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Honami comes alive on stage in a way she's never seen her before. Even after a decade of watching her perform at countless venues, as her band’s popularity grew and grew and eventually skyrocketed, each performance leaves Kanade breathless. Of course, her bandmates are every bit as talented as Honami is, Kanade won’t discount that. But seeing Honami walk onstage, fierce passion in her eyes as she spins her drumsticks between her fingers, it’s breathtaking in an entirely different way. Kanade always feels especially lovestruck after those performances, quick to pull her wife into a kiss after being let backstage. The other members would give them the privacy they needed, ever polite.
She wouldn’t often get to come along when the band toured. She would’ve been allowed to, definitely, but often their schedules overlapped at the worst of times. That, and Kanade isn’t quite so in love with the idea of long term travel as much as the next person, meant she would stay home, and instead wake up to an empty apartment for weeks at a time. Contrary to her adolescent days, she can take care of herself fine and well enough, but the loneliness of one person living in a home made for two lingers enough to have her crossing off days on the calendar that hung in their kitchen.
At least she has a very excitable dog to sleep next to her in the space Honami usually fills. A big, fluffy thing, a shiba inu which seems to love her unconditionally. Walking her, feeding her and bathing her helped to fill Kanade’s empty days, since she still works best at night time. And she has a social life, somewhat. She meets with the other members of her group every week, or every other week if they’re busy. Family restaurants are still their go-to destination, but sometimes they’ll grab coffee as well. So she can’t say she’s desperately lonely without Honami.
But it pales in comparison to those days where she finally comes home. Nothing holds a candle to it.
Honami will text her as she’s arriving at her final stop on the train, and Kanade will shoot up, and start to prepare everything for her return. Kanade can’t drive, and Honami leaves her car at home during tours, so she’ll take the bus from the train station to their apartment building alone. Sometimes Kanade offers to meet her at the station and travel back with her, but Honami would tell her not to worry. Besides, she’d told her, her favourite part of the whole trip is seeing Kanade open the door and welcome her back home.
On evenings like these, they'd share a home-cooked meal, mostly prepared by Kanade, although Honami could never quite sit still and let her do everything by herself. Kanade would bring out a buttery apple pie for dessert, a tradition that she’s slowly perfected after so long, and they’d curl up on the sofa with it, their big dog pining for Honami’s attention at her feet. After cleaning up together, Kanade would run a bath, and they’d take turns washing each other's hair, the warm steam transforming the room into a hazy daydream. And then they’d dry off, Honami pulling on one of her nightgowns and Kanade opting for a shirt that often wasn’t hers, and they’d drift off to sleep in each other’s arms, a dog at the end of their bed, complete again.
It’s after one of these blissful reunions that Kanade wakes, late on a lazy Sunday morning, feeling rested and whole. The sunlight is strong and warm and it washes the entire room with delicate colours, and it makes Honami look even more radiant than she usually does. One of her arms is still around her, but she’s already awake. Curiously enough, she’s reading a book. although she puts it down when she feels Kanade nudging against her arm.
A smile blooms across her face, and she sets the book on the table, returning to laying down beside her. “Good morning.” she says, and the joy bursting from her words tells Kanade she’s been waiting to say them for a long time.
“Good morning.” Kanade replies, with a smile equally as fond. She allows herself to lose herself in her wife’s gentle blue eyes, dreamlike in the morning light. “You're beautiful today."
A blush paints the apples of her cheeks. Her hair is unbrushed, tousled by sleep, yet even so she is as picturesque as an oil painting. Or maybe watercolor. Kanade doesn't know much about fine art, but she does know music, and the sound of Honami's little giggle as she thanks Kanade for the compliment is sweeter than any melody she's ever put to measure in her whole career.
"What's this all of a sudden, sweetheart?" Honami asks her, so innocently and honestly flattered that you wouldn't know she's heard it a thousand times before. And there's that sweetheart . She'd started calling her that about two months after they started dating. And she's called her by it every day since.
Kanade frees one arm from under the thick duvet and brushes her thumb against her loves' cheek, cupping it tenderly and smiling as she leans into it. "Just popped into my head. How beautiful you are. I wanted to remind you."
Honami makes a face very similar to the one she makes when their silly dog does something cute, and she lets out a little noise like she can't express herself through words. So she wraps an arm around her, and Kanade shuffles in close, letting Honami's warmth completely envelop her. The blanket and the pillows are redundant in the face of the comfort Honami provides.
"Oh, you're so adorable." she says to Kanade's forehead as she presses her lips to it in a kiss. “I love you.” The loose strands of her hair tickle Kanade's cheeks, but she doesn't mind. Only when Honami starts playing with her hair in return does she realise that hers is loose too, her hair tie having no doubt fallen out in the night again. Oh well. She doesn’t mind if it means mornings like this.
With a hug just as warm and tight, Kanade cuddles close. "Love you more."
Honami only hugs her tighter, a gentle squeeze that encourages Kanade to rest her head against her chest, breathing in her smell. She's strong, her years of drumming experience having firmed up her arms in a way Kanade very much appreciates, but she’s never lost her tenderness when it comes to times like this. Her innate kindness is much too powerful for that.
They’re not going to get up for a while. When they do, Honami will make a heapings of breakfast, excited to finally be back in her own kitchen, and Kanade will entertain the dog while she does. They’ll eat together, legs brushing under the table, and maybe they’ll go on a walk. Maybe Kanade will lay in Honami’s lap as she reads, letting her play with her hair. They could do anything, and Kanade would be happy as long as she’s with her. But for now, she exists in a soft cream heaven, pressing her lips to Honami’s and melting, melting, melting.