The swan mug
A soft melody being hummed can be heard filling the air of the apartment, mixing with the light pitter-patter of the rain falling outside while its owner awaits for the water of the black kettle in front of her to boil for their brewing tea.
A warm smile plays on the lips of a brunette, before the particularly loud roaring of a thunder along with the flicker of the lights make her flinch with such a bad luck that her elbow hits the mug beside her on the counter.
Silence then fills the kitchen, reverberating thunderously as Maya stares at the shattered mug on the floor.
She knows it's stupid, childish even, but she can't help the tears that start flooding her eyes, wetting down her face as she crouches to touch the small pieces of the shattered mug covering the floor.
It's just a mug.
She tells herself, wiping her tears away with the back of her hands. But Maya knows it's actually more than a mug.
Before the brunette can keep dwelling on the sight of her shattered mug, rushed steps can be heard approaching the kitchen.
- Maya? Are you okay? What happened?
Claudine asks alarmed as she enters, seeing the brunette still crouched beside her shattered mug while furiously trying to dry her eyes and give her girlfriend the best smile she can muster.
- Ah, it's nothing, ma Claudine. I just hit the mug and it broke in its falling.
Maya reassures the ash-blonde, yet a trace of sadness can be heard in her voice.
- Don't worry Maya, we have more mugs.
The ash-blonde tries to comfort her girlfriend, her hand stroking the brunette's still wet cheeks as she feels Maya leaning in her touch.
- So why don't you go and choose the movie you want us to watch tonight while I clean this mess?
- But-
- I'll even let you watch your favorite one for the nth time while we cuddle.
Claudine offers Maya playfully, seeing her blushing lightly as a coy smile takes over her until then sad features. Still, the brunette can't help but walk dejected towards the living room, not before giving Claudine a kiss, of course.
- Thank you.
Maya whispers softly as Claudine watches her walking away, looking then at the shattered mug scattered on the floor, before taking a broom to sweep the pieces.
The ash-blonde knows it isn't just another mug of all the ones they own, but Maya's mug. Her favorite one, the one she brought for her when they moved in together, but there's nothing she can really do about it.
A heavy sigh escapes the ash-blonde's lips as her fingers carefully trace the little but shattered swan pattern that adorned the mug, before she gathers all the pieces together and throws them into a bag, taking then another mug of one of the cabinets to pour their still hot tea in it.
When Claudine walks into the living room, Maya can't help but feel a pang of sadness in her chest upon the white flowery mug her girlfriend carries in her hands, wrapping her own hands around it to feel its warmth, before she feels Claudine leaving a kiss on her forehead that sure cheers her up and warms her the same as the mug in her hands.
- Don't worry about it.
Claudine whispers in her ear as she pulls her into a tight hug, before the credits of the movie begin to roll and Maya soon forgets about the unsettling feeling in her chest in her girlfriend's embrace.
But even though the brunette does her best to forget about the incident, every time she looks at the flowery pattern adorning the mug in between her hands, it makes her feel how it isn't the same as before.
The flowery mug doesn't bring a smile to her face nor makes her feel warm as when her thumbs used to brush the cute little swan adorning it, but feel empty instead.
A heavy sigh manages to escape the brunette's lips every time this happens, before Claudine changes that one evening.
The brunette just came back home after a long day of rehearsals, when she finds her lovely girlfriend waiting for her at the kitchen.
- I'm back.
She lets out tiredly as she sinks into Claudine's warm embrace, hearing her giggling and kissing her head, before talking.
- You came just in time. I was brewing a new blend of tea Kaoruko sent us.
Claudine tells her girlfriend, letting Maya smell its delicious aroma, before pouring it in their mugs.
At first, the brunette doesn't notice the grey color of the mug in front of her, but when she notices the little swan decorating it and whose is surrounded by a beautiful red and full of roses pattern, she can't help but gasp loudly, looking at Claudine with wide eyes as she carefully takes the mug in her hands to survey it.
- This…
She trails off, raising her head as she hears Claudine giggling cutely.
- It's your mug – Claudine says with a tender smile on her lips – I know how much you loved it, so I took all the broken pieces and take them to repair it. It isn't the same as before but-
- It's beautiful.
Maya rushes to say so Claudine doesn't have to worry about her not liking its new appearance, a fond smile playing on the brunette's lips as she looks at her girlfriend with nothing but utter love in her eyes.
- It's perfect. Thank you, ma Claudine.
She whispers touched by her girlfriend's gesture, leaving the mug in a safe place on the table to then pull Claudine into a tender and deep kiss.
- I'm glad you liked it. Now shall we try this delightful tea before It gets cold?
The ash-blonde asks eliciting a giggle from her girlfriend, before she feels Maya hugging her tightly.
- We shall.