A Good Teacher

“You almost ready?” Carol calls from the front hallway, twirling Maria’s car keys around her finger.
“Yeah, hold on a sec,” Maria’s voice comes closer, and the brunette hops out of her bedroom, shoving her left foot into a pink winter boot.
“Maria, wh-” Carol breaks off into giggles, and Maria frowns, setting her foot down.
“What? You don’t like them?” She pouts her lower lip out. Carol shakes her head, grinning wildly.
“Oh no, I absolutely love them,” She replies, because, really, they have to be Carol’s second favorite article of clothing that Maria owns, just underneath her black dress. Maria tilts her head, but drops it.
“Anyway,” She pulls a matching pink hat down over her ears, and Carol pats the puffball on top. “We should get going, if we want to beat the traffic.” She gives Carol a quick once-over, and rolls her eyes.
“Carol, you gotta dress warmer! Come on, I think I have a few extra hats or something in here.” Maria grabs Carol’s wrist and drags her to a closet down the hall. She opens the door, and pulls a blue plastic bin out. She bends over, rummaging through the bin, and Carol lets herself appreciate the view for a moment.
“Aha! Here we go!” Maria snaps up, a thick patterned scarf with matching maroon mittens clasped in her gloved hands.
“Maria. No.” The scarf looks like an ugly Christmas sweater puked on it, the pattern outrageously meticulous.
“Carol. Yes. I don’t want you catching a cold, and then we’re both puking.” She scowls, shoving the garments towards Carol, and the blonde rolls her eyes.
“Mariaaaa,” She drags out the last syllable, “You know I run hot.” She quirks her eyebrows, and Maria shakes her head.
“Fine. Don’t wear them. But nothing will be running hot tonight if you don’t.” She smirks, tilting her nose up. Carol groans, and stomps her foot lightly. She snatches the gloves and scarf out of Maria’s hands.
“Fine. You ready to go now?” She wraps the scarf around her neck, and Maria almost squeals at how adorable she looks with the thick wool almost covering her mouth, cheeks rosy from the added warmth.
“Yep! Just let me get my coat!” She ties her mid-thigh length pea coat over her sweater, and hops towards the door.
“After you,” She coaxes goofily, her grin wide on her face, and Carol shakes her head, smiling.
“You’re such a dork.” She says, when Maria sidles up next to her.
- - -
They take turns lacing each other’s skates, seeing who can tie them the tightest. It’s only when they’re shoving their boots into a locker that Carol mentions it.
“I’ve never been skating before, you know.” Maria whips her head to the right.
“Never?” She asks incredulously.
“Never. My father never brought me, and I never really had time for it in the military. So… please don’t laugh when I inevitably fall on my ass.”
“I can’t believe you’ve never been. Don’t worry, you won’t fall.” She smiles, pushing the door to the rink open, a blast of cold air hitting them in their faces.
“Oh, alright. And how are you so sure about that?” She flirts, lifting an eyebrow. Maria rolls her eyes, and motions to herself.
“Duh, because I’ll be there.” She steps into the rink, her skate gliding smoothly onto the ice.
“Come on, Carol.” She coaxes, holding her hands out to blonde. Carol looks down, and immediately grasps the offered hands when her feet slide involuntarily on the slick ground.
“Mariamariamaria-” She repeats frantically, and her eyes widen when Maria pulls her gently by their joined hands, the brunette swaying her hips to skate backwards.
Carol laughs bewilderedly when her posture steadies, and a childlike grin stretches her rosy cheeks.
“Having fun?” Maria asks, eyes twinkling as she watches her girlfriend.
“So much fun.” Carol murmurs, pushing a little with her feet to try and skate on her own, keeping a tight grip on Maria.
“You think you’ve got the hang of it?” Carol’s eyes widen when Maria releases one of her hands, moving to skate by Carol’s right side.
“I think so-” Her sentence is punctuated by a tug on Maria’s wrist, and before the brunette can look over, Carol’s backside hits the ice, her feet splayed in front of her.
“Ow.” Carol says, and Maria can’t hold back her giggle at the disgruntled look on the blonde, reminding her of a toddler.
“Don’t laugh at me.” She grumbles, struggling to get up from the slippery cold.
“Oh, poor baby!” Maria coos, pulling the blonde up by the waist. Carol applies a tight grip on Maria’s arm, and her face clears a bit.
“Don’t let go this time,” She says solemnly, and Maria nods back.
“No, never.” She replies, cracking a grin on the last syllable.
- - -
It’s dark outside when they arrive back to Carol’s apartment, and Carol wordlessly goes to turn up the heater, swearing a few times at the busted switches. Maria hunts in Carol’s dresser for warm, dry clothes, and eventually settles on a pair of stretchy leggings and her Air Force sweatshirt. She wanders out into the living room, flopping on the couch, and Carol looks over her shoulder at the brunette. Maria makes grabby hands at Carol, and the blonde rolls her eyes before standing and making her way to the couch.
“You know if I lay down with you I’m gonna get you all wet.” Carol says, motioning at her damp clothes, and Maria bats her eyelashes.
“That’s okay. These are your clothes anyway.” Carol shakes her head before crawling on top of the brunette, sinking into her warmth.
“Ahh, this is the good life.” Carol mumbles into Maria’s collarbone. Her voice is muffled, and Maria smooths a hand down her back.
“Don’t I know it.” She murmurs, kissing the crown of blonde hair under her chin.
- - -
“Carol!” Maria sings, pushing the curtains open to let sunlight stream through the room. Carol feels the bed dip next to her, and she rolls over, suddenly face to face with a grinning brunette. She involuntarily smiles back, her muscles moving without her permission.
“Why are you up so early?” Carol grumbles, scooting closer to Maria’s warm body.
“We’re decorating today!” Maria exclaims, and kisses Carol’s nose before jumping up.
“Oh, that’s right. It’s, what is it, the 21st?” Carol wonders aloud, and Maria nods, still bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“Okay, okay, I’m getting up. Sometimes you’re like 3 years old, you know.” She flips her feet over the edge of the bed, sheets rumpling around her hips.
Maria’s face voids of some of her Christmas spirit at the sight of Carol’s long legs under her oversized sweater, the gray fabric just reaching the top of her thighs.
“Can’t have you looking at me like that, hmm? Unless we both want to be on the naughty list this year.” Carol smirks, walking over to wrap her arms low around Maria’s hips, and Maria runs a shaky hand through messy blonde curls. She shakes her head, clearing away the fog in her brain.
“If you help me bring in the Christmas tree, I’ll give you one of your presents early.” The brunette teases, and Carol presses a quick kiss to her lips before scampering off to change into her day clothes. Maria aimlessly wanders around the bedroom, stopping in front of a bookshelf on the left wall. She drags her fingers across the spines, and her eyes catch on a cloth-bound album. The title reads, ‘Carol Danvers 1970’ in gold print and Maria pulls it out, letting it fall open in her palm. She flips to the first page, and immediately swoons. It’s Carol, as a baby, probably around one year old, with thick blonde ringlets sprouting on her scalp, her light brown eyes so moony they almost take over her freckled face. Maria quickly looks through the remaining pages, cooing over the toddler photos, laughing at the teenage years, because Maria can tell a set of home-cut bangs from a mile away. She almost drops the book when it reaches her most recent periods, because, damn, does Carol look good in a military uniform.
“Hey babe, have you seen my red t-shirt? I can’t find it anyw-” She looks up from her half-clothed figure, eyes stopping on the book in Maria’s hands. She looks like a deer in the headlights, and Maria snaps it closed and slides it back on the shelf.
“What were you doing?” Carol asks sharply, and Maria is taken aback at the harsh tone in her voice.
“Nothing, I was- I was just waiting, and I saw the album, and- I’m sorry, I didn’t-” Maria stutters, and Carol softens, relaxing her hands so her nails stop biting into her palms.
“I’m sorry,” She shakes her head, “That wasn’t the right reaction. I just- I haven’t seen those pictures in a while, and they don’t bring up great memories for me. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” She walks over to her dresser, pulling a blue long sleeve top from a drawer.
“No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have looked without your permission, I was just curious. For what it’s worth, you were really cute as a baby.” She grins sheepishly, and Carol huffs a laugh, pulling the fitted top over her head.
“What, like I’m not now?” She sidles up next to Maria, tipping the album back off the shelf, and cracking it open.
“You’re beautiful, babe.” Maria hums, twisting her arms around Carol’s waist, looking over her shoulder at the blonde’s slender fingers turning the page. Carol leans back into her, and kisses Maria’s cheek.
“I like it when you call me that.” Her eyes stay trained on the album, but her ears redden, and Maria smiles.
“That’s good, ‘cause I like sayin’ it.” She brushes her nose over Carol’s cheekbone, and returns her attention to the picture in Carol’s hands. It’s a shot of a family of four, Carol in the middle, surrounded by stern-looking boys.
“It’s, um, this is my family.” She murmurs, and shakes her head a bit.
“Not really, I mean, I don’t- I haven’t seen them in a while.” Maria pulls back a bit, to see the blonde’s face, which has dropped, now wistful, far away.
“How much is a while?” Maria asks softly, and Carol shakes her head again, slightly.
“I’d say, about, uh, 8 years? Yeah, about 8 and a half years.” Maria smooths a hand over her arm.
“Why so long?” She inquires, her tone gentle, unassuming. Carol turns around to face her, closing the album, and sliding it back on the shelf. Maria worries, for a moment, that she’s gone too far, overstepped some invisible line, but Carol just goes to sit cross-legged on the queen-sized bed, wrinkling the tightly-made bedsheets.
“I just- there’s nothing to say to them. I don’t get along with them, I never have, except maybe Stevie-Steve on some occasions.” She shrugs, and Maria’s heart breaks, because she can see how much this hurts the blonde, can see the hole that a family should have filled.
“Why not?” Her voice is so tentative, Carol barely hears the question.
“He- I’m a woman, I was a girl, and he just- god. I got perfect grades- straight A’s! Every semester, every AP course, every summer class. I ended with a 4.5 GPA, you know? With a list of extracurriculars as long as the Grapes of Wrath.” And Maria shakes her head in disbelief, and a little confusion.
“Steve and Joe- they got C’s, B’s, D’s. Maybe the occasional A in P.E, but come on. My father, he wasn’t one to pin our report cards on the refrigerator, and when it came time to send us to college, he- he fucking-” Maria is startled at her language, Carol isn’t usually one to swear.
“He said one- only one of us could attend. I brought scholarships, thousands of dollars, glowing recommendation letters, packages from several colleges.” She pushes her hair back from her face, eyes wide in disbelief, even at the memory.
“He chose Steve, and you know- it would have been different if I hadn’t tried- tried so hard to measure up, to get him to see me,” her voice breaks, and Maria rushes to sit next to her, brushing blonde strands off of Carol’s face, pressing a kiss to her clothed shoulder.
“He never even- he didn’t look at me the same, I wasn’t-” tears spill over her waterline, and she wipes them off hastily.
“We’re not family, we never have been, so he barely batted an eye when I told him I was joining the military. He did say,” She lets out a dry, humorless chuckle. “-that he wouldn’t be paying for my funeral. And those were the last words he said to me, I haven’t seen him since.” She shrugs again, blinking the emotion away from her face.
“Carol, that’s- I’m so sorry baby.” Maria blinks past her own tears, hugging Carol tighter, and the blonde looks at the ceiling.
“God, sorry for piling that on you, I don’t-” She sniffs, trailing off.
“You didn’t pile anything on me, Carol. I asked. Don’t be sorry, I’m glad you told me. Just because you grew up around those assholes doesn’t mean you don’t have a family.” Carol looks to her, eyebrows drawn inward above her red-rimmed eyes.
“I- we’re your family now, Carol. I love you, remember?” Carol searches her eyes, and Maria holds her gaze, until the blonde surges forward to bury her face in Maria’s neck.
“Thank you.” her voice is thick, muffled in a red t-shirt.
“Thank you, for giving me a family too.” She presses her free hand to her stomach, and Carol giggles a bit.
“Maria, I didn’t do this, you know.” She gestures to the slightly protruding abdomen in front of her.
“Well, yeah, duh, but without you I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant.” She explains, and Carol tilts her head.
“What do you mean?” She pulls back, looking directly at the brunette. “Maria?”
“When I hooked up with the guy- you really don’t understand?” Maria’s cheeks flush, and she looks away.
“What? Mari-”
“His eyes!” Maria cuts her off, embarrassedly.
“Maria, you’re not making any sense. What about his eyes?” Carol’s brows cinch in confusion, and Maria sighs.
“They looked like yours,” She mumbles. “His eyes, they looked like yours.” She drops her face in her hands, and there’s a shocked silence between them, until Carol pries her fingers away.
“Maria-” She laughs. “You had a crush on me!” She teases, dimples appearing around her smile.
“Oh my god, you are an actual child!” Maria grabs a pillow and chucks it at Carol, and it bounces off the blonde’s head, who continues to grin like an idiot.
“Jesus Christ, don’t act like you weren’t staring at my ass at any given moment.” Maria pokes, and Carol shakes her head.
“Yeah, but I didn’t find an ass that looked like yours, and-” She breaks off into giggles.
“Yeah, laugh it up, but you couldn’t find another ass like mine if you tried.”
“You know it.” Carol hums, pressing soft kiss to the brunette’s lips.
They don’t decorate until noon, but when Carol looks around her apartment that night, with wreaths, a glowing Christmas tree, and her girlfriend wrapped around her, she finally feels home.