A/N: So I'm absolutely terrible at writing steamy scenes and I try to avoid it where possible but sometimes a fic really calls for it and this one certainly has. So I would like to apologize in advance for how bad this and future chapters probably are. At least in this regard.

Anyway. . . how are we all feeling about the final tomorrow? I'm scared. Very scared that we're going to be disappointed and there won't be much yumagna content or - and I've been dying for this - a kiss.

Previously:

"My brother's here, Magna."

"And so is your old life. The one you've been dreaming of ever since it went away. . . I know." Magna held her gaze, softening slightly. "Just don't forget your new life in your race to get it back." She swallowed, eyes moving away again, catching the wall. "Don't forget me."

And that was all she could take.

"Hey." Yumiko caught her chin, drawing her back. "I could never forget you. Never. That's not even a possibility." Gently releasing Magna, she lowered her hand to her shoulder - but didn't stop there, slowly moving it down her chest until she landed at the center. The place where dark ink hid beneath. Ink that spanned so much of Magna's body, but touched not even an inch of her own. "You're the only tattoo I have. The only one I've ever chosen for myself. Permanent." Yumiko's mouth drew up slightly, despite the fist that currently choked her heart. "My life may be different now. . . but you'll always be a part of it." She hesitated. "For as long as you want."

Ten minutes later found them sitting on some sorry excuse for a mattress, Magna's lips against her skin as she continued in her critique of the wine.

Wine which, having served its purpose, had ended up discarded on the floor. Carelessly abandoned in their haste to move things somewhere more comfortable. Given the relative sparseness of Magna's apartment, that left very few options.

Just one in fact.

The lumpy mattress shoved up against the back wall wasn't exactly what Yumiko would call a couch, but it was certainly better than the floor. And so far, it seemed to be serving its purpose.

Yumiko's breath caught as teasing lips skimmed her neck, barely grazing. The heat of Magna's exhale followed the sensation and she tried not to melt into it, to retain some level of thought.

Preferably the rational kind.

"You couldn't have brought nachos instead? Apple pie?" Magna mumbled against her neck.

Yumiko closed her eyes, barely hearing the complaint as fingers played across her waist, refusing to settle; the assault nothing short of torturous through the barrier of her dress. "I was on a time limit."

"Excuses, excuses."

She'd nearly brought one of those mangos instead but had backed out at the last minute, erring on the side of caution after the argument merely offering to bring one had provoked earlier.

She'd thought that the wine would be safer territory. Even if Magna hated the stuff.

So far the gamble seemed to be paying off.

Lips teased her earlobe and Yumiko inhaled at the sensation, leaning back into the solid form behind her, feeling the press of familiar breasts against her back.

Definitely paying off.

Somehow, Yumiko's voice managed to remain steady, with only the slightest hitch - barely noticeable to even her own ears. "I'm surprised you wouldn't prefer shepherd's pie."

It was her childhood favorite, after all.

"I already know they don't have that. Haven't seen any cattle or sheep around here."

"I'd have found some for you."

She entirely meant it.

Felt a chuckle against her neck, the husky note making her stomach tighten. "You're that good, huh?"

"I'm that good."

It was just as well they'd hastily found their way over to the mattress, considering Yumiko's legs had turned to jelly less than a minute into their kiss.

Something that might have been embarrassing, if she could find it within herself to care. To focus on anything other than the wet glide of Magna's mouth across her skin.

She'd worried that there would be some level of awkwardness after all this time apart, everything that had happened between them. That they would fumble through their kisses, hands landing places they were no longer welcome; failing to read what the other wanted.

Those worries had been a waste of time.

She and Magna fit together just as seamlessly as before they'd fallen apart, fluidly returning to the well-worn rhythm Yumiko had missed so much.

The relief she felt over this was almost better than the heat of Magna's mouth, the burn of her fingers on her skin.

"I like your hair." She shivered as Magna moved it aside, planting a kiss on her shoulder.

Yumiko closed her eyes. "Felt like I needed a change."

"Well," she grunted, moving her lips up her neck, "don't change too much."

"Still worried about that?"

Magna didn't say anything and Yumiko reached up, catching one of her hands. "Hey." She turned around, facing her. "We've been over this. It doesn't matter how much I change or how much my life does, there'll always be a place for you in it." She paused, examining Magna closely. "Though, I suppose the real question is whether there'll be a place for me in yours."

Yumiko held her breath, preparing herself for the silence that would follow. The building, clawing tension of waiting for an answer. An answer she would be lying if she said she was completely certain of.

The silence didn't come.

Magna leant forward slightly, until their noses were touching, the heat of their breaths colliding. "Always." A hand came up to cradle the back of Yumiko's head. "Even if all you do from here on out is wear fancy clothes and drink fancy wine."

Only Magna could make the word 'fancy' sound like such an insult.

She rolled her eyes. "You say that like it's the worst sin imaginable."

"Cos it is."

Her second eye roll was cut short by a kiss. And another one. Both of them short. Almost too brief to be felt. But Yumiko could sense the building urgency with each brush of their lips - the need. The first kiss had been soft. Sweet. The second bordered on desperate, like just the taste of her had sparked something in Magna. A hunger. That she now rushed to fill.

It was a hunger that Yumiko felt burning in her own chest, couldn't help but meet in kind. She'd forgotten the intensity of this feeling. This passion. The conviction that if their mouths were to part even for an instant, the universe would crumble into oblivion.

(but oxygen yet remained a frustrating necessity of life - and parting was inevitable)

Yumiko wasn't sure who pulled back first, only that one of them did.

She exhaled, reaching up to cup Magna's face, feeling the soft press of her skin, so warm and familiar.

She needed more.

(but not yet)

Too much, too fast.

They'd done that once before, to disastrous results. Yumiko was determined not to repeat the mistake. Suspected she wasn't alone in feeling that way when the space between them remained unbreached, both of them slowly catching their breath.

"I've gotta say, though," Magna breathed against her lips, as though there'd been no break in conversation, "this dress is hot."

Yumiko chuckled at the reluctant edge to her tone, how grudging she was to admit the fact. "It's okay, you're secret's safe with me. I won't tell anyone that the evil fancy clothes turn you on."

"Better not," she grumbled.

Drawing back, Yumiko smiled, running a finger over the surface of Magna's hair, feeling the softness mixed with bristly flyaway strands, till she made it to her bun.

It was rare that Magna wore her hair up. But every time she'd seen her lately - even just for the briefest of glimpses in the distance - it had been fashioned in this same way.

Just another thing that had changed.

"I remember you used to wear it up like this whenever you worked at the truck stop."

"Was trying to look more serious. You know, less like someone who'd just gotten out of prison for murder."

Despite the nonchalance of her tone, Magna watched her expression carefully, searching for any reaction to the M word. Yumiko fought not to give her one, not to betray the tightening of tension in her chest.

She'd made that mistake once already tonight. Refused to make it again.

Determined not to linger in the reminder of what had happened, she forced a smile. "I think the tattoos kind of ruined that."

Magna snorted, and Yumiko was sure that she didn't imagine the dash of relief in the exhalation. "True." She bent her head a moment later, their noses touching again. "Though they're pretty zen. Not like I'm covered in skulls and crossbows."

"Or knives."

"Now that I was tempted to do." She tilted her head to the side. "Still kind of am, actually."

God forbid.

Though she might always have had a notable weakness for Magna's tattoos, she'd never been entirely comfortable with the thought of injecting ink into one's body, particularly when there was a risk of that ink containing carcinogenic materials, among other things. Add to that the possibility of infection and Yumiko felt they courted enough danger in their lives without going out and tempting more of it.

"I think you have enough."

"Never enough."

"Magna-"

"Hey, it's not like I'm the only one here who's ever gotten a tattoo."

"I got one tattoo," Yumiko held up a finger, "one very small, temporary tattoo. You on the other hand spent your first year out of prison getting the permanent variety like they were going out of style."

"I mean, technically they kind of were since the literal apocalypse was right around the corner. Everything went out of style then."

She sent Magna a look.

"I'm just saying. . ."

Yumiko rolled her eyes, only for the expression to freeze on her face, breath catching when Magna nipped at the side of her hand. Teeth gently, ever so gradually, sinking into sensitive flesh.

Yumiko bit her lip, trying to maintain focus, to ignore the burning heat inside her, the way it built, slowly expanding. A herculean - and nigh impossible - task, with Magna looking at her like that.

And from the gleam in her eyes, the slight crook to her mouth, she knew it too. Knew exactly what she was doing.

Yumiko narrowed her eyes.

Tried not to shiver when Magna's teeth dragged across her skin, before bearing down a second time. Her irritation collapsed under the teasing glance of wet heat as Magna's tongue briefly connected, soothing the assault.

"Just a couple more tattoos."

So that was her game.

Yumiko gazed back at her. Unimpressed.

Even if her body was.

"One more tattoo?"

She pursed her lips.

"Come on, I'll even let you pick where it goes." Mouth quirking up a moment, Magna leaned in, lips grazing her ear as she lowered her voice, "I still have some space near my-"

Exasperated, Yumiko tugged her hand free. "Do you really want to get a skin infection in the middle of an apocalypse?"

"Well, I mean, we have your brother the doctor now so-"

Yumiko silenced her with a kiss. Long and firm enough that by the time she pulled back, there was a slightly dazed look on Magna's face. It was a trick she'd stumbled onto by chance at the very beginning of their relationship - and one she had never hesitated to exploit since. "I'd rather not talk about my brother right now. Kind of kills the mood."

"Noted." Magna closed the gap, drawing her into another kiss. A deeper one, the kind that had Yumiko itching to slip her hands under her shirt, to feel. Explore.

She wasn't sure if that would be a step too far, though.

Too much.

(for both of them)

Right now, just the feeling of Magna's mouth against her felt like too much. She'd been without the sensation for so long, her nerves struggled to adjust to its return, skin burning with a desire she hadn't felt in a very long time. A desire only Magna had ever been able to ignite with nothing more than a kiss.

Magna drew back the briefest amount. "You taste like stale bread."

Yumiko laughed, cupping her face. "Just what every woman wants to hear. . . and you can blame Tomi for that too." She tapped her fingers against Magna's cheek. "Want to stop?"

"Not a chance."

Magna's mouth was on her again before she could blink. Hot and firm, almost overpowering in its force. Almost. "Besides," she panted, parting a moment, "it's not nearly as bad as when we were on the rig."

Yumiko wrinkled her nose. "Squirrel stew does have a very particular flavor."

And aftertaste.

(unfortunately, expired toothpaste did very little to help. She was eternally grateful for the day they'd found that mint bush. And even more grateful for the homemade toothpaste they sold in the Commonwealth. She wondered whether Magna had any on hand-)

Fingers dug into her hips slightly; firm, grounding - and as much as Yumiko enjoyed the sensation, the fabric of her dress proved a frustration. She resisted the urge to clench it in her hands, yank it up. Remove any and all obstacles to Magna's touch.

"Still worth it, though," Magna exhaled against her lips.

"No arguments here," she breathed, feeling almost dizzy with the closeness, with the taste of her. Though perhaps that could also be blamed on the amount of oxygen she'd forgone for the privilege of having that taste.

With that in mind, she captured Magna's mouth again, hands gripping her shoulders. Partially for balance, but mostly to afford herself something to hold onto. Something that would keep her from reaching for things that she shouldn't. Things it was growing increasingly hard to believe that she shouldn't.

Recalling the earlier attack on her hand - and feeling a rush of playful vindictiveness - Yumiko sealed the next kiss with a bite.

Light. Barely grazing.

But Magna hissed, shuddering a moment - before pressing into the kiss with even more fervor, nails digging into Yumiko's hips. Fire fanned out from the point of pressure, engulfing her nerves - but it was far from the only thing that consumed them.

At some point, Magna's shirt had ridden up against her stomach. Yumiko could feel it bunched between them, An uncomfortable barrier. Thoughtlessly, she reached to readjust it, found her fingers grazing the soft skin of Magna's stomach.

Goosebumps met her touch, muscles contracting as Yumiko felt a sharp breath against her lips. "Too much?"

"Fuck yes."

Magna moved closer, trapping her hand between them.

"Doesn't mean I want you to stop, though."

The corner of her mouth turning up, Yumiko allowed her fingers to wander, smoothing over the flat expanse of Magna's torso and grazing the underside of her ribs. If she ventured further, she knew what she'd be met with.

And what that would likely lead to.

Yumiko forced herself to draw back, lips parting from Magna, who let out a little noise of protest.

She wanted to continue, wanted it more than anything in the world right now, but she needed a moment to catch her breath. To calm herself.

To think.

A pause. She needed a pause.

The details of their earlier conversation offered something of a fruitful distraction and Yumiko latched onto it somewhat desperately.

Heart pounding, she smoothed a hand across Magna's forehead, over her hair until she reached the base of her bun again. Resisted the urge to sink her fingers beneath tight elastic and work it free.

To feel what she hadn't felt in so long.

(there was so much she'd gone too long without feeling

Yumiko craved it all)

"So. . . you trying to look serious again?" she murmured, idly toying with the few loose strands she could find. For now, they would have to be enough to satisfy her.

"More like tired of getting my hair caught in sicko guts."

Yumiko could sympathize. Sometimes it took weeks for the stench to fully abate, especially during those times when all they'd had access to was water for washing. Still. . . "Not exactly a problem in here."

"Well, waiting tables is hazardous work too. You don't want to know the shit that's been spilled on me."

Except she did.

She wanted to know everything.

Everything about what had been happening in Magna's life since she'd left. Everything that had ever happened to her, both before and after their lives had touched.

Everything that she'd missed.

"Well, I've seen my fair share," Yumiko said lightly, instead of voicing any of this. "That mountain of tomato sauce covered French fries certainly took the cake. I thought you were going to kill everyone in a ten-mile radius after that happened."

She'd even had a moment of dilemma where she'd considered the validity of defending Magna on yet another homicide charge when she also happened to be a witness to said homicide.

"Oh, the urge was definitely there."

Yumiko hummed, continuing to toy with her hair. "Well, color me impressed by your self-restraint."

"Could have been worse. No-one ever said working at a truck stop was going to be glamorous. And I was used to a lot less glamorous." Right. Prison. She'd spent time on kitchen duty there too, with trays of food that it was difficult to say would pass any kind of quality health inspection.

"You know, you used to hang around that place like a bad smell," Magna added. "It was weird."

It had felt weird too.

Only. . . not.

Only, in some ways, it had felt like the most natural thing in the world. Because Magna was there.

And so of course Yumiko would be too.

Though, from the looks on the faces of those around her - Magna included - she'd been the only one to think so.

"God, your colleagues used to look at me like I was a zebra that'd just wandered in from the zoo."

"That's because you spent most nights sitting at our counter in your fancy suit risking food poisoning just to hang out with me - because apparently I'm such a 'good conversationalist'. . . it's the last part that tripped them up by the way. I never did much more than grunt at them."

Yumiko's mouth curved faintly. "You were a little antisocial."

Magna wasn't wrong about the food poisoning, though. Yumiko had seen some nice truck stops in her time - Clive's Corner was not one of them. But it was the only place that had been willing to hire Magna, a woman with no references beyond a three-year stay in a correctional facility.

"I just don't talk to people that I don't care to talk to."

"Uh huh." Yumiko ran her hands down her chest, popping the buttons of her shirt as she went. To hell with it. She couldn't resist any longer. Magna raised a brow at the liberty but didn't stop her, the corner of her mouth edging up. "And back then that encompassed everyone, hmm?"

"Pretty much." Fingers played with the zipper of her dress, every so often giving a faint tug that was more maddening than effective. "Well, everyone except you. I always wanted to talk to you."

"Not the impression you gave off." Many days, it had seemed like Magna couldn't wait to get away from her.

"That's because you made me uncomfortable." And the torture ceased, Yumiko's ears echoing with the sound of the zipper's descent.

"I made you uncomfortable?"

It seemed laughable, given how often Magna had put her on edge back then.

"Uh huh." Yumiko shivered as warm fingers hit her skin, trailed over the rise of her spine. "Very uncomfortable."

So now she'd scared her and made her uncomfortable.

Yumiko was going to have to rewrite a lot of their past interactions after tonight.

"How?"

A hand splayed against her back and Yumiko's muscles contracted at the contact, heat burning through her, spreading out from Magna's palm.

She grit her teeth, trying to stay focused on the conversation.

Knew Magna was doing this on purpose.

"I liked being around you. Liked you. And, insanely, you seemed to like me back. Even thought of me as a friend. Maybe. For me, that was as uncomfortable as it could get. Would have rather been in a room full of people who hated my guts."

A far more natural environment, Yumiko thought bitterly, Magna's touch ceasing to be a worthy contender for her attention.

"It was like when you'd visit me in prison. Only. . . worse. Because I could no longer blame your desire to spend time with me on your job. Couldn't blame how much I liked your company on being locked up, either."

"I didn't know that." She trailed her fingers over Magna's collarbone, gently stroking, savoring the skin beneath. It seemed there was a lot she hadn't known. "I knew you were trying to push me away. That much was obvious. I thought it was because you didn't trust me."

Or that you were afraid to.

"I didn't," Magna said simply. "If I like someone, if someone likes me. . . that's usually the first sign I shouldn't trust them."

A name turned over in her thoughts and Yumiko debated whether or not to give it life. To ruin the easy atmosphere between them. "Lawson?"

Magna said nothing, eyes on the side of Yumiko's head as she occupied herself with combing a strand of hair behind her ear. Flattening it. Twirling it. And flattening it again. "Not just him." She exhaled, drawing back. "It took me a long time to work out that you didn't like me the way that they did. And that it wasn't. . . a mistake to like you back. Wasn't something I should run from."

"How long?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, smiling weakly. "Sometimes I think I'm still working it out. I go back and forth. Think one way, then think another."

The words hurt. But only because she understood them so well.

"I felt the same way after Nicole," Yumiko murmured, after a moment's hesitation. "For a really long time. But strangely. . . never with you."

She'd trusted Magna from the beginning.

Believed her.

Believed in her.

(and even now, knowing the truth, she still couldn't say that belief had been misplaced)

Magna raised a brow, mouth curving. "Then I think your danger sense is pretty thoroughly busted."

"I don't think so." Yumiko smiled, brushing some hair behind her ear. "You've always been the safest place I know."

Magna's expression softened, lines disappearing, though she could still see the shadows of reservation there. The doubt. Knew there was very little she could say to erase either. "Yeah. . . your danger sense is screwed."

The retort was soft, though, and Yumiko drew closer, protesting it with a kiss that was even softer. "Once upon a time it was. Never with you."

She saw a question flicker in Magna's eyes. Silenced it with another kiss. Deeper. Until she felt hands grip her waist, forcing her closer.

And then she was no longer the one driving the kiss forward, but succumbing to it. Succumbing to the hands pressing her impossibly close, the tongue parting her lips. The faint moans, so familiar, so sorely missed, sounding in her ears.

It was so easy to give in to the emotion flowing freely from Magna's mouth, the need. Give into the feeling of their bodies moulding together, their chests heaving in unison. Allow all thought, all conversation to melt away. Until it was just the two of them, existing in this moment. . .

In the relief of reunion.

(there would be time for talking later.

For now, she wanted to feel)

A/N: Me *slides twenty bucks towards Miko*: let her get the tattoo

In all seriousness, though, Yumiko would never actually prevent Magna from getting a tattoo or try to control what she does like that. They're just bantering.

So I know the ending sounds kind of ambiguous but this is not a fade to black, sex situation. I repeat: they are not having sex. Miko was serious about taking things slow. At least for the moment.

More on Magna's hair later. I couldn't not write about it considering we haven't seen her with her hair down since s10 which is. . . Odd. I'm not sure of the reasoning for it on the show, whether it was done to signify the change and development in her character since the cave, if it was just easier hair and make-up wise, I don't know. But considering it's such a significant change, I had to take the time to explore it in this fic. I do miss Magna's hair being down. Like I love it when it's up but I would have liked to see it one more time the way it used to look before the show ends. But that's a very small inconsequential thing.

Also, I just want to warn you guys. I have covid at the moment - I did everything I could to avoid it but it's a losing battle when nobody else will mask and the government ended mandatory isolation for those who are infected - and I'm very worried about how this is going to affect my health going forward. In the past, infections have caused a progression in my disease, the damage often taking months to truly become apparent. I am still deteriorating from when I had gastro last year and was hospitalized. Add to that the fact that covid causes brain damage in almost everyone who contracts it and I really just don't know how much this is going to affect my writing going forward, and will likely not know until next year. I'm hoping and praying that it doesn't but yeah. I'm also going to be at more risk now from future infections due to the damage that covid does to the immune system. Honestly, right now I'm feeling devastated and furious. Also betrayed.