Holly let out a sigh of relief as she opened the door of the café and walked in. The pleasant aroma of hot chocolate and coffee filled her nose. It had been a long day. Her new promotion meant she could stay in one location and just work at one the branches, but all the desk work could get boring. Sometimes she missed working in the field.
“Holly! Over here!” Holly looked up to see Claire waving to her from a seat by the window. She was wearing the sweater that Holly had given her for her birthday. The one that matched her green eyes. Holly couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face. There was one definite benefit of being promoted; she could stay close to Claire. Holly walked over to Claire and pulled out the seat opposite of her. She sat down and shrugged off her coat. “Rough day?” Claire asked as she handed Holly a cup of coffee. Holly nodded and took a deep sip of the coffee before answering.
“Yeah, I take back all the shit I ever gave Nate. The job sucks, but someone has to do it.”
“Well I’m glad you took the promotion,” Claire told her. “I don’t have to worry about you getting hurt anymore.” Holly shrugged her shoulders and brushed back a lock of black hair.
“I never got hurt that badly.” Claire frowned at her.
“You broke your leg, Holly. In three places.” Holly’s right leg gave a slight twinge, as if just mentioning the injury was enough to conjure it back up.
“It’s fine now. Besides,” Holly said as she took Claire’s hand into her own and gave it a gentle squeeze, “I would have never met you if I hadn’t broken it. I’d say it was more than worth it.” Claire’s face flushed red. There was just always something about the way Holly said things like that, with that earnest and truthful look in her eyes that always turned her knees to jelly. Claire shook her head as she remembered why she had invited Holly to meet her.
“Holly…”
“Hmm?” Holly said as she took another sip of her coffee.
“You love me… right?” Holly put her coffee down and looked at Claire confused. She started to get an anxious knot in the pit of her stomach.
“Of course I do. You know I do. What’s wrong?” Claire avoided her eyes as she stated the reason for asking Holly to the café.
“My mom wants to meet you.” Holly looked down at her coffee; steam was still wafting lazily from the surface.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea Claire. You know I’m not good around people.”
“You get along fine with David,” Claire pointed out. Holly shrugged.
“That’s because I don’t care what your brother thinks. His opinion is null and void to me.”
“And my mom’s is different?” asked Claire. Holly retracted her hand from Claire’s reluctantly and leaned back in her chair.
“Well, I don’t know. I guess it is. I mean, David’s just your brother. You can ignore him. It’s what I do. But your mom… she raised you, cared for you, loved you. What she thinks of me matters, and I know I’m going to make a horrible impression.” With that said, Holly looked away and clutched her cup of coffee tightly. A small tear appeared in the paper cup and small stream of coffee ran down her finger. Holly’s hand leaped back as the hot coffee burned her finger.
“Shit!” she exclaimed as she waved her hand around quickly in an attempt to cool her burn. Claire leaned forward and caught Holly’s hand and held it still.
“Let me see it.” Holly slowly uncurled her hand and revealed her finger. It was only a slight burn. Holly shook her head in irritation.
“It’s not that bad, I’ve had worse. I’ll just-” Claire brought Holly’s finger to her mouth and kissed it tenderly. Holly felt a trill of pleasant heat course through her body. Claire lingered for a moment longer before removing her lips.
“Better?” Holly nodded wordlessly; her throat had suddenly becoming too dry to speak. Claire smiled as sat back down in her chair and brushed her blond hair behind her shoulder. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.” Holly scowled, but her heart was not in it.
“You have a strange idea of what cute is,” Holly told her girlfriend not for the first time. Claire grinned,, but then the smile slowly faded as she tried to bring up the temporary forgotten topic once more.
“Please Holly? It wouldn’t be a big deal, just the three of us having dinner. It would mean a lot to me.” Claire looked at her imploringly, and Holly already felt her resolve begin to crumble. Claire was her one weakness, her own personal kryptonite. Claire was the only one who could draw out things that nobody else ever saw in her, things that Holly hadn’t even known about. Holly let out a sigh and looked up at Claire who was waiting anxiously for her response.
“First off, I’m going on the record and saying that this is a bad idea.”
“But…” Claire said hopefully.
“But,” Holly said reluctantly, “I guess I’ll go. When is it?” Claire beamed at her.
“This Saturday at nine.” Holly frowned. That was only three days away. Great. She would have to get dressed up, put on make up, and wear heels... Heels were only good for torture and as improvised weapons, nothing else. Not to mention- Claire leaned across the table and planted a chaste kiss on Holly’s lips, catching her completely by surprise. Holly just sat there like a deer in headlights as Claire withdrew.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure my mom will love you.” Holly glanced around at the other patrons of the cafe. They continued to chat quietly and sip at their coffee. It seemed like nobody else had noticed.
“I thought you were still nervous about pda.” Claire shrugged sheepishly. Admittedly, she had been a little anxious about it after they had first admitted their feelings for each other , but Claire was slowly getting over it. Holly, on the other hand, didn’t care what other people thought; she just wasn’t used to affection in general.
“It’s like you say, why care what other people think?”
“What does your mom think?” Claire looked at Holly in surprise.
“Well too be fair, she was a little shocked when I came out to her. She asked if I was going through a phase or if I was having trouble with boys. After I convinced her that I was serious, well, it was awkward for a little while. For a few days we just sorted of danced around the issue, acting as if I didn’t say anything.” The anxious pit in Holly’s stomach seemed to grow. If Claire’s mother was still acting like this...
“But eventually, mom seemed to accept the idea, and now she wants to meet you.” Holly took the information in silently. She took a deep breath and clenched her fists tightly. She let out the breath slowly and opened her hands. She could handle this. This was nothing. After everything she had been through, she could handle a dinner. How bad could it be?
“This Saturday at nine, right?” Claire nodded.
“Yeah, at my mom’s place. Here,” Claire took out a pen to write on a napkin. “The address.” Holly took the napkin and placed it in her pocket.
“I hope I make a good impression, better than when we first met at least.” Claire smiled.
“To be fair, you had just broken your leg.”
“Yeah well, I still should have... I don’t know. I should have done something different.” The two of them got up, put on their coats, and walked out of the cafe. A blast of cold air cut through them like a knife. Their hands sought each other and their fingers intertwined. “C’mon,” Holly told Claire as they walked quickly in an effort to warm themselves, “I’ll walk you home.”
“You don’t have to do that, I can just take the subway...”
“I want to make sure you get there safely,” Holly said simply. Claire’s cheeks turned red, from the cold and perhaps something else. She smiled and gave Holly’s hand a squeeze.
“My protector,” she whispered under her breath. Holly cocked her head to the side.
“Did you say something?” Claire wrapped her arm around Holly’s and increased
their pace.
“Nothing.”
___________________________________________
Holly opened the door to her apartment and shuffled inside. She flicked the light switch on and shut the door behind her. She took off her heavy jacket and threw it onto a chair. She walked passed her living room and headed into the kitchen. She passed a framed picture of herself and Claire. The picture had been taken months ago, and it was one of her favorites. Claire had dragged her on a surprise picnic during one of her lunch breaks. After being unwillingly abducted, Claire had taken her to a beautiful park on the outskirts of the city. The picture showed the two of them leaning against a tree. Claire’s head rested on Holly’s shoulder as she held out the camera that took the picture in front of them. Holly was smiling softly, looking down at Claire.
Holly opened the fridge and began to rummage through it. She found the leftovers from last night and placed them in the microwave. She pushed several buttons and soon the hum of the microwave could be heard throughout the empty, quiet apartment. Holly watched as the plate slowly rotated within the microwave before going to the drawer to retrieve a fork. When she was alone, like now, the doubts began to eat at her thoughts. For as long as Holly could remember, she had always been alone. She never knew her family or what might have happened to them. She had been shuffled from foster home to foster home, even living on the street some of the time. Before she had joined Titan and had been offered a semblance of normalcy, she had been alone. Even when she started working for Titan, she was alone. Holly did not form any close relationships with her colleagues, even Nate. It was strictly professional. She had been alone until that one night. The night when she had broken her leg into three places, the night she had met Claire.
The microwave’s alarm went off, and Holly removed the pasta and stirred it several times with her fork before digging in. Everything had changed after that night. It was terrifying that someone else could suddenly mean so much to her. Terrifying that the needs of someone else came first. Holly initially tried to deny it, even tried to push Claire away from her, but to no avail. Holly hopelessly belonged to Claire. Her fear was that one day Claire would finally realize that she wasn’t good enough for her. Then Holly would be worst off than before.
The phone rang, and Holly was interrupted from her internal reverie. She put down her fork and answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Holly, it’s Nate. Listen, I need that report from last week, the one about the correlation between the weapon sales and increased activity of that particular cell.” Holly shook her head as she struggled to recall the report.
“What? Oh... Yeah, I can get you that report first thing tomorrow.”
“Are you alright?” asked Nate’s concerned voice over the phone. “You sound a little out of it.”
“I’m fine.”
“Trouble in paradise?” Holly swear that she could hear the smug the look on his face.
“No!” she snapped. She hesitated. “I don’t know. I’m meeting Claire’s mother on Saturday.” Nate whistled.
“Good luck with that.”
“Yeah thanks.” Holly replied icily.
“You’ll be fine. Just remember your training.”
“I don’t think that applies to this situation.”
“No, probably not,” Nate admitted. Holly sighed and rubbed her eyes.
“I’ll get you the report tomorrow. Bye.” And with that she hung up and placed the phone back on its receiver. She had three days, plenty of time to prepare.
___________________________________________
Holly looked into her mirror anxiously. She felt ridiculous. She took her brush into her hand and attempted to straighten the tangles in her hair. Her hair restisted fiercly. Holly admitted defeat and dropped the brush as she took in the rest of her apperance. The clothes she was wearing, the blue skirt, white blouse, and dreaded heels had been gifts that Claire had given her. Well, given was exactly the right word. Sometimes Holly thought that Claire believed her to be a doll or small child, something to be dressed up in different outfits. Holly took one last look at herself, before heading out the door. She seldom wore make up, and she hoped she applied it properly.
Holly walked up the steps and approached the door. She took a deep breath and smoothed out her skirt before ringing the doorbell. Several moments later the door opened, and Claire appeared in the doorway. Holly gave a small grin, but it might have appeared more like a grimace. Holly was taken by surprise as Claire threw her arms around her in a tight embrace.
“I was worried that you might not come.” Holly shook her head ruefully.
“I wouldn’t let you down, Claire.”
“I know...” Claire admitted embarrassed as she ended the embrace. “You look beautiful by the way.” Holly coughed nervously as she turned away to hide her flushed cheeks. “Come on. Dinner’s almost ready.” And with that, Claire took Holly by the hand and led her inside. As soon as she walked in, the aroma of something cooking began to make Holly’s mouth water. The smell was emanating from the kitchen. A woman entered the room. She would have to be Claire’s mother, the family resemblance was strong. Claire’s mother extended her hand.
“You must be Holly. It’s so nice to finally meet you.” Holly extended her somewhat clammy hand and shook Claire’s mother’s.
“It’s nice to meet you as well Mrs. Reed.”
“Dinner will be ready in a minute. Why don’t you take a seat?” Claire and Holly walked over to the table and sat down. Several candles lay at the center of the table and emitted a warm glow. Claire leaned in and whispered into her ear.
“So far so good, right?” Holly nodded. Everything was going smoothly so far. Mrs. Reed reentered the room with their meal. She set down the caserole and served each plate before handing it to them. She handed the first one to Claire who set it on the table. She handed the second one to Holly, but the grease of the mushroom coated the edge of the plate, and it slipped out of Holly’s hand. It fell to the ground and shattered.
“I’m so sorry!” Holly exclaimed as she shot out of her seat to clean up the broken shards. Mrs. Reed shook her head.
“It’s fine. Accidents happen.” After the mess was cleaned up, they began dinner.
“So Holly,” Mrs. Reed began, “How did you meet Claire?” Holly glanced at the corner of her eye at Claire. How they met wasn’t exactly a topic for pleasant dinner conversation.
“Well... Um, You see...”
“Holly broke her leg after a bad bycycle accident, and I just happened to be around,” Claire supplied. Her mother nodded it seemed to take it as truth. It wasn’t too far from the truth actually.
“Are you attending college, Holly?” Holly put down her fork and wiped her mouth before answering.
“Actually no, I’m working for a branch of a company here in the city.”
“She just got a promotion,” Claire added proudly.
“Claire...” Holly said quietly with a hint of embarrassement.
“What? You deserved it.” Mrs. Reed laughed softly. Holly gave a shaky smile. This wasn’t too bad. A rocky start but things were going fine now. Holly reached for her glass of water, but ended up knocking over one of the candles. The occupants of the table leapt back as the table cloth began to smolder and light up. Mrs. Reed’s wineglass was knocked over and the alcohol added even more fuel to the fire. Smoke began to fill the air, and a smoke detector went off somewhere in the house. Mrs. Reed ducked into the kitchen and came out with a fire extinguisher. After several bursts of foam, the fire was eventually put out. Holly stood there for a few moments, taking in the smoldering scene. Then she was running, heading for the door.
“Holly!” Claire called after her. Holly ignored her, opened the door, and took off running into the night. She didn’t get far before she fell and nearly twisted her ankle. “Fucking heels!” She spat out as she tried to hold back tears, her makeup running. She sensed someone slowly walking up to her.
“Holly...”
“Go away Claire,” Holly said. Claire put her hand on her shoulder, and Holly shrugged it off roughly.
“I told you it would go badly.”
“Holly, it’s-”
“I ruin everything! It’s not fine! You deserve someone better. Someone who’s not a screw up.” Claire sat down beside her and turned her roughly so that they were facing each other.Claire kissed her fiercly, a kiss that left Holly trembling.
“Listen to me Holly Collinger. You are not a screw up. I love you. You mean the world to me. I don’t care if you’re nervous around other people or even if you burn my mom’s house down.” Holly let herself be drawn into an embrace. Holly wrapped her arms around Claire tightly.
“Claire...”
“Hmmm.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” Holly shook her head.
“No, I mean... You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I love you. When I’m with you I feel like I’m a better person. I’m afraid that one day you’re just going to wake up and realize that I’m not good enough.” Claire kissed Holly’s cheek.
“That’s not going to happen. I’m never going to let you go. You’re stuck with me.” Holly smiled.
“What did I do to deserve you?” Claire shrugged.
“Dunno. Good karma from a past life?” Claire stood up and helped Holly to her feet and picked up her heels.
“That must be it.”
“C’mon. My mom says we can order take out. I know this really good chinese place.” Claire took Holly’s hand and they began to walk back to her mother’s place. Holly still wasn’t one hundred percent sure, that she deserved Claire. It would have to be something she would earn. Holly gave Claire’s hand a gentle squeeze. She was willing to work at it, no matter how long it took.
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