Carmilla looked down at the deep maroon that covered her body. She lifted up her left arm and ran the fingers of her right hand up and down, watching as her pale skin stood out against the vibrant color. Hearing Laura’s soft footsteps in the distance, Carmilla paused and held her breath. She closed her eyes and pictured where her little cupcake was headed. Right, straight, she’s pausing….she’s..oh...in the kitchen. Carmilla smiled and chuckled to herself as she listened to Laura’s labored footsteps as she headed toward the fridge. She could tell Laura was trying her best to be quiet as she pulled open the door and could even picture her looking around to see if anyone was around. After opening the fridge, there was another slight pause followed by three fake coughs; Laura was masking the sound of the cake cover she was moving to get to the chocolaty goodness waiting underneath. Oh Cupcake, remember when you told me I was crazy for buying that second cake just for you?
Carmilla shook her head laughing and then walked over to the closet in case she needed to hide. She figured she could squeeze behind the long overcoats that were placed in the back corner if Laura just so happened to walk in. She didn’t want Laura to see her like this and was worried she wouldn’t know how to explain herself if Laura caught her. Hearing Laura shut the fridge, Carmilla quietly opened the closet door and readied herself but her foot caught the edge of the carpet and she cursed the heavy black boots on her feet. Despite being partial to that type of footwear, Carmilla had only worn this particular pair once before and that was when she was trying them on. She hated how foreign they felt on her feet, in fact, she hated everything she had on at the moment. Even worse, she felt her cheeks grow red as she thought about how ridiculous she must look. Glancing at the beautiful antique mirror in front of her, she wondered just what new level of asinine she must be peaking at and for once was grateful that she wasn’t able to see her reflection.
Carmilla heard Laura leave the kitchen and slowly make her way towards their bedroom. Crap, crap, crap, crap! Trying to hurry into the closet, Carmilla missed a step and shot a hand out to balance herself. She was unsuccessful and instead fell head first towards the back. “Ugh...godda – AHHH!” One by one, several heavy books fell on Carmilla’s head. They were the books that Laura had told her countless times to put back on the bookshelves but she was too lazy and kept placing them on the shelves on her side of the closet. Carmilla scowled and noted another notch on her Laura-was-right list.
“Carm…?! Carm, what the heck was that?!”
Laura picked up her pace but her swollen ankles troubled her. She had been in pain for the past few days and despite loving that Carmilla would carry her to wherever she needed, she hated being a burden and missed being on her feet.
“Nothing, Cupcake! Don’t come in here! I just dropped a few things…”
“Carm, what are you doing in there? Everyone should be arriving soon and you promised to not be a Grinch and greet them with me,” Laura pouted. “Maybe we can sit by the fireplace and read a bit while we wait for them,” Laura continued.
“I know, I know, I know. I just...need to, ugh…finish working on a few things, Cupcake. I’ll be right out,” Carmilla said while awkwardly trying to back out of the closet.
Hearing the strained tone in Carmilla’s voice signaled to Laura that her broody sweetheart was holding something back and she wondered if Carmilla was still upset about being put on the spot the other day by her and their group of friends. Over dinner, LaFontaine and Perry had suggested that for Christmas Laura and Carmilla dress up as Mr. and Mrs. Claus, while they and the rest of their friends dressed up as elves or other Christmas related characters. Loving a themed party and commenting that she already had a cute Mrs. Claus outfit, Laura couldn’t contain her enthusiasm and begged Carmilla to agree even though it wasn’t really her thing.
“Alright, Carm. I’ll be in the living room putting the finishing touches on the decorations. I totally forgot to add the glass beaker ornament with LaF’s name to the Christmas tree and I’m sure there’s other stuff I forgot too. Come down soon, ok?”
“Will do!” Carmilla called out. Hearing Laura leave for the living room, Carmilla sighed in relief and looked at her watch. He should be here by now….maybe this was a bad idea. Carmilla’s doubts were interrupted by a quiet, albeit urgent rapping at the window. Finally! She looked over and saw J.P. merrily waving. His head was wrapped in a large brown scarf topped with a white beanie that revealed only his eyes. Seeing the creases at their corners, Carmilla knew he was giving her that smile that meant the two of them were up to no good. She quickly ran to the window and helped pull him in and motioned for him to shut it before more cold air came bursting through.
“You look great, Car! Soooo sorry I’m late. It took forever to convince LaF and Perry that I would be ok getting here by myself. You know how they are with me.”
“No prob, just glad you made it. Did you bring the stuff?”
J.P. nodded and put down his backpack. He took off his coat and boots and Carmilla laughed when she saw the Rudolf onesie that was revealed. “Ohhhh, that is….wow, just WOW. I swear if Laura isn’t bursting with Christmas joy at all this, please stake me because I honestly don’t think I can handle death by embarrassment,” Carmilla snorted.
J.P. laughed and began digging in his backpack. “Here we go!” J.P. said as he carefully handed Carmilla a stark white Santa beard, a wide black belt, and a Santa hat that matched the deep maroon of Carmilla’s outfit. “Aaaand, here’s mine….” Using the bed, J.P. laid out a pair of reindeer ears and a fluffy red ball to be used for his nose.
The two friends helped each other finalize their Christmas garbs while they caught each other up on how their day was going and how they managed to keep this a secret from their group of friends. Carmilla told J.P. about how she’s sure Laura still thinks she’s moody about the dinner and J.P. told Carmilla about all the creative places he used to hide their accessories in the apartment he shared with LaFontaine and Perry.
Carmilla then lifted the mattress and pulled out a large black velvet bag from underneath. “Alright Short Stack, ready? I just have to get into the guest room and grab the presents. I’ll need you to be the look out.”
“Yep, ready – oh wait!” J.P. reached out towards Carmilla’s face and adjusted her beard so that it was no longer off kilter. “Perfect,” J.P. said smiling.
Carmilla returned the smile and held her index finger to her lips for silence. She then slowly opened the bedroom door and they both tip toed to the second bedroom down the hall. J.P. kept the by the door and focused on his senses. Still learning all the little quirks of his vampire body, he called upon the tips Carmilla had given him when he wanted to take advantage of his newly acquired super senses. The coast was clear and Carmilla was able to get everything into her bag with ease.
*Diiiiing-Doooonnnggg* The doorbell rang in the distance and Carmilla and J.P. looked at each other in a panic. They heard the door open followed by the enthusiastic greetings exchanged between LaFontaine, Perry, and Laura.
“Oh, godammit! It’s Perry, isn’t it?! Always early…crap! Oh, she’s going to be so mad that I wasn’t there…” Carmilla pushed J.P. out into the hallway and gestured for him to head toward the kitchen. The idea of an upset Laura on Christmas day scared her more than anything at that moment. They made it to the kitchen just in time to hear Laura excuse herself and march towards their bedroom. They both listened to her increased heartbeat and deep breaths.
“Car…when she finds out you’re not in the bedroom…” J.P. was genuinely concerned for Carmilla. He recalled the time she was not only late to Danny’s birthday party but also forgot to bring her present and how Laura had, just like now, excused herself to hunt down Carmilla and give her an earful. He also remembered how difficult it was for him, Mattie, and Danny to keep a straight face and carry on conversing with the other guests while pretending not to be able to hear a very angry Laura confronting a very sorry Carmilla.
“Ok, let’s just get into the living room…hopefully they’ll be by the tree and we can hide behind the couch and surprise her that way…” said J.P.
*Diiiiing-Doooonnnggg* The doorbell rang again and Carmilla’s heart stopped.
“Hey, Perry? Think you would mind getting that for me?” Laura called out. J.P. could tell that she was trying hard to sound pleasant and his concern for Carmilla grew tenfold.
“Of course!” Perry responded. Like a good back up host, Perry quickly walked over to the door and greeted Danny, Kirsch, and Mel as they stepped in. They chatted by the doorway and Perry made it a point to collect everyone’s coats and put them neatly on the coat hooks in the entryway. As she did, they talked about how cute their Christmas outfits were and Perry walked them through how she made her and LaFontaine’s very detailed elf outfits.
Carmilla and J.P. could hear Laura closing in on the bedroom and then the sounds of Laura flinging the door open. Angrily she said under her breath, “Carmilla Karnstein, I know you didn’t want to dress up and I said it was fine because you hate the holidays but if you don’t come out this instant, I swear to –” They knew Laura just realized that Carmilla was not in the room and that fumes of hot air must be coming out of her nostrils. They heard her let out a slow, deep breath before saying “You know what? That’s it…that…is…iiit! Carmilla, I’m sure you’re somewhere in this apartment and it’s small enough where I know you can still probably hear me…Once I get my hands on you….Ooooh!!” Without having to see her, they knew Laura was making a choking gesture with her hands as she stormed out of the bedroom and headed back to the living room.
Carmilla slowly turned her head towards J.P. and made a grimace that made his stomach turn. He patted her on the shoulder to reassure her before they made their way towards the living room. At this point, he just wanted to get her in the living room before Laura got there. Fortunately for them, the apartment had an open concept design and from the side of the kitchen island, they crawled to the area behind the couch. Carmilla then quickly stuck her head out to see where exactly LaFontaine was.
“OWWW!” Carmilla yelped. She forgot to signal to J.P. that she was going to check on LaFontaine and his reindeer antler stabbed her in the butt when she stopped abruptly.
“Car…? J.P.?” said a very confused LaFontaine.
“CARMILLA?! Oh where is she?!” said a flustered Laura as she burst into the living room. This was followed by Perry, Danny, Kirsch, and Mel breaking away from their conversation and rushing in behind her to see what all the commotion was all about.
Carmilla felt all eyes on her and accepted that her surprise was beyond ruined at this point. She then tried to stand but felt a heavy tug at her behind. Looking down towards her back, she saw J.P. struggling with his neck craned at an awkward angle, desperately trying to free himself. She was horrified to find that J.P.’s antlers not only stabbed her in butt, but they were now caught in the fabric of her Santa outfit. Carmilla looked around the room and from the group, heard the laughter that they no longer were able to contain. At that instant, Carmilla wanted to die. Again.
“Oh, Carm…you did dress up! Was this what you were ‘working on’ earlier?” Laura asked.
“…..Maybe…”
Laura looked at Carmilla and broke into a radiant grin. To her, the sight was all sorts of incredible. Here they were with their close friends on her favorite holiday, Carmilla dressed as Santa with a Rudolf J.P. stuck to her butt and just the cutest look of mortification and regret she had ever seen. She walked over to them and freed J.P., then fixed Carmilla’s beard and caressed her cheek.
“I hope you didn’t just do this for me,” Laura said now she wrapping her arms around Carmilla’s warm, red neck.
“Of course I did it for you, Cupcake.”
Laura gave Carmilla a tight hug and thanked her for being so sweet.
“Oh! Did you feel that, Carm?”
Carmilla bent down towards Laura’s belly and stared at it. Its roundness protruded under Laura’s Mrs. Clause outfit and she could see where Laura’s belly button was starting to pop out. Ever since Laura’s pregnancy was confirmed, Carmilla had been extra careful with touching Laura. She was deathly afraid of accidentally hurting her and, despite Laura being in her third trimester now, would still experience those bouts of fear when touching her belly.
“Here, sweetie….she’s right here,” Laura said. She moved Carmilla’s hand to a spot just off to the side of her belly button and held it there.
Carmilla let out a soft gasp as she felt their baby kick at her hand. The sensation never failed to her with joy and Carmilla was suddenly overcome with emotion. She felt her eyes tear but, knowing they weren’t alone, managed to keep it together.
“Let’s get you off your feet, Mrs. Claus.” Carmilla picked up Laura and carried her to the chaise by the fireplace. After setting her down, Carmilla plopped down next to her and looked around the room at their friends. They were already deep into conversations with each other and knew to help themselves to the food and drinks, which they did.
Carmilla spotted Danny, Kirsch, and Mel by the tree and was thankful that they were all able to get past their differences. Next, she looked at Perry and LaFontaine and loved how they had become an extended family to her. They always made sure to take care of Laura and weren’t shy about extending that care to Carmilla. She then thought about her sister, Mattie and how badly she wished she could be there with them. Mattie was away on business but was sure to send a literal crateful of presents for their growing family to make up for her absence.
J.P. walked over and handed Laura a hot cocoa in her favorite Doctor Who mug and Carmilla a tumbler filled with blood. After thanking him, J.P. moved to the piano in the corner of the room and invited Mel to join him in some carols. Carmilla watched him and thought about how much he meant to her. Because of her years with Will, it would randomly hit her how odd it was that even though they shared the same face, J.P. was the friend and brother Will never was. Moreover, and she would never admit this out loud, she knew she cared for him in the same way she did Mattie.
Laura rested her head on Carmilla’s chest and pulled her back from her thoughts.
“Hey Carm?”
“Hmmm?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Laura…I love you too.”
Carmilla then pulled Laura closer to her and gently placed a kiss on the top of her head. She loved everything about this moment and smiled at how her heart was filled with a love she never thought she’d have the pleasure of experiencing or even deserved.
“Merry Christmas, Cupcake.”
“Merry Christmas, Carm.”