The mood had settled into one of comforting acceptance of one another. The television was set to play popular movies at the whim of the streaming service's recommendations - thankfully, Purity's taste in media was great, at least as far as her fellows were concerned. Action, romance, drama... Zofia was eating it up like a buffet, sitting on the edge of the great re-made bed (fixed at Purity's behest), chin in her hands; Esthrielle had joined her once she had re-donned her pants, though she remained devoid of shirt or bra.

Lulu and Purity, meanwhile, were in the bathroom. Door open, the two women were exchanging tips and tricks for makeup application - using the great wealth of cosmetics within the bathroom's many cupboards and drawers to doll themselves up if only for the pleasure of doing so. Eventually, they shifted towards doing one another's makeup, rather than their own, leading to Purity resembling a neo-goth darling and Lulu taking a pretty-in-pink aesthetic.

There was something wholesome about it, Esper James thought; something comfortable and cozy and heartwarming about the four others all finding mundane, unassuming ways to coexist and enjoy shared company. No worry of subterfuge, or sabotage, or violence enacted upon them... simply the kind warmth of leisure, and interests shared. There was something almost familial about it all, in the blonde's mind.

Familial... That got EJ thinking, as she sat there atop a plush plush easy chair sat in the corner that Purity had mockingly referred to as 'the cuck chair'. It made her think of her own family - those people of flesh and blood which yet lived, back home. 'Home', as it were; far to the north, in Nova Scotia. She thought of their farm, the way it was dreamily laden with snow this time of year... The hot apple cider, made from cider brewed in their cellar... The cows, how they licked at her hands affectionately whenever she went out to feed them in the crisp wintry mornings... The scent of cinnamon and clove from her mother's Christmas pomander-

Oh, fuck.

That was right. It was Christmas soon. Mother fucker.

Esper James hadn't had a 'Christmas' in a long time. A very, very long time - decades, about... She wondered for a few moments, trying to remember when the last time she had actually celebrated mother fucking Christmas was. Twenty five years, she figured - she had tried, so horribly and desperately, to recapture the magic and joy of the holiday season for those first five years. Even now, she could remember it.

Staying up all day decorating her apartment with a tiny little Christmas village of porcelain buildings and miniatures, lining fairy lights with Christmas colored bulbs up around her walls, and watching claymation classics from a hundred years ago. She had sat down, all alone, in her festive little hovel... and forced herself to smile, forced herself not to notice the tears running down her face and dripping into her pigs' blood infused hot cocoa. She had sung carols to herself as she laid in bed, hoping beyond all hope that her warbling song would find its way to her hometown before sleep finally overcame her.

The only Christmas gifts she had received for many of those years were the traditional Tsang 'gifts': discount vouchers for FixAte, a singular bonus vacation day to be used at one's own leisure (Judas had always snipped EJ's ticket in half), and an invite to the company Christmas party. The Christmas party, of course, was as awful as could be for people like her.

The execs would carouse and cavort, guzzling stark red cocktails and, as the day drew on, imbibing controlled substances. They hired escorts en-masse to 'reward' these loyal executives; they bought the best meat in town, some of it flown in same-day to ensure freshness; they purchased enough booze to fill a lake and then some. There was even a lottery (execs only, of course), for Christmas bonuses.

These were for the rich and privileged, of course. For Esper James, the two times she had actually gone, it had been somehow even more demeaning and humiliating than her actual job.

She had been expected to light everyone and anyone's cigarette, pipe, or cigar, without even a second thought. She had been ordered to help set up the dinner once it was done, even though she wasn't even a member of the catering staff. She had only been allowed to eat once everyone else took their own plate, and even then, some bastard always found a way to ash their cigarette so the cherry fell right on the nicest piece of meat.

Even worse, she always ended up getting groped, and accosted, and belittled, and intimidated; she had only ever been a piece of meat to them, just an expendable bit of fun to kick around and objectify and reduce to little more than dirt. At least on the second try, Judas had found her halfway through the night, and while she had demanded that EJ follow her around like a little handbag to hold whatever Judas wanted, do whatever Judas told her, and say what Judas wanted her to say? It had been a vast improvement. No one had bothered her under Judas's purview.

Esper James became aware of the sting at the corners of her eyes. She wasn't crying... no, not yet, at least - but she couldn't help feeling sorry for herself. For all those years without a hint of camaraderie, only chained to Vitus by the cravings of second-life, and her own fear of true death... Only now, with the season well underway and nothing but joy and comfort around her, did she actually have the required moment to breathe and reflect on what her life had been.

Attempts to return to her reminisce, having been broken free by saline sting, were met only with a bitter blackness in her core. Judas, her thoughts always returned to Judas. Her fingers began to dig into the leather of her chair's armrests, silently thankful for the treatment process of Vitus leather that made them claw-resistant.

Judas had tried, in her own fucked up way, to be kind to Esper James. But that made EJ feel worse, if anything else - her stomach churned with revulsion at the bleak comparison of Judas to Purity and Esthrielle. Hell, Judas had put both women through Hell - and their hell had been worse than her own, EJ figured.

Her tongue, once more, felt the tips of her fangs. She was tempted to bite down, as she had done before; tempted to bite down, and gulp her own blood, and let the piercing agony focus her back on something somehow less horrible than Christmas memories and those recurring thoughts of her employer and tormentor. Her jaw was tense and locked; the muscles in her arms, and neck, and legs, and core, all drew taut like a bowstring. She couldn't bring herself to bite down again, of course - she knew it would be misguided to hurt herself just to clear away those memories, since her respite would be brief at best.

Instead, she focused on Esthrielle and Zofia. Both girls were hunched over in their seats, eyes glued to the screen as Jake Voyage was lowered on a wire, dodging lasers as he went. Action movies, eh? That checked out. Esthrielle was a scrappy sort, punching first and asking questions never... though, EJ thought, that was perhaps a rude way to categorize her girlfriend. She had many layers, and paring her down to 'white haired, steel fanged bitch who likes to fight' was rude.

Zofia, too - she presented herself as a nerd of the highest degree. Esper James was sure that, if she were to introduce fashion glasses to Zofi, the second-living stan would be overjoyed to learn more. And yet, Zofi had said she was an artist... Back in Poland, she had been going to university for art. She had been a free-spirited creative, who - while intelligent - was never cut out for what the convent had assigned her to do.

The bitter seed in EJ's heart spread its roots up to her face, harsh scowl morphing into a wry, jaded smirk. Was anyone on this awful Earth free of the awful abuses of others? Were there any out there who could escape the oppression that was forced upon them merely through the happenstance of existing in the wrong place at the wrong time? Executives and CEOs and all those things didn't count - the people in power were the ones who engaged in the tyranny, and so they were to blame, not exempt.

Esper James shut her eyes, taking in a big breath and releasing an even bigger sigh.

"EJ? What's up, babe?" Esthrielle's voice pierced the relative silence, the paper thin veneer of her blonde lover's isolation punched straight through. EJ's eyes snapped open, and she fumbled to put a more appropriate face on: one that smiled and with eyes alight, rather than the self-loathing pity party she had been working through only moments ago.

Est had paused the movie, and both she and Zofi were staring straight at EJ. They had been so engrossed in the film that they had fallen out of habit of blinking, giving their artificial eyes an eerie semblance of old porcelain dolls. EJ blinked involuntarily as she thought of it, brain scrambling for an answer - Est took the unintended hint and started blinking again, irises flashing as she wordlessly reminded Zofi to do the same.

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"Ah... Nothing, Est. I'm, ah... I'm just..." C'mon, EJ, think! Think of whatever excuse you can find! There's no way you can explain to your girlfriend that you were lamenting the evils of the modern world, and how they were forced indisputably upon those too unlucky to be born a member of the upper classes! She wracked her brain at lightning speed, trying to remember any advice she had ever heard about lying, while also working to formulate a good excuse.

Well, to make a lie believable, you have to take a little hit. Saying that she was having heavy thoughts, without elaborating on those thoughts, would be way more believable than trying to pass herself off as fine. Esper James girded her heart and opened her maw anew, allowing a little white lie to tumble free.

"I'm thinking about Christmas. It's Christmas in, what... eight days? Just thinking about what I'll get you, and Purity, and Zofi, and Lulu... Wondering if they'll serve hot cocoa here, haha. Probably spiked, or laced with ecstasy, or something..." While the ending was limp, it wasn't entirely untrue. She had been thinking of Christmas, and they did likely spike anything they could in a place like this. EJ wouldn't be surprised if they even laced the water, were you to ask for some.

Almost as soon as the words were loosed from her lips, though, Esper James felt sick to her stomach. Seeing both women light up like Christmas lights at the mention of that festive day, and the prospect of some kind of gift, only drove the knife deeper into the blonde's gut.

Just as Esthrielle opened her mouth to speak, to comment on EJ's sudden holiday plans and the fulfillment of them, the blonde couldn't bear the turmoil that ate away at her from within. It was as though she had drunk a vial full of acid - or worse, veggie juice. Her gut's rapacious biome could handle some more acid, she figured, but vegetables? God forbid.

"No! I lied! I-I...! I was thinking about... About how shitty my Christmases have always been in this fucking horrible city. Thinking about how I've always been pushed around, kicked into the dirt, spat on and shit on and fucked over at every possible opportunity... a-and I'm tired of it! I'm excited to finally, after three decades, to have a normal Holiday season!"

Well. That was that, then, wasn't it? Est's and Zofia's faces both fell almost immediately, the auburn-tan ex-Knight hopping to her feet to slowly, ponderously, her face a collaboration between grief and sympathy. Esper James didn't dare cry; not yet, not now. She'd done way too much fucking crying, and now that shit was finally going well for her and her lovers, she wasn't about to cry again. Not after things had been so good today... Not after she'd been so very fucking good.

There was something to be said about the goodness offering a window for grief; but, for once in her life, EJ was determined to be stubborn. Even as Esthrielle met her at the chair's edge, and leaned down to gather her up for a heartbroken embrace, EJ forced herself not to cry. There was no way in hell that she'd... That she'd...

"Oh, EJ... Baby girl, I... I promise that we're gonna make this Christmas a good one. For all of us." Purity's head now poked out from behind the bathroom's doorframe, Lulu's popping out comically from just below her. If EJ wasn't gritting her teeth and trying not to collapse in on herself, she would have had plenty of thoughts about Purity's new gothic style - the black lipstick, the dark liner and shadow and mascara, the addition of a spiked collar they had found somewhere within the fetish garments the bathroom was crammed with. There was no time for such thoughts, though; not here, not now. Maybe tomorrow, after they'd had some time to rest.

As Esthrielle silently clutched Esper James's chest to her own, her synthetic skin amplifying its own temperature to provide a more suitable hugging doll, Purity stepped out of the bathroom to join them. Once the trio were united, Est shifted ever so slightly - just enough that Purity could now hug EJ as well, the three women forming the vertices of an amorous triangle.

Lulu and Zofi said nothing, made no move nor sound, as the three women now in the corner of the room huddled around one another. Up close like this, Purity's perfume was unavoidable - and, from the intensity of it, EJ could tell that she was amplifying the effects. Working with the very vampire that Purity had been grafted with had informed Esper James pretty well on how to pick up on things like that. However, EJ didn't dare shy away... She didn't try and resist its calming, loving effects, the way it comforted her and lowered her guard to allow her partners' love in.

She didn't need to try so hard, now - she had choked back her tears long enough that they began to fade on their own, no longer threatening to burst free in what Esper James was assured would be an embarrassing display. Instead, she now buried her face into the shared shoulders of Puri and Est, side-by-side, snuggling up as closely into them as she could manage. A deep breath of shared scents was the final nail in her grief's coffin - and, as she had been raised from the womb of a morgue, confidence and determination rose from grief's mangled corpse.

"...okay. Yes, th-thank you. We'll have a great Christmas... I'll help. I'm tired of being useless, you know? Tired of just being here because I'm the one who got us into this bullshit i-in the first place. Let's... Let's make Christmas good, together. Not like I'll have much better to do, haha..." She pulled away as she finished the thought, smiling with a trembling lip at the faces opposite her own. "Can't really leave the building, hahaha."

Est and Purity looked at Esper James for a few moments, trying to gauge her emotions; her switch had felt sudden, and uncharacteristic, seeing as the little ghoulette had been so prone to being overwhelmed in the past. And yet, as conviction's flame waved in EJ's heart and red-flecked eyes, the two girls holding her burst out in grins. Purity nodded as emphatically as she could without knocking heads with her lovers; Est just began to snicker with delight, her prosthetic arms amplifying their strength to really give her gals a squeeze.

"Fuck yeah! I dunno if we can fit a tree in here, haha, but we'll find something! Maybe make a tree out of sex toys, yeah? Got enough of them in that fucking closet-" Esthrielle turned her gaze towards the room's closet, but as she did, Purity took the chance to step in and interrupt any possible suggestions of having a merry Sexmas.

"I can talk to Khetnep. We can probably get some decorations, and with myself, and Lulu, and Zofi, we can definitely earn enough to buy some nice gifts and get something tasty for Christmas dinner. We'll all work together to have a good Christmas, yeah girls? Our first Christmas free of our individual ties that bind." She turned away from EJ as well, now, her gaze perpendicular to Esthrielle's own. As she turned past Est's cheek, she planted an ebon-painted kiss there - which made Esthrielle stammer almost immediately, closing her lips tight to keep from fumbling her words.

Lulu's expression of concern had, meanwhile, blossomed into one of great delight - though still tinged with that confident, mischievous air that seemed to pervade everything she did. She stepped out of the bathroom as well, lips pink and shadow a bright purple to compliment her hair's darkened hue. She strode over to Zofia, tossing an arm around her without warning or second thought... much to the brunette's surprise, and shy delight.

"Eh? Family Christmas? Fuck yes. God, it feels so good to swear again... Ah, but, Christmas! Yes! We'll talk to Khetnep, get some work for ourselves, save up some cash... We've got enough time to earn a little scratch, right? And, ah haha, uh... We've, or, well, I've still got some funds from the convent, in my wallet..." She performed a false face of coy bashfulness, her eyes fluttering at Purity while her arm pulled Zofi tighter into the half-embrace.

Zofia tried to nod as vigorously as she could without indirectly motorboating Lucretia, eyes as wide as the moon yet never looking to the woman at her side. "Y-Yeah, hahahaha...! Christmas sounds... It sounds good, you know? I, uhm, I don't have any UNAC cash... I never got to go out in the field, so... Well, I did once a while ago, but... n-nevermind, haha!"

Esper James couldn't help but snicker at the nuns' antics. Zofi really just had no idea how to address Lulu, did she? Or, rather, Lulu knew exactly how to push Zofia's buttons. Maybe both. Absently, EJ wondered just how many of the nuns happened to be gay... And if these two even were gay, or if both just thought the other was fun to play with. Weird. Weird, weird, weird.

Purity turned around once again, satisfied with the answers she'd received. This time, it was Esthrielle who kissed Purity - snagging her as she turned, and being rewarded with an inky imprint on her own lips as compensation. Purity giggled, staying her turn for a moment to plant a final smooch on Est's nose, before going back to look at Esper James.

"Okay, then. We'll have a Christmas together this year - all five of us. A comfy little Christmas, with hot cocoa, and Christmas movies, and everything we've all been missing out on. We'll do it right, just like when we were kids... Just like they show on TV. Haha... Ah... We'll make it good. I promise." It was EJ's turn to be kissed, this time - by Purity, and then Esthrielle, in quick succession. Frankly, Esper James wouldn't have been too shocked if Zofia and Lucretia rode the wave of liplock as an excuse to get at one another.

They didn't, of course. Lucretia seemed like she was having too much fun playing around to put Zofi in checkmate quite yet. And besides, they had the rest of the night to relax, and think about Christmas plans... and what they were going to do for it.

Tsang wasn't a concern, for just one night at least, and that alone was the best gift EJ could have asked for.