Monster High: Christmas Spirits

Monster High is copyright of Mattel

Draculaura and Clawd

"And so that's what I'm gonna do when he comes over." Draculaura finished her explanation. "What do you think? It doesn't sound too silly, does it?"

On the other end of the line, Cleo let out a thoughtful hum. "Well... it sounds very... cute. Very quaint, just like you. I'm sure Clawd will love it."

Laura frowned. "You don't think it's very good, do you?"

"No no, I think it's a lovely gift." Cleo replied in that cloying tone she loved to employ when she was asserting her superiority. "If perhaps a little lacking compared to what I'm going to give Deuce."

"We agreed to stick to a budget this year since we're saving for college. And just because your gift is a lot more expensive doesn't make it any more special you know." Laura frowned.

"Well, we'll just see which boyfriend is more impressed when we meet up at school again." Cleo spoke smugly. "You two have a fun night. Ta ta!"

Laura hung up, scowling. Honestly, she thought Cleo would have grown out of her spoilt, bratty ways by now...

She heard the distant sound of the doorbell. It could only mean one thing: Clawd was here!

She let out a small squee of excitement before she composed herself and made the long walk to the front door. It was important Clawd didn't have any idea what she was up to.
A flurry of snowflakes blew in as she opened the door to let Clawd in. She gave him a hug once he hung his damp coat on a stand.

"Did you have trouble getting here in the snow?"

"It's never trouble to spend time with you, sweetie." Clawd replied, hugging back.

Laura took his hand and led her into the depths of the house. "Thanks for coming over, but are you really sure you want to spend Christmas Eve with me? Wouldn't you rather spend it with your family?"

"Oh yeah, spending the night fighting with Howleen and Nino over what movie to watch, constantly kicking my little cousins out of my room, listening to my aunts badgering me about my career prospects... I'll get enough of that on Christmas Day." He sighed.

"And besides..." He squeezed her hand. "It doesn't seem fair that you should spend the night alone. I still can't believe your parents aren't here with you."

"I know.. but BLUD Banking is always busy this time of year." She smirked. "Papa was really disappointed. You might not believe it, but he's a real softie for Christmas."

"Whoa, you might be right..." Clawd looked around the large, dimly lit living room Laura had led him to. The walls and ceiling were decorated with strands of black and crimson tinsel, and a massive, beautifully decorated tree rested in the corner, it's base covered in gift boxes. A roaring fireplace provided most of the light in the room.

Laura beckoned him to sit on the couch with her. "So, what would you like to do first?

As the hours went by, Laura and Clawd found plenty of ways to amuse themselves. Laura dragged out her old picture albums to show how her family celebrated Christmas over the years. (including portraits of Dracula himself dressed in a Santa costume, and not looking happy about it.) Clawd found an old chess set and challenged her to a few games, even managing to win a few against his more experienced girlfriend. And of course, there were the finale episodes of the Hex Factor and Deadly Come Dancing to enjoy.

"Wow..." Laura gasped as she watched the victors perform their final dance. "Who would have thought Goldie Horns could still shake her hips like that? She's over 600 years old. That's ancient for most ogres."

"Well, she still looks pretty hot for her age." Clawd commented He nudged her gently. "Not as hot as a certain older woman, of course."

"Careful with the 'older' cracks." Laura chuckled, snuggling up against his side.

"I still say Sylvester Skullone should've have won." Clawd shrugged. "For a guy who makes those dumb action movies, he can really tango."

Laura nodded. "We have really got to take dancing lessons one day. It looks so fun, and I haven't ballroom danced in centuries."

"Yeah.. it would be nice to dance at Cleo's big New Year bash..."

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence, enjoying the warmth of the fire and each others bodies. They watched the snowflakes dance in the air as they flew past the large window.
It all felt so perfect. Laura could have happily sat there with him all night and that would have made her night.

"Thank you Clawd." She spoke softly.

He looked at her. "What for?"

"For spending this night with me. I wasn't looking forward to being here alone, and I didn't want to intrude on the ghoul's plans..."

"Hey, I was glad to. I had a really nice time tonight." He smiled, leaning down to kiss her forehead."Things have been so hectic at home lately, I'd forgotten how good it feels to just spend a day just hanging out with you."

"I know what you mean." She sighed happily. "When you've celebrated as many Christmases as I have, you tend to forget what really makes it special. Like being with your loved ones."

Reluctantly, she pulled herself from Clawd's arm and got up, moving toward the Christmas tree. "Since it's so late.. do you want to exchange gifts now?"

"Sure." Clawd grabbed his gift from where he'd left it beside the couch, and waited for Laura to return."Now, we made a promise right? That we wouldn't spend too much this year?"

"I know, I know.." Laura sat down, holding a large box wrapped in paper. "So, you first."

Clawd handed her his gift. She opened the thin box to find a large glass picture frame. Inside the frame was a slightly blurry picture of Clawd, Clawdeen and herself posing for the camera at the Maul, no doubt taken from an iCoffin with the 'vampire proof lens' app on. She noticed right away it wasn't a recent picture. Clawd and Clawdeen looked slightly younger, and she was wearing a black, Victorian-era dress which looked completely out of place in the modern surroundings. And braces on her fangs.

She gasped. "I remember this! This was my first ever trip to the Maul!"

"Yep." Clawd nodded. "That was just after you moved into Salem. Clawdeen offered to take you shopping, and she made me give you both a lift there. That was the very first day we met."

"Goodness, it feels like it was a lifetime ago. I was still wearing my old dresses from 1810. I had no idea what a maul even was.." She looked at him, amusement in her eyes. "... and you were just Clawdeen's goofy, yet hunky big brother to me."

"And you were Clawdeen's weird, titchy friend with the funny dresses." Clawd smiled, leaning in to look at the picture with her. "Who would have thought we'd end up together, huh?"

"I can't believe you found this picture.."

"Took a lot of searching through Clawdeen's crappy old laptop, but I managed to unearth it. I figured you might appreciate a reminder of the past before we go into college."

Laura's eyes were damp with tears. "This is wonderful... thank you so much."

She leaned in and gave him a long, deep kiss. He happily returned the favour, pulling her closer as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Laura pulled back. "Wait.. I need to give you your gift."

"It can wait.." Clawd leaned in to kiss her again, but she pushed him back.

"No, I want to give it to you now." She grabbed the large box and handed it to him.

She looked slightly guilty as she shuffled back along the couch to give him space. "I just hope you like it. It's a little.. different."

"Sounds cool.." Clawd ripped open the wrapping with his claws and opened the box. It was full of tissue paper, and he had to hunt through in order to find the true contents... another wrapped box.
He wasted little time in tearing open this box, only to find yet another box inside it.

"This must be some gift..." He muttered as he opened it, finding another smaller box inside. It had to be something really impressive for Laura to create all this buildup. But they had promised to stick to a budget, surely it couldn't be that amazing.
The small box was opened to reveal another box, and it took some time to tear through the thick wrapping on this one. Finally he unveiled one last box, the size of a jewelery box. He opened it slowly expecting to be stunned by the contents.

He blinked. Inside was a small box of condoms.

"What the..? What is this?" He looked back up at her... and had his breath taken away.

While he had been distracted opening the layers of wrapping and boxes, Laura had stripped naked. She rested on her knees before him, wearing nothing but a red silk ribbon which she had tied around her to cover her modesty. A tag marked 'To Clawd' was tied around her neck. She was blushing madly, but managed to remain composed.

"Merry Christmas Clawd." She spoke softly. "I wanted to give you something truly special."

Clawd stared at her for several seconds, then glanced down at the condoms. His eyes turned into saucers as he put the two together.

"Whoa! You mean... you really want to do that?"

Laura nodded. "I've been wanting to do this for the longest time. Centuries, really. And I know you've been thinking about it too. I think it's about time we finally stopped shying away and just enjoy ourselves.. that is, if you want to."

Clawd gulped. "I do.." He gazed over her body. "Believe me, I do. It's just... I don't want to disappoint you. I'm kinda new to this. ."

"Well, so am I. Just because I'm over 1600 doesn't mean I'm an expect, you know."

Laura took his hand and pressed her lips to his palm. "No matter what happens... I trust you completely."

Clawd smiled. "Then I guess there's only one thing to ask..."

She scooped her up in his arms, eliciting a squeal of surprise from her. "Where's the biggest bed in this place?"

Laura laughed and planted a long kiss on his lips, before pointing in the direction of the stairwell. Clawd darted off, bounding up the stairs as fast as he could.
And for the rest of the night, the two celebrated what they unanimously declared the best Christmas Eve ever.

END