xmas .,

[charlotte krause]

- - Laying in bed with fleece pajama shorts (with little penguins making snowmen all over them) and a matching ice blue t-shirt, Charlotte was every bit a little girl. This was her time of the year; when she could overwhelm everyone she knew with candy and trivial little gifts - half of which were inexpensive but thoroughly thought out to a point that practically stressed her out. On her belly, with half a dozen stacks of paper around her, they were color-coded in a very unorganized way. Some were folded and sealed with some sort of Christmas-y sticker, others were still left open, unfinished or waiting to go in envelopes. A bag of hershey's kisses, a red and white striped foil covering them were intended to be as an added bit to her gifts - which were presently fully wrapped in bright red, gold, or silver foil paper with various patterns - but she'd managed to indulge herself in a piece every now and again. Her entire home was decorated for the holiday before Halloween was even over and she'd had various arts and crafts supplies litering her countertops, dresser, coffee table, nightstand, any hard surface she could work on, for weeks.

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[charlotte krause]

[charlotte krause]

- - After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, Charlotte couldn't bring herself to try to sleep anymore. She'd spent the day with his family and couldn't be more happy, yet she was simply restless. With nothing better to do, once again sleeping alone, she decided that she could sneak out of the room - hopefully without disturbing anyone else in the house - and maybe indulge herself in at least some time cuddled with her boyfriend. Slipping out of the covers, sending chills throughout her body, she padded through the house. Socks would've helped hide the sound of her feet falling, but she was banking on everyone being too immersed in their dreams to wake up at such a soft sound. It didn't take long to find the room she was looking for, slipping inside to attempt to wake Tom before crawling under his covers. Only seconds of realization passed before he had cast her out of the room with one excuse or another ready to fire. And she was rolling her eyes, not wanting to debate the matter, stepping back out of the room with much less grace than she had entered.

- - Pausing at another door on her trek back, she pushed it up with her foot, peeking in to see if the boy inside was sleeping. Christian was probably tangled up with his girlfriend and she didn't want to see that, and Dorian wasn't her biggest fan - did he like anyone? - so she'd gone to wake the one person that was close to her age and she genuinely enjoyed his company. Even if it was perpetually cranky. "ethannnn, wake up," the words came out in a loud whisper, trying her best not to disturb the others resting in the house. She jumped on his bed to attempt to wake him, sitting just out of reach in case he was the type to wake up swinging, she reached over to shake him. "come on, i can't sleep and tom's already shooed be away." The second she woke, she cast him a bright smile in the darkness. This was so very immature for a girl that was sitting in the police academy wanting to become a cop. She was definitely not acting her age, but the thought hadn't occurred to her that this would be bothersome. Tugging at his hand, she got out of the bed, trying to encourage him to getting up. She was certain he was mentally fuming and probably debating pushing her out of the room at any second, but she was practically praying he wouldn't. "lets gooooo, i'm hungry."

- - Giving up her efforts, she shrugged, told him to meet her down in the kitchen and practically pranced out of the room. Making a quick stop in her room, she grabbed an envelope and figured it'd be acceptable to give him one of his presents a little bit earlier. With it in hand, she darted down the stairs. "there has to be something good in here..." Rummaging through the cupboards and fridge, she was determined to find something to snack on. Finding a pack of oreos in one of the cabinets, she tossed the pack on the counter and pulled out two glasses for milk. Once happy that she'd gathered what they would need for a good midnight snack, she pulled herself up on the counter with her legs dangling down, swinging back and forth as she dipped a cookie in the milk.

- - Looking up the second he entered the kitchen, clearly tired but trudging forth, she nodded at the glass of milk sitting next to hers. "i knew you couldn't resist!" this was definitely not the first time she had woken him up in the middle of the night to keep her company. "here, look, santa brought you something. oh, and" she tugged the envelope from under her leg, "he even wrote you a letter. aren't you a lucky boy." She blushed thinking about how stupid it must have been to give something so stupid to a boy like Ethan. Clearly this was beyond immature and he would find it stupid, but this wasn't the first time she'd done so. Watching as he undid the wrapping, she was rather pleased with what she had come up with. It was stupid, but it was something that made her instantly think of him. A stuffed giraffe that she'd found one day while shopping with a leather jacket she bought at the Build-a-Bear store in the mall. She'd even stuck a Santa hat on his head that read "Raffy" on the fur. Tossing the envelope at him, she figured this might be one of those things he'd truly mock her for.

Dear Ethan,

Merry Christmas! The elves and I have been working extra hard to make sure we had the perfect gifts for you and your family. Have you been good this year? I hope so because I checked my list twice and I don't want to have made a mistake! Your amazing friend Charlotte told us that you wanted a giraffe this year, but since they are simply much too large for my sled to carry, I hope this will do. Rudolph and the other reindeer were really eager to visit you this year, I hope they didn't disturb your sleep too much.

Have a very merry Christmas,
Santa

- - Waiting for a reaction felt like murder. It was too dark to really get a feel for his reaction, which made waiting for a reply all the more difficult. When he looked up and had a grin on his face, she jumped off the counter and hugged him. "merry christmas, raff!" Laughing at herself in the process. If she could be anymore immature it would be quite a stretch, but it made her happy doing things like this, especially for Ethan when she saw that he at least pretended to be grateful for the sentiment. It definitely encouraged her to do more for him, even above and beyond what she did for the others. Maybe he didn't want them and maybe it seemed stupid, but part of her enjoyed picking on him by stuffing girly gifts down his throat.

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