Kumiko awoke in her bed from a dream not too long ago.

Sighing from an unpleasant reminder, she lazily grabbed her phone from the bedside table, wincing and shielding herself from a light that rivaled the morning sun:

4:19 AM.

In a groggy voice, she muttered to herself, "Perfect…"

Opening up a familiar message log, she couldn't help but smile to herself as she typed out the perfect words to surprise her currently transnational lover. She was so proud of herself for waking up on time for this.

With a pang of longing, she sent her message—But not before receiving a message alert of her own at the exact same time.

Wake up, I miss you – 4:20 AM

4:20 AM – 420 blaze it

4:20 AM – Oh

Kumiko was as laughably stunned as she was thrilled, knowing that Reina was thinking about her too, at this very, very special moment in time.

She laid her phone down, but only for a moment before she felt another buzz. She peeked at her phone once more:

… Since you're awake, get on webcam, I want to see you. – 4:21 AM

4:21 AM – ? i'm not awake, what are you talking about

Kumiko! – 4:22 AM

4:22 AM – loveeee yoouu

Feeling satisfied with herself, Kumiko finally pulled out of the covers and leaned forward to open up her laptop, which rested at the foot of her bed for the time being. It was still on, and she clicked the Skype app, which booted up with the familiar starting noise.

It was only a few seconds after that she received a video call, to which she answer while curled up in a blanket, knees to her chest. Kumiko's heart swelled as she saw Reina pop up on the screen, sitting in a coffee shop. She could pretty much see Reina's face light up through the video.

Kumiko withdrew into the blanket more, all but melting at the sight. "Good afternoon."

She could have sworn she saw Reina sort of.. vibrate a little, in her seat, but it might have been the sleepiness playing tricks on her. She welcomed that voice she's come to miss this past week, "Good morning to you."

The brunette smiled into the blanket, looking up at the video feed. "What do you have planned today? Another meeting? Anything major happen while I was asleep?"

Reina sighed, adjusting the earbuds in her ear, "No, no technical meeting today, but I do have to meet with someone from the firm that asked for a one on one. And before you get huffy, no, he wasn't asking me out or anything."

Kumiko laughed at the suggestion, "Oh, well, you said he, so I don't think there's anything to worry about anyway. Now if it was a woman on the other hand…" She watched as Reina grew a little more offended, to which she ceased her teasing, "I'm just kidding, Reina!"

Reina turned to the side in a huff and drank a bit of her tea.

Kumiko sighed lovingly at the screen, "I, uh. I really miss you, you know?"

With a tiny smile, Reina leaned onto the table and tried being as intimate as she could, given her current setting, "I do too. Only one more week, though. I'll be home in no time."

Kumiko brought her arms up over her knees, "S'not really soon enough, but…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing! I'll.. let you get back to what you're doing. I'll say hi to Apricot for you, okay?"

Reina took a few moments to respond, but she laughed and set her tea down, preparing to end the call. "Okay. Go back to sleep. I'll text you later."

"Bye…" Kumiko hesitantly ended the call first, because if she left it up to Reina, they'd stay on call hours. Which wasn't a bad thing at all, it's just, they'd never get anything done at that point.

"Aauughhh," Kumiko let out a pained groan as she fell back onto the bed, sliding her phone away from her for a second, but reaching out and holding it close to her after a thought. When Reina told Kumiko of her business trip, she thought she could handle two weeks by herself. She was a perfectly capable, perfectly functional woman who could definitely, most certainly last two weeks without feeling a bit of yearning for her… O-Of course that was it.

No. Nope.

Who was she kidding? She missed Reina like crazy, and she couldn't wait until this last week was over.

"Arf, rruf!" Apricot yipped at the door, nudging it open with her muzzle before hopping onto the bed and berating Kumiko with morning puppy kisses.

"Stop, h-hey! Get off me, girl! Agh—You!"

The golden pup sat next to Kumiko's laptop and panted happily at the device while she looked back and forth between it and Kumiko.

Kumiko sat still for a moment, but reached out and grabbed Apricot, bringing her onto her lap. "She'll be back soon, 'kay? I know you miss her too."

"Rrruf!"