Mia sat on the couch with a bowl of hot ramen on her lap. She sipped slowly, allowing the broth to gradually warm her body. Outside, there was no snow floating down from the sky like the evening before; however, a fine layer now coated the ground, and remembering her childhood winters in Maine, Mia assumed the snow would remain there until the springtime.

Mia tried to keep her attention focused on the television, but as she continued eating, her gaze drifted toward the glistening Christmas tree in the corner that she and Leila had decorated together over the weekend.

Leila.

Mia knew she'd had her interview by now. She'd texted her a few hours earlier to ask how it went, but Leila strangely hadn't replied.

They probably offered her the job on the spot, and she's busy signing paperwork, Mia thought.

Fuji was curled next to Mia's knee, sleeping peacefully. Mia wondered how he'd deal with the move. After all, he'd only ever known the walls of this very apartment complex. Mia glanced around. As she took in the ambience of the apartment, she thought she surely would miss this place. It had felt like home to her for the past few months. She would be sad to leave it behind, but most of all, she'd be sad to leave Leila behind with it.

Her bowl of top ramen now drained, Mia gently set it down on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch. Slowly, she traced one of her fingers over her lips, the same lips Leila had been kissing the day before.

Mia stood up slowly and walked over to the patio. She stared outside at the Christmas lights on their patio and sighed. All Mia had thought about since Leila had left was their kiss, as selfish as it was. Mia wanted to kiss her again, and again, and again until they were both out of breath, but she knew that would be selfish. The only reason she had stopped herself from returning Leila's feelings the night before was that she thought it wouldn't be fair to Leila and that it would influence Leila to stay.

Mia pressed her hand against the cold patio door. Of course she wanted Leila to stay. She loved Leila. She knew that now, but the timing hadn't worked out. Mia had wasted her months with Julian, ignored Leila's feelings, and now, Leila was off to bigger and better things without Mia by her side.

Mia returned to the couch and was surprised as Fuji climbed into her lap. Mia stroked him slowly, listening to his purrs vibrate against her.

"What do I do, Fuji?" she asked sadly.

For so long, Mia had always assumed her feelings for Leila had been merely platonic. In a sense, Leila had briefly felt like a mother to her, bringing her the love and comfort that no one had since her mother's death. But those feelings had quickly evolved, Mia realized now. As the air grew cold and the leaves changed, Mia had felt her feelings gradually transform. She had always appreciated Leila's presence, but now, Mia had craved it constantly. She wasn't sure what had been wrong with her. It felt selfish, always wanting Leila to herself. She'd felt even more selfish admitting to herself that she'd rather spend time with Leila than Julian when they were still dating. During the autumn, however, she'd always been able to use her and Julian's relationship as a distraction from her feelings toward Leila.

And then Leila had confessed. Mia supposed she had always known that Leila liked her romantically, but in the moment, she was too in shock to say much else. She didn't feel ready to return Leila's feelings, not when she was already in a relationship, and once that relationship with Julian had ended and Mia's feelings grew out of proportion, it was too late. Leila was already going after the job in Connecticut.

"I can't tell her how I feel," Mia murmured as she continued stroking Fuji. "If I told her, she'd drop everything to be here with me. I know she would. I couldn't ask her to do that. She needs to be out doing better things. I'll be okay on my own. I always have."

But even as she said it, Mia knew it wasn't true. She'd spent most of her life feeling lonely after her mother's death, and while her time in college had made her feel less alone with the company of friends, that sense of solitude had returned shortly after her college graduation, and ultimately, it had propelled her to return here, the only place she'd never felt that sorrowful pang of solitude. Leila had brought joy to her life again, had made her want to remain in Maine, and now, she was going to leave Mia behind.

Slowly, tears began to roll down Mia's cheeks. She sobbed quietly. Never before had she wanted something so much in her life.

Fuji let out a quiet mrrow and nuzzled up against her. His fur wiped away her tears some. Mia stroked him quietly, thinking about how much she'd miss the tabby as well, even if he'd hated her for the most of the time she lived in the apartment. Surprisingly, Fuji let Mia hug him close to her body as she continued to cry.

Then, the door to the apartment suddenly unlocked.

Mia stiffened. The maintenance workers hadn't told her they were stopping by, and Leila's flight wasn't set to return until tomorrow. Her heart seized as for a moment, as she considered it may be Julian, but he didn't have a key. The door swung open, and Mia glanced toward the doorway. It took all her might not to let her jaw drop in shock.

Leila stood in the doorway, her luggage in hand. Her hair was wildly disheveled, and she appeared out of breath, like she had been running. For a moment, the two locked eyes.

"Fuji," Leila panted, noticing the tabby in Mia's arms. "He's in your lap? Letting you pet him?"

Mia glanced down at Fuji, then back at Leila.

"I—yes." It took a moment for the initial shock to wear off. "What-what are you doing here?!" Mia suddenly exclaimed. "Your flight back isn't until tomorrow."

"I caught an early flight," Leila responded.

"What? What do you mean?" Mia asked.

"I couldn't go through with it. I went back and pulled my application out... Mia, are you crying?" Leila asked.

There had been no time to wipe her eyes. In fact, as Mia stood staring at Leila, few more tears rolled down her cheek. Mia stared at Leila blankly, then stood up slowly.

"You dumbass!" she shouted angrily. "Why'd you do that?! You would've gotten the job. Idiot, idiot, idiot!" Mia had never been so angry and happy in her life. Despite her frustration at Leila for pulling her name out, her heart had swelled seeing Leila walk through the door only moments before.

"I..." Leila suddenly let her bags drop and ran over to Mia. Immediately, Mia buried herself in Leila's arms and sobbed into her shirt. She could hear Leila quietly crying above her too. Their bodies both shook as they held each other tightly. Mia wasn't sure she could ever let go of her.

"I couldn't do it," Leila murmured against her once she'd caught her breath.

They pulled away briefly to stare at each other. Mia didn't hesitate. Immediately, she cupped her hands around Leila's cheeks and brought Leila's mouth towards hers. Leila's lips immediately met hers, and Mia felt Leila draw her closer to her body as they kissed. Mia shut her eyes and let tears continue sliding down her cheeks as she moved her mouth against Leila's. As mad as she was, she also couldn't stop kissing Leila. She wanted to keep doing so forever.

Leila pulled away briefly and gently touched her hand to Mia's cheek. "I couldn't leave you," Leila said, her eyes glossy with tears. She reached for Mia's hand and led her to the couch to sit down. "It didn't seem fair to after last night. I thought how sad you might be being alone in the apartment. As sad as I am to see that you were crying, I'm glad I made the right choice."

"You're so dumb," Mia said, leaning forward to kiss her again. As they broke apart, Mia continued tracing her lips across Leila's face; first her cheek, then jaw, then forehead, then hair. Leila whimpered under her touch.

"I love you," Mia told her when they'd locked eyes again.

"Do you really?" Leila asked, her eyes widened in shock.

"Why the hell do you think I haven't been able to stop kissing you since you walked through that front door? Jeez, maybe it's good you didn't get that job. You wouldn't be very good at it with that idiotic brain of yours."

"Hey!" Leila complained.

"Kidding," Mia said.

"But do you really love me?" Leila asked again.

"Oh my God, Leila, yes!" Mia exclaimed.

"Good. Because I love you, too. I mean, you already knew that, but—"

Mia broke her off with a kiss before Leila could keep rambling.

Leila smiled, then suddenly, her tone grew more serious. "When I decided to pull my name out, I knew it might not be a good idea. I knew that even after everything that happened, you still might not want to return my feelings. But it was a risk I was willing to take."

"Leila," Mia said, grasping her hand. "I'm so happy you're here, but...but I don't want you to regret it. Are you sure you don't want the job? Maybe you can talk to them and ask them to reconsider—"

"I've made my decision," Leila said. She held Mia's hand in her own and traced her thumb slowly over Mia's palm. "The truth is, I only went after this job because I was trying to run away. I made the decision after our fight, when I was living with my parents. I was so hurt that I thought the only way to make things better would be to run away from my own feelings. It was stupid, and I shouldn't have gone through with it, but I got so far along in the process, I tricked myself into thinking that this was what I needed to do. But I want to be here, with you, and my friends, and my family. Maybe one day we can move elsewhere—"

"We?" Mia asked.

She noticed Leila blushing. "I mean, if you'd like to come with me! And that is, if you want to be in a relationship with me."

"Leila, of course I want to be in a relationship with you. I just told you I loved you, didn't I?" Mia asked.

"Well, I just wanted to be sure," Leila said. "Maybe one day we can move to New York. I'm sure you'd like to be back there with your friends."

"Maybe. But right now, I'm perfectly happy here with you," Mia said. She glanced at the couch in the corner, where Fuji had decided to take residence. "And Fuji, of course."

"Did he really sit on your lap and let you pet him?" Leila asked.

"Yes. You saw it with your own eyes, didn't you?" Mia asked. "Just another reason why you're a dumbass."

"Hey, I won't appreciate being your girlfriend if you just call me dumb all the time," Leila complained.

Mia sighed and shook her head. She leaned forward to kiss Leila once more. "What am I going to do with you?" she asked when they pulled away.

Leila smiled and leaned her forehead against Mia's.

"Leila," Mia said, reaching for Leila's hand. "I am going to do my best to be a good girlfriend, but...please be patient. I've never dated a girl before, and...none of my last relationships turned out that well. Not that I foresee this going south, but...but I just wanted you to know."

"You think I care?" Leila asked. "I'm sure you knew this already, but I've never been in a relationship before, Mia. So I hope you'll be patient with me too."

"Of course," Mia said.

She shut her eyes as Leila's lips gravitated toward hers again. As she tasted the sweet remnants of Leila's lip gloss against her mouth, Mia wrapped her arms around Leila's neck and pulled Leila close her against her.

"Lei, Lei," she muttered.

Sitting on the couch, holding Leila close to her, Mia prayed that she'd never have to let go.