Chapter Text
First of December
The marker for the beginning of winter, the festive holidays, and the first of a new month. Lights would be strung, red and green splashed about, tall trees glittering with ornaments and tinsel, and of course, the joyful, classic Christmas tunes that would undoubtedly fill the otherwise quiet spaces.
Though, this was a special time for a certain pair of partners. It'd be their first Christmas spent together after officially moving into their first apartment. Still, the feel of new furniture and the clean look of an apartment not lived in properly lingered even after a few months. Even though it was just an apartment; With one bed and bath, a small bedroom turned office, a little coat closet, a little balcony, and a small kitchen/livingroom combo that still was yet to be fully furnished... It was just the right amount of cozy to be called home.
Ei and Miko's home
Even though it was a Thursday, Ei was lounging on the couch far earlier than she should've been. She'd finished her work early anyways, spreadsheets done, a new shipment was out, and emails answered. She guessed that the rest of the publishing staff was taking it easy as well, fewer emails were coming in, and the first of a new month must have chased off the usual assholes that normally populated their store. No complaints today, yet at least, she was checking her email every so often to make sure she wasn't missing anything, it was a work day after all, even if she was watching demon slayer.
"Ei, I'm back!" At the sound of her girlfriend and the opening door, Ei perked up, pausing the show and getting to her feet. Miko had just said she'd gone out to get a few things, least to say she was curious about what Miko had gotten.
"What'd you get?" Ei asked, leaning against the hallway wall, and seeing Miko peering down another hall, a bag hanging from one hand. Miko spun around surprised, though mirth quickly shined in her eyes.
"I thought you'd be working, pretty sure our office is that way." Miko laughed and sauntered over to Ei shaking her head in amusement, giving her girlfriend a peck on the cheek. "Help me unpack, 'kay?"
She blushed, flustered as Miko called her out, "I finished up early, and I was," She paused, thinking of the right phrase to use. "Using the advantages that come with working from home."
Miko clucked her tongue and moved into the kitchen, "Demon slayer? How many times have you watched this now?"
"Shut up," Ei complained, following her into the kitchen. "The first time I saw it was in December, I'm reminiscing. I'm waiting to finish that murder mystery with you so it's not like I could watch anything else..." She mumbled.
"Darling," Miko rolled her eyes fondly and started to unpack the bag, moving about the kitchen fluidly. "What about all of the other shows you've watched? Why couldn't you watch one of those?"
"I didn't want to watch those," Ei grumbled, cheeks puffing out with indignation. She went behind the counter and wrapped her arms around Miko, pulling her into a loose hug that prevented her from continuing to put the goods away. "You never answered my question, what'd you get?"
"What we need to properly kick off the festive season!" Miko chirped as Ei's brow furrowed in confusion, the pink-haired lady in front of her laughed and slipped out of Ei's arms and back to the bag. Curious, Ei tilted her head and her eyes lit up with understanding as Yae pulled out two thin boxlike items from the now nearly empty bag.
"Advent calendars? I completely forgot about those..." Ei frowned at that, what else had she forgotten? "I would've gone with you, why didn't you tell me?"
Her girlfriend shrugged, "I wanted it to be a surprise, don't worry too much about it. I made sure to get the good ones, see?"
Ei walked over and took one out of Miko's hands, studying its design. It was a bunch of cartoonish white and pink foxes chasing each other around the board, each fox was one of the twenty-five days. She smiled at it, chuckling, she could assume that Miko had gotten that one for herself, so she was curious as to what her girlfriend had gotten for her.
"I'm surprised at the pink foxes, but it certainly adds a pop of color, it suits you," Ei commented, putting it down gently and plucking the other one from Miko's hands. "Think they did it for the little kids?"
Miko snickered, earrings jingling as her body shook with laughter, "Definitely, fewer people want the regular arctic foxes, more sales if they add in pink."
"Would you've gotten it if it hadn't had the pink foxes on it?" Ei asked, even though she already knew the answer.
"One hundred percent," Miko nodded, confirming Ei's guess. "You know I love foxes, them adding in the pink ones were just a bonus. It's not too unrealistic, they could be kitsune, and those can be pink."
She hummed in agreement, looking down at the other advent calendar, her mouth forming a little o shape as she saw it. While Miko's was pink and white, her's was purple and black. A stormy, windy night created with streaks of purple and wisps of black, a faded village in the foreground, with a large bird's wing covering a lot of the right side, all done in the classic cartoonish style that all the calendars were done in.
"Knew you'd like it!" Miko said smugly, Ei didn't think she needed to be smug about anything. "It was the one purple thing they had, I did one other though if you'd prefer it, but I don't think so."
"No, this is the best one." Ei agreed, putting it down next to Miko's. "What's the other one?"
"This!" Miko presented the third and final one. It was white with a festive border, with twenty-five different flowers and plants on it; Poinsettias, holly, mistletoe, ivy, Christmas cactus, a