𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖗 | ᴄᴏʀᴘꜱᴇ ʜᴜꜱʙᴀɴᴅ x ᴏᴄ | ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴏɴᴇ

The Valentine

"Hey uh, are you scheduled on Valentine's Day?" Violet asked one morning, twisting her fingers anxiously despite the surge of courage she'd been waiting for to ask him this. She'd been trying to muster it all week, especially since his episode. He'd been seemingly fine- enthusiastic even -over taking her out to show her a 'proper' date, but she wasn't sure how he'd feel about her reciprocating.

"Um, no-actually. Why?"

"I was uh-," she inhaled quietly, mustering up the gall to ask him. She was so nervous about taking the initiative, but if he could be brave enough to be vulnerable around her, she could too. "I um, I got tickets to a show through work and uh, was wondering if you wanted to go with me?"

"It's... through work?" Jack wasn't sure of her motives, asking him to a work event, the last one he'd been to was stressful enough.

"Well, yeah, but before you say no, it's box seats. So no one would bother us except for, like the servers. I just thought it could be, um- a sorta fancy Valentine's date." She couldn't help the heat rising up her neck.

"A Valentine's date?" He raised an eyebrow and tried to keep his cool.

"Yeah, I mean- you showed me a good date, I-I figured it was my turn." She tried to shrug it off, still so unsure of where any of this was going; of where his head was at with all this. She still couldn't figure it out herself, if they were tentatively dating now, or if- like their marriage stint- this was an addition to their ongoing joke. "You can totally say no if you want though, I just- thought you'd like the musicians and figured it would be a fun time."

"Ohhh, right right of course... it's just a contractual thing. Got it." He chuckled and playfully rolled his eyes. "Obviously I'm not gonna say no." She smiled excitedly at him.

"Good. You can have your turn again next month." She winked. He chuckled again and smiled to himself.

"Sounds like a plan." He looked back at her. "And so... we'll just do this... till death I suppose?"

"Thought that was established when you proposed?"

"You're goddamn right it was..." He drawled out in a heavy southern accent as he shot her a mock glare before laughing again. "So what band are we seeing?" He beamed at her.

The evening of Valentine's Day, Violet was at a loss of what to wear. Somehow, her closet ended up looking emptier on days with Jack than it did for work. Her automatic go-to had been something fitting for a concert- jeans, comfortable shoes, a band tee and some light makeup. But this was a date... with Jack. And they had VIP seating, which meant she wouldn't be moshing or sweating the way she usually did during these events... so should she dress up a bit? She wanted to impress him without feeling out of place, or like she was trying too hard. Just relax and be yourself, it's not about you- it's about showing him a good time. She figured he deserved a fun night out not only to get out of his head or the apartment, and not even just because she 'owed' him, but it was practically the perfect way to let him enjoy his passions without his agoraphobia getting in the way. After the roller coaster the past month had been, she wanted to treat him.

Once she'd managed to ground herself, she found it simple to put an outfit together. Keeping her favorite ripped jeans on, she threw on a cute cropped blouse and layered over a mesh top before adding a bit more eye makeup and braiding her freshly touched up purple hair. She let out a low sigh in front of the mirror, knowing that everything was set up and raring to go, the only thing left to do was enjoy the moment and hope Jack enjoyed it too.

Jack also was struggling getting ready for the night. He'd never been to a show that had box seats available before and had no idea what combination of 'fancy' and casual he should go with to still be able to impress Violet. Even if she'd really only asked so she could 'repay' him for the date he'd taken her on, he couldn't help but always think about if it were something more.