The smell of toast and bacon woke Fumino up the next morning.

She roused herself from bed to find that she was completely alone in the bedroom. Teppei had already disappeared, and she could hear his high pitched giggles coming from the other room. Confusion and exhaustion warred in her in equal numbers. Her eyes were sore and swollen from the night before, when she had cried herself to sleep, but she ignored that ache as best she could. It wouldn't be right to show that kind of sadness in front of her brother; he needed her to be strong.

But now that she thought about it, if it was only her and Teppei in the apartment… who was cooking breakfast?

Fumino flew out of the bedroom in a panic, her heart racing in her chest as she thought of who could possibly be in their home. If Teppei was laughing, it had to be someone they knew. Either Ryuu, Shouma, or Tomoyuki. She was betting on Shouma, as Meg had told her that the two were coming back for Christmas, and Teppei adored him… but to be safe, she wanted to see for herself.

When she threw open the sliding doors, she found herself rooted to the doorway. "S-sensei?"

Her husband grinned at her from where he stood in front of the stove. Clad in an apron and armed with a skillet in one hand and a spatula in the other, she was reminded of their happy early days in this apartment. But what was he doing here? Hadn't he told her that he wasn't going to be able to make it home for the winter break? She couldn't understand what she was seeing in front of her.

"Aren't you going to welcome me home with a kiss, my darling wife?" His easy smile was so familiar, and yet it cut deep into her heart. Had it really only been last night that she had been convinced he no longer loved or wanted her, that he had maybe even found someone else? How could he be standing in their kitchen making breakfast after everything she went through the night before?

"I tried to call you last night," she said cautiously, not taking even a single step toward him. She was still confused, and she knew that kissing him would only invite more touching. It was something she needed to hold off on until she had some answers. Like how in the world he was standing in front of her when she had resigned herself to not seeing him until March.

He cocked his head to the side and put down both the skillet and spatula, wiping his hands on his apron before making his way toward her. Before he had taken more than a few steps he stopped, clearly reading the mixed feelings on her face and keeping his distance. "Fumino? Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Buncha, Ma-kun is home! You should give him a big hug and tell him you missed him!" Teppei called from where he sat at the kotatsu, a big grin on his face now that their family was all home together.

"You didn't pick up the phone," she continued, as if neither of the males had spoken. "You haven't talked to me on video chat for the last week either."

In the blink of an eye, he rushed forward and lifted her into his arms, clasping her tight to his chest. Her heart raced frantically, spurred on by the touch of the man she loved more than anything in the world besides Teppei. It did no good to try and force herself to stay calm. She had never been able to remain calm when he was close to her.

"Last night my flight left quite late, so I had my phone turned off while I was in the airport and on the plane," he explained, bringing his mouth to her neck and trailing his lips up to her jaw. Her skin caught fire every place that he touched. "And I really am sorry about the video calls. I hated turning you away every night. I've really missed our nightly conversations."

"Then why did you do it?" She cried, pushing him away before his lips could reach hers and rob her of all rational thought. "Do you have any idea what I've been going through the last week? Do you know what I was beginning to think?"

Shame burned through her, all of her thoughts of the previous night making her want to cry. She had honestly started to believe that he could really break every promise he had ever made to her, just because of a few nights of silence. The guilt was so thick in her throat that she couldn't even open her mouth to speak, and she turned her eyes away from his.

He dropped to the ground and cradled her in his lap, holding her face between his hands so he could force her to look into his eyes. "First of all, if you've been thinking anything other than 'Kazuma loves me,' we need to spend this vacation the same way we spent the last one."

Fumino blushed and looked over at Teppei who was cheerfully chewing on a piece of toast and smiling at them with blissful unawareness. She had to head off this conversation before he started going into details that Teppei really didn't need to hear. "We can talk about that later," she said quickly, bringing one hand up to cover his mouth. "Right now I just want to know why you've been avoiding me. You have no idea how much it hurt… how much I missed you."

Tears trickled down her cheeks and she struggled to brush them away, but his fingers were faster, and he caught her tears before they managed to fall. "I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to make it home during the winter break," he admitted, a look of distress crossing his handsome face. "I had a lot of work to get done and not very much time to plan for next semester, so when I told you that I couldn't make it, I wasn't lying. When a colleague at the school heard that I wasn't going to be able to get back home for Christmas and see the wife I'm constantly talking about, she and a few other teachers pitched in to help me finish my workload so I could come home to you. I decided to stop the calls for awhile so that I could stay at the school until late… but also…"

A flush crossed his cheeks as he trailed off. It was such a rare sight that Fumino couldn't help but pry. Especially because it seemed like he was about to say something she really needed to hear. "But also? What was the other reason, Sensei?"

He captured her fingers in his hand and brought them to his lips, pressing a kiss to each finger in turn. Soon she was just as red as he was. "I was trying to keep myself from ruining the surprise. I knew that if I saw your face I wouldn't be able to stop myself from telling you that I was coming home to you for Christmas, and I didn't know until the last minute that I really was. You were so disappointed when I said I couldn't come, and I needed to see you smile."

More tears spilled down her cheeks, but she didn't try to stop these. She beamed at him, touched that he wanted to give her such a gift for Christmas. It was honestly the best one he had ever given her. "So… you weren't ignoring me because you found someone else? You weren't dissatisfied with what I offer as a wife?"

His eyes turned fierce as he looked at her. It was a look she had seen in his eyes many times during their early days together. Whenever he wanted to prove to her how much he wanted her, or wanted to put a claim on her after another man had made him jealous. This look in his eyes was what she saw before she woke up the next morning with kiss marks covering her neck and chest. It was a passion she hadn't seen since before they had legally gotten married.

She couldn't help but shiver with anticipation.

"Teppei, would you mind going to let Ryuu know I'm back for a few days? I need to talk to Fumino about something important."

Her little brother grinned at them. "Okay, Ma-kun. I'll tell him you need to talk to Buncha."

The moment the door closed behind Teppei, he pulled her mouth to his. The kiss wasn't a gentle welcome home kiss, but a fierce and passionate consumption. All she could manage to do was dig her nails into his shoulders and hold onto him while he ravaged her. His hands pulled at her nightshirt, his tongue slipped into her mouth, and he laid her out beside the kotatsu, his body following hers onto the floor.

"Fumino, you are my wife," he whispered heatedly, his mouth moving down her neck, "the only wife I will everhave and the only one I will ever want. Don't you dare think for even a moment that I will ever touch anyone else the way I touch you."

She choked on a sob and dug her fingers tighter into his broad shoulders. "I thought I could be more mature about you being so far away… but I can't. Sensei, I miss you all the time. It's so hard living here without you. I want to be your wife all the time, not just three times a year when you can come home to us. I want what we used to have, but more. I want to be a real family again."

He stopped with his lips hovering over her heart and stared into her eyes. After a long moment he shuddered and closed his eyes, his forehead dropping to her chest. "It's killing me not being here with you and Teppei. I miss you every day. Every. Single. Day. I can't stop myself from wondering if I made a mistake, marrying you before I left. It wasn't fair to bind an 18 year old girl to me and then leave her behind. I'm jealous of the boys in your classes, the ones you might see at work, or even just grocery shopping without me. Honestly, I'm constantly out of my mind worrying that someone else is going to steal you away while I'm busy trying to convince my father I'm not a threat to the Ojiro name."

The confession hung in the air between them, heavy with the pain their separation was causing them both. With a trembling hand, Fumino touched his cheek, letting her fingers brush over his lips. "I love you, Kazuma. It's only ever been you. I don't even see anyone else… I can't. So please, just forget I said anything. I can be strong enough to wait for you to come home. But please, don't ignore me like that ever again. Five days without seeing your face or hearing your voice was too much for me to take. I need you."

Kazuma turned his head and pressed his lips into her palm, kissing the sensitive skin there. "I love you," he whispered into her hand. "I promise that I'll work hard and come home to you as soon as I can. I won't let another day go by without reminding you that you are my greatest treasure."

She smiled through her tears and finally pulled him in for the gentle kiss she should have given him the moment she saw him in their kitchen. "Welcome home, husband."

Grinning, fingers moved back down to her nightshirt and he began popping the buttons one by one. "Ryuu will probably keep Teppei busy for awhile. Why don't you give me a more enthusiastic greeting, my lovely wife?"

Their lips met again and she let out a soft sigh of happiness. He would be gone soon enough, but he was here with her to celebrate the holiday and the memories they made during this time would never fade.

It was enough. For now.