InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "smiley day to you!"

Kate Bishop (hawkeve) wrote in valloic,
@ 2024-03-29 10:03:00

Entry tags:

!: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: kate bishop, ₴ inactive: violet debenham

Violet Debenham & Kate Bishop

WHAT: ~~Date night~~ Dinner turned birthday celebration
WHERE: Galdin Quay, Mother of Pearl Restaurant
WHEN: Backdated to March 21st, 2024
WARNINGS: Romantic tension?
STATUS: Complete

“It is always my pleasure to score some free cake.”

Kate knew deep down she probably should put more distance between herself and Violet given how she’d been feeling lately. She’d as good as confessed to being interested in her in conversations with Kamala, but she knew she shouldn’t be. The problem was that the more she thought about it, the more she wanted it. Her heart was invested, even as her mind kept pushing her to slow down. There were reasons they hadn’t jumped into anything. They didn’t know each other well, not really. What they did know was that neither of them was ready for a relationship. She was the one who’d reached out to set a boundary. She was the one who’d insisted that just because their space counterparts seemed to have a relationship – the memories were there, murky and hard to pick apart, but lingering – that it didn’t mean they, in their Vallo, had to mirror that path. She meant that. She meant it when she first said it, and she meant it now. But something was there. Violet had come to her, and trusted her, when she was upset and in trouble. Not Edwin, who she knew, even if she wasn’t super fond of him. Kate was who she’d chosen to comfort her and help her figure things out. And that had only made the feelings Kate was fighting harder to avoid. So, all of that meant she shouldn’t have been taking Violet out to what was, admittedly, a fancy restaurant on the isolated little beach island of Galdin Quay. The weather was gorgeous, eternally tropical even when the mainland was still a little cooler. Mother of Pearl had a perfect view of the water, and the table where they’d been sat would give them front-row seats when the sun started to set. It was devastatingly romantic, but Kate tried to ignore that to the best of her ability. “Did they have a lot of seaside restaurants back in your time?” she asked Violet curiously, slicing into the pork dish she’d been served. Violet, for her part, had decided that the best of course of action was to just not think about things with Kate. She liked her company, and Violet was very good at just ignoring any pesky feelings that she didn’t want to deal with. Repression, that was the name of the game. And so, when Kate invited her out for dinner, Violet accepted without a second thought. The view was stunning, made more so by Kate – nope, ignore that – and Violet was having a pretty good time. “You do remember that I’m from England, don’t you?” Violet teased, pointing at Kate with the piece of duck that was hanging on the end of her fork. It was the kind of thing that would have driven her aunt absolutely insane – waving around your dinner cutlery while having a conversation was the picture of low class, according to Aunt Caroline – and so it had become a habit that Violet felt no particular need to break. She rested her cheek on her hand, elbow on the table – yet another thing that would have driven Aunt Caroline out of her mind – and took a fond look out the large window. “Nothing quite like this though. The view really is stunning.” “Yeah,” Kate agreed, although her eyes were focused on Violet, not the view outside. She cleared her throat and shifted her eyes down for a split second to get ahold of herself before she was caught. “And I know you’re from England, but I don’t know how many restaurants they had, seaside or otherwise, in the 1600s or whatever ye olden year it was back then,” she teased right back. “Oh my god, stop,” Violet laughed, flicking a carrot from her salad off her fork at her. “I’m from the 1900s, thank you. I’m not that ancient. I’m a very young 137 years old.” “You don’t look a day over 92,” Kate chuckled as the carrot bounced off her arm. “But we could stand to work on your aim. Remind me to show you the coin trick Clint showed me someday.” “Oh you charmer you,” Violet said, batting her eyelashes at her. She lit up at the mention of a coin trick though. “You could always show me this coin trick now?” “When we leave,” Kate assured her. The eagerness was very cute, though, and she might have gazed at her a little extra softly. “The coin trick involves flinging it across a room, and I get the feeling that wouldn’t be appreciated in the middle of a restaurant. Maybe if I was drunker.” “Boring,” Violet sighed, but she was giving Kate a teasing smile. “When we leave then, but I hope it will be worth all the anticipation.” Violet heard the words as she said them, heard the other meaning that could have been lurking just under them. But her phone buzzed in her pocket then, and she seized the excuse to look at it to cover any embarrassment. She finished typing a response to her text, and looked back up at Kate, recovered. “Have you been here before? The food is honestly excellent. Better than almost anything I’d eaten at home.” “Nope,” Kate said with a shake of her head. It had been a choice she’d considered for her first anniversary date with Emily, but they’d ultimately chosen somewhere Emily loved in the city instead. “A friend’s husband used to be the chef here, though. They disappeared not that long ago.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” Violet said, and reached out to give Kate’s hand a squeeze. “This place is beastly about that.” She hated it. Hated that she could see how much these things hurt Kate. Other than Nikolai and Astarion, Violet had had none of her friends disappear yet. Though, that may have been more because Violet had been very reluctant to make friends in a place where people were constantly disappearing. “I guess that means that you’ve never had the duck before though. Did you want to try some?” Kate’s heart fluttered and she squeezed Violet’s hand right back. It sucked to lose Prompto, but she had hope he was in a good place back home. If nothing else, she knew he had been happy with the guys here. That was important; it was something she was working to implement into her thinking about her bigger losses, too. “I’d love to,” she agreed eagerly. “Want some of my pork? Happy to trade.” She pushed her plate toward the center of the table, content to let Violet take whatever she wanted. “I’m glad you’re not a weird eater. I’ve never understood people who picked at their food to look delicate, you know?” “That sounds exactly like my aunt,” Violet said, moving her own plate to the centre of the table so that Kate could take what she wanted. “She’s very much all about appearances and decorum. I really hated that as a kid, you know? It felt like I was being caged. So I made sure to break open the cage in as many ways as I could.” She put the pork into her mouth and glanced at her phone again. Stopped chewing in surprise, and glanced up at Kate, then back at her phone, and began to type furiously. She exchanged a couple of messages with whoever was on the other side, before she put her phone back down and smiled at Kate. “That is probably the best pork I have ever had in my life,” she said. “Best duck, too,” Kate hummed, spearing another piece with her fork. She wasn’t surprised. Mother of Pearl was pricey for a reason – food quality was excellent, and she had a feeling Ignis would be happy that it hadn’t taken a dive in his absence. “Growing up in high society England back then doesn’t sound all that different than growing up on the Upper East Side now,” she went on, moving her fork back to the asparagus that had come with her pork. “My mom was a little less uptight, but I was also a pain in the ass and wouldn’t let her put me through anything I didn’t want to do. My training turned out to be a good excuse for a lot. It got me out of having a coming out party.” “I cannot believe that they still do coming out parties in the twenty-first century,” Violet said. “It was a drag even in the nineteenth. You’re so lucky you got out of it.” She shot Kate a smile, and looked at their plates. There was still some food left, but they were close enough to being done that Violet didn’t feel at all strange when she asked, “Do you think you have room for dessert, too? Their desserts here must be to die for.” “Absolutely.” Kate reached for the dessert menu that had been left at the end of the table and opened it between them. It was just a single sheet of very nice parchment paper with the list printed in neat script. “What do you think? Peppermint bark layered cake sounds really good, but mint’s a controversial choice these days.” Violet leaned over so that she could glance at the dessert menu as well, and considered. “No, I think the peppermint bark layered cake sounds absolutely perfect.” And then, without any more hesitation, she raised her hand and called a server over. “How can I help you?” the server asked, taking a quick glance at their plates, and then their drinks. “Hi. I think we’re almost ready for dessert,” Violet said in her sweetest voice. “We were considering the peppermint bark layered cake? But first, I just thought that I’d mention that it’s my friend’s birthday today.” Here, she glanced, doe-eyed and innocent, at Kate, mostly so she could see her reaction to this revelation. “Yes, today, my dear friend Katherine is turning twenty-five. Can you believe it? I can’t. But we were wondering if you offer free desserts for someone’s birthday? Maybe you might have some staff come out to sing her happy birthday, like I’ve seen in the movies?” She turned away from Kate to bat her eyelashes at the server, who looked, understandably, more than a little perplexed. “Uh,” he started, and then seemed to come back to himself. “I’m sorry miss, we don’t sing happy birthday. We’d not like to disturb our other guests. But I can ask my manager about the free dessert?” “Oh you’re so sweet,” Violet said. “Thank you so much.” And, once the server left, Violet turned her doe-eyed stare back at Kate and batted her eyelashes once again. Kate’s reaction was slack-jawed shock for long enough that even her mother probably would have reached out to push her mouth shut. She had purposely kept her birthday a much smaller, quieter event this year. She wasn’t at the point where she was ready for an over-the-top party like she’d had last year, not with Nat and Emily gone. Yelena had been the one to insist on the get-together with some friends planned for tomorrow, and Kate had approved because she loved her sister and knew she wanted to do something. She hadn’t told Violet. Well, she hadn’t told Violet her birth date, but she had told her back when she’d picked up Dorian from Black Widow House that her birthday was in March. When she hadn’t inquired about it any further, Kate had just left it out. The dinner they were at now was more than enough, and it was something Violet had accepted without feeling any sense of weird birthday obligation. But now, she knew, and Kate’s mind started to whir to put the pieces together. “How did you–” She cut herself off as she realized Violet had been on and off her phone over the last little while, and she deflated with a sigh. “Who was it? Yelena?” “I will never tell. Why didn’t you tell me?” Violet asked, nudging Kate’s shin with her foot. “I didn’t want it to be a big deal,” Kate replied with a shrug, meeting Violet’s gaze across the table. “And I wanted to see you, but I didn’t want you to feel obligated to see me because it was my birthday. Which sounds dumb now, but it made sense at the time.” “It's a little dumb,” Violet said. “I wouldn't have felt obligated. But I would have wanted to do something… I don't know. Special, for your birthday, had I known. Like maybe brought you flowers or something.” She began cradling, moving her long fingers in a complicated pattern. She didn't use the string Edwin needed in order to make his cradles – if Edwin was here, in fact, he would probably complain about how sloppy her cradles were – but she didn't need to be as precise as Edwin; she could fill her cradles with power to make up for the sloppiness. “Something like this.” From about two feet above Kate, rose petals, in Kate’s favourite shade of purple, began to rain softly down. They fell upon her hair and shoulders, on the table and the food. One even landed in Kate’s glass, and floated, ever so realistically, upon the surface of the water. Kate was prepared to point out that was part of why she hadn’t mentioned anything. She didn’t need anything special. She didn’t need gifts or even acknowledgment; just Violet’s company was all she’d wanted, and she’d gotten it. She was usually the type to make her birthday all about her, but it just hadn’t felt right this year. And whatever this was with Violet – friendship, more, or some weird hybrid – was about more than just her. But before she could, rose petals started floating down around her. It was strange to witness – she couldn’t feel the petals, even as they landed on her arms and the table in front of her, nor did her attempt to wrap her hand around one do anything but brush through it. “Wow,” she breathed, opening her hand to see what would happen if she remained still. A petal landed neatly on her palm, but there was no weight, no soft sensation. She’d known Violet specialized in illusion magic, but this was breathtaking to witness. “You’re incredible.” Violet blushed. She was not prone to blushing, but the compliment was unexpected, and she’d not been prepared for it. She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Oh, it’s a pretty basic spell,” she said. “Nothing that impressive.” She smiled at her. “But I’m glad you liked it. In lieu of proper flowers, of course.” “I’d rather have you than flowers,” Kate told her with a grin. She liked the way Violet blushed and that she was the cause of it. She wanted to inspire another if she could. She reached across the table to take Violet’s hand and brush a thumb over her knuckles. “Thank you for coming out with me, even though I didn’t tell you it was my birthday.” Violet suppressed a shiver at Kate’s touch, gave her fingers a squeeze, and then withdrew her hands. She hadn’t, she realized with a pang of guilt, thought of Maud at all today. She hadn’t been thinking of Maud as much lately at all, not when she was with Kate. It was so easy to just get lost in the moment whenever she was around her. It was only harmless flirting though; they both knew that. “Thank you for wanting to spend the day with me, even though it was your birthday,” Violet said, smiling. “But, of course, my company is the best birthday present anyone could ask for, so I’m not surprised,” she added, giving Kate a mock-arrogant smile. “Yeah, it is,” Kate agreed, occupying her hand with an untouched butter knife. She stood it up, fingers around the handle spinning it idly in circles. “It’s all I wanted.” She met Violet’s eyes, her own cheeks warming a bit. She thought about saying what she was thinking, owning up to the fact that the feelings she was having for Violet were more than she’d been able to control, but the words couldn’t get past the lump that had formed in her throat. You could ruin it, a little voice whispered in her ear, and she heeded it. “So,” she said instead, “does you knowing the truth mean one of my meddlesome family members invited you to dinner tomorrow?” Violet flushed, but only lightly. She thought she managed to keep her expression from giving away too much of the way her heart pounded and her mind panicked at the words it’s all I wanted. She was an actress after all. She could bloody well act like one for once, instead of some lovesick schoolgirl. “It does,” Violet said. “I hope you’re not planning on telling me I can’t come, because I’ll be there either way.” “No, you can come,” Kate assured her. “I hope you don’t think I didn’t want you to come for any weird reason. Your last visit to my house was just kinda, you know, explosive and traumatic, so I was trying to save you the inevitability of Yelena picking on you.” Which was half true. The TV and wall were back in good working order, but Yelena hadn’t let Kate live down that incident, and she knew there would be no qualms on giving Violet the same treatment. But she’d ben saving them both from what she knew were going to be the unsubtlest insinuations about their relationship from Kamala, too. She was the only one Kate had confided in even a little bit about her feelings so far, and she’d yet to let it go either. She was probably the meddlesome one who’d been texting Violet to join them, when she thought about it. Yelena wasn’t the type to insert herself into Kate’s relationships, and if Leon had any clue that Kate was interested in the girl who’d blown up their TV, she’d be flabbergasted. “I’ve dealt with sisters before. I mean, I have four of them myself.” Violet winked, and then felt a pang of longing for her own sisters. She hadn’t seen them since she’d left for America; with everything going on with the Last Contract, she hadn’t even managed to see them once she’d returned to England. “I think I can handle a little teasing from yours. And I promise I’ll be on my best behaviour.” She held her hand over her breast, as though she were taking an oath. “Absolutely no blowing up any more walls.” “Relieved to hear that,” Kate laughed. “I’d be pretty impressed if you could do without Carol’s powers, though. I wouldn’t mind losing another TV to that.” “Oh, I’m sure Edwin has some spell or another up his sleeve that could manage it,” Violet said, waving a hand dismissively. She knew it, in fact. She had been there when Edwin had unmade the Barrell. Not that Violet had any interest in casting something like that. “I’m sure I could cast some illusion spell that would make it look like I had, even if I didn’t care to actually do it.” She glanced at her watch just as the waiter approached the table again. With the assurance that it was comped and a Happy Birthday directed toward her, he presented them each with a slice of cake before he left them alone again. “Well, happy birthday to me,” she commented. The cake did look heavenly, and she wasn’t going to turn away anything free. “Thank you, Vi.” Violet smiled at Kate once she had her cake. “Happy birthday to you,” she repeated, softly. “But you don’t need to thank me. It is always my pleasure to score some free cake.”