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molly

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Clarke was on a mission. It was a very small, very minor mission which was refreshing. That was fairly normal for her life. Admittedly, every so often people disappeared and the routine was interrupted by strange festivals or rituals or some other strangeness she couldn't explain. But it was different. The immediacy of trying not to die had gone out of her life.

It was kind of nice and still very strange. She hoped that feeling would never go away.

Stepping out of the coffee shop, she waited for Molly to join her. Holding it with two hands, she was glad it wasn't as cold as the almanac she'd picked up had told her it could be.

"Thanks for helping me out with this," she thanked her friend again with a smile before taking a sip. The coffee was a sugary mess, but she loved it. "Ever since I found out that ugly Christmas sweaters are a thing, I haven't been able to resist the idea of getting Bellamy one."

If worse came to worse and they couldn't find anything, then she would just make one. But she had to give finding an old one a try. Having a new terrible sweater seemed a little counterproductive. Going forward with the historical fun idea meant going all the way.

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Already getting excited about Christmas, Molly doesn't think twice about agreeing when Clarke asks her for help finding Bellamy's gift. She hasn't had a whole lot of time to start her own Christmas shopping yet anyway, and is kind of hoping she might be able to find something good in the process and be able to start crossing people off her mental list of who to buy for. Even if she doesn't, Christmas shopping with a friend seems like one of the best ways possible to spend an afternoon, and she smiles as she approaches the coffee shop Clarke is meeting her out front of, quickly shrugging to dismiss the thanks.

"Don't mention it," she says warmly. "Seriously, I'm glad to help. Especially if it's in the name of ugly Christmas sweaters. They're one of the best parts of the holiday, if you ask me." A part of her is tempted to try to get Lee to wear one, but she's pretty sure it would be a fruitless attempt. Besides, after last year, she probably needs to come up with something more serious than that.

"Good to hear. I was kind of worried that I was getting attached to something universally loathed."

Not that Clarke is against that. Traditions on the Ark were a hodgepodge affair, a mixed up mess made from various cultures and bits and pieces of history. There was nothing glamorous or over-the-top about them. Like the Ark itself, they were collected pieces for the greater whole.

There is no reason that she can't do the same thing for Christmas traditions here in Darrow. Grinning conspiratorially, she looks at Molly. "My goal is to see if we can find one. Or three. If that fails, I'm not above making them."

"They might be pretty universally loathed, but in a fun sort of way," Molly says, nose wrinkling with the explanation. She's not even sure that's the best way to put it, but they are kind of a tradition, and she's pretty sure that even the people who claim not to like them find the whole thing amusing. At least, that was the case back home, and she'd be surprised if that weren't something that carried over to Darrow, too, with as similar as their Christmas celebrations seem to be. "But we can definitely find at least one. If this works, you have to send me pictures, okay?"

Taking another sip of her almost too sweet coffee, Clarke resists laughing until she's swallowed. A little bit dribbles onto her lips despite her best efforts and so she wipes it away. "Good to know."

She's glad to have Molly as a friend. The older girl guides her through some of the stranger parts of this time and place. Not all of it either understand, but it's good to have insight from someone who just lived it, instead of learning from years of recorded films. "Oh definitely. I plan on taking as many pictures as I can. He'll probably try to delete a few, but I'll get one anyways."

"Good," Molly says with a nod, grinning. "That sort of thing needs to be preserved forever." She doesn't know Bellamy as well as she knows Clarke yet, but it helps that she'd consider him a friend, too. If it were just a friend's boyfriend that she was barely acquainted with, it might be a little weird, wanting to have that documented. As it is, they're both people she's glad to have around, though Clarke especially she'd count among her closer friends here. "Store them on the Cloud and then they'll really be around forever."

"Oh yeah. I'll save it to the Cloud, put it on a microstorage disk and bury it in a time capsule for the future. He's not escaping it."

Clarke knows that Bellamy probably won't fight her on getting his picture taken or wearing the sweater. It won't be anywhere as nice as the one she got him for his birthday (and that he subsequently wore as frequently as possible), but it should see it's fair use during the holiday season. Holidays were best spent being dorky and merry and bright. It would be better if they could be all of those things with their friends and family from home, but this is just how they'd make do.

Walking down the sidewalk, she checks the street numbers to see how close they are to the nearest thrift store. "I'm think a red one? Or a bright green?"

"Ooh, red, I think," Molly says, feigning seriousness as she nods. "That'll really look good on him." Ugly Christmas sweaters don't actually look good on anyone, that's kind of the point, but that's also all the more reason to joke about it. Besides, red does strike her as being more Bellamy's color than green. "Unless we find more than one, in which case we'll get one of each. I'll even cover one, it can be my Christmas present to you guys."

She has other things in mind, of course — working for the mayor gets her a pretty fucking sweet Christmas bonus — but that doesn't change her willingness to contribute to the ugly Christmas sweaters fund. Something like this really has to be done to the fullest.

Clarke matches the faux serious nature of Molly's nod, glad that the other girl is playing along. With all of the craziness that has been happening, people going and coming, it's nice to have a moment to just pretend that none of that matters. That they're in an ordinary early 21st century city, living ordinary lives.

"Good. I was leaning more towards that one. If it has baubles or lights up, then it is just a bonus." She laughs before taking another sip of her drink. It's probably weird how much she is getting into this, but she loves it. "Thanks. I appreciate it. Best gift a girl could ask for."

"Well, it's the least I can do," Molly says with a shrug and a smile. Clarke has become a good friend in the time since she'd found her in the park that day, and she's fond of Bellamy, too. Really, she should try to do something more, maybe see if Lee would be interested in the four of them going to dinner sometime. For now, though, an ugly sweater is absolutely called for, and she sees no reason not to contribute to the cause. "I'm working off a pretty great Christmas bonus, anyway. Sometimes working for the mayor actually pays off. Literally."

If the money were her priority, she'd never have gone into this line of work, but it is helpful at times like this, to get some financial benefits, too.

Money is still a pretty strange reality for Clarke. Oh, she understands the concept, knowing that it's not all that different from ration points and budget units from different jobs. But it's barely tangible and is still so necessary. She's glad that she has a job that not only applies to what she wants to do, but pays more than the little stipend that mysteriously appears.

"And just in time, since apparently tis the season of disregarding budgets," Clarke jokes as she pauses to double check the sign to make certain it does say Antelope Swap, which it does. "I have no idea if they do anything like that for us, but who knows."

"Oh, yes, it really is," Molly says with a nod, brow raising. She's done alright thus far, but there are still a lot of people she needs to buy for, and having the capability to, she wants to really get something nice, not half-ass it the way she might have done in the past. Then again, she's always been pretty secure on that front. The difference is now that the money is really her own, not coming from her father, the same as she could say for her career here. "And they might. I guess you'll find out soon."

"We used to make-and-trade gifts, so buying them is still kind of weird."

Secondhand stores instantly put Clarke at ease. Not that she doesn't appreciate the availability of new things, but swaps and consignment stores are familiar. It's a realm she somewhat knows even if the items are still newer than the ones on the Ark. Antelope Swap is no exception, oddly lit and organized ostensibly by gender and clothing type. There's a set of stairs towards the back that lead to even more things. The good intentions of having clothes on the racks being separated by colors has definitely seen better days.

Scanning the areas, she finishes off her small coffee before putting it in the trashcan near the door. "I think they might be towards the back? Mixed in with the rest of the sweaters?"

"Yeah, probably," Molly says, nodding. Barring any kind of setup for Christmas, which seems unlikely, it makes the most sense that they'd be with other sweaters. She just hopes that maybe the approaching holiday will have brought an influx of them, people clearing out things that had been put away with other Christmas decorations and such, realizing that they really probably never will wear the ugly sweater from some old aunt or something. One person's terrible gift will be their gain, and in context, a much better present to be giving. "Look for anything bright red or green first. Those are going to be our most likely options."

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