A Song For The Optimists[Solomon, Violet]

"To be fair, I didn't exactly endear myself by leading you on under the pretense of a date."

Indeed, Solomon wasn't so bold as to place the blame solely on her. Their interaction began with a robbery where he could have simply revealed that he knew she had stolen his wallet. Against better judgment, however, he foolishly chose a more unreasonable path that only ended in frustration. For what it was worth, she certainly deserved better than the idiocy he displayed that day. Solomon recognized her hand instinctually wrapping around his, raising an eyebrow in quiet curiosity.

And then, a thought dawned on him. Honestly, the day was still young. No job required his attention at the moment. Unless something fell on his plate at the last moment, he was a free man with an open schedule. He wondered then; What better way to make up for his misstep than to treat her to a genuine date? They had certainly spent time with one another, of course, but Solomon was never able to wash away his regret regarding that day. Besides, a certain bird in his ear had told him he should date more. Throw caution to the wind and explore the world, so to speak. She was, by all accounts, an attractive woman... so why not indulge his spontaneity for once?

"Which makes me wonder... What would you say to a genuine date this time? No pretense, no deceit. Just a day out on the town. Together with me. No expense paid."

When he mentioned the date and his first impression, Violet’s mouth stretched into a line. She robbed him. If anything it was an interesting form of karma, or some weird twist of fate. In the end, they became friends. She couldn’t really complain. A real friend, a brand new house, new job, and she made a reishi ball. Her life wasn’t too bad now, and a lot of that was on that strange first meeting of theirs.

Violet’s fair skin beamed red. A date? Like, a real one? With her? Turning her head to a new mirror hanging on the wall next to the front door, Violet finally saw her current appearance. “N-Now? I-I-I-I look horrible, a-and I’ve been training all morning… W-We just ate, a-and…” Violet realized she wasn’t giving him an actual answer, so she bit her bottom lip before speaking again. “Solomon, I’d love to.”

"What better time than now, right? Of course, I'll gladly wait until you feel you are appropriately dressed for the occasion. It is my sincere hope that this can prove more entertaining than my poor showing from the last time."

Solomon chuckled softly as he held her hand for a few more moments. He definitely understood the necessity of being properly dressed and the pride one felt at wearing their best clothing. As such, he wasn't going to press the issue in rushing her out of the house. There was ample enough time to give her a few minutes to prepare. Pulling his hands away softly, Solomon motioned toward the chair to sit down. Best to let her prepare herself, right?

"I'll be waiting here until you're ready if that's alright with you."

While he talked, Violet slipped her hands away, but only because she was backing away toward her bedroom. “Alright then,” Violet said and then spun on her heel and hurried to her room. The only sound Solomon really got was a shocked “MY HAIR” when she got a better look at it. It took her longer than she wanted because she needed to shower. She let her hair air dry after brushing it through. She put on some light makeup and then went to her closet. She did not have many “date” worthy outfits. Also, it depended on where they would go, so Violet peeked out of her room and down the hall to ask, "What type of place do you think we'll be going?"

Somewhere active? Okay, so casual, probably durable. Maybe they were going on a hike or biking? Simple enough! Violet put on a pair of black jeans, a lavender short sleeve top, and a good pair of hiking shoes. Just in case, she packed away a pocket mirror, makeup, makeup-remover, tissue, moist towelettes, band aids, pepper spray, deodorant, mints, body spray, and a tank top. She then grabbed her keys, wallet, and phone, and then all of that went into a black multipurpose bag she bought.

"Perfect!" Violet popped out of her room with excitement, but then blushed, rubbing the back of her head. "Well, as perfect as I can be. I'm sorry I took so long."

"Don't worry about it. Judging from your reaction to the state of your hair upstairs, I would have waited as long as you desired from that alone. Seeing you now, I'd say it was certainly worth the wait."

Solomon remarked smoothly, a genuine compliment acknowledging her appearance. While he waited, he simply busied himself with making arrangements for the first part of their date. Now that she was properly prepared, they could make their way to the next location of choice. Extending his hand forward, gesturing for his date to grab it, Solomon led her through the door, walking side by side as they traveled through the city. Since the location wasn't particularly far, their trek through the City of Lights was relatively short-lived. He filled the air with one form of conversation to another, mostly to avoid losing the fun atmosphere between them. That was important, after all - to ensure this outing was thoroughly enjoyed by parties. He wouldn't settle for anything less.

"It might be pointless to ask, but have you ever played Laser Tag before?" He inquired curiously, slowly leading her to their location of choice. It was a wide and expansive location with blaring lights and booming voices, accompanied by the grand sound of music. It was his genuine hope that she would find the location pleasant. If not, he certainly had other places in mind. To reward her for her efforts up until now, he intends to leave no stone unturned to ensure her enjoyment.

If he didn’t stop with all the compliments, Violet would be red all day! Her blush continued for a while, deepening as she took his hand and was led through the city. Her heart racing just thinking about it. Part of her felt so silly. She was an adult who never held hands with a boy. She bet all the girls did this kind of thing in middle school, or at least high school. She never even got the chance! Solomon was likely able to feel the slight tremble of her hand, revealing her nervousness.

Violet was happy to partake in any conversation as they walked. When they arrived at their destination, she was in the middle of contemplating his question. "No, I haven't," Violet said, a bit of annoyance in her tone, but not at him, more at her situation. "I didn't get to do much growing up..." Violet looked at the building, taking in some of the advertising on the outside. Stars grew in her eyes. Apparently, she was going to experience it today. The ads reminded her of something too.

"Quincy training!" Violet exclaimed in pure excitement, pointing at the ads. There was an assumption in her head. The "lazers" had to be reishi being fired out of the little guns, right? And the safety gear with all the lights showed when you were hit, right? Little did she know, she was really only half right. "I can do this! Gonna win!"

"Yes. Something like that."

Solomon found himself endeared by the adorable reaction she expressed towards his location of choice. Fond of new experiences as he was, he found a sincere measure of joy in sharing that with someone else. Of course, she's only half-right in assertion.

It isn't anything so serious as Quincy training, but since he couldn't find it in himself to tell her otherwise, he simply allowed her to revel in the fantasy that has likely taken root in her mind. He guided her through the door, turning toward the cashier to reserve an intricately built room for two. In the span of a few moments, they were presented with proper gear and weapons.

None of it required them removing any clothing, so Solomon simply dressed himself on his way to the reserved room. It was sure to be an enjoyable experience now that they were properly prepared. Turning back to her with a competitive grin, Solomon motioned for her to follow him inside the mazelike room. In the next moment, the lights dimmed to signal the start of their match.

"Now, then, let us begin, shall we? I'll let you make the first move. If you can find me, of course."

Humoring her at the end, Solomon darted from her front to her back as he set off to avoid her. Maybe it would serve as training. A bit of target practice certainly didn't hurt, hm?

Within the gear room, Violet watched Solomon put his stuff on, so she didn't end up with anything on backwards. How embarrassing would that be? They entered the maze room and Violet was first in awe at all the neon lights, the glow in the dark blue and purple paint theme, the weird holes from wall to wall that could allow her to shoot from hiding places. This place was just amazing to look at.

"I'm counting to ten! Go find your spot! And no double shots!" Violet turned away from the ninja-Solomon and began counting. She refused to shoot at a target when they just entered the same entrance. It was time to take up their post! Once she got to ten, she turned back around and immediately ducked behind one of the many walls. Eyes narrowed and senses alert (human senses of course), Violet began trying to move stealthily through the maze, keeping herself low and peeking around walls before daring to show her targeting gear. "Now where is he at..."

She wasn't going to strike first? Solomon supposed he understood the strategy of picking out her shots carefully. That didn't mean he was going to go any easier on her, though. His body shifted stealthily through the mazelike room, dancing between obvious corners to throw off Violet's concentration. At times, it would appear and sound as though he was right behind her, only to vanish and reappear behind a wall. Repeating this pattern like a practiced round, he rolled forward out of a corner, shooting forward to launch a harmless laser blast at the dead center of the target on her chest.

Violet wasn't striking first because she believed in fairness. They needed to start at different positions and then find each other. Starting from the same door wasn't a fun way to play the game! So, she would sneak through the maze, watching carefully. She heard a sound and turned to face it, but Solomon wasn't there. She walked toward the sound, peeking around corners, but he wasn't there again. She rushed down a path, thinking that was the way he went, only to have Solomon roll out and fire before she had a chance to react. Her vest went off, lights flashing for a few seconds to give her a chance to reset somewhere else.

"You are so fast! No cheating!" Violet said, her voice echoing throughout the maze-room. She was referring to the possibility of him using Quincy powers. She wasn't anywhere near that yet, so that wouldn't be fair at all!

Violet found a position behind set of fake cars that weren't much larger than a children's battery powered vehicle. She darted across an empty area to another wall, looking through a small hole that opened up to a decent sized portion of the room. She knew he could probably sense her. She couldn't do that yet, so she had to figure out a way around his Quincy super powers. Until then, she watched quietly.