Title: Too Much Tinsel
Author:
ellebefore_emmRating: G
Pairing: Sally/Une
Words: 545
Prompt: Tinsel
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue
A/N: Written for
adventchallenge 2011
Something of a companion piece to Christmas Cheer Not for Sale
In the year since Sally and Une had been together, a dramatic improvement could be seen in Mariamaia. The usually standoffish young woman had transformed into a vibrant social butterfly. Where once she had few friends, she now had friends visiting regularly, delighted teenage chatter filtering out from under her bedroom door.
After spending Christmas with Sally and Une - now more family than simply her care takers - she’d requested permission to have a small New Years party with her friends. Pleased with Mariamaia’s zest for socialization, they’d agreed... until they faced the mess the morning after.
“I’m glad that she’s made friends, but what on earth did they do last night that required that much tinsel?” The tinsel Une referred to covered almost every square inch of the apartments small living room. It hung from the lamps, the tree, and was tucked between the cushions of the sofa. Atop all of it lay softly snoring teenagers.
“Une...” Sally admonished softly, pushing a hot cup of coffee into the other woman’s hands. “Don’t worry so much about the tinsel. We’ll get Maria and her friends to clean up once they’ve woken up. I don’t remember what time the noise died down this morning, but it was certainly early.”
“Mm,” Une replied around the rim of her mug. “Don’t remind me.”
Sally laughed softly, leaning her hip against the edge of the counter. “When did you become such an old woman?” she teased.
“I’ll show you old woman,” Une returned, putting her cup down and leaning in to steal a kiss. A soft cough interrupted them.
“Morning,” Mariamaia said sleepily, rubbing at her eyes.
“Well, well, well...” Une said. “Look who’s joined the land of the living.” She smiled warmly. “Did you have fun last night?”
Mariamaia nodded. “Can we have waffles for breakfast?”
“Sure.”
Mariamaia sat down at the kitchen table, folding her arms and resting her head upon them. She sighed, sleep-heavy eyes slipping shut. It wasn’t long before her breathing evened out and she was back to sleep. The smell of waffles roused her several minutes later, Une bumping her elbow to wake her fully. Around the table sat several other barely-wakeful teens, shovelling hot waffles into their mouths. Une placed a pitcher of orange juice in the centered of the table.
When it appeared as though the girls were more awake, Une had to ask. “What were you girls doing with the tinsel last night?”
A round of tittering laughs went around the table, and all eyes turned downcast. Une looked up at Sally who merely raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “Well, whatever it was that you were doing, I expect all of you - all of you - to clean up the mess in the living room before everyone goes home.”
A round of murmured “yes ma’am” circled the table.
Sally and Une left the kitchen to give the girls some time to themselves before facing the aftermath of their night of celebration. As they walked down the hall towards the bedroom, they passed through the living room and Une sighed. When the door closed solid behind them, she covered her face with her hand. “So much tinsel.”
The other woman siged in exasperation. “Une. It’s just tinsel.”