Sparks Fly

All too soon, Fall became Winter, and both Sophie and Ellie were free of school for a whole month. At this point, LA sounded ideal to Ellie. Carlos hasn't brought it up again, but he had apologized for saying anything about it. Their calls had become more frequent, and they weren't always when Ellie was with Sophie. Sometimes she just felt stressed, and Carlos was there to talk. Sometimes it'd just be late at night, and they'd both go for a walk (about a thousand miles away from each other, of course) while talking about nothing, just so they could sleep a little better. So something was definitely pulling Ellie towards LA.

But right now, there was a blizzard, and Ellie had to drive Sophie to her skating performance. She'd shoveled as much of the driveway as she could, and at this point, there wasn't much else she could do about it. Their parents were away on business, promising to return with piles of gifts. And Sophie was only concerned about seeing Santa.

“But Ellie, we've been so good this year! Santa has to come to our house!” she whined as Ellie buckled her in.

“I know sweetie, but with all this snow it's harder for Santa to get here.” Ellie gave her younger sister a quick hug before climbing into the driver's seat.

“Can't Rudolph help Santa make it through all the snow?” Ellie sighed, thanking God when the car actually started.

“I sure hope so, Soph.” They arrived at the skating rink and rushed inside. They weren't late (they were always early), but Ellie liked to have Sophie ready to go.

“Do you think Carlos is gonna come?” Sophie pressed, forgetting about Santa if only for a moment.

“He'd better, if he wants my trust.” The word 'trust' had barely left Ellie's lips before Sophie squealed with joy. Carlos was by the entrance, a warm smile on his face, snowflakes melting in his hair.

“I made it!” he announced, catching Sophie in a hug as she ran over to him, kicking her legs with glee. “C'mon, don't you want a hug too Ellie?”

“No!” She protested, backing into the wall. “You're gonna get me all wet!” But her words were muffled as Carlos pulled her into a tight, wet hug. His lips brushed her cheek, and she stopped trying to fight back a smile.

“I missed you” he murmured, nudging her nose gently with his.

"I missed you, too" Ellie admitted, surprising herself when her hand flew to cup his still cold cheek. Carlos seemed surprised, too, but he leaned into her touch, the skating rink forgotten if only for a second. Sophie tore Carlos away from her, pumping him with questions about the show. Ellie blushed as they talked, Carlos holding Sophie's hand as she led him towards the rink. Ellie looked on as he helped Sophie lace her skates properly, then helped her out onto the ice. Then he rushed back to Ellie and hugged her again before they settled themselves in the back of the stands.

“How the hell did you find time to come back for this?” Ellie asked.

“It's four days before Christmas. Even TV Directors have hearts, you know.” Ellie rolled her eyes, Carlos just smiled. “How's Sophie?”

“Well” Ellie began, letting out a long sigh. “She's a little upset, to be honest. Our parents are away on business, and they're bringing the presents home with them. And she's wondering how Santa is going to get here.” Carlos frowned, looking out at Sophie warming up. For a six year old, she was pretty damn good at ice skating.

“I'm sure we can figure something out.”

“Oh yeah? Like what, buy a ton of presents with all the money I have pouring out of my pockets? Oh wait! I didn't even get you anything.”

“I have an idea.” Ellie raised an eyebrow. “No, I'm not telling, and you don't get your present a minute before Christmas. I don't expect anything from either of you.”

“Sophie made you something.” Carlos chuckled, the warmth emanating from him incredible now that he was drier. Ellie was freezing, so she scooted closer.

“So how are you doing?” Carlos probed.

“I mean, I'm okay... the semester is over, so no homework!” Carlos rolled his eyes this time.

“Do you ever get frustrated, with just school and your family?” Ellie shot him a side glare. “I know they're both important to you. But have you had time to see any friends in the past couple months?”

“If and when I have time, yeah.” The show began, they both applauded, but Carlos was still focused on Ellie. "It's hard to coordinate schedules, though."

“Sounds kinda lonely.” Ellie nodded, slowly, to keep her emotions in check. Yeah, it wasn't always easy concentrating her entire life on just school and Sophie.

“I can't wait until I graduate, so I can get a proper job, and leave. But with the way things are with Sophie, I don't know that I can. I want her to learn to be independent, because I can't be around forever.” Carlos' hand found Ellie's, and he squeezed it gently.

“Things won't be like this forever. You'll see.” Ellie nodded again, resting her head on Carlos' shoulder as the show progressed. His hand left her's, only to wrap his arm around her shoulders and encompass her with warmth.

“This has been my life, since Sophie was born. I love her, so much, but I just want to be free.” They sat in silence for the rest of the show, no more words needed. It was enough that Carlos was there, for both Ellie and Sophie. Ellie could feel her walls crumbling, and she didn't even mind if it meant Carlos was the one to take them down.

On Christmas Eve, Sophie was completely restless.

“Sophie, it's 12:30! If you don't go to bed, Santa really isn't coming.”

“But how am I gonna sleep I'm so excited!” she squealed, bouncing on the couch in her pajamas. “Go put your pjs on, maybe if he sees us both in our pjs with our eyes closed he'll THINK we're sleeping.” Ellie sighed and Sophie ran upstairs with her, helping me pick out good 'Santa' pajamas. Ellie wrapped a fleece blanket around herself, and they went back downstairs. And her jaw dropped.

“Santa...?” She questioned. There was a man by their Christmas tree, wearing a Santa costume and digging presents out of a bag. He turned around with a smile, saying “Merry Christmas!”

“Santa!” Sophie squealed, running to hug him. Ellie gasped when he looked up at her, she should've known it was Carlos. Sophie didn't seem to either know or care though in the low light. “I knew you'd come to our house, me and Ellie were so good this year!” Carlos winked at Ellie and she smiled, sitting down on the steps to watch.

“I know how good you've been this year, Sophie” he replied, putting on a fake Santa voice. Guess that's what being on TV does for you. “But good little girls go to bed early so they can get lots of sleep, don't they?” Sophie gasped, horrified with herself, and sprinted past her older sister and up the stairs. Ellie heard Sophie's bedroom door slam shut, and her loud fake snoring. Carlos grinned at Ellie and she ran over to him, hugging him fiercely.

“Thank you” Ellie breathed, stepping away sheepishly.

“I borrowed the suit from my dad, it's no big deal.” He removed the hat, beard, wig, and coat before handing Ellie a box wrapped in colorful paper.

“Carlos, you shouldn't have” Ellie whined, getting Sophie's gift to him from the kitchen. “Here, Sophie made this for you” she announced, handing him the huge necklace Sophie had made. He laughed, tucking it in his coat pocket before pulling Ellie back to the living room.

“I wanted to get you something, so I did. Open it, please?” Carlos put on his best pouty face, so Ellie sighed and tore off the paper to reveal a Tiffany box.

“Jesus” Ellie murmured, looking at Carlos next to her incredulously. “Carlos, you really didn't have to.” He just shushed her, so she removed the lid from the box - it was a necklace with a key charm on it. Carlos lifted it from the box, making Ellie turn around so he could fasten it for her.

“I got it for you because I wanted to. And because you're special, and you deserve nice things. And I don't think you get told that enough.” Ellie blushed, turning to face Carlos again. “You're beautiful, you know that, right?”

“Oh, I know. But thank you. Did you know that suspenders really suit you?” Ellie offered, snapping one of the suspenders holding up his Santa pants. Carlos just laughed, pulling Ellie close to him and leaning his forehead on hers.

“And funny, too. How lucky am I?” Ellie sighed, resting one of her hands on his chest and letting out a shaky breath. "Hey" Carlos began, tilting her head up with a gentle touch from his fingertips. "I uh, I care about you a lot, and I want you to feel safe with me. So if I ever do or say something and you don't like it, will you let me know?" Ellie nodded, steadying her breathing before replying to him.

"Of course I will, Carlos. And I do feel safe with you." He sighed in relief, his lips rushing to meet hers eagerly. He pulled back to gauge her reaction, so Ellie bit her lip and nodded. And so they kissed again, arms moving to draw each other in. And then they heard a little yell, from Sophie.

“I saw Ellie kissing Santa Claus!”