Work Text:
Christmas was always very important to Marya. As a Christian woman, she thought it quite important to observe the holiday as a day of remembrance, prayer, and thanks. But she was also a woman who held her friends and family dear to her heart and so she would always host some sort of dinner or party if for no other purpose than to have them all together. And as much as she told people that the holiday was a solemn day of the church not to be commercialized, she couldn’t help but be enticed by all the glitz and glamour of the season. She loved driving through neighborhoods and seeing all the lights and decorations, and she loved how the season seemed to bring an air of happiness to everything.
She placed down the needle she had been using to sew and leaned back in her chair to gaze at her creation. Marya had sewn a tiny felt Santa hat for her and Hélène’s frog, Fifi, as an early Christmas present to Hélène. And also because she couldn’t give Fifi a matching sweater, like the one she was forcing Hélène to wear on Christmas day, but she still wanted Fifi to be festive. Marya sighed and shook her head, smiling slightly. A few months ago she would have openly scoffed at the idea of sewing a Santa hat for a pet frog so it could be “festive” with them but over the months she had warmed to Fifi immensely and treated her almost the same as Hélène did, like an actual human child.
Satisfied with her work, Marya stood up and began walking to Fifi’s room, for a quick glance at her watch informed her that it was nearly Fifi’s dinner time, meaning that Hélène would be in her room.
Marya leaned in the doorway and knocked to assert her presence, “Hey.” She smiled softly at the sight of Hélène crouched in front of Fifi’s cage, “I’ve got something for you two.”
Hélène spun around on her heels and cocked her head “Oh?”
“Close your eyes and hold out your hands,” Marya said.
Hélène smirked and raised her eyebrows, “Really? Right In front of our daughter-”
Marya rolled her eyes, “Hélène.”
Hélène shook her head but complied, placing her hands out in front of her. Marya brought her hands out from behind her back and placed the tiny Santa hat in her hands.
Upon feeling the material in her hands, Hélène opened her eyes and gasped, “For Fifi?!” She gazed at Marya with bright eyes practically glowing from joy. She also wore a wide smile and a look of overjoyed excitement. Her smile was infectious and Marya felt herself start to grin as well, if there was one thing she was most grateful for in the world, it was the opportunities she had to make Hélène smile. Her smile reminded Marya of what a younger, naive, soft, Hélène might have been like.
Marya nodded, “For Fifi.” She chuckled.
Hélène walked over and knelt in front of Fifi’s terrarium, “Hey sweet pea, look what mamma got you!.” She slowly and carefully lowered her hand into the terrarium, gently placing the tiny hat onto the frog’s head. She leaned back and clasped her hands together, “Oh look at her, Masha. She’s so cute with her hat.”
Marya walked to stand behind and wrapped her arms around her waist, “Yes she is.”
Hélène rubbed Marya’s arm, “I love you,” She murmured.
Marya kissed the top of Hélène’s head. “I love you too, darling.”
Hélène drummed her fingers on Marya’s arm, “So...dinner.”
Marya pushed Hélène off and spun her around, “I don’t like that tone…”
Hélène giggled, “I was just thinking of going out for once.”
Marya sighed, she detested going out for dinner. After all, they had food at home so why pay a bunch of money for food when they already had it? She also preferred to cook her own meals and didn’t always trust chefs at restaurants. But it was Christmas Eve, and joy was in the air, she could stand to go out for one night. “Fine.” She said unenthusiastically.
Hélène smiled, “Great. Because I may have already made a reservation.”
Marya gaped at her, “What would you have done if I said no?”
Hélène shrugged, “I knew you wouldn’t. Now go get dressed, hot stuff, something nice.” She sauntered away, presumably to get dressed herself.
Marya glanced at Fifi and shook her head as if the frog could understand what she was conveying, “Your mother is going to be the death of me.” It dawned on Marya that she didn’t know what time the reservation was, and thus did not know how long she had to get ready. Now granted it never took her very long she still had to find an outfit. She wished Hélène had informed her what kind of place they were going to further than, “something nice.”
She opened her closet and immediately saw a dark red dress that caught her eye, she didn’t typically wear many dresses but it was a special occasion so she thought why not, good to get some use out of it if she already owned it.
After getting the dress on, she took off her glasses and applied a bit of concealer, along with some dark eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lipstick. She decided to leave her hair down and simply pinned a small section away from her face. Once she was ready, she headed downstairs, not surprised to find that Hélène was still in the other room getting dressed.
Marya grabbed a black jacket from its hook and pulled it on, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for Hélène to come down and tell her where exactly they were going.
She looked up when she heard heels on the stairs, seeing Hélène finally making her descent. Marya sucked in a breath, she looked absolutely stunning in an emerald dress with a small bit of floral embroidery at the waist.
Hélène smirked, “Pick your jaw up, Akhrosimova. Can’t kiss me with it on the floor.”
Marya rolled her eyes but felt a blush rise in her cheeks, she held out her arm for Hélène who started to lead them out the door.
Marya frowned, “Aren’t you gonna grab a jacket?”
Hélène swatted her hand flippantly, “A hoe never gets cold.”
“Elena.”
“Fine.” Hélène sighed and made a point to take an excruciatingly long time to walk over to the coat rack, and took longer still to pick one out. An accomplishment considering she only had about 4 on the rack.
She eventually picked out a white cardigan that Marya feared would be far too light to protect against the cold but she figured it was the best she was gonna get from her.
Hélène linked their arms and started leading Marya out the door again, making sure to lock it behind them and whispering goodbye to Fifi.
“You know,” Marya said, “You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
Hélène stopped walking and leaned back to look at Marya, she had a thoughtful expression on her face.
Marya raised an eyebrow, “What?”
Hélène grinned, “You’re in red, and I’m in green.”
Marya almost questioned further but realized what Hélène was talking about, she smiled back, “We’re our Christmas.”
Hélène stretched forward on her tippy toes and kissed Marya on the cheek, “That we are, darling, that we are.”