AN: hello! I'm back! and this time with a fic prompted by this post ( post/106517733790/kbearluna-thirteenvause-i-feel-like-alison ft. my tags). I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: unfortunately I do not own Orphan Black or Carmilla
"So, are we clear on the aim of the game?" Cosima asked, practically bursting from excitement.
"I think so." Nodded Lafontaine. They looked around Cosima's kitchen. The countertops were completely covered in egg boxes, highlighters of all colours and jugs of vinegar. "We get the ink cartridge out of a highlighter, bung it in a bowl and submerge it in vinegar?" They saw Cosima nod and carried on "then we get all the ink out and into the vinegar, put an egg in a jar and pour on the coloured vinegar. Then we leave it for a week for the shell to dissolve and leave us with bouncy glowing in black light eggs?"
Cosima nodded vigorously. "And..?" She prompted.
Lafontaine smirked. "And it's a race."
"Correct." Cosima moved to face the counter and urged Lafontaine to follow suit. "Ready. Set." She paused. "GO!"
With that the two of them rushed to get started.
Both of them took different methods. Lafontaine went for the 'do one and move on' method. Cosima took the route of 'do the first step until completed it on all of them and then move onto the next step'. It was hard to tell who was closer to finishing to start with. Then as they got closer to the end, it became clear that Cosima was just in front. Lafontaine tried to catch up. They failed. Cosima threw her last egg into her coloured vinegar and cheered in celebration.
Lafontaine finished seconds later with a pout. "I bet you've done this before."
All they got in response was a cheeky "Nope." And a cheeky smile to match as Cosima skipped to the lounge, jumped onto the sofa and started shuffling a pile of cards. "Come play! I bet I can beat your ass here too."
Lafontaine followed. "No way. I'm going to win this time. Irish snap?"
"Always." Cosima dealt the cards and they both held their cards in a pile, back facing up.
"I'll start because you dealt." They put down their first card. "Ace." It was four of spades. No snap.
"Two." It was jack of diamonds.
"Three." It was ace of hearts.
"Four." It was the seven of diamonds.
Lafontaine picked up the pace. "Five." It was nine of clubs.
Cosima followed suit with the change of speed. "Six."
Cosima put down the card. It was six of spades. "SNAP!" they both yelled, slamming their hand down on the cards on the table. Lafontaine let out a cry of pain. She'd won the cards. But winning cards in the game of Irish snap always meant a hurting hand as the other player, or players, would slam their hands down with quite some force and cause a significant amount of pain on the hands closest to the cards.
Lafontaine smirked. "You should probably up your game. I managed to beat you and I'm not even trying."
They began to play again, Lafontaine gaining cards thrice more in a row before Cosima gained a measly two cards on the next round.
Cosima and Lafontaine were so immersed in their game that they didn't notice the door opening and two people walking in.
The two people were Alison and Perry. They'd walked in to see the kitchen tops covered in containers filled with eggs in some kind of bright fluid. Perry turned to Alison. "See! I told you! I knew Laf was planning something last night! She-" Perry stopped to correct herself. She was still getting used to using Lafontaine's preferred pronouns. "They had that cheeky grin on her face again!"
Alison just nodded in agreement. Then her face softened. "It doesn't look that bad this time, though." Her face hardened again. "That elephants toothpaste – thing - took two weeks to clean up."
Perry looked at Alison in disbelief. "Really Ali? There's no way anything they're doing won't cause some kind of mess or danger. Don't be so easily fooled." She ended with "We need to find out what's happened as soon as possible." The curly haired woman strode into the lounge, followed by the small brunette.
Stopping just behind the sofa, Alison cleared her throat. "What are you doing?"
"Hello to you too." Greeted Cosima.
Lafontaine's response was a little less mischievous but ignores the question as well. "Hello Per and Ali." They smiled at her girlfriend and her best friend.
Alison raised her eyebrow at Cosima, tutting.
"Chill Alison, it's fine. We're just playing cards." Cosima gestured to the cards on the table, in Lafontaine's hands and the hand in her own.
"Yeah. We're playing Irish snap and I'm about to woop Cosima's ass." Lafontaine grinned.
Perry shut down the smirk on their face. "No you idiots. What're you doing in the kitchen?" Her voice increased in pitch and intensity. "Is it safe?" It increased again. "Have you made safety precautions?" And again. "You won't die will you?"
Cosima decided to take up the response. She wasn't going to do it without having a bit of fun first though. "We shouldn't do. Unless we get hungry and decide to eat them." Cosima kept a straight face.
Perry launched into what Lafontaine and Cosima liked to call 'mother mode'. "You can't be serious?! You can't eat them! If they're raw, you'll get salmonella. I have no idea what the coloured liquid is but that looks dangerous." She stared at them, willing them to be sensible. "Please. Just have one time together without me and Alison having to intervene by cleaning up or taking you to the hospital again." Perry's breathing was getting faster.
Lafontaine stepped in. While it was fun to sometimes pull Perry's leg, there was a line they had to be careful not to cross and Cosima was getting dangerously close to it. "Don't worry about it, Perry. Cos is just being.." They waved their hand in Cosima's direction. "Cos. We're doing something for Kira, Gemma and Oscar for Easter." Then they turned to her dreadlocked friend. "Cos, stop trying to give Perry a heart attack. Every conversation you have knocks a few years off her life."
Cosima looked down sheepishly and muttered an apology which Perry just about accepted.
Feeling like they should expand a little on their explanation, Lafontaine turned again to Alison and Perry. "We're making glow in the dark bouncy eggs."
Alison just looks confused. "Why?"
Lafontaine just smiled, makes eye contact with Cosima and they just say "For science!" and high five each other.
Alison and Perry just look at each other, befuddled, and shrug. Cosima's clone just wants to check one more thing before they decide what to do next. "How long will it take? Should I take Perry for some tea somewhere before coming back?"
Cosima shakes her head. "Nah. It'll take about a week. Laf's just gonna crash here and we'll catch up with each other and chill here until it's all done."
Perry and Alison decide to leave them to it. They'd come back in a week. Besides, Perry knew how much Lafontaine needed to spend time with Cosima. Or rather how important it was to them. Lafontaine had a connection with Cosima that she didn't have with anyone else. At first it made Perry jealous but then she realised that there was no use in being jealous. Cosima was only offering friendship. She wasn't going to steal Lafontaine from her. Cosima had something to offer that Perry didn't. Cosima could talk with them about science for hours. The two of them could nerd out without worrying that they'd be boring the other. Cosima also seemed to be a lot more experienced than Perry. Lafontaine could query Cosima on what it was like to be queer. They could ask questions that Cosima would be able to answer without a second thought while Perry would have to do some digging to find the answer. Once she realised, Perry vowed to let Lafontaine spend as much time with Cosima as they needed.
XoX A Week Later XoX
It was the morning of Easter Sunday and Cosima and Lafontaine were ready to see how well their eggs came out. They checked on the dozens of eggs still on the counter top. They looked ready. The shells had disintegrated. The eggs looked bigger than they had done before. They looked slightly coloured. All they could do was hope for the best. The eggs were hidden quickly. There'd be no time to make more if it didn't work. Best to hide them slightly first and then see if it had worked.
Lafontaine faced Cosima. "Have you got the black lights?"
"Yeah!" Cosima beamed. "They're right next to the light switch over there!" She pointed to the wall by the front door. "I'll close the curtains. Then once they're shut, you can turn the normal lights off and the black lights on." Cosima skipped to the windows, pulling all of the drapes closed. This was it. "You can hit the lights now."
There was nothing like the moment when science works. The satisfaction Cosima and Lafontaine got filled them with glee. So the moments before they saw if it worked or not, they had butterflies in their stomachs. They were nervous.
Lafontaine flipped the switch.
In various places they could see glowing eggs of different colours. Cosima and Lafontaine cheered. Cosima dragged Lafontaine into a bone crunching hug. They'd done it!
They were shocked out of their celebratory hug when the doorbell rang. Everyone had arrived. Cosima rushed to reopen the curtains and Lafontaine switched off the black light and turned the regular lights back on. The small clone ran to the door to greet the group of people at her door. Lafontaine hung back a little, greeting everyone with a short nod as they came in. First in was Delphine who was followed by Alison, Oscar, Gemma, Kira, Felix, Helena, Sarah, Carmilla, Laura and Perry. Perry, however was greeted by Lafontaine with a peck on the lips.
Everyone just about fitted in. Most adults managed to grab a seat on the sofas while Gemma, Oscar, Helena, Kira and Laura sat cross legged on the floor. Cosima and Lafontaine stood in front of everyone, saying hello once more. Then they introduce the Easter egg hunt.
"Before the adults help themselves to drinks," Cosima began. "First we have something to announce."
She made eye contact with Lafontaine and they spoke in unison. "An Easter egg hunt."
They got a mixture of responses. The kids cheered. Helena glowed with happiness and Laura bounced a little in excitement. Alison and Perry had no reaction as they already knew what was going to happen. Delphine smiled at the pair's excitement of their creation. Felix cocked an eyebrow. Carmilla dramatically rolled her eyes and Sarah groaned. They decided to ignore Carmilla and Sarah. It was done for the kids anyway.
"So, who wants in?" Asked Lafontaine.
"I'm out." Chorused Sarah and Carmilla.
Alison spoke for both her and Perry. "Yeah, we'll not be joining in either, sorry."
Delphine and Felix opted out as well, leaving Laura, Helena and the three kids to do the hunt. Those not doing the hunt dispersed into the kitchen to find drinks. Cosima and Lafontaine stayed to explain the rules to those involved. The five doing it got ready to go.
"On your marks.." Said Cosima.
"Get set.." Said Lafontaine.
"GO!" they both shouted. Five bodies of varying sizes took off around Cosima's house to look for eggs in the dark.
Lafontaine left for the kitchen because they wanted to spend some time with their friends but Cosima stayed to watch the hunt unfold. It was quite entertaining really. Laura seemed to be just as excited as Kira and Gemma. Oscar was pretty much just turning the place upside-down. It looked like there'd be a bit more tidying up to do than she'd anticipated. She shifted her attention to Helena. Cosima couldn't help but smile. Helena was the sweetest person she knew. She may not do the best things. But the things she does don't tend to be for herself. She always does things for other people and she only ever does things that she thinks are right. Now, all the eggs she found, she added them all to Kira's pile.
In the kitchen, the adults smiled at Cosima as she joined them again. "It looks like they're almost done. Your peace will be disrupted, I'm sorry."
There was an overall mutter of "It's okay, don't worry about it."
Then the kids joined them in the kitchen. All their eggs were piled onto the table and there was a clear winner.
"Right then, kiddies! – and adults." She amended. "Have you found them all?!" Cosima got a deafening YES as an answer so she carried on. "Well then. You've all played very well." She clasped her hands together. "However." Cosima paused. "There can only be one winner. Drumroll please." She smiled as Kira, Oscar and Gemma hit the table. Cosima waited until they were done. "Kira!" Cosima cheered and picked up Sarah's daughter, spinning her in the air before putting her back down again. She looked at Helena. Her Ukrainian sister seemed perfectly happy. She didn't care that she'd lost by a long way. Kira's happiness put the smile on her face. And that put a smile on Cosima's face. Sometimes she thought everyone needed to be a little more like Helena. Maybe not in every way. But the world would be a nicer place if everyone had the heart of Helena.
A little away from the celebrations, Carmilla and Sarah were having their own fun. Carmilla had picked an egg up from the table and started messing about with it; throwing and catching it, rolling it from hand to hand. Then she made eye contact with Sarah. Sarah gave a slight nod to Carmilla and that's what started their game of catch across the kitchen. It seemed a little too easy so Carmilla opted for a left handed only. When they got used to that, they began clapping quietly before catching it in their weakest hand. That's when the first egg was dropped. Carmilla was a bit late with the clap and completely missed it. The pair looked up to see if anyone had seen. They hadn't. Carmilla snickered. Sarah picked up another at the same time as Carmilla went to grab one. There was a brief moment when they thought of putting one back. Alas, that would be less fun. So they played catch with two eggs. Carmilla dropped the second. Then Sarah. Between them stood a fluorescent pool of green, blue and orange eggs. The next throw was the most destructive, though. As the eggs flew through the air, they collided at their peak, cracking and breaking mid-air before falling with a surprisingly loud splat during a slight lull in conversation. Alison's head whipped up and Sarah cringed. Uh oh.
"What do you two think you're doing?!" Alison whispered, tight lipped, and not as quietly as Sarah had hoped.
Perry looked up at Alison's reaction and paled, her mouth opening. That would be a mess to clear up. And it would smell awful.
Alison's mind was on the same wavelength. "Do you know how awful that'll be to clean up? Do you?" With no response but her clone and her partner in crime looking straight ahead, jaws set in attempt to stop them from laughing. "Well, you will do. Everyone go to the pub. Delphine and Felix can take you all down."
Sarah and Carmilla began to get up, ready to scoot out of the door before they were noticed. "Not you two!" Stepped in Perry. "You're staying here to tidy up."
"And so are you Cosima and Lafontaine, so don't even try to leave." Alison called.
She was immediately met with protests. "We weren't the ones throwing them-"
"That wasn't us!"
"This time we didn't actually do anything!"
"It was Carmilla and Sarah!"
"You were the ones who made the eggs so get tidying." Alison shut them down.
Perry and Alison left to the lounge to leave the other four to tidy up. They really should have known what happened as soon as they turned their backs.
Each person had grabbed an egg and they were stood in a square. Carmilla had her back to Perry and Alison. Sarah was to her right, Lafontaine was to her right and Cosima was to their right and Carmilla's left. Cosima counted down from three, preparing everyone before they threw and then, hopefully, caught the egg. Unfortunately something hadn't been established prior to the throwing. The direction in which they were throwing them. Sarah, Lafontaine and Cosima all threw to their right but Carmilla threw to her left. The result was a loud crack as Carmilla's egg hit the ground at Cosima's feet. All four of them winced, frozen in place. They knew it would be no use pretending nothing had happened.
Perry turned at the noise. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you." She gets onto her feet. "Why can't any of you just do something simple without causing trouble?!" Perry ushered them out of the door. "Just.. go! Alison and I will tidy up!" Once the mischief makers were out, Perry slammed the door shut and shook her head. Why couldn't any of their friends just be normal?
Alison and Perry want nothing more than to complain but they refrain. It's not like either of them dislike cleaning. It actually soothes them and it gives the two of them a little more time to spend together. That's their thing. Just like science is Lafontaine and Cosima's thing, and mischief is Sarah and Carmilla's thing.
I hope this was okay!