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“You got somethin’ on your nose.”
“I don't.” You wrinkle your nose and brush it off with the palm of your hand, staining it with flour. “A bit. How was work?”
Sevika kicks off her boots in the hallway and leans down to line them up neatly next to yours. She's slow about it today, obviously run ragged. “Same people, same shit, different day. Been looking forward to you.”
You grin and wrap both arms around her organic one, tugging her down so you can plant a quick kiss on her cheek. She says it everyday, that she's looking forward to seeing you. The first time she'd said it, it was in that casual tone, like a one-off comment rather than something that really weighed on her throughout the day. But every night, she works hard to prove just how much thought she's been putting into you - among other things.
“You smell like the bakers,” Sevika murmurs, wrapping her prosthetic around your waist and burying her nose in your hair. “What's the occasion?”
What's the occasion? Wow, she is tired.
“It's an important one; I was bored and wanted to do something special for you.” You're not lying, though you've been planning to do this for weeks.
“Mm, best kind. Show me what you've done then.”
You lead Sevika eagerly into the kitchen to show off your little array of sweet treats. She'd rather die than admit it to anybody else but Sevika's got a wicked sweet tooth that you're happy to exploit. It's not a big kitchen; it has an oven, stove, countertop, a small sink, a table in the corner for when you both eat, and a fridge that's hanging on by a thread.
The countertop is no more - it has been overtaken by plates filled with chocolate-chip cookies, blueberry-cheesecake muffins (a particular favorite in this household), and…
“How did you bake gingerbread?” Sevika asks, picking up an iced and buttoned gingerbread man only to stare at it in bewilderment. “We don't get molasses from down here, do we?”
“No, it's not gingerbread. But I had the cookie cutters and some ginger food colouring,” you say sheepishly, quietly pleased at how well you'd managed to fool Sevika.
Sevika glances at you and holds the not-gingerbread man higher. You nod, and she takes an experimental chomp out of his arm.
“Mmm,” she hums approvingly, but her eyes are already straying to the muffins.
“Eat, it's for you anyway.” You shrug off your apron and leave Sevika alone in the kitchen for a moment while you fetch something from the bedroom.
She's finished the gingerbread man and half a muffin by the time you come back. You want to throttle Silco sometimes - yes, Sevika is big enough to handle his tougher jobs, but if he wants to keep her that way then he ought to give her a free lunch or something.
You've expressed such sentiments to Sevika before.
“You think he's gonna pop up while I'm dunking someone in a vat of Shimmer to give me a pizza?” she'd deadpanned. You haven't brought it up again directly, but she's been dodging your suggestions about taking a lunchbox. “What kind of job d’you think I have, babe?”
She can deny her need to eat all she likes, but at the end of the day her dinner plate is always licked clean.
“Don’t have it all at once, I've got roast lamb in the oven,” you warn, keeping your hands behind your back.
“Really spoiling me today.” Sevika narrows her eyes at you. “Something happen?”
“You think this is a guilty cover up? I'm hurt, Sev.”
“What's that? Something expensive you broke?” she asks.
You scoff. “I'm not a guilty child, Sevika, I am your loving wife who wants to shower you with sweet treats, hot dinners, and gifts,” you say simply, smiling as you approach her.
“Gifts too? What is it, my birthday?” she bites sarcastically.
Instead of responding, you clear your throat and nod towards the calendar hanging on the back of the kitchen door. Sevika frowns and looks at it, then back at you. Then back to the calendar.
“What's the date today, hon?” She asks awkwardly.
“Twenty-second, lovely. Something special about today?” you ask sweetly.
There is a brief pause as this piece of information sinks in. Then, Sevika leans back and a bark of laughter escapes her, short and loud, making you jump. You devolve into laughter as well and Sevika joins you, shaking her head and hugging you close to her.
“I asked what the occasion was,” she chastises, though obviously not seriously when she's wearing that evil grin.
“I didn't lie,” you counteract, rolling your eyes and kissing the tip of her nose. “Fuck, you must be getting old if you're forgetting your birthday.”
“Fuck off,” Sevika grumbles, burying her face into the crook of your neck. “Not too old for you, hm?”
“A forty-two year old woman? Goodness, my old man would have a heart attack…”
“You’re thirty-eight!” Sevika paws at the hands still clasped behind your back. “What you got for me, darlin’?”
“Who says it's for you?”
Sevika shrugs and draws away from you. “Oh, well then I don't care-”
You hold up a large bottle of red wine with a bright pink ribbon adorning the top. “I mean, if you don't care, I guess I wouldn't mind keeping this to my-”
“Ah-ah, birthday girl privileges, give it,” Sevika says quickly, taking the bottle from you carefully despite her rushed words. You're ecstatic seeing her admire the brand on the side, one recognised for being good.
Then she stows it away in the cupboard and turns back to you, immediately going back to holding you in her arms.
“Thank you, honey, thank you,” she murmurs, kissing the top of your head. “Sweet o’ you, getting all this together for me, and I didn’t even realise it’s my own damn- I’m fuckin’ paying you back tonight, sweetheart, all night…”
You blush and fidget at these new promises. “I thought tonight I could-”
“No,” Sevika interjects, already catching on to what you’re suggesting. “You’ve done plenty, the least I can do is make sure you see stars for it, don’t you think?”
“But it’s your-”
“Yes, it’s my birthday, so what I say goes. Birthday girl says she wants to eat the cookies, eat the muffins, eat the roast lamb, and eat her wife.” Sevika’s flesh hand drifts down your back, squeezing your hips and then lower. “You mind giving the birthday girl a taste?”