"Well, it doesn't look like we're going to make it to LaFontaine's Christmas party." Laura huffs as she slumps down on the couch. "We're snowed in."

Carmilla doesn't bother looking up from the television. She can see her friend's pouting out of her peripheral vision. "Oh wow, what a shame."

Laura's expression sours. "There's no need to be like that."

"Like what?" Carmilla turns to face her, an eyebrow raised in an inquisitive manner. She watches as Laura folds her arms across her chest, rolling her eyes when she huffs again.

"All sarcastic." Laura finally clarifies. "I really wanted to go to LaF's party. It was really fun last year. Remember? Even you had a good time."

"I didn't have a good time." Carmilla is quick to shoot that down. "I just had a bit too much eggnog. You know that I think Christmas is-"

"If you finish that sentence with anything other than 'amazing', I won't hesitate to smack you, Carm." Laura warns, but the little smile that's fighting to be seen makes her statement a little less than threatening. "It's Christmas. Everyone who celebrates it loves it."

"Yeah, and I don't celebrate it." Carmilla turns back to the television. She knows that watching a Christmas movie contradicts the whole 'I don't like Christmas' thing she has going, but she's already halfway through it and she likes the storyline. Not the festivities. "We're really snowed in?"

"Yes," Laura glances over to the door, "if we weren't, we'd be heading to LaF's party. I'm going to have to text them and tell them we can't come. I'm pretty sure that Perry was looking forward to seeing how drunk you were going to get."

Carmilla sighs. "I have to be drunk if I'm going to deal with the lackwits they invite."

"Kirsch is sweet," Of course, Laura is quick to defend the beefcake. Naturally. Carmilla doesn't know what Laura sees in him. "He's always been ready to help us out with things. The rest of the Zetas, I will admit, are a little…frat-ish. At times."

"Frat-ish?" Carmilla snorts. "I think you mean braindead."

"Carm," Laura says her name in that indignant tone Carmilla hates a lot. Especially when she does it in front of other people. "That's not a nice thing to say. You shouldn't judge people before you meet them."

"Laura," Carmilla mimics her friend, "I don't care. I'm glad we're not going. Saves me from having to interact with Clifford the Big Red Dog."

Laura rolls her eyes. She doesn't know why Carmilla hates Danny so much. Danny is a really good friend of Laura's and she'd never been outwardly abrasive towards Carmilla.

At least, until Carmilla had started lashing out at her on their second meeting, and Laura believes that Danny is right to stand up for herself whenever Carmilla is being bitter ad bitchy. That's what Laura herself would do. Had done.

"Danny's sweet, too." Laura defends her friend. "She's always really helpful. You know, she had a constant supply of energy drinks for me to soak up in my freshman year in finals week."

"I don't care about your girlfriend and whatever she did for you in finals week." Carmilla snaps back. "Can we just- watch the stupid movie?"

Laura's nose crumples in confusion. "Okay? And Danny's not my girlfriend. We dated for a week when I was a freshman and it didn't work out. We clashed too much."

Carmilla just shrugs. "Yeah, well, whatever. I told you, I don't care."

"If you didn't care, you wouldn't get so defensive." Laura smirks when Carmilla scowls. As scary as Carmilla can be to an outsider like one of Kirsch's Zeta friends, Laura can wind her up as much as she wants with no consequences.

Maybe she'd get a few glares sent her way, but that was all.

"Listen, cupcake," Carmilla is interrupted for a few seconds by an eye roll from Laura, who senses her mini-rant before it comes. "I know you might think that I don't like Xena because she's your ex or whatever, but I don't care. All it is- you know what? I don't like associating myself with people with less than three brain cells. Obviously I made an exception for you, but her? Not going to happen."

Laura bursts out laughing. Carmilla's little rants and insults used to offend her, but that was two years ago when they were lumped together as roommates. Now, it offers a little bit of humour, because she knows that Carmilla doesn't actually mean the things she says.

Well, she doesn't mean the things about Laura. Mean things said about Danny or LaF or Perry are debatable.

Instead of keeping the conversation on the topic it's on, Laura decides to bring up their current situation. "Carm? Do you know how long it'll take for the snow to melt so we can get out?"

Carmilla blinks, probably a little stunned at the sudden subject change. "I'm not a weatherman. No."

"What if we run out of food?" Laura cranes her neck to look at the kitchen. She'd been meaning to go shopping for a few weeks, but had never gotten round to it, electing to work on her next journalism piece for her class over buying the essentials. She's starting to regret that decision now.

"I guess we'll have to turn on each other." Carmilla looks her up and down. "Sorry, cutie, I think I'll win when it comes down to it."

"You'd seriously eat me?" Laura raises an eyebrow and sends Carmilla an indignant scowl. "That's just rude."

Carmilla shrugs, her face deadpan when she replies, "I'd eat you in more ways than that."

Laura frowns, until it clicks in her head and her face flushes an embarrassed red. She's sure she looks like a distant relative of the bright red Christmas sweater she's wearing. "Carmilla. That's- I, uh…"

Carmilla laughs, stretching her arm behind Laura. "Close your mouth. You'll attract flies."

"You can't just-" Laura shakes her head to get the thought out of it. Is Carmilla flirting? No,she quickly resolves, there's absolutely no way. Girls like Carmilla don't flirt with girls like Laura. Laura knows what Carmilla's type of girl is, and it's definitely not her. "I was being serious, though. What if we can't get out to get more food and starve to death?"

"Like I said, cannibalism." Carmilla deadpans, but then quickly flashes a soft smile. "You think too much. If you're that worried about it, you can call the beefcake and his army of morons to break us out tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is Christmas." Laura points out. "They'll all be with their families. Busy with festivities and present opening and Christmas specials."

Carmilla shrugs. "Boxing Day, then. Nobody does anything on Boxing Day. It's the most pointless day of the year."

"Boxing Day can be fun!" Laura rolls her eyes when Carmilla scoffs. "But what if they can't get here then? What if it's so cold outside that everyone other than us has frozen to death? What if everyone else is snowed in with no food, too?"

"You have far too much of an overactive imagination. It's like you're six." Carmilla tries to keep her tone monotonous, but her fond smile mitigates the effect of her stoic expression. "I guess we'll have to repopulate the Earth."

Laura blinks. "That's not possible, Carm. In case you haven't noticed, we're both lesbians who can't get one another pregnant."

"I guess we'll just have to try really hard, then." Carmilla smirks at her and presses a lingering kiss to Laura's cheek. "I bet if we stay pure of heart and really believe in ourselves, that'll make it happen. Christmas magic and all."

"Carmilla." Laura flushes bright red. "I…are you flir- um, this movie is getting really interesting."

Carmilla laughs, her turn to supply the eye roll. "Laura, you're so oblivious sometimes."

Laura scoffs in exasperation. "I am not. I'll have you know that I'm very attentive and observant. Those are traits every good journalist needs."

Carmilla shakes her head, her affectionate smile a stark contrast to her usual apathy. Fingers touch apprehensively before knotting together, and Carmilla keeps her mouth shut as she turns back to the television, thinking that maybe Christmas isn't as stupid as she initially thought.

Not that she'd ever admit that to Laura, of course.