Chapter Text
In some twisted way, Victoria supposes she owes the new found closeness between her and Mateo to her mom, and that god awful fight. He quite literally held her while she cried, and it’s hard to imagine that happening and not changing the dynamic between them. They’d always been friends, but the last few weeks have seen them spending a good deal more time together, outside of the emergency department. Today, it’s lunch at one of Mateo’s favourite spots.
“I got an invite to my high school reunion”, he mentions between bites of his burger, “apparently it’s been ten years already.”
Victoria dips her fry into the ketchup sitting between them and tilts her head. “Are you going to go?”
“Maybe. It depends.”
Something feels a little off about the whole thing, but she can’t put her finger on what. Probing a bit more Victoria asks, “okay…depends on what?”
“If you’ll come with me.”
Had Mateo not been looking her dead in the eye, face far more serious than usual, she probably would’ve laughed, assuming he was joking. Instead, the way his gaze stays trained on her with no hint of amusement in his expression has her fumbling with her napkin, and tripping over her words. “S-sorry did you just say-“
Now he cracks a smile, her nervous energy has always succeeded in lightening the mood between them. “No pressure. I just thought I’d ask.”
“…why?”
In hindsight, the slightly incredulous response is probably not what she should’ve gone with, but it’s too late to take back now, and Victoria shakes her head. “I’m not…it’s not a no or anything. I just..I’m a little surprised, I guess.”
Mateo frowns, and it hits Victoria all over again how much she loves the little crease that appears between his eyebrows when he does so. “Surprised?”
“I mean, kinda. Why me?”
The corner of his mouth tugs upwards with a lazy grin. “Why would I want to go back to my high school with a really pretty, really brilliant doctor as my plus one? Man, that’s tough.”
Really pretty. That’s certainly new territory for them, and it makes Victoria’s heart quite literally skip a beat, but based on the context, the pragmatic side of her brain brings her quickly back down to earth. She’s pretty sure it’s nothing more than his attempt at buttering her up.
“So…you’re trying to impress everyone.”
Mateo pauses, then tilts his head slightly pensively. “Something like that I guess.”
They stare at each other for a moment, and not for the first time Victoria catches a glimpse of something she can’t place in his eyes. He doesn’t look away though, and that’s enough for her to clear her throat, hoping the flush she can feel in her cheeks isn’t noticeable. “When is it?”
“Next Friday,” he looks downright hopeful as he adds, “we’re both off that day, and all weekend too.”
Eyebrows raised she questions, “you checked my schedule?”
“I know your schedule,” Mateo informs her.
It makes sense she supposes, her morning matchas have continued to arrive without fail, but the knowledge still warms her belly. “You’re serious about this? You really want me to come with you?”
“I really do.”
Eyes closing briefly for a moment, Victoria nods. “Then of course I’ll come. What are friends for?”
A flash of what looks almost like disappointment crosses Mateo’s face, but it’s gone so quickly, replaced by a small laugh that she convinces herself she must have imagined it. “I owe you one, Victoria.”
—
Victoria’s spiral starts as Mateo drives her home, but she does well to contain it until they’ve said goodbye, and the tail lights of his car fade from vision. Only then does she allow her eyes to widen as she takes in the enormity of what she’s just agreed to.
Holy shit. Holy. Shit.
There’s about 15 different trains of thought running through her head, and Victoria can’t make her brain quiet down enough to focus on any one of them.
She needs to talk to someone about this, or she might actually explode, so with shaky hands she pulls out her phone and presses FaceTime.
Samira answers on the first ring, and Victoria has never been more grateful for the older woman. “Vic, hey! Everything okay? You look a little rattled.”
That’s one word for it. Incredibly grateful for the fact that her parents are both at work, Victoria still closes her bedroom door behind her before bringing a hand to the side of her head and saying, “Mateo asked me to go with him to his high school reunion.”
“He what?”
Samira’s voice borders on a shriek, but Victoria isn’t done. Fanning her face she adds, “and I said yes.”
“Victoria Javadi, if you don’t start from the beginning right now-“
And so she does. Recounting the story has her burying her face in her hands, but she finishes with a deflated sigh. “Anyways, he’s just using me to impress people. He’s probably trying to make an old crush jealous or something. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Seriously? Vic.”
She peers through her fingers just enough to be able to see Samira, who shakes her head with an amused sigh. “Mateo could never ‘use you’ for anything. One, it’s just not his style. Two…that man is crazy about you.”
Huffing a sigh, Victoria pulls her hair into a ponytail and squints at her friend. “He’s not into me. That’s not a thing, Samira. Mateo doesn’t date coworkers.”
“And I keep telling you you’re wrong. Trust me, I have my sources.” Samira taps the side of her head with her finger, and Victoria rolls her eyes.
“Forgive me for not taking Abbott as a reliable witness.”
“Not just him!” Samira protests, then immediately switches gears, fixing Victoria with an almost devious grin. “So, what are you going to wear?”
“It has literally not even crossed my mind yet.”
“Perfect!” Samira announces, “this calls for a shopping trip. Because whatever you pick, you gotta look hot.”
—
Standing in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom, Victoria is pretty sure she’s nailed the whole hot thing.
Samira had pulled the dress off the rack with sheer glee, insisting it would be perfect, and from the moment she’d first slipped it on, Victoria was inclined to agree.
It’s black, falling just above her knees, silky in a way that hugs her curves just right. The spaghetti straps are barely there, just enough to give the neckline a slight dip in the centre, cupping Victoria’s breasts as if it was made for her.
She’s paired it with a set of strappy black kitten heels, silver hoop earrings, and she’s left the natural wave in her hair tonight as she styled it half up half down, a few delicate strands framing her face.
It’s a far cry from scrubs and a hoodie, or even the casual clothes Mateo has seen when they’ve hung out together, and yet she finds she’s not nervous about the change. If anything, the idea of him seeing her like this excites her.
The doorbell chimes as she touches up her lipstick, and Victoria thanks her lucky stars that her parents' suspicions hadn’t been raised when she had suggested treating them to an early anniversary dinner this evening. Her outfit, Mateo…it all would’ve raised questions Victoria both doesn’t want to answer, and isn’t sure how to.
She opens the door with a smile, and takes a moment to drink in Mateo’s own look for the night. It’s classic - black dress pants and a crisp white button up (the top two left undone), but it suits him perfectly.
For his part, Mateo appears genuinely speechless as he lays eyes on her. Swallowing hard he finally manages, “Victoria, wow.”
Suddenly self conscious for the first time all evening, Victoria runs her hands over the front of her dress. “Is it too much?”
Immediately Mateo shakes his head, eyes still dancing over what feels like every inch of her. “Not at all. You look…amazing.”
Heat rises to her cheeks, but Mateo still seems slightly frozen, so reaching out an arm she asks, “should we go?”
Mateo links his elbow with hers, and nods.
—
He’s a perfect gentleman the whole way there, from opening Victoria’s door to wordlessly adjusting the temperature in the car when he sees a slight shiver run through her, but this time it has nothing to do with being cold.
In fact, Victoria is fairly sure she could stand outside in a snowstorm right now and it wouldn’t phase her.
Whatever tonight is, whatever meaning is or isn’t behind Mateo’s invitation, she doesn’t care. She’s spending her Friday night with someone she cares about, doing something important for him, and he’s told her she looks amazing.
She doesn’t think there’s any topping that, until Mateo meets her as she steps out of the car, and takes her much smaller hand in his, offering her an uncharacteristically nervous smile. “You ready?”
Getting the sense the physical contact may be just as much for his own benefit as hers, she gives an affirmative squeeze. “Let’s go.”
—
The evening is a blur of faces, and handshakes, and glasses of punch, and yet Victoria is surprised at how much she genuinely enjoys herself. Mateo’s hand never strays far from her body, changing only from holding hers to hovering protectively over the small of her back. With every former classmate he greets, he's quick to turn her way and follow it immediately with, “and this is Victoria.”
When his old basketball coach asks how they met, Mateo’s face splits into a wide grin as he recounts Victoria’s first day in the ER overlapping with one of the hardest days in Pittsburgh's history. “But she was a rockstar” he informs the older man, and the coach gives her a friendly wink that feels so paternal Victoria can immediately tell why Mateo likes him so much.
“I don’t doubt it. Anyone who can impress Mateo Diaz is something special.”
“Don’t go spilling all my secrets, Coach.”
That earns him a laugh, and Mateo is the most relaxed Victoria has seen him all evening as he leads her to a quiet corner of the room. “I like seeing this side of you,” she tells him.
“I like showing it to you,” he replies.
They stand silently for a minute, Victoria nestled comfortably in Mateo’s side as the opening notes of a song come over the speakers and Mateo barks a laugh. “Wow they really went with the throwbacks. I’m pretty sure they played this at my prom.”
“I didn’t go to prom,” Victoria muses.
She doesn’t mean for it to bring the mood down, missing out those kinds of things had become the norm based on how young she had been hitting each of those milestones, and at this point in her life she’s mostly okay with it. Still, she doesn’t miss the flicker of sadness in Mateo’s eyes as he takes a step back, reaching out his hand to take hers. “Well then, let’s dance now.”
Mouth slightly agape, Victoria stares at him. “You’re serious?”
Gesturing out to the floor where other couples have begun swaying back at forth, he nods. “We won’t be the only ones. It might not be prom, but it’s something. Dance with me, Vic.”
Wiggling the fingers of his still outstretched hand, Mateo raises an eyebrow as he waits for her response and Victoria gives it by interlocking their fingers.
He leads her onto the floor, and Victoria wraps her arms around his neck as both his hands find her waist, pulling her close until mere inches separate them. “I’m really glad you came, Victoria.”
Taking a step forward, closing any remaining gap between them and leaning her head on his shoulder, Victoria nods. “Me too.”
With that, the rest of the room falls away as they sway back and forth to the music, drinking in each other's presence.
So honey now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
Maybe we found love right where we are