Note: I do not own characters or the show.
"Rusty, no!" Sharon screamed from where she stood near the kitchen. Rusty looked up after Sharon screamed.
"What?!" Rusty said after he swallowed one last chocolate covered strawberry.
"Those are for Brenda," Sharon stared at the empty container that was supposed to be filled with chocolate covered strawberries that she made at two in the morning.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Wait, I can run to the cafe and get a box."
"It's okay. It's not important. Besides, I don't have time." Sharon dismissed his idea with her hand. She seemed fidgety as she stood there.
"Sharon, are you okay?"
"Oh, no...I'm fine...I'm great, actually." Sharon perked herself up, but her hands wrung together.
"Okay." Rusty said slowly as he turned around to throw the trash away. Sharon looked down at her watch.
"Oh! I better go to get ready for this date with Brenda." She turned around but then turned back to Rusty. "When are you heading to Kevin Tao's house?"
"Um, I am sure that I will be gone before you guys get here. So, don't worry."
"Okay, great." Rusty incredulously stared at her as she headed to her bedroom. He shook his head. He knew something was up with Sharon.
In Sharon's room, she looked at herself in the full length mirror wearing matching plum black lace lingerie, but it didn't fit her in right places. It was too loose. She groaned, frustrated she didn't look at the online order carefully. She changed her current lingerie into her black lace lingerie, but it was the ones that Brenda had already seen her in. Sharon chuckled to herself as she thought about some of the memories from last two years of dating Brenda. She walked to the bathroom as she put her robe over herself and plugged in her curling iron.
25 minutes later, she stared at herself in a mirror with horror. She suddenly had a flash back to almost five years ago when she showed up to audit Brenda's team in that horrible curly haired mess. She thought she improved her skills, but she was so distracted with planning the steps for tonight's date that she ruined her hair. She looked at her cellphone and saw the time. She feared missing the reservations to the restaurant. She slipped on her deep purple dress and managed to zip it up from the back. She ran out and picked up her navy trench coat along with her purse. She closed the door, but the door came open. She went toward her black high heels and slipped it on. She then went back out.
She got to the garage parking and got into her car. She turned on her car. Her car would not start. Shit. She tried again. The car would not start. She took calm breaths. She texted Rusty for him to come down with his car keys. Rusty took a look at Sharon as she stood by her car.
"Sharon." Rusty stared at her, but he tried not to stare at her hair. Sharon tried not to cry. He handed her the key.
"Thank you. So um, I called Kevin and asked him to pick you up."
"All right. That's fine with me."
Sharon drove to Brenda's small house in the brown car that smelled of teenage boy odor on a rainy day. Sharon swore again when she realized the humidity and she had forgotten to spray her hair with anti-frizz. Sharon saw how Brenda looked out from the window with puzzled face, but came out of the house wearing a pink trench coat and a red dress underneath it. Sharon held the umbrella as she walked to the doorway. She took a deep breath as she watched Brenda smiling. They pecked and held hands under one shared umbrella. Sharon's nerves went away.
"Hello, gorgeous." Brenda said huskily as she racked her eyes over Sharon.
"Brenda, I'm sorry that I am late." Brenda stared at Sharon, but chose to ignore the weird behavior because Sharon would normally respond back with a good compliment.
"That's okay. You just drove through harsh weather on Valentine's Day. Why are you driving Rusty's car?" Brenda asked.
"My car won't start."
"That's understandable. Where are we going?"
"Oh, right. About that. Because of this car issue, we missed the reservation."
"Well, then, we'll find another place."
"Okay."
They got in the car. Sharon felt self-conscious as she drove because Brenda scrunched her nose every once a while. They found the Italian restaurant. It was not a fancy place, but it had a table available.
Things went smoothly. They had okay spaghetti. Sharon found the pasta to be a bit chewy. Sharon drank the water and the waiter came to see if they would like to have dessert. They ordered the special chocolate cake to share.
Sharon ate one bite of the cake She took a deep breath and she looked up.
"Brenda, I ..." Sharon mumbled.
"Sharon!" Brenda got up quickly when she saw Sharon's lips swell up. Brenda pulled Sharon's chair out and told the waiter that she was having allergic reaction.
They sat at St. Catherine's hospital in a room waiting for the doctor to come in so he could discharge her. Her lips became less swollen, but still red.
"Oh, Brenda. This is so embarrassing." Her head collapsed into her hands. Brenda watched how Sharon's curly hair flew everywhere, thanks to humidity. Brenda rubbed her back and gently moved her hair out of Sharon's face.
"It's okay. How could you have not known that the chocolate cake has corn oil?"
"Most people use a vegetable oil. Ugh, why do I have this strange allergy over to corn?"
Brenda kept rubbing her back. Sharon continued,"I am so sorry. This is not how I pictured our Valentine's."
"I don't care. I am with you. That's all it matters."
"Why? It's like the whole universe is hating me or something."
"Come on. You have to admit it. This is memorable."
"I wanted this to be perfect."
"Sharon, stop beating yourself up!"
The doctor came in and announced that she has been discharged after Sharon signed the paper.
Then, Sharon and Brenda walked down the hall. They passed the room with a table and vending machine. Sharon looked around and stopped Brenda. Sharon smiled.
"Brenda, stand...right there." Sharon positioned Brenda against the wall. Brenda did not understand as Sharon walked away. Brenda waited. She looked around and recognized it immediately. She saw Sharon came around the corner passed her and turned around. Brenda started to tear up.
"Oh, Sharon." Brenda saw that Sharon had a ring in her hand.
"Brenda, this is where we first met." Brenda nodded as she was tearing up.
"Brenda, I love you. I want us to be able to wake up together and argue over little things. I want us to be able to co-parent Rusty while it lasts before he goes off on his own. I find myself wanting to take the next step in our relationship. I want this Valentine's Day to be perfect because I am about to ask you a question. Of course, my crazy allergy over corn ruined it." Brenda laughed when Sharon laughed "Now, this is the opportunity for me to make this day as cliché as it sounds. What better day than Valentine Day to do it?" Sharon took a deep breath and continued, "Brenda, will you marry me?"
"Chief," Brenda said with a smile. Sharon rolled her eyes and shook her head. Then, Brenda screamed, "Yes!" They hugged and Brenda kissed Sharon on the cheek. Brenda and Sharon giggled as Sharon put the ring onto Brenda's left hand. They hugged again. Then, Sharon's cellphone rang.
"No! Please, not a crime scene," Sharon whined when she recognized the ringtone. The Valentine's Day may have been bad luck for Sharon, but at least her proposal was perfect.
THE END
Thank you BeyondDelusional for beta reading. Thank you to whoever plan for 2nd Annual month of love for Brenda/Sharon ship. The prompt is Sharon's Valentine's Day for Brenda goes wrong.