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Tweak says, "fkgfkjgk SPARKLY!"

𝒷𝓁𝑜𝓈𝓈𝑜𝓂 ✿ (blossomed) wrote in valarlogs,
@ 2020-08-25 16:13:00

Entry tags:

!complete, blossom, christy nord (petra)

WHO: Blossom & Christy Nord
WHERE: Blossom's home
WHEN: {backdated} during the short blizzard
WHAT: Blossom offers Christy shelter
WARNINGS: PG
STATUS: Complete

Thankfully, Blossom didn’t have to do too much organising or cleaning to her apartment with Christy coming over. She was being honest when she said she was worried how the power would hold up through the snow, and if Christy was going to be relying on a vending machine then it just wasn’t right. Blossom had more than enough space and plenty of food and Christy was more than welcome to come and wait things out with her.

Blossom practically insisted.

Heating up the place wasn’t hard; she had blankets out on the sofa for wrapping up in, the heating was cranked up, she was heating up food and there was a tv show on the television but muted for now. Blossom usually bumped around the apartment in shorts and a tank top, because California was usually so darn hot.

Luckily she still had sweat pants and some sweaters to wear, loose as they were, but enough to keep her wrapped up and warm. She’d put a pair of fuzzy socks over a radiator for Christy, because Blossom knew that if her feet were cold she was miserable, and this way if Christy was the same as her, they had a way to heat up those toes quickly!

Christy - true to her promise - had texted Blossom with frozen fingers as she approached the building and entered. She tucked her hands under her armpits as she walked up the stairs, stomping her feet a little to get the feeling back into them. Her boots had done a good job of keeping the cold out mostly but there was a chill in the air that sank into her bones.

Tapping on the door, she shivered, tugging her coat around herself. It was hardly made to stand this kind of weather but it was the only one she had. She’d managed to get maybe halfway there in an Uber before the weather got too bad, so had to walk the rest of the way. At least she hadn’t had to walk the whole way.

Her nose and ears were pink as she sucked in lungfuls of artificially warmed air gratefully as she waited for Blossom to open the door. Her shoulders were covered in a smattering of snow which was still clinging to her lashes and the long strands of her hair.

When the text notification pinged up on her phone, Blossom burst into action. She put the pasta that was on the cooker to shimmer, making sure the sauce wouldn’t spill over, clicked on her kettle to boil the water and darted around to the door, at the first knock.

“Hey, c’mon, get in. Jeez, you must be freezing,” this whole place was a nightmare for planning, and as much as Christy might say she’s fine in the motel, Blossom was worried that it wouldn’t be able to hold up against this place and it’s unpredictability.

“I’ve got pasta on, hot chocolate is gonna be ready in two minutes, there’s super fluffy socks right there, and I wasn’t sure, but I put some sleep stuff in the bathroom, if you wanna grab a hot shower, maybe get some heat in your blood?”

Blossom had tried to think of everything she’d want, if she were freezing cold, and how it might be able to help. Especially when she’d seen that Christy didn’t like the cold.

Unable to stop the way she was shivering, Christy swayed into the warmth of Blossom’s place and stepped in as soon as she was invited. “God, if you don’t mind me taking a quick shower that might be exactly what I need,” she admitted. “That feels kinda rude though, just turning up and hopping straight in the shower.”

She stomped her feet outside to shake off the last of the snow that was clinging to her boots.

“It’s awful out there,” she admitted. “I’ll accept that maybe walking here wasn’t the best plan I’ve ever had.”

“Nonsense! That’s the best thing for you, get heat into your bones again.” Checking everything over, Blossom waved a hand as she walked towards her bedroom and the adjoining shower room. “I can’t believe you walked when I said don’t!” She kind of could believe it, she already knew that Christy was fiercely independent.

Switching on the shower, dropping the toilet seat for Christy to use for her clothes or whatever, Blossom pulled a fresh set of towels out from the cupboard too.

“Okay, you hop in there, it’s pretty easy to adjust if you need to, here’s some nice fluffy towels, I’ll leave some fluffy socks and stuff on the bed for after. Take as long as you want, okay? The hot water will last, promise.” The joys of having an electric shower meant she didn’t need to hope the water tank lasted, nope. That was a trick her dad learned with three teenage girls growing up under one roof.

“I’ll get the place cosy for us and you just shout if you need anything, yeah?” She just really wanted to get the chill off Christy, so she didn’t feel cold!

Christy nodded, disappearing into the shower and closing the door behind her. She didn’t take too long, partly because she wasn’t used to such powerfully hot showers and also partly because she didn’t want to end up using the hot water - if there was a reserve. Blossom didn’t seem to worry, but Christy didn’t want to be the cause for her friend to be stuck with a cold shower later.

Using the towel provided and drying off, she slipped into the clothes that had been laid out for her and wrapped her hair up in the towel to keep it out of her face, but realised she didn’t like how that felt, at all, so just towelled it instead. It was dry enough that the curls in it were visible, normally kept up and back by a ponytail.

Feet in the warm socks and wrapped in the fluffy sweater left for her, she padded out of the room to see Blossom fussing near the stove.

“You didn’t need to do all this, you know,” she said softly, though her lips were curled into a small smile, skin still slightly flushed from the shower. “Just letting me stay here was more than enough.”

In some ways it was just nice to have someone else around, Blossom was used to having her sisters and dad around all the time, and while she had adjusted somewhat to living on her own, she did miss when someone was just there all the time. She made sure the hot chocolate would be ready to go the moment Christy got out of the shower, waiting until she heard the water turn off and boiling everything up so that it was in a mug, with marshmallows on top and sitting waiting.

The pasta was even less of a fuss, since she just needed to add in some sauce, stir it up and grab the bread she’d grilled out of the oven. “Don’t be silly,” It wasn’t even just being a good hostess, Christy lived in a hotel, either by choice or because she needed to, but either way it wasn’t exactly fancy, or cosy, or terribly safe.

Blossom just wanted to make sure Christy was okay while this all went on. “Besides, we’d need to eat, you will get a horrible chill if you’re not warm, and… well I like helping.” It gave her something to do after all.

Christy’s shoulder lifted, wrapped up warm as she was with the post-shower glow it was almost like she’d never been cold in the first place. She gave Blossom a grateful smile and padded closer, feeling strangely comfortable and comforted in the other woman’s space. Which was strange, as she’d never been there before.

“Still, I appreciate it.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I like to think my immune system’s pretty hardy, you don’t survive New York winters without one, but it probably softened some living in the home outs-”

She cleared her throat. “Living in California for a while.”

Blossom was from the mid-West, so although she had more of a winter than California strictly did, it was never anything as extreme as somewhere like New York. “I’m not overly fond of the cold, so I like everything to be cosy when it gets chilly,” and this OC crazy was super chilly. “With all that happens here, it’s probably safer not to risk it.”

Getting a few bowls out, Blossom saw to getting the food dished up. “So there’s some cutlery in the drawer there right next to the microwave, you wanna grab some and we can get this eaten while it’s hot?” It also had the added benefit of filling them up on carbs.

“I figured we could make a night of it? Maybe a day or two if it goes on a while.” Since sometimes it could last a week or so. “We can put on some movies or whatever and I have some junk food too.” Christy had said, on the network, that she didn’t really like the cold, so if Blossom could distract her, all the better.

Christy nodded, moving to take the cutlery out, carefully moving past Blossom as she did. “Are you sure you don’t mind me staying for longer than tonight?” With Alice being somewhere else too, Christy truly didn’t want to be alone. She also didn’t want to be a burden but with Blossom insisting so sweetly it was hard for her to keep arguing.

Cutlery in hand, she waited. “Anything else you want me to carry?” She asked, “It smells good. Alice and I don’t get to cook much- I just get whatever she manages to bring back from work to supplement vending machine food. The motel isn’t exactly, y’know, made up for guests to stay there for a long time.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Blossom was very quick to reassure, “It’ll be nice to have someone around for a while too.” Which wasn’t a lie, or a misdirection or any of that, Blossom would genuinely like having Christy there for a while. She kept meaning to look into filling the other room with a roommate, but she’d never gotten around to it.

“Do you maybe want to grab that plate with the bread?” She’d made a little plate of bread with some garlic butter, in case Christy needed some extra carbs, and she liked when she had a little something to soak up the pasta sauce herself. “Thanks,” Blossom wasn’t the best cook in the world, but she did know how to follow the directions pretty well, which usually meant her meals came out well. “I really like cooking, I mean, I enjoy it more when it’s for someone too, but even just for myself, it’s nice to do something.”

She couldn’t say she was too thrilled at Christy still living at a motel, but if she could make sure the other girl was okay during this little storm, that was good enough for now. “You said, on the network, that you didn’t like the cold, so, I kinda thought any way that I can help you heat up would be good.” And that usually included a full belly of food.

Christy did as she was told, moving around to pick up the plate with the bread on it. She still wasn’t used to such big meals, so it might take her a while to finish, but she’d do her best to eat as much as she could. Even with Ali bringing food back regularly, their meal times were irregular and the portions varied in size. It smelt really good, though, she was relieved that it looked like there was more than enough for them both.

“I’m not the best cook,” she admitted, but that was largely because she’d never had the chance to learn, or the facilities to do so.

She felt her cheeks flush a little and cleared her throat. “I- yeah, I don’t- The cold and I have history.” She moved behind Blossom as they headed to the table, placing the cutlery and the plate of bread down. “There’s- there’s not many places you can take refuge in New York when the winter hits.”

“My dad had me prove I could feed myself before I left home, so I took a few classes the year before I planned on going to college, it was pretty helpful.” And Blossom liked how relaxing it could be, so that helped. “One of my sister’s hates cooking, I think she’ll live at home forever if it means she doesn’t need to learn how to cook.”

Sitting down, Blossom frowned a little. She remembered Christy talking about how she couldn’t afford more than the motel for now, and Blossom wanted to offer to let Christy live with her, but she knew that Christy was independent, wouldn’t really take it well if she thought Blossom was just feeling sorry for her -which was part of it, but not all of it.

“I’ve heard that New York winters can be really harsh.” And she was sure the wind was part of the problem when it came to the cold. New York might not be the ‘Windy City’ like Chicago, but it was bad enough that it could definitely leave a bad impression. “You can stay here as long as you need to, you know that right?”

Christy smiled a little. She hadn’t had to prove anything: when she turned eighteen the group home she’d been living in gave her a week to pack her things and then she was on her own. The foster care system was great if they placed someone with a family, often they were allowed to stay. For people like Christy, who had no one, they were left to fend for themselves as soon as they hit eighteen.

“Sounds like she’s got the right idea,” she admitted. “I’d not want to cook ever if I could get someone else to do it for me.” Not that she cooked now, honestly. She avoided it as much as she could. Ali brought back food from work which was better than the things she’d eaten on the road, and definitely better than the things she’d had when she was living in the park. “Y’know, forever having someone else to cook for her.”

She grimaced, “They’re deadly.” If you didn’t have anywhere to stay. “But I- I don’t want to put you out, Blossom but I- I’d like to stay until this storm’s over, at least. I hate the idea of being back at the motel alone.” Ali was safe, that was important. “But you- well, I mean you’re so kind. Thank you. I owe you one.”

Blossom really was too kind, and wrapped up in the other girl’s clothes made Christy feel really safe and warm all over.

“You’re not putting me out,” Blossom was the kind to take care of people, that was her thing, she loved doing it. Helping people with anything she possibly could, small or large. “You’re my friend, and I want to make sure you’re somewhere safe, I’d worry myself sick otherwise. My place is big enough, and I’ve got plenty of food and there’s a generator if the power goes out.”

If Christy had been through New York winters, then she could probably work out a way to survive this, but the point was that she didn’t need to.

“I’d really love the company too.” Blossom could keep them fed and warm and they could watch television and sleep in late and just enjoy being safe and warm inside with someone and knowing they’d be fine. Something told Blossom that Christy could use something like that, safety without worry of how long it would last, and if Blossom could provide a little bit, that was all that mattered.

Christy smiled a little. She wasn’t used to the kindness of others and she wondered if it showed. Not that the people who had tried to take care of her had been unkind, but her security had always been temporary. It had always been taken away from her the moment she allowed herself to feel safe. It had always been… conditional. Her social worker aside - who still wouldn’t give up on her - it had been a long time since someone had seen her and wanted to be kind to her with no other agenda than because they were a good person.

She shifted, twirled pasta around her fork and smiled up at Blossom. “I-”

Clearing her throat, she finally said, softly, “Thank you. I’m just- you’ll- I’m not used to people just being nice to me.”

Blossom had been lucky in life; her adoption when she was just a baby, having two sisters to grow up with, a loving dad to raise them. She hadn’t really had to worry about those things.

“Well, you can always count on me, because that’s what friends do.” And Blossom was going to work hard to not be someone else who let Christy down.