snowed in - dorlene
When Marlene had asked Dorcas to accompany her on a week-long getaway to an adorable winter cabin she had agreed almost instantly, she got to visit the most beautiful, serene place AND spend extra time with her beloved girlfriend. It was a no-brainer, it had been booked, she had informed her work, and they were ready to go.
It had been even better than expected, 7 days of pure bliss, a welcomed break from everyday life. It hadn’t exactly been a break from their friends, who they had discovered they were slightly co-dependent with. Marlene had called James about 17 times and messaged Peter practically every thought that had gone through her head, Lily had been on the receiving end of voice notes recounting everything they’d done even though she would be told again upon their return and Mary must have listened too and left a thousand voicemails by now, both of them just missing each other.
Dorcas liked to think she’d been better but truthfully she hadn’t. Pandora had been face-timed repeatedly, Regulus lingering in the back, not a huge fan of showing his face but still chiming in and messaging Dorcas a hundred times, both of them pretending they weren’t desperately missing the other. Evan had been lamenting her absence, complaining so frequently to Barty that he’d started recording it and sending it to the group chat. You would’ve thought they’d been apart for years from their reactions.
Marlene and Dorcas had had the best time, they had gone ice skating at this frozen-over lake that had rental skates and safety bars, surrounded by tall snowy trees and houses that looked like they could’ve been pulled out of a Christmas storybook. They had danced around on the ice for hours, taking some breaks to warm up with steaming mugs of hot chocolate, wrapped in thick blankets.
There had been a Christmas market, stalls and all sorts of gifts, they’d spent more than what was reasonable filling bags with gifts for everyone they knew and decorations for their houses. Now, leaving with one more suitcase than they had arrived with, they were ready to leave.
A large window seat protruded from the living room, allowing a better view of the forest, along with the flowerbed that lined the property. Several hours had been spent there, peering out at the haven that surrounded them.
Reluctantly they said goodbye to the cabin, mourned the loss of the cosy kitchen and lamented the return to separate beds in separate houses, no more mornings curled up together under a thick duvet, snow falling gently past the window as they procrastinated getting out of bed as long as possible.
“Love, I’m going to start the car,” Marlene calls from the living room to where Dorcas is standing in the kitchen mixing up two travel mugs of coffee. They have a long drive ahead of them and they’re going to need the warmth.
There were a few seconds of silence, leaving Dorcas alone with her thoughts, which quickly drifted into a daydream of her future with Marlene before her voice called again, this time slightly panicked.
“We have a slight problem.” Dorcas abandons the mugs, assuming one of the bags has popped open or Marlene has lost her shoes but is instead met with a pile of snow sneaking into the house while Marlene frowns down at it like it will get up and leave.
“How did we not notice that?” Dorcas laughs, walking over to the door and checking how stuck they’re going to be. The snow is quite deep, 10 or so inchs, nothing too drastic but enough that they are unable to get out, the car wouldn’t make it through. Marlene points to the closed blinds, kicking as much of the snow back out as she can and pushing the door to stop the cold getting in.
“Sorry, I think we’re trapped here.” Marlene apologises quietly, not meeting Dorcas’ eye, its bizarre, and she isn’t quite sure why or what is happening. She shrugs, not minding that they get to spend at least another night there
“It’s not your fault, besides, I’m glad to spend more time with you.” She kisses Marlene’s cheek, not wanting to intrude too much when she’s clearly deep in thought, moving to kick of her shoes and grab their coffees afterwards.
When she returns to the living room Marlene is curled up into the arm of the sofa, looking oddly melancholic. Dorcas places the coffee on a coaster in front of her, draping a blanket over her lap when she passes to sit on the opposite side, cradling her mug in her hands and facing Marlene.
“What’s up?” Marlene hums, breaking out of some sort of trance, so Dorcas repeats. Marlene shakes her head, and Dorcas can feel her heartbeat increasing, she can’t help but feel like something awful is about to happen, maybe Marlene had realised she didn’t like Dorcas anymore and wanted to break up. What would Dorcas even do? It wasn’t like getting on her knees and begging to be loved would help.
“You know I love you right?” Marlene’s quiet voice drifts over and Dorcas’ breath catches in her throat
“Yeah, I’ve got you beat though.” Dorcas tries to smile, bringing up a joke they always make about which one is more obsessed with the other, but it falls flat, silencing them both.
“I don’t want you to be mad at me.” Marlene blurts out, moving her hands to push them down over her eyes, burying her face in her knees. Dorcas freezes, not sure how to react and not wanting to say the wrong thing,
“I’m sorry?” Is what she eventually settles on, not keeping the confusion out of her voice, “What have I done to make you think I’m mad? I’m fine, I’m not mad at all.”
Marlene laughs, lifting her eyes up to show slightly red eyes and tearstained cheeks, “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better
“I’m not lying!” Dorcas frowns, edging closer to Marlene, “I’m not mad, I don’t have any reason to be mad, I’m just happy to be here with you.”
Marlene’s lip quivers and Dorcas thinks back to a conversation they had months ago. One of Marlene’s first real relationships hadn’t exactly been healthy, they would get mad for the tiniest thing, berating and arguing even when it wasn’t Marlene’s fault. It breaks Dorcas’ heart a little bit, thinking that someone could look at Marlene and not be prepared to lay the world at their feet, to want to control and manipulate her, to hurt her.
“I’m not- I wouldn’t do that,” Dorcas defends herself, she doesn’t blame Marlene for thinking like that, for jumping to the conclusion that Dorcas would be mad but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. “I’m not mad.”
“Okay, I believe you.” Marlene blinks away the tears, smiling over at Dorcas with a fondness that makes Dorcas want to marry her. She can tell she’s still wary but she thinks she’s done a good job making her trust that she isn’t mad.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that, assumed you were mad when you’ve been nothing but lovely, I just, I get in my head to much sometimes and I shouldn’t have dragged you into that because yo-”
“-Move in with me!” Dorcas interrupts, desperately trying to show Marlene that she isn’t going to break up with her and that she is truly, completely, maddeningly in love with her. It had been playing on her mind a lot anyway and she had been dreading leaving each other when they returned to their town.
Marlene stumbles over all her words, not finishing her original sentence but not answering Dorcas either. She just stares, wide-eyed and shocked, her mouth hanging open very slightly.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have sprung that on you.” Dorcas rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, before Marlene throws herself at her, clasping her hands behind Dorcas’ neck and kissing her deeply. They’re slightly out of breath when Marlene pulls away, her cheeks flushed red and her mouth split into a wide, beaming smile.
“Yes! Yes i’d love to move in with you.”