"We get to the scene and see that part of the ledge has collapsed with the recent rain. So after some searching we find the guy on the bottom of the ravine, looking like he's been wrastlin' with a coon and his right leg's bent at all the wrong angles. But even with that, plus all the cuts and bruises you'd expect from falling down the face of a goddamn cliff, all he's talkin' about is Kitty."

"Kitty?"

"Yup, Kitty. 'Did you find Kitty? My poor lost pet Kitty!' through the entire rescue and when Marco and him finally are out of the ravine, this guy, broken leg and all, tries to hightail it off and look for Kitty. So, with all the pain, he's not too coherent at this point and- Oh god, did Krista…?"

Mikasa smiles softly at her girlfriend interrupting her own storytelling to address the sight she had caught over Mikasa's shoulder as the latter opened the fridge.

"Make you your favorite cheesecake for your birthday? Yes, she did."

"That woman is too good for this world." Sasha said seriously, mouth already watering in anticipation of the rich dessert. Now, she gave a gratuitous smile to Mikasa, who placed a plate of warmed lasagna in front of her.

"Thanks, babe."

Mikasa hummed her acknowledgement then said, "She also told me to tell you she and Ymir wished you happy birthday. Do you want some now?"

"I'll get some after I finish this."

Mikasa leaned with her forearms on the kitchen counter directly across from where Sasha was sitting at the breakfast bar. She could tell Sasha was tired more so than usual, one hint being the loosening of her accent as she relaxed in her own home. Mikasa was appreciative that both of them had the next day off.

Both having jobs in public service, the work schedules tended to wearing. Some months went by with them hardly seeing each other at home, either one coming in at the end of graveyard shifts and succumbing to much needed sleep just before the other had to leave themselves. It wasn't easy maintaining both their professions and their relationship under these circumstance, but thankfully they didn't have to choose between the jobs they loved and the person they loved.

For nearly four years now they had been together, and in that four years, in the midst of the worst disagreements and rough patches, the fights that spilled out into hurried text messages between call assignments, they had never questioned their commitment to one another. Sasha had heard it said many times that being the romantic partner of someone in law enforcement, such as Mikasa, was a difficult undertaking. There had been moments of strain that one of them being a police officer had caused, true. But the same could be said about Sasha being a paramedic. Neither had easy jobs and both were often privy to seeing the worst in people or the most traumatic moments in a person's life. It wasn't easy to come home and lay those burdens down.

But somehow they had found a way.

They had found a way to look at the worst of the world and still see the best when it came to one another. To never emulate the actions that caused so much of the pain they saw and better themselves for one another.

Mikasa when Sasha had told her about a domestic abuse case she and her partner Marco had once had. One dreary fall morning where they had a call to the suburbs. A woman with a sprained wrist, a rushing head wound that had rendered her unconscious on her living room carpet and bruises up and down her arms in the shape of hand prints. Her husband had returned home after seeing the ambulance pass him on his route to work, shocked and absolutely appalled to see his wife's condition. Sasha had taken the wife aside to try and get her to reach out for help but she adamentaly claimed she had fallen down the stairs. Two weeks later they were at the same residence, this time taking the same woman out on the stretcher, white sheet drawn over her face.

Sasha had cried when she told the story, anger morphing into tears halfway through. Mikasa had held her and while she knew she would never do anything to harm Sasha, resolved to be more patient, be more tender on the days they had run out of patience as a couple. They weren't perfect, and they both saw each other's many flaws. But damn it all if they didn't try to be the best of all they were for one another. That's why it worked, why they worked, Mikasa supposed. They put the effort into loving one another and even if they didn't always have the time to be together, they had fought to not let it keep them apart.

Mikasa glanced at the digital clock below the living room television. It was currently ten after eleven. While Mikasa had been off since nine, Sasha had only just arrived. She was still wearing her EMS uniform, while Mikasa had had time to shower and change into a tank top and loose sweatpants. They would absolutely be sleeping in tomorrow given the late hour.

"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" Sasha asked, licking tomato sauce from the corner of her mouth.

"Nothing," Mikasa replied. "What ended up happening with Kitty?"

"Oh! So, by now the broken leg guy is madder than a wet hen and we're just 'bouta strap 'im down to take a look at his bum leg when a cruiser happens by and none other than Kirstein and his new rookie partner. They're cruisin' along and happen to see us struggling with this fella who is fixin' to throw one of us off the cliff now. All the while hollerin' on about his poor Kitty who he knows must be lost and scared." Sasha voice is seemingly filled with sympathy for the man.

Mikasa listen's as she continues, "Jean gets out and the fella ain't real big but he's got alotta fight so it takes all three of us, me and Marco included to get him on the gurney. But he's still raisin' hell about Kitty. Me an' Marco had tried reasoning with him before with no luck but after a bit Jean seems to get through to the fella and he tells him how Kitty had got outta of his car through the open window and he had been lookin' for her. So, to calm the man down, Jean-boy swears, actually swears on his oath as an officer to find Kitty. The guy's starting to cooperate by now, right? Then Jean asks for a physical description so he can go and find this Kitty…"

Sasha pauses, slipping off the stool and walking around to the kitchen. She places her cleared plate into the sink and turns to face Mikasa, a grin on her face that the other recognizes as a clear marker for mischief. "And the guy says 'oh, she's black an' grey… and about eight feet long.' And thas why there's a picture on Ymir's Facebook of Jean with a Boa constrictor wrapped up his shoulder lookin' like he's gonna piss his pants."

Mikasa chuckled, enjoying the delight in Sasha's eyes at successfully delivering the story's punchline. Sasha's glow did not dissipate as she moved closer to Mikasa who had angled her body towards the other. Sasha entered the slightly taller woman's space, reaching her arms up and resting them straight on either side of Mikasa's head with her hands clasped together behind silky raven locks. Mikasa's own hands easily found their placement on Sasha's waist.

"Thank you for dinner," Sasha said, softer than her usual volume since they were so near.

In all candor, all Mikasa had done was stuck the frozen lasagna into the preheated oven and taken it out about an hour later. However, Sasha knew cooking of any sort was out of Mikasa's usual wheelhouse, while she seemed to excel to the status of perfection in most other areas. She appreciated the thoughtfulness involved.

"You're very welcome." Mikasa said right before she leaned in for a kiss.

Sasha was more than happy to reciprocate, moving her hands down to hold the sides of Mikasa's face as the kiss deepened. They soon pulled apart, but still hovered close enough to feel each other's breath on their lips. Mikasa's hands drifted further south, and she pulled Sasha closer so their lower bodies were brought closer together. Sasha pressed her lips back to Mikasa's and this kiss was both longer and fevered than the last. Sasha again shifted the location of her hands, running them across Mikasa's solid shoulders and then down between them to her lower torso.

Mikasa leaned forward for a better angle and found herself pushing Sasha back a few steps until the other's back was against the front of the other counter. Sasha vaguely felt the tile press into her back but couldn't find the urge to care past the want to further trace Mikasa's tongue with her own. They stayed in that position for what felt like an eternity neither wanted to leave.

Finially, Sasha pulled away, heavy lidded and a healthy blush reaching down past her shirt collar.

"Let's go to bed?" She asked, slightly breathless.

Mikasa raised an eyebrow, though her grey eyes had also darkened several shades. "I thought you wanted cheesecake."

"I want you more." Sasha said huskily, hands drifting beneath Mikasa's shirt to press against her girlfriend's firm abdomen.

It was part of Mikasa's physique Sasha would admit, though they weren't as defined as before, she was just as enamored with now as when they first started dating, maybe even more as she has become to know her lover's body and its subtle changes through the years.

Without another word, Mikasa lifted Sasha up by the backs of her thighs, to which Sasha instinctively responded by locking her legs around Mikasa's waist and letting out a small gasp. Mikasa looked the slightest bit amused at the sound but this expression was quickly wiped away by Sasha's teeth nipping at her throat.

They didn't waste another moment getting to their bed.

Just as they were drifting off to sleep later that night, Mikasa happened a glance at the glowing digits of the alarm clock. The next day already had begun. Sasha lay beside her, eyes already closed and breathing beginning to stabilize into the steady rhythm of sleep. Mikasa laid a kiss against her bare shoulder, the skin soft and warm against her lips.

"Happy Birthday, Sasha."