Work Text:
It was a quiet night at the Mercury-Rembran household. Both the Mercury and the Rembran of this little family had come together to make dinner, enjoying the fruits of their labor at the table.
Suletta slurped up a few sauce-covered noodles, making some exaggerated, “Mmm!” noises to show her approval. Well, they’d be exaggerated for anyone else, but for Suletta, that was just how she communicated she was enjoying the food.
“Your cooking is so good, Miorine-san!”
Miorine – her wife – watched her with a smile, more focused on Suletta than her own portion. She rolled her eyes, arguing, “I just do the things you do. Really, it’s your cooking that’s good.”
“But food always tastes better when you make it,” she said. “You’ve gotten so much better than me.”
“The only advantage I have is that I can use my hands better,” she scoffed. “And even that’s barely an advantage these days.” She reached across the table, giving Suletta’s hand a squeeze. “You’re doing so well with your PT lately. You’ll be cutting tomatoes by hand in no time.”
“I only do so good because you help me so much,” Suletta said, squeezing her back. Even just a year back, her grip wouldn’t have been able to stay as tight as it was now. “So that means any cooking I do is because of you.”
Miorine sighed and feigned annoyance, but she couldn’t hide her smile. “Fine, then we’ll share the credit.”
Suletta gave a satisfied nod, taking another bite of spaghetti before squealing out another approving noise. “So good, Miorine-san!”
“Actually, you just reminded me,” Miorine said. “I’ve been wondering why you still call me that.”
“Call you what?” Suletta asked.
“The whole ‘Miorine-san’ thing,” she said, mimicking her wife’s voice. “We’ve been married for five years already. You can stop talking like we’re strangers already.”
“But that’s not why,” Suletta told her. “It’s because I respect you so much. And...well, now that you’re my wife, I have to make sure you know I respect you even more!”
Miorine stifled a laugh, giving her a playful swat on the hand. “I know you respect me plenty,” she said. “Come on. Just try it. Just say my name with nothing else.”
Suletta flushed bright red, fiddling with her hands. “I, um...I guess I could try…” It was always so much fun to find what could still bring out that bashful side of her after all these years.
She took a few breaths, then looked to Miorine with an unexpectedly serious expression. With one last breath, she said, “Miorine, I love you.”
Now it was Miorine’s turn to blush, turning an even deeper shade of red than her wife. “Wh-what the hell?” she mumbled, covering her face with her hand and looking away.
“What?” Suletta questioned, jumping back in her chair. “You told me to!”
“I said use my name!” she whined. “I didn’t say...do that.” With a glare, she added, “Suletta-san…”
“Wh-wh-what?” Suletta blushed harder. “N-now you’re doing it!”
“Payback!” Miorine shouted.
“M-Miorine!” Suletta shouted back. “I l-love Miorine so much! More than anything in the world! The whole universe!”
“And I love Suletta-san even more!” Miorine argued, slamming her fist on the table. “The best wife in history! And the greatest teacher I’ve ever seen! If she wasn’t here, life wouldn’t be worth living!”
B oth looked about to say something else only to crack up laughing. “You…” Miorine shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes. “You’re...dumb.”
“You married me,” Suletta said, almost looking a little smug. “Doesn’t that make you more dumb?”
“Oh, absolutely,” she agreed. “Now finish your food before you make me even dumber. I need you to help me check something in the bedroom later.”
“What is it?” Suletta asked.
“Don’t worry, I’ll show you later,” Miorine said with a wave of her hand.
Suletta nodded. “Okay, Miorine...san.”
“You’re never going to stop, are you?” she asked with a smile.
“Well...maybe eventually. If I train a little.”
Miorine shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I like you the way you are now, Suletta-san .”