~The Shy and The Stubborn~ (the santa clause)

Chapter 14: bar fight

The next day, Justice stuck right back into it. Her paperwork, that is. From the moment she had arrived at work, she started on her fresh pile of paperwork, hardly giving Bernard any notice considering he hadn't apologized for the way he acted the previous day. 

Bernard was hurt by the way she had hardly paid him any mind when she had come into the office, as well as during her work activities, but he knew that she had the right of it. He just didn't know what to say - Justice had never been this mad at him, and when she was mad, she was witty, and anything he said she could and would counter with a humiliating response. 

She was a writer after all. 

He watched as she worked, diligently as ever, on some statistics - stuffed animals department, he thought, though he couldn't have been sure of anything at that point. The way she would write in print to document the findings, and then switch to cursive for her own personal notes. The way her hair fell over her eyes, and every few minutes she'd tuck as much of it behind her pointed ear as she could, the way she'd crack her knuckles with the pen still in hand every now and then, the way she just...was. 

"You've been staring at me like that for the past 10 minutes, Bernard."

The man was suddenly pulled back into reality when he head Justice speak. He realized he must've looked pretty stupid, just sitting there, doing no work, staring at his co-worker who was very diligently doing the opposite. 

"Is there something you'd like to talk about?"

Bernard felt a hint of embarrassment at being caught staring, but he didn't want to dodge the question. He owed Justice honesty and transparency.

"Actually, yes. There is," he began, his voice a little timid though he tried to remain confident for the sake of being genuine. "I just wanted to say...I wanted to say I'm sorry, again, for...acting out, and taking it out on you. I know I was out of line, and I'm sorry."

Justice paused for a moment, giving him a measured look before setting her pen down and turning to face him fully. Her expression softened, and there was a flicker of understanding in her eyes.

"Apology accepted," she said, her tone gentle yet firm. "But actions do speak louder than words, you know. It's not just about saying sorry; it's about showing me that you mean it. Because your track record isn't looking very good for apologizing and sticking to it, now."
"How about I take you out to dinner tonight then?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"I'm going drinking with Max and Jaime tonight," Justice sighed. "Tomorrow?"
"It's a date, then."

Bernard felt his face flush red at his own words, having not really meant to say what he did since he obviously blurted it out on accident. Justice raised an eyebrow, surprised by Bernard's unexpected invitation. She hadn't expected him to suggest a date, and she could see the genuine embarrassment on his face after he blurted it out.

"...Uh-I mean, I didn't-"

"It's a date," Justice cut him off, an amused smirk on her face.

Bernard blinked a few times, a tad shocked at response he had elicited from her. Like he previously figured, she had humiliated him with a quick response - reading between the lines, it could've been seen as witty, though arguably she was just responding. 

Though, in his gut, it kind of felt good. 

-

It felt good to have a drink, after everything Justice had been through since the start of the week. From her first sip, she could feel herself begin to relax, and her mind was starting to ease up on it's rapid thoughts.