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Maribelle takes a sip of her tea, exhaustion clear on her face as a nearly imperceptible sigh escapes her lips. The petrichor from the earlier rainstorm and the scent of freshly turned soil adds a particularly rustic atmosphere to the dark, overcast evening. Living in the city, she had been aware of the solitude that comes part and parcel with life in rural areas, but experiencing it for herself was proving… interesting.
Moonlight breaks through the heavy clouds, for a few scant minutes illuminating the far reaches of the yard which the porch light could never dream of touching. The woman's eyes fall upon the garden - fall, more precisely, on the pansies her darling Lissa had planted just that afternoon. A smile, guarded but true, dances on her lips. Lost in her reverie, she fails to notice the sound of the door and of the light footsteps of somebody approaching.
A stack of cookies in her hand and one in her mouth, Lissa makes her way toward Maribelle's reclined form with barely-contained vigor in her steps. "Mawibewwe?" Having failed to catch the woman's attention, she removes the cookie from her mouth and tries again. "Hello!" she waves her free hand in front of her partner's face. "Earth to Maribelle?"
"I-!" Maribelle snaps to attention with a start, eyes involuntarily following the undulating hand before her. "What was it you needed, darling?"
"Wow!" Lissa giggles, her laugh full of warmth and affection as she plops into the other chair. "You were totally spaced out there!"
The faintest hint of a blush creeps across her cheeks. "I was not 'totally spaced out' I'll have you know!" Vexing. "Hmph!" she huffs and crosses her arms to pout, though she would never call it a pout, of course. "Well, have you come here only to tease me?"
"Oh, that's right!" Now reminded of her mission, her face grows serious. "I thought you'd want a cookie." Despite herself, she giggles once more, dropping her faux-seriousness with it. "I made them myself, ya know! And they're good!" Her eyes flash with a hint of fear and disappointment. "Well, not as good as Emm's, but good enough… I hope!"
Maribelle, unable to maintain her pouting, glances down to the cookies, spotting the half eaten one on top of the stack. She smirks, just as Lissa tracks her gaze. "It seems somebody has already gotten into them. I seem to recall things going similarly whenever Emmeryn would make them. I suppose they truly must be good then."
"I, well I had one cookie in my mouth, but then I had to call your name," Lissa starts, her cheeks flushed crimson at the compliment. "and anyway-- wait!"
Before she can say anything further, Maribelle reaches over and snags the partially eaten treat. She then takes a sizable bite while staring Lissa down smugly.
"Maribelle?" She sits bemused in stunned silence for several seconds, the full weight of her wife's attention making her face reignite. "I-I thought you didn't like sharing food!?" She spits out, otherwise at a loss for words.
"Well… No, I don't." There's an almost-out-of-place playfulness in her voice, "At least, I usually don't." a song-like lilt as she takes another bite, then continues, "But how could I ever refuse homemade sweets from my sweet?" She chuckles, clearly amused with herself as her demeanor and intonation return to normal. "You were right, darling. These are absolutely delicious."
A moment passes, but then realization sinks in. "You really mean it?" Lissa bounces over to Maribelle, nearly knocking her chair over in the process. "Even though I never made 'em before?!" She sniffles, wiping away a tear as she's overcome by several different emotions.
"Yes, darling, of course." She smiles radiantly, placing a hand on her lover's shoulder in order to anchor her chaotic wiggling. "They were every bit as perfect as you are. Now I think it's time we head inside for the evening. It's getting rather chilly."