Rose Tyler is Bad Wolf (_badwolf_) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-10-10 18:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, clara oswald, rose tyler |
Who: Clara and Rose
What: Meeting and chilling
When: Recently
Where: Diner!TARDIS
Warnings: Low
Status: Partner Thread | Complete
Another Orange County situation over and done with, nothing that had caught her attention for needing to be investigated? Well that meant that Clara was in ‘waitress’ mode. She had also let Rose know that she would be open for the next week (barring any interesting cases or OC related shenanigans, of course) so now she was interested to see if the other woman would decide to stop by or if it had been one of those say you will meet up and then it’s been two years and still nothing.
Plus given how often her dad would say he’d go get coffee or food and then be three weeks late, well… it wouldn’t surprise Clara. Still, she’d like it if Rose showed up. Just because their paths never really had crossed in the dreams didn’t mean anything to her. She was friends with Martha, after all. And once all the crazy of time travel and the Doctor came more into play? It helped having people who understood.
For now though, one of her former students had just left and Clara was alone in the diner so she grabbed a book from under the counter to read until either she figured it was closing time or someone came in.
Having been through a week of ‘what’s going to happen?’, Rose had set about making sure she met everyone she had talked to on the network. It seemed the best time to make friends and connections, especially before the next type of strange situation. A lot of people she talked to seemed to take it with a grain of salt, either hunkering down to wait it out or helping when they could. Rose hoped she could be in the later group next time, but only time would tell.
Having no dinner plans for the evening, she remembered talking to Clara about her diner and thought it was about time she dropped by for a hello. She had mentioned good tea and Rose secretly hoped some good chips as well.
Following the directions on her phone, she popped her head in the door, looking around. It seemed a bit deserted but how else could it be when the hours were so flexible? She imagined she had just come at the right time as her eyes landed on the girl behind the counter.
“‘Ello! Are you Clara? I’m Rose and thought I’d pop round for a bit.” She grinned, making her way over to have a seat at the counter stool. “Nice place you’ve got.” She looked around, taking in the retro decor.
Hearing the bell ring, Clara looked up and grinned as Rose asked if she was Clara.
“That I am.” Marking her place in the book she’d been reading, the brunette returned the book to its spot and then focused her attention on the other young woman. As was the case whenever she decided to open the diner doors, Clara was in her TARDIS blue waitress dress with the white apron and accents, hair in a ponytail.
“Thanks. So. What can I get for you?”
“Tea and some chips please. Cheers.” She took a seat, swirling on the chair a bit as she watched the woman in front of her. “Do you do everything? Like, cook and wait and clean?” It seemed a lot for one person, but Rose could already tell she had that sort of determination and hard work from the network.
“Been open for awhile today?”
“Tea and chips, coming up.” Marking it down, Clara contemplated the question as she set a kettle for the tea. Did she actually do everything? Yes and no. It was a TARDIS, but it was fun keeping that part to herself. Eventually it tended to come up with her friends and it wasn’t like the door would open for a threat. Still, sometimes it was fun to play a part. “Yeah, for the most part. And yeah, coming up on a year.” At least the days when she decided to play waitress.
Motioning she would be right back, Clara headed to the ‘kitchen’ in order to go get Rose her plate of proper chips before coming back to the main area. Just in time for the kettle to finish heating the water, and made Rose her proper cuppa.
Rose gave her an impressed look, nodding her head in understanding. “That’s pretty brilliant really. A lot of work, but at least you can really call it your own, yeah?” Rose wondered that would be like, working for yourself at whatever pace you wanted to set.
She nodded her head as she went to the back, taking another look around. She noticed the jukebox in the corner and stood up, making her way over to it. There were a few songs she recognized on there and grinned, flipping through the selections while she waited for Clara to come back. She did sooner than she would have thought and she glanced over as she heard the doors open again.
“Cool jukebox,” she said, still shuffling through. “Where did you find something like this?”
“Exactly.” It was nice being her own boss. Clara was personable and liked to talk with people, but there was something that was nice about only having to rely on herself for these sorts of things. Then again, thanks to the TARDIS and everything, it wasn’t like she really needed a steady job so the whims of waitress or random investigation work tended to work out a bit better. Though she was once again finding herself a bit more grounded to this life since she had started dating Bucky. That was nice.
That was always the risk, figuring out how long to wait in the back, but it was always brushed off as good customer service.
“Thanks. Jumble sale.” Little white lies for the time being given it had been part of the TARDIS.
She shuffled back to the counter, taking a seat again and smiling down at her plate of chips. “Cheers,” she said, picking up a fork and stabbing a generous amount. As she ate a few, it tasted like heaven. Well, she wasn’t usually picky about her chips, but they were hard to come by here in the states. She looked at Clara and gave her a grateful smile. “Ugh, these are so good. Can you text me whenever you’re open ‘cause I’ll come runnin’! ” She gave her a cheeky grin, popping another in her mouth.
“Good find,” she said, glancing back over to the box. “Do you switch out the music or just keep whatever’s on there?”
Chips and tea delivered, Clara leaned back against the wall while still facing Rose. It was part of the appeal of the diner, just talking with people. Some days it was fun, others not so much. Either way, she enjoyed it. “I can definitely do that.”
There were a few places one could get more traditional pub fare. But Clara enjoyed her diner with its Americana feeling plus British fare. Or whatever else someone might want. “Nah, I tend to keep what’s already on it. I mean I suppose if I get bored with the music I can find new songs to put in.”
Rose gave her a thankful smile before nodding to the place next to her. “Wanna take a break and share a delicious snack with me?” She grinned, holding out a forkful of chips at her. She figured while she was the only customer in the place Clara could take a break with her.
“Well if you haven’t grown bored with it now then why change?” She gave a small shrug, shoveling more chips in her mouth. “Can I get like, two more orders to go? These are the best I’ve had while here.”
“Might as well.” Grinning, Clara pushed herself off the wall and took the seat next to Rose, a fork of her own for the chips. After all, it wasn’t like she was doing all that much and this was the whole point for Clara when it came to the diner, conversation.
“That’s my thinking.” And then the question about two more orders, which caused her to laugh some. “Yeah, of course.”
Rose gave her a silly grin, her mouth full of chips. “I hope you know you’re my new best friend,” she said, pointing a fork at Clara. “Next time we get together we’ll have to go on an adventure.” Another chip popped into her mouth. “Do you like the beach?”
“No complaining here. Others might, but they can deal with it.” It was all in good fun and teasing her friends (even if they weren’t there at the moment) was always something she would do if it came up. “See, now you’re speaking my language about going on an adventure. As for the beach? I enjoy it.”
So what if her last stroll along the beach had ended up with her in the morgue. It wasn’t like Clara was going to let that stop her.
“I love it!” Rose said, a smile spreading across her face. “If you could bring a couple chips, we should have a picnic on the beach. It’s always so much fun and we only have so many warm days left until it starts to get cold!” She was trying to get as many people to go with her as possible. “Oh! Maybe we could have a bonfire night!”
“Should be easy enough. That can be arranged.” Yes. A picnic on the beach would be fun. True it didn’t get as cold here as it did elsewhere, however it had it’s moments. Especially in December when it would snow despite all the odds. No matter, picnic on the beach. “Oh, Bonfire night. There’s a good number of us from England as well.” Plus those who might be interested to go even if they it wasn’t their particular culture. “I know some of the beaches have fire pits that can be rented out.”
Rose beamed, the beginnings of a great adventure forming in front of them. “Brilliant! We should definitely do a bonfire. Invite friends, have food and s’mores!” The more she thought about it, the more excited she got. “A fall bonfire? Yeah, let’s do it!” Her eyes shone and she started to get excited about the idea.
“Maybe middle of the month?”
While Clara initially though Rose meant Bonfire Night as in the 5th of November, middle of the month also worked for her. It wasn’t like she was picky on when, she just misunderstood. Besides, she’d only had S’mores once since she had moved to the States and that was earlier in the year as it wasn’t a big thing back home. Still, it would be fun.
“For a general fall bonfire? Middle of the month would be good, yeah.”
Rose grinned, not even thinking along the lines of Clara. At least she was still open to the idea. “This will be so much fun! A great way to end the warmer weather and welcome in the colder!” Rose had been use to snowfall winters and was looking forward to, what she thought, would be a warmer winter this year.
Finishing up the chips, she looked down at her empty plate and sighed. “They were just too good,” she said with a cheeky grin. “I’m tempted to make it three orders, but best stay within reason. How much do I owe ya?”
“It really will be.” Proper Bonfire Night or not, it wasn’t that big a deal to Clara. It was just something that would be fun to do with a bunch of friends. Given the nature of Orange County and life in general, they all could use that break.
“$11 dollars should cover you.” Three per order of chips and then two for the tea. “I’ll go get you those two orders to go.”
Grinning, Clara headed to the back for the ‘kitchen’ and went about putting together the to go orders and waited the ‘appropriate’ amount of time before coming back out.
“Here you go.”
“Cheers,” she said, setting down $15 on the counter. “Great food and service.” She beamed. “Anyway, I wrote my number down so give me a text and we can figure out the bonfire!” She grinned, nodding down to the napkin she had written it on. “I’m happy to have finally met ya in person Clara. Thanks again for the perfect chips and tea in the OC! I hope you know I really will bug ya when I get a craving.” She gave her a wink before heading out the door.