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New York rained more than the movies made it seem, and honestly Nancy was a little sick of it. Her coat was soaked through with only her shoulders dry, her umbrella almost lost to the wind as she shuffled through the crowds to their apartment. She'd managed to leave work at a reasonable time today, but as she'd missed her bus the walk made her wonder if it was worth it.
Almost there… Think of the wine.
Five minutes later and she's in the building, pausing to shake the rain from her umbrella and trudge up the stairs, glaring at the still broken elevator.
After six months it may as well be a relic.
Speaking of relics, their downstairs neighbor appeared like a ghost at the top of the stairs, huffing and dramatically rolling his eyes.
"Hi, Mr Kree." She greeted, and he nodded unenthusiastically.
"Young lady." He replied, "Your friend is making noise again."
She reaches the top step with a sigh, of exasperation and general tiredness.
"You mean my girlfriend? She's away, so you must have misheard."
He shook his head with a small grimace, stepping around her towards the stairs.
"No, definitely her. The smell followed her in."
She releases a tight breath as he mumbled more while walking away, used to his unnecessary criticisms. He always said Robin smelt, when in reality she didn't. He was just an old racist, and didn't like that her career involved unearthing different and more fascinating cultures than he could fathom.
Rather than get into it again, she walked up the last flight of stairs to their door, not even playing with the thought that he was right, used to him being confused and getting excited over nothing.
That changed when she got to the door, key in the lock, the smell of fresh cooking wafting through the wood. Her mother wasn't stopping by for another week, and no one else had a key, apart from, of course.
No way…
Settling her heart to not become too excited, she gently opened the door, the rumbling of music flooding her senses alongside spice and warmth. The young woman felt tears prick her eyes as a smile pulled her cheeks up.
"It's gonna take a lot to drag me awaaay from yooooou!"
Robin stood in the kitchen, singing into a wooden spoon alongside the record, dancing on light feet as she added seasoning to a pot on the stove, the source of that lovely smell. Her suitcase was on the coach, opened with their ginger cat Chester purring in her scent. He pretended to hate Robin, but they all knew he was obsessed with her. Her hair was pulled back into a tiny tail, needing a haircut again, with fresh freckles adorning her arms instead of a tan. One trouser leg was rolled up to her knee, the grey sweater rolled to her elbows too, blue apron tied around her waist.
"There's nothing that a hundred men or mooore could ever doooo!"
Robin did a spin, clocking her in the doorway and freezing with a wide grin blossoming, opening her arms wide.
"Hoooney, I'm home!"
Nancy snorted and kicked the door shut, pulling the chain across and throwing her bag and umbrella down, meeting Robin in the middle of their apartment in a tight embrace.
"That was so corny." The taller woman jokes, and Nancy gently laughs, burying her face in Robin's neck and breathing her in.
"I know," she replied, the two of them swaying on the spot, her words muffled by Robin's shoulder, "how was Africa?"
"It was amazing!"
She exclaimed, stepping back but not leaving the embrace, resting her forehead against Nancy's.
"I met this doctor, you should have seen her Nance, she ruled the roost!"
"Should I be worried?" Nancy teased, and Robin felt a giggle bubble up in her throat.
"Never in a million billion trillion years, you're stuck with me. Besides, she wasn't my type."
Nancy let out a soft laugh.
"What's that, exactly?"
"Oh, you know… beautiful, shorter than me, brunette, blue eyes, amazing humour, brilliant reporter, and…" she lent down ever so slightly closer, a teasing distance.
"The most wonderful kisser."
Finally having enough, Nancy stepped up on her toes and met Robin for a kiss. It was everything she needed, wanted, and craved. It was soft and slow, pausing before continuing again. They stay close together after parting, embracing after many days apart.
"You have a way with words, don't you?"
"Learned from the best reporter in New York."
Nancy was fully prepared to fall into Robin's embrace again and never let go, until the smell of her cooking reached her nose.
"Mmm," she mumbles, "what is that?"
Robin placed one last kiss against her lips before twisting back to the food.
"I learned this while I was away! It's an African dish, called…" she squinted at the crumpled note on the counter, "Beef Trinchado! It's spicy and so good, you'll love it!"
Nancy came up behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist and kissing her neck.
"I'm looking forward to it, Robbie. Do I have time for a shower?"
Robin twisted her head round and kissed Nancy on the nose.
"Sure thing, unless… unless you want to wait, then we could…"
Nancy giggled gently.
"You're gonna suggest we shower together, aren't you?"
Robin turned in her arms again.
"You read me like a book."
"Yeah, I really dig it."
Her girlfriend groaned, turning into a laugh as Nancy felt a blush rise up her cheeks.
"Remind me why I love you, again?"
"Didn't you just give quite the wonderful list?"
Her smug smile turned into laughter, one silenced by Robin meeting her lips once more, parting only after she had thoroughly forgotten what she found so amusing.
"I love you, Wheeler."
"I love you too, Buckley."