It was a different experience altogether being so far away from their families, but as Hanukkah passed and Christmas grew closer, Rory was glad that they had chosen to keep their first Christmas in London, in their new home, as newlyweds just for the two of them. Every new tradition felt like a treasure. Lighting the candles every night and listening to Maris speak or alternatively excitedly make latkes felt like she was seeing a glimpse into their holidays for years. Picking out their tree as London flurries wafted around them felt magical. Lighting a fire every night in their fireplace became a ritual, and decorating their freshly repainted home in a style that felt exactly like the two of them was something she wanted to do over and over again every year. Their tree was a perfect meld of blacks and reds, plaid for that extra touch of gay.

She didn't like to put pressure-words on Christmas like perfect, and thankfully hadn't had a total perfectionist mother that instilled that sort of thing in her. At the same time, this all felt perfect.

Sometime in between their middle of the night usual wake-up and dawn, Rory had snuck back down to the living room to sneakily place a few extra presents to the pile already there for each other, and those that loved ones had shipped to them. With everything changing and evolving for them (and potential new jobs on the horizon), the familiar holiday feelings just felt good.

Without kids, without families nearby or any other obligations, they had the luxury of sleeping in. As sunrise came and went, it was a bit later in the morning when Rory woke, her body naturally scooting in closer to her wife as her arms wrapped around her. For a few extra seconds, she gazed at her sleeping wife, enamored as ever. "Wake up sleepy." She murmured softly, leaning over and pressing gentle kisses to her forehead then her cheek, her jawline and then next to her ear, her fingers dragging down her back. "It's Christmas."

As great as spending Christmas with the Berlantis (especially Emily and Charlie) had been the year before, Maris loved having Rory all to herself this time around.

And not just because it meant their usual middle of the night tradition could be as loud and uninhibited as she liked it to be.

Maris was spent, hair more than just sleep mussed, but she had somehow managed to reach down and scoop her sweatshirt off the floor, slipping it back on at some point during the night. They had a fireplace and each other to keep warm, but there was no denying their new place was a little drafty, a problem they'd decided to tackle once the holidays were over and everyone was a little less busy.

It was a strange sensation, being clothed on one half and not the other, but not an unpleasant one. It was the best of both worlds. The feeling of her wife's bare skin against her lower half was what really stirred Maris, earning Rory a soft purr that quickly turned into a groan at the prospect of fully waking up.

"Go away, I'm Jewish," she grumbled into her pillow. But her body automatically pressed a little bit closer to the one beside her.

Truly what a difference a year made. Last Christmas, her family was still getting used to the idea that Rory had cancelled her engagement and broken up with her fiancée, and that she was blissfully back together with Maris. She had been nervous then, that they'd judge or think she was being rash, but the holiday had come and gone and Rory was more sure than ever that they'd have her family's blessing.

Now a year later, they were married, something that still felt like "pinch me!" when Rory thought about it. Their love and passion for each other only grew more with every day. Rory knew that was a rare thing.

Rory tended to sleep warm, but even with that, she had been too lazy to put anything back on and instead burrowed deeper into the sheets with her wife. Naked in the morning light, she felt a smirk grow across her features as Maris protested her little wake-up call.

"Oh right, my mistake." She cooed, her arms wrapped around her wife as her fingers played with the ends of her sweatshirt, dancing her fingertips over her hip and dragging it upwards to gently rake her fingers against the small of her back. Scooting even closer, she gently nudged her wife's thighs apart with her knee until her thigh slid between Maris'. "I guess I should get up and go do my own Christmassy things." She teased, brushing her lips against her wife's neck.

Rory's shift earned her another soft sound, this one a little hoarser as Maris closed her thighs around her wife's, giving it a little squeeze.

"Well, alright if that's how we're going to play it..."

Maris arched her back a little, a silent signal she wanted her wife to take her shirt the rest of the way off. Once Rory had, she'd woken up and gathered her wits about her enough to roll them over, smirking as she leaned down to steal a lingering kiss.

"You're very cute about this whole Christmas thing, you know. Makes me want to do Christmassy things with you."

Even in those very rare moments either one of them wanted to pretend to be aloof or tease their wife that they weren't entirely helpless to resist the other, Rory could always count on the sounds to give her wife away. Or betray her to her wife, either way. She grinned as Maris squeezed her thigh with her own.

"Yeah that is." She confirmed with a little nod, a cocky smirk playing across her lips as her nose brushed her wife's. She made quick work of getting Maris' shirt off, tossing it somewhere, it didn't matter.

But she didn't get to play cocky for long, not with Maris moving the both of them with ease. Not that Rory was putting up much of a fight. She eagerly tilted her chin to kiss her wife, her tongue finding hers easily as she made her own soft sound.

"Oh yeah?" She murmured, pointedly raising her knee so she could press up between her wife's thighs in their new position. "What sort of Christmassy things do you want to do?"

"Like..." Maris trailed off for a moment, still not lucid enough to make much in the way of Christmas double entendres. And frankly, a little too turned on to think straight. She thrived on being wanted, especially the moment she woke up. It made her feel like Rory had been waiting, aching for her every second sleep had kept them apart because she certainly could relate when she was the one who was up first. Maris let out a little groan as she tightened her thighs and pressed herself against Rory's knee, a shiver racing up her spine as she slowly started to rock and build a bit of friction, already wet against her wife's skin.

"God, I don't care. I just wanna fuck," she confessed breathlessly, kissing her wife hard as she pushed the covers the last few inches off the bed and slid a hand between Rory's legs.

Rory took great pride in the few and far between moments when she might render her wife even a little bit speechless. A wicked grin flashed across her face as she felt her wife start to grind against her knee. "Mmhm," She sing-songed in a teasing manner as she reveled in the slick feeling of her wife's pussy grinding against her thigh.

"That's my girl," She practically growled as she grabbed for her wife's head, keeping her in close as she crushed a hot kiss to her lips. Her own hips arched almost comically aggressively towards Maris' hand once she felt her. She bucked a little, her thigh taut between her wife's as she felt her whole body heat spike. "Come here." She murmured against her lips, her hands dropping to grip her wife's hips and angle her own as her thighs spread to suggest exactly how she wanted to fuck her wife. It was one thing to feel her wife's pussy against her thigh, but she wanted it grinding against her own. One hand clapped against her wife's ass, squeezing as she drew her closer.

Maris may have been on top, having scrambled for a sense of control even when she was half asleep because she liked being the one in the driver's seat, but the way her wife took initiative and bossed her around underneath her caused her body temperature to spike. Eyebrow raised, she was helpless not to comply, even though it was slightly torturous to give up the friction she was building up for a few moments.

It was replaced with an even better sort. She shivered as she settled between her wife's legs, greeted by the sort of warmth and wetness that felt like home.

The sort she knew she'd miss and crave once stupid real estate responsibilities dragged her away. But the thought of being separated was pushed to the back of her mind as Maris began to rock, reveling in the feeling of being as close as they could possibly be.

"Spank me again," she said coolly, more of a command than a request as she caught Rory's lower lip with her teeth and gave it a little tug, a reminder that her wife wasn't the only one who could get a little bossy. "Harder this time."

Both Rory and Maris liked their own sense of control, and while other couples might struggle with that, the two of them really had managed to find the exact perfect balance. Rory was turned on beyond anything when Maris asserted her own dominance, and on the flipside, Rory knew she could demand her own right back. Even beneath her wife, she knew what she wanted, how she wanted it, and was going to make that very clear. Rory's features flashed in a smirk as she took in Maris' raised brow. Yes she was a little cocky, but she figured she'd earned that, too.

She watched intensely, shifting beneath her wife as she settled in. A sharp whimper left her lips as their pussies found each other, that wet warmth sending a shudder up her spine.

Rory had begun to forget what today even was, and that her wife was going to be leaving in just a few day's time. The only thing she could focus on was their pleasure and how much she fucking loved her wife. It overwhelmed her in moments like this one.

"Like that?" She teased with a cheeky grin, her lips stretching tightening against her wife's teeth and earning a moan as she brought her hand down on her wife's ass, hard enough that she felt the sting in her own hand. Her hand then squeezed her ass, tightening her grip as she spread her thighs wider, angling her hips so she could rock harder against Maris. "You know how much I fucking love it when you're bossy." She spoke in rough panting breath, deliberately grinding herself into her wife as she clapped her hand down on her ass for a third time.

Maris let out a sharp cry that tapered off into a whimper as she was struck. Pain mingled with, then was overtaken by pleasure as Rory changed the angle and rocked harder into her, her pussy noticeably wetter than it had been moments before.

"Good girl," she purred, not sure if she was praising her wife for the way she was moving against her for actually listening to her request. She grabbed her by the throat before either of them could figure it out. Eyes dark and gradually narrowed, she was suddenly feeling rough, determined to give her wife what she sometimes craved, putting only the slightest bit of pressure so Rory could hit the brakes if she wanted her to.

Maris' hips never stopped moving and she never stopped watching, not just because it was important to be careful, but because the way Rory reacted always gave her a little thrill.

Rory's own moan came through a grin, watching her wife take the spank she'd given and go through the wave of pain and pleasure. She could watch her wife for hours no matter what they were doing, but there was always something particularly special and erotic (naturally) to seeing the way their sex affected her.

She couldn't deny that the purring encouragement, those words of affirmation that came from Maris were a wild kind of turn on. Yet there was nothing that quite compared to the utter thrill the moment her wife's hand clasped around her throat. Her eyes flared wide with surprise, a wicked grin splitting her features as she stretched her neck in her wife's grip. "Fuck," She growled, her voice rasping as her throat felt the slight constriction of her wife's palm. These moments were entire, unbridled trust in her wife, and it sent a flood of arousal between her legs that made her shiver and buck against her a little harder.

"Tighter baby," She whined almost desperately, knowing she could take more and in fact wanted more. Her hands squeezed Maris' ass, pulling her against her as she rocked herself to grind her pussy harder into her wife's, an urgency taking hold of her.

Maris' body temperature spiked as the surprise registered on her wife's face. She let out a little moan, the power trip of having her wife completely under her control was intoxicating, enough to make her feel vaguely dizzy, but it was nothing compared to seeing how much Rory seemed to like what she was doing. It was an indescribable turn on, but she didn't have time to sort out the words or why. She moved her hands to the side of Rory's neck, tightening her grip as their lips crushed together in an almost desperate kiss, her hips just as needy. The pace was getting to be as rough as they were, their bodies slapping together in a rhythm that was almost as much of a turn on as the moans and soft cries floating around the room.

Maris let up on Rory occasionally, wanting to give her a chance to catch her breath now and again, but her hands automatically pressed into the sides of her neck again as her orgasm started to build, needing something to hold onto as the room started to blur behind her very heavy eyelids.

The short nails on her free hand dug into Rory's lower back once she got a hold on it, clutching her wife's lower half to her as she pulsed against it with a low groan, riding out every little tremor for all it was worth. She was determined to make her pleasure last, but she also wanted to send Rory right over the edge with her.

It wasn't something that Rory had ever done with another partner, relinquish entire control and trust someone with even her deepest desires. But she didn't even hesitate with Maris, even before they were married, there was something to be said about how uninhibited she always felt with her. Now with vows said and their rings forever on their fingers, she knew that there was nothing she wouldn't give Maris, and nothing she couldn't ask for, too. Her wife's hand perfectly wrapped around her throat was evidence of that, as was the way she strengthened and loosened her grip like she knew exactly what Rory needed at any given second. It made her moan even more, her throat rumbling against Maris' palms as she kissed her deeply.

The sounds their bodies made just made every single thrust of their hips together feel that much more passionate. She moaned, her voice rough and breathing ragged as their pace hit that perfect rhythm that sent shockwaves racing up her spine. She knew she was close, and gazing up at her wife through half-lidded eyes, she knew she was close too.

It was a combination of everything, the way Maris' hand felt with pressure on her neck, how her nails dug into her skin, the way their pussies throbbed and ground together, the sounds her wife made and how fucking incredible she looked. Rory somehow found the wherewithal to bring her hand down again on her wife's ass, not as hard of a slap as before, but well, her own orgasm was cresting and she couldn't stop shaking. She squeezed and used that leverage to rock herself against her wife, crying out loudly as she came. Her body nearly collapsed beneath Maris, but her arms clung to her, moaning as she lifted her head to kiss her breathlessly, deeply. Her hips still rocked almost gently, as tremors continued to wrack her body. "God I love you." She murmured against Maris' lips, having come so hard she'd actually forgotten that it was Christmas at all.

"Mmm, you're delirious, course you'd say that," Maris teased, raking a still shaky hand through her hair as she tried to catch her breath. But the look in her eyes said she loved Rory too, as did the tender, careful kisses she brushed down her wife's throat, a sort of mea culpa for how rough she'd been moments before.

Even if it had been encouraged.

As always, Maris wanted more She'd always been somewhat insatiable in the bedroom, but Rory had awakened a kind of hunger that had been as frightening as it was thrilling in the beginning.

She was never sated. Her lips travelled down Rory's throat, picking up steam as they followed the path of her collarbone, then became more audible as they reached the swell of her breasts, eyes meeting her wife's as her tongue slowly traced then curled around her nipple, her hips rocking ever so slightly.

The smell of sex was all around them, thick enough to overpower some gingerbread air freshener Maris had bought on a whim at a dollar (well, she supposed it was pound now) store.

Rory wasn't the only one who had forgotten it was Christmas. Of course, Maris sort of had a head start because it'd never really been on her radar before her time with Rory, but it was an accomplishment all the same.

The truth was some days (and there were more of them than she cared to admit) she woke up forgetting that this was her life now. Rolling over to see Rory sleeping beside her was always a surprise. Something to be celebrated and on some level, tested to make sure it was actually real.

Having Rory back in her bed (both platonically and not so) had been an all too frequent, sometimes cruel dream during their time apart.

She nuzzled Rory's breast once her mouth finally let up, unsure if she wanted to go again or just give in and relax, but settled for resting her forehead against her wife's in the meantime, a faint (but Maris was nothing if not perpetually stoic) but very contented smile on her lips before she pressed them to Rory's, murmuring, "Good morning, by the way."

"Course I say it, and mean it when you fuck my brains out." Rory laughed breathlessly as her dark gaze soaked in the sight of her wife. Goosebumps raced across her skin as Maris kissed her neck, a soft moan rumbling against her wife's mouth as she did so.

Rory felt like she was settled into this entirely blissed out state, where every brush or touch from her wife against her only sent shockwaves of heat through her. Whether those were cooling her down or just riling her up again, she couldn't even tell.

Her fingertips dragged lazy designs against Maris' back and shoulders, which turned into her short nails digging in as she clutched her shoulder blade the moment Maris' mouth closed over her nipple. "Fuck," She whined an almost pathetic sound, her own hips lifting to rock back at Maris'.

This felt like one of those luxurious days they could spend all day in bed, and the thought went through her mind that she wouldn't mind that one bit. Maybe she'd just haul up their presents to their bed -- later.

Their home, their bedroom, their bed itself felt like a celebration every time they were in it but especially in times like these. Whether it was their middle of the night waking up together or intense sex that she didn't want to end, it was a celebration that they had clawed their way back to each other. That they were married now and had their whole lives stretched out in front of them. Rory wanted to savor that at every single opportunity.

Her skin felt entirely on fire, her breathing actually not really able to steady itself. Rory's lips stretched into a wide, satisfied grin as she welcomed her wife back into her arms, her nipples hard as the cool air of the room hit them. "Oh yes good morning." She huffed with a flippant tone, even as her thighs hugged her wife's hips and she leaned up to kiss her a second later. "You make me want you constantly, you know that?" She huffed, her voice a hushed murmur against her wife's lips.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that," Maris murmured, her nose brushing Rory's playfully as her hand slowly slid down her wife's stomach and between her legs to test that theory. She let out a soft sigh when, just as expected she found her warm, wet and ready. She stroked her slowly, her tongue just as gentle but purposeful as it pushed past Rory's lips.

This wasn't about getting anywhere, though she certainly wasn't about to let her wife go unsatisfied. This was worship, reverence for how good it felt to touch her, to reach out and know she was hers to touch. She pressed Rory into the mattress a little, pinning her with her body. Their breasts being somewhat squished together gave her her favorite kind of sting as she eased two fingers inside her, her tongue matching the pace of her languid thrusts, her free hand reaching up and brushing some hair out of her wife's face as she ran her fingertips along her jaw.

Rory liked to think that she had some control over her faculties, but the moment that Maris' hand moved down her stomach and touched her, her whole body jolted with an almost violent move in reaction. She giggled at herself, a ridiculous sound that mingled with a moan as she kissed her hard, her hand coming up to the back of her neck to keep her wife close enough to keep kissing. Her hand tangled in Maris' short hair as her hips rocked herself into Maris' hand.

She felt the reverence of the moment, their slow, gentle way that felt like she was entirely wrapped up in everything her wife was. She kissed her slowly, huffing a short whine as Maris pinned her to the body. "Fuck, baby." She moaned, her hips rocking slowly now, matching the thrusts of her wife's fingers. She breathed slowly as their lips parted, her forehead resting against Maris' as she focused on filling her lungs, the scent of her wife, their sex, the heat of the air around them only adding to the no less than erotic feeling of the moment. Her own hand snaked between them, blindly sliding up her inner thighs until she could slide two fingers inside of her wife. She matched her thrusts, and kept them slow, matching their breathing, or the slow kisses she raised her chin to give her.

It was a stark contrast to the rough, animalistic passion of moments before. Purrs and the barely detectible sound of their lips meeting over and over again as they worked their fingers inside of each other were as soft as Maris' gaze, though her eyes were narrowed with a sort of quiet intensity, determined to take in this moment as she pleased her wife the way she deserved.

She let out a little grunt as Rory seemed to have found exactly the right spot, winding her wife's hair just a bit more tightly around her fingers as she pushed herself against her hand harder.

"Fuck me," she gasped between their lips, sounding a million miles away but never more present, her thumb sliding upward to rub and put pressure on Rory's clit, wordlessly showing her wife how she wanted it to be done.

The pair of them could be like this a million times, and though familiar, every time would feel somewhat different. This felt charged and intense, the kind of intimate that was like the twin of the kind of aggressive intimacy they'd just had. Every few seconds she needed to kiss her wife, but she needed breath and somehow just breathing so incredibly close to each other felt like a kiss in some other way too. Her fingers didn't stop, but also didn't pick up speed just yet. Not when she really wanted to savor her.

But hearing that sound from her wife sent a charged feeling through her, a live wire down her spine as she began to thrust a little faster, a little more shallow as her speed picked up and she continued to thrust right against that same spot, again, and again. "That's my girl." She growled, her voice a low rumble in her throat in direct response to her wife's demand. Hearing that from her wife would never not thrill her.

Her own gasp sounded, a whimper closely following as Maris pressed her thumb into her clit. "Fuck me." She almost laughed with her own demand, bucking her hips into Maris' hand as her own thumb pressed into her wife's clit. Every thrust she matched, feeling her way to mirror exactly what Maris was doing so they'd match exactly how it felt with each other.

With their bodies in sync, the rock of Maris' hips didn't just help her push onto her wife's fingers and send them that much deeper inside her. Their closeness combined with the motion allowed her to feel like she was fucking her with her entire body because she wasn't quite sure where Rory ended and she began.

A crescendo of increasingly breathy ahs fell from Maris' lips, a not too familiar feeling of extra pressure building between her legs because she'd only experienced it a few times before, but she knew what it could mean, so her heart started pounding just a little bit quicker.

"Rub harder, harder.... god, like that, thrust deeper Rory, come on..." Maris sounded uncharacteristically desperate, every word in her breathless sentence sort of running together. She wasn't being her normal demanding self, but she was coaching Rory on what to do. Just the way she'd promised in a probably now forgotten conversation months before. The reason became clear a few seconds later when Maris didn't just come. She started to squirt.

Rory's breathing grew ragged as pleasure built within her by the second, her forearm burning a little with the force of her thrusts, but that just added to how good this felt. Her lips parted against her wife's her tongue flicking over her lips just to taste them.

But there wasn't much time to languidly savor her own pleasure, or how close they were or how good it felt to be with her. As soon as Maris' voice registered in her ears, Rory knew something was different. She felt her own arousal throb as soon as she recognized exactly what Maris' pleas and demands meant.

Rory became like a woman on a mission - but listening to every direction and demand that came from her wife. "That's it baby," She purred, her fingers thrusting deeper, using her whole hand as her palm rubbed almost frantically against Maris' clit while her thrusts became more deliberate and hard. Her eyes went wide with absolute awe, a rush of pleasure and pride and naturally love with that awe. Her fingers and palm were soaked with her wife but she didn't stop, just slowed those same movements she had been doing, drawing out every single shudder of pleasure from her wife. "Oh my fucking god baby," She grinned, her voice a low moan as she gripped the back of her neck with her free hand and pulled her in for a deep, breathless kiss. She'd have to admit that was one of the sexiest, beautiful things she'd ever experienced.

Maris could never be accused of being quiet or passive in the bedroom, but one of the main difference between this orgasm and any other was it was loud. She screamed for Rory in a way she never really had before not just because she couldn't find another way to describe just how good she felt but because she couldn't help it. She couldn't help anything she was doing even though she was trembling so hard that for a brief moment, it frightened her, her first instinct to pull back and stop, but the moment she felt herself start to soak Rory's hand (and the sheets) she was hooked. She wanted to come for her, exactly like this even though it was new and it made her feel dizzyingly vulnerable.

No other woman had ever managed it (although she wasn't sure she would have let anyone else see her that desperate and uninhibited). Hell, Maris had only managed it a few times with sheer determination and an especially good toy. She wasn't sure she had many firsts anymore or even if they did considering how long they'd been together and how often had each other, but god, it turned her on to give this one to Rory and it made sense that she had been the one to give it to her. No one had ever made her come harder.

She gave her everything she had left. By the time the last pulse of her orgasm subsided Maris felt pleasantly empty, satisfied in a way that just made her want to curl up and go to sleep. But she wouldn't. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Rory, looking at her wife with the same sort of awe, desire and adoration she was giving her. And as tired as she was, she was determined to make her come too. But after an orgasm as intense as the one she had, Maris was still. The world seemed to have stopped, even though her heart certainly hadn't. Her chest rose and fell fast enough for her to be aware of it. To see it even as she raked a shaky hand through her hair as she tried to catch her breath, still trembling as she tried to wrap her head around what had just happened.

"Fuck," she gasped, her head falling back against the headboard as she just let the room spin.

Rory had imagined what this might be like, how it would feel, look, sound. She had been ill prepared for just how incredible it would actually be. She didn't hear Maris make sounds like this often, and she knew all of her wife's sounds. It sent a thrill racing up her spine, almost dizzy with the pride and arousal she felt for her wife. The way she came, the way she squirted over her left her absolutely awestruck, completely enamored with something she wanted to give to her wife, but never had before. It thrilled her that there were still some things they could achieve that were new to them.

Her own pleasure was entirely cast aside for the moment, replaced with just how thrilled she was in the moment. She took in everything, from the way Maris shook uncontrollably to the sounds she made as she came down. Her heart was pounding, her eyes wide with complete adoration. Rory slowly slipped her fingers out of her wife, a grin spreading across her face as she watched how Maris' body reacted.

"That was fucking beautiful." Rory moaned, leaning into Maris and peppering noising kisses against her throat and shoulder. She wiped her hand against the sheet, knowing full well they'd need to be changed anyway, and slid her arms around her wife. "How do you feel?"

"Mmm, just.... mmm." Maris laughed at her own ridiculousness. On any other day she would have been mortified by how stupid she sounded, but there really weren't any other words to describe this feeling. She felt like she was an entirely different plane, not entirely back in her body just yet which would explain why her brain wasn't quite working. She was unusually clingy, soft as Rory's lips travelled down her throat, pressing her body into her, winding a leg around her waist like a vine like she couldn't bear for them to be apart because all she wanted was to be close, close enough for Rory to feel like faint buzz under her skin.

"Feels so good, Rory," she purred softly, lips brushing against her ear. "I want to make you feel it too." She slowly ran her fingers through her wife's hair, her gaze steady as her other hand slipped between them again. "Show me how?"

It wasn't a demand but there was something in Maris' eyes that said she wasn't going to take no for an answer. That she wasn't going to stop, as spent as she was, until she'd figured out how to make her wife gush against the sheets too. She wanted to share this feeling, she wanted to please her wife in every way possible, to keep pushing each other and find new tricks so they didn't become one of those boring married couples who didn't want each other every minute of every day and let sex become just another part of the routine.

Maris was competitive. Even with sex and even with Rory. She wasn't about to let her wife give her a bigger orgasm than she'd ever given her. Her ego wouldn't allow it.

And if anyone deserved to be pleased...

Strength (and cockiness) returning, Maris' nose brushed hers. "Come on, Rory," she coaxed. "Teach me."

Rory couldn't help the breathless giggle that came from her at Maris' words, thrilled at the very fact that Maris had come so hard that she sounded different than she usually did after sex. Everywhere her lips touched to her wife's skin made her just want to taste more of her skin, to kiss her everywhere and earn more of those sounds, more of those clinging limbs around her body. She loved the way this felt, even when it wasn't this tight, like her wife needed her beyond the desire and love for each other they obviously felt.

What Maris said next legitimately surprised Rory, her eyes flaring wide in surprise as she looked at her wife, catching her eyes. A shiver ran up her spine even before Maris' hand moved between her legs, but when she was there, her body gave another, stronger one.

If it were possible, and apparently it was, a new wave of arousal, stronger than she imagined she could when she was already so turned on came over her. She wanted it, desperately. "Move your fingers..." Her voice felt deeper, stronger than what she recognized to be her own voice. Her hand moved down to grasp Maris' wrist to guide her hand - not that her wife had ever needed it.

Her lips just centimeters from her wife's, she spread her thighs apart, guiding Maris by the wrist and feeling her heart pound even harder than before. She felt dizzy, completely transfixed as her gaze never once wavered from her wife's. It was intense, but the kind of intense she loved.

Her hips jolted as an almost unfamiliar feeling of pleasure struck her, her breath hitching audibly in her chest as she nodded, biting her lower lip. "There, right there." Her voice was hushed but demanding, the sound of how wet she was mingling with their breathing. Her whole body felt like it was ready for something she didn't even recognize. "I've never...Fuck." She panted, rocking her hips a little but telling herself to relax, even as she clamped down around her wife's fingers.

Maris took the change in her wife's voice as a good sign, her body heat spiking as her wrist was gripped. She let Rory take charge, prepared to do whatever was asked of her, watching her in almost awe as her legs spread further as if she hadn't had the same, gorgeous view a thousand times before.

"Shhh," she murmured, pressing almost chaste kisses to her temple, her voice soothing, but like her wife's thick with desire. "We'll figure it out. Just relax. You just have to relax darling, trust me." She followed Rory's cues, wanting her wife to stay in control not because being told what to do was a surprising turn on for a woman used to giving the orders, but because she figured nobody knew what would work better than her wife. Neither of them had ever needed help to please each other, but it was clear Maris really was paying attention to Rory's instructions because even if they didn't make her squirt (a possibility she didn't want to accept, but sort of had since she had been pretty sure she wasn't able to do it with a partner until a few moments ago) she'd at least know exactly how her wife liked to be fucked because this was clearly doing something to Rory neither of them had experienced yet.

Maris slowly switched the angle of her thrusts to one she knew Rory liked, tentative at first because she didn't want to take the reigns when she'd handed them to Rory, but when it seemed to be working, she worked her fingers harder, faster, deeper, the sound of her wife's pussy making hers throb. "Fuck, you're so wet," she groaned, her fingers sliding up to rub her clit almost frantically, audibly, eyes narrowed in concentration as she watched her fingers at work against and inside her.

The two of them knew each other so well, they knew how to please each other more than anyone and Rory knew that Maris was damn good at picking up on every one of her tells. This was uncharted territory, even for them, and there was something extra exciting about that.

"Okay babe, okay," She hummed back, nodding as she did what Maris told her. There was something even more erotic about being coaxed through this by her wife, and in turn her guiding Maris as to what felt good, what she needed. Their communication was great, but this felt even beyond that. Being the sole focus of her wife's attention was something Rory could palpably feel. It would overwhelm her if the pleasure building within her body hadn't been a blissful distraction that took most of her focus.

Rory did trust Maris, more than anyone in the world. She knew that her wife was giving her everything she had, and that fact mingled with everything else just made her shiver even harder. The way Maris thrust her fingers inside of her felt familiar, but still different in a way that she couldn't explain. "Oh fuck, baby fuck right there." She gasped, her voice almost embarrassingly pitched higher, her gasps becoming rougher as she felt that pressure building to a breaking point. Relax, Maris' words echoed in her mind, and she didn't back away from the intensity of what she felt, but rather embraced it. Before she knew what was happening, her thighs began to shake uncontrollably. Her whole body gave way to the trembling, her gasps breaking into a full cry as her voice got louder, rougher. She damn near screamed Maris' name, the way she fucked her sending a dizzying, overwhelming feeling as she began to gush against her wife's hand. "Fuck fuck fuck" She repeated as she shook and slammed her fist against the headboard above her, clinging onto reality for dear life as she let herself entirely succumb to the way her wife made her squirt for the first time in her life.

Maris was determined, her breath coming in short huffs as she worked her fingers inside her wife with single-minded determination. She gasped in almost awe as that hard work paid off, swallowing hard as she felt and watched Rory start to spill all over her hand, teeth sinking into her lower lip because she, of all people knew how good it felt. She didn't stop until Rory did, cooing soft words of encouragement in her ear and pressing more soft kisses along her hairline as she watched her wife discover just how good it felt to go completely primal, to push yourself until you didn't have anything left to give.

She eased her fingers out of her slowly, nuzzling her wife's neck even though her gaze was still firmly between her wife's legs, a little bit in awe of what her body could do. "How's it feel?" she murmured, her tone a little cheeky as she turned Rory's question around on her. But she was curious. It was new. Something neither had them had given or received from each other (or anyone else) before. Maris didn't know how much long she'd longed for a new first until they'd stumbled upon this one.

It was unlike anything she'd felt before, entirely overwhelming in a literal way, where she didn't know what to think (or if she could) or if she could catch her breath or speak at all. The only things spilling from her lips were ragged breaths and moans, interspersed with Maris' name cooed like a prayer. As she came down under Maris' touch, her body still shook, with sharp aftershocks that made her moan with every one. She just panted beneath her wife's lips, turning her head to press an errant kiss here or there but not really conscious of the moves, either.

"It feels..." She couldn't even wrap her head around a word, dumbstruck as she laughed and bit her lower lip, shaking her head as she curled herself into her wife. "Indescribable?" She laughed again, kissing Maris' neck and under her jaw. "I think that's what actual nirvana feels like." She took a few moments and leaned back just enough to catch her wife's gaze. "Fuck, I love you. I can't believe you - I - we did that."

"It's a Christmas miracle," Maris teased, but she'd had the utmost faith that they'd both get there in the end. They were both too stubborn to give up, especially when it came to getting each other off.

Not that it'd ever been a problem.

Satisfied now that Rory was, Maris let herself relax fully, plopping back on the bed somewhat ungracefully because her limbs still weren't working quite right. She felt blissfully still, blank, unwilling or unable to do anything other than properly pulling her wife into her arms so they could lay, breathe together in a room that was thick with the smell of some of the best sex they'd ever had.

She dropped a kiss on Rory's shoulder, full lips lingering there even after she'd lifted her head. "And just think, that was only our first try..." She trailed off, her expression turning cheeky before she let out a breathless laugh.

"Oh right, it's Christmas." Rory laughed, her breathing still slightly rough so her laugh sort of expelled in a breath of air itself.

It really was euphoric, both the feeling of coming that hard, and the fact alone that they'd managed to experience something brand new together. It made Rory feel as soft as it did hot for her wife altogether. Her pussy throbbed, overly sensitive as the whole rest of her was just spent.

Rory easily rolled into her wife's arms, breathing in the scent of her, allowing herself to be held just as tightly as her breathing began to return to relative-normal. She drew lazy designs against Maris' back, just taking in every bit of joy that the afterglow gave her.

"Oh fuck, you're right." Rory expelled with a bit of a laugh, an almost exasperated tone to her words that she spoke around a big grin. She might be exhausted but the very idea of doing that again made her shiver. "This is really gonna make your ego go crazy, huh?" She grinned as she gazed at her wife, leaning in and stealing another soft kiss. "Which of course ... is really fucking hot."

"Ego?" she said, eyes wide with feigned offense. "Excuse you, I'm extremely humble." Her lips twitched. "Even when I'm making you come like a geyser."

Her half smile turned into a real one after her little joke, fingers tracing the same sort of slow, aimless patterns along Rory's arms and sides as her breathing finally returned to normal.

Even with mind blowing orgasms taken out of the equation, this was bliss. The sort of moment Maris had to stop and mentally catalog because if their time apart had taught her anything it was that she had taken Rory for granted before.

She brushed some hair away from her wife's neck, pressing soft soundless kisses there as she breathed in the faint smell of sweat, sex and shampoo mingling with something else that was undeniably Rory.

She knew it was Christmas and there was one present waiting downstairs that she was especially eager to give her, but moving wasn't exactly an option at the moment, even though her strength seemed to be returning.

This was better than anything she'd ever dreamed of. Her fingers kept moving. There was no rhyme or reason to it, no conscious thought, but as they reached her wife's stomach they slowed, stroking the skin beneath in a way that seemed especially tender, their future plans never far from her mind these days now that they'd actually talked about them.

Especially because she was starting to make plans to talk about them with her father.

Maybe she she was orgasm drunk, especially emotional because every part of her was in overdrive, but she was struck by just how much she loved Rory in this moment. She was filled to the brim with it, enough to make her confident that she really did have enough for two people once Keats or Jane came along.

She dropped another kiss on Rory's shoulder, murmuring, "Deserve to feel good though." Her voice softened. "You deserve so many things, darling.

"Oh yes, the most humble especially after you fuck your wife within an inch of her life." Rory laughed, shaking her head and burying it into her wife's skin as a blush crept up her cheeks.

The whole of her being just felt entirely buzzing, glowing with a kind of magnetic attraction that kept her locked in against her wife. She breathed with her wife, taking in the slowing of her heartbeat, the calming of her breath. The world itself seemed to slow on its axis, giving them more time to be in this spot together, unhurried.

Rory had the fleeting thought that they should spend all holidays celebrating exactly like this, but then had the thought immediately afterward that there were stretches of time that would feel too long to be without this feeling. No, just any day that ends in Y would be perfectly spent like this.

A visible shiver ran through her body as Maris' fingers stroked her stomach, as butterflies stirred to life beneath her wife's fingertips. Her mind went exactly where Maris' undeniably was, too. Their future family. The babies they would have, the one who might grow inside her belly. She wondered if Keats or Jane would be hers to carry, the idea of either, so long as they were healthy, feeling so real.

Rory turned a kiss to her wife's jaw, smiling as she just let her lips linger against her skin. "You give me even more than I need, love." She cooed back at her, sliding her fingertips over her wife's arm. "God I love you."

They eventually fell asleep in each other's arms, too spent to even bother pulling more than a thin sheet around them, although at the time they were still warm enough not to want more than that.

Maris woke up cold, not to mention a little hungry. She wanted to go downstairs, make some coffee, possibly snag some of the Christmas treats they had scattered around the house and try to bring up all their presents in one trip so her wife could wake up to all sorts of surprises, but they were so close that when Maris stirred, slowly sitting up to swing her legs over the side of the bed, Rory stirred too.

Her lips twitched before she brought them to Rory's for a soft kiss. "Presents?" she murmured, tapping her chin with her thumb once she was done. "I was going to bring them up here, but we can go down to the tree if you want."

Once they were gainfully employed, Rory would miss the freedom of their days to just lay about together, worshiping each other and sleeping and waking to do the same again. As they fell asleep, Rory had no concept of when they'd need to be up or any of that nonsense.

When she eventually stirred, she found her wife doing the same. A sleepy but wide grin spread across her face as she tilted her chin up to properly kiss her wife. She nodded before she even spoke, kissing the heel of her thumb before she pushed herself up as well. "Let's do it by the tree. Get the full effect."

Rory beamed at her wife as she woke, stretching her arms out before standing and searching for her robe. Slipping into the thick, soft fabric, she cinched it around her waist. No need to get dressed more than that. She combed her fingers through her hair and pulled it up into a messy bun, the last thing were her slippers - oh she looked like the picture of Christmas morning. Or, afternoon really. "I'll make us some coffee, do you want to start a fire up? I'm going for the full aesthetic here." She smirked, leaning over and kissing her wife softly, again.

Maris slid into her own soft robe. She prefered her black kimono, not just because of pleasant memories of the very start of her relationship, but because the silk felt especially good against her skin in moments like these, but it was short and with it, too chilly for winter wear. Even in front of a roaring fire.

She gave Rory one more kiss, even though she was bound to get plenty more soon enough before following her wife down the stairs. A pro by now, she made quick work of lighting the fire, then rummaged around the kitchen a bit until she found the tupperware container full of Tudor style gingerbread she'd made on an end table. Maris probably could have let it stay in a while longer, but it was a valiant first effort. She sat the tub on the couch cushion beside her, chewing thoughtfully for a few moments before she swallowed quickly, remembering the presents under the tree. She gathered them all up, figuring opening them from the comfort of the sofa would be best, especially since their tree was still in full view at the center of the room.

She accepted her coffee gratefully, taking a careful sip before all but thrusting the first of Rory's presents into her hands. The Virginia Woolf hoodie she'd gotten Rory was actually the present Maris was the least excited to give her wife, but it was still pretty great. She just had to get it out of the way, lead up to the ones she'd been giddy over for months, Rory's book & shelf had been too rare not to snatch up the moment she saw them, hidden in a box in Maris' side of the closet for over half the year.

From the time she was small, Rory loved the thrilling feeling of Christmas morning. Even when she was a teenager and "over" most of the Christmas-magic, there was a shift that happened on the morning in question, where there was this feeling of wonder knowing what was coming. Rory had always loved giving presents just as much (sometimes even more so) as she loved receiving some. She felt that same feeling now, even if it mingled with that deliciously satisfied feeling her wife had given her.

Downstairs, it was Rory's turn to kiss her wife one more time before they parted ways, she went off to the kitchen to grab their favorite mugs and start up the coffee pot. She couldn't stomach the coffee that came out of a keurig. Rory had high standards. Rory stayed in the kitchen, smiling softly as Maris rummaged around and she got the rest of the coffee fixins ready. Once she made their coffees (with oreo creamer, naturally), she carried them into the living room where she found her wife, already playing Santa with the gifts.

"Oh you are ready." Rory grinned, handing over Maris' coffee as she sat down and leaned over to kiss her temple. "We should take turns, yeah? I don't want to be distracted when you're opening yours." She grinned, snatching a piece of gingerbread and taking a bite as she nudged her wife with her knee.

Maris usually let Rory take the lead on Christmas. She'd been through more of them, after all. Maris had only really celebrated the holiday when they were together. On the rare occasion she was seeing someone seriously enough to warrant buying them a present, she did, but there had been no trees, no baking, no traditions because she was fine with her own and not interested in building any with anyone else. Rory was the exception to so many of Maris' usually strict rules.

But she was especially excited this year. A first edition Virginia Woolf was supposed to be Rory's gift last year, even though she'd definitely swapped it out for something better. It was high time she gave one to her.

"Sure, turns," she said distractedly, not really caring one way or the other because she wasn't too concerned about her own gifts, just her wife opening hers. "You go first."

Honoring both of their holidays had become something incredibly important to Rory. Over Hanukkah, she loved the ritual of lighting the candles and listening to Maris recite words Rory might not understand, but she could feel the meaning. It was a beautiful thing, the two of them creating their own traditions that they'd eventually show their children. Maybe by next Christmas, they'd be eating gingerbread over Maris' growing belly. The idea threatened to make her misty-eyed as much as a thrill raced up her spine. She kind of hoped so.

"I -- okay." Rory narrowed her eyes a little bit, used to generally going last on Christmas morning because her sister went first and then she always liked her mom to feel special as well. Going first, she got a little giddy bounce as she put down her drink and gathered the present Maris directed her to in her lap. She was fairly precious about the unwrapping, grinning as the pink of the Virginia design came into view. "ohhh I love this!" She laughed, pulling it out to examine it. "Thank you baby." She leaned over and kissed her quickly, before excitedly directing her to the box housing the shirt she had gotten her wife.

Maris had kind of been angling to her wife's presents toward her, insisting she open them all at once before Maris did the same with hers because it meant Rory would get to the really good stuff that much faster but she could hardly be disappointed when a present was placed in her lap. Her lips twitched ever so slightly despite herself before she used her short nails to dig into the paper. At first she thought it was just a plain black tee shirt, something that obviously would have been more than fine by her, but when Maris noticed the (admittedly muted) rainbow, she let out a quick, sharp laugh and held it up to her chest.

"Okay, but the rainbow's pretty eye catching. Could hardly wear this doing crimes, they'd spot you right away even if they didn't read the text."

But the kiss she gave Rory a second after told her wife that she was just teasing. She folded the shirt with less care than she normally would have and placed it beside her on the couch. She was usually even more meticulous about how things Rory gave her were treated, but she was a woman on a mission.

The shelf came next. It had been hard to find a box big enough to fit it, so Maris had just grabbed a small cardboard one from the grocery store and wrapped it in the same navy and white plaid paper she had everything else.

"Be careful," she warned. "It's heavy." And old. And therefore fragile, but she wasn't about to give away the surprise.

"Oh, I didn't think of that." Rory exaggerated a look of concern, but a smile edged its way onto her lips as she regarded her wife. She knew better than to go for big bold bright colors, and once she'd found this shirt it made her laugh out loud - similar to the laugh she got from her wife. That was all she had hoped for, and beamed a big smile just a moment later. "You'll have to have another outfit for all your crimes."

Rory watched Maris lift the large box, a sly grin on her face as she scrutinized it, and not for the first time. "This has been driving me nuts since you put it under the tree, I have no idea what this is." She laughed, inspecting the box as it was placed in front of her.

One more glance to her wife, and then Rory tore into the paper, carefully stripping it away and then getting to the box. "What..." Her brows knit together as she caught a glimpse of what was inside, reaching in and gingerly pulling it out of the box. "Oh wow... Mar this is beautiful." She said almost reverently, running her fingers over the design etched into the wood. "Where did you find this?!"

"Think there are any pools to break into around here?" she teased. Probably not. Maris may have been the sort of person who was particularly sensitive to and therefore hated the cold, but she wasn't quite sure how she felt about trading in her summers for milder ones in the UK. She liked hot weather, but she supposed she'd just have to wait and see just how big of a difference there was when the time came.

Maris had never been able to resist going into an antique shop, even when she was flat broke and only able to browse. She liked looking around, the urge even stronger now that she didn't have her grandfather's to disappear into.

She sometimes felt guilty that they'd sold Adam's shop after his passing, but Maris had no head for business and despite her career, nowhere near the wealth of knowledge and experience her grandfather had. Her father, happily tenured, could hardly have taken over either, but the loss still stung.

It had been the end of an era and Maris, despite her usual cynicism and insistence that nothing lasted forever, had never really prepared herself for it.

"I got it from the store across from the movies in Maine?" she offered. She had pulled Rory in there on more than one occasion, but they rarely had anything good. It sold mostly secondhand goods, slightly outdated furniture, old appliances and clothes people wanted to get rid of to clear space rather than antiques, but Maris had wandered in and known what she was looking at immediately, even if the shopkeeper didn't. He'd given her the "old shelf" at a price much less than it was actually worth based on age alone.

"I'm pretty sure it's Victorian. The wood's old." She leaned forward, pointing. "Nails too, see? And they loved their botanicals. I wish there were more of them but..." She shrugged, knowing it had been a miracle to find one especially in such good shape, at all.

She thought the shelf could help start their library, or at least be a really nice placeholder until they dove into the project.

"Really heavy though, feel like it might be a bit of a pain if we wanna hang it. It could sit though. On a table or something." Maris stopped, feeling a bit bossy as she mumbled, "But you know, your present so..."

"I mean they've got to swim somewhere." Rory smirked, nudging her wife with her knee as she took a moment or two to indulge in that delicious memory. She did wonder as well what it would be like to have this whole new climate for the year(s) to come. How they might miss certain things from back home, or make sure to vacation here or there to make up for it. Did London even get hot? She imagined maybe sometimes. Rarely.

Rory knew how much her wife loved antique shops, beyond just the surface level love for them but instead how precious they seemed to be to her. She of course knew why, and when she'd gone into some with Maris before, she found herself watching her wife more than taking in her surroundings. She loved to watch the way that Maris scrutinized things, how something might be revered or recoiled from. She'd venture to say that she learned a thing or two from her wife.

"It feels old." She nodded, setting it down in her lap so she could gingerly run her fingers over the wood. It really was in beautiful shape, and something so specific and so lovely - of course her wife absolutely nailed it. "This is absolutely stunning. Thank you honey." She leaned over and kissed her wife softly, lingering a bit longer than a quick one. "I think we can figure out what to do with it. Just find the studs in the wall if we want to hang it to be safe." She smiled, kissing Maris' cheek then as her wife mumbled.

"The small one for you, next." She nodded as she carefully put the shelf on the coffee table. Rory was quite amused by the Anne and Ann gifset of pens and hand crafted desk supplies, but tried to hide her knowing smirk as she waited for Maris to open them.

Pleased that Rory liked her gift, Maris dug into her next one. "Oh great, more pens for you to steal," she teased. In truth, her wife hadn't stolen many and even Maris had a tendency not to return things she'd borrowed on occasion, but she had a feeling Rory would be even more inclined to take the pens considering what they were based on. She'd created the best sort of monster when she'd coaxed her into watching Gentleman Jack, after all.

She studied each little piece of the set, stomach knotting ever so slightly as they reminded her she might have someplace to actually put them soon.

God, she hoped the job at the new school came through. She hoped both of theirs did.

"Thanks, Ror. This is really neat."

And now, the moment of truth. Maris managed to find a copy of To The Lighthouse with a dust jacket. She didn't know much about buying old books, her grandfather hadn't kept very many of them in the shop because a setting up a shelf to display them would have taken up precious floor space and they were fragile and prone to damage if they weren't stored just right.

But she knew dust jackets were easily lost or ripped. Finding such an old book with one was something of a miracle and she was glad she did, even if it had jacked up the price. Her wife deserved the best and she liked to think it would be the first book in their library.

Or at least to line Rory's new shelf.

She'd wrapped it more carefully than all the others, cocooning it in tissue paper before placing it in the box. Just in case.

"Or, or, an excuse to linger around your office." Rory said with a feigned offended air to her voice. But she laughed a moment later, watching her wife take in the admittedly amusing gift. Her mind also drifted for the moment to the idea that they would have offices outside of their home and they'd be able to visit between classes. Going back to the beginning in a way, yet entirely different, evolved, better. Wives working at the same school what a dream that was.

Now if they'd only get the damn call already.

"Every great writer needs a great pen, I think Anne would agree."

Sat on the couch together, tearing open presents, Rory gave a little bit of a pause just to revel in how nice it was, their first Christmas morning (well, afternoon) as a married couple.

The box she was handed had Rory's gaze lingering on her wife who seemed to hold the box with something of a bit of reverence. The box wasn't moving or barking, so she ruled out something alive inside. "Hmmm..." She said aloud, but didn't shake the box or anything. She was more careful with this one, peeling back layers and then the box, then the tissue inside.

When the book revealed itself, she gasped softly, utterly shocked to see what she recognized immediately. "Oh Mari," The rarer nickname rolled off her tongue in a kind of reverent way. "Is this--?" She knew the answer, but still lifted the book gently out of the box. She felt the threat of tears prick her eyes, the preciousness of something her wife had selected so perfectly for her, something she would treasure and love. "Oh my god it's beautiful."

Since Maris didn't trust buying just about anything online, especially an antique, she'd had to track down a book store that specialized in them with a brick and mortar location so she could inspect them for wear and authenticity in person. It had been a dream and she was definitely planning on taking Rory there now that her surprise had been revealed, but it had also intimidated her in ways she didn't expect. Some of the more expensive first editions, kept locked away behind glass to protect them from damage or just plain theft, cost more than her first car.

Seeing Rory's reaction definitely cemented that she'd be back again. The threat of tears didn't go unnoticed. She knew her wife's tells, after all, but Maris didn't comment on them. She simply slid closer and slipped an arm around her before pressing a soft kiss to her temple as they both looked down at the book in her lap. "I was always gonna get you one eventually," she murmured, lightly rubbing her wife's arm.

There were certain gifts that Rory cherished in a way that she felt might be a little extra, but she felt in her very bones how special they were. This one was one of them. Handpicked by her wife, old yet in beautiful shape, a book that she absolutely loved. She carefully opened it and knew exactly what she'd see on the inside, those inked words of a first edition. "Oh my god." She said again, running her fingers carefully over the pages like it might evaporate in front of her.

She turned her head towards Maris after she'd kissed her temple, lifting one hand to hook under her wife's chin and pull her in for a fervent kiss. She hummed a soft sound against her lips before noisily breaking it. "You're fucking incredible. Thank you baby." She smiled, brushing her thumb over her wife's jaw line. "Well now what I've got you is really gonna pale in comparison." She whined a little, keeping the book in her lap (for now) before handing Maris her final two presents, the framed personalized library card that, okay she did put a lot of effort into with important dates, and her own first edition that was pretty, but maybe just not quite as beautiful as the one Maris had given her. Oh well.

The personalized library card didn't disappoint, but it did make Maris feel a bit old. Not because it reminded her she and Rory had been through a lot during both phases of their relationship, but because card catalogs were becoming a thing of the past now that libraries were almost fully computerized. She had a feeling if she showed one to one of her students (if she ever had students again) they'd have no idea what it was.

The book brought another smile to her face, but their last few presents had her thinking about one thing above all else.

"We really need to get started on our library," she said, nodding toward the shelf, the book and the things Rory had just given her still resting in her lap. "We're obviously both thinking about it."

In truth, Rory had been thinking plenty about their library. How they would decorate it, what the order of their books might be. She cringed when she saw people organize their books by color. How did you find anything with that system!? Surely they would argue a little on their selected methods, or which ones went on display... but she really looked forward to those little compromises. Just like they had to do with the rest of the house, what colors, what furniture.

"We really do. I want those shelves that go up so high we have one of those rolling ladders..." She'd said it before, but the idea still got her all excited. She put her own book on the table, carefully and making sure it was far out of any zone where residual coffee might splash on it. Precious cargo. "We need to think about what sort of reading nook we can put in there, too."

"One big enough for two," Maris agreed. Or even three, if everything went according to plan. But the image of her and Rory cuddled up together in a cozy little nook with a babbling baby between them was one that would stop her in her tracks if she let it, so she didn't, deciding to focus on what else she wanted.

The most important thing was that it would be a sanctuary for them both. Maris didn't just see herself pulling novels off the shelf when she wanted something to read (something she couldn't wait for considering how her massive to read pile was taking up every inch of her tiny end table). She saw herself going in there to grade papers, or just sit when she wanted a bit of peace and quiet.

Sure, they had other, probably more pressing priorities. There were room colors to decide on, a handle on the upstairs shower that didn't feel very sturdy, not to mention a beat up kitchen floor she still couldn't stand, but it was obvious they wanted their library and Maris had never been very good at denying her wife anything.

She tipped up Rory's chin to steal another soft, but brief kiss. "Soon," she promised. "Especially if our jobs come through. Maybe we can start looking at shelves and things when I come back?"

The image made her so warm to think about, the two of them sitting cuddled together in some sort of a nook that they'd create. Her mind went to the same idea, one that was becoming increasingly frequent these days. Eventually curling up in that same nook with a baby in their arms. Not to get so ahead of herself but that idea... just made her really happy. "Of course big enough for two." She grinned, nudging her wife gently.

The house would be ever evolving, ever becoming just a bit closer to finalized in the exact image they wanted it. The kitchen, she desperately wanted to get done, but their first priority had been their bedroom, naturally. The library was going to be their favorite spot in the house, she just knew it. She wanted to make sure they had their little sanctuary, and their Christmas presents really had made it clear it was on their minds.

"That sounds like a definite plan." Her stomach churned a little bit at the idea of their jobs, and then of Maris going away without her. Something she didn't want to think of on Christmas... but she couldn't help it. Rory scooted closer, leaning in for another soft, but lingering kiss this time. "Gotta say for all the shit 2020 has been globally... it's been really good to us."