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It doesn't matter how long Marianne, Annette and Mercedes have been together, the days, weeks, months and then years flowing and standing apart given how unique and otherworldly precious each moment is. Nevertheless, Mari is always amazed at how she's able to wake up with a beam etched on her lips, her nose pleasantly tingling due to the sweet smells that come all the way from the kitchen.
This day is no different and she turns in the bed that is a little too empty without one of her partners there, feeling around with her hand until she finds Annie's warm, usually still sleeping form. As always, the vet slowly edges closer to her and embraces the smaller woman, a contact that she has come to cherish and crave upon waking up.
"Five more minutes," Annette grumbles after sighing in delight at their closeness, her hands running up and down Mari's back with a sluggishness typical of those that have just woken up.
"Mercie has probably finished making breakfast already and she'll get started on the dishes if we don't stop her," Marianne replies, weaving her fingers through disheveled ginger locks. "Also, didn't you say you'd be up earlier today to finish making our lunch?"
"Argh, I did!" As always these are the magical words, the ones that make Annette bolt to her feet, sometimes so suddenly that the movement scares Mari.
The moment is made even softer when she backtracks, sits on the edge of the bed and gives Marianne the longest, most loving good morning kiss one could ask for. While watching her other partner stumble across the room, running and already yelling threats to Mercedes if she were to touch the to-be-washed-dishes, Marianne rolls in bed and spends an extra second absorbing the environment around her. The sights and sounds which once were so alien, so distant from a reality she didn't even dream about.
The smell of something sweet turns even sweeter by the three sets of giggles that she can already hear coming from the kitchen, making her mind reminisce about the past just once more.
Garreg Mach city, three years ago
It was the first weekend after the amazing Halloween party where Marianne had met her childhood friends again. And while she had enjoyed their night together - with the promise of more after two chaste kisses were pressed on her cheeks - she had never expected them to actually message her and invite her for dinner at their place so soon. Sure, they had kept contact through daily messages and even had a group chat, but it did surprise the vet when they asked her out for something so intimate and cozy in essence.
Yet it had been easy for them to fall into a familiar pattern of joking around, soothing each other when bad things happened and asking about each other's days, just as it had happened when they met at the cathedra every Sunday as kids. Mercedes would hug them both and ask them about their weeks while they decorated the altar, giving her two cents about things they were struggling with or making them laugh with stupid jokes here and there.
So the moment they started talking again it was as if all those years were instantly dissolved and they had always been together, always kept in touch and been in each other's lives. Maybe that was also why it felt natural when Mercedes and Annette welcomed Mari with another peck to the cheeks the moment she arrived for their dinner date.
Even if said cheeks had become redder than the wine she had brought to accompany the meal, a nice contrast to the simple white dress with golden embroidery that she was wearing for the night.
The meal itself had been funnier and louder than she thought it would be. Annie and Mercie had spent most of it telling anecdotes and small stories about their lives and coworkers, including Mari in their internal jokes and recalling some names they used to call the old, righteous people that attended the cathedral back in the day. They asked Marianne about the past and showed the utmost respect whenever she was reluctant to respond to a certain subject or gave a vague answer to others.
Without words but with all the care in the world they reassured her she was ok, that no one would force her into anything she didn’t want to say or do. Those gestures, the way they changed the conversation to another topic the second they noticed Marianne was uncomfortable, made her gradually relax, gradually smile more than wince, gradually open herself up to what was happening and to the same sensation she had had during the Halloween party. The wish for them to never end.
And so it didn’t, her stay going way beyond a mere dinner date. They were keen to show the vet around their apartment, the one they had moved to after Mercedes graduated and had been living in since then, loving it into a cozy home.
The living room they stayed a good part of the night in was wide, with a huge TV over its own set on the left wall, two L-shaped, cream colored sofas facing it and a small, circular crystal table with books and notebooks between them. They had sat on one of those couches for a while, talking, laughing, slowly getting used to touching and finally, kissing. The experience was dazzling and unexpected at first, making Marianne widen her eyes and smile when the two girls asked for her consent before doing anything at all, then taking turns tasting her lips in all the gentle ways they could, kissing each other and leaving their hands on Mari’s arm, shoulder or back..
As lost as she had been in that novelty, on how cared for and loved she was feeling by those two amazing women, Mari couldn't even recall when they got up and went through a small hallway with a long, fluffy blue rug, passed in front of an empty bedroom and went into another. It was vastly decorated, complete with a huge bed set under a window that was covered by silver drapes, big, white wardrobes lining two adjacent walls and a tall wooden shelf on the left one filled to the brim with more books and notebooks.
They'd laid awake on that bed for hours and hours, talking and moving more freely, touching and kissing until slumber claimed them. Just as she was enjoying every single thing about that encounter thus far, the feeling of sleeping between two people that she trusted and had missed throughout her life made Marianne tingle with joy and utter, complete bliss.
The vet had been sure that nothing would be better than that, the physical and emotional comfort she had experienced through the night and her slumber because of those two. Those two that had meant everything to her when she was little and had had little, close to nothing, to cling to except for religion. Until that, and her friends, had been taken away from her by something she couldn’t control.
To have them back, to get to hear about the years she had lost and be so welcomed in the ones that would come to be, filled her heart with a warmth that at first was foreign, but by no means unwanted. And she thought that was everything she could have asked for, everything that was wholesome and sweet in the world.
She was proven wrong the moment she woke up sweet, unknown smells surrounding them, Annette's head lying heavily and snugly on her chest.
Her eyes stirred slowly and she had a brief moment of fear in which her body stiffened due to the fact that she couldn’t recognize where she was. As a result her arms tightened around the smaller woman, who grunted a bit and moved around because of that.
"Is everything ok?" Annette inquired, her small voice laden with both worry and the remnants of sleep. Mari had told them she was prone to nightmares and she thought she had heard the vet tossing and turning through the night as well.
"Y-yes, sorry for waking you up so suddenly over nothing," Mari replied as Annie disentangled herself and ran a sleepy, accessing glance over her.
Annette nodded to herself as she realized the woman wasn’t hiding her emotions or something of the sorts. "Don't apologize, I was almost up anyways. Did you sleep well?" Annie proceeded to caress the long blue tresses that had been pulled loose through the night, no longer concealed in a tight bun. She loved them, had always loved touching Mari's hair like that.
"Yes, I did. Thank you." Marianne blushed under that contact, still mildly taken aback with everything that had been going on. "Hm, is Mercie cooking already?" She tentatively asked in order to change the subject and after realizing she hadn't really been dreaming - the apartment was indeed coated with amazing smells.
"Yeah! She loves making breakfast every day and seriously, who am I to stop her when her food is that good?" Annie answered in a singsong voice, delicately sniffling. "Yum, I think she's making waffles today too. They used to be your favorite, didn't they?"
"They were, yes. Actually, I still enjoy them a lot," Marianne admitted, smiling gently at that.
"Mhm that's Mercie for you. Somehow she always remembers what someone likes and also knows what to make so people will be really happy with a meal." She moved closer, then slower when she went to gift Mari with a peck on her lips, giving her plenty of time to dodge if she wanted to. It was a delight when it wasn't the case. "I'm so happy you're here with us."
Marianne needed a moment of silence in order to calm her heart due to how fast it was beating - for the first time not because of anxiety or fear, but in sheer, undiluted joy. "I'm really glad you've… accepted me back after I just disappeared out of nowhere," the vet replied, averting the smaller woman's gaze and wondering if she really deserved all of that attention.
"Oh shush, of course we have. You're so, so dear to us. You've always been very dear to us. Mercie and I would often talk about you, making plans to find out if you were living at that same house too. She was super adamant about going there but I…" here she faltered, eyes suddenly downcast and hooded.
"You…?" Mari prompted, even though a part of her was afraid of causing her some unnecessary stress. More than she had already caused, that was, since she was sure that had already been the case.
"I- thought we'd done something and you didn't want to see us again," Annette confessed, bringing herself closer so she could nestle on Marianne's neck.
There it was, the vet thought. She really had done it and been a burden to the two people she had called her friends on those days. Yes, there had been nothing she could do to really prevent what happened, or the reason why they had been pulled apart. Even so, guilt still beat inside her chest at hearing those words and seeing the sadness on Annie's face.
She had to force her voice through a lump which had formed in her throat, but the last thing she wanted was to keep misunderstandings to stay like that, a barrier between her and the others that had been indirectly affected by what she had gone through. "N-no, that wasn't the case at all. You see, I had to stop attending church because -"
"Excuse me, sleepyheads." Mercedes's voice came from the door, which had been opened just the slightest so she could peek inside. "Breakfast is ready and it'll taste a lot better if we can have it while still warm."
Mercie's smile widened once two sets of eyes she adored stared back at her; the caramel ones wide in disbelief and the blues she had counted as her companion through thick and thin already shining in gratitude.
"You shouldn't have bothered, really," Marianne said, glad for the interruption and the abrupt change of subject.
It was visible that her now partners were going through some doubts of their own due to the lack of information about her past, the reason why she'd simply vanished for more than a decade. That didn't mean she felt ready to open up, however. The prospect was scary and daunting, even more so since it would be the first time she'd tell it to someone outside of her remaining family, a very kind defense attorney and her daughter, then Hilda later on.
"What she meant to say was that we'll be there in a few and we're very hungry, so we hope you've made enough for an army," Annette cheerfully replied, sitting up in bed.
"Heehee, you'll see when you get to the dining table, silly. And hey, good morning," Mercie added and didn't even wait for an answer, but got closer to them and gave each a kiss on the lips before going away, humming a song.
It wasn't lost on Marianne how awkward she felt at the entire thing. As Annie rose to her feet, stretched and tugged on the oversized t-shirt she'd slept on, she marveled at the lightness around it all, how those two seemed so happy and breezy first thing in the morning. How loving it was that one of them had cooked for everyone and no one was being called names for not helping, oversleeping and still being in bed.
The contrast to the environments in which she had grown up was so stark, she was speechless at all the love and affection that was being poured on her. Reflexively she began asking herself when those two pairs of loving eyes would start narrowing into slits, becoming cold and shunning. Her racing thoughts were cut short when Annette offered her a hand and a smile, then led her out of the room, into a hallway that looked a lot different from the way it did last night, lit with the softest streaks of sunlight which came from the living room, poured over the light blue rug and made the small apartment even more welcome.
Before they could set foot in the living room, however, the smaller woman stopped and turned to address Mari with gentle words, the ocean breeze on a lazy summer day.
"Hey, don't feel pressured to tell us anything, ok? Yeah, we do wanna know because we care about you a lot, but that doesn't mean we'll force you into something you're not comfortable with, ok?"
The vet nodded, cheeks flushing as a result of how much she was feeling. The biggest sensation of all, the one that ruled over the myriad others, was belonging, something new and alien and not at all uncomfortable. It made her light, as light as the two other women had seemed to be in the beginning of that morning.
"Thank you, really. It might seem stupid but… That means a lot to me," Mari answered, looking up from the floor and into eyes that weren't narrowed and cold but warm, relieved and welcoming.
"It's nothing to thank us, really. Now let's go, I don't know about you but I'm starving. And I can't wait to see your face when you have those waffles, Mercie has been perfecting that recipe for years."
Since the apartment was small and cozy, they only needed to take a few more steps before they were met by the dining table and all the wonderful smells coming from it, those same smells they had sniffed before in the bedroom. Marianne's face fell as she watched Mercedes arrive from the kitchen and place another plate, filled to the brim with piled waffles, beside a tray that held heart-shaped chocolate cookies.
The middle of the table sported a huge red bowl with all sorts of chopped fruit on it, from apples to pears, strawberries and pineapples. Three forks hung from its sides, already an invitation for the girls to eat, and Marianne's mouth watered at the sight. There was some homemade bread lying on another tray, hopefully not as fresh as the waffles (or else that would mean Mercedes had been baking and cooking for far too long). Butter, jelly, peanut butter and hazelnut spread were set beside it, waiting to be used.
"Oh wow, I should have invited Mari for dinner before. If I knew you were going to surprise us with a breakfast like that the morning after…" Annette joked, sitting down on the chair which faced Mercedes, grinning from ear to ear in delight. "This looks amazing."
"Oh pfff, stop or you'll make her think I normally let you starve," Mercie shook her head, though there was a pleasant smile on her lips and a warmth in her gaze once it settled on Marianne. Her eyes languidly ran over her form, concealed underneath the blue nightgown the vet had borrowed from her the night before. "Please don't be shy and help yourself to as much as you want. Also, don't mind Annie, she's small but she does know how to eat."
"Have you really made it all by yourself?" Marianne inquired, giggling at Annette's little sound of protest. She took a seat between the two, wondering if it was ok for her to do so and relaxing the next second, when the smaller woman took the white plate in front of her, filled it with waffles and set it down again with an inviting beam.
"I did, but please don't worry about it. Cooking is very therapeutic to me and Annie can always make it up to us by preparing lunch."
"Hey!" The new outburst was muffled by a mouthful of pineapples, her eyes kind and laughing all the same. The bantering between them was so natural it simply flowed around them, born from years of practice and love. "But that's only fair anyways and there's a recipe I wanna try out. So that means you'll be my official taste testers."
"Should I be worried, Mercie?" Marianne asked, feeling giddy when that attempt at banter was received with gentle smiles and approving stares.
The taste of those heavenly waffles coated her tongue, brought back rare, sweet memories from her childhood. From days before church when Mercedes would give them both a bundle of desserts or pastries she had baked at home. It made her beam, for a second recalling that not all of her childhood days had been dark and secluded. For a second, tasting the rare sweetness that had also been part of them.
"We can keep watch as she cooks and meddle if she tries something insane. And make sure she doesn't add any crazy spices either." Mercedes sipped from her cup of tea, more than delighted at how the vet was trying her best to be a part of that moment, too. It warmed her heart to see she wasn't closed off, too involved in her own past or thoughts to look forth to the present and the future.
"Hmpf! Now she'll think I'm a mad cooker," Annie crossed her arms and pouted, making the others chuckle.
"And hm… would you be ok with me making some dinner? It's the least I can do to thank you for everything anyways," Marianne timidly queried, pouring some hazelnut spread over her second waffle and almost sighing in delight at the taste.
They agreed to that, though at first they didn't want to allow her to do anything and simply wanted to enjoy the day together, as if it were their own private, welcoming party. In a sense it still was; they apparently tended to show love through food as well as caresses and kisses traded between ingredients being poured and dough being kneaded. Or as they feed each other small, bite-sized samples of what they were making, something that made Mari blush and not exactly know how to respond.
Unknowingly to the three women, that was also the start of their own cooking arrangement, one which would go on for weeks, months and years. They had started having more and more of their meals together, even during working days, and on weekends they usually held some little contest or the other only to change things up a bit.
Those contests became more common the moment Marianne ended up moving in, a year into their relationship, a mark that she had never thought they would get to although she was always reassured of how welcome she was in there.
There are several other memories of cooking that she cherishes, the smells and tastes making her recall moments of love, care, understanding and the jokes shared between the three of them.
One of her favorites relates to their first cooking contest, one that should have involved someone out of their relationship but ended up with a way better outcome.
That particular weekend started the same as always, with Mercedes’s banana muffins and chopped fruits for breakfast after a lavish dinner the night before. They had spent a more than lovely Friday night watching movies together until they fell asleep on the giant couch, their mobiles full of new recipes they had been researching for a certain special occasion.
“Is everything ready for today?” Mercedes queried as they had breakfast, somehow excited. It was the first time they would actually do something like that and she couldn’t wait for their guest to arrive either.
“Yeah, I confirmed it with Lys yesterday,” Annette answered, also happy at the prospect. Her legs were swinging under the chair, her mind running over what she would do next.
“It’ll really be something else to have an actual baker evaluate our cooking,” Mercie mused, humming as she bit into a crispy toast, watching the sunlight slanting through the curtains and almost touching their dining table. “She’s such a nice girl too.”
“I’ve heard she’s started dating Leonie a few months ago,” Annie commented with a distant, pleased grin after taking a healthy gulp of coffee. “They look so well together, it’s super cute.”
“Mhm, I’ve watched them helping each other here and there,” Marianne agreed, smiling at how good the muffins were. “When do you think she’ll arrive?”
“She swaid she hwad some stuff to chweck at the bwakery, so probably awound eleven, eleven-somthing.” Annette’s voice was muffled by all the fruit she was chewing on, but even so it was easy to make up the words. Luckily she swallowed before continuing. “That gives us enough time to prepare our things and then she can just eat once she’s here, instead of waiting for us to bake too.”
Mercie nodded, more than eager to get her cooking going as soon as possible, though she had just made most of breakfast for her partners. “Once we’re done here we can get started with it, right?”
There were two sets of nods at that, which made her beam and cover their hands with her own. She squeezed them and revelled in that moment, in that portion of absolute bliss after a week spent with some strange cases as a social worker and having to make sure some kids were being well-cared for. It was the respite she needed - and she knew the same was true for both Mari and Annette.
They ate slowly, enjoying everything Mercedes had made and the fact that they had the time to do so instead of having to rush to work or something else afterwards. The pause was good, cherished with light stories and funny moments that had made their highlights through the week, or small things they had heard and seen that reminded them of their partners.
“I hm, might not say this enough,” Marianne began in a small voice, once there was a break in conversation and they were mostly done eating. “but every day I feel blessed for having the two of you in my life.” Her words were heartfelt and accentuated with caresses on both Annette’s and Mercedes’s hands. It was amazing to see how far they had all gone together, even more so to see how far Mari had gone herself in regards to everything in their dynamics.
“The feeling is mutual, love,” Mercie whispered, leaning in to place a soft peck on her lips. “I’m really happy that we’re together.” She got to her feet slowly, popping the last part of toast into her mouth. “First one in the kitchen can call dibs on the oven.”
That was followed by giggles and a tangle of limbs as the women tried to get into the kitchen and also halt each other’s progress towards it. Annette tickled Mercedes, who pulled the smaller girl into a kiss in order to distract her while hugging Marianne. When Annie edged away, she pecked Mari’s lips and tried getting her closer too. At some point they ended up overbalancing and falling, snickering and kissing one another while also trying to crawl to the kitchen.
In the end Marianne was the one to win that little competition, turning on the oven for preheating before either of the two could even get into the room. In any case, it was impossible to stop them from using everything at the same time - although the kitchen was somewhat narrow, they had done it enough times already to know how to navigate it with minimal damage. It had a brown fridge on the right side of the door, some cabinets all around the walls, a sink and an oven on the left.
They’d grown used into running into one another while cooking and would more than often prepare meals for the entire week ahead like that. After all, that was something the three enjoyed, a gesture of love more than just something functional that had the only goal of feeding one another.
“Do you guys need medium or small bowls?” Marianne queried as she tiptoed close to the cupboard where they kept most of their kitchen utensils.
“Medium, please. No need to make too many if it’ll mostly be for one person,” Mercie answered, wiping tears from her eyes due to too much tickling and laughing.
“You’re seriously underestimating Lysithea, though. She’s small but she loves sweets and eats them like no one else I know,” Annette retorted, accepting the bowl from the vet and glancing at her phone for the ingredients she would need.
“So does that mean you don’t know yourself? Because I’ve never seen anyone eat like you,” Marianne softly spoke, yet was happy when that was received with giggles and a full laugh from Mercedes. It was good to be more into the bantering at every passing day, not only the one it was aimed at. She placed the things she would need on what was usually considered her side of the counter, the one closest to the door. “Would you pass me the flour, please?”
The vet extended a hand and absentmindedly waited, eyes on her mobile so she could take stock of all she would need for her own simple recipe. Which meant her shock was even greater when not only her face and clothes, but even her phone were covered in thin white powder.
“Need some more?” Annette said with a snicker of triumph, hands in the used flour pack they had opened just recently, already going for a second throw regardless of the answer. She made a face as Marianne dodged… only for Mercedes to be hit instead.
“Now what do we have here?” Mercie said in a mockingly sweet tone. “It seems like you have picked up a fight with both of us, Miss Annette Fantine Dominic.”
“Uhm, heehee, guess it’s a good thing I’m the only one with ammunition, right?” Annie deadpanned, knowing she was in deep trouble regardless. Mercedes never used their full names unless she was really serious about something.
Her face fell a second later as she registered the fact that there was a closed package of flour on Mercedes’s hands, something she got after rummaging inside the cabinet for a second. Annette backed away slowly until she was close to the front door, realizing she had really played herself. “M-Mercie? Let’s be reasonable here, if we start wasting ingredients we’ll never be able to bake those cookies on time- “
“You should have thought about that before attacking us,” Marianne grinned, picking up the ammunition Annette had abandoned in her haste to get away from Mercedes’s range, got ready for her own revenge.
The signal for the battle to begin came when Annette’s phone buzzed and she instinctively turned her head to glance towards it. Her small distraction was enough of an opening for the other two to send handfuls of flour her way, making her squeak in surprise with the contact and how she became covered in white powder. She knew better than to duck and dart to the living room - having to clean the kitchen after that would be a chore in itself without them getting the entire house dirty - and simply covered her face with both hands as she was pelted with more flour.
“Two on one, that’s unfair!” She protested between giggles, tried remembering when was the last time she had felt like a child having fun with silly little games. It was nice to do so right then, with the women she loved with all of her heart.
“Hm, she’s right about that, you know,” Marianne said in a small voice, grinning as she aimed at Mercedes and hit her square on the shoulders.
“Oh, dears, it’s on .”
Once it became a free-for-all it took the longest time for them to stop. Suffice it to say those cookies started being made a little too close to when Lysithea had said she would arrive. That would have been a cause for concern if Lys herself hadn’t messaged them when they were wiping the floor and themselves clean, announcing that she had received a last-minute order at the bakery and wouldn’t be able to make it at all. She asked for a raincheck and said she’d bake them some cookies instead as an apology.
“Well, what with hers and ours, we’ll have a few cookies to last if the apocalypse happens sometime soon,” Annie beamed when she saw and read the message aloud to her friends, giggling while Mari dabbed a wet cloth on her face to remove the last traces of flour that still remained there. She loved how gentle the vet was when touching either of them.
“With you in the house? We’d have them for one or two days at the most,” Mercedes taunted, getting flour out of Mari’s hair with her hands. They had just placed the last full trays of cookies in the oven and were cleaning as they baked.
“If memory serves, you were the one to get the last slice of that special pie last Wednesday, Mercie,” Mari rebutted, making Annette chuckle. “You’re good to go.” She leaned into the smaller woman and pecked her lips, feeling her heart lightly fluttering inside her chest.
“A mistake I made up for by baking you a new one on the same day.” The blonde winked, sticking out her tongue. “Now, less talking and more cleaning or else we’ll never see the end of this and I want us to enjoy those cookies after everything is done.”
That was received with groans, though they did work a lot faster then with that motivation in mind. Mari tended to the counter and the oven, Mercedes dusted the walls and helped Annie with the floor, just as they always did whenever cooking had made too much of a mess and they were forced to clean the kitchen afterwards.
They worked to the sound of birds chirping outside, their own banter and laughter at what had happened and, after a little while, the heavenly scent of baking goods. Even if it was strenuous work and it only happened because of something silly like Flour Wars, that didn’t mean they weren’t having fun and enjoying each other’s company like that. It wasn’t as if they would have it any other way too - a lot of their dynamics were based on things like that, on making each other smile and laugh through stupid little things, food and cooking.
The moment the cookies were done, there was not a speck of flour or other stains in the entire kitchen. Mercedes was the one to turn off their modest oven and get the trays herself, after being reminded to wear a glove and letting Marianne put it on her hands. The three leaned over the golden, crisp-looking cookies and beamed, watched as heart-shaped, lemon flavored ones (Mercedes’s recipe) mingled with starry, triple chocolate (Annette’s entry) and hazelnut cookies shaped like cat paws (Marianne’s own family recipe).
Since waiting for them to cool down was always the worst, they took the cookies to the living room and decided to taste them warm and all, as now they would be the judges of their own creations. Of course finding a winner was completely impossible, as the entire apartment was filled with compliments for one another and how amazing every single cookie tasted apart, then together. The combination of their efforts was too good to actually declare one flavor to be superior to the others, so in the end everyone won.
After that it was too easy for them to fall into a lazy embrace over the couch, making a comfortable mess of limbs and kisses as they settled to watch whatever movie was on TV on a Saturday morning such as that. And of course, for it had become almost their staple move, soon enough they fell into a comfortable slumber, arms thrown around each other with care and love, lips etched with gentle, grateful smiles.