Her smile was slow, as steady as the realization that began to manifest in her mind. The telling grin curved upward through her cheek at a pace tentative enough to send Delphine's blood pressure soaring directly upward.

It was as if she could practically hear the pulls and groans of gears churning in Cosima's head as she began to piece together her newly acquired information, figuring it out like the brilliant scientist that she was.

"No shit!"

Cosima's open palms clapped against the stone countertop of the island repeatedly, resulting in Delphine hobbling backwards in surprise.

"I so knew it, dude. You were way too calm about the way this 'dig looks."

"Well." she hummed. "I did say that it was due time that I made a visit home." Delphine smiled, relief smoothly washing over her. "I just thought that perhaps this would be an… an ideal opportunity to do so."

"Well, I didn't think you meant literally!" Cosima rejoiced, shakingng her head back in laughter. "This is so rad."

"Rad…?"

"Oh. It's like, really neat." She explained, wringing her wrists between her fingers. "Something cool, hip, with the times."

"... with the times."

"Come to think of it, I think the kids these days are saying 'dope'."

She was answered with pursed lips and a quipped eyebrow, the french woman's arms slowly beginning to fold across her chest in bemusement. "I'm not sure those are even real words, let alone proper for descriptions…"

Cosima clicked her tongue, a broad grin stretching across her mouth once more and revealing her toothy smile. "I confused you a little more, didn't I?" she teased. "My bad. I mean, your home is very beautiful, Ms. Cormier."

She circled around the island, nimble fingers wrapping themselves around the swell of her girlfriend's hips, pushing her against the smooth counter.

"Oh, well merci, Ms. Niehaus." Delphine whispered just within moments of Cosima gently pressing their lips together.

She expected her instantly, mouth open and readily inviting of Cosima's antics. Delphine felt the tiny American smile, her chapped lips stretching wide across her own, the whisper of I love you's and adoration escaping from between them as they went forth on attempting to pull themselves impossibly closer.

"Ditto. Obvs." she whispered, nipping lightly as she moved across the freckled expanse of her jaw, kissing them all, each meticulously committed to memory.

"Ditto. Obvs." Delphine mocked with a roll of her eyes, long fingers moving up to steady her girlfriend's jaw in her grasp, pulling her face forward for a more fulfilling kiss. She felt her shiver, smirking at the finite movement as she felt her the tug of teeth around her bottom lip.

"Cheeky."

"Always." Cosima shrugged, laughing quietly to nothing in particular.

"What is so funny, hm?" her girlfriend teased.

"Nothing."

"Nothing at all?"

"Literally nothing. Just happy." she spoke honestly, smiling ever so subtly, the curve of her lips turning inward as if biting back the lively grin. "So you really lived here, huh?"

"Mhmm." She nodded slowly, dropping her head back as she felt Cosima slip away from her embrace, moving to put some space between them.

After all this time, the woman's touch was still addictive. She caught herself actively fighting off the urge to pull her back flush against her body.

"Like really, truly, grew up in this place?

"Yes, Cosima." she said again, hands gripping her hips with light-hearted annoyance.

"Rad." she nodded. There was the foreign slang again, greeted by the Frenchwoman with a rather impressive roll of her eyes.

The more she dwelled on it, the less difficult it became for Cosima to imagine Delphine living here. She could already see a tiny blonde, petite and lanky-boned, running through the echoing halls. Already she could see a teenage version of her girlfriend nestled on the window sill to her left, probably with her a blanket crafted by her grandmother draped across her lap, a book or homework nestled atop. Perhaps young Delphine wore glasses, crooked frames that always tilted the slightest bit across the slope of her nose. She smiled at the thought, quickly realizing that she had never actually seen what Delphine's life looked like before they met. Not even in photographs.

It was for the most part, left to her imagination.

In the depths of her mind, life was suddenly blossoming within the barren space of the home. Life before her, before they would have ever even began thinking about each other. That life was such a foreign thought to her now, both women much preferring to only think of their time together rather than apart.

Now for the next handful of weeks, Cosima was going to be able to give Delphine new memories in this home, new things to remember every time she opened a door or looked through a window. New thoughts to ponder and laugh about, to reminisce upon in her leisure. The idea excited the butterflies that were momentarily stagnant in her stomach, jolting them awake with a vibrant force.

It was a responsibility that only now she realized how grand it was. She wasn't just brought on a vacation, no it was far more sterling. She was invited to a very intimate space in Delphine's life, both physically in her home, and emotionally in her heart. It was a step forward in their relationship. Cosima felt as if Delphine was furthering her trust in her, which made her heart do nothing less than swell nearly right out of her chest.

Delphine watched Cosima, her eyes dancing around the kitchen, lost in some thought that was left mysterious to her. She watched her gaze up to the vaulted ceilings, traveling down the large windows that occupied the stone walls, seemingly invested in some sort of deep concentration unbenounced to her own self.

Everything was exactly how she remembered it, suddenly so grateful that her parents never gave the estate up when they decided to retire in a different city. Everything from the furniture to the silverware was exactly where she remembered it being.

Delphine had already prepared herself for the havoc her home would be met with once her hurricane of a girlfriend settled in. The countertops would soon be stained with rings of day-old tea mugs, books from her Papa's office would be stacked on window sills and bedside tables, re-creating the ambiance that she was so accustomed to having with Cosima in their own abode. If she could freeze time, she would. The moment would be too perfect to have an end.

'Perfect.' she thought to herself. 'Perfect enough for…?'

Delphine shook her head. No, this wasn't the perfect moment, not in a kitchen on their first day in France. It wasn't anywhere near the standard she was holding herself to.

"Thank you." A quiet mumble sounded, Cosima turning on her heels to face the tired blonde. "So much."

Delphine lifted her head back up, errant curls made frizzy from the humid afternoon air tumbling over her shoulders. "For what, Cosima?"

"For this!" she exclaimed, hands moving rapidly, motioning to the grand space engulfing them. "For showing me a part of your world. I know that this is a big step for you and stuff. I just want you to know that I appreciate it. You know?"

She wasn't sure if it was the exhaustion or just the overwhelming adoration for the woman in front of her, but Delphine felt tears sting in her eyes, blurring the clarity of her girlfriend before her. She extended her arms silently, reaching for Cosima's hands and pulling her in for the tightest of hugs, needing to feel her girlfriend's body against her. "Have I told you how much I love you?" she mumbled into the crook of her neck. "How much I appreciate you?"

"Maybe once or twice?" Cosima smirked against the rise of Delphine's collarbone that her lips were pressed again. "Though I'm more of a, um, hands-on learner."

She could practically feel Delphine rolling her eyes, just barely hearing the whisper of "cheeky" slip from her lips as she straightened up, resting her cheek against the coarse hair on the crown of Cosima's head, rocking them slowly in the silence of the large kitchen. Their feet carried them lazily, their steps synced perfectly as they held onto each other, comforted by the warmth of one another's bodies.

"I missed this." she said quietly, pressing a fleeting kiss to her lover's temple.

"Yeah." Cosima hummed, offering only the barest of nods. "I know what you mean."

"This is good. No interruptions"

"No lesson planning."

"No babysitting-"

"No Felix."

Delphine could barely stifle her giggle, the laugh lines along her eyes crinkling with her toothy grin. "C'est vrai."

"It's true." she huffed, fingers pinching lightly at the blonde's hip bones. "He even interrupted us on the day you were telling me about this trip! Remember?"

"I do, cherie." Delphine licked her lips, slowly prying Cosima away just enough to lead her silently out of the kitchen and to the oversized couch in the living area, allowing their tired bones to collapse in a heap around each other.

"Dude, the fireplace is sick." she finally said after a handful of moments in silence. Delphine nodded slowly before mumbling a 'merci', wrapping her arms around the petite body nestled atop hers, feeling cold feet run up and down her legs, nudging the fabric of her pants upwards slowly.

Cosima laid still, dispersing her body weight as best as she could manage across the long body beneath her, her cheek resting just atop her chest, counting the steady beats of her heart, a perfect place for Delphine to maneuver her chin atop of, snuggling Cosima's head.

"So," she yawned quietly, fingers playing with the stray hairs at the nape of neck, her other hand wrapped protectively around her. "What's the first thing you want to see in France?"

"The Eiffel Tower!" Cosima practically scoffed. "You know it's on my bucket list of amazing things to see."

"It's just a structure." Delphine teased with a poke of her tongue, unable to disguise the gleeful lilt in her voice.

"Oh stop." she said. "You know you love the Eiffel Tower, you have a little mini version of it on your desk, and a picture of it in our bedroom. You know you want to see it."

She merely hummed her agreement, shoulders shrugging the best they could manage laying down. "You're not wrong."

"I'm never wrong-ow!" Cosima's body jumped, the faint pain from Delphine's fingers pinching lightly at her bare hip bone taking her by surprise. "Alright, alright. Shit!" she laughed.

The frenchwoman couldn't help but smile, leaning forward to kiss the top of her nose briefly before coaxing her back down into their snuggle.

"Besides, I want to go and people watch. See all the foreign lovebirds doing their silly proposals under the tower and shit."

Her body stiffened beneath the one atop her, eyes now wide as she had to think over what her ears had just registered. "I-I assumed you quite liked things like that. Don't, em, don't you?"

Cosima merely shrugged. "I guess. It's kinda corny, don't you think? Proposals should be unique for every couple, at least in my opinion. I want to share that moment with me… and the love of my life." she winked, lifting her head briefly. "Not the whole world, you know?"

"You are my whole world." Delphine whispered, letting their lips meet before Cosima had a moment to respond. She kissed Cosima slowly, meticulously, a feeble attempt at distracting herself from her newly foiled plans.

"Small world you have there." Cosima mumbled against the soft mouth against her own, taking the moment to gently trace the swell of Delphine's bottom lip.

Ringed fingers scaled down the length of her body down to her hips, stilling for a moment's time before slipping up beneath the fabric of her shirt, strumming themselves on the juts of her ribs.

"Cosima, non." she whined, feeling the American's lips suck gently on her pulse point. "The travelling, my clothes… they smell like the inside of an aircraft."

"Mm. You should totally get out of them, then."

Rising onto her knees for just a moment, Cosima reached between them, unlooping the button of her girlfriends pants and tugging at the zipper downward. She shimmied her body down slowly, pressing hot, open meticulous, mouthed kisses down her sternum to her belly button as slowly as she could manage, nudging Delphine's shirt upward with her nose to nip at the warm skin beneath it.

Her fingers wrapped themselves around the denim fabric resting on the blonde's hips, pulling them down her legs at a far too painfully slow pace, making her squirm and whine atop of the couch, her name being whispered tiredly.

Cosima smirked, proud of her own cheeky antics as she travelled back up Delphine's body, pulling the shirt up and off along with her.

"Wait, wait." Long fingers wrapped around her biceps, pushing her away the slightest bit and leaving her determined kiss to instead swipe across her flushed cheek. Cosima panted above her, quirking a brow down to her girlfriend. "You really think that a proposal beneath the Eiffel Tower isn't nice?"

"Really..." Cosima laughed, pushing back up and onto her knees, giving Delphine enough room to maneuver herself upwards as well. "What's this about? I'm trying to seduce you, here." She jerked her head at the crumpled denims sprawled on the floor, wiggling her eyebrow.

"Nothing, nothing!" Delphine waved off, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "It just took me by surprised. That is all."

Cosima stared at her for a long while, eyes delicately searching the features of her face for any sign of distress that Delphine was so desperately trying to conceal, any secret, any doubt.

She shimmied her body closer to her girlfriend's once more, pressing a sweet kiss to her jawline.

"Tell me? Please?" she whispered quietly.

Delphine found her bottom lip caught between her teeth, tugging at it nervously as she dropped her head to shield her blushing cheeks

.

Met with silence, Cosima faltered, allowing the subject to drop. "Fine. I won't push you."

"Merci." Delphine smiled.

"I love you." she husked.

"Mhmm."

Delphine smirked, tipping her head back to stretch her neck in the most delicate of curvatures. She gave herself a moment to breath in, a grand inhale that left her lungs nearly bursting with expansion. One that was brimming with the quintessential aromas that were entirely her homeland.

The air itself was fresher, lacking the pollution of the urban streets that they were so formally accustomed to. Cosima watched the slight, melancholy smile begin to grow across Delphine's face, listening intently as she began to describe what she exactly was smelling; the wild grass, dirt, river water, and the field flowers that she onced loved to frolic in as a child. Each individual fragrance so eloquently matched with a memory, Cosima almost feeling a whim of jealousy having not experiencing it herself.

She could only continue to gaze at her girlfriend with an insurmountable amount adoration, quietly listening as she watched Delphine transport herself to a far off memory, one that was perhaps not too far off anymore. The love in the home was still pressed into every stone and floorboard, the cracks and corners home to even more.

"What're you thinking about?" she asked quietly, running a gentle finger over the swell of Delphine's bottom lip.

She quipped a small smile, pulling the finger between her teeth and nipping gently. "Nothing in particular."

"Tell me anyway." Cosima whispered.

Delphine nodded, resting her head further backward. "See those small marking on the far wall over there?" she asked quietly. Cosima glanced, the entryway wall that Delphine was motioning toward did have what seemed like scuff marks on the bottom of it.

"Yeah, a little bit." she said, wriggling her nose as an attempt to somewhat adjust her eyesight.

"That was my...how do you say. My growth marks."

"Yeah?"

"Oui. And that there," she exclaimed, pointing at the a missing stone in the very bottom of the far wall. " was when I tried to skateboard for the first and laugh time. The board, damn thing, went directly into the wall. I hadn't even managed to get myself steady on it yet."

Cosima roared, the laughter coming from deep within her belly as she visualized for a moment the scene in her head. "This is gonna be so great." she thought a loud, pulling Delphine closer, choosing to ignore the lack of clothing between them.

"Hm?"

Cosima shrugged. "Just being here, you know? With you, in this home, in your home."

"It will be." she hummed in delight as she began to slowly slide herself the rest of the way down onto the sofa cushions, laying across it's length once more. She pulled Cosima atop her, slotting their legs between each others, molding their bodies to one another carefully. It was meticulous, maybe even automic, but with a grace entirely of their own accord.

The exhaustion was finally beginning to hit them both from their travels, eyes glazing and bones weighing heavy. Long arms wrapping across the back of Cosima's petite frame, hugging her close and cradling her head into the crook of Delphine's neck. Her warm breath against her skin quickly became the pattern to follow for her breathing, virtually syncing their every move. It wasn't until Delphine began to hear the heavy, rhythmic breathing of her girlfriend did Delphine allow her own eyes to close, too lost in thought on the short days long events.

There would be time to think about rings and proposals. There would be time to plan. Right now, she just wanted to be. She yearned for presence, and to be present. Arms wrapped around her love, both their bodies sinking into a couch that was older than them. This was the moment she wanted to be in. This was where she wanted to be present.