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Clary and Isabelle have worked together for a while now. But every time Clary walked in to see they had been scheduled together again her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a sense of panic wash over her every time. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be working at the same time as her, quite the opposite in fact. She just didn’t seem to be able to ever function normally around her, she was so effortlessly cool and Clary didn’t really see herself as anything more than mundane and average. It didn’t help much that Isabelle was insanely funny, charming, not to mention being absolutely and undeniably stunning. Like the first time she saw her Clary forgot how to speak kind of hot. But things had been okay for a while, they saw each other at work but because Isabelle worked as the restaurant hostess and Clary as a waitress, their necessary contact was minimal.
But one day as Isabelle pulled up to the parking lot at the same time as Clary, on a freaking Harley, Clary almost lost her shit. It was bad enough when she drove her normal vehicle, a lifted jeep wrangler that made Clary’s knees feel a little weak. But this, this was just too much. They had both made it inside without incidence but just as Clary thought she was in the clear, Isabelle called her over. She looked up from her phone as she saw her approaching “Hey, what time do you get off today?” she asked as if her simple question wasn’t leaving her coworker to grip at the nearest table to avoid tumbling over.
“Um, around 2 I think, why?” Clary muttered out in between deep breaths and a stream of mental curses.
“I was thinking we could get something to eat, you know try something from somewhere other than this place. You in?”. And oh my god was Clary in, this was basically the moment she had been waiting for since six months ago when they first started working together. She eagerly accepted with an overenthusiastic nodding of her head and a smile so bright it nearly rivaled the sun. “Cool, my shifts over a little before yours, just meet me in the break room.” And with that she left Clary to wait out the rest of her shift, dealing with rude customers and bratty children galore, but still unable to wipe the elated grin off of her face.
Once they had both finished their shifts they ended up deciding on a local sushi place, and set off, with Clary on the back of her freaking motorcycle. She found herself seriously contemplating if this was what heaven felt like as they cruised down the road. It was so crazy to see Isabelle out of work like that, she cracked jokes the entire time, and looked like an absolute idiot pulling the classic chopstick-in-mouth, pretending to be a walrus bit. She just generally had this amazing, warm, glowing energy about her as she seemed so much more in her element. If Clary wasn’t sure about her feelings before, which she certainly was, there was no way she could deny them now. She was fairly certain this would forever be remembered as the best day of her life, and she couldn’t have imagined the day going any better truly. That was until Isabelle suggested they hang out together again, and god Clary was sure this was all an elaborate dream that was going to leave her absolutely bummed come tomorrow morning.
But then the next day came and she saw a text from Isabelle, which was pretty shocking because she had only just given her the number last night, so they could make plans to go out again. And was really just icing on the cake of her realization that ok good, this wasn’t all something she created in her often too elaborate imagination. She really spent all afternoon laughing with Isabelle before receiving the loveliest ride home of her life. Hanging onto Isabelle’s back as she flew down the rode after such an amazing time together felt like exactly like what Clary was meant to be doing her whole life. And now she wanted to hang out again, good lord someone pinch her. After a series of cheeky messages, they ended up settling on a day at the state fair, which was corny and sounded brutal with the heat wave. But it was Isabelle for crying out loud, so she agreed without a single protest and looked forward to the day that was sure to be full of disgustingly unhealthy food and nearly unbearable heat. And it sounded wonderful. It was also really nice to get more comfortable talking with Isabelle, and the more they exchanged messages the more relaxed Clary got about the impending date. Or hang-out session, or whatever this was supposed to be, she couldn’t really be too sure.
Once the day finally came though, Clary couldn’t quite help feeling like a big pile of nerves. When Isabelle actually arrived to pick her up she actually also had to help her get into the ridiculously tall vehicle she insisted on driving. “Oh my god, why did you take the top off this thing? And you didn’t even tell me, why would you want to drive with your hair blowing everywhere like this!” Clary shouted over the roaring sound of the wind and the radio as they zipped down the highway.
“That’s all part of the charm of it, baby doll” Isabelle responded with a smirk that made Clary glad there was too much hair in her face for her to see the blush creeping onto her cheeks from the pet name. Other than the constant assault from the wind, Clary found the ride there quite enjoyable. Learning in the 30-minute ride there that Isabelle had played soccer and football as a kid, and that she has two older brothers she would do anything for. In turn Clary had shared details about her life, sparking many questions from Isabella when she learned about her art. By the time they had arrived, Clary had promised to show Isabelle some of her drawings as soon as they were done, Isabelle had insisted. Clary made a point of remembering not to share with Isabelle the multiple portraits she had done of her.
The day itself was, quite literally, perfect. They walked around for hours together, going on all the rides that made them sick and trying foods that made them sicker. They even ventured to try fried pickles, a decision they both decided they would never make again. At one point during trying to conquer the ring toss Isabelle had actually made it, much to Clary’s shock and the workers dismay. When Isabelle asked her what prize she wanted, Clary was awed that she was actually going to give her prize away, and more than a little into the idea. After they had walked over to the next both, Clary’s ridiculously gigantic bear in tow as she expressed her gratitude through a near constant stream of “thank you’s” until finally Isabelle decided she had had enough. “MUWAH”.
“What, wh-, what was that for?” a stunned Clary asked seconds after the object of her affection for the past few months had just initiated a kiss. An actual real, physical kiss, where Isabelle really, in real life, took her lips and plopped them right on top of Clary’s lips. And oh my god, she needed to sit down or she might just faint.
“To get you to stop. I told you, I won that for you, you don’t have to thank me so many times. Sheesh.” Isabelle explained, as if all that should have obvious when really it felt like she was revealing some kind of ancient hidden secret with every word she spoke. Clary didn’t really know what to say to that sitting on the bench outside the entrance to the Ferris wheel as Isabelle stood waiting for her to get up.
“Thank you” was all Clary could manage as she began getting up, to which Isabelle snorted as they walked towards the ticket booth. Isabelle reached for Clary’s hand and as they walked away, Clary found herself relishing in the feeling of their fingers intertwined. And yeah, she really couldn’t have thought of a single way to make today better, besides, why mess with perfection.
And standing there, years later, looking into Isabella’s eyes with the same feeling she had that day, that first time they shared a kiss, Clary realized this was the only day that could rival that one, their first perfect day, but never their last. She thought about all pieces that fell into line for them to find their love and knew that it was meant to be, when she looked into her eyes and began to speak she felt more truth in these words than anything she has said before, believed it with so much of her heart, “I do.”