𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖗 | ᴄᴏʀᴘꜱᴇ ʜᴜꜱʙᴀɴᴅ x ᴏᴄ | ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴏɴᴇ

The Glitter Bandages

Jack opened the front door and shut it, grateful that the come down always took so long to dissipate as his hand twitched in what should've been pain- counteracted still by the remaining adrenaline in his blood. He'd tried his best to clean up a bit afterwards, grateful his work uniform was all black, but his knuckles still continued to ooze. He wasn't sure how Violet would react or if she'd even inferred what had happened, he just hoped she had managed to salvage the night somehow after coming home... and that she wouldn't be afraid of him- if she was still up. He had some idea how he came off while in that state of mind, but the tunnel vision and eager rage he'd felt made it impossible to know what she'd been thinking. He entered the kitchen and turned on the sink's faucet as he watched as the water muddied with blood and dirt before circling the drain. He cursed to himself quietly, hoping he, Elmo, and Christian had done a good enough job. Don't worry, you got away with it. He chuckled to himself as the dark voice filled his head.

"Are you okay?" Violet had followed the sound of his footsteps to the kitchen, where he was hunched over the counter, water still running. She leaned against the counter next to him, unsure if he'd want her any closer. Her eyes could barely make out the droplets of blood splattered in the sink.

"Hm? Oh, yeah I'm fine." He looked up at her, startled but his voice remained calm and content as he offered his normal tired smile.

"Can I see?" She started to move forward.

"It's- it's really not a big deal..." He stamored, instinctively moving to better hide the torn skin beneath the running water, afraid of how she'd react at the evidence of what he'd done. He'd never had someone to come home to after one of his episodes, he had no idea what to expect. He knew it was highly unlikely she'd call the cops, but he didn't know if he should prepare for fear, anger, or a traumatized fugue-like neutrality.

"Jack, just..." She sighed. "I wanna see that you're alright." She tugged gently on his forearm to get a better look at the split knuckles. His arm twitched softly at the contact, the undimished spark between them further shocking his still reactive muscles. He bit the inside of his lip and ignored the sensation.

"I'm fine, really." He chuckled easily.

"Jesus." Violet murmured at how deep the cuts went. This wasn't going to help his already scarred knuckles. "He didn't get you, did he?" From what she had heard, it didn't seem likely, but he was a masochist, and she couldn't help but cautiously tug and pat his clothes to see if her date had managed to get a hit in.

Jack, however, remembered how easily the guy had gone down, a contained scoff muffled in his throat as he hummed out a 'no', to reassure her. Unwittingly, she lifted her other hand to his chin, grasping it as she gently moved his head side to side, checking for any wounds she knew he'd hide from her. She felt the reverberation of his soft laugh through the skin. Her hand's placement on his skin created several obscene scenarios that he let play out in his mind as she inspected. While his pupils were clearly dilated, that could've been for a number of reasons, but she couldn't see anything major that needed tending to, which helped alleviate more of her anxiety.

"Satisfied?" He smiled sweetly down at her as she let go of his chin. He remained cautious of her reaction, despite the soft teasing tone in his voice.

"Let's get you cleaned up." She ignored his question, pulling him with her down the hall to the bathroom where she kept the first aid kit.

"Vi- I'm fine, really I can take care of this..." His eyes fixated on her hand, firmly gripping his forearm as she pulled him, not even noticing the slight boyish excitement in his voice.

"You're a bartender. You can't have open wounds while mixing people's drinks. We're in the middle of a panini. Gross." She gestured for him to sit on the toilet lid while she pulled out some Neosporin and a few Q-tips, along with some gauze to help keep pressure on the cuts still bleeding. He opened his mouth to argue but shut it again as she knelt down in front of him and took one of his hands to tend to the wounds, eyes blurring a bit as they dilated even more for an entirely different reason now. This scenario had definitely not crossed his mind while considering her reactions. She waited for his protest but looked up to see his lips practically sealed shut as he bit down to keep himself quiet, anything to keep her here- touching him, just a crumb of affection was enough. The tender contact of her touch always dredged up the impermissible feelings he always ended up succumbing to. He winced slightly as she applied pressure to the cuts. The adrenaline was starting to wear off now, but he reveled in the pain- his masochism making him glad to have a physical sensation from her touch.