Rain came pouring down
When I was drowning,
that's when I could finally breathe
And by morning
Gone was any trace of you,
I think I am finally clean
~Taylor Swift, Clean
The end of the week rapidly approached. Violet didn't even realize it was Friday until Sam treated her to breakfast in bed, and she asked about the occasion. He wanted to make this day as great as possible for her, so she could be as stress-free as possible.
And for the most part, Violet had a great and fulfilling day at work. Today, the last group of glee kids performed their performances for 'Transitioning' week. While Violet was slightly disappointed that they stuck with their usual singing partners or solos, she was overjoyed when the girls came up to talk about the Unholy Trinity formation.
Jane was still struggling to reach out to other people aside from Roderick to do a number, and Violet noticed how codependent Madison was to Mason. But, with a little push from Kitty, they asked for the choreographer's help. They didn't have a clue as to how to emulate the iconic Unholy Trinity, so Violet decided to write a number for them to practice.
This was exactly what she wanted out of the assignment.
Despite it being sprung on her at the last minute, she was glad that her other co-directors went in this direction. The students were pushing their own boundaries and becoming a more cohesive group. Kitty was leading the charge, and she wasn't plagued with what-could've-beens.
Violet was excited about this new era of New Directions.
So, like Sam wanted, Violet was happy and stress-free that day.
Well, that is, until he instructed Santana and Brittany to distract her until 8pm.
The couple's method of distraction was last-minute wedding planning. Violet was now absolutely sure that if she and Sam were to ever get married, they would elope.
The couple had surprisingly different tastes, and while Brittany would usually accommodate Santana, she was actually a bridezilla of sorts. Thankfully enough, Santana wasn't as difficult as her bride-to-be and actually found Britt's actions to be adorable.
Violet did not.
"Britt, I think Sam wants us to be back at our house soon–"
"But I'm still stuck on the type of lighting. The barn has those gross lightbulbs, and I want this to be romantic."
Violet sighed, "I'm just concerned about how much it'll matter in the long run because your wedding's during the day–"
Santana just covered Violet's mouth and smiled at Britt sweetly, "I think we'll get a better idea of the best lighting when we go visit the barn on Sunday. So we might as well head to Vi's house, right?"
"Yeah, that makes sense," the tall blonde nodded, heading out of her house and to her car.
Violet let out an exasperated breath, "I need a drink."
Santana chuckled at her words and held up the bag of alcohol they picked up before wedding planning, "Don't worry, we have all the alcohol in the world for you in this bag. Now, c'mon. I don't want to keep my beautiful future wife waiting, and you probably don't want to keep Trouty Mouth waiting either." Violet rolled her eyes at the nickname, but nonetheless, followed her to Britt's car.
When they entered Violet and Sam's house, it was lively. There was music. There were enough people that Violet wouldn't be overwhelmed, and it just so happened to be everyone she loved. These were her friends. These were the people who had seen her through thick and thin.
Santana and Brittany left to set out the spread of alcohol, setting aside Violet's bottles of tequila and leaving the girl by her front door looking at the scene in amazement. When Sam spotted his girlfriend looking at the house in awe, he walked up to her with their dog in hand and let McConaughey furiously lick her face.
She erupted in a fit of giggles which made Sam smile even wider. She sarcastically quipped, "And here I thought I'd be getting kisses from someone else, but I guess I'll have to be disappointed."
He shook his head at her dramatics before bringing his lips to hers, and he couldn't help but smile into the kiss when the corners of her mouth began to quirk up.
Violet broke the kiss and looked at him intently, "Thank you for this."
"Ah. This isn't even part of it." He brought her hand between them and brought down her thumb and pinky finger. "Tonight will be split into three parts."
She raised an eyebrow at him as he brought down her other fingers aside from her pointer finger. She asked, "Any reason why you're using my hand for visual effect?"
"I missed you today. We barely got to see each other, and I missed your hands in mine. Now, can I continue?"
Violet smiled softly at his confession and whispered, "Yes, you may go on."
His eyes brightened as he detailed the evening for her, "Well, first, we're gonna burn the memories with Anastasia Anthony. I got the fire pit and the pictures from that old shoe box. You can go through them to see if there's any you wanna save–"
She shook her head, "All the pictures in that box stayed in that box for a reason."
He breathed a small sigh of relief before he continued. He lifted a finger to indicate the number two, "Second, we're gonna reminisce and sing. Mercedes and Rachel made something for you, and we're all gonna sing together."
"And we're still singing 'Time After Time'?"
He simply nodded and continued, bringing the third finger up again, "And finally, we're going to get drunk and have fun with our friends."
Violet smirked cheekily, "As long as there's not spin the bottle again." Sam threw his head back in a groan, vaguely remembering that night from their sophomore year. She continued, "I don't think Kurt could handle watching Blaine and Rachel kiss again."
"I don't think I could handle watching you kissing anyone other than me," he mumbled before kissing her again.
She patted his cheek, "Don't worry, buttercup. There's no one in this whole universe I'd wanna kiss other than you."
He looked content at her answer, so he rejoined the crowd with her in tow. Then, he promptly led everyone to their backyard where Blaine and Kurt were already looking at the fire.
Violet asked with a lilt in her voice, "Are we interrupting?"
The two men cleared their throats and quickly denied her implications, but everyone shared a knowing glance amongst themselves. The chemistry between the former lovers had been potent since they went missing despite them both being in relationships.
"Um, h-here are the pictures," Blaine, still flustered after being caught talking to Kurt, handed her a stack of photos with twine neatly wrapped around the pile to keep it together.
Her fingers lightly grazed the image of her and her mother on her opening night of The Sound of Music.
"Do you want to talk about the picture?" Rachel asked softly, breaking the younger girl out of her thoughts.
With a bittersweet smile, Violet wistfully explained, "This was my first ever opening night, and I guess it set the tone for the rest of my Broadway career. I... I couldn't stop crying because I was afraid I was going to mess up, and that I'd embarrass myself and my family in front of a professional audience. But Anastasia yelled at me, saying that crying was unprofessional... So I stopped, and I performed perfectly... and I still felt like crying."
"How old were you?" Kitty asked, unaware of how deep her history on Broadway had been.
"Four years old." She then threw the picture into the fire and watched as the old version of her ignited in flames.
The first few pictures went like this until they started to make a game out of it. They tried to anticipate Anastasia Anthony's expression in each picture. They tried to guess how old Violet was. They tried to guess if her dad was taking the picture or if it was a fan or a stranger.
The game made the process lighter. It let Violet fully process what happened, and she realized that she was a completely different person from the one her younger version envisioned. She was proud. She was proud that she no longer wished she was a woman that Anastasia Anthony could be proud of because she didn't care anymore. She was proud because she wanted to live, and she imagined a bright future for herself without anyone else's influence.
Her own future. Her own dreams.
Burning the pictures was more cathartic than she imagined. She felt like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
When the last picture started to burn, Violet smiled, "Goodbye." The crowd erupted into a thunderous applause. Violet then proposed, "I say we get started on drinking. I think I'll need something to get through all of your performances."
She got a lot of eye rolls and sounds of protest at her statement, but still, everyone agreed to start drinking earlier than planned. As everyone filtered back into the home, she stayed outside with Sam who was extinguishing the flame.
When he sufficiently snuffed out the flame, Sam felt arms circling around his waist and the vibrations between his shoulder blades.
"And I thought you'd be snuggled up to your bottle of tequila by now," he joked.
"I love you."
He turned around to face the raven-haired beauty, and she was glowing with love. This was probably the happiest he'd ever seen her, and it was also the most at peace she'd looked in all of his years of knowing her.
He brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "My beautiful Violet. I'd do anything for you."
A mischievous glint appeared in her midnight eyes, "Anything?"
He narrowed his eyes slightly, but then truthfully answered, "Yes. Anything."
"So you'll drink tequila with me?" Violet grinned.
"Who's gonna take care of you when you get shitfaced then?" he questioned, but then she gave him the saddest eyes he's ever seen. She rarely used puppy dog eyes on him, but damn were they effective.
Sam groaned, "Okay! One shot, but that's it!"
It was like Violet's entire being brightened at the prospect of Sam drinking a shot of tequila, and to him, a shot of his least favorite type of alcohol was worth seeing her like this. Sam couldn't help himself and dipped his head slightly to meet her lips. The kiss lingered before Violet kissed him again, more aggressively than the last. She nipped at his lower lip eliciting a groan, and she giggled into his mouth before pulling apart from his body.
She gripped his hand and grinned, "Let's go get that shot of tequila!"
He followed, but still mumbled lowly, "She's gonna be the death of me."
§ § §
The rest of the night was eventful, to say the least. Before they all got too drunk, Mercedes and Rachel presented their expertly crafted scrapbook filled with Glee Club memories. She could even see touches of Kitty's contribution in the year they shared together. Tears sprung into her eyes when she quickly flipped through the book, and she couldn't help but nearly suffocate the girls for such a thoughtful gift.
The others flipped through the album, and Santana laughed at the picture of the New Directions before their disastrous anti-alcohol assembly.
"You know, I still don't think I remember much from that week," Brittany commented.
Mercedes laughed and nodded her head, "Same. I just have blips of memories."
Kurt shook his head as he reminisced, "That week was a mess. You guys were all huge messes." He gave a pointed look at Blaine.
Blaine defended himself, "H-Hey. I did a lot of self-discovery that week, and I'm not ashamed of it." He held out a hand, and Violet high-fived her friend with a confident nod.
"Even though it was with Rachel?" Kurt raised an eyebrow, earning a half-hearted slap in the arm from Rachel.
"I just remember Santana crying about everything," Sam sipped his soft drink dramatically.
Santana leaped up and was about to attack Sam if not for Brittany holding her back. The tan-skinned girl just narrowed her eyes at him, "You were just moping over Violet the entire time."
He brought up a glass as if to cheer Santana, "And you were moping over Britt."
Artie sighed, "While I was dating Brittany."
"And I was wallowing in self-pity with Quinn because I was still hung up on Santana and figuring out my emotions for Sam while Quinn was still hung up on Sam and Finn," she clinked her bottle of tequila with Sam's cup before taking a swig of it. She detailed this night with him previously, and he got a real kick out of her perspective.
Kitty, who was holding her alcohol better than a lot of the older people in the room, scrunched her face as she tried to think of all the combinations.
"Fuck, you guys were like a bad Shakespeare play," she commented before taking a drink from her own cup.
The group burst out in laughter at the accurate assessment. Violet's eyes shined with mirth as she listened to her friends detail the memories from their time in high school.
These were the happy moments she wanted to remember. Sure, high school was dramatic and full of its own shitty moments, but throughout it all, she had her friends by her side and that's what mattered. That's what she cared about.
The night moved on, and Violet was through her first bottle of tequila. Despite her friends drinking less than her, their drunk personalities began to make their appearances again. She hadn't met these personalities in quite some time, and the last time, she didn't get to fully enjoy the entertainment. Despite the range of extreme emotions, duets were still sung, and Violet danced to all of them whenever she wasn't trying to rescue Kitty from Artie's attempted advances.
When it was her turn to sing with Sam, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. In a way, she couldn't fathom that this was her life, but she was grateful nonetheless.
She had a man by her side who would be there through all of her moments and help guide her out of her own darkness. He'd even stay in her darkness and wait until she was ready to walk into the light that he was confident was waiting for her even when she didn't believe it.
They would be there for each other time after time.
They exited the makeshift stage, leaving the microphones Rachel so generously brought over behind. Some people have already made their way home. Notably, Violet noticed Kurt walking Blaine out, and he returned with a noticeable blush dusting his cheeks and slightly swollen lips. She would've asked the boy for more details, but she didn't want to detangle from Sam's warmth.
Eventually, the crowd started to thin out. Each of her friends said their goodbyes to the couple and said their congratulations for letting go of her mommy issues. The house was nearly empty by 2am except for Violet, Sam, and of course, McConaughey who was fast asleep.
The music was still playing softly in the background, so Violet brought Sam's hands to her waist and her arms around his neck to slow dance. Sam could tell that after two bottles of tequila, she was the drunkest he'd seen her. While her words and thoughts were mostly coherent, she was less than graceful.
Violet stumbled over her feet as they slow-danced, and she looked down and pouted at her missteps. He tried to hold back his laugh, and her glare transferred to the man in front of her instead.
"Laughing at me isn't very nice."
His green eyes sparkled in amusement, "Oh, it's not?" She shook her head and continued to pout, so Sam said, "I'm sorry, Vi. What can I do to make it up to you?"
She paused their dance for a moment and hummed in consideration until her unfocused eyes lit up, "Compliments and kisses."
"In that order?"
"In that order," she nodded happily, smiling proudly at her conclusion.
Sam didn't even have to think of a compliment, "Well, I'm very impressed that you kept your clothes on."
Her furrowed brow and pout returned as she argued, "I do not strip every time I drink. I just strip when I feel warm, and I usually feel warm drinking."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, so there's no need to be impressed," she huffed. "That's like me complimenting you for putting on your pants each morning."
Sam fake-pouted back at her, "Hey, I think I'd like that compliment."
He then started to lean down to kiss her, but she pulled away, still pouting. "I said compliments and kisses. In that order."
"I did!" he argued, knowing that he was pushing her buttons. "Just because you didn't think it was a good compliment doesn't mean that it's not a compliment."
She considered his logic and rolled her eyes, "Fine."
His smile widened and leaned back down to kiss his drunk girlfriend. The kiss was sweet, but Violet clearly felt differently. She took the lead and intensified the kiss. Her fingers threaded through his overgrown, blonde roots and tugged the slightest bit. Unintentionally, Sam moaned at this action. She smirked against his lips and nipped his bottom lip until he ripped his away from hers.
He was already panting, "Let's cool off."
"But I don't want to," she breathed, trying to kiss him again, but he kept her at arm's length.
"Vi, you're too drunk right now."
"I'm not too drunk! My words aren't even slurring. I'm perfectly fine!"
He gave her a pointed look, "Vi, you're stumbling. You never stumble. You're drunk."
She whined, "Please."
Sam shook his head and lifted her up bridal style, "Nope. Maybe in the morning when you're sober, but you're probably gonna have a bad headache. Tonight, all we're going to do is get you to drink water, take a bath, and sleep."
"And cuddle?" she asked as they ascended the stairs.
He smiled down at her and at the apex of the stairs, he kissed her forehead, "Of course."
He set her down when they made it to their bathroom. Sam started the bath and then glanced back at Violet who was still looking at him longingly. His heart melted slightly at the sight of his girl.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead again, mumbling into her skin, "I'm sorry, Vi. You know why I'm doing this, right?"
"I know," she sighed. "Doesn't mean that I like it."
He breathed out a laugh before kissing her forehead again, "As long as you know. I'm gonna go get you water and your clothes, okay? Can you strip by yourself?"
She giggled like that was the funniest thing in the world, "You know I can do that."
He rolled his eyes and stopped the faucet before he went to go get her water and clothes. When he came back, he saw a half-naked Violet sitting on the bathroom floor, glaring at her jeans that were caught on her ankles.
"You okay there, Vi?"
She didn't even lift her head, "I hate skinny jeans."
Sam nodded understandingly, "They're hard to take off. Do you need help?"
"Please," she pouted.
"Of course, my Violet."
Sam knelt down and helped free her from the shackles of her skinny jeans. He looked back up and asked, "Do you need any more help?" He offered a hand to help her stand which she took gladly.
Violet looked conflicted. After her struggle with the pair of jeans, she accepted that she was pretty shitfaced. She was slightly embarrassed that she couldn't have complete control over herself, but this was Sam.
So she nodded and turned around, and Sam understood immediately, helping her out of her bra. The couple fell into a comfortable silence. Violet was nude, but there wasn't anything sexual about it. They were just comfortable.
Sam was surprised that, despite being inebriated, she still stuck to her idea of proper bath etiquette and showered before she hopped in. He decided to take the time to add some more hot water and some of her favorite bath salts until she was finished.
When she finished cleaning herself, Sam held out his hand so she could step into the bath without slipping. Violet slid into the water with a hum and closed her eyes in satisfaction. The fog in her brain cleared a little more, and while she still felt uninhibited, she was a little more coherent. She then heard a clink right beside her ear, and then, she opened one of her midnight eyes to see her metal water bottle.
She glanced back up at Sam who was hopping up on the counter. He smiled, "Drink, please."
She sighed at the request but complied nonetheless.
After drinking a good amount of water, she set the water bottle down and started to enjoy the water again. But then, she could feel his green eyes on her once more.
"I'm not gonna accidentally drown, buttercup," she teased with her eyes still closed.
He sighed, "How'd you know?"
"I know you," she smiled. "Plus, I don't think I'll ever forget the time you ranted to me about how dangerous baths are and why I shouldn't take them anymore. It's been years, but boy was it memorable."
"Well, you're still drunk, and I just want to make sure you're okay."
She opened her eyes and leaned her head back slightly, "If you're gonna stay to make sure I'm okay, can you at least come closer, so I can hold your hand? I get the no sex, but I'm still needy."
Violet closed her eyes again, but she heard Sam hop down from the counter. Soon after, she felt his larger hand envelope hers, and the feeling of his lips grace the back of her hand. She sighed in contentment and said softly, "Thank you."
His chin rested on the edge of the bathtub, and he admired the serenity in her beauty. Sam whispered, "Whatcha thinkin' about?" While he was sure the night was a success, he was still nervous that she might've crashed from the high after all of their friends left for the night.
"The future," Violet replied simply, and Sam internally sighed a breath of relief.
"The future?"
"Our future," she opened her eyes and gave him an easy smile. "I think I still want a small-town life."
A corner of his lips quirked up, "With me?"
"Yes, with you. Who else?" she deadpanned as she asked the rhetorical question, but then she recovered. "I really think we can make a difference here, Sam. I feel good about teaching these kids."
His eyes glimmered as he agreed, "I do too." Sam then paused and asked, "Why did you ever stop calling me 'buttercup'? Even now, you don't always say it."
Violet's face started to heat up, and she slipped into the bath further, hoping to disappear. But Sam panicked and grabbed her arm to keep holding her up.
"Vi!"
She breathed up and returned to her original position, "Relax. I'm not drowning. I'm just... embarrassed."
Sam furrowed his brow, "Why?"
Violet dramatically threw her head back in a groan, "Because I fucking broke up with you with a song, and now, every time I think about that goddamn nickname, I think about the fucking breakup."
His eyes softened, "Really?"
She ranted, "It's not even because it makes me sad! Because I really do think that we needed to break up at that point, and now, we're stronger for it. I just can't believe I broke up with you through a fucking song!"
He bursted out laughing when he realized how mortified she was in hindsight. While Violet saw the benefit of using songs to express how you're feeling, she didn't think everything needed to be sung. Frankly, she didn't think that singing him "Build Me Up, Buttercup" was the best way to break up with him in hindsight and now cringes at her past self especially since she believed they both could've communicated clearer during that period in their relationship.
She deadpanned, "It's really not that funny." He just laughed harder at the drunk girl.
Sam wiped away the tears leaking from his eyes, "Y-You c-can find a d-different nickname for me i-if you want."
She rolled her eyes at the way he kept laughing at this fact, "It's fine. I'll get over it. I just... have to get used to it again."
An idea popped into his head, "Does this mean that you'll try to get used to me calling you 'angel'?"
She yanked her hand out of his grasp, "Now, you're being mean."
"How am I being mean?" he teased.
She glared at him, "No sex tonight, but still calling me 'angel' is unfair and you know that."
He tried to clasp his hand in hers again, but she refused. When he tried to kiss her, she turned her cheek, so he kissed her ear instead, making her giggle.
"I'm sorry," he apologized half-sincerely.
She crossed her arms over her bare chest, splashing the bath water in the process. "You're evil."
He grinned, "Awh, you know that you don't mean that, angel."
"Like that!" she complained. "I'll never get used to that nickname out of a certain context, and if you keep going, your mom's definitely gonna win the bet."
Sam remembered what his mom told him, but he didn't actually know the timeframe she bet on, "Wait, what did she bet?"
"Before Sectionals."
Sam's eyes widened at this, "No way."
Violet let out a heavy sigh, "I think she has baby fever for me. She's starting to knit baby clothes already. I don't have the heart to tell her it might be a while if at all if we have kids."
"What do you mean?"
Violet froze when she realized what she said, and then she started to feel her insecurity creep up her spine. But then, Sam took her hand again and kissed her palm, "Hey, it's okay. You can tell me."
"I... When we were at the cafe cyberstalking Anastasia and her new family, Kitty and Unique stumbled on an article about her infertility issues, and... I guess I'm just scared I inherited it. And... I don't even know if I care about having biological children or not, but if you do–"
Sam furrowed his eyebrows and assured her, "Hey, hey, hey. I don't care. If you can't have kids or if you change your mind about kids, I don't mind. Yeah, I want to be a dad, but I only want to be a dad if you're the mom."
"That's not very realistic–"
He softly kissed her hand again, "It's realistic for me. I wouldn't want to do this without you, and if you're worried, we can always do those fertility test thingies. I'll do it with you! I bet we can get it done in a week–"
She chuckled at his eagerness, "It's okay! We don't have to rush this. We can wait until we're ready to have kids."
"Okay, well, I'm ready whenever you are."
Violet looked at him softly, "Really?" They had never really talked about having children before, but they both knew that she wanted to be a mom after she talked about it before Regionals in their junior year.
He leaned over to kiss her nose, "Really."
She relaxed back into the water, and then she mentioned, "If we have a son, can we name him Hiroshi? After my jiji?"
"Hiroshi," he tested out the name. "I like it. Do you know what it means?"
"I think Hiroshi means generous."
He nodded, "I'd want a generous kid. That way he'd share with his siblings."
She brightened, "Siblings. I like the sound of that. Being an only child is lonely, and you're so great with Stevie and Stacy. Although, I think I'd only want two."
"Why not three?"
She admitted, "I'm scared of pregnancy."
Sam admittedly didn't know much about it other than the bits and pieces he heard from Quinn all those years ago, and he was a stupid kid so he didn't really listen to her go on about it either. So he didn't quite understand why Violet was so nervous about it especially after she endured something like getting shot.
Violet read the confusion on his face and overdramatically sighed, "Men."
He couldn't help grinning at her antics and looked at her lovingly, "Can you let me know why?"
Exasperatedly, she threw her hands up with Sam's hand locked in hers, "There are so many horrors that come with pregnancy! Did you know that your teeth can fall out?"
Sam could tell that, while she might feel like this, she was hiding why she was really scared. Still, he reassured her, "We can get you dentures."
She turned away and laughed at the way he always managed to make her feel better. But Sam loved seeing her smile and the way that the corners of her eyes would crinkle if she found something he said was extra funny. So he used his free hand to gently turn her head to him.
Her eyes were still fogged with drunkenness, but they shined like the stars on a quiet night sky. Sam could see in her eyes the hints of insecurity and shame, so he furrowed his brow in confusion, and asked, "What's really wrong?"
She cringed at her own vanity and was tempted to hide her face again if not for Sam's hand on her face that she loved so much. "I don't want to sound so vapid."
"Hey, but it's me."
Violet nodded, "Okay..." She tried to breathe out any anxiety, "I'm scared about scarring and stretch marks."
"Really?" He could see Violet recoil the slightest bit which made him quickly explain, "I'm sorry. I don't mean it like that. I just... for as long as I've known you, you've never been insecure about how you look."
"I have my fair share of insecurities. I just don't like talking about them because I think I sound ridiculous," she cringed as she let herself feel them. "I've worked through a lot of the ones that I had when I was a kid, but... the scars really get to me."
"Scars?"
She reluctantly traced the scars from her bullet wounds, and mumbled, "I hate how they look, and... you could never look at them, and I know logically that it's because they remind you of a horrible and traumatic time, but... the scars just make me feel ugly. I'm afraid that any more would make me feel worse."
She groaned in embarrassment, "And it's just so stupid–"
He cut that thought off, "It's not stupid. You're allowed to feel insecure. That doesn't make you stupid. That makes you human. And if it makes you feel better, I love you, scars and all. Because no matter what, I think you look beautiful because you are a beautiful person. You're my favorite person in the entire world. I love you."
"I love you too. So much," a tear leaked from her eye, and he kissed it away. "Um, I think I'm done here. The water's cold."
"Okay just let me get the towel." Once he retrieved it, he offered his hand to Violet, helping her get out. She was still unsteady, but she was much better than before.
She tried to grab the towel to dry herself, but he took that duty upon himself. And as he did so, he made it a point to take a moment and tenderly kiss her scars.
Once dried and dressed, Sam instructed, "Okay, I'm gonna go get ready for bed. I want you to finish drinking all the water in your water bottle, and then sleep, okay? We can have a lazy morning when you wake up."
She looked at him captivatingly, "Can we keep talking? I like talking to you about this kind of stuff."
He pecked her lips, "Okay, we can. Just let me get clean. We can talk in bed."
She nodded happily, retreating into their bedroom while Sam tried to quickly get ready for bed, not wanting to keep her waiting.
He finally exited the bathroom, using a towel to dry his hair. When he entered their dimly lit bedroom, he saw her sprawled out in their bed sleeping soundly. Sam just looked at Violet like she hung the stars in the sky before getting into their bed and kissing her forehead. He loved his life.
§ § §
"I don't even understand why you insisted on getting a reservation at Breadstix," Violet complained to Kurt.
The day after the party, Kurt unexpectedly invited Sam and Violet on a double date with him and Walter for Monday evening. The dark-eyed girl was especially confused because of the events she thought transpired at the party, but she agreed to the date just to investigate the situation a little more.
However, she was starting to regret agreeing to it because Kurt didn't want to be late to the reservation, and Mr. Schue was late in bringing Vocal Adrenaline to the McKinley auditorium.
Violet said venomously as they walked to the auditorium, "I swear, if you're gonna make me miss any part of the trans choir's performance, I'll make your life a living hell."
"And she's not joking," Sam supported her.
Kurt grumbled, "Believe me. I know. And besides, Walter's already waiting in the car for us. I'd hate to be so mean and leave him out there by himself."
Violet glared at him, "Tell him to go ahead and hold the reservation, and then we can drive you to Breadstix. The drive isn't even 10 minutes!"
Kurt rolled his eyes, but he still texted his boyfriend the plan. Sam then said his brief goodbyes to the two in order to get Sheldon Beiste and guide him to the auditorium.
"VIOLET!"
She snapped her head to the direction her name was being called and found Marley who was already with Unique and Kitty. Violet grinned so much her cheeks felt like they were going to fall off, and she sped to the group of girls so fast that she nearly tackled them all to the ground.
"Reunited!" Violet squealed.
"And it feels so good!" Unique finished the phrase.
Marley grinned, "I'm just so happy that I can be here for this. Unique, thank you for inviting Harper, and Vi thank you for helping host the trans choir."
"Hello?" Kitty raised her hand.
The blue-eyed girl rolled her eyes at the small blonde, "And thank you for just being here Kitty."
Kitty smiled contently, "You're welcome."
Violet then turned to Unique, "What you're doing for Coach Beiste is amazing. I– This is what he needed, and I know that he'll feel so empowered after this."
"Stop, you're gonna make me cry, and it took an hour to do this face," Unique fanned her eyes. Violet saying those words meant the world to her. She has looked up to her for so long, and for her, as her friend, to say that she was making a difference when Violet made a huge difference in Unique's life was awe-inspiring.
The oldest girl just grinned at her, "I'm just trying to get it all out before Kurt inevitably drags me away–"
"Hey!" Kurt yelled from down the hall.
Harper then lightly jogged up to the group of girls, and before telling them the news, they raised on their tiptoes to kiss Marley's cheek.
"Hello, beautiful."
Marley blushed at this affirmation, while Violet and Unique gushed at the couple. Kitty just gagged at them.
"You may be hot now, but you're still so cheesy. It makes you gross again," Kitty cringed.
Harper was unphased, "As long as Marls still loves it, then I'll do it until the day she tells me to stop."
Kitty then looked around, "Someone get me a trashcan. I'm gonna hurl."
Violet laughed at her dramatics, "Alright, alright. Harper, you looked like you had something to tell us?"
They nodded, "Ah well, I think her name's Rachel, but, uh, she told me to tell you guys that Mr. Schue said he was five minutes away, so we should probably get to our places."
Unique hugged them, "Thank you! We'll be right there."
Harper just nodded before they kissed Marley again, and then gave the group a two-finger salute.
Kitty shook her head, "A literal dork."
"And they're all mine," Marley voiced, absolutely smitten.
Violet rolled her eyes, "Okay, let's all get to the stage before this plan fails or even worse, Kurt drags me away mid-performance."
"Hey!" Kurt yelled again, now much closer to the group.
"You know that that's true. Don't even try to deny it."
The group then made their way to the auditorium, mostly hiding in the wings while they waited for Mr. Schue to enter the auditorium.
The door opened with a bang in the silent auditorium, and they could just hear Vocal Adrenaline shuffling their feet on the cheap carpet.
"Alright, everyone. Huddle up," Mr. Schue announced in a loud whisper. "We're gonna watch those fools literally fall on their faces."
Violet took the cue and turned on the stage lights, illuminating the lone microphone in the otherwise dark auditorium.
Unique walked from the wings, with a microphone in hand, and she started to sing "I Know Where I've Been" from Hairspray acapella. Violet then turned on more lights which prompted the jazz band's and the trans choir's entrance.
Violet looked from her spot in the wings with Kurt, Rachel, Marley, and the New Directions, and she grinned when Sheldon walked on the stage with Unique. Then, the lights illuminated the vast trans choir, and this brought tears to Sheldon's eyes. They readily welcomed him into the group, and he had a difficult time holding back his tears.
Violet looked at the sea of singers, and she felt her heart glow for Sheldon and for all the trans people in Ohio who made this happen. In the midst of the large crowd, she couldn't make her way to her mentor, but when they locked eyes, she mouthed, "You deserve this."
Sheldon nodded as he tried to wipe his tears furiously and gave her a thumbs up before turning his attention to the other trans people in the room who wanted his attention.
Mr. Schue then started his speech to Vocal Adrenaline, so Kurt quickly pulled Violet and Sam's arms once he found them, "Yeah we're not gonna stay for this. Rachel will give us a recap later."
She quickly said her goodbyes to whoever she could before Kurt nearly yanked them out of the building to rush to the double date.
§ § §
"How do you think that double date went?" Violet questioned as Sam was making some chamomile tea for them to wind down after the date. Despite having a pleasant time, both of them knew that there were a lot of things left unsaid between their friends. Hence, the debrief.
Sam walked back into the living room with two mugs, "I still think it's weird that Kurt wanted to do a double date with the old dude–"
"Walter," Violet corrected.
"–when he's clearly still so into Blaine," Sam continued.
She nodded, "Right? I mean, I didn't realize that this thing with Walter was so serious. Like, Kurt and Blaine were hanging out so much during the party. He even walked Blaine out, and I'm pretty sure that they kissed."
"Wait, what?" Sam's eyes almost protruded out of his head.
Violet giggled, "You didn't notice? It was so obvious. I was drunk, and I caught that."
He rolled his eyes, "Okay, but we both know that drunk you still catches things better than sober me."
She just shook her head and laughed at that response before explaining, "Kurt came back inside with a face as red as a cherry tomato. Clearly, something happened."
"He could be compensating. You know, kissed Blaine, then he was like 'Oh! I still have a boyfriend!' and then tries to make it more serious than he wants."
Violet pondered that notion, "That's a good theory." She then thought about before the date, when Blaine stopped them before they headed out, "Do you think that's what Blaine wanted to talk about?"
"You do give good advice–"
She shook her head, "No, no. Do you think that Blaine wanted to talk to Kurt about the kiss, but he didn't realize that Walter was there? He looked way too shocked and sad to see me to actually want to talk to me."
Sam's mouth gaped slightly as he considered, "Do you think Blaine broke up with Karofsky?"
Their debrief was interrupted by their doorbell ringing, and McConaughey started to bark at the door.
"Don't worry. I got it," Sam offered. He gave her a quick peck before calling McConaughey off and opening the door. "Oh!"
Violet craned her neck, "Buttercup, who is it?"
"Can I stay here?" Blaine asked from the threshold of the door. The girl got up from her seat and looked at the obviously heartbroken boy in front of her with a suitcase in hand. Blaine explained, "Me and Dave broke up, and I, uh, wanted to give him the apartment while he figures out his living situation."
"Yeah, of course, Blaine. We have a lot of extra room, so of course you're welcome," Violet replied softly.
Sam quickly ushered the shorter man in, taking his luggage for him. He asked, "I just made some tea. Do you want some?"
"Please."
Sam and Violet gave each other a look before she instructed, "Buttercup, can you bring his stuff to one of the spare bedrooms? I'll get him the tea. Blaine, take a seat on the couch. You look like you need to talk this out."
Once everything was settled, the trio made their way to the couch with McConaughey taking refuge in Blaine's lap to make him feel better. With a dog in his lap and a cup of tea in hand, he explained everything. He explained what happened in the elevator to what happened at the party to the breakup to what he wanted to actually say to Kurt and not Violet.
"I just don't know if I missed my chance with him. I- I thought we were on the same page, but then you guys went on that double date tonight–"
Violet scooched over to hug her friend, "Oh, Blaine, I promise you that that didn't mean anything."
Blaine wiped his tears, "How can you be so sure?"
"I'm not, but let's just say I have a feeling."
Sam added, "And you know how good she is at predicting things."
Violet smiled softly, "Why don't we watch a movie and try to get your mind off of this?"
"The first Avengers movie?" Blaine suggested.
Sam got up from his seat, "Ooh, we haven't seen that one in a while. We have the DVD somewhere..."
That night, Sam and Violet comforted Blaine with superhero movies and reassurances knowing that this will soon pass with time. Because after knowing both boys, this was just a stop on their way back to each other, and hopefully, it's for good this time.
§ § §
Turns out, Rachel did debrief Violet and Kurt about what happened after they left, and apparently, Mr. Schue decided to quit before Sue threatened to have her hounds attack the VA teens.
Apparently, Rachel thought that it was a great decision to bring him on as a consultant. Luckily, she waited to talk to her other co-directors before she asked Mr. Schue, but no matter what, Violet was outnumbered.
"I can see why you two became friends your senior year," Violet rolled eyes at the two the next morning. Rachel and Kurt then made it to either side of her and linked arms with Vi.
Rachel tried to ease her worry, "Oh, c'mon. It'll just be like when we were in high school."
Violet looked at her in horror, "Exactly!"
It was then Kurt's turn to placate her fears, "Listen, Rachel wants to try to get back on the wagon in New York, and after Sectionals, I'm due back at NYADA. The New Directions still doesn't have 12 members yet, and you're gonna need help. Who better than the man who brought the Glee Club back from extinction the first time around?"
"Rachel, do you still have Shelby's number?"
"Violet," both of them scolded her at the same time.
Violet sighed, "Okay, fine. God, Santana was right. You guys really do share a brain cell sometimes."
The trio then made their way to Mr. Schue who wanted to sit in on Glee Club that day. They walked behind him before he stopped to take in the choir room.
Kurt asked, "So what are you gonna do now?"
"I don't know," he stated weirdly confidently. He then started to stroll into the room, "I mean, I guess I have to eventually find a new job. But, honestly, Carmel paid so well that we have enough savings to last a few months, so I can... figure things out."
They crowded around the piano, and Mr. Schue sighed contently, "I am honestly so proud of what you three are doing here. And if I ever doubted that there needed to be somebody out there to balance out the evil empire of Vocal Adrenaline, I am a true believer now."
Rachel then gave Violet one last look, so Violet rolled her eyes and reluctantly nodded for her to go on.
"Well, there is a... job. It doesn't really pay much. Actually, it doesn't pay anything at all, but– well, Kurt, Vi, and I were wondering i-if you had the time or if you would even consider being the special alumni consultant for the New Directions."
Mr. Schue looked at her hesitantly, "Did you just make up that title right now?"
Violet quipped, "Well, I surely didn't have a hand in it."
Rachel laughed and nodded her head, "Yeah, Vi's right. I just made that up right now. I absolutely did. But the three of us were talking, and we could really use your help. Coming up with these weekly lessons is a lot harder than we thought."
Violet agreed, "They're really bad at it. This past week, it was supposed to be 'Buckeye Bullseye' but then they changed it to 'Transitioning' at the last minute, and I had to come up with a lesson plan on the spot."
"Okay."
Rachel and Kurt looked at him in disbelief while Violet sighed loudly. She muttered to herself, "Here we go again."
Kurt asked, "Okay, as in... y-you'll think about it?"
"No," Mr. Schue replied confidently. "Okay, as in, I would be honored to help."
The two of them hugged and slightly jumped with Violet while Rachel squeaked out, "Great!"
Mr. Schue then proposed, "But I have two conditions. One, you guys have to make all the major decisions. And that doesn't mean a constant reliance on Violet. I know that it's easy to do."
Violet was actually surprised he acknowledged his past shortcomings.
He continued, "And two, you guys have to start calling me Will."
Rachel replied quickly, "Yes, I can definitely do that."
Kurt shook his head, "No. I don't think I could ever call you... W-Will."
"I'm just gonna stick to calling you Schue or Schuester." Violet blanched at the thought of calling him by his first name.
Mr. Schue looked around the room in nostalgia, "Ah. You guys are just passing through this place again, but I'm beginning to realize that this is where I belong. This choir room is who I am. And I can't wait to see the look on Sue's face when I tell her."
"She's gonna skin you alive," Violet chuckled with her former teacher.
"Or stick her dogs on him," Kurt added.
William Schuester just chuckled and shook his head at their banter while trying to move on, "So, what's the lesson for next week?"
Rachel explained, "Well, Kurt wants to do another Brittany 3.0–"
Violet continued, feeling the same as Rachel, "But there are no more songs in her catalog. They weren't there for 2.0, but Kitty and I were."
"There are tons of songs," Kurt argued.
Mr. Schue then asked, "Now, do the kids have any personal problems?"
"Oh, not this method. Please," Violet groaned.
Kurt answered, "We don't know. We don't spend time talking to them."
Violet emphasized, "You guys don't. I swear I have at least two of them coming into my office a day."
He looked at her proudly, "That was even more than when I was teaching." He then turned towards his Broadway-bound students, "And you two should follow in Violet's footsteps. Get to know them. Because, one day, they may be the best friends you've ever had."
And she teased, "And it'll be less creepy than Mr. Schue because we're less than a decade older than them."
author's note
oop i did not mean to be gone for a month... school started back up so i kinda forgot about finishing up the chapters which i will be trying to continue to write since i have the inspiration and I'm soooo close to finishing this book!!!!
anyways...
lots of Sam and Vi in this chapter and FINALLY AN EXPLANATION ABOUT WHY SHE STOPPED CALLING HIM BUTTERCUP
one of my fav chapters because it's very feel good and my babies are happy <3