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..........M.E.R.I.D.I.A.N......L.I.G.H.T.S..........

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"I'm home," I called out to the darkened house.

I was a little curious that they didn't turn on the lights. Usually, the kids would be running around now causing havoc in our cozy home.

"Yuzuru?" I raised my voice as I took off my coat and hanged it on the coat stand. Taking off my boots, I placed it in the nearby shoe rack near the entrance.

Ever since we got together, I adapted to the Japanese way of living. Meaning, no outside shoes or slippers in the living room and beyond. With only my socks on, I padded towards the living room before switching on the lights.

"Surprise!"

I was indeed surprised.

Standing in the living room was my husband. His arms opened wide in a welcome gesture with a big smile on his face. Rose petals were scattered around the floor and unlit candles decorated various positions around the room.

Overall, quite the romantic set-up.

"Uh... hey..." I slowly uttered as my mind went blank.

"..."

"..."

"You don't know what day it is, do you?" Yuzuru narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Of course I do." I opened my mouth, acting affronted as my mind raced on all the birthdays, anniversaries, marriage date, engagement date, and whatever important date that we had. Yuzuru refused to relax his stance as he continued to stare down at me as he crossed his arms. "It's... It's... Thursday," I finished, lamely.

Silence descended on us as I fidgeted under his accusing gaze.

Yuzuru sighed, shook his head, and then headed towards the kitchen.

"Yuzu." I was filled with guilt.

I messed up. Big time.

"Yuzuru." I followed behind him, wringing my hands together nervously.

Inside the kitchen, the sight of different dishes laid out on the table further increased my guilt.

Back when we were teens, Yuzuru was utterly helpless when it comes to the kitchen. He basically only knew how to eat and wash the dishes. It goes without saying that I was the designated cook in the family.

Over the years though, he gradually learned to cook the dishes I made. He even took the initiative to try out new recipes found in cookbooks or in the net.

Yuzuru strode over the counters and collected the utensils he used when he cooked earlier before going over to the sink. He continued to wash them, all the while ignoring my presence. Whenever he was upset with me, he would always use the silent treatment. He's not the one who would yell out in anger or act in an aggressive manner. He's not like that.

Once, he told me that the problems we encountered or would encounter in the future... we must find a solution to it. No matter how small that solution was, even if it's small like a pinpoint, we would find it.

That was why he preferred to be silent when he's upset. Yuzuru didn't want to let his emotions rule him to the point that he would say something unnecessary and untrue. Normally, at times like this, we would just stay away for a few hours before coming stumbling back to each other to discuss our problems.

Keyword on a few hours. We preferred not to let our disagreements last for a whole day. That would just be too tiring for the both of us.

We learned that the hard way back when we were kids.

I hesitated for a moment before I cautiously went over to him.

"Yuzu," I mumbled, clutching a small portion of his black sweater on his back.

While I was kicking myself for causing trouble again, I closed my eyes for a moment so I didn't see the silent laughter spreading across his face before he tried to compose himself again.

"Sorry," I mumbled again, letting my forehead rest on the middle of his back.

I was tiny compared to him. Surprisingly, he had another growth spurt during his early 20's and now he stands at 5'10'' compared to my 5'3'' form. I could only reach the level of his chin.

I wrapped my arms snugly around his chest and closed my eyes.

Only a few seconds had passed before I heard him close the faucet and felt his body move as he seemingly dried his hands. His cool hands covered my own before entangling them away from him.

He turned around to face me whilst I looked up at him with downcast eyes.

"You really don't know what day it is?"

I shook my head timidly.

"It was the first time we met," Yuzuru revealed, a hint of amusement rising in his eyes.

Flabbergasted, the situation began to dawn on my face.

"You!" I swatted his arm before turning away, greatly annoyed.

I heard that dorky laugh of his behind my back as I stalked away scowling.

"Era. Wait." He tried to stifle his laughter as he caught up to me and held me in his embrace with my back against his chest. I tried to struggle away from him but he held me in place.

"Kakainis ka!" ("You're so annoying!")

"Gomen! Gomen!" ("Sorry! Sorry!")

Yes, sometimes we banter using both Filipino and Japanese words.

I was pissed because we never, and I meant never, celebrated the first day we met as an anniversary. He basically just pulled a fast one on me.

I struggled again in vain as he held on just as tightly. I sighed as I gave up, leaning limply against him.

"The children?"

"They're at their grandparents. Mom missed them a lot," he replied, leaning his body even more against my back as he embraced me comfortably. He then kissed my neck and proceeded to nibble it.

"Hey, still pissed here." I tilted my head at him. It's kind of a stretch so I turned around to face him. Finally, he let me move around his arms. He smiled widely before leaning down to peck my lips. His hands held my waist lightly.

"Sorry. I love you." His hot breath caressed my lips before he leaned again for a kiss.

I avoided his kiss, stepping sideways.

"You should be. Sorry, I mean." I nodded at him while raising an eyebrow.

He tried to reach for me again but I deftly avoided his hand, teasingly going around the corner of the table.

"Is this a new recipe? Didn't see this before," I asked, dipping a finger on a white sauce. I put my finger in my lips and licked it experimentally. I love the taste, so I sucked my finger a little. All the while, I was highly aware of the smoldering predatory gaze my husband was throwing at me.

He moved around the table coming for me before I teasingly dodged him again and moved to sit on a counter at the other end of the kitchen. I threw a challenging look at him. My hands confidently placed on either side of me while I crossed my legs.

He dangerously stalked towards me. I just loved the way he moved. So confident and sexy. The attraction I had for him was off the bounds. I swear I would've jumped him a long time ago if I didn't muster my dignity together. I was still trying to pretend to be pissed after all.

Yuzuru placed his hands on either side of me at the counter and leaned his body towards me. I could literally feel the heat emitting from his body as it hovered less than an inch over me. But I refused to back down. No way in hell was I going to go gaga over him even if I wanted to.

I lightly traced the front of his sweater as I gazed deeply into those intense dark eyes.

"I got my Pooh socks on," he leaned his head and whispered seductively in my ear.

"Ooh, kinky," I flirted back using that throaty kind of voice that he loves so much while simultaneously trying to hold back my laughter.

I hooked my finger on his crisp leather belt before pulling him towards me in a rough manner. I wrapped my legs around his waist leaving him no way out to escape.

Not like he wanted to escape. His arms encircled my waist and brought our bodies closer. I couldn't stifle the squeal that came out of me as he suddenly carried me off the counter making me hug him around his neck in fright.

His laughter reverberated against his chest. I fumed as I playfully slapped his shoulder with one hand while the other stayed securely around his neck.

He smiled as he nuzzled my face with his before gently kissing me on the cheek. I shivered at the warm, intense feeling that simple kiss brought within me. Every little action of his drives me wild for some reason. He breathed out amused, and mighty pleased no doubt, feeling my body's reactions to him. He slowly kissed my cheek again before moving his lips to the corner of my mouth, teasing me.

Well, I was done being teased tonight.

With raw hunger in my eyes, I clasped my hands on either side of his face before I dove in and crushed my lips to his. Our breaths came out in pants in between our fiery and passionate kisses. My hands run through his hair before settling at the back of his neck as I sought to bring him closer to me.

Still holding me in his arms, not that he had a choice as I desperately clung to him like a koala, he miraculously maneuvered his way into the hallway, up the stairs, and into our room, all the while not breaking our desperate kiss.

With a backward kick, the door was closed, muffling the sounds of passion within.

*****

"Where did you get this?" I demanded, both shocked and horrified.

The only response I got was a loud burst of laughter from my dork of a husband.

In my hands was a picture frame. The case was nice and all, it's a light wooden frame that's both simple yet elegant. The source of my horrification was the thing encased within it.

It was a picture.

Our first picture together.

No, it wasn't the one we took in Nagoya. It was the one that I almost died of embarrassment off.

The picture showed a fifteen-year-old red-nosed Elana together with a twelve-year-old mushroom-haired Yuzuru. Both looked at the camera with a wide-eyed bewildered expression.

"This is not going in the living room," I stated with conviction.

"Why? It looks nice." He pretended to critically look at the picture.

"No."

"The frame perfectly fits the color scheme in the living room."

Hanyu Yuzuru. The Inner Critic.

"No."

"Don't you want to tell others how we first met?"

"You are so infuriating sometimes."

"But you love me anyway." He smirked, sweetly touching his lips against mine.

Yes. I do.

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..........M.E.R.I.D.I.A.N......L.I.G.H.T.S..........

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(I feel dirty...)

〜〜(／￣▽)／ 〜ф

(^Wait a 'sec while I chase my characters' innocence.)

(I love writing Glimpse chapters. It's like an Oasis from a vast wide desert of Normal Chapters. Again, Glimpse Chapters are the Glimpses of the Future. They happened far into the future.)

(Please don't forget to Vote and Comment. These things are like the fuel to my Inner Writer. Some authors out there will understand this.)

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