Author's Note: I've been bullied into writing another Sorato one-shot. Please blame Aklee.

Homecoming

Tomorrow.

It was just one more day until her fiancé–fiancé, not boyfriend–was coming home.

Excited. Nervous. Terrified.

Those were among the myriad of emotions Sora was feeling in anticipation of Yamato's return. It wasn't just the thought of seeing him after seven months apart that was making her nervous–but also that, in two short months, she was going to be Mrs Sora Ishida.

She lifted her left hand, splayed out her fingers, and looked at her white gold engagement ring. It had a trio of princess cut diamonds in the centre, with smaller diamonds along the shoulders. It was perfect.

Yamato had proposed shortly after he had graduated from the National Defense Academy.

But he had been so distant to her in the lead-up to that particular day, that she had thought he was slowly pulling away from her. She remembered feeling anxious in the months before he proposed–worrying about whether he was going to do the unthinkable and actually break up with her. Because of all the times they had spent apart due to the fact that he was in the NDA, and she had been studying at university as well–and then pursuing a career–all of that had added up in her mind, and she really thought that there was a real possibility he might end their relationship.

Yamato had completely caught her by surprise with his proposal.

"I know we're young and that we both have so many opportunities in life to experience . . . but I also know that I won't be missing out on anything by marrying you–but with every day that passes, I'm actually missing out on something special: being your husband."

Sora had cried.

That had been a year and a half ago. They had set their wedding date for this December, which was in two months' time, on Christmas Eve. It was their ten year anniversary.

But Sora had not seen Yamato since he graduated from the Naval Academy back in March. All the cadets had graduated as ensigns, commissioned officers, and had immediately joined the fleets they were assigned to. Then in late May, the new ensigns went off on a training tour around the world for five months, and wouldn't be back until late October. Now. Tomorrow.

There had been some video calls between the two of them throughout the seven months they'd been apart–which was actually the longest they'd gone without seeing each other face-to-face even once. But mostly their contact had been limited to letters and e-mails and texts.

It had been hard.

It had been hard, when after their high school graduation, Yamato had chosen to attend the four-year National Defense Academy–which was two hours away by train from Odaiba. The time they could spend together had been limited to weekends that the two had free at the same time–and of course there had been summer, winter and spring vacation. But it had been vastly different to seeing each other almost every day at school, and seemingly endless weekends, for the years before that.

Then, after the NDA, Yamato had chosen to attend the year-long Officer Candidate School for the Maritime Self-Defense Force–which was located in Etajima, near Shimane, where his grandmother lived. It was almost seven hours away by train from Odaiba. Their weekend visits had been even sparser during that year, though they did get to spend those precious few weeks of summer and winter vacation together.

Spring, however, had been Yamato's graduation from the Naval Academy. And Sora, of course, had attended with Takeru and his parents. That was the last time she had seen him in person.

But she found that the old adage was true: absence makes the heart grow fonder.

The time spent apart had also allowed their relationship to breathe. They'd been together since they were barely 14 years old–so actually being apart from each other, sometimes for significant periods of time, had allowed them to experience life on their own and grow as individuals. In that time, the two had focussed on their own career ambitions.

Sora had graduated with a degree in textile design two and a half years ago and had been pursuing her career ever since. She had been working hard on designing kimonos that would please both the traditionalists and contemporary women, and make an impression in the fashion industry. She also had her mother to thank for her success so far, because Toshiko was renowned in the field of flower-arranging, where many of her pupils–and especially her peers–knew of her talents, just by name. Takenouchi. And so Sora had managed to build up a strong purchasing base for her kimonos; it was almost as though she had in-built customers from her mother. Things were going really well for her.

And Sora knew that Yamato was proud of her–just as she was proud of him.

But being apart so often had also made them both realise just how much they really needed–and wanted–each other.

Sora looked down fondly at the letters scattered across her bed. All were neatly handwritten by Yamato, all echoed sentiments of how much he thought about her and missed her, and quite a few of them contained poetry he'd written for her. For someone who didn't speak much verbally, he sure had a lot to say when it came to using pen and paper–but only with her, of course.

She smiled as her fingers traced over the inked words of one of Yamato's letters, resuming her activity of reading his sentiments. But she was quickly interrupted when the sound of the doorbell rang, echoing through the walls of her apartment. Knowing that her mother wasn't home, she promptly stood up to go and answer it, making her way out of her bedroom and towards the front hallway.

Upon opening her front door, her ruby eyes met brilliant blue. It took her a fraction of a second to realise who was standing on her doorstep–and that he was real.

"Yamato!" She jumped forward to wrap her arms around his torso, as he encased her in his in return. She could feel his hardened muscles through his uniform, and she squeezed him even tighter, loving the feel of his body against hers–a luxury she hadn't felt for seven long months.

"Hey, Sora," Yamato's deep voice greeted her, chuckling. "Did you miss me?"

"Oh my god, Yamato, you know I have!" she exclaimed in glee, still so shocked, but with a huge grin plastered across her face. She loved the familiar feel of his chest rumbling against her as he laughed, but reluctantly let him go so she could pull back and take in his face–a face she hadn't seen for far too long. He looked so incredibly handsome in his uniform. "Or is that Ensign Ishida?" she asked, as she mock saluted him with the commissioned rank he had acquired in the Navy upon graduation.

Yamato gave her a lopsided smile–Sora could be so damn cute sometimes. "It is," he winked at her. "But since you're my gorgeous fiancée, I give you permission to address me simply by my first name."

Sora laughed and made a move to hug him again, but Yamato stopped her short this time–and instead dipped his head, capturing her lips in a kiss. She didn't resist, and the two expressed to one another how much they had missed each other through the use of lips and tongue and flesh.

Finally pulling apart for some much needed air, Yamato gave Sora a cheeky grin. "Sorry, I haven't done that in a while," he apologised, though his gleaming eyes told her that he was far from being sorry.

Sora's exuberant expression told him that she didn't mind at all. "Yamato, I can't believe you're here!" she exclaimed, still so surprised at his sudden appearance. "You're not supposed to be home until tomorrow!"

"Yeah," he smiled back at her sheepishly, running a hand through his dangerously short hair. Sora did miss his longer locks, as handsome as he still was without them. "I gave you the wrong date on purpose so I could surprise you."

"Well you've definitely succeeded," Sora snorted, as she whacked him hard on the arm affectionately. It didn't seem to affect him at all. "I had things prepared! I was going to pick you up, I was going to bake you a 'Welcome Home' cake, and–"

"I like spoiling your plans," he grinned at her, as one of his hands found hers and threaded their fingers together. "You get so rigid sometimes, it's nice for things to be out of your control from time to time."

Sora returned his grin, and her free hand couldn't stop touching him, as if making sure over and over again that he was real. But then her expression turned serious as she suddenly thought about his family. "Have you seen Takeru?" she asked him, as his brother had a right to know that he was home early as well. "Or your parents?"

"No," Yamato replied, looking down at her in amusement–it was just like Sora to think about other people. He really liked the familiarity already. "I can catch up with them tomorrow, as planned," he told her. "So don't worry about them for now." He brushed her hair out of her eyes–really just for an excuse to touch her–then leaned his forehead against hers. "I came straight here from the train station to see you first. I've missed you so much, Sora, you have no idea."

Sora couldn't help it–her vision started to blur as her eyes began to tear up. Yamato was here, with her–after an incredibly long seven months that had seemed to stretch on forever. The abundance of emotion she had felt just five minutes ago, when she was all alone reading his letters, was being pushed aside for a stronger emotion that surged through her in this very moment: overwhelming happiness.

Yamato immediately pulled her into his embrace once more, this time also lifting her up against him. "I've really, really missed you," he whispered into her ear, as her legs naturally wrapped around his waist. "I've missed talking to you, I've missed being with you . . . I've missed doing things with you." He craned his head back a little so that she could see his smirk, and Sora chuckled through her tears. "And I can't wait until I can call you Mrs Sora Ishida," he told her, his voice low and genuine as he pressed a tender kiss against her cheek.

Sora smiled and tightened her arms around his broad shoulders, as she rested her head against his. "I can't wait, either."

Christmas Eve.

It had been an important anniversary to them for almost a decade–and, in two months' time, it was going to be an even more important anniversary to them for the rest of their lives.

End

Sora is such a sap. Yamato is such a sap. I AM SUCH A SAP BECAUSE I WROTE THIS. XD