What Does Love Feel Like? | ENGLOT one shots

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Synopsis: Engfa's going on a business trip.

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Engfa wakes to the sound of her alarm, blinking blearily until the 6:00 on the display of her notebook comes into focus.

She lifts a hand to muffle a yawn before clumsily brushing her hair out of her face, more than a little tempted to forget her responsibilities and go back to sleep for another couple of hours.

When Charlotte stirs behind her with an incoherent mumble, Engfa gladly takes the excuse not to get up yet, turning over to face her wife instead.

Charlotte's face scrunches up adorably as she rubs her eyes, clearly only half-awake, and Engfa's heart swells with love.

She's fairly certain that she must have smiled more in the last four years alone than in all the twenty-seven years of her life which came before combined, and it's in no small part thanks to this wonderful woman who's currently wiping a trace of drool from the corner of her mouth.

"Sorry. Did my alarm wake you?"

Charlotte makes a quiet sound somewhere between a whine and a groan that Engfa takes as confirmation, but her annoyance barely even lasts a second.

"Yeah," she says, expression brightening to match her voice, "but it's okay. I wanted to see you off."

Engfa wishes once again that she could simply take a holiday, important business trip be damned, but at least she'll only be gone for a week this time.

"I'll miss you," she murmurs, reaching out to gently touch Charlotte's jaw.

Her fingers trail higher, slowly caressing her cheek, and Charlotte relaxes into the touch.

"I'll miss you too."

After a few more moments, Engfa finally starts to draw her hand back, but Charlotte stops her by catching her wrist, holding eye contact while she leaves a reverent kiss over the polished band of metal encircling her ring finger.

Engfa feels a blush bloom as her face flushes with heat, but she repays the affection in kind, leaning across to press her lips tenderly to the cheek she was caressing.

"I need to start getting ready," she says, reluctantly sitting up, "but you can stay in bed a little longer."

Charlotte hums faintly in acknowledgement, closing her eyes as she sinks further into the pillows, and Engfa huffs out a breath of laughter, shaking her head fondly.

She showers, dresses, and eats breakfast almost mechanically—two slices of toast and one cup of black coffee, as normal—so used to the routine by now that following it is basically second nature.

Once she's done, she clears the table, debating whether she should go and check in case Charlotte's fallen asleep again, which she knows from experience is a very real possibility.

But just as she's about to, she hears her wife shuffling down the corridor.

Engfa steps out into the hallway to meet her wife, and is greeted by the sight of Charlotte still with slightly messy bedhead, but having changed into plain cargo pants and a loose t-shirt.

"You didn't have to get up so early just on my account," she says lightly, without even a hint of genuine chastisement. "I would have come back to say goodbye to you before I left, you know."

"I know, but I—" Charlotte's cut off by a loud growl from her own stomach, and she finishes sheepishly, "I was getting hungry."

Engfa playfully rolls her eyes, but her good mood is dampened when she glances at her notebook to check the time.

"Shit. I really need to get going."

Charlotte nods before opening her arms.

Engfa steps gratefully into the hug, breathing in the comforting scent of home as Charlotte's hands run lazily over her back, solid and strong yet always so delicate with her.

She pulls back just far enough to push up onto her tiptoes, and Charlotte bends down to meet her halfway.

The kiss is soft and full of warmth, sweet but sure, and it lasts long enough to nearly distract Engfa from the fact that she's running late—

Until a sudden noise startles them apart, blaring so obnoxiously and repetitively that Engfa briefly wonders if her alarm is somehow going off again.

Then she remembers that P'Sun is supposed to pick her up and she looks over her shoulder to find the black van, waiting and honking repeatedly.

Pointedly ignoring it, Engfa gives her wife a final peck on the lips before letting her go.

"You'd better remember to take care of yourself while I'm gone, okay?" She hesitates, vulnerability lowering her voice. "I love you."

Charlotte beams at her, positively radiating contentment as she returns the words with absolute conviction.

"I love you too."

With one last wave, Engfa turns to pick up her suitcase and open the door.

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"Charlotte," Engfa calls, closing the door behind her. "I'm home."

She can already hear her wife singing—horribly off-key, but that just makes it more endearing—in the kitchen, and by the time she's kicked her shoes off and put the suitcase down, Charlotte's appeared in the doorway.

"Welcome back, Engfa."

Every time she arrives home, whether she's been gone for an hour or a month, there's always so much pure, earnest excitement to see her in Charlotte' eyes, and every time it takes her breath away.

Engfa takes a step towards her, closing the remaining distance, she cups Charlotte's face and guides her down, because seven days is far too long to go without getting to kiss her wife.