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Exhausting.
That's the only word in the English language that Sieglinde could use to describe her day at work. Absolutely. Bloody. Exhausting.
The black haired woman unlocked the door to the flat that she and her girlfriend shared. Walking in, she hung her keys on one of the hooks beside the door, then made her way toward the peach colored sofa. On days like these, Sieglinde was more than grateful that their flat was small and cramped with only one bedroom to it; making moving to a certain spot a lot quicker than it would be if there were more space to navigate.
With a loud sigh Sieglinde collapsed back first into the plush sofa, throwing her mobility crutches down on the floor beside it. She relished the feeling of the soft cushions beneath her body, the exhaustion now completely taking over her as her eyes began to slowly drift shut. But just before she could slip away into the familiar, welcoming darkness that was sleep, the sound of her girlfriend's footsteps and voice startled her back into awareness.
"Hey there, love. How was your day?" Elizabeth asked with a smile, leaning over the back of the sofa and placing an upside down kiss to Sieglinde's lips.
The corners of Sieglinde's mouth turned up into a small smile. No matter how terrible of a day she's had, coming home to Elizabeth's beautiful, smiling face everyday always managed to make her feel a little less grey. "In all honesty, mein liebling--exhausting. Bloody, exhausting."
Elizabeth made a sympathetic noise in the back of her throat. "I'm sorry you had a bad day, Lin. Was Lucas being a twat again?"
"For once, no. Bastard was out sick today with food poisoning, so it was just me, Sadie, Marlene, and Shelly."
The blonde haired woman walked around the sofa and took a seat beside the other woman. "If it wasn't Lucas that made your day so bad, what was? If you don't mind me asking, of course. I'll understand if you don't feel like talking about it, right now."
As soon as Sieglinde saw that Elizabeth was seated comfortably, she wrapped her arms around the older woman and placed her head on her chest. "It's alright, mein liebling . I never mind when it's you that's asking." She paused briefly to place a kiss to the blonde's collar. "Although, to be honest, I don't even know where to start," Sieglinde said, huffing a humorless laugh.
"It's okay, just take your time, love. There's no rush," Elizabeth replied, beginning to gently run her fingers through Sieglinde's short, velvety black hair--which earned her a very happy and content sigh from the younger woman lying against her.
"Alright, well, I guess I can start with how the bathrooms were out of order all day--which meant that we had to go across the street to the closest super market every time we needed a piss. To top it off, they won't even be fixed until tomorrow afternoon--even though Lucas could have easily sent someone out to fix the problem today. But noooo, because God forbid women be trusted with overseeing plumbing."
"God, that's awful. I guess even when Lucas isn't there he still manages to be a twat."
"Pretty much. That's not even the worst part of the day, though."
"Worse than that?"
"Much, much worse. Shelly ended up punching Marlene in the face. More than once. In front of customers."
"Oh my God, are you serious? Why?"
"Very. Supposedly, Shelly's boyfriend kissed Marlene a few days ago at some party they were all at--which Shelly had the misfortune of overhearing about when Sadie and Marlene were having their regularly scheduled gossip fest." Sieglinde let out a long, suffering sigh, nuzzling her face into her girlfriend's perfume scented neck. "God, today was such a bloody mess. I'll be surprised if there's even one customer there at all tomorrow, after today's display."
Elizabeth pressed a kiss to the crown of Sieglinde's head. "I'm sure there will still be customers, love, a fight breaking out isn't going to be enough to stop people with major sweet toothes from continuing to buy and order their beloved sweets. Don't forget, 'Sweeties & Treaties' is one of the most popular bakeries' in town. I know for a fact it certainly wouldn't deter Ciel from going back." Elizabeth chuckled.
"You make a very good, very solid point, mein schatzi," the younger woman said with a small chuckle of her own. "I think that man has a bigger sweet tooth than a five year old and me combined."
"You should've seen how he was when he actually was five, aunt Rachel and uncle Vincent used to have to hide away every biscuit and candy they bought for years!"
Both women broke out into fits of laughter. Sieglinde could imagine a tiny Ciel with chubby cheeks pouting adorably at only being allowed a certain amount of sweets.
"God, I really don't want to go to work tomorrow. I wish I could just stay home with you," Sieglinde said after their laughter came to a stop.
"I know, my love, I know. I wish you could stay home, too. But just think, only two more years of Uni, and you'll officially be a bioengineer!"
"That day can not come fast enough. I can't wait to tell Lucas' misogynistic, ableist arse that he can go straight to hell, because I'm never coming back, ever." Sieglinde let out another exasperated sigh. "How is it that I get lucky enough to work at the second best job in the world, but then get stuck with the world's worst boss and the world's most obnoxious colleagues."
"Life can be tricky like that, sadly."
"That's an understatement. But, at least I have you to come home to at the end of the day. Seeing you after days' like these always makes them feel a little less shite," Sieglinde said with a small grin as she leaned her head back to look into Elizabeth's beautiful, bright emerald green eyes.
Elizabeth grinned widely in return. "Aw, Lin." She leaned down, wrapping her arms around Sieglinde's waist, and brought the younger woman into a gentle kiss.
Sieglinde placed her hands against Elizabeth's cheeks, cradling the older woman's face as she kissed her back. These were Sieglinde's favorite kind of kisses, the soft and slow ones that allowed her to truly savor the feeling of her girlfriend's soft, (currently) vanilla bean flavored lips. If anyone had told Sieglinde back in her early, wild university days that she would enjoy sweet and tender moments like these over quick and rough hookups, she probably would have laughed her ass off until she was blue in the face. But now, now she lived and breathed for these moments; they gave her more happiness than any of her past flings ever did, way more than she could have ever imagined or hoped for.
After a couple more moments of blissful kissing, Elizabeth pulled back and leaned her forehead against Sieglinde's. "I love you so much, Lin," she said in a quiet, fond voice, her warm breath ghosting over the younger woman's lips as she spoke.
Sieglinde's smile grew wider. "I love you, too, Lizzy." She leaned in and gave the other woman one last peck on the lips, then pulled herself away to lean back into the plush sofa and stretch her upper body. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving and could really go for a drink at that little restaurant we went to last week. What was it called again?"
"Oh! You mean 'Agni's Hot & Fresh Curry'? I love that place, especially their curry buns!"
"Wanna eat dinner there tonight then?"
"I would love to! Let's get going now, before it gets late. I'll go grab my purse, be right back!" Elizabeth said excitedly as she jumped up from the sofa and took off toward their bedroom.
Sieglinde chuckled fondly at the bubbly blonde's excitement. She reached over the side of the sofa and picked up her mobility crutches, carefully maneuvering herself back into them and standing back up. Once she got her balance, she walked over and stood by the door and patiently waited for her girlfriend to return, still grinning widely. Elizabeth truly never failed at making Sieglinde feel better and brighter after a bad day.