Christmas in SF (private)

Laure was a bit bummed about missing out on the end of the Saturnalia festivities. Since a week or so ago, merry chaos had taken over New Rome. Everyone was switching roles: parents and children, teachers and students, officers and probationes, bosses and employees... Everyone was merry and drunk and partied like it was their last day alive. Laure herself had had tons of fun- after the crazy taberna crawl Lindia had charted throughout New Rome (not a single pub had been missed!) the two had joined groups of partiers, randomly mixing in with crowds of strangers and friends alike. The streets were littered with red party amphorae, drunk people were shouting and laughing, everyone wore funny cone hats. Laure rarely had as much fun as during Saturnalia.
But her father had insisted she come home on the 23rd at the latest. "It's not Christmas if you're not there. You've got to spend Noel with your family, ma chérie." No amount of "ugggghs" and "but daaaaad!" had changed his mind. Laure was coming home, and Lindia was warmly invited.

She awoke the morning of the 24th with a massive headache and a mouth dry like sandpaper. "Niiiuuuurgh," she mumbled, flipping the covers back over her face. The light was too bright. The sounds outside were too loud. Everything and everyone was attacking her senses. "Stupid mornings with their stupid sunrise and stupid daylight," she grumbled from underneath her pillow. It was the first time Laure ever complained about sunrises. As the daughter of Aurora, she usually woke up at daybreak just to watch her mother come through the sky. Cleary, hangover mornings were an exception.
It was no secret to her family that the nature of their relationship was romantic. Her father and stepmother had warmly welcomed Lindia as if she was a daughter, and both girls had their support. Her father even offered to come with them to the San Francisco Pride, but Laure had found that too cringe. "I'm literally a Roman soldier, Dad. I can handle a few homophobes."
However much she grumbled though, part of her was happy to spend Christmas here. Saturnalia was amazing, but there was something that just didn't compare to the warm cozyness of French Christmas- the hymns, the glowing Christmas tree, the magic of Christmas morning,... And don't even get her started on the food! Roman food was amazing, but there was no foie gras, no Sauternes, no bûche de Noel. It just wasn't complete.
Somewhat cheered up by the prospect of delicious French food, Laure went back into a slumber only to be woken up at noon by her parents because "really, you need to get up".
A quick shower and a quickly thrown-on outfit later, Laure came down for brunch with party ribbons still in her hair. Somehow, Lindia had woken up before her and was already helping herself to croissants and waffles.
"When did you get up?" Laure asked, kissing her head before dropping on the seat next to hers. "You drank so much I'm surprised you're not in ethylic coma."

Lindia bit into one of the syrup covered waffles on her plate, savoring the sweetness of the maple syrup mixed with the lovely flavor of the fresh waffles. It was the little things in life she had learned to appreciate, such as fresh and hot food in contrast to the rations in the legion. Taking a sip from her glass of orange juice the Canadian heard a slight change in the background noise, recgonizing the scent of her girlfriend as she came down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Morning, I think.." She offered with a smile, leaning momentarily on Laure before returning her focus to the meal, enjoying the warm tones in her friends voice as she asked a question.
"Oh, well I think I was up around 5, maybe 6? You know how I am" Lindia laughed, her hand brushing aside a loose strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face. "Drinks just dont have that morning effect on me" She added, opening her palm and for a brief second one could see green light dance along her fingertips before dissapearing.
"How bad is your headache? Earthquake level?" She asked with a grin.

"Yeah, a cheeky 11 on the Richter scale." She poured herself a healthy measure of OJ and mixed it with apple juice. "I don't know how you do it honestly," she said after a sip. "Do you have some sort of spell or magic potion? Cause if you do, I expect you to give ya girl a shot." Laure took another gulp and grabbed a cinnamon bun from the little basket. Christmas in San Francisco meant at least that she would get to sleep and recover from the last horrible few months - the attacks on Camp Jupiter had been relentless. Too many shrouds had been burned already. Which was probably why Saturnalia had been so bonkers this year- people wanted to party even harder than usual, forget the outside threat... or defy it.
Her father came into the room and messed up her hair. "Wow Laure, you look like a maenad."
"Dad hush!! You know you're not supposed to say these words in our presence. They might attract...you-know-whats."
Her father backtracked immediately. "Oh of course. I'm sorry sweetheart, I forgot." He kissed her forehead and pulled up a chair. "Lala and I already ate, so help yourselves girls." Lala was the nickname of Paola, Laures stepmother.
"Where is she?" she asked, pulling her cinnamon bun apart to dip it into a steaming cappuccino. Her fingers were already sticky with sugar and icing.
"Last minute shopping trip with Clémence. She'll be back soon." He smiled brightly at the two of them. "I'm very happy to have you both here. We'd like to see you more often though, darlings."
"I know." Laure wiped her mouth with a napkin. " But as I told you in my Iris-Message, things at Camp are a bit stressful right now." She hadnt told him about the de facto Civil War they were in, or the three evil emperors, or the fact that people had already died. If she had, she'd already be on a plane back to France. Her father went crazy with worry during the last war - there was no way she'd do that to him again.
He shook his head. "I understand, sweetheart, but we're your family. You could ask for permission, just one week end every now and then?"
It was impossible, but he didnt know that. She swallowed her fruit juice and faked a convincing smile. "Of course dad! I'll ask."
He beamed and turned to Lindia. "How are you, sweetheart? Did you win any chariot races or gladiator games lately? Laure must be dragging you to all the shows."
"Just a few," Laure chuckled and shot Lindia a gaze like, Please pretend everything's normal.

Lindia saw the glance of Laure that was shot at her and resisted the urge to nod, after all that could be the tell of a lie. Taking a moment to finish her bite of the delicious waffle she looked up at the loving father of her girlfriend.
"Oh I am fine, thank you for asking" She responded with a kind smile, easily morphing into the role that everything was ok in the world and there was surely no war or problems at camp (there always was though). Taking a sip from her drink she began to tell a story from camp, possibly weaving some magic into her voice as a little cherry on top.
"I actually have won a few gladiator games, really intense ones" She began. "Against this guy, he was armed well and trained even better than I, however unfortunately for him he fights honorably, and I less so" She said, gesturing some of the key movements that had ultimately decided the end of the fight. Laure would recognize of course that this was not simply a story of a gladiator fight, but one from the war itself, a battle in which Lindia had suffered a new scare from, one which she rubbed in thought.
"And of course your darling daughter has dragged me to many theatrical shows, like Amphityro by Plautus" She remarked and nudged Laure. "Although I really dont mind, its nice to relax after a long day of combat and chariots"
Lindia offered a smile to her love, an expression of her love, but also a silent question if she should speak more. She wasnt too sure if Laure wanted her to continue with tales and experience from camp-or at least watered down and cleaned up tales and experience. Jupiter knows Lindia could talk for ages about the fights she was in, either from bar scuffles to those in her armor and gladius in her hand, blood dripping on the blade. Lindia was no stranger to fighting, and not squeamish about discussing it.

Lindia was a born actress. Laure let her talk, gratefully finishing her fruit juice and burying her face in a cereal bowl. Her father had brought back her favourite chocolate flakes from France - it was so good to eat childhood foods!

"Oh yeah, Amphitryo was awesome," she chimed in. "Imagine that, the king of gods owning up to his actions for once." She wasn't fussed about talking so lightly about Jupiter. A few years ago she'd have cowered in fear, but not anymore. The gods, as much as they hated to admit it, needed demigods to fight their fights and carry on their legacy.
And regardless, Jupiter treated women like dirt. There was no insult in stating the truth.
Taking over from Lindia, she started telling her father about all the incredible special effects which they got to see in the Roman theater: talking masks, elaborate backdrops, an orchestra mixing modern tunes with ancient Roman instruments.
"And our theater is modelled after the theater of Marcellus, you know, the one in Rome. I think the theater of Pompey had too many bad connotations," she added with a chuckle.

Lindia smiled and finished the rest of her food and drink as Laure continued to talk with her father, letting the two of them chat as she stood and walked across the room to do her dishes, never one to have things done for her. Taking the sponge and scrubbing the plate clean she found herself smiling at the simplicity of the task, the mundaneness.
Her mind raced as she got lost in the movements, only coming back to the mortal plane when she heard her name from back across the room.
She turned, letting the dishes rest in the sink and wiping thw moisture off on her trousers. "What was that? I'm sorry, but I kind of zones out" She apologized.

"I was asking," Laure said with a smile, "if you also wanted to do some last-minute shopping. My dad wants to take us on a trip to the stores."

Lindia was usually very awkward about accepting gifts, probably because her financial situation was non-existent, and Laure was, well... upper middle-class. She hoped, if they came as a Christmas gifts from her dad, that Lindia would be likelier to accept them.

"You girls know better than me what you like," her father added, standing up. "Just tell me what you want to have and I'll make sure Santa Claus puts it under the tree."

Lindia smiled and nodded at the offer of shopping, although it was true that she was being simply polite about it. Presents werent a welcome think for her usually, but after being with Laure for so long she had been able to come to terms with accepting three or four, never as much as the others.
"I think that would be a grand idea" She replied to the offer, coming close and embracing laure from the side, letting a delicate kiss land on her cheek. "I have a few things on my mind that could be brought by that old fat man in a red suit" She said with a laugh, pausing as a loud knock erupted from the front door, and in her gut she suddenly felt nervous, queasy, and something she had felt before, but never knew what it could be.
Instinctively, she reached for where her sword would usually hang and found that it wasnt there, having left it in the bedroom. Glancing to Laure, she stepped towards the door and then paused, unsure if she should open it.

Laure could feel Lindia's tension as precisely as if she had given her an electroshock. Their eyes met. What if.... what if a monster had smelled them and tracked them down? Laure's hand went to the gem around her neck, ready to burst out her gladius.
But it was her father who, whistling a little Christmas tune, went to open the door. "Paola, meu amor!" He gathered the woman into his arm and planted a kiss on her cheek. "And the princesa! Did you find that beautiful unicorn plushie you saw last Friday?" He bent down to pick up little Clémence and ushered his wife in. "Come in, come in. Gosh, you're cold."
"It's barely fifty degrees," Paola said, shedding her coat. "The stores were packed. Looks like half of San-Francisco had the same idea as us."
"Oh," Laurent said, then dropped his voice to a whisper. "Even Barneys?"
Paola shrugged. "You can try, darling. Are the girls awake? Oh, there they are!" With a radiant smile, the young woman swooped into the hallway to distribute hugs. Despite their arguments, Laure could not deny that Paola was one of the warmest people she had ever met. There was something about her that just made her feel safe. Like... a mother. Sure, she'd only lived with her since she was ten, but after the Titan War and the Giant War, the two had grown extremely close. Danger had a way of tightening bonds. Laure hugged Paola back, breathing in her delicious perfume - she always had the latest fragrances on her - and smiled. "You gave us quite a scare with that loud knock! Lindia and I thought it might be..." she glanced at Clémence," er, the police."

Clémence was only three, but the blonde little toddler was remarkably perceptive for her age. She had already started babbling and spoke occasionally here and there. When she looked into her eyes, Laure was sure that she understood more than people think toddlers generally do.

Lindia relaxed only slightly as the knock was revealed to be Laure's stepmother, accepting the hug when it was distributed to her, only slightly hugging back. "It is quite lovely to see you again" She offered and smiled down at the little toddler, waving a little bit. This hadnt been the first time she had met either of these mortals, and she was thankful for that to have some knowledge ahead. After all, the last time she had met the toddler, the chain on her pants had become quite a target for the little one-she was glad to have left it at camp.
"If the stores are crowded, perhaps we should get on our way?" Lindia asked as she looked to Laure "Sooner we get in and fight the crowds, the sooner we can get back here and enjoy some more cocoa"

"I'm with her," her dad said.

"You're just going there to fight people, aren't you," Laure chuckled. "Give me 10, the time to take a shower and dress in something else than my PJs."

Thirty minutes later, they were walking up to a large multi-story retailer with glittering windows. The car was safely parked in a neighbouring street, and her father was walking behind the two girls. Laure had changed into a simple pair of skinny white jeans and an oversized sweater, a pearly headband in her hair.
"Dad, how much are we allowed?" she asked excitedly.
He smiled, "Two items each." Laure's family was financially secure, but not ultrarich.
"Awesome! Come on, babe."

Dragging Lindia by the hand, Laure entered through the huge revolving doors. The warmth was a welcome change to the cold rainy outdoors and Laure immediately shed her coat. Where to first? Her gaze immediately fell on the Jimmy Choo sign and she resisted the urge to go check out the shoes. No, she wanted to find something for Lindia first. Her eyes went up and down the list of designer on the panel near the escalator. Valentino maybe? The classic silhouettes and edgy prints would probably suit Lindia's punk-goth style. Perhaps a Prada bag too…

"Finding anything?" her father asked.
"I think we're gonna hit Givenchy first, Papa," she said, "see what they have to offer."

Lindia looked around the department store as she was dragged inside to some of the clothing displays and realized just how lost she was. She considered herself smart and clever but one thing that this daughter of Trivia could never do was understand the differences in all of these labels. Prada? Pretty sure there was a movie about a devil and prada heels or something. Versace was another Italian name that she didn’t really know much of, and the one Laure had said was just another mystery to the blonde. Lindia still smiled, loving how much Laure got excited around all of the designer purses and new lines of clothes.
“What are you looking for in particular?” She asked as the two of them passed other patrons of the corporate class, each looking for their own gifts and new additions to the closet. “Purses, heels, jewelry…?”
As they walked, she looked around, first for anything out of the ordinary and second for anything she might like. A black dress over towards the Prada section caught her piercing blue gaze and made a note to go back and look in that section after she found out what Laure was questing for.

"We're looking for something fun!" Laure said, taking Lindia by the hand. "Shopping is not about buying things, it's about trying things on. Here, look at this!" She dipped her hand into a clothing rack and pulled out a silky, sea-green blazer. The fabric shimmered as Laure held it in front of Lindia. "Yep. This works."

Lindia raised an eyebrow at the blazer but took it from Laure anyways and held it up to her chest, turning to gaze into one of the many mirrors. She couldnt help butagree with her girlfriend as she saw how well it matched with her figure. Casting a glance at Laure she offered her a small smile, nodding in approval. "I think your eyes are perfect" She said with a laugh "And beautiful" She added after a moment.

Laure kissed her on the cheek. "Oh, thank you darling," she smiled with a little blush. Every compliment of Lindia's filled her stomach with butterflies. The daughter of Aurora turned back to the racks and shelves, a faint smile on her lips. A belted mini-dress briefly caught her attention, but immediately faded when she looked to the side.
"Gods of Rome," she whispered.
A splendid silk lamé gown graced a tall mannequin, the fabric shimmering in tones of copper and silver. It looked like those high-fashion, stylized armor looks you saw on runways in Milan or New York. It wasn't her style, but Laure's jaw dropped as she imagined Lindia in it.
"Okay, you've got to at least try it on," she told her girlfriend. "Ill try that one over there."

Lindia raised an eyebrow as she saw the garment, knowing at least in her mind that it didn’t fit her sense of style. “I’ll try it on, for you” She said with a small smile, seeking an attendant to aid her with finding one to try on in her size before disappearing into a dressing room, looking into a mirror.
Undressing and trying on the outfit picked out by her girlfriend took her a second longer than what she expected, trying to get it to fit properly by looking in the mirror she found herself staring for a moment, not at her overall reflection, but at a series of scars along her stomach and abdomen, sighing as she stroked them for a second, thinking only briefly of her past before looking back into the mirror, her eyes looking into themselves. “Its different now” She found herself saying, straightening herself up before turning, ready to go back out of the dressing room and show Laure the outfit.

At first, Laure was excited to see how Lindia would look. However she had noted how Lindia's face fell a little when she saw the dress, and the reluctant way she talked - and now she felt bad for asking her to wear something she didn't like. Laure pulled the curtains of her dressing room shut, swapping her sweater and jeans for an elaborate gown combining a black lace corset with a structured pink tulle skirt. Laure usually hated mixing black and pink, but she was curious to see how it'd look.
"Oh wow, Lindia, you look gorgeous," she couldn't help but sigh as she beheld her girlfriend. Lindia looked radiant in silk lamé, but Laure shook her head. "I can tell you don't like it. Take it off, let's look for something that's really you."

Lindia opened her mouth to protest but shut it again, knowing protesting against Laure in this matter would be utterly and completely futile. “I’m sorry Laure, I’ve just been a little out of it this winter” She said, under her breath so only her loving girlfriend would hear. They both looked for more outfits in the store, Lindia quiet as usual as her eyes darted from corner to corner, looking over her shoulder every minute or so.
What am I doing… She thought to herself as she stopped in the dressing room again, peering into her mirror image as she once again stripped off her normal clothing and exchanged them for another outfit that Laure had selected, noticing that this time the outfit did indeed fit her, and her idea of herself.