Kanan likes her eggs scrambled. Not too dry, just runny enough for it to be slightly creamy, with a tiny dash of milk and a hint of pepper. Mari knows this by heart, having prepared this for nearly half a decade of co-habitation with said-girl— no, woman— Mari corrects herself.
At thirty-one years of age, they're grown women now. Though, Mari honestly still feels no older than she was at eighteen, young and full of life.
It's amazing how time has flown by so quickly.
Blink, and they have come out top in the Love Live competition.
Blink, and she's in college, alongside both Dia and Kanan.
Blink again, and here she is now, working behind the stove of their cozy little apartment that she had bought together with Kanan— all with their own hard-earned cash— a good two years ago; their little love shack, or so Mari has come to fondly call it.
She can still vividly recall the look of sheer relief on Dia's face when they had promptly announced to her that they were finally moving out of their shared accommodation. Probably having had enough of all their… 'lovey-doveying' about being shoved right in her face, Mari supposes. Such fun times.
Speaking of which, she should probably give Dia a ring later, having not heard from her dear friend in a while now.
"Mmm, smells good."
At the sound of a raspy voice rumbling up against her ear, Mari gives a small start.
Though, upon realizing that is only her girlfriend of nine years, she soon finds herself completely surrendering into her touch; into the pair of slim, yet strong arms encircled around her waist, trapping her up against an overtly familiar ample chest and cocooning her in nothing but a delicious warmth.
"Me or the eggs?" She hums in playful tease.
With a nose tracing up against the curve of her neck, she feels her lover give pause for a moment, albeit briefly at her pulse-point, then inhales deeply.
"You, definitely," breathes Kanan, her lips curling against Mari's skin into what feels like a small smile, before moving in to nuzzle her slightly; peppering feather-light kisses along the pale of Mari's neck and her jawline, raising goosebumps as she goes.
Mari laughs, albeit breathily in turn. Years later and Kanan is still somehow able to make her feel all light-headed and giddy like a schoolgirl with a crush. She just has that kind of an effect on her, Mari supposes, whether she likes it or not, and she doesn't think she'll ever get used to it.
Nope, not ever.
Tilting her head over to the side, she meets Kanan halfway in a chaste kiss, though mindful to keep it short and sweet, lest they accidentally burn down the kitchen again. Like that one time.
With one last lingering peck to her cheek and an affectionate squeeze down her middle, Kanan then begins her long and tedious process of drawing away from her— her movement unbearably slow and languid for a Sunday morning— to saunter over to their dining table by the side of their kitchen, all the while taking that glorious heat along with her.
Reluctantly turning her focus back to the stove, Mari breathes a soft sigh. "And I was so sure you'd be sleeping in this morning," she says, already missing her lover's warmth and touch. "Considering last night and all…"
Kanan laughs then, a pretty little sound that resounds in Mari's ears like a vibrant hum. And even with her back turned, she can still picture Kanan staring right back at her with her eyes bright and lips curled into that charming smile of hers— the very image of perfection.
"Well, you do know that I've always enjoyed watching you cook."
"Correction, you've always enjoyed watching my ass while I cook."
"That is…" She hears Kanan clearing her throat noisily behind her, more than likely having been caught off guard by her crude remark. "Not wrong," she admits quietly, albeit sheepishly, and it sends the ends of Mari's lips twitching.
Unable to help herself, Mari passes a quick cursory glance over her shoulder, and true enough, twin amethyst eyes are (not so) unobtrusively glued, transfixed onto her scantily-clad behind.
"Like what you see?" She laughs, throwing her lover a playful wink as amethysts finally flit up to meet her.
Languorously resting her chin against the heel of her palm, Kanan makes a low appreciative hum, eyes roving. Cocking her head at Mari, she bares her teeth slightly in a roguish grin. "Very," she purrs, and the timber of her voice causes Mari to shiver involuntarily.
She would have liked to say something more— flirted it out for just a little longer— but knowing how things would most likely play out between them in the end, Mari thinks better of it.
They will absolutely not have another repeat of a burning kitchen.
So instead, she bites at her tongue, and tosses Kanan one last smoldering look over her shoulder, albeit makes sure to inject just a little bit more sway to her hips as she pivots back over to the stove and her pan of sizzling eggs.
Silently, Mari makes a mental note to maybe do her cooking in her panties a lot more often in the future.
She's sure Kanan would like that very much.
And on top of that, maybe she could pull off something special for their anniversary that is coming up just next week.
Preparing breakfast in nothing but just an apron.
Oh, is Kanan in for a treat!
Chuckling gleefully to herself, whilst still having her head buried high up within the clouds of reverie, Mari goes about her ministrations mindlessly, her body instinctively switching over to autopilot as she gives her eggs yet another scramble before lowering the heat down by a notch.
She releases a short breath.
Though, with all joking aside, she has been wrecking her brain hard for the past couple of weeks, just trying to come up with ideas to make this coming tenth year anniversary of theirs, a special one.
Not like their previous anniversaries weren't special per se, but this…
This would be their tenth year together.
A precious milestone for them.
And Mari is nothing but determined to make this as special and memorable as it can get.
Idly, she wonders if Kanan would be opposed to an impromptu trip to Paris.
Or maybe…
Her eyes flicker down to her left ring finger thoughtfully.
Eyeing the vacant spot along the base of her aforementioned finger wistfully, Mari quickly catches herself, and with one good mental shake, she shrugs the thought off entirely with a soft sigh.
Such wishful thinking.
In view of their current situation, something like marriage is merely just a faraway dream for them. Something so close, yet so far from reach.
Mari vaguely remembers of a time where she had used to agonize herself over this whole entire issue; once upon a couple moons ago, back when she was younger, foolish and rash.
She had this one crazy idea of whisking Kanan away back to America with her, whereby they would then elope and ride off happily into the sunset, or so she thinks it's supposed to go. It was pretty much a half-baked plan, hastily thrown together on a mere whim, and it obviously— thankfully— didn't get to see the light of day.
Just because.
And also, it wasn't like Kanan to ever be willing to leave her family and friends behind for a new life elsewhere.
So that was that.
But at least for now, life is good and things are great, and Mari honestly couldn't be any more happier with just having Kanan by her side like this.
And if she were to even go so far as to say, they're already as good as being married at this point. Living together like this. Waking up to each other faces in the morning. Being there to welcome one another home after a tiring day of work. There's nothing more that Mari could possibly ask for.
This…
This what they have right here.
It's more than enough for her.
Whether or not they're ever able to marry each other one day, Mari has decided, that it ultimately doesn't matter.
And hence, to say that Mari is prepared for what is to unfold next, is a huge understatement.
"I want to grow old with you."
She hears Kanan say from behind her.
It is something completely out of the blue; so unexpected and abrupt, coming right out of nowhere. However, it is the fluidity in which Kanan says it, so simply and naturally— as if the grass is green and the sky is blue— that essentially throws Mari off balance.
She feels her heart stutter, stops, then starts back up again in a brand new beat, leaping right into her throat and pulsing deafeningly in her ears. The spatula in her hand nearly falls out of her grasp, and it is only right about then, does the words finally sink in.
"C-come again?" Mari stammers, her voice sounding unusually shrill and squeaky to her ears.
She flicks the stove off, as a quick afterthought, and nearly throws the spatula down onto the kitchen counter, unable to trust herself with cooking any further; at least not at the moment, with the way her head is spinning and her hands are trembling.
But instead of repeating herself, Kanan only carries on, as if spurred by Mari's response, surging on forward with all the fervor found in her being. Steadfast and ever so determined. "I want to be able to look you in the eye and hold you in my arms, fifty years from now."
She pauses, taking a beat and a breath.
"I want us to grow old together." Kanan says softly— earnestly— and Mari hears the promise in her voice. "I want us to be together for a long, long time."
And Mari knows, recognizes it almost instantly for what it is— Kanan's clumsy way of reaching out to her with her heart— and it makes her eyes dew over and her shoulders quiver, her chest flooding with all sorts of emotions, just waiting to break free from its dam.
Unable to hold herself back no longer, Mari whirls around, bracing her heart.
And there she is, sitting by the dining table, all calm and composed— nothing like the emotional wreck that Mari is at the moment— with her beautiful amethyst eyes agleam and her lips tugged into her trademark megawatt smile.
"It's something I've been thinking about for a while now, so what do you say?"
The look in Kanan's eyes as she gazes back at Mari is one that is especially soft, tender and all so very loving. And when she spreads her arms out at Mari, head tilting beckoningly at her with that radiant smile on her face, Mari nearly loses it there and then.
She takes a shaky step in towards her.
"I… Is this your way of subtly proposing to me, Kanan?" Mari manages to lilt, in her half-hearted attempt to tease. Though, she is sure that her efforts are in vain, with her being all misty-eyed and powerless to contain the watery smile that is slowly spreading across her face.
Kanan freezes, the realization washing across her features briefly— as if it had only just struck her.
"Oh!" She gasps, then falters, the confident smile from earlier begins to wane, turning into something small, looking almost sheepish. Endearing. "But I don't have a ring for you though." She confesses truthfully, cheeks flushing and Mari could see the panic flitting behind her eyes.
But that is honestly all the response that Mari needs to hear before she launches herself wholly into Kanan's arms.
"Yes!" She exclaims, not caring if the force behind her embrace had nearly knocked them both off the chair. Because all that matters to Mari now— in this very moment— is this beautiful, beautiful woman she has in her arms. "Yes, I want to grow old with you too."
Kanan grins, and Mari watches as the elation tears through her face, filling her eyes with an array of pretty lights. And suddenly, Mari feels eighteen all over again, young and free, and so completely and utterly heads over heels for her. "It's a promise then."
She holds out her pinky just as Mari reaches in to intertwine their fingers together, resting their linked hands gently over her chest.
"Cross my heart," she whispers, most ardently, then leans right in to seal it off with a long and passionate kiss.
This, Mari thinks, this is all I'll ever need. Ever.
"B-but the ring…" Kanan interjects, murmuring against her lips, albeit rather breathlessly after parting away so abruptly, much to Mari's displeasure.
Mari only chuckles, sunlit eyes twinkling as she pushes a renegade strand of dark hair out of Kanan's face. "That…" She allows her hand to linger on enticingly, trailing down Kanan's cheek, then down her jaw, watching her throat bob in a forceful swallow. "Can be easily fixed." She breathes, guiding her in for another kiss.
And this time, their kiss goes uninterrupted.
A/N: Ah... now that the tide of angst has past us, it's time to bring on the fluff! And if you do find Kanan's 'proposal' somewhat familiar, it's probably cus it's based off from that one West Life song, entitled 'I Want To Grow Old With You'. But anyway, I hope you had an enjoyable ride and thank you very much for reading! ^^
Mucho thanks to sushimiyuu for being my awesome beta. :P
