Beyond Christmas : World War Elf (A Santa Clause Fan fiction)

Chapter 10: Fists and daggers

A/N: credit to my boyfriend who came up with the name of this chapter <3

!!!TRIGGER WARNING!!! mentions of sexual assault and rape in this chapter, read with caution.

21 November, 2004

Once again, Bernard was greeted by the sick feeling of not really being home, but instead potentially a few months away from his grave.

That wasn't of his most worries as of that moment however. What he thought of upon waking up was Carbon and her wellbeing, after the events of the night before. He was barely able to sleep, and spent a good two hours at her side before passing out for another two, waking up, and then jumping into Carbon's bed so he could get some proper sleep.

Her bed smelled just like her. His reaction to and opinion on it wasn't the same as it had been the first time around. The smell of cigarettes and her shampoo on the pillow was what lulled him to sleep that night. He was beginning to associate it with safety, with the fuzzy happy feeling she gave him. The feeling she gave him was beginning to get familiar, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was - I mean, he could. It's just he didn't want to.

When he threw back the blankets, Bernard noticed that the room was slightly colder than it usually would be. That was when he looked over at the door, and noticed it was slightly ajar, which would easily explain the temperature of the room. He questioned whether or not he properly closed the door last night as he climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed, then noticing that his own bed was empty. Bernard was quick to connect the dots, approaching the door and pushing it open a little to peek out.

Like he thought, Carbon was out on the little porch, still in the clothes she had been in the day before. She was leaning over the railing, a cigarette between her fingers, and she was shivering, considering it was rather cold for obvious reasons and she hadn't had her coat on, nor her shirt.

With thoughtful intentions, Bernard took his own coat off, approached her from behind, and gently placed it over her shoulders.

At this however, she flinched and spun around abruptly, clearly startled with widened eyes and Bernard took a step back.

"I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologised gently, "It's just, you'll freeze to death out here like that."

Carbon didn't say a word, though she seemed to ease up as she pulled the coat a little tighter around herself and turned away from him again, bringing her cigarette up to her lips and taking a deep puff of it.

"Are you okay?" He asked, the woman looking to the side so she could see him in her peripheral vision.
"I'm alive, aren't I?" she said in a groggy, dry, quiet voice, the smoke falling from her lips as she spoke and blew the rest out once she was done.
"Yeah, but..." Bernard began, scratching the back of his neck, "...it's just, last night was really full-on for you."
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," she sighed, taking another breath of her cigarette before blowing the smoke back out, "besides, I hardly remember anything. I've had worse happen."
"Yeah? Like what?" Bernard pushed, Carbon looking all the way back at him with a questioning look in her eyes.
"What are you trying to do here?" She asked, her brows knitted together slightly.
"Get you to talk about your feelings or something," he admitted, shrugging slightly, "you don't look like you do that very often."

She let out something mixed between a scoff and a laugh and turned back away from him.

"Forget it," she said just above a whisper as she took one last huff of her cigarette before pushing it into the base of her wrist to put it out and then flicking it off the veranda.