quicklog: cris & elena on christmas morning Who: Elena & Cris What: Christmas morning, future-dated. Where: Cris' place. Warnings: None yet.
It was early, so early that the sun was just cracking gold over an iced horizon.When she pulled up to the front of Once Upon a Home, the tires of her vehicle crunched hard through the snow that banked up alongside the curb. She had enough familiarity with the street and its curbs not to edge over it or risk scratching the new black from the side of her tire. The vehicle was new with an engine that purred rather than roared, and it was only when twisting the key to an off position that the beast settled with any kind of real sound. The weight rolled back, tires locked, and all was steady when she got out of the car.
It was cold, snow had fallen heavy of the night. The snow made everything seem brighter despite the early hours. It was the same in the desert, because sunlight and moonlight reflected off of the pallor. Elena's boots crunched across the snow, and she tried not to associate the snow with other bright morning on other sides of the world, but that was something that she knew would stay with her for a long time. It wasn't the kind of memory that kept her up on late nights or made her shake no matter how many blankets or warm baths she took, so the bright snow didn't bother her. It disassociated her briefly, just a moment, and it didn't make her think about anything horrible or sad, it just made her think about the sand. Before she realized it, she was at the front door.
Despite still having a key, the last visit she'd had here that lasted over the fifteen minutes it took to drop Teresa off hadn't gone well enough that using the key felt like a good idea. It felt like an intrusion, she'd already been thrown out of here once. And the welcome mat? She wasn't so sure that its welcome applied to her anymore. Elena told herself it was something small, like thinking snow was sand, something she could blink away. Her knock was more of a soft tap. It was so early, but she'd told Cris she would be by early. Elena wanted to arrange the presents she'd brought under the tree before their daughter awoke, and that girl had always been an early riser. Rap rap, one knuckle against the dented screen.
She'd tried for festive that morning when she got dressed. A turtleneck of evergreen, slim gold cross around her neck amongst another that was a little larger, not enough to be gaudy, but there were red gemstones interwoven and that made it a little more Christmas. Her hair was done, waves blown and brushed straight despite how early it was. She had on a thick,, puffy jacket to combat the cold, jeans tucked into boots that climbed to the knee. While she knocked, her other arm balanced an aluminum catering tray. She looked at her reflection in the dented aluminum, warped. It felt accurate.