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The road trip from hell, that’s the choice of words León didn’t hesitate to use as soon as he found out who’d be joining him and his girlfriend in the car ride up the mountains for the annual Christmas party.
It was something the Studio kids had arranged recently, a little year-end occasion to all be together to celebrate. And although not many of them actually really celebrated Christmas at all, most of the group was excited for the simple things, like the gift exchanges, the small tree everyone was supposed to bring one decoration for, and of course, the classic midnight-of-the-25th fireworks they could very clearly see from the location they chose.
When first deciding upon where to have their little party, Andrés had suddenly sprung up from his chair with a wide smile. He announced his parents owned a sweet cosy cabin up in Sierra de La Ventana, close to the mountain top, where they used to go and spend the holidays every year. Because this time they couldn’t make it, for one reason or the other, the cabin was his. Many questions immediately followed, from will it be big enough for all of us, to how far is it from the city, to the classic is it even safe? But Andrés shushed everyone with a confident grin, reassuring that his cabin was perfect for the occasion. Defeated about the fact that nobody else had a better idea, everyone had to accept. “What happens in the cabin, stays in the cabin,” Andrés giggled on his way out. No one had any idea what he was trying to say with that.
“Hey!” Violetta playfully slapped him on the arm, “Careful what you say, it’s my sister you’re talking about.” León sighed, one of those sighs that were exclusively reserved for Ludmila-related matters. “Well, your sister is my ex-girlfriend, and the one time we got in a car together was probably a formative experience in my psyche. I wouldn’t wish that upon my worst enemy.”
Diego walked into the rehearsing room then, water bottle in one hand and a towel slung over his shoulder. “Are you talking carpooling?”
The decision to separate into cars came quickly after the cabin idea. No buses went as far as Sierra de La Ventana, and they surely did not pass up as late as they wanted the party to be. So because not everyone had a driving license, and most importantly, to spend even more time together as friends (which as one can imagine was an idea not everyone liked), the group quickly separated into small teams of four or five.
“Hi, Diego!” Vilu turned to him, making León turn right with her. “Yes, León is driving, would you like to come with us?” Diego pondered for a second, putting a finger on his chin. “Who else will be there?” he asked, to which León assumed Ludmila’s classic arm-over-the-other posture to let him know without saying one word more. “Oh,” Diego’s eyebrows fell. And suddenly remembering all of his car-sharing days with his menace of a childhood best friend, he quickly answered: “Actually, I think Marco’s driving one and- I wouldn’t wanna leave him alone.” He hurriedly walked out of the room, adding a snarky: “But good luck, though!”, making the two wonder why he even came in at all.
“Why don’t we have her go with someone else?” León pleaded one last time. “She’ll only ruin the mood.”
“Well, mi amor, if you want me, you’re getting her too. We’re a package deal now.” Vilu smiled, already knowing León couldn’t say no to her. “Fine,” he rolled his eyes, grabbing her by the waist. “But it’ll cost you a kiss.”
“I imagine you’ll be riding with León,” Camila said to Vilu as they were stretching before Gregorio’s class. “Yeah, wanna come with?”
“Sorry, I already said I’d go with Broduey. Though he’s been really on my nerves lately, I might break up with him on the way there- wait, is that why nobody wants to ride with us?”
“Probably,” Francesca shrugged. Vilu turned to her, hoping she could count on her best friend to lighten up the mood - a car ride only with León and Ludmila was too scary a prospect to not at least try to bargain. “Sure, why not!” Fran replied, “Will it be just us?”
“Well, just the four of us so far, yes.”
“Four?” Fran looked at her quizzically. “So who else is coming?” A long enough look into Vilu’s eyes said enough words for Fran’s expression to change fast. “Oh.”
“Fran, amiga, please-”
“Ack, sorry Vilu, but I just realised that I have to drive a car because- Marco hurt his foot while dancing!” Fran cut her off with a plastered smile. Marco, who was standing right behind her, turned around at the mention of his name: “I didn’t hurt my-” His words quickly died in his throat when Fran stomped on his foot closer to hers, and he winced and stifled a groan. “See?”
Vilu looked at the scene with narrow eyes and furrowed brows. “You know you could’ve just said no, right?”
“Yeah, you could’ve just said no,” Marco echoed her, his voice merely a whisper as he held his foot in pain.
After her best friends refused, it was pretty hard to convince anyone else to endure a Ludmila-full car ride. And she wouldn’t hold it against them anyway: the days on the tour bus were hard enough, and there it was at least a little more bearable because the space was huge. Now, crammed in a five-seat car, avoiding or ignoring someone who could be louder than your own thoughts would be literally impossible.
In the end, Broduey and Cami would ride in one car, Diego, Fran and Marco (and his poor foot) in another, and Andrés would already be waiting for them at the cabin. Well, she could always ask Federico…but he and Ludmila had just broken up, and the situation was already as bad as it could get.
While trying to remember who she left off the list, Vilu suddenly bumped into Naty. “Oh, hey Naty, sorry-”
“No, it’s ok! I was actually looking for you,” Naty’s tone was sweet as always, but in her eyes shone something akin to worry. Maybe Vilu already knew what she was about to say before she asked, but still. “What’s up?”
“Is Ludmila riding with you?” Naty wondered, her expression softening. It always happened somehow, when she said her name. The fact that she was the only person on whom Ludmila’s name had that effect was enough for Vilu to figure out something before Naty ever admitted it. “Yes,” she nodded.
Naty sighed. “Can I come with you?” Vilu’s eyes lit up. “You want to come? With us?” Honestly, she hadn’t even thought of asking Naty, since just the other day she and Ludmila had this huge fight on stage in front of everyone because…well, had Ludmila changed a lyric from Naty’s song?…something along those lines. Either way, she didn’t think confining the two of them in a small space where they’d be sitting at arms’ reach from each other was a good idea at the time. But now, Naty’s tone resembled some sort of silent plea, and all Vilu could do was wonder why.
“Look, when she goes on long car rides she always gets sick. I have told her a million times to bring the right precautions and everything but do you think she’d ever listen to me? Noooo, she just loves to make the same mistakes over and over again, I guess.” Naty realised she’d just been talking to herself about Ludmila out loud - as it so often happened - and fell quiet. “Anyways. You still have an empty seat in your car?”
“Oh, of course! We’d love to have you!” Vilu grinned. Naty’s eyes widened. “We? Y-you think she’d be happy if I was there?”
Vilu didn’t really know how to answer - when she said we, she really meant herself and León. Then come to think of it, maybe Naty’s presence would heat Ludmila’s cold heart up the way it always did, even when she thought nobody would notice. “I’m sure of it,” she nodded again. Naty’s face quickly grew red. “G-great! Text me the details later then!”
As Naty almost sprinted away through the corridors, nearly bumping into everyone on her way, Vilu sighed a long breath of relief. Well, at least one person would shield her and León from a full-force blond devil - and who knows, maybe Naty would work her Naty charm, whether voluntarily or not, and calm Ludmila down for good.
As much as Vilu was dreading the long ride, her sisterly instincts immediately kicked in the moment Ludmila moved into her house. Yes, she could be insufferable, but she was much, much more than that, and Vilu was going to prove it to everybody, no matter how long it would take. Even to Ludmila herself.
Then in came Maxi.
Probably overhearing her conversation with Naty, he sneaked up on her with a sly grin. “Hi, Vilu,” he started, making Violetta spin on her heels to face him. “Oh, hey Maxi.”
“So Naty’s coming with you in the car for the road trip?” he asked crossing his arms, to which Vilu innocently replied: “Yes, she just asked me.”
“Do you still have one seat available?”
Vilu didn’t think much about the consequences as she calculated in her head. Yes, León’s car most definitely had three seats in the back. “Actually, yes!”
“Great. She broke up with me again and I need to win her back. This is the perfect occasion!” He grabbed Vilu’s hands and gripped them tightly. “Thank you, Vilu!” With an ecstatic skip in his step, he walked out of the Studio.
Had Naty and Maxi broken up? Wait, when did they get back together again at all?
Oh. Oh no.
Vilu turned around briskly, “Maxi, wait!” But he was already gone.
And by resolving one issue for herself, Vilu had created another gigantic one for humanity.
So, that was yesterday. Now León pulls up in front of the Castillo household, already having alerted his girlfriend that he’s here. Vilu bolts down the stairs and out the house, and opening the car door to see her breathtaking boyfriend, she wonders how she got so lucky to score a man like him.
“Hola, mi amor,” he whispers softly in her ear as she holds him in a tight hug. “You’re wearing my favourite jacket,” she whispers back, breathing him in, “you’re gonna be the hottest guy at the party again. The others shouldn’t even show up at this point, it’s unfair.”
León doesn’t get flustered easily, but Vilu being a little flirty is his one weakness. He pecks her cheek as she breaks the hug. Then he remembers something and his expression changes. “Where is…”
“Still getting ready, but I told her we’re leaving in five minutes.”
“Suddenly leaving her here feels like a very viable option-”
“León,” Vilu shuts him down quickly, but he has a little smile. “I’m kidding. Nothing’s gonna ruin my mood today. Not when you’re right by my side.” He takes her hand and kisses the back of it, making her blush slightly.
One back door to the car swings open and the two lovebirds turn to see Naty peeking in. “Oh thank God, for a second I thought I got the wrong car. Hey guys!”
“Hey, Naty!” Vilu smiles, but León’s brows furrow in confusion. “You got Naty?”
“She insisted,” Vilu shrugs. León turns to Naty again, “You know we’re riding with-”
“Oh, yeah, don’t worry, I came prepared.” With that, she reveals the backpack on her shoulders. “Leave her to me.”
“Gladly. Well, now we’re only missing-”
The door opposite Naty opens as well, revealing a huffing Maxi, holding on to the car ceiling to even out his breathing. “Sorry everyone, am I late?”
“Maxi?!” León and Naty say at the same time. The former shoots a look at his girlfriend, mouth agape. “What- why?!”
“I didn’t have time to tell him!”
“How did this just get worse?!”
“Hey, remember what you said earlier, nothing’s gonna ruin your-”
“You’re putting me in a very difficult position here, mi amor,” León only grips the steering wheel to calm his nerves.
In the meantime, Naty only rolls her eyes and fastens her seatbelt right behind where Vilu’s sitting. Seizing the opportunity, Maxi takes the middle seat next to her. Naty glares at him. “What are you doing?!”
“I’m sitting next to my girlfriend.”
“Ex-girlfriend, Maxi.”
“Oh, come on, Naty- please, it was only a- I didn’t mean to!” The thing is Maxi doesn’t really know what he’s apologising for. But, in all fairness, Naty doesn’t know either. “That doesn’t change what happened. It’s over.”
“Give me another chance-”
“I said it’s over! Besides, this seat is taken.” Maxi laughs, “Yeah, ok, Naty, I know no one else is riding with us.”
Naty drops her annoyed expression. “Oh…you don’t know?”
“Don’t know what?”
For the third and last time, the car door swings open, revealing a much-dreaded sight. “This is already the worst Christmas ever. Why are you expecting me to buy presents? As if I cared about you all enough to gift you things. Next time let’s all do each other a favour and just give each other money, yeah?” Ludmila falls into the seat, smacking Maxi in the face with her handbag on her way down. “And I hate the things the mountain wind does to my hair. When we come back you’re all paying for my hairdresser’s appointment, I hope that’s clear.”
The car falls eerily quiet as everyone is dying from anticipation to see how Ludmila will react once she realises who she’s sitting next to. And sure enough, as she grabs the seatbelt and takes it all the way across her torso, she’s met with the most horrendous technicolour sweatpants she’s ever had the displeasure of laying eyes upon. Slowly, she raises her head to meet Maxi’s grimace. And she matches it quickly. “Oh, absolutely not.”
“Play nice, Ludmi.” Naty tilts her head beside him and now Ludmila notices her presence too. “You too?! Oh, did you design this just to torment me?!” She quickly turns to Violetta who just raises her hands in defeat. “I’m sorry-”
“I can barely stand one of them alone, but you pairing them up together like this- what did I ever do to you, Violetta?!”
Vilu stares at her blankly. “Well-”
“Whatever, I am out of here. You guys have your fun though.” As Ludmila is ready to open back up the car door, Naty reaches out from across Maxi’s seat to grab her arm. “Ludmi, wait! I can leave if I’m the problem. I’ll catch a ride with someone else.”
Ludmila only looks at her, her expression indecipherable. “No,” she concludes, “I’m getting out.”
“But you were here first, technically. I just got included.”
“Who am I to stop you from spending quality time with your little Maximiliano here?”
“Wait, what?”
“I’m not here to watch both you and Violetta be disgustingly in love with your boyfriends the whole time. Besides, I didn’t even want to come-”
“Ok, that’s it,” León suddenly sets the car in motion and starts up the road, leaving Ludmila not much of a choice. She settles in the car seat right next to Maxi, who’s yet to say a word, and finally jerks her arm away from Naty. “Ugh, fine. But I’m riding shotgun.”
“No,” León says so matter-of-factly Ludmila doesn’t bring it up again.
The road trip from hell doesn’t start off great, but that’s what its name would entail. Ludmila will not let one second of silence pass, either loudly voicing how annoyed she is at the entire situation, or just lamenting every single little thing in classic Ludmila fashion - just amplified now, because of course she would. At every red light she spots, she writes HELP ME on the window, hoping that someone will take her out of her misery somehow.
Violetta just talks to León sweetly and she immediately fake hurls, “Oh my God, you two. Can we put on some music? I can’t even think over your flirting.”
“That’s not flirting-”
“Just put something on. It’s too quiet here.” She kicks the seat in front of her, which just so happens to be León’s. “Yeah, let’s put on some music so we can all sing along!” Naty adds on. Ludmila looks at her wildly. “No, not like that. I don’t need one second more of your grating voices, being in this car is hard enough as it is.”
“Ludmi-”
“No, Natalia-”
“Stop being so annoying, Ludmila!” Maxi loses it in the middle of the two fires, “Actually I think Naty had a great idea.”
“Of course, you’d agree with anything she says, she’s your girlfriend!” Ludmila gesticulates nonsensically, and Naty winces again. “He’s-”
“Yeah, all of that and more. You know what, Nat, I’m so sick-” Ludmila abruptly cuts herself off at that, something in her eyes that Naty seems to register very quickly. Her expression shifts as her entire body hunches. “Oh, God.”
Vilu turns around from her front seat. “What now?”
“Oh God, oh God, oh God. Pull over. León, pull over.”
“I am not pulling over, it’s not even been ten minutes.”
“I said pull over or-” Ludmila can’t even finish her sentence as she covers her mouth with one hand. And Naty knew immediately, still, she looks on to the scene in complete horror. “Ludmi, no.” Ludmila’s undecipherable words come out muffled from under her hand. “I told you, I told you, I told you-” Naty starts moving in search of her backpack, hitting Maxi again and again as she takes it from the back of the car to where they’re sitting.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Vilu admits quietly. “Should we stop?”
“Yes!” Ludmila screams. “I’m about to die!”
“Jesus Christ, Ludmila, it’s just a car ride, it’ll be over before you know it-”
“Oh, shut the fuck up, Maxi, why don’t you!”
“You shut up for once! You’ve done nothing but talk ever since you stepped foot into this car!”
Ludmila kicks León’s seat again. “Stop this damn car, Lion, or I swear-”
“I told you to bring plastic bags! Ludmi, I told you to bring plastic bags- I texted you yesterday to remind you-”
“Who even has the time to read your stupid texts!”
“You literally replied-”
“Everyone quiet!” León raises his voice, and the car falls silent. “What is happening back there?”
“What’s happening is Ludmila is getting car sick.” Naty keeps looking into her backpack. “Car sick? I’m driving as slow as one can and we’re not even near the mountains yet.”
“Not my fault you’re such a shitty driver.”
“Hey, he’s not a shitty driver,” Vilu pouts, “he’s the best driver ever.” León can’t help the little grin that makes its way onto his face. “Thank you, mi amor.”
“And here we go again- if I don’t throw up because of how you drive, I’ll throw up because of how you flirt, and I don’t know which one you’d prefer.”
“I’d rather you not throw up altogether-”
“Well then stop this fucking car!” she screams and kicks his seat once more. León sighs with all that’s left of him. “Stop doing that. The road is long and I can’t pull over anywhere now. If you’re sick, open the window.”
“Oh, I’ll open the window-” Ludmila replies smugly, but her hand is caught in the handle and she accidentally opens the entire car door as León is speeding up. Everyone collectively screams but Naty actually loses years of her life as she leaps forward to close the door again. “LUDMI ARE YOU OK?!” she screams, out of breath. “Yes, I am ok! Not my fault León has faulty car doors that open randomly!” Ludmila bites back, but she’s obviously shaken as well. “God, I hate this car and I hate every one of you and I hate Christmas and I-!”
“I…don’t want a lot for Christmas…”
Her voice is completely drowned out by that of the evergreen Mariah Carey sickeningly overplayed Christmas tune. Vilu seemed to understand that maybe music would shut everyone up for good (she used to do this a lot on long rides with her dad who definitely knew how to wear people’s ears off), but it’s so abrupt and loud that it feels like a jump-scare. And now Ludmila just sits there, clearly unable to let herself be heard over All I Want for Christmas is You, overbearing nausea building up inside of her. Naty’s just sitting there too, clutching her heart still beating wildly and with her eyes nearly popping out of her sockets. Maxi is still more confused than ever, and is starting to think maybe there could’ve been better ways to try to win his ex back. And León’s just grateful to his girlfriend that even for just one second she managed to make everyone quiet.
After around one hour of Christmas tunes has passed, Vilu decides to test the waters again and turns off the radio. “How is everyone feeling now?” she tentatively asks. Naty gives her an ok with her hand, and Maxi shrugs. Ludmila keeps her eyes glued out the window. “Ludmila, are you ok?”
“Stellar,” she mutters. “You know what I hate about the holidays? It’s that they force us all to be together when we clearly do not want to be. Forcing us to buy stupid presents and build stupid trees and just…pretend to be someone we’re not.”
Vilu frowns. “I didn’t know you felt this way.” And she starts to feel the slightest amount of guilt. Ludmila had not been having a good time at home lately, ever since she had to move in. It didn’t take a magnifying glass to see how strained and unhealthy her relationship with her mother could get, and now Vilu wonders if she even had any sort of good memories around this time of the year at all.
“Who cares about my feelings, anyway. I’m still moments away from throwing up.”
“We do care about your feelings, Ludmi,” Naty adds. “We just want you to be ok.” She slowly moves a plastic bag closer and closer to her. Ludmila slaps it away with the back of her hand. “Ugh,” she only replies.
Another half-hour passes and as they officially get halfway through the journey, Ludmila asks again to pull over. “I am moments away from throwing up in your car, León.”
“Plastic bags, Ludmi. Plastic bags,” Naty insists. “I don’t want your damn plastic bags.”
“But I told you-”
“Naty, don’t indulge her, it’s no use,” Maxi puts one hand on her shoulder. “Don’t tell me what to do,” Naty rolls her eyes.
“You know why I haven’t stopped yet?” León finally talks after having been quiet for so long. “Because last time we were in a car together you made my mom stop twenty-five times saying you were ‘so sick’, literally just to annoy me.”
“I was sick! I just- I can’t throw up when people are watching.”
“Anyway, I learned my lesson.”
“Good for you.” A few quiet moments pass, and then Ludmila continues: “You know what lesson I learned? That León Vargas likes vomit in his car. You should’ve said so earlier-”
León finally loses it. “Fine. Fine!” He finds one empty side of the road and swerves so quickly the whole team gets tossed about in the car. “Knock yourself out. I need a break from you anyway.” Ludmila laughs one dry hah and swings the car door open to march out. Then the car is quiet again.
Maxi turns to Naty, realising this is the perfect moment to talk to her. But as he takes her in, he realises that even if he were to talk now, she wouldn’t listen, because her eyes are fixated on the girl who just got out of the car. “Maybe you should go to her,” he says, as if he’s finally reconciling some notion in his head, and Naty doesn’t wait for a second more to jump out, after Ludmila.
The second Ludmila’s eyes find Naty again, she freezes. “Oh come on, I thought you could leave me alone for once.” Naty looks at her sympathetically. Ludmila frowns, "Just- go be with your boyfriend or whatever."
"My boyfriend?" Naty inquires. Ludmila's eyes narrow. "You mean you and Maxi aren't...?" Naty only shakes her head, and Ludmila goes quiet again. But that wasn't what Naty came for.
“Was that true? All that stuff you said earlier about- hating the holidays and everything?”
Ludmila furrows her brows. “Why would I lie about that?”
“I don’t know, it’s just that…you never told me.” Naty walks to her, and lies against the small fence at the side of the road. “You can talk to me about these kinds of things, you know. I’m your friend.”
“Don’t.” Ludmila points a finger in her direction. “Don’t say that.”
“What? Why?”
“Because you’ll say I can talk to you and then you'll use my weaknesses against me. And then I’ll just- ugh.”
Naty listens to her rambling with a worried expression. She could go and comfort her, but Ludmila doesn’t respond well to physical affection, so her approach is different. “That sounds like a you thing to do.”
“What…are you trying to insinuate with that, Natalia?”
“I…I know you’re the strong and powerful and amazing shiny Ludmila the supernova with everyone else, but…you can be weak with me, Ludmi,” Naty says, her voice so sweet she could rot someone’s teeth. “And I’ll be strong for the both of us.”
Ludmila goes red. If Naty stares at her for one moment longer, she might fold. But Naty’s dark eyes do nothing except keep staring. And Ludmila’s lost again. “Nat, I…”
“Yes?”
Ludmila tries to hold more words in, but instead, she’s overcome by something else entirely, and as she tries to take one step closer to Naty, she freezes, hangs her head, and finally lets everything out.
Saved by the vomit.
Vilu watches the scene from her car window, Ludmila on her knees retching, and Naty caressing her hair and kissing her forehead, and somehow finds it one of the most romantic things she’s ever seen. The Naty charm worked once again.
The last half of the drive somehow goes by a lot faster than the first. Maxi silently agrees to move to Ludmila’s seat - mostly because she had just written HELP ME over and over on the window and now he was terrified thinking about what people could’ve thought of it as they passed them by - so now Ludmila sits in the middle seat, right next to Naty who carefully cradles her close the whole way through.
And whenever she feels sick again, or Naty can see she’s upset, she just points out the window. “What star is that?” she asks, whispering in her ear, and Ludmila takes her time to explain and consider and go into excruciating detail, all the while sucking on a post-vomit candy Vilu had offered.
And suddenly the holidays aren’t half bad, in a car that felt uncomfortable earlier but is now just cosy, and with someone holding her so gently, who was just a friend until somehow a few words changed everything.
When they arrive, it catches her by surprise. She wouldn’t have minded another thousand hours spent just like that.
Maxi gets out quickly, because despite it being really adorable, the sight of his ex all wrapped up in someone else’s embrace right next to him wasn’t the way he imagined he’d spend Christmas.
The cabin is just a sight for sore eyes, filled to extreme levels with decorations and Christmas lights that made everything shine. Apparently, León's car was the last one to arrive, because everyone is already setting the tree. “Hey, guys!” Andrés runs to them the second he sees them pulling up in the driveway. “Come on, you’re just in time.”
As they all walk into the cabin, Andrés stops Maxi in his tracks. “Hey, Maxi, you remember my sister, right?” And to his side materialises Laura, whom Maxi swore he hadn’t seen in at least two years - was she even a student of the Studio anymore? “Yes, of course, I remember. Hey, it’s been so long,” he says, finding himself going slightly red.
“She’s usually with my parents for the holidays, but I wanted her to hang out with us this year. Also…she kept asking about you,” Andrés wiggles his eyebrows, and Laura elbows him in the stomach. “He’s exaggerating,” she blushes too now, and suddenly Maxi realises that he missed her.
“I’ll leave you two to catch up.” Andrés walks away, but not before turning to Maxi one last time and saying quietly, “Remember, what happens in the cabin stays in the cabin,” and winking aggressively.
A while later, everyone is staring at the tree, quietly absorbing and soaking in its colourful and eclectic decorations. From bows to caps to a small figurine of an Arctic monkey (Diego refused to explain why he chose that), it perfectly resembles each and every one of them.
“Have you put up yours, Nat?” Ludmila asks as she stares at her decoration of choice, the brightest, most eyesore star she could ever grace the top of the tree with. “I wanted to wait for yours,” Naty replies and finally fishes a small ball out of her pocket, picking the branch closest to the big star she could find. And as Ludmila studies it carefully, she can’t help the huge smile that tugs up at the corners of her mouth. “What is that?”
“You used to call me a planetoid. So I made a planetoid.” The little Saturn-like crumpled paper mache sphere compared to the unnecessarily tacky enormous star makes them break into a fit of laughter that only a long car ride could induce. But then when they stare at it long enough, it almost looks like the little planet is reaching up to hug the big star, and all at once it’s the most emotional thing they’ve ever seen in their lives.
(“Do they know we’re all still here?” Fran asks quietly as the entire group watches the two of them quietly sobbing in awe.)
Then it’s time for the presents, and Ludmila waits to give out hers, just to see what everyone else got each other. She notices, way too late, that all the gang is getting one gift each, and she wonders why this was suddenly a new rule, when she had a bag full of presents for everybody - even Marco, who she knew next to nothing about, and Camila, who she’d rather have died before handing out a gift to. She sneaks out quietly to put the bag back in the car - God forbid they see her with a bag full of presents and think she’s done that on purpose, out of the sheer goodness of her heart.
When she comes back, everyone in the living room is gone - well, everyone except for Naty, of course. Somehow, she was always there. This never failed to amuse Ludmila. Naty turns and finally notices her. “Are you ok? Did you feel sick again?”
“Actually, I’m good. I think I got it wrong, the mountain wind is doing wonders for me right now.”
“Yeah, you do look lovely.” Naty slips in, and before she can even realise what she’s said, her entire face goes red. Ludmila stands carefully still, but she smiles widely. “You look lovely too, Nat.”
“So…” Naty tries to change the topic before her brain completely turns into mush. “Looks like we got each other for the secret Santa, huh?”
“The secret-what now?”
“The secret Santa- the giving each other presents thing where we all got a name and- ay, Ludmi, did you forget to get me something?”
Oh. Suddenly that day about a month ago when Camila handed out to her a piece of paper with Naty’s name on it and said here is your person made a lot more sense. To be fair, Ludmila thought it was just a way to call her out on her perennial bullshit.
Luckily, from the bag, she had still picked out Naty’s gift - the only one she wanted to give out anyway. “Why, did you?” she smirks as she produces a neat little box from behind her back. Again, out of sheer luck and nothing else, Naty’s present was the only one she watched a tutorial on how to wrap perfectly.
“Never,” Naty takes something from behind her back too, and the star-studded (literally) wrapping paper is already enough for Ludmila to feast her eyes upon.
They both sit on the sofa, handing out the gifts to each other and grazing hands as they do - then furtively jumping away as if the contact alone sends lightning through their fingertips.
Ludmila had gotten Naty a keychain. First of all, because Naty always complained about losing her keys but still refused to buy a damn keychain, but also because she had seen it in the store and somehow immediately thought of her: a cute little silver bear shone from the store window, looking at her with big soft eyes, and Ludmila had an odd sense of deja vu. Naty nearly teared up at that, staring at Ludmila again, and the blonde immediately placed where the feeling had come from.
And Naty, bless her enormous heart, had gotten Ludmila a telescope. Not one of those huge ones that would take ages to set up and too much space in a room (not easily hideable from her mother), but a pocket one. Not professional, but good enough that Ludmila could see the stars even closer from where she sat. She looks at Naty for a long moment before wrapping her in the biggest hug she can find in herself, and Naty, shocked, hugs her back as strongly as she can without breaking her spinal cord. Even the hug alone could’ve been the gift.
And now as they sit together on the sofa, away from everyone else, Ludmila sighs. “Well, it’s true what they say, Nat, it really is all about the destination.”
Naty bites her lip for a moment. “Actually, Ludmi, it’s all about the journey.”
“What?! But the journey sucked,” Ludmila protests. “Really? I thought it was kind of sweet.”
“Even the part where you all scream-sang Are You Ready For The Ride and I was seriously contemplating throwing myself out the car on purpose this time?”
Naty’s playful look suddenly disappears. “Don’t say that.”
“Alright, fine, sorry.”
“As I was saying…” Naty rests her head on Ludmila’s shoulder. “The journey is always bumpy, and all the bad that can happen will happen, but that’s what makes the destination so satisfying, isn’t it?”
Ludmila feels her heart beat a little faster as Naty talks so sweetly and so close to her, but still, nothing and no one can demote her viewpoint, not when she knows she’s right. “So what you’re saying is I need to suffer through a whole torturous journey to get to a good destination? Then I’ll still take the destination over it.”
“Well, I guess that makes sense too.”
“No, it’s the only way that makes it make sense.”
“Whatever you say, Ludmi…” Naty mumbles as she slowly drifts off to sleep.
So content in that moment, and with her heart so full, Ludmila feels her eyelids flutter as well shortly after Naty’s out, and gently, she lays her own head atop Naty’s, using her soft curls as a pillow, and falls asleep as well.
Later, she’ll tell herself she didn’t have the courage to kiss Naty that night because she still had bad breath from throwing up. So Vilu will have to take matters (and mistletoe) into her own hands.
For now, they both sleep, so close and tangled up in each other they might meet in their dreams as well, as it so often happened.
Not even the fireworks wake them up, and when the group starts noticing they’re both not present, they all figure out at the same time that they’re doing something somewhere else, like they always do.