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If the Warden could choose one superpower, it would be to control time.
Because right now, she wanted nothing more than for time to slow or even freeze for a while. Silently grumbled at the sunrise for heralding the start of the day.
She’d have to settle for savoring the moment instead, she supposed.
Savoring the warmth tucked into her side and half-laying on top of her. Soft and nigh unblemished skin pressing against her own scar-riddled body, but curled up all the same as though it were the most comfortable place to be.
Kronii smiled softly, running calloused fingers through soft brown hair. The adorable little thing using her chest as a pillow let out a sleepy mumble, not quite awake. Kronii spared a glance at the clock.
Yeah, they had time.
Kronii had no qualms with continuing the gentle ministrations that were steadily lulling the brunette back to sleep, humming some soft tune she couldn’t quite recall the name of, not that it mattered all that much.
…Her heart felt warm, as the light slowly creeped in, the shades of sunrise painting the girl in beautiful shades, almost making her hair shimmer a warm gold in the soft rays.
Kronii had no idea what she did to deserve this.
Unfortunately, the Warden could not control time, and the girl using her as a teddy bear began to awaken at the intrusion of light into the bedroom. Kronii normally would close the blinds to let her sleep more, but she was currently pinned in place, not that she minded all that much.
“...Mm…Kroniii…” She yawned, stretching not unlike a kitten as amber eyes fluttered open, all remaining sleepiness in her eyes quickly being drowned out by so much sincere love that it easily put the sunrise to shame in its brightness.
“Mornin’ little owl. Sleep well?” Kronii chuckled, voice a low rasp from sleep, a timbre that never failed to make Mumei shiver and turn a little red, especially with the Warden’s voice rumbling deep in her chest and her warm breath brushing the shell of the brunette’s ear.
“Like a rock… ‘m a little sore though…” Mumei murmured, curling her arms around Kroni, not quite wanting to get up yet.
“Oh… Yeah, heh, sorry about that. Maybe not the best thing to do the night before we have somewhere to be, huh?” Kronii chuckled a little sheepishly, eying the bruises and bite marks that lined much of the brunette’s bare skin.
“S’okay, I liked it a lot… Can just wear a turtleneck…” Mumei gave a lazy smile, seeming unbothered by the fact that she looked as though she’d been jumped by a rabid raccoon. Kronii’s back definitely wasn’t any better, the scratch marks would probably linger for a few days… Ah well, no one would see them anyways.
“Want me to carry you to the shower, then?” Kronii offered with a soft smile, running her fingers through the brunette’s hair.
“Mm… Think you can handle that?” Mumei’s voice grew a little more awake, propping herself up a little to look Kronii in the eyes.
“...Normally I’d brush that off, but you did give me quite the leg and core workout last night.” Kronii half teased, smirking when Mumei’s face flushed a bright red at that.
“S-Shush…” The brunette whined, shifting to sit up. She winced slightly as she rose to her feet, the early morning rays making the canvas of bruises and bitemarks even more apparent.
Kronii didn’t regret a single one of them.
“We have a lot of time to kill, I’m sure we’ll both be in good enough shape to manage it by the time we have to leave.” Kronii reassured her, shifting to stand up herself.
…Wobbled a little with a wince. Glared down at the ghastly scar on her leg, little divots in the skin from long-gone bullets. The freshest scar on her body, even if it had been years since she got it.
…That was a good thing though, wasn’t it? It had been years since a case that bad, and she’d been a lot more careful since then.
After all, she had something to lose now.
That much was clear when she felt arms slide around her waist and a familiar heartbeat pressed to her back.
“You should bring your cane tonight, just in case.” Mumei spoke softly, fingers idly trailing over her lover’s toned stomach, tracing over warm skin…
It felt like both an eternity and an instant since she’d seen and touched them for the first time. Just a housekeeper tending to her boss who had been hiding what exactly her job was.
“...Fine. I know Calli’s gonna be a pain about it if I end up needing it and I left it at home…” Kronii sighed, settling one of her hands over Mumei’s, tattoo’d fingers lacing with unblemished ones, lifting it to her mouth to press a few kisses across her knuckles.
“I can get a warm bath started if you can grab us some clothes to wear until it’s time. ‘Sound good?” Mumei asked softly, melting a little at the love in each soft peck to her hand.
“Yeah, sounds good. Normally I’d joke about how you shouldn’t put me in charge of grabbing your clothes, but I definitely won’t be getting you anything too tempting, I don’t think either of us will have the energy for tonight if we have a round two.” Kronii joked, chuckling when Mumei turned bright red and yanked her hand away to lightly swat at her shoulder.
“You’re insatiable!” Mumei huffed, scampering over to the bathroom to get that bath ready. Kronii just laughed, turning to grab them something casual to wear.
Smiled at the navy blues in the wardrobe mixing in with the warmer tones Mumei tended to wear, opting for something comfy to laze about in until they were needed.
A warm bath was definitely nice for the both of them, both because of their previous nightly activities and because, while Kronii didn’t want to admit it, her leg was indeed bothering her and the warm water soothed aching muscles and damaged tissue. It wasn’t great having that problem in the first place…
It didn’t really bother her though, especially as they took turns helping each other get cleaned up. The gentle hands running over each scar, slippery thanks to the suds, were comforting.
And then it was her turn.
And really, she’d never been able to resist turning her lover into a flustered mess, even before they were together, so she couldn’t quite keep herself from teasing Mumei a little.
Brushed long hair aside and pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck, earning her a flustered squeak that really only egged her on more, hands covered in sides sliding up from their place against the brunette’s stomach…
“K-Kr- K-KRONII!” Mumei whimpered at the feeling of hands larger than her own grasping at her chest, fingers running teasing circles as the kisses against her nape began to drift into further places that’d most likely end with both of them needing mobility aids tonight.
“Yes~? I’m just washing my little owl, what’s the issue?” Kronii chuckled into her ear, smug at just how quickly she was reducing the girl to the stammering mess she had been when she walked into her life.
Mumei tried to make another half-hearted complaint only to go stiff with a squeak when Kronii shifted closer, pressing against her back and giving her an easier view of her hands as one of them slipped down, below the water.
“...Let me know if you really do want me to stop, though.” Kronii whispered in her ear, hand opting to settle on her inner thigh rather than reaching its destination, just in case.
“...It’s o-okay, you can-” Kronii’s hand trailing closer to its target, “C-Can keep g-going…” Mumei stammered. Logically she knew it wasn’t the best idea, but she was a little too hopelessly in love to ever turn down a chance for Kronii to show the brunette just how much she loved her.
…And just how good she was at turning her legs into jelly, that too.
“Alright… It shouldn’t be as bad for your legs as eleven rounds with the strap last night, right?” Kronii chuckled, earning her a quick splash from a bright red Mumei.
“Insatiable!” Mumei squeaked, trying to ignore that she was roughly as insatiable right back, though normally she was the one walking funny the next day.
Not that she minded all that much.
Kronii took the hint, and Mumei quickly found all complaints she had melting out her ears alongside her brain as scarred, calloused fingers unraveled her once again.
…And again. And a third time. Also a fourth, though by then the water was cold as if to yell at them to knock it off and get dressed.
At least they had their fun, right?
Needless to say, Mumei was indeed struggling to get around between last night and getting the lights banged out of her minutes after waking up.
Kronii’s apologetic smile looked a little too smug to be sincere.
“Wanna order breakfast?” Kronii suggested as Mumei shakily dressed herself, knees still trembling from aftershocks.
“Hm… Normally I’d want to make you breakfast, but I’d honestly just want to lay on the couch with you and not stand for a while.” Mumei gave a shrug as she pulled the comfy sweatshirt Kronii had grabbed over her head.
“Coffee cake?” Kronii suggested, fumbling for her phone and opening her usual courier service.
“Hm… Yeah, maybe some eggs and sausage too?” She suggested as she finally got herself dressed.
…Felt her stomach lurch at the sight of Kronii, not facing brunette.
Giving her a clear view of the large burn scar spidering across her back.
Mumei remembered the night she got that… Not all that well. It was a blur, she’d been having… A not so awesome time herself.
Tried to ignore the phantom sting of a knife at her neck, rubbing her fingers over a long-faded scar.
She knew it had been there, though. The way she almost flinched was reminder enough.
…
Today was supposed to be a good day. She wouldn’t let a few ghosts drag her down.
Kronii was here and alive, and so was she, and that was the important part.
So, she opted to hug her lover from behind and rest her cheek against her back, finding comfort in her body heat and low rumble of her voice as she listed off options for breakfast.
It was quiet, peaceful…
It was nice.
“Pushed yourself too hard, huh Kronster?” A familiar voice joked as they made their way to the front doors. Kronii was dressed in a familiar suit, the only addition being a beautiful dark oak cane with a handle made of silver and shaped like a snake’s head, curled in such a way to form the hand grip.
“Yeah… Sorry about that Calli, I’ve been told over and over that I need to keep moving if I ever want my leg to get all its strength back, worked out a little too hard.” Kronii smiled sheepishly with a shrug. The slightly teasing expression on her old friend’s face faded, instead fixing her with a sterner one.
“You better take care of yourself, twerp.” Calli huffed, ruffling her hair before moving to hold the door open for them.
“Has Moona made it yet?” Mumei asked as they all filed in, making their way to the busy gym.
“She’ll be here in a few minutes, she was struggling to get Kobo to stop bouncing off the walls long enough to get in the car.” Calli chuckled, quickly finding them all some seats in the bleachers.
“Well it isn’t every day her brother graduates from college, ‘can’t blame her. I know my brother was impossible to deal with when I graduated!” Mumei nodded along with a smile.
“Well you also almost died a week beforehand, so there was that.” Calli sighed, eyes going a bit dark and… Distant, at the memory.
…
“Oh, hey, there they are.” Kronii attempted to distract her, pointing out a few heads of colorful hair walking into the room. Calli quickly snapped at attention, waving the two over with a smile.
“CAWWIIII!” A small blue teenager-shaped homing missile collided with the older woman at mach speed, nearly sending her toppling over but managing to catch it instead.
It, being Kobo. Still so much shorter than any of them but definitely much taller than she had been the first time their paths had crossed. Comes with the territory of growing up, one would suppose. Calii still held her up with ease though, even as the bluenette clung to her with both her arms and legs like an oversized koala.
“Hey there kiddo, you need to stop getting taller, geez!” Calli chuckled with a roll of her eyes, hugging the girl back before easing her back to the ground.
“Nope, I’m gonna get really tall!” Kobo giggled with a mischievous grin. Calli just laughed and ruffled her hair with a bright smile.
“Sprouting up like a weed more like, goofball.” Calli grinned back, any lingering tiredness from a less than stellar work day melting away at having her favorite niece around.
“Hey you two. …Is your leg still bothering you?” Moona stepped over to the happy couple, eying Kronii with concern.
“A little, yeah. This is mostly in case it gets worse and so I don’t overdo it. …Funny how things change, huh?” Kronii chuckled, smiling at the absence of the cane Moona once had in the wake of that nightmare.
“I guess so… Thank you for coming by the way, I’m sure you’re busy…” Moona rubbed the back of her neck with a sheepish expression.
…It was funny how, now that half a decade or so had passed, she looked far younger than she had back then. Grief and pain added ten years, she supposed. She seemed to be doing much better now, much to Kronii’s relief.
“It’s no problem, I got a lot of vacation days saved up so taking the day off wasn’t an issue!” Mumei hand waved the notion of this being a hassle, smiling.
“And thanks to Ame helping out, I don’t need to be running around chasing leads as much as I used to. Seriously, this isn’t any trouble, I promise.” Kronii reassured her with a smile, idly snaking her spare arm around the brunette.
“...Oh. You two are on better terms now?” Moona asked as Calli kept her daughter occupied in the background.
…
“It… Took time. Her being back on speaking terms with me is a more recent development… I’m as shocked as you are about it. She has every right to be upset with me…” Kronii sighed softly, eyes on her shoes.
“It’s been six years, she had to stop holding a grudge at some point, especially when it wasn’t really your fault.” Mumei added, frowning.
“...You wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with her having a sudden change of heart, would you?” Kronii half-joked, glancing down at her partner.
“...Maybe. It just- It sucked seeing you two like that, I wanted to do something to help…” Mumei trailed off, glancing down from the bleachers.
“Oh, wait, looks like the ceremony is starting!” Mumei cut herself off, pointing down to exactly that. They all settled down and tried to keep quiet as the graduates filed in. Mumei idly spotted a few of her old teachers sitting with all the others, easily spotted the head of blue hair in the crowd of students…
There was… Something rather nice about all of this. Something that Kronii, once upon a time, had doubted coming to fruition.
It wasn’t without cost, paid in lives and blood…
Kronii couldn’t help but glance over at the brunette. She could see some remnants of it all in those amber eyes. This place held bittersweet memories, this campus had bloodstains in its concrete and watering the trees and shrubs that dotted the entire thing…
Part of the Warden mourned that she couldn’t protect her from the worst of it. Regretted how the light in her eyes was dimmer than it was when they first met.
…That same part of her grumbled about how her fears were correct, how getting close to Mumei had truly caused her great harm. But every other part of her was just happy to have Mumei here, safe and sound, resting her head against the Warden’s shoulder as they sat through the usual boring graduation speeches, seeming perfectly content where she was.
Things had changed. Friends and loved ones had been lost, their bodies had been broken and they both had even more ghosts haunting them for their troubles.
But they were here. They were going strong and getting to lead normal lives. They got to go congratulate Altiare for graduating, got to watch Calli tease him about his boyfriend who was busy gushing about how excited he was that they graduated together. She still recognized him, that Aussie boy she’d met all that time ago.
…She recalls a van and blunt force trauma being involved.
Even ‘Gold had shown up, which was rare considering he tried to remain out of the public eye. Considering how excited Altaire was to see him and how both boys were calling him ‘Gibby,’ it seems that her choice in bodyguard for the boys had been a good one.
They went and got pizza afterwards. Everyone had a good time, graduation presents were handed out, including a hefty check for whatever he’d need going forwards from Kronii that got her an utterly incredulous look.
Kronii just laughed and hand waved his bewilderment. It’s what he deserved after everything he and his sister had been through after all. She’d already set aside plenty of savings for Kobo’s college fund too, though she definitely was a few years off from that.
It was nice to do something… Normal, for once. To have one night where it felt as though their lives were just like any other. It made it easy to forget everything they had been through like this, in these moments Kronii treasured most.
But, as all things must, the evening came to an eventual end. They all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.
“...We should get together more often.” Mumei commented as they pulled into the driveway.
“I mean, you did boast about having a lot of vacation days, we could definitely arrange that.” Kronii chuckled, holding the door open for her..
Kronii couldn’t help but smile at the glint of the ring on Mumei’s finger reflecting in the moonlight.
Her wife.
And what a wondrous thing it was.
That night, they opted to simply curl up together and cuddle rather than get up to anything too R-rated, especially considering the state of the both of them.
Scars of the past really loved to ruin good things, huh?
Kronii didn’t have the heart to complain, she loved just being around her wife, whether they were getting up to their usual trysts or more innocent things, like now.
Kronii sighed happily, pressing a kiss to the top of the brunette’s head and pulling her closer. Mumei murmured something unintelligible in her sleep, leaning in even closer.
…
“I love you.” Kronii whispered into the cool air of night. It didn’t matter if Mumei couldn’t quite hear it, she knew. Kronii made it crystal clear with everything she did for her wife, but she liked saying it anyways.
She had tried way too hard to keep them locked away for far too long to do anything but shout it from the rooftops before her heart burst.
If the Warden could choose one superpower, it would be to control time.
Because right now, she wanted nothing more than for time to slow or even freeze for a while, this moment of peace and quiet before the return to routine. Another case, more eggshells to walk on around her cousin, another day of hard work causing them to be apart once again…
The Warden wanted this peaceful moment to last an eternity.
…She’d have to settle for savoring the moment instead, she supposed.
That night, nightmares do not find her. Visions of mangled bullet-ridden bodies staining the carpet and blazing inferno’s remained in the murky depths of her subconscious.
Instead, she dreams of the moment she met the love of her life. Dreamt of gentle hands tending to her wounds, of flustered half-looks, of gentle music and careful dance steps…
Kronii slept peacefully for the first time in months.