain being one of them. that dint mean that she liked it though.

giving another sigh, Violet stood up from her desk pushing her chair out so she could stand straight like a soldier or a doll would before turning and walking towards the window. Of course with the last few minutes that had gone by very little had changed over the course of the rainstorm; it was still down pouring like gods wrath was wiping the earth clean. There were very few people outside from what Violet could see from her apartment window, most of them had umbrella's to cover themselves from the rain, but others were getting drenched or having a hard time dealing with the accompanying wind. But she digressed; there wasn't much for her to do inside her apartment so she might as well just go outside to grab coffee. Hopefully she wouldn't have to go too far, despite that she already knew she was lying to herself just to get her hopes up. Violet made her way to her hallway closet. Where she opened the tiny door and began to rummage through the cramped apace until she found what she was looking for. Smiling she took out a small blue and white parasol, which was embroidered and decorated with small bows. It was small, more designed for a child than an adult but Violet found this umbrella to be far more special than its simple feminine appearance made it out to be. This had been a gift from one of her earliest clients when she began working as a doll; a poor drunken man that was struggling to write a play much like Violet was struggling with now. of course she wasn't turning to alcohol to get her fix but she understood the feeling, minus the fact the playwright had lost his daughter some years before(hence why he had the aforementioned drinking problem. When violet had first found the parasol, it was among many things she found in a box in a very dilapidated dirty looking living room (which almost made her vomit) that she had the misfortune of cleaning up because the man had drunken himself into a coma during the first day that she had been there (with the added nerve of having to cook dinner for him as well, since it was late at the time and he asked if they could start the next morning).

When she found it she had to admit that it was among the most beautiful parasols that she had ever seen and couldn't help but be enamored with it; she hadn't thought about keeping it, but during one of the days she had spent working at that locations it as hot and she took the parasol thinking it would be alright to borrow it to keep her from suffering under the blazing hot sun while she was on her break (as the playwright had asked to give him some space not to mention she wanted to get out of the house or a while.) but this turned out to be a bit of a mistake as the playwright came storing out of the building and rudely knocked the parasol from violets hands demanding she leave for violating his daughters belongings in the first place (as he clearly hadn't seen her move the box of belongs when she cleaned up is mess of a living room). not long later as Violet was packing up, he apologized and the two continued to work together until they had finished the play. As thanks for her service as well as a means of apology, the playwright had give her the parasol saying he had been angry because Violet reminded him of his deceased daughter. Violet was adamant not to take such a treasured gift but her client insisted, and she gave in. the parasol had been with her ever since. Everyone who seen it especially those at the CH Postal company had to admit that the parasol completed the look of Violet being a doll, since a lot of dolls for children were marketed with some sort of accessory. Some people seemed even the slightest bit jealous and made attempts to copy Violets style. It was bad enough she was already the most popular employee in the CH Postal company despite her short time there she was also practically the cutest person there too with or without the parasol. Because of this she rarely ever took the parasol from home, wanting it to stay in as good of a condition as possible. Thankfully it also rarely ever rained while she was at home or she had no need for it wherever she went. If only she had that kind of luck today, but she enjoyed using it whenever she could as well, so it wasn't like it was a bad thing at all.)

"Glad I didn't have to waste money on a new one" Violet said to herself before closing the closet door and going to the front of her apartment, where she grabbed her spare keys , stuffing them in her blouse pocket. She then went to the cupboard beside the door and pulled out her purse (an excellent hiding spot), slinging it over her shoulder, before leaving the room, making sure to close and lock the door behind her. unlike the dark and gloomy outside, the apartment, despite not being the most glamorous of places to live (though Violet liked to think she was doing alright considering she was not anywhere near a dangerous neighborhood or anywhere where crime happened even infrequently for that matter) was brightly lit and inviting, though empty without anyone else to disturb the peace (thankfully as Violet did not want to talk to any nosy neighbor as she did not have the time). Clutching her purse tightly, just in case anything went wrong, Violet made her way down the hallway to the complex elevator. Thankfully it wasn't that far of a walk though she wouldn't mind the extra bit of cardio to be honest. going to the controls, she pressed the lower elevator button to call it and the doors immediately opened on her floor.

Thankfully the elevator was empty so Violet strode right on in and turned around, watching the doors close, entrapping her within the metal box. Undaunted, she pressed the lobby button from the list and waited patiently as the elevator slowly began moving downward towards her intended destination.

"Hmmm" Violet hummed, a slight smile on her face. despite having writers block, she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit excited that she was getting out of her apartment, like she was meant to do so.

The elevator dinged upon reaching Violets intended destination. She watched as the doors opened revealing the lobby of her apartment building. In the distance, she could see the door, with the rain still pouring down, like it had gotten worse in just the past few minutes. She was starting to think that even her parasol wouldn't be enough to save her from the torrential storm. The only thing she could hope was not to lose it, assuming the wind didn't drag it away from her. But by the looks of things, it wasn't exactly windy, just wet. Didn't mean that this was going to be a fun trip though. But she wasn't getting any work done and as much as she hated to admit it, she needed to get out of that apartment for the time being. With a skip in her step, the young woman exited the elevator and walked into the lobby, her footsteps echoing in the empty room. It felt almost foreboding in a sense, though Violet didn't see any reason for it to be. She was just going out for a walk after all. Maybe it was just her old training kicking in. Violet was lucky to never end up in a violent situation anywhere near her apartment building or in it for that matter, thank god. Not that she hadn't had her fair share of tussles in the past, most notably at work where one particular client had berated not her, but a co worker Erica who was very mild mannered and rarely ever drew attention to herself . needless to say that had not been one of her finer moments, but the fact that the man had the nerve to do that made Violets blood boil, especially since Erica did nothing to provoke his anger and the young blonde proceeded to put the man in an armlock and bend him over the table that he was seated at until he calmed down and apologized, leaving in an embarrassed huff. After that Erica treated Violet to lunch, though violet insisted that she just did what anyone would have done though it was definitely not profession to do that whatsoever. She was written up for that, but thankfully hadn't gotten into anymore trouble than that. Other than that she was pretty much a star employee and she would rather like to keep it that way.

Making it to the door, Violet opened it, exposing herself to the sounds of the storm. It certainly sounded worse than it looked if that was even possible. The streets were slick, and the air was positively damp and that was just putting it mildly. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea" Violet muttered to herself. She was tempted to just spin on her heel and walk right back upstairs, but if she did then she would be right back to where she started and that wouldn't help her matters at all.. sighing, Violet walked out of her apartment building, making sure to close the door behind her. Thankfully the door had an automatic lock, so she never had to worry about her safety once inside the building, but given the circumstances she wanted to make sure that the door would close behind her. One never knew if or when some poor desperate soul would try something in this weather though it was a fairly safe neighborhood and Violets training would come in handy during situations like that, though she prayed she would never have to use them just for that.

There had been a few times in her life where some people had tried to take advantage of Violet, mostly in college. Friends of Luculia, who has been her roommate even back then, had tried to get her to go with a group of friends to a frat party to meet some people. Violet had lightly protested, but in the end conceded since she figured that one time wasn't going to kill her. Oh how wrong she was. It was clear Violet had underestimated the power of alcohol on the human body, since it was never a thing she was exposed to growing up as per her father military training regiment and healthy eating habits, so she naturally steered clear of the stuff just the same, but she had read of the affects it could have and while she had never seen it in person was able to recognize the effects on the numerous drunk teens that she saw as soon as she walked into the building where the party was taking place. Needless to say Violet was more than a little uncomfortable and simply took to avoiding drinking that night. Sadly that didn't stop more than a few boys from trying to hit on her and get her to drink something. It quickly lost its humor after the first 'attempt' if you even want to call it that and she proceeded to basically punch everybody who so much as tried a pick up line. Thankfully no one seemed to care since everyone was drunk and no one wanted to get in trouble for the drinking anyway. Luculia had it worse that night. Thankfully, nothing happened, to her, but she was very uncomfortable since her elder brother had a bit of a drinking problem which affected her entire family the two left early and instead devoted their time to their classes. Violet never went to another one of those parties ever again, and Luculia never did either. But the two still remained in close contact and moved in together afterwards anyway having more in common than that simple night out.

Thankfully, the coffee shop was just a short walk away from Violets apartment building, which in this weather, was a good thing. The storm could get worse at any minute and that was the last thing that Violet needed. Just a short walk down the street in a very bad rain storm, no biggie. The young woman opened up her umbrella, holding it up so she wouldn't get drenched from the rain and walked out of the comfort of her apartment buildings canopy.

She could see the coffee shop not to far away, it wasn't even a block from the building. It definitely made for an easy trip and that's just what she needed right now. Sure she wouldn't be gone long, but the quicker she got some inspiration for her book the better. It was lucky perhaps that she lived in an area where she was close to everything that she needed. It made for some very boring trips, but she didn't need much aside from necessities and comforts. Having grown up in the army that was largely what she was used to to begin with

Violet began walking down the slick sidewalk, trying desperately to ignore the sloshing of the water that was currently drenching her boots. So much for having her umbrella make sure she wouldn't get wet. Oh well it could definitely be worse. There had been one time when she was younger when she and her father had been walking through a similar rainstorm and a car had sped right past them while they were just minding their own business. The problem? Well as luck would have it, the car had drove right into a rather large puddle not too far from the pair. So what happened? A reaction that was rather classic. The tire from the car cause the water to spring up like a wave towards Violet and her father, splashing them with water. Mostly Gilbert, since he was the closest of the two. Needless to say he was rather drenched with water. The sad part was that they were right outside his office and he had a meeting to be at, right at that very moment. If she hadn't had her military mannerisms drilled into her, Violet would have definitely laughed at her fathers misfortune. Didn't stop her father's fellow soldiers from doing it, much to Gilbert's displeasure, but the two had their own private laugh about it later on anyway, so it wasn't all that bad in the end.

Violet frowned. It had been a while since she had so much as contacted her father, even by phone, though she tried to call him every other week at the least. It wasn't like she was that busy, nor was he, so she should make it more of a habit to contact him. He was still in Leiden where she grew up, not that far from New York, where she still resided after college. She hadn't been there in a while, not since Christmas and that was a few months ago.

"I miss him" she whispered to herself as she tightened her grip on her parasol. He had sacrificed everything for her and she couldn't be more grateful. He took her in and gave her a home, giving her love at a time when she needed it most. He taught her how to read and write. Though they weren't related by blood, he was the family that she needed. She loved him dearly and couldn't see a life where Gilbert wasn't in it. There were times were Gilbert had been called away during her childhood, and it killed Violet to be away from him, afraid he would leave her and never come back. Even though he assured her he would, Violet was always afraid. Sure, Uncle Claudia would have been her guardian in the event anything happened to Gilbert, but Violet never welcomed that idea. Being in the army, it was lucky that never happened.

Violet decided that she would call him after she finished more of her book, later today.

It sort of reminded her of how she wrote letters for people while working as a Doll. People were always looking to contact the people they loved in some manner, but just weren't able to explain themselves very well, whether it meant they were unable to write well, or at all, or just didn't know how to put their feelings into words. It was Violets job to interpret that for them and she enjoyed it. It led to more than a few broken hearts on both her part and the clients, who were moved by what Violet had written for them. The biggest broken heart for Violet was when she had written fifty letters for a client named Clara Magnolia who was dying of cancer Violet had spent a week at her estate writing letters to be delivered to her daughter Anne, every year on her birthday for the next fifty years. The entire time she was there, Violet had to hold back tears because the poor girl was in anguish that her mother was dying but not spending time with her, even though there were times were she tried to spend time with Violet as well though she admitted that she was using Violet as a placeholder for her mother and wasn't happy with it anyway. When Violet had returned to town after that heartbreaking week, she was reduced to tears, tears that she had held in the entire time she was at that mansion, her heart breaking for the little girl, that despite having her caretakers, would be lonely without her mother. She was afraid to lose her father but she never imagined what life would be like for Anne now. All she could do was that Anne would grow up well adjusted.

Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, Violet found herself at the entrance of the coffee shop she was intending to go too. She had been so lost in the events of the past that she hadn't really noticed. Oh well it made for a quick trip. Violet walked into the store, Closing her umbrella as she did so. She let her arm fall to her side, gripping the parasol lightly, while her other hand tightly gripped the strap of her purse. Safe neighborhood aside, she could never be too careful. Thankfully the store wasn't that packed, with only a few patrons in the room, herself included. Great, then she could just get her cup of coffee in less then a few minutes and be back faster than she could say CH postal company. Smiling, she walked into the line, where only a couple of individuals were ahead of her, pair of girls to be more precise. They seemed to be together as they were holding hands and giggling with each other. Friends perhaps, maybe more? It wasn't Violets business. The closest she ever had to a relationship in her life was hearing about the woes of her friend and coworker Iris, who had a crush on her childhood friend Emmon Snow, though the feelings weren't reciprocated, causing the poor woman much grief. She had basically run away from her hometown of Kazaly, unable to face Emmon after the rejection. She found her place in New York, working hard to become a doll. Violet had actually assisted her with a letter writing request once in Kazaly, when she was requested to go there, though it was actually Iris who was requested. The issue was she had broken her arm the day she was scheduled to leave, which meant Violet had to go with her to actually write the letter, much to Iris' annoyance. It didn't help that it had been a ploy to just to get Iris home for her birthday, which Iris had completely forgotten about anyway. She didn't take this very well upon realizing she had been tricked into coming home just to meet suitors she had no intention of getting to know. She was too enveloped in her career to care about any of that anyway. At least the party had good food.

Violet smiled, remembering that day. The sad part was, Violet was actually in a very similar position to her friend. She was also focused on her career, not to mention her book, that she didn't really care much for romance in her life. Maybe one day, but now was not one of those times.

The young woman waited until it was her turn, until then she looked at the menu situated above the counter. She wasn't exactly stylish so a simple black coffee would do. Thankfully the girls in front of her already had their turn so now it was Violets turn to get the coffee. The barista looked at her with a charming customer service smile and asked "what can I get you, hon?"

"Coffee, black" Violet responded simply, and the barista nodded before getting to work making the coffee. Violet just waited patiently, deciding to take a quick look around the shop to see if there was a booth available for her to sit at. Luckily for her there was one booth available by a window, so she decided she would sit there. She wasn't gong to be long anyway so there wasn't anything to worry about in that regard, since all she wanted was to get back to her book in peace after drinking a nice relaxing cup of coffee. She just didn't want to walk in the rain worrying about spilling her drink. She sighed, rubbing her temples. There was so much going on.

She was so involved with her own thoughts that she hadn't realized that her coffee was ready. "Dear?" she heard, snapping her out of her thoughts. The barista was looking at her with a soft smile, pushing a cup filled with coffee towards Violet. Violet returned the smile taking her cup and turning to walk to the booth that she was intending to sit at. Within a few moments, she made it, sliding comfortably into the seat, placing her cup on the table, before shrugging her purse off and placing it in the inside of the booth and placing her parasol in between the seat and the table. She didn't want anyone to steal her stuff while she was enjoying her cup of coffee. After a moment, she grabbed her cup and gently lifted the sleeve covering the top of the cup, lifting the cup to her lips and blowing on it, attempting to cool the drink a drink, before taking a sip. The warm liquid rushed down her throat, satisfying Violets thirst. Hopefully it would be enough to get her neurons firing again. Violet let out a small sigh as she pulled her lips away from the cup, placing the drink down on the table. She turned her gaze to the window, where to her surprise, the rain began to lighten up a little. It was still a bit of a downpour, but not nearly as torrential as it was before. Shame, she rather liked the atmosphere when it rained, then again it had been raining all day so a small change of weather would be welcome. It was like when she went to Kazaly with Iris. The change in scenery was very soothing and though Violet was more accustomed to the city the country side made for an hospitable environment. Perhaps one day she would be able to go there again, or at least somewhere similar, but for now she would remain in the city.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat beside her. Slightly startled, she turned to see a young man around her age. He was her height with dark brown hair and stunning orange eyes, something that was very rare to see. Iris was the only other person she knew with such eyes. A light blush appeared on Violets cheeks. She had never been approached by anyone romantically, at least not in a long time, so she wasn't sure how much she would welcome that possibility. It didn't help that he was rather charming looking, with a soft smile, though he looked somewhat shy, chewing his lip as he gazed at Violet, likely taken aback by what he was seeing. He was clearly nervous and it took him several moments before he finally said something "good day mamn". He began, his voice sending shivers down Violets spine "I'm sorry to bother you, but would I be able to join you?" he said. His gaze going downcast. He seemed embarrassed just to even ask Violet for her permission to join her. Violet just kept her gaze on the young mans face searching for any sign of ill intent but she could find nothing of the sort.

The good news was that Violet was able to see that he didn't seem to have any intentions of flirting with her. Not to mention they were in a public place so it wasn't like someone couldn't help her, even though she was clearly capable of doing so herself. She smiled and gestured to the seat across from her. The man nodded sliding into the seat, and placing his drink on the table.

The two sat in silence for a while, occasionally sipping on their respective drinks, but otherwise the only noise between them was the rain and that of the other patrons minding their own business and having conversations. Violet was just about halfway done with her drink when the silence became to stifling and she couldn't help but begin a small conversation "you are being very quiet" she said almost robotically "are you normally this quiet when you are with people?" she asked quirking a brow. Her newfound acquaintance stiffened, surprised by Violets sudden attempt at conversation and he sat back in his seat placing his hands in his lap and looking down, as if looking at Violet was just too hard. "I don't mean to be…" he said softly "I just don't want to disturb you. You seemed to be rather content with yourself. I just sat here because you seemed like someone easy to approach, for company at least." He gazed out the window "I just arrived in this city yesterday, so its not like I know a lot of people here."

Violet was surprised by his tone. He was just lonely but was considerate enough not to pry into someone else's, in this case her life. Having just moved here too, that must have been rough.

"where are you originally from?" she asked, before taking a sip of her drink. "I'm from Astrea, just out side of San Francisco." The young man replied. Violet was surprised to hear that. That was quite a trip. Must not have been easy to do. "I see" the young woman whispered. She placed her drink down and folded her hands laying her arms on the table. "what brings you here?"

Her companion's eyes widened and for a moment Violet could see utter despair in his eyes, before they steeled and he just shrugged "Just needed a fresh start." He said dismissively. Violet could tell he didn't want to talk about it. Whatever happened must have been traumatic. Best to leave it alone then. Violet couldn't blame him, they were strangers after all, so instead she just nodded and took another sip of her coffee "I can relate, a coworker of mine moved from Kazaly to become a Doll here in New York." She stated briefly "seems like there's always a time where someone needs a fresh start." She said

That got the orange eyed mans attention. His gaze roamed over Violets face, as if searching for something, before he spoke again "You're a doll?" he asked in disbelief. "I wouldn't have guessed that." He said. Violet just looked at him tilting her head in confusion "and what exactly would you have guessed?" her acquaintance smiled "I would have guessed a teacher or something, you seem very prim and proper. Then again I'm not too familiar with Dolls. All I know is that it's a common term for ghost writers, at least for females these days."

That made sense. Being a ghost writer wasn't exactly common, in the sense of it as a job. "You would be correct in that assumption" Violet said a small smile reaching her face. Most people were surprised she was a doll, though others were quick to assume that she was indeed a doll because of her work uniform which consisted of a white ribbon-tie dress with a Prussian blue jacket. She also wore a white, pleated silk skirt. Of course, she wasn't currently wearing that due to the fact she wasn't at work, so she was currently wearing a blue blouse with grey jeans, so it was easy to not mistake her for a doll. The time she worked with Clara Magnolia, Anne was under the impression that Violet was a literally life sized doll. It was a bit awkward having to explain the correct context of which Violet was a doll but it was kind of cute too. It never made for a dull moment.

"I've been working as a ghost writer since college." Violet continued "For my uncle. I enjoy it." She said with a smile, though she kept it brief, not wanting to explain the details of her personal life to someone that she had just met only a few minutes ago."

"Really?" was the reply the young man gave her. Violet looked at him, then realized that she didn't even know his name. "whats your name?" she asked. The brunette smiled, the first genuine smile she had seen on him since they sat together "Aster" he replied

"Violet…" she responded in kind, extending her hand. Aster shook her hand, a little shock emanating from where their hands touched. Violet pulled away, but the tingle remained though she tried not to show it. A quick glance at Aster showed he noticed it too, but was quick to try and hide it as well, though he missed Violets glance in the process. Violet couldn't believe what had just happened. Had she just shared a moment with a complete stranger? That seemed to be completely reciprocated? What did that mean? Violet cleared her throat trying to clear the tension a little and change the subject "That's a nice name. sort of like mine." That was true. According to Gilbert he had named her Violet when he adopted her because of a fresh field of Violets that were growing just outside his home the day he brought Violet home. He said that 'she would grow into it' Violet had no idea what he had meant by that since it was just a name after all, though it was a part of her identity. Perhaps that's what he meant by growing into it? She never asked. "My father named me after violets because he saw some the day he brought me home from the hospital."

At that, Aster chuckled. "My mothers favorite flower was aster. That and I was born during a night ablaze with stars, so it sort of has a double meaning." He said turning his gaze to the window his gaze becoming wistful and somber. Violet tilted her head curiously. Did something happen that was causing him such… pain? Still it was better not to ask him about it. They had just met and it would be quite impolite to intrude in his business. Instead she focused on the topic at hand "That's a beautiful name." she said truthfully. It truly was a beautiful name; being named after a flower wasn't common and it was certainly not what she expected from a man, but… it fit. Then there was the fact that aster meant star in Greek, and like the sun, Asters eyes blazed with an orange light. If anyone had grown into their name, it would certainly be Aster.

Aster took a sip of his drink "you aren't the first person to say that" he laughed, a very beautiful laugh that made Violet smile. He seemed to want to say something more before his eyes widened and he looked at his watch. "Oh…." He said sullenly "Ive got to go." Violet frowned. It didn't seem that they had been together that long, and that made her realize something. He really was charming, even if he didn't know it. It made her want to see him again, a first for her in a rather long while. She didn't know much about love though, Gilbert never had a wife, or any relationship for that matter and Violet never cared about such things in the long run to begin with. A boy named Leon was the first person she knew to have feelings for her, but they weren't reciprocated at the time, as she was far more interested in her career than romance. That being said she certainly didn't want to rush this as it seemed Aster had a lot on his mind that he didn't want to talk about. All she knew is that she didn't want to lose this chance to get to know someone that had captured her attention for the first time in her life "would you like to do this again sometime?" She asked quickly opting to worry about the consequences later. The worse that could happen was that he said no.

Aster gasped lightly, obviously surprised. Hell, Violet herself was surprised at her lack of tact, but she didn't have much time to make that choice in the first place, so she had to take that chance. Aster seemed at a loss for words, looking at Violet intently, but his lips curled into a small smile and he nodded "I'd love too." He said, before he slid out of the booth and gave a slight bow to Violet. Violet giggled before reaching into her purse and pulled out a pen and a peace of paper. Setting the paper on the table, she scribbled her number on it, before handing it to Aster, who slipped it into his pocket. "Call me whenever you like." Violet whispered a bit bashfully. Aster nodded, giving Violet a wink, before he turned and walked out of the coffee shop and out into the night. Violet watched him go, before she gave a sigh and twisted herself in the booth. She grabbed her coffee and took a sip of it, before something caught her attention. It seemed that during her heart to heart with Aster, that the rain had finally stopped, the sun shining brilliantly in the sky once again for the first time that day. Violet smiled, taking that as a sign. Without her company, Violet was able to finish the remains of her drink, which wasn't much since she finished most of it while she sat in silence with Aster before they began their conversation. After taking one last sip, Violet set the empty cup on the table, before gathering her purse and parasol. She slipped out of the booth and walked out of the coffee shop.

As she walked down the street back to her apartment, the young woman's eyes widened as a rush of thoughts entered her mind, all having to do with her book. She couldn't help but smile. It seemed that the trip too the coffee shop had helped her with her needs after all, in more ways than one.

She wondered, was Aster thinking about her right now? She wasn't sure, since all they did was exchange numbers. It wasn't like they exchanged personal info beyond that, though the door was certainly left open for that, should Aster call her later on. Perhaps he was and thinking about that was more than enough for her. Soon enough, Violet made her way to her apartment, entering the lobby with a skip in her step and made her way to the elevator. She entered the small metal container, pressing the button that led to her floor. Once the elevator reached her floor, she exited the elevator and made her way to her room. Violet quickly grabbed her key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock, hearing the satisfying click as the lock unlocked and allowed her entrance into her apartment. The lights were off, so it seemed that Luculia was not home yet either. That was OK. It gave Violet more time to finish her book. She placed her parasol on the coat rack where she normally kept it and placed her purse on the nearby table, before making a b-line for her closed laptop. She sat down in the chair, opening her laptop, where she found her work waiting for her. Feeling energized, Violet began typing away hoping to finish the chapter she was working on.

Later that night, as she finished the latest chapter of her book, her phone, which was beside her laptop, buzzed with a notification from an unknown number with a single sentence 'Hi Violet, its Aster'

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