The ginger creaking of the door into Emily's flat signaled, already, Lena's disheartened movement, her usual entrances usually far more explosive. She kept her head low as she stepped quietly into the entryway, pushing the door closed until the sound of it slotting into the frame rung out through the immediate area, causing the skin at the back of Lena's neck to crawl in fright, though she calmed soon enough as Emily hadn't called out to her. Ashamedly, she quietly stepped into the kitchen, wearing a frown the entire way, leaving a prolonged sigh hanging in the air as she lifelessly stepped into the kitchen.

Like a frightened cat, Lena's shoulders recoiled backward as the light flew on prematurely, Emily standing in the adjacent walkway into the kitchen, her face spun in confusion, "Lena? I thought I heard you come in."

In a second, Lena's face arose into a look of dignity as she took a step into the kitchen, "I worked late, so I just figured I wouldn't bother you with making dinner twice. If you don't mind me using your appliances, it would be quite appreciated."

"No- Not at all," Emily muttered with confusion at Lena's attitude, "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," Lena assured, unconvincing in her disheartened tone, "Just- Please don't concern yourself with me; I can make my own dinner and be able to join you afterwards. Until then, I'm still a guest in your home, and I find it proper to ask permission-"

As she spoke, Lena had begun unloading her sack of groceries onto the counter, earning a critiquing glance from Emily as she continued speaking, "-especially when partaking in something as intrusive a using a stovetop for an extended-"

"Rye flour, milk- Lena, are you making gruel?!" Emily asked in sheer astonishment.

Frowning, Lena replied, "I told you; I'm not about to spend beyond my means. I just so happened to have gotten fired for throwing a hot pan to my boss, so my money's gonna be short for a bit until I can-"

"You threw a pan at him?!"

"To. I said to," Lena clarified with a groan, "Until I find another job, I'm gonna have to live as such. I knew the consequences; I'm prepared to live with them."

Lena began digging through the cabinet above her to find a pot before turning to fill it up with water, returning her attention back toward Emily with a start, "H-Hey!"

Emily had approached the counter and pulled the sack of rye flour toward her, giving Lena a pithy glance, "No girlfriend of mine is going to shove in such a menial sort of food for a meal. You can argue your way into finding a job while Overwatch is gone, but I'm not about to watch you go without."

She reached into her spice drawer and began pulling out label-made containers, "Honestly, Lena, how little do you think I care?"

"I know you do," Lena shrugged as she crossed her arms, "But I care equally as much, and I haven't-"

"Ah-ah!" Emily sounded as if stealing the attention of a disobedient pup, "My house, my rules. I'm not about to let my girlfriend come over for the night and have her make gruel as a meal. I've got some leftover beef and a bit of rice; we're gonna make some congee."

Lena eyed her carefully, a look of disdain spinning into one of curiosity as Emily began pulling down mixing bowls, the red head's voice breaking through incredulously, "You got fired today? How on earth are you already eating gruel? You've gotten a paycheck already."

Crossing her arms nervously, Lena pouted as her eyes turned away to hide their wavering gaze, refusing to answer until Emily finally went on, "Pass me the the thing of olive oil, please."

Lena did so, earning an impatient glare from Emily as she worked the bowl of rice and oil together, the pilot biting her lip unsurely as Emily's mind silently churned, her voice suddenly appearing, "…you didn't spend it all at the arcade again, did you?"

"Hey! I earned it! If I want to beat some pipsqueak's high score on that game with the moving cockpit, you better believe I'll send that punk crying home to his momma!" Lena proclaimed with a shout tinged with both triumph and insecurity.

Emily sighed, "Lena, I don't care, but you really shouldn't be so frivolous; certainly not to the point of eating flour soup."

The stove clicked on as Emily positioned the bowl, allowing it to heat as she stepped toward Lena, grabbing her hands and holding them in between her own pair, staring down as she snuck her fingers into her lovers', the two entwining into a pale warmth resulting from Emily's cooking. She smiled just as warmly, her face hidden from her pilot as she did so, running a thumb along the snowy white skin that now joined to her own.

"I truly meant it- When I said it's my turn to protect you. You protect me from bad guys, or whatever else, and not only that, but you do it well," Emily confirmed with a deep confidence, "If I'm to protect you from homelessness or a thin wallet, then I want to do it just as well as you. Y'know, you are just a bit special to me."

Lena frowned at how open Emily was being, slightly begrudged by her own insensitivity, though her heart fell as Emily spoke further, running an open palm along the back of Lena's hand, "You know, my mother always said you wouldn't make me happy. That was her last ditch effort to convince me not to be who I was, before she disowned me just as my father had."

Her head rose up to reveal a sincere smile, "How wrong she was."

Lena's eyes wandered off to hide her embarrassment, though she did reply, "I mean, it's not like I did anything…"

"You did plenty," Emily confirmed easily before pulling away to attend to her lover's meal, "But, that's a topic for our anniversary. or Valentine's. I don't know yet; it might just annoy you enough on the second one."

Groaning, Lena leaned back against the counter, "Heartfelt words to ruin such a shallow holiday?"

"Exactly," Emily giggled mutely, humming to herself as she stirred in some herbs and the leftover cuts of meat, leaving Lena to peer over her shoulder with curious intent as the pot let loose an aroma of intense delight.

Lena curled her lips, reaching a single finger over for a taste before Emily popped her hand with a playful slap, the pilot dramatically yanking her hand back into her chest to be mended by her other hand, Emily grinning toward her the whole time.

"Ow!" Lena whined, "That hurt!"

Emily stuck her tongue out, "You know how I feel about eating before food has been plated."

"Oh, c'mon," Lena begged, taking another swipe toward the congee while Emily giggled another slap toward her hand, "You just said it's my job to protect you from evil! How do you possibly know I didn't just wrangle me a sack of evil flour and some corrupted rice?!"

Her crimson-haired lover continued swiping Lena away as she broke into laughter, the pilot continuing to goad, "I need to make sure it's safe to eat!"

"No you don't!" Emily finished between an open grin, finally going for the source and pushing at Lena's shoulder to move her away, "I told you. No eating until it gets plated."

Lena's head rolled along her shoulders, "Fiiiiine. Lemme have something to do then. I don't want to feel like a lump."

"I've seen you after a fourteen-hour movie binge- you are a lump," Emily smirked.

A critical eye met Emily as she stuck out her tongue, "Fine; go heat up one of those steaming bags of vegetables from the freezer."

"Oh, come on; something important," Lena pleaded helplessly.

Emily assured her, "Veggies are important. and they are something you won't eat like candy beforehand."

"…toosh," Lena grumbled as she spun around to perform her task, Emily watching her with a confused face.

"Touché, love."

Lena replied heatedly, "I know! You know how we Oxtons feel about French!"

"Actually, I don't," Emily replied as she crossed her arms, spinning toward Lena as if she were fully prepared for an in-depth story chock full of astonishing revelation, "But please, I'd love to be enlightened."

An exasperated groan left Lena before she could read the instructions on the packet of veggies, "It's too unfortunate and sad a tale…"

Slightly disappointed, Emily returned to her pot with a quick, "Okay, get that going and then…"

Her lips curled inward uncertainly, wondering if Lena's happiness were worth the trouble, even though it certainly was, "Then you can mix up some ice cream for desse-"

"No fooling?!" Lena shouted excitedly, nearly punching in the wrong numbers on the microwave before starting it and hopping toward the freezer with a maddening dash, leaving Emily with a contented smile.

Lena quickly yanked two pints of ice cream out from the fridge, having already been set in there to thaw by her partner, and slid them out from underneath her arms and onto the counter, her eyes glazed over as she watched her fingers pry the lids loose.

This had become a tradition of theirs, having started back during one of their earliest dates. Having roamed around the city, the two sharing their own separate portions of ice cream, Emily suddenly had to rush off for a business phone call, handing off her ice cream cup to Lena for safekeeping. Catching a glimpse of some no-good-doers just happening to follow behind her crimson-haired angel, Lena quickly became concerned, and during her tailing, had inadvertently dumped Emily's cup of orange sherbet into her own container of cookies and cream, in characteristic fleeting of mind for Lena, before discovering a very confused Emily once Lena had jumped the two men who were simply on their way to work.

The concoction, while tangy beyond belief, thus become something toward symbolic of Lena's intense protective spirit toward Emily, a rather chivalrous act for the red haired woman whose own parents had always been so fleeting with conditional love her entire life. Some of Emily's earliest memories had revolved around having to 'buy' her parent's affections, or even parental protection, one time having to do well on a test at school before being allowed Christmas.

Having somebody, Lena, who hadn't a second thought when it came to watching over her, or indeed, spending any amount of time with her, was one of the earliest indicators of Emily's love for this woman. This pilot-woman's continued flightiness and lack of deep thought only proving, again and again, that there was very little for Lena to think about when it came to Emily, a fact that wooed her quite readily early on.

"Make sure the consistency is correct," Emily instructed, not exactly liking the consistency of Lena's favorite ice cream.

The pilot scoffed, "Oh please, I've done this a thousand times; I know how you like it! Remember when you were stuck in bed with the flu and I made it a point to rush home and bring you some? We even shared it in bed together!"

Emily's lips churned with ill thoughts as Lena asked confidently, "It's the cookies you do like, right?"

Her head falling to hide an unsure grin, Emily shook her head, "I was already sick, so I didn't bother saying anything last time…"

Now disappointed in herself, Lena's brow fell with frustration, turning to the bowl and quickly beginning to pick out the cookie bits to save for her own bowl, "Sorry."

"It's fine, dear," Emily assured, shrugging, "It's only ice cream, after all. Now, if you'd messed up your gruel, now that, you might have been in a bind."

Emily reached a finger over to try a bit of the swirled concoction, leaving Lena to swat her away in kind, "Hey! Why do you get a taste?"

"Because, out of everything I've ever cooked for you, what have you ever disliked?"

Lena frowned, already knowing the answer, though Emily continued with a wry smile, "I know for a fact you'll love the congee. but I may not like the ice cream as it stands. Sooo…"

Taking a swipe into the half-melted blend of dessert, Emily began to pull her arm up for a taste, though before she could, Lena suddenly reached out to grab hold of her wrist, pulling her hand in the opposite direction, aiming Emily's open finger toward her mouth. Emily's eyes widened as Lena took in her finger, swirling her tongue along its tip, careful to find whatever bit of ice cream she could, leaving a fierce blush across Emily's face that all but matched her hair.

With a pop, Lena pulled her head back away from Emily's finger, allowing a smarmy sort of grin to cross her face, "Now tell me how I was supposed to plate you before doing that."

"I- That's not-" Emily stammered nervously, an embarrassed rumbling flowing through her gut at the appearance of Lena's sudden arrogance.

Lena giggled, defeating the air she was probably wholly unaware of, before returning to the concoction, smirking, "Needs a bit more sherbet."

Emily watched with still-shaky nerves, the only thing able to free her from that trance being the sudden bubbling of her own dish, forcing her attention back toward the congee as she rapidly stirred it to catch up, muttering under her breath, "…so not fair."

"Hey, love, you're at the top of the list, but food is still somewhere up there," Lena explained with a grin, "I'll fight dirty if I have to on both counts. Oxton Family Virtue."

She gave a sidelong glance toward Emily, "Besides, you look so lovely when you match."

"I-"

"You matched when you came into the diner, too," Lena smiled with a sincere tone, "Coming in from the cold like that. Red nose, red cheeks. No wonder I love you dressing in green; it's like Christmas all year round."

Emily's lips pursed, "You think you're so clever, huh? You're still not getting a taste until plating, no matter how sweet and adorable you are."

"Oh c'mon!" Lena pleaded, her hands clutching together as she begged, "It smells so good!"

Her lover grinned, "Not much longer."

Pouting once again, Lena returned to preparing their mixed dessert, focusing until she felt a pat on her arm, turning toward Emily as she recoiled her hand with a sincere smile, "I love you."

"Love you too," Lena smiled, "You don't know-"

"Oh, just take a bite already," Emily allowed with a defeated shrug, Lena immediately taking her up on the offer, "You're just too cute sometimes."

"MMM!" Lena gasped behind her closed mouth, both from the heat and from the taste, finally managing through tight lips, "I's goob!"

Emily rolled her eyes at the scene, returning to her dish with a smile, directed toward the woman whose job it seemed to be to never allow that flicker of light that brought fun and joy to end. For a moment, she recalled the life she led before this woman so accidentally came into her view of the world, Lena's entire being nearly brightening every facet of her life.

She often imagined having words that could adequately express to Lena what her companionship truly meant to her, though they couldn't ever fully cross her mind. She knew, too well, that she hadn't the words, though that only made each kiss that much more special to her, each one being yet another affirmation in a lengthening streak of such things. She knew to cherish each touch she shared with this woman, especially when she would disappear at random intervals for work, and considering such things, any one of those sudden disappearances could very well be her last.

Lena hyperventilated with a wide open mouth, trying her best to soothe the damage that had been done by inhaling such heated food, holding her head back to allow her hand the ability to wave at her mouth, trying to push whatever cool air she could to touch her inflamed tongue. She suddenly felt Emily's arms wrapping around her, catching her attention as her head jolted back down to catch Emily's eyes ready to stare right back into hers, before reaching her face over, catching Lena in a kiss, accompanied by chilled lips that instantly began to soothe the pilot's ailment.

At that moment, Emily pushed a bit of ice cream from her own mouth into Lena's, though the two continued their kiss, even after Lena's scorched mouth had ceased merely by the cunning embrace by her lover's lips. She confidently wrapped her arms around Emily's waist, pulling her close as the red-head reached up to hold onto Lena's cheeks, their eyes closed to allow them nothing more than their dancing tongues to focus on existing, not until Emily finally pulled away with a regretful bite at her bottom lip.

"I truly mean it," she confirmed, deeply, "I love you. Nobody else could make me as happy as you d-"

Lena grinned, causing Emily to lose her breath as she held her forehead against her lover's, their twinkling eyes meeting in a wondrous bit of starlight, "I know. I don't intend to stop any time soon."

At that moment, it truly felt to Emily that she'd never have a chance to ever question those words. Not now. Not ever.