"Bonjour, ma cheri. Did you get the wine I asked for?" Delphine asked as she connected the call. Setting it on speaker, she placed her phone on the counter and retrieved her spoon, returning to her task of stirring the gravy simmering away in a pot on the stove.

"Yep! Took me like an hour to find that store you were describing, but I got it!" Cosima's triumphant voice declared from the phone.

Delphine smiled in amusement at the image of Cosima victoriously brandishing a wine bottle in the liquor store flashing through her mind.

"Will you be home soon? Our guests will be here in an hour…" She glanced at the clock on the wall, mentally checking off her list of tasks.

"Well, you know me. Kinda always late –,"

"Kinda always sorry." Delphine chimed in, earning a chuckle from the brunette.

"You will be proud to know that I might just be punctual for once. Like right now." The sound of keys jangling in the lock announced Cosima's return and the bespectacled brunette stepped in with a smug grin in greeting. "See?"

Delphine turned around in surprise, one hand automatically going to her phone which had disconnected the call. "It's a Christmas miracle." She deadpanned.

Cosima rolled her eyes at the jibe, crossing towards the kitchen and dumping her grocery bags on the counter. Rounding the counter, she pressed a kiss in greeting against Delphine's cheek and wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist.

"Smells good." She commented, eyeing the thickening gravy. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Dinner's almost ready. Besides, I doubt our guests would appreciate dining on take out on Christmas Eve."

Cosima scowled. "I can make a decent salad." She retorted, affronted. Her tone softening, she continued, "Thank you, Delphine. For doing this. For slaving all day in the kitchen to whip up a meal for my sisters when we could've just gone to Mrs S's."

"Your family is my family too. I promised to love all of you, remember?" Delphine turned in Cosima's arms to gaze tenderly at the clone.

"Yeah, I remember." Cosima husked, pupils dilating at the memory. Surging up, she met Delphine's lips in a heated kiss, one hand threading through the blonde's curls as she rose on her toes.

It was a well-practised motion, one familiar to both women, etched into muscle memory yet no less electrifying as their first kiss. They could never not want each other, each touch igniting a carnal desire for more, each glance sparking a flood of longing shooting through their bodies. Their emotional connection was a given, driven by aligned passions in their pursuit for knowledge. But their physical connection? Inexplicable. Never waning, growing only deeper despite the countless times they have mapped each other's bodies.

"I want you." Delphine admitted when they broke apart, panting lightly.

"How fast can you come?" Cosima whispered, already backing the blonde out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

"How fast can you make me?" Delphine replied, sucking in a ragged breath when Cosima nipped at her throat.

The brunette hummed in response, sliding one hand beneath Delphine's blouse and cupping a breast, drawing tantalisingly slow circles around an erected nipple barely restrained by the lacy fabric of Delphine's bra.

"Bed." Delphine managed through a breathy moan.

"No. Right here." Cosima backed Delphine against the edge of the dining table.

Delphine complied immediately, hoisting herself onto the sturdy wood and wrapped her legs around the back of the clone's thighs. Save for the early days of their relationship where she was still uncertain about being with another woman, Delphine had almost always been in control; needing to be the one giving, to hear her name panted between breaths and in whines and moans that preceded shuddering orgasms. Her desire to please far outweighing her own needs and Cosima had recognised that and willingly surrendered to her ministrations. Not this time though. This time, the ache within her could not be denied.

"I need you." Delphine murmured urgently, redirecting Cosima's wandering lips to her own for a searing kiss.

Cosima bade her time, slipping her hand along the flat of Delphine's abdomen, relishing in the feel of muscles growing taut from the feather light touch. Slowly unbuttoning Delphine's jeans, she trailed her way beneath the waistband of the blonde's panties, inching lower and finally delving between damp folds, eliciting an impatient jerk of Delphine's hips. Her fingers slicked with Delphine's arousal, Cosima moved them in languid strokes, pressing just enough against the engorged bundle of nerves to tease, drawing out a throaty whine resounding deep within Delphine's chest.

"Cosima." Delphine managed, breath hitching in her throat, her tone low in warning and barely repressed restraint. "Stop teasing."

The clone smirked, nipping playfully at Delphine's pulse point. She dragged her teeth against milky skin, resisting the pressure of Delphine's hand against hers in silent urging. Reclaiming the blonde's lips, she pushed two fingers into Delphine, swallowing the blonde's moan in satiation. Repositioning her hand, she worked them into a rhythm, thrusting them in time with Delphine's bucking hips. She could feel the blonde's feet locking around her waist, drawing her closer; the faltering of Delphine's tongue against hers; feel the pulsating clench of muscles and the growing warmth around her fingers with each thrust; hear the clinking of glassware and the shifting of cutlery on the table beneath the low hum of arousal caught in Delphine's chest. She pulled away from the kiss, pressing her lips along Delphine's jaw as the blonde keened with each well timed thrust, nails digging through the fabric of her sweater. She could feel Delphine tensing around her, recognised the minute signs that the blonde was close, tethering on the edge of orgasm. With a devilish grin, Cosima curled her fingers and withdrew them completely.

"No…" Delphine whined at the loss, her tensed body deflating as she pressed at Cosima's hand unmoving against her clit.

"Our guests will be arriving any minute now." Cosima smirked, enjoying her hold over the blonde.

"We have time. Finish what you started." Delphine growled in frustration, pressing the back of Cosima's hand urgently.

"No." Cosima breathed against the shell of Delphine's ear, her smile growing wider at the shudder that shot through the blonde's body. "I want you to sit through dinner like this, with the knowledge that everyone's eating at the table I was fucking you on."

Delphine's eyes widened at the thought, unable to fight back the arousal that spiked through her body at the idea from her current state.

"I'll make it worth your while." Cosima added with a tug on her earlobe and Delphine was sold.

The buzz of the doorbell sent Delphine hurrying to straighten her dishevelled appearance and ignoring the deep seated ache between her thighs. Cosima stepped away with a wink and her trademark cocky grin.

"I'll get the door. You should probably check on your gravy. I think it's burning. It's dangerous to leave the stove unattended, y'know?"

"Brat." Delphine grumbled under her breath and got onto shaky legs. Quickly resetting the tableware they had shifted out of the way, she just managed to rescue her smoking pot before it triggered the smoke alarm as Alison bustled into the kitchen lugging a cooler box of presumably more food.