Not much food in this one and I'm afraid it may be similar to one of my past stories. But! it came from a different inspiration source so I decided to post it.

Merry Christmas, girls and guys, and enjoy~!

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13:42.

She could make it. Twirling a fountain pen in her hand, Shizuru decided she could definitely make it. It was just two more hours after all. Well, two and a half. Still less than three, though.

Nodding encouragingly to herself, the woman pushed her bangs away from her eyes and focused on the next document. She carefully typed it, compared to her notes to avoid any mistakes and printed it out in two copies. After finishing the certificate with all the necessary stamps and signatures, Shizuru organised the papers in a neat stack and put them it in the appropriate file.

13:44.

Someone must have tampered with her clock. It was physically impossible for time to run that slow. Throwing an annoyed look at the offensive object, Shizuru decided that she would not make it.

Not without some help anyway.

Getting up from the desk, Shizuru grabbed her empty mug and wandered to the recreational corner. She started the kettle and grabbed a random teabag from the communal drawer. This made her feel like a junkie - usually she wouldn't settle for anything less that a properly brewed leaf tea - but she needed theine fix. Without the right levels of tea in her bloodstream she could not function productively.

Scratch that. She could not function at all.

With the ceramic mug gently warming her hands and the familiar smell tickling her nose, Shizuru leisurely returned to her desk. She took a moment to reorganise the paperwork and put back up the only personal item on her workstation, a small picture frame that somehow got misplaced in the end-of-year frenzy.

It was a picture of Natsuki - her friend, her soulmate, her lover. With her head bend, the dark-haired woman was focused on the camera in her hands, fumbling with some switches. Back then, she had something with her eyes, conjunctivitis or maybe a hay fever, and had to wear glasses to prevent further irritation. The delicate rims only added to her charm and Shizuru couldn't help capturing this sight.

Now, the honey-haired civil servant smiled fondly at the memory and the perspective of a phone call they would have later that night. Long-distance relationship had its better and worse moments but the calls were definitely a highlight of any day.

The first sip of the tea and another look at the wall clock made Shizuru's blood run faster.

13:57.

Yes, she could make it.

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It wasn't that she wanted to go home. Other than the promise of a phone call, there was nothing waiting for her. And even that she could make from anywhere so there was no real need for her to go back to these four walls that meant nothing more than just a place to sleep.

When did she start to perceive her apartment as only that? At the beginning, she loved the place. It might not have been too spacious or located in a particularly attractive area but it was her own. She got a nice view from the living room windows, could easily commute to work and - the most important thing, she realised - Natsuki was living nearby, just two tram stops away.

Fishing for the keys in her coat's pockets, Shizuru noticed the reddish stain on the front door. It was there since forever and nothing could remove it. The woman remembered how Natsuki once - in a fit of desperation after another lost stain-fighting session - proposed they just paint the whole thing red.

"Red? Are you crazy?!" Shizuru found the idea not only ridiculous, but completely appalling.

"There's this place called home, you know?" Mirthful twinkle in Natsuki's eyes was a dead giveaway that the older woman unexpectedly walked into the trap. "With the red front door and all that cheesy sappy stuff." She was obviously referring to the Christmas Carol musical they had watched, per Shizuru's insistence, the previous night. There was no hiding it that the office lady enjoyed it much more than her companion. "Should I go and get my brushes?"

"Don't you even dare, Kuga Natsuki!" The menacing tone of Shizuru's voice didn't impress Natsuki in the slightest. It eventually took a threat as drastic as no intimacies for a week to effectively deter her from the idea.

Shizuru chuckled lightly at the memory and tapped the stain with her free hand. Maybe one day she should just grab a brush and actually repaint the door just as suggested. Soon, to surprise Natsuki if by some wicked chance she decided to visit. Not that this would happen anytime soon, given the nineteen hour ride separating them and Natsuki's wicked working hours.

One day, maybe.

Some other day.

Not today.

This evening all she wanted was to do was stretch on the couch and wait for that low, loving voice to ring in her ears.

With that thought in mind, Shizuru stepped past the threshold and locked the door behind. She put the keys in their bowl on the shoe rack and set the takeout bag right next to it. Methodically, she unbuttoned her winter coat, removed it and placed on the hanger. Slipping the shoes off her feet, she actually groaned in relief as the cold tiled floor touched the soles of her feet.

Lack of slippers in their usual place gave Shizuru a little halt in her everyday coming-home ritual. Soon enough though, the woman simply shrugged and decided to stay barefoot. On her toes, she scampered to the kitchen, dropping the takeout on the coffee table in the living room on the way. Without turning the light on, she took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with tap water.

Soft moonlight washed over the brunette's face and she remembered another night, her first one in this apartment. There was no party, just her and Natsuki but one thing led to another and in the end they christened every surface that could support their combined weights. The kitchen sink included. Bathed in the same moonlight, Natsuki looked ethereal and Shizuru almost stopped the act, full of wonder at such a beautiful creature choosing to be with her.

Shizuru stifled a whimper as a twinge of longing squeezed her heart and she felt an overwhelming hunger that no Filipino takeout could sate. On top of that, her mind was playing most cruel tricks on her, making her feel as if her love was within arms' reach. But she knew it wasn't true. For the last six months, ever since her transfer to an overseas branch of her company, Natsuki was almost a world away.

No, she shouldn't think that way.

Natsuki was a phone call away. The phone call that would soon happen.

And that's what made her feel Natsuki's presence. Simple as that.

Nodding decisively to brace herself for some more wait, Shizuru closed the tap and took her glass to the living room.

No sooner did she sit down by the coffee table and unpack her takeout boxes than her phone rang.

"Natsuki!" A bit surprised, though not in an unpleasant way, Shizuru greeted the caller. "Off duty already?"

"You could say so." Natsuki chuckled and this low sound tickled the brunette's ears. "I got this… feeling that my girlfriend might need me a bit earlier than usual."

Something rustled in Shizuru's kitchen.

"You learned some telepathy abroad? Nifty!" Picking at her fried noodles, Shizuru sighed wearily. "I do need you."

Another rustle.

"What happened, love?" In an instant Natsuki dropped the playful tone and sounded really worried.

"Nothing, really. I'm just… I'm overworked and have no one to cuddle up to at night." Yet another rustle caused Shizuru to turn her head. "Could you wait a moment? I think I heard something in the kitchen."

"Maybe it's just a wind, you never close windows properly. Better tell me more about that cuddling."

Some nervousness crept into Natsuki's voice making Shizuru frown. Still, it was true that she often left windows slightly ajar to let the fresh air in so she dropped it.

"Does my Natsuki miss our cuddling too? Or is it something else that she misses? Something more… naughty?" Hitched breath made her smile and continue: "I need to imagine you every now and then, having fun with you, or else I would forget what my Natsuki feels like…"

If phones could transmit heat, Shizuru's left ear would at that moment set on fire. She was about to comment on how cute the other woman's blush must have been at the moment and how much she'd like to see it when something crashed in the kitchen.

"Someone's here." She was getting really scared. "I'll check it out. If I'm not back in five minutes, call the police."

Without hanging up, Shizuru stood up and slowly trod toward the kitchen. For the time being, the noises quietened. Grabbing some small but heavy figurine from the dresser, the woman remembered the layout of her kitchen. Light switch was on the left, right next to the entrance. Taking deep breath in and saying a quick prayer, she stepped forward.

When the light went on, three things registered in Shizuru's mind at once.

The window she had indeed left ajar.

A leather jacket laying across the counter.

Natsuki standing by the stove, spoon in her hand, completely petrified.

Before she could process any of the three, something bubbled, hissed and Natsuki jumped, desperately trying to salvage whatever she was cooking.

If the quiet curses were any indication, it was a losing fight.

Shizuru stepped in behind Natsuki, plucked the spoon from her hand and moved the pot to a cold burner. Snuggling into the crook of the bluenette's neck she whispered:

"Welcome home, Natsuki." She laid a quick on a heated cheek. "Welcome home." Natsuki mumbled something, obviously dissatisfied but Shizuru had nothing of it. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming."

"Wanted to surprise you. You know, waiting for you with soup when you come home tired from work." The younger woman turned round and returned the hug. "I'm sorry it didn't work out."

"Oh hush!" Shizuru silenced her lover with a kiss. "I'm sure the soup can be saved. And even if not, it's not important."

"It's not?" teased Natsuki, brightening up and playing with the other woman's hair.

"Not important at all."

Before she let herself be pulled into another kiss, Shizuru glanced at the clock.

21:26.

She made it.