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Mukuro opens the front door with a click and a squeal, waiting for Sayaka’s voice to receive her before she steps inside the house, scuffing her shoes on the welcoming mat as she does.
She isn’t waiting for permission, necessarily, it’s just one of those little routine things, those ways that Sayaka lets her know that nothing went wrong while she was out, that everything is okay and that Sayaka is still here. Not that Mukuro thinks that Sayaka is in danger of being murdered or something every time she steps out the front door; rationally, Mukuro knows the chances of that happening are… pretty damn low, frankly. But it wasn’t abnormal during Mukuro’s service to go off on a mission and return to camp and find all your comrades killed by snipers, or something, and…
Well, Mukuro just likes to be sure, is all. She doesn’t want to be an inconvenience to Sayaka, but Sayaka doesn’t seem to mind, so it’s their routine. One of their routines, anyway, they have plenty of them. Mukuro locks the door behind her and switches into her indoor shoes, shrugging off her parka and shaking the snow out of her hair as she hangs it up. She drops the plastic bag that was slung over her arm onto the floor and huffs a little, doing a shimmy to regain some warmth. It’s toasty in here and that’s going to take some adjusting to.
By the time Sayaka pads out into the foyer, Mukuro’s managed to hook the bag back over her wrist again, just in time to catch her wife when she goes in for kisses. Mukuro puts her arms around Sayaka’s waist and scoops her up a bit, leaning up to connect their lips, and Sayaka shrieks with laughter, her arms wrapping around Mukuro’s shoulders.
“Hi! Welcome home!” Sayaka says brightly, when she pulls back, her blue eyes shimmering and her face slightly flushed. Mukuro can’t help the grin that appears on her face as she leans up to kiss Sayaka again, pulling away after only a moment because she has things she wants to say.
“Hey,” she starts with, because that seems a decent response. “Thanks.” She puts Sayaka on the floor, because it’s hard to maneuver around with a woman in your arms, and gives her another kiss for good measure before starting further into the house. Sayaka keeps pace with her, smiling, buzzing a little. “It’s really storming out there.
“It is, I was just about to call and make sure you were safe,” Sayaka nods. The school where Mukuro works as a PE teacher is only a short walk’s distance away from their house, but Mukuro can understand her worry. Even a short distance like that is a bit of a risk in the snow. And of course Mukuro can’t help but be a little bit nervous about it, every time she and Sayaka are apart, and there’s any reason to believe that something could go wrong. It’s not like Mukuro needs a leash around her wife, or anything, but she worries, is all, she worries a lot. So she gets it. “Did you like the walk?”
“Pfft, yeah, but my socks are drenched,” Mukuro sighs. “I’m gonna have to toss these indoor shoes in the wash.” She shakes her head a little, stepping into the kitchen. Sayaka’s been cooking in here, it seems like. It smells like miso soup, which is Mukuro’s favourite for a cold day. She can’t help smiling a bit. “I wanna eat before that, though, and do something else.”
“Something else?” Sayaka raises her eyebrows. “I suppose, but is there really something out there more important than getting out of those gross socks? I can keep the soup on the heat so it doesn’t get cold while you shower, you know, it really isn’t a problem.”
“Yeah, but this other one is time sensitive,” Mukuro shakes her bag off her wrist, then wrinkles her brow. “Well, no it’s not, but I’m impatient.” She’s always been a bit impatient. She had to teach herself discipline to be able to sit still the way that she used to on the battlefield, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Nowadays the biggest things that Mukuro has to wait for are meals and traffic lights, so she’s doing okay. But when it comes to things like this, there’s no way that she could refrain. “I stopped by a shop on the way home because I saw it in the window and it reminded me of you.”
“It?” Sayaka’s voice lilts inquisitively, but she’s smiling a bit, her head tilted to the side. It isn’t one of those neutral smiles she used to give so often back in high school, the ones that settled on her features by default, that she didn’t really feel. It’s more of a resting expression, a genuine, happy little look, and it always makes Mukuro feel warm to see. Sayaka has been a safe space for her for as long as she can remember and she desperately wants to keep returning the favour. Sayaka deserves that.
“Uh-huh,” Mukuro reaches into the bag and pulls out the softest damn shiba inu plushie she’s ever seen in her life, holding it out to Sayaka. “You were talking about how you never got to have stuffies growing up, remember? Because you were so focused on work. And you like dogs, so, I thought it’d be a good enough gift. I know it’s not a special occasion or anything, but.”
Sayaka’s eyes are a bit wide as she reaches up to accept the stuffed animal from Mukuro, a little gasp escaping her when she feels the fur. “Oh, it’s so soft! Mukuro, I love it.”
“I know, right? When I felt it I was like, holy shit, and it’s even better than an actual dog because you don’t have to take this one to shit all over the street, and--” Mukuro is cut off when Sayaka hugs her, arms going back around her neck, the smell of roses and miso engulfing her once more. Mukuro decides that’s her cue to stop rambling and hugs Sayaka back, squeezing her a little.
“Thank you,” Sayaka says softly. “I’ll treasure it.”
“Hope so,” Mukuro smiles. She shifts to kiss Sayaka on the jaw. “I love you, y’know.”
“I do know,” Sayaka giggles a little, and Mukuro feels her chest seize with affection. “I love you too.”
And Mukuro knows that one, too.