Chapter Text
Velvet is relaxing at home after work when Eleanor calls, and her irritation at being disturbed fades into trepidation when she sees the name on the screen.
They haven't talked since that day at the office. It's not like Velvet to fall prey to anxiety - usually she can make a decision to eliminate the problem, or at least focus so hard on cleaning she doesn't have to think about it. But every time she remembers that last meeting, her heart flutters in the most obnoxious way.
She likes Eleanor. And Eleanor likes her. And Velvet still isn't quite sure what they're going to do about it, but they have to do something now.
It turns out that's exactly what Eleanor wants to talk about.
"So..." she says, after only a brief greeting. "We're in the process of transferring your case to another officer. You'll receive official notice soon, and you'll have to come in to meet him."
"Already?" Velvet says, genuinely surprised. "You didn't waste any time."
The reality of her flippant suggestion is just now occurring to her. She's become somewhat comfortable with Eleanor supervising her, but her new parole officer might have different standards. He doesn't know her; he doesn't trust her. Is she going to have to go through the long process of winning him over, too? Will she still have Eleanor vouching for her? What if he's even more disagreeable than she used to be?
"I told you," Eleanor says. "I'm serious about this. About us... having potential to move forward. And it's really not appropriate for me to be handling your parole at the same time."
"I don't mind if my supervisor is biased."
"Well, I do. Look, it's not like I wanted to give up the job... It's going to be difficult for me, too, to hand your case over to someone else."
"What, are you afraid I'm going to seduce the new guy, too?"
"You'd better not," Eleanor retorts. "He's married, with two kids. Don't make me regret giving away my success story."
"Eh, if it's a man you don't have to worry."
There's a pause while Eleanor gathers her thoughts again, and then she says, "So once that goes through... we won't have any more business with each other. We'll have to see each other off the clock. So I was thinking, maybe... we could..."
She trails off, and Velvet says as cheekily as she can, "Yes?"
"Don't sound so oblivious! You know what I'm getting at!"
"I have no idea what you're suggesting," Velvet insists, and thinks, I made the first move last time. It's only fair.
"Let's... let's go out to dinner or something!" Eleanor finishes in a rush, and Velvet answers easily, "Okay."
Eleanor doesn't immediately respond, but when she does she seems to have calmed down. "Okay. Um, I'll see you when you come in to meet Marcus, so we can talk specifics then. In the meantime the Department of Corrections should be in touch with you about what you need to do."
"All right. It's a date," Velvet says.
"Y-Yeah," Eleanor replies. "It's a date."
After they hang up Velvet looks at the home screen of her phone for a few moments longer, and then opens her messages. Unsurprisingly, the most recent one is from Magilou - it's hard for it not to be when she barely texts anyone, ever. But it's a short message, a negatory reply to Velvet asking if she'd be coming back over soon.
So that's it, then. Magilou isn't interested anymore. The thought stings more than Velvet expected, but she's willing to put it behind her. She knew from the start that Magilou wouldn't be looking for commitment; it's no surprise that she's fading back into the background of Velvet's life the same way she wheedled herself into the spotlight.
Velvet puts her phone down and relaxes into her armchair, leaning her head back to stare up at the ceiling. It's weird to think that Magilou won't be hanging around anymore, but the thought of seeing Eleanor more makes her chest buzz in a fuzzy sort of way. She can be content with that, she thinks. Her parole is going well, and her job is okay, and she's starting to amass a little bit of savings. She hasn't thought as much about Artorius and Laphi lately; Magilou and Eleanor helped with that. Eleanor is good at helping people, even if she is a little overbearing about it. So yes - strange as it is to admit it, when she thinks about the future now, she actually feels fine.
Maybe even a little excited.