Day 17: Wrapping Presents

Filvis sat there, glaring at the mess of wrapping paper around her. Part of her just wanted to burn it all and start again. But unfortunately, she did not have the time for that. She was stuck with trying to make sure that all the presents she had bought for her wife were lovely and presentable. There were earrings, rings, necklaces, books, boxes of crochet things, and other assorted bits. All of this was for Lefiya so that Filvis could make sure that her perfect little wife had the perfect little Christmas.

Unfortunately, the raven-haired woman had no luck wrapping the first gift. She had been bested by a stupid book on metaphysics.

"Come on, Filvis," she said to herself. "You are a smart woman with a master's degree in Biochemistry. You don't need any help wrapping some stupid presents."

Filvis rolled out another length of wrapping paper. She measured how much she would need for the gift and then used the scissors to out a nice straight line. After that, she brought out the scotch tape and started tearing off little bits of it to use. She left those on the edge of the coffee table, where marks from the last bits of tape were, and started on the arduous process of trying to fold the paper to form a nice cohesive box. Ten seconds later, she had torn something, and the tape was on the ground.

"Goddammit!" screamed Filvis, slamming her fists on the table.

The loud noise alerted their pet cat, who took off hissing down the hallway. Filvis watched it go, frowning.

"Sorry, Loki," she said. "Just trying to make Mama happy is all, don't mind me."

This went on for another hour. Filvis kept failing on this one book repeatedly and was left just about ready to tear her hair out. She decided to take a break and stared at the book. This book was her new nemesis, and she was going to make it rue the day it had ever crossed her. But that would happen after Filvis got a snack. She got up and walked over to the fridge, admiring the many photos of her and Lefiya from throughout the years. Smiling at them, already feeling rejuvenated, Filvis grabbed a packet of apple sauce and walked over to the couch. As she did, Loki came trotting over. Filvis sat down, and the cat jumped into her lap. Filvis stroked its fur absent-mindedly.

"What do you think, Loki? Should I just put them all in some bags with tissue paper and be done with it?" asked Filvis.

Loki responded by rolling over and purring. Filvis nodded along thoughtfully.

"Yeah, you're right; I can't do that for all of them." She looked over to the little Christmas tree that Lefiya had bought for them. It was nice and neatly decorated, nothing out of place. Underneath was a collection of perfectly wrapped presents. "Besides, I would just look bad otherwise. What am I supposed to do?"

Filvis let her head fall backwards and placed her apple sauce on the table. She felt her eyelids fall, capturing her eyes. Slowly, she drifted off to dreamland.

In what felt like only a second later, Filvis sat up at the sound of keys rattling at the door. Her eyes almost popped open, and she scrambled to start trying to hide the gifts and clean up her mess. She knew that she had at least a minute before Lefiya would figure out which key went into the hole. Her wife was a scientific prodigy but also adorably clumsy. Finally, the key rattling stopped, and Lefiya knocked on the door.

"Filvis, dear, can you please let me in!" said Lefiya, voice muffled.

"Just give me a second!" retorted Filvis. "Just putting some things away!"

"Oh! Then I can help you! Let me in, and we'll do it together!" replied Lefiya, enthusiasm in her voice.

"Sorry, Lefiya! But I'm trying to put away your Christmas gifts!" shouted Filvis. "And they aren't quite wrapped yet!"

There was silence from the other side of the door. And then, there was laughter. Like the tinkling of tiny bells, Filvis heard Lefiya's voice. It made her heart skip a beat like she was still a young uni student, but it also made her frown. She marched over to the door, throwing it open.

"And just what's so funny?" she asked.

Lefiya pulled herself up before patting Filvis on the head and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Then, she walked into their apartment, surveying the carnage. Lefiya proceeded to scoop up Loki and finally turned to answer her spouse.

"You, obviously," said Lefiya, "still not wrapping your presents until just before Christmas. Such a silly woman." Lefiya shrugged. "Besides, I've known what you're buying me for weeks."

Filvis pouted. "Lefiya! You weren't supposed to go looking for your presents!"

Lefiya snorted. "I didn't have to; you left them in the closet. You know, the one that we share?"

Filvis facepalmed at her own stupidity.

"Besides," continued Lefiya. "I don't need them nicely wrapped. I'll love them just the same."

Filvis walked over and pulled her partner into a hug.

"Fine, but I'm going to put some of them into little baggies," she said. "With tissue paper and stuff."

Lefiya hummed in agreement.

"And I'm going to wrap myself in a ribbon for your present. Just a ribbon," said Filvis.

"Ok…wait, what?"

The End

Hestia looked at the newest square, of two elves kissing and deeply in love, and hummed a happy song as she put it down with the others. By this point, her quilt was becoming quite full. Soon, there wouldn't be any room for much else. She would have to make each of these last stories count.

"You know, presents are nice, but don't get caught up in the presentation," says Hestia. "Most people just want to know that they're loved."