December 19th
Delores returns
"I love her mom, she allows me to speak, I fear being taken away from her will take that away from me, please don't take her away from me" says Valerie
"you should know you were a twin, she died when you were two, the doctor said it was because her brain couldn't keep pressure, I don't want to scare you, I was never going to take you away from her, I don't like always being scared, it's just my parents were taken away from me in the same accident that took one of my sisters, the other killed herself shortly after, then I lost your sister, your twin sister, so I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to save you if something happens to you, I almost lost you, my fear of actually losing you, as in never seeing you again, that fear terrifies me to the bone" says Delores
"I'm Spanish, I was born in a city just outside Madrid, my eyes, despite allowing me to have normal vision, they're not normal, when I'm trying to focus they unfocus, it's genetic, my mom lost her legs because she thought she saw a spider in the car, my grandma was terrified of them so she swerved into traffic, my grandma died of her injuries two days after the crash, my mom lost her legs, losing family is hard" says Adella
"losing your family because you think you see something is worse, Adella, momma finished the bedroom, what color do you want it to be painted" says Sarah rolling over
"pinurple please" says Adella
"I like your ride, fancy" says Valerie
"what's pinurple" asks Sarah
"pink and purple, she was trying to be cute, I often without thinking combine my favorite colors, she was emulating me" says Valerie
"in that case here's the family ring Valerie, keep it close to your heart" says Delores handing Valerie a beautiful silver and gold ring
"how does it already almost fit" asks Adella shocked
"because it's given to the eldest daughter when they turn fourteen as Valerie will tomorrow, it has often been used as a promise ring to convey love and loyalty to a first love, almost always ends up being a pre engagement ring, only twice in this rings history has it been returned when a couple breaks up" says Delores
"thanks Valerie pink has always been my favourite color, so like stripes of pink and purple or two walls each" says Sarah as Valerie hugs her
"Two walls each should be fine, you ordered the flags right" says Adella
"the girl flag and the trans flag for Marie yes" says Sarah
"is that her new name, I have to be honest I really felt she was trying too hard to be a man, I hope that's not offensive, she's always seemed girly to me, that name fits her really well" says Delores
"when she came out to me last year she was afraid I'd file for divorce, luckily I'm bisexual, besides I married her for her personality not her body, just as Adella would love Valerie if she were deaf, mute or paralyzed, when it comes to Marie it doesn't matter how she identifies, looks have nothing to do with her personality" says Sarah
"my brother and I are Barcelonans with a family line from Puerto Rico me, Valerie and Tori are the only ones that celebrate the spiritual side of the culture in our family" says Delores
"my family is Ocañian, the old spiritual way or the Catholic way" says Sarah
"the first one, Sarah isn't really an old Spaniard name, unlike Valeria or Adellia" says Delores
"nobody would have taken me seriously outside of Madrid if I went by Aurelia, some names just don't stand up to scrutiny outside of the core of Spain anymore, Delores isn't that type of name either" says Sarah
"to be fair Lucía doesn't ring that well with English speakers either, when my mom and dad moved to California they changed it, David was Benigno, it wasn't an easy change for them, before my parents died we used to go by our old names any time we were at the house with family and no visitors" says Delores
"you know I think we're actually family" says Sarah as Valerie faints
"does that mean Cutie and I can't date" asks Adella
"opposite sides of the family, like polar opposites, at least thirty generations apart" says Sarah
"three hundred and fifty years, the last time a Vega dated a Lopez and had children was three hundred years ago, the Vega's and Valentine's are also connected, only one connection seven hundred years ago, I'm the family historian, sometimes I come off as stuck up, that's why I never had a job, employers hated me" says Delores
"does that mean it's okay for Cutie and I to do stuff together" asks Adella making sure Valerie didn't hit her head too hard when she fainted
"three hundred years is a long time, if I'd had a problem with it I'd have never brought her here, the problem is the stuck up Vega's in Spain, if they find out they will scream so loud I'm sure we'll hear it from here, they have a thing about never crossing family lines, basically they consider your Lopez family a Vega family, to them three hundred years is the blink of an eye, the only person on this side of the family they trust is Tori, seven hundred years is acceptable to them, it helps that Tori isn't exclusive to Cat, they don't see that as betrayal, they hate betrayal" says Delores
"why Tori of all people" asks Sarah
"Tori's eyes, they're sectoral heterochromic, in that side of the family they bow down to people with eyes like Tori's, the last person with eyes like that in the Vega family ran the government of Spain for eight years three hundred years ago, that person's sister was the girl who dated a Lopez, ironically a girl, Adella dating Valerie is basically a recreation of those girls love" says Delores as Valerie cuddles Adella
"I thought you said that they had children"asks Sarah
"they did just not by each other, it was kept very hush-hush, the Lopez was kept in the dark from everyone else, only the core family knew she was a girl in love with Rosa, their names were Amanda Lopez and Rosa Vega, they'd been instructed to have fake boyfriends, the boys chosen understood their roles were to provide cover" says Delores
"why hide it, it doesn't make sense" asks Adella
"because Hun, back then it wasn't legal, back then if two girls were even assumed to be intimate they'd have been wiped off the face of the earth never to be seen again, a mass grave was found under a farmers field outside Madrid ten years ago, almost half didn't like girls yet were sentenced to death anyway because the cops assumed" says Sarah
"how can you tell" asks Valerie
"it was a rather big area carved out of the stone under the field, about four hundred and fifty of them were spaced out about three feet apart, not touching one another in any way, almost a thousand were found in what could be compromising positions, likely in an effort to live their last moments they way they wanted" says Delores
"that's insanely cruel" says Adella
"indeed, the government has been returning then to their living relatives, it hasn't been easy, many families have been threatening revolution for the government keeping it a secret, it's a scary thought" says Sarah as Marie(Mark) walks upstairs
"they sure love to cuddle don't they" says Marie
"maybe a bit too much" says Delores
"while I was waiting for the paint colors she wanted I put up a cord swing hammock, they can cuddle and swing back and forth" says Marie
"momma you know I NEED to rock back and forth don't you" asks Adella
"the basement is huge, too big for just a studio, I thought making it your forever living space would mean you would get to have things you can't in your current space, that includes fidget toys and swings and hammocks, do you want to come see it" says Marie
"can I" asks Adella
"only if you bring Valerie with you, I told the guy at the store the situation and he said if you guys don't like it I can return it, thirty day guaranteed return or exchange" says Marie as Valerie and Adella run downstairs
"you're really spending a lot of time down there instead of working" says Sarah
"the company decided to shut down for Christmas to give everyone a chance to recharge, it starts again in the new year, besides she painted me beautiful, I have to show her that appreciation flows both ways" says Marie heading down stairs
"oh my god I love it" says Adella
"what about you Valerie, do you like the space" asks Marie
"I love it, I assume they don't have it in pink" asks Valerie
"unfortunately not, what's your favorite thing to do" says Marie
"cuddle, I'm like a human furnace, if I can't transfer my heat to others I have issues hearing, aside from that I don't really have anything, I'm not a complex girl, I'm very simple, it takes very little to excite me, that's how he got to me, he offered me a big ice-cream, by the time I noticed he'd locked the door on me it was too late, he'd already handed me the dosed pop and I'd already finished it when he locked the door" says Valerie
"you don't have to talk about your trauma Valeria, I'm not a therapist, I might take it the wrong way, like with the milkshake thing, there has to be something you're good at" says Marie
"nothing age appropriate, though I used to dance in my room, being sexually mature for my age sucks, I have all these age inappropriate thoughts that I didn't have last year and I can't even try them, it hurts me that those thoughts live rent free in my brain and I'm forced to lie to people about it" says Valerie hopping on the sensory swing
"do you have the same issues Adella" asks Marie
"no, not as bad, mainly because of her heat thing she's either wearing almost nothing when we're alone or she opens a window causing me to cuddle her for hours, which has been fine while 'teaching', my classmates just can't get enough of her, they keep saying she compliments my personality in every way" says Adella
"they got that right, neither me nor your mom could have asked for a better girl for you, does that mean they want to be friends" says Marie
"teachers aren't allowed to be friends with students, they said that as long as I'm teaching they can't be friends with me, though that hasn't stopped them from complimenting me" says Adella as Valerie falls asleep on the sensory swing
"I finished the bedroom area down here first, minus paint it's all finished, starting tonight that's where you're sleeping, princess bed and everything" says Marie
"is the room dust proof, powered and temperature controlled" asks Adella
"yes, the whole basement will be independently temperature controlled, your studio can be one temperature, your living room another and your bedroom a completely different temperature, as long as you don't create ice with the temperature difference it passes inspection the air down here will be constantly filtered, no worries about allergies, oh and I'm bringing your mattress down here…. Wait did Valerie fall asleep in the sensory swing" says Marie
"that's part of what makes a sensory swing good, it's easy to fall asleep in, makes you feel safe that's why I've always wanted one" says Adella
"there was an option for a double, one that would hold two people but it was a floor unit not a mount to the ceiling one, I wasn't sure how that would affect the use of it, would you prefer the double" says Marie
"another single will be fine, she's claimed that one, one of the things her and I do that is remotely adulty is cuddle naked, they are always very tight cuddles, the swing provides a similar feel because it wraps around you" says Adella
"ahh I see, so not everything you do naked is about touching, sometimes it's about contact" says Marie
"no you've got that backwards, it's always about contact, if she falls asleep on my bed and I'm not touching her in some way, she's afraid she'll wake up back under Andrews control, she's afraid this is all a drug induced creep powered dream, that she's not really here but back in LA injected with who knows what kind of drugs so he can play with her and that this is all but a figment of her drug induced brain" says Adella
"oh god" says Marie