TW: conversation about alcohol

Pov y/n

The waiter comes back and places glasses on the table before filling them up with water. Then he puts down two menu cards. Scarlett nods at him in thanks, also telling him we have everything for now and he leaves us alone again. Scar hands me a menu.

"Thank you." I say and she gives me a sweet smile.

I open the menu and look at what they serve.

When I look at the price, I gulp and feel the color draining from my face. That's a lot, probably more than I have loose right now.

Heaviness starts to weight on my chest and I flip through the pages to find something that isn't what feels like all my left over salary after I paid for rent and stuff.

But everything in here is expensive and the heaviness weights more and more on my chest.

I put the menu down and take a sip of water, trying to contain myself. Scar looks at me and her expression changes immediately into worry when she sees my face. She puts her menu down as well and holds out a hand for me.

"Hey, what's the matter? You look like you don't feel very well." She says, observing me.

I shake my head and take another sip before clearing my throat.

"It's just..." I feel my face heating up at the fact that I can't quite afford this and feel slightly embarrassed about it.

We never discussed money before and this definitely feels like the wrong moment but she needs to know that I can't pay for food here without spending all my left over money.

"I can't afford the food." I mumble and look down at my hand that's holding my glass, the water suddenly way more interesting than anything else.

A short moment of silence follow before Scar speaks up.

"Y/n, can you look at me?" She asks and I lift my head but avoid her eyes and bite my lip.

She softly places her hand beneath my chin, tilting my head a bit more until my eyes meet hers. I don't know what I expected but it wasn't her soft eyes that are filled with understanding.

"You don't have to be ashamed about that, y/n. You work so hard every day to earn the money you need and you are doing so well. It is no shame to not be rich, really. And I would never think less of you because of what you earn. Money says nothing about a person, I promise." She assures me and I see nothing but honesty in her eyes and gulp, the heaviness lifting a little bit but it's still present.

"Thank you, really, I appreciate it." I say, giving her a tiny smile and I really mean it, it just doesn't change the current situation.

"It's just, I can't pay for the food here, without using up all my spare money." I explain and bite my lip again, a nervous habit.

Scar's eyes shortly look down to my lip and she cups my face with the hand that was under my chin before. Her thumb gently pulls out my lip and she looks up into my eyes again.

"I may should have said it before and I'm sorry I made you worry. This is a date and I planned on paying for the both of us, so you don't have to spend any money tonight." She softly explains and my eyes widen at her words.

"Scar, I...that's a lot of money. I can't accept that." I stutter a little, feeling bad that she plans to spend so much money on me.

My eyes look down onto our intertwined hands and I bite my lip again. God, this makes me more nervous than it should.

"Y/n, please look at me." Scar says softly and I look up to her, this time directly into her eyes.

Once again she pulls my bottom lip from between my teeth before looking into my eyes.

"I want to spend that money on you. It was my own decision. No one forced me to. I just want to spoil you a little with this date because you were so great since we meet and you worked so hard the past few weeks that you deserve that." She says, never breaking eye contact.

Her eyes hold nothing but softness and something else that is a bit hidden, so I can't quite tell what it is. Her one thumb brushes over my knuckles while the other gently strokes my cheek.

"But I do understand that you may not like the thought of me spending so much money on you and I respect that. If you really say, you don't want to eat here, we can go somewhere else, I won't be mad at all. So, if you want to go, that is more than okay. Just also know, that I can afford this and it won't have any bad consequences and I really just want to give you a wonderful night. We don't have to stay here for that. It's really up to you."

I search her eyes for any sign of a lie or negative feelings towards this but I can't find anything but honesty and softness.

"It means so much to me, that you take my feelings into consideration." I start, taking a deep breath and trying to lift the weight off myself.

She gives me a little smile and squeezes my hand reassuringly, letting me time to think and answer without pushing me to.

"It's just that I'm not used to people spending money on me, especially not that much. I always had to work for money, especially since Dad died. Due to those past three years, I got used to only spending money on necessary things and if we went out, it was never expensive...

I guess what I'm trying to say is, that I am really not used to people paying for things I eat or use, you know?" I end my rambling, feeling a bit of the weight lifting off me because now I finally said it and now Scar knows.

She nods slowly, thinking about my words and takes her hand slowly off my face to grab my other hand, intertwining our fingers there as well.

"First of all, thank you for trusting me and telling me those things, I know it can be hard to talk about this kind of stuff. Second of all, I totally understand where you're coming from and I also understand that this is new for you. And as I said, if you want to go elsewhere or home, I'm not mad about that because I don't want to force the money on you, this is supposed to be a nice date and that includes us both feeling comfortable with the situation.

I know it can be hard to accept money when you always had to work for it and I know these prices are high. But again I can only say, that I am willing to pay this and it won't affect anything in mine or Rose's life. Please, don't think of this as a show of my money, because it's really not.

As I said, I want to spoil you, after you worked so hard the last three weeks and still found the time to hang out with me or Rose. But if it makes you feel uneasy, I won't force you to eat here. We can also order food or something if that's better for you. It's really up to what you feel most comfortable with." Scarlett emphasizes once more, never breaking eye contact or changing the softness in her eyes. I breathe in and think about it.

"You promise, it doesn't hurt you to spend the money? It doesn't touch any savings or anything?" I ask, just wanting to be sure before I make a decision. Scarlett nods and gives my hands a small squeeze.

"I promise it doesn't hurt me or touch any savings." She says, nothing but honesty in her voice.

"And you really want to spend that money on me?" I ask, doubt in my voice.

No one ever wanted to spend that much money on me.

Okay, no one really had that much money to just spend but that's not the point. My girlfriend before was a college-student with a job next to her classes that paid for her dorm and food. She didn't have the spare money to spend it on me.

Of course, she spend a tiny amount for like chocolate or so but that's it.

The thought of people spending that much money on me just became...distant, I suppose.

"Yes, I do, because you deserve it, in my opinion." Scar answers my question and nods along to her words.

I take a deep breath before I slowly nod. Okay, when she says it doesn't hurt her and she has the money and wants to spend it, I guess it's alright.

"Okay..." I slowly agree and see Scar's eyes lighting up a little bit, not because I agreed but because I am comfortable again.

"I know it's rude to talk about money, but I just want to be sure...do you really have it?" I ask, needing the last bit of confirmation to lift the weights off myself.

She doesn't seem to mind and starts to rub my knuckles again.

"Yes, I really do. I make quite a lot of money with my acting roles and I could also take Rose with us here and pay for her food without being in any kind of trouble." She assures me and I finally feel the heaviness leaving my chest.

I take a deep breath, now that it feels possible again and give her a small smile.

"Okay, thank you for the reassuring." I say and she gives my hand another squeeze in responds.

"Ready to look at the food again?" She asks and I nod. When she slowly lets go of my hands, they feel empty without hers and I almost let out a sigh at the feeling. But I contain myself and grab the menu again, looking for a meal.

I can't keep my eyes from looking at the prices but other than expected, I don't feel guilty or bad anymore. Scar assured me multiple times that she has the money for this and that it doesn't ruin any other plans and that she is more than willing to spend this much money on me.

I look through the menu a few times until I settled on something that sounds good and that I'll probably like because I can be a little picky sometimes.

Scar already finished to look through her menu and it's placed in front of her as she sips on her water.

"Found something?" She asks and tilts her head in question a little. I nod and open the card to read it off, since I'm terrible at remembering the names. She nods with a smile.

"Sounds great." She agrees and my smile grows a little before I return the question. She tells me what she picked and I have no clue, which seems to be readable on my face, because she chuckles a little and explains what it is.

It's not a mean chuckle, it's a friendly and understanding one.

It doesn't take long until the waiter comes to our table and takes our orders. He notes them down before looking back up.

"Would you like to drink something else than water?" He asks, looking between us. I look at Scarlett, a little unsure but she gives me a reassuring nod, so I look up at the waiter.

"Can I have a glass of coke, please?" I ask and he notes it down, his eyebrows a little raised though.

"And for you, Miss?" He directs at Scarlett.

"I'm good with water, I'll have to drive later." She waves it off and the waiter nods before he walks off to somewhere inside.

I look after him, still a little confused about his reaction.

"Why did he seem so weird when I ordered a coke?" I ask and turn my attention back on Scarlett.

She smiles a little and leans back in her chair, reaching one hand out to me. I take it and intertwine our fingers automatically without thinking about it as my eyes are still on Scarlett.

"Because it's unusual for an adult to order soda here. There's nothing wrong with it, before you worry. It's just that this is a fancy place and almost every adult here drinks wine, champagne or something else alcoholic. But there is nothing that obligates you to drink alcohol, coke is just fine." She shrugs at the begging of her explanation but ends it with a sweet smile, making sure I know she isn't judging.

"Oh." I just say and look around. Indeed, on every table I see a bottle of wine.

"I just didn't want to get tipsy tonight because I want this date to go well and I want to remember every bit of it." I explain, feeling the need to.

"It's absolutely fine, you don't have to explain your reasons. You don't have to drink alcohol if you don't feel like it or don't want to. It is your decision and no matter what reason it has, either the sweet one you just said or that you have bad experiences with it or that you simply don't want to drink it. I am fine with all of your reasons and will never force you to do, drink or eat anything you don't want to." Scar says, making sure to underline the word 'never' and I smile a little.

"Okay, thank you." I say and feel myself relax more and more.

"Anytime." She replies, a smile forming on her lips as well.

Before we can start another conversation, the waiter brings me my drink and tells us that the food will be ready soon.

I lean a little forward and take a sip before I look back at Scarlett, my whole focus on the beautiful woman in front of me.

"We haven't really caught up those past few weeks when we saw each other. So, how have you been?" I ask, leaning onto the table a little and resting my chin on my palm.

A sparkle appears in Scarlett's eyes at my question and she tugs some hair out of her face before answering.

"It has been kinda busy because I got a bunch of new acting offers, some movies and some adds. I went through all of them with my manager and we looked at them and thought about which ones I would feel comfortable taking. I also had a few appointments with different people to talk about some stuff. There was also an interview that I gave. But I think the job offers where the most stressful part because whenever I think about taking one, I have to see where it is and how long it will take because I also want to take care of Rose, which is a little difficult when I'm filming far away.

Last time, as you might remember, I took her with me to LA because it was mainly over her vacation and she didn't want to stay in New York all summer. I hired a nanny to look after her when I couldn't and tried to spend as much time with her as possible. I really love my job but I don't want Rose to suffer under it, you know?" Scarlett ends her telling and her gaze shifts from me to the view next to us.

"Of course I understand. Rose has and will always be your first priority and you want to make her happy. I can imagine that it's hard to go away for a longer period of time and not have her with you. But I honestly am impressed that you manage all of that at the same time. Working and taking care of a child at the same time and having your child love you so much. You are such an amazing mother and I see how much love you hold for Rose and it melts my heart. It also makes me understand how hard it has to be to leave for work." I say, watching her reaction as I speak.

Scarlett's eyes look back at me and I see that my words touched her and she lifts our intertwined hands up and turns them, so she can kiss the back of my hand, which gives me butterflies.

"Thank you for understanding and for saying I'm a good mother." She almost whispers and now completely turns to look at me.

"I am just being honest." I say and her eyes start to get a little teary.

"Woah, hey, hey, hey. What's the matter?" I ask softly, stroking the back of her hand with my thumb.

She takes a deep breath and shortly looks up to the sky that is slowly getting darker. When she looks back at me, she smiles a little bit.

"It's just...it means a lot to me that you say I'm an amazing mother because that's more important to me than being a good actress if I'm being honest. Most people don't realize that and I often hear them say that I'm a great actress but I probably don't have time for my daughter and neglect her since I'm always shooting and that hurts me." She admits and presses her lips together, trying to contain herself.

I feel anger building up in me at the words of those people. They don't even know her but still decide to judge her and talk bad about her parenting skills when she clearly would move mountains for Rose.

But I push the anger down, this is not about me right now.

"Don't listen to those people, please. They have no clue what they're talking about and don't see how amazing you are. But I do and I can tell you that you are the best mother Rose could ever wish for. You love her unconditionally, you are there for her, you protect her and most of all, you make her your first priority. And I am very sure, that Rose appreciates all of that so, so much.

People always talk and it can be hard to ignore them but please don't let them get to you, they don't know anything. Yes, you are away for your job but you don't neglect Rose because of it. You just told me yourself that you always think of her before accepting or declining an offer and that alone proves that you are not neglecting her. There maybe are times where you are not with her but you make sure she is in safe hands and protected, that she isn't alone and has someone to talk to or play with and I am 100% sure that as soon as you'd get a call that'd say, that Rose needs you, you would be on your way to where ever your daughter is." I try to reassure her and it seems to work as Scarlett seems deeply touched and she smiles at me. Her eyes seem a little watery but no tears spill out of them.

"Thank you so much, I really needed to hear that and it means a lot to me. Sometimes I get a little lost in what people say and forget what's actually true. It's just a lot sometimes, you know?" She says and starts to play with my fingers.

"Yeah, I understand that. But I will try my best, to always be there when you get lost in other people's opinions. Just give me a call or text me and I will make sure, to pull you out of that." I promise and her smile widens and becomes truly happy.

"Thank you, like a lot. I don't know how I deserve you." She whispers and I see a new emotion sparkle up in her eyes.

Could it be...?

No, that seems a little bit too early. At least after we talked about how unsure she is about what she feels like three weeks ago.

Before I can reply anything, the waiter arrives with our food and places it in front of us, wishing us a good meal. We thank him and I look impressed at my food, it looks amazing.

Scar catches my look and smiles at me when I look back up.

"Well, I hope you like it." She says with a wink before we both dig into our food.

It feels like a taste-explosion in my mouth and I hum and close my eyes. God, this is good.

When I hear a little chuckle, I open my eyes again, to see Scarlett's amused face.

"If I had to guess, I'd say you like it." She grins and I nod agreeingly. As soon as I swallowed my food, I answer her verbally.

"Yes, it's amazing!" I say, my eyes sparkling with delight.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it." She chuckles and digs into her own food again.

"I am but it's not as good as your food though." I compliment and she looks up in surprise but it turns into a huge smile.

We eat in silence for a while and just enjoy the food and each other's company.

The sky slowly gets darker and changes color. It's beautiful to watch and I marvel at the beautiful sky but it's not as beautiful as the stunning woman in front of me.

When my plate is close to empty, I put my cutlery down, feeling full and satisfied.

Scarlett also finishes and looks up at me and I see the sunset mirroring in her eyes as they seem to glow in so many colors.

"You seem to like my eyes, don't you?" She asks teasingly but a loving smile on her lips.

I blush at her words but keep the eye contact.

"How could I not? I mean they are so beautiful and mesmerizing." I reply back, seeing a little surprise in her eyes at me honest answer but it turns into joy within seconds.

"Thank you, you are very sweet." She says and I smile at her words.

"And may I say that your eyes have the same mesmerizing effect on me as mine have on you? I feel like I could get lost in them forever and still not get enough." She adds, now also looking into my eyes.