February Content Bonus #1—Valentine's Special: Poll Winner Ava Version (Patreon)

Laycott’s Bar and Grill has made some kind of effort for Valentine’s: a couple of salmon pink streamers, red napkins on the beer-stained tables, and even some wrinkled, heart-shaped balloons hanging sadly from the dark wood beams.

Overall, it’s a pretty sorry attempt, but I’m sure the dining couples don’t even notice as they stare with loving gazes and eyes only for each other.

“Another?” Chen asks, swinging a bottle in front of me in questioning.

I sigh. “Yeah, thanks.”

The only thing I have to stare at are my work reports—and I really don’t love those.

“Well…heeeey there…” A slurred voice sounds from beside me. “How’s it someone like you,” they jab a finger towards me, “is all alone on a special day like today?” Their eyelids sink closed one at a time in what I can only assume is a drunken wink attempt.

I wave my hand in front of me to dispel some of the alcohol breath, then open my mouth to speak.

When someone else gets there first.

“The Detective is not alone.”

Both the stranger and I swing around to see Ava shadowing over us.

The drunk stranger eyes all of Ava’s solid, large frame and gulps. “Sorry, mate. I didn’t…you know…”

“Leave,” Ava orders.

The stranger trips over their own feet to follow the command with haste.

I shake my head with a smile. “You always know the best way to make new friends.”

Ava grunts. “I need no new friends.”

“That’s lucky then, considering your people skills,” I mutter. “What are you doing here anyway? I thought we weren’t meeting until later tonight.”

A flicker of unease cracks through her stoic mask for a moment. “The others insisted we have the meeting now.”

I glance about the bar. “Where are they?”

“They insisted we do it,” she shifts, “alone.”

“Just the two of us?” I ask, almost toppling off my stool at the prospect.

Ava thins her lips. “So it would seem.”

“Um, okay…” I say in slow words. “Guess we should get going then. Haley is going to let us use her café so as we have somewhere private.”

She nods.

After grabbing my coat and files, and paying my tab, we head through the awkward obstacle course of loving couples before making it out into the cool night air.

-

It’s not far to Haley’s over at The Square, but it feels like miles as we walk in silence. Every time a giggling, Valentine’s-hyped couple passes us, Ava and I glance at each other on instinct…before quickly snapping our gazes in opposite directions.

Haley’s Bakery is dark and locked up by the time we get there—no surprise considering it’s only a couple of hours off midnight. Sliding the key she lent me into the lock, the door clicks and swings inside to let us enter.

Ava flicks on the lights.

And the two of us are greeted with an explosion of Valentine’s. It looks like Cupid threw up in here.

“The owner certainly gets into the spirit of these…events.” Ava inspects the room with a half-grimace.

“She sure does,” I reply. “Let’s, uh, just get on with work.”

Ava nods in eager agreement, and navigates her way through the Valentine’s décor with care, as though touching it might infect her.

And so, under the twinkle of fairy lights and the aura of heart-shaped bunting, we settle down to sort out the patrol reports for the month.

It’s a boring task, but we’ve done this enough times now that I know Ava’s focus doesn’t usually stray as much as it does tonight. Especially not when it focuses so much on me.

“Is everything all right?” I ask.

“Of course,” she replies, then quickly flicks her gaze back down to her neat stack of papers.

“You sure? You seem a bit unfocused.”

She stares at me for a moment. “It’s…it’s all of this.” She gestures about the room’s décor. “It’s distracting.”

I chuckle. “Ah, I see. Still, you don’t usually get perturbed, even by this stuff.”

She doesn’t respond, so I try to ignore the pang of disappointment at her silence and focus back on my reports.

-

After an hour of relative quiet, I almost jump out of my skin when Ava starts talking.

“Do you enjoy this kind of thing?” she asks.

I raise a brow and realise she’s talking about Valentine’s. “Sure. Who doesn’t enjoy some romance now and then?” I give a smile.

Her focus drops to my lips and then back up to my eyes. “You deserve that.”

“Deserve what?”

“Someone to love you,” she says barely above a whisper. “To be able to give you everything.”

My heart seems to seize in my chest, her green eyes locked on mine and dazzling in the gleam of the twinkling lights.

“I don’t need everything,” I reply, or I think I do. All I can hear is the blood rushing around inside my head as our hands brush together. 

Ava smiles. An actual smile that stays on her lips.

It’s stunning.

“You deserve it all the same.”

“Ava…” My body works on reaction rather than thought. I stretch my fingers out to cover hers. She doesn’t pull away. “Don’t you want the same?”

“What I want…” She stops herself, but her other hand moves to draw her fingertips over my cheek. I lean into the touch. 

Whatever has come over her, it has my whole body tingling in anticipation.

“Yes? What do you want?” The words come out on a breath.

Her thumb whispers over my bottom lip, tugging on it slightly. “It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does," I say, grabbing her hand as she moves to take it away. "It matters to me."

"Don't you understand?" Ava snaps, though the emotion in her words is not anger. She leans so close towards me that our noses almost brush together. "How can I admit what I want when I want y—”

A sudden screech of giggles sounds from outside and breaks through the private atmosphere of the café. We both look to see a couple pass by the window, kissing and hugging as they go.

Ava withdraws her hands from mine and grips her pen tightly.

She doesn’t say anything more.

And her focus no longer strays from the papers.

--

This ended up being much longer than expected! But I hope you enjoyed it, hehe :D 

Happy Valentine's! <3