#roswellsanta

“Ah, come on, Iz, there are some benefits to the festive season!” Michael joined his sister at the bar, throwing a friendly arm over her shoulder.

“Such as?” Isobel replied, raising one acerbic eyebrow. Maria already knew, of course; she had been the one to decorate the bar. Isobel continued, “The availability of cheap booze?”

“You know I haven’t paid for my drinks here in years Iz!” Michael laughed.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook for that Guerin!” Maria snapped over her shoulder, as she turned to serve another customer to hide her smile. She noticed Kyle, Liz and Rosa (and she still couldn’t believe- Rosa!) enter the bar and start to head over to their group.

“Anyway, I was talking about the mistletoe our illustrious bartender has placed. Oh! It appears it’s above you right now Isobel…” Michael smirked as he trailed off, pointing up at the tacky decoration; Isobel’s glare was now in truly epic territory. Maria sighed.

“Come here then, Evans, let’s give the boys a show.” She leaned over the bar and snagged Isobel by the front of her obscenely-expensive-looking blouse to kiss her. It was always going to be a little weird to kiss your ex-whatever’s sister in front of them, but Maria reached up to hold Isobel’s cheek, relaxing into the contact and the faint vanilla smell of her girlfriend. Isobel began to lean over and deepen their kiss with a small nip at her lower lip when Michael and Liz began a joint wolf-whistle and round of applause. Maria laughed into Isobel’s mouth and pulled back, to see the whole group smirking at them.

Isobel huffed, but couldn’t stop smiling.

Michael melodramatically shuddered at them with a disgusted look, which just made Maria laugh harder. “What’s the matter, Guerin? Still upset I got the wrong sibling the first time?” They shared a wry smile and the conversation quickly moved to a rehashing from Rosa of the despairing state of Kyle’s Christmas jumpers.

“No, Liz, Alex, you don’t understand he has ones with tiny baby Jesuses in Santa hats holding crosses, and one that’s literally a glow-in-the-dark Nativity scene!” Rosa rolled her eyes and continued: “How am I actually meant to go anywhere with him?”

“Hey!” Injected Kyle, before Liz quickly talked over him, chuckling.

“It’s true. She kept falling on the ice trying to skate away from him so no-one would think they were there together.” Liz shook her head at the picture. The Ortecho-Valenti clan had all driven to the rink earlier, enjoying a rare day both Kyle and Liz had off to have some sibling time. She really did love Christmas, and finally having her sister back to share it felt like a real Christmas miracle.

“These jumpers made a lot of kids at the hospital smile!” Kyle spluttered indignantly, “We can’t all be committed to a hardcore emo aesthetic. Black isn’t my colour!”

“Alright, old man.” Rosa replied, shrugging and turning to hide her smirk.

“And no dissing emo aesthetics. Black nail polish is still trendy!” Alex quickly interjected from the stool he was perched on, leaning into Michael’s shoulder. Rosa turned to favour him with a rare smile.

Isobel clapped her hands to gather the groups’ attention. "Alright, alright, alright- time for a drink!" She declared, seeing Kyle and Michael winding back up to continue the argument. Maria started passing around some disgusting cinnamon concoction she was trying to get rid of before the end of the holiday season, making sure that Michael and Isobel got the glasses she'd spiked with the acetone she'd started keeping under the bar (and Rosa an alcohol free version). God, her life was odd. 

“Three, two, one, down!” Michael yelled, and the group knocked back their drinks, bar Alex who cooly sipped his. 

“Yeesh.” Isobel exclaimed with a splutter. “That may be your worst serving yet, DeLuca. Kyle even managed to get it up his nose.” She added, to wear Kyle was mopping his jumper. Liz and Rosa were nodding in agreement, having jumped out of the splash zone. 

“Definitely the worst, Maria. And I used to sneak straight spirits from behind the bar.” Added Rosa, giving the group a cool look as if they would challenge her behaviour. Liz looked away, pained.

At that moment Michael noticed Alex sipping his drink and started whining, “Darling, I said to down it! In the festive spirit.” Alex shook his head with a smile, raising his eyebrow.

“No, no, no,” he replied, “You’re not getting me to join in that easily. One of us actually has to be able to walk out of here, y’know.” Alex leaned over and planted a kiss on Michael’s exaggerated pout before turning back to laugh with the group. 

Liz was smiling wide again now, troubles forgotten. She raised her glass to the loose circle around the bar, “To Christmas with family!” she announced, turning to take in every one of them. 

Maria’s day had been going downhill since before she even woke up. Her subconscious had graced her with a violent dream involving WWII fighter jets, Alex Manes, and an overwhelming amount of gore. Actually, the only good part of the entire day was when she quickly called Alex and he assured her he was fine. 

Despite the headache her nightmare had cursed her with, she still managed to get dressed and go visit her mother. Typically, the earlier it was in the day, the more coherent Mimi DeLuca was. Today did not listen to those rules. Maria could withstand only so long of being referred to as someone named Casey before she had to leave. That subsequently made her feel worse than before and was the direct cause of her not noticing some asshole tailgating her until she went to slow for a turn and he rammed right into her. Thankfully, it didn’t do any damage on her truck outside a few scratches, but it still added to the bullshit of the day. 

When she got back to the bar, she made a mental decision to have a better day. Which definitely would’ve worked if she hadn’t had every difficult customer in the book come in‒including a woman who felt personally victimized that Maria wouldn’t allow her to have a drink with a toddler on her hip.

To top it all off, Michael “Alien Disaster” Guerin sloppily made out with two different women in front of her before leaving with two different women. She knew he wasn’t meaning it as anything rude towards her, but it didn’t soften the blow of him rubbing it in her face that they could never, ever work. She didn’t think it would’ve even hurt so bad if she hadn’t been already having a shitty day.

Before Maria cracked completely under the shit of her day, someone knocked on the freezer door. She sniffled roughly and composed herself as much as she could before pushing it open.

“A little birdie told me you needed an Ice Queen to rescue you from the freezer.”

Isobel Evans stood across from her, smirk intact and hands shoved into the front pockets of her tight jeans. Her make-up was perfect and her hair was pristine and she made Maria look like garbage in comparison. But, when she held out her hand, Maria took it with gratitude.

“I have to go back to work,” Maria said, but she let Isobel tug her from the freezer.

They were friends. Or, something like that. Maria had been pissed that they kept such a massive secret from her and they sent the psychic to smooth out the wrinkles. That night had quickly led to pity drinking and a nice game of ‘who has it worse’ and then they’ve sort of just gotten along since. Maria went to her whenever she knew she had drained herself by practicing her new telekinesis, Isobel went to her whenever things got too much. No one had to ask, they knew just knew.

“You really don’t,” Isobel said, pulling her into a hug and wrapping her arms around her neck. Maria melded into the hug, trying to will away the tension and negativity in her system. “Look, it’s a slow night, the bar is dead, and I called Cam and asked if she could come to make sure Carla gets to her car after closing time. I’ve covered it all, babe.”

Maria let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and managed to relax against Isobel completely. 

“C’mon, let’s go upstairs.”

Isobel led her the back way up to her apartment above the bar, letting herself in with the wave of her hand. Maria remembered her being very proud the first time she unlocked a door with her mind and now she just did it naturally.

“Now, get out of those clothes, you smell like tequila,” Isobel said with that not-so-nice smile on her face that was reserved for loving sarcasm. Maria rolled her eyes, but obeyed and sulked towards her bedroom.

The door was left open as she stripped and searched for something comfy to wear. She needed to just engulf herself in soft clothes and soft blankets and Isobel’s soft skin and maybe, just maybe, she could have a better day tomorrow.

“I was going to make coffee, but then I don’t really think either of us want to actually, like, stay up longer than necessary, so I made tea,” Isobel said as she strolled in, sitting the mug on the bedside table and elegantly flopping onto the bed, “Chai.”

“Thanks,” Maria nodded, pulling a worn t-shirt over her head and leaving her legs bare as she went to grab the mug. She took a sip from the side that wasn’t already stained with Isobel’s lipstick. 

Isobel kicked off her shoes and her jeans, revealing so many inches of pale skin that it made Maria dizzy sometimes. Tonight, however, she was just too drained from the day to really notice and crawled in bed beside her. They faced each other like they did every night they needed someone and just stared.

Isobel smiled comfortingly and reached out to move Maria’s hair off her neck. It was weird how sweet and gentle Isobel could be. She was so often all sharp edges and sneering smiles that Maria hadn’t known there was a different side to get to know. She couldn’t lie though, she loved this version. 

The pillows and blankets rustled as Isobel scooted closer, repeatedly scraping her long nails through her hair. Maria closed her eyes at the feeling and tried to focus on that rather than how shitty she was feeling otherwise. It was soothing.

“You wanna talk about it?” Isobel asked softly. Her voice was deep and alluring, resonating somewhere within Maria like it was supposed to be there.

“Not really,” she admitted. Isobel moved closer.

“Do you want silence or a distraction?” Isobel wondered, her socked foot sliding up Maria’s calf and pushing through where her shins met to overlap their legs together. 

“Both?” Maria said weakly. What she really wanted was sleep, but she always took an hour minimum to get to sleep.

Warm lips pressed to her forehead and then her head was pressed to Isobel’s collarbone. She started humming a little tune Maria didn’t recognize, but it was soft enough to not be irritating but present enough to be soothing. Her nails scratched over her back. The lights turned off without either of them having to get out of bed.

“Thank you,” Maria whispered, “I needed this.”

“What are friends for?”

-

Maria woke up to the smell of turkey bacon.

She lifted her head, but let it drop back down once she noticed how heavy it felt. It seemed some time overnight her brain had been replaced with cotton balls. Her whole mind ached and she longed to go back to sleep until it went away.

“Well, Princess,” Isobel hummed, her body weight shifting the bed as she sat down, “I made you breakfast.”

“Thank you, but I’m not hungry,” Maria mumbled. Isobel sounded far away due to the fullness of her mind and she simply wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep.

“That’s okay,” Isobel agreed. The bed shifted again and Maria felt a body press up against her from behind. A nose nuzzled in the nape of her neck and arms wrapped tightly around her. “We can lay here for a bit longer.”

Maria wasn’t sure how much longer actually was. The day slid by as she drifted in and out of sleep, Isobel staying the entire time. She cuddled her close all day and fed her when she woke up and rubbed her temples whenever her head ached too badly. It was unconditional.

It was unreal.

“You are too good to me,” Maria mumbled when she finally woke up for more than a few minutes. Her mind was fuzzy with sleep and she let herself trace over Isobel’s jaw. “Why are you so good to me?”

“You’re my friend,” Isobel answered, “You were sad.”

Maria huffed and moved closer, bowing her head against Isobel’s chest. “Still. Too kind.”

Isobel shrugged and combed through her hair. She didn’t respond. She just held her for a bit longer. 

Time seemed to slip away once again and it was too easy to ignore that anything had gone wonky. Isobel was too warm, the bed was too comfy. It was just easy.

This was easy.

-

“Do you take extra hot baths to make it feel hot to you since your body temperature is already ridiculous?”

Isobel laughed and shrugged, “I don’t know.”

Maria let out a soft breath and stared at the woman in front of her. Both of them had their hair tied back in an attempt to keep it dry, but she wasn’t sure how effective that was when they were sharing a bath. She couldn’t seem to remember what exactly had led them there, all she knew was that she didn’t want this weird block of just them to end. Time didn’t exist here and she didn’t want it to.

“C’mere,” Isobel beckoned. Maria listened and closed her eyes, leaning back into Isobel as soft hands touched her skin.

Isobel covered her in soap with her bare hands, bathing her like it was normal. Maria did the same for her right back. It felt like more proof that time wasn’t real. She was slowly but surely becoming convinced that Isobel had discovered how to stop time and save it for them.

“What time is it?” Maria asked quietly as she relaxed against her, “What day is it?”

“About two in the afternoon,” Isobel answered in that deep, alluring voice of hers, “Friday.”

“Oh, that’s it? I feel like we’ve been here for days,” Maria said. Isobel chuckled and cupped water to pour over Maria’s shoulder.

“Good thing or bad thing?”

“Good,” she answered, “So good. I feel a lot better.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” Isobel whispered. The feeling of her hot breath against her damp neck was mind-warping. Alex 

“Thank you.”

“You’re my friend, couldn’t let you be sad.”

-

“That’s my alarm. I have to go to work.”

Isobel groaned softly and Maria smiled as she rolled out of her bed. The day had dragged in the best way. It had her craving days like this more often. Days where she could do nothing. Days where she could simply exist. Days where Isobel stayed over and didn’t leave.

“Thank you, seriously, you’re a really good friend,” Maria expressed as she quickly changed into something she could work in. Isobel stayed in bed, staring at her with an unreadable expression. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you yesterday.”

“Survived, I’m sure. You’re strong,” she said, her body moving in a slow and lethargic way as she sat up. Maria tried not to get too mesmerized by it or the thought of how their skin smelled of the same body wash. “But strong people need some help sometimes.”

“I’m here for you if you ever need a day of pampering, you know that right?” Maria said, sending a grin her way. Isobel chuckled and slid out of bed. 

“Good to know,” she said, “I guess I should head home.”

“You don’t have to,” Maria blurted before she could stop herself. She wasn’t going to elaborate, but Isobel was staring at her and not giving her much of a choice. “I mean, you can stay here if you want. We can have another lazy night.”

Isobel seemed to be weighing her options but eventually gave a soft smile. “No, I should probably go home.”

“Okay,” Maria agreed, “But you’re welcome any time.”

Isobel pulled her jeans back on and slid past her towards the door. In a split-second decision, Maria decided to kiss her goodbye. Not on the cheek or the nose or even a friendly peck on the lips. She kissed her goodbye.

“Sorry, uh,” Maria whispered, “Not sure if…”

“No, that was good,” Isobel said, resting her forehead on Maria’s. Time stopped again, but only for a moment. “I’ll see you?”

“Absolutely.”

Isobel left without much clarification on what that meant. Maria didn’t think it was necessary.