There were many things that Lena liked to do after missions. She liked going to her favorite ice cream shop on King’s Row, or her favorite indie bookstore, or even the candy shop her parents had taken her to ever since she was a little kid. But the first thing she did every time, no matter what, was go home to Emily.

She paused only a moment at the door, rocking back and forth on her heels. The mission ended earlier than she thought it would, which meant that she had had enough time to stop at the flower shop before reaching their apartment. Behind her back, Lena held a bouquet of roses and zinnias, and she couldn't wait to see Emily’s face when she saw the flowers.

As quietly as she could (which probably was not very quiet), she unlocked the door to the apartment. Emily’s flats were by the front door, so she was still home, probably writing an article. Lena snuck through the rooms, and soon she came to their bedroom, which doubled as Emily’s study for writing.

The familiar redhead was seated exactly where Lena thought she would be, her copper curls cascading down over the back of the overstuffed pleather chair. Emily paused writing for a moment, leaning over to the topmost drawer of her desk and pulling it out. She smiled at the drawer’s contents before going back to her current project.

Lena couldn’t hold in her excitement any longer. “Whatcha smilin’ about, love?” she said cheekily.

Emily gasped as she turned the chair around to face her, and although the chair jostled her against the desk, she didn’t care as she leapt to her feet. “Lena!” she exclaimed, crossing the distance between them in only a moment, throwing her arms around Lena’s neck and embracing her tightly. Lena hugged her with the arm not holding the bouquet, and after a particularly emphatic squeeze, Emily pulled back to look at Lena with a wide smile. “You’re back early!”

“Yep! Turns out it was much simpler than we thought, just a coupla vandals, not Talon at all,” Lena said. She pulled the bouquet from behind her back, pushing it towards Emily. “A homecoming present!”

“They’re lovely,” Emily said as she took them, stroking along the petals of the zinnias. “And aren’t I supposed to get you a homecoming present, not the other way around?”

“Well, I couldn’t resist getting some flowers for the best girlfriend in the entire world!” Lena said, leaning forward and planting a kiss on Emily’s cheek.

Emily laughed, a musical sound that Lena had missed every day she’d been gone. “Isn’t that my line, since you’re the superhero that’s always out there protecting all of us and keeping us safe every day?”

Lena shook her head with a grin. “Nah, every Superman’s gotta have his Lois Lane to keep him grounded!”

“Is that a reporter joke?” Emily teased, bumping Lena with her hip. She handed the bouquet back to Lena. “Here, put these in water, I’ve just gotta save this article so I don’t lose it if the power goes out.”

“Oof, yeah, don’t want a repeat of my last homecoming,” Lena said, remembering the thousands of words that Emily had lost by not saving her article at the time. She hadn’t been upset at Lena, but Lena had felt guilty nonetheless.

“I’ll be out in a minute, then you can tell me all about your mission, all the cool sights you got to see, the new embarrassing stories about Jesse, everything,” Emily said, sitting back in her chair and finishing up a sentence.

“You got it, and ooh, wait ‘til I tell you what he’s done this time!” Lena said, but rather than continue, she did as she was told, fishing out the vase from under the sink and filling it with water.

Just the process of stirring in the plant food and snipping off the ends of stems was relaxing, a bit of domesticity that was welcome after all the stress of whether the attack in Kuwait was Talon or just normal criminals. It hadn’t been Talon after all, just a group of copycats, but they had similar enough goals that Winston made sure they were dealt with by the proper authorities, to ensure that they wouldn’t be recruited by Talon after all. The last thing they needed was for Talon to have even more people in their ranks.

Lena realized that she had been standing still, holding the flowers in her hand with a frown on her face for about thirty seconds straight, so she shook her head to clear the negative thoughts, placing the vase on the table next to the window, so it would get plenty of sun in the morning.

Emily came out of their bedroom just after, taking her usual place on the left half of the couch and curling her legs under herself. “So, tell me. How’d it go?”

Lena told her everything about the mission, and Emily laughed in the appropriate places and offered support in others. Lena saved the best part for last, all of Jesse McCree’s stunts from the missions, including his interactions with a certain archer. “And then he said, ‘pretty handy with that bow,’” Lena continued, dropping her voice to a bad imitation of Jesse’s deep southern accent, “and I think that was the first time I’ve ever seen Hanzo blush!”

“God, will they ever get together?” Emily said, rolling her eyes. “Everyone can see it. I’ve hardly met Hanzo more than twice, and even I know how hard they’ve fallen for each other.”

“Well, Jesse’s trying at any rate, but I think both of ‘em thinks the other doesn’t feel the same,” Lena said. She reached forward and laced her fingers in Emily’s. “I’m so, so glad we’re way past that stage ourselves. I don’t miss all of that awkward flirting, the ‘oh man, was that too gay even for me?’”

“Definitely,” Emily said with a laugh, squeezing her hand. She shifted around for a moment, putting her feet on the ground, then facing Lena. “Actually, since you’re home, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Hm? What is it, love?” she said, her eyebrows raising in curiosity.

Emily stood up, biting her lip in the most adorable way, and she reached into her pocket. “Well, Lena, we’ve been together a long time, and you’ve made me the happiest woman in the world--”

Lena gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth as she grinned and jumped ahead like she always did. “Oh my god, yes! Absolutely!”

“Dammit, Lena, the ring’s not even out of my pocket yet!” Emily said with a laugh, pulling out the velvet box that Lena knew was coming. Lena jumped to her feet, throwing her arms around Emily and crushing her lips against her fiancée’s, never wanting to let go.

When at last they had to come up for air, Lena pulled back. “Definitely not complaining, but why'd you choose to propose now? There's nothing special about this homecoming, other than the fact that I came back early.”

“Your homecomings are always special to me, Lena.” Her grip on Lena’s shirt tightened, and her brow creased. “I never know if you’re going to come home or not, so each time you walk in that door is a miracle to me. I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time, I just didn’t have the ring before now.”

“Aw, Emily,” she said, rubbing her shoulder and pecking her on the cheek. “I’ll always come back. Nothing could keep me away from my favorite person in the whole world.” In order to lighten the mood, and because curiosity was eating away at her, she gestured to the box in Emily’s hand. “So, lemme see the ring!”

Emily laughed, thumping her on the arm lightly. “You would have seen it if you had just been patient, you silly goose.”

“Sorry, love, I just got too excited!” Lena replied, squeezing her arm.

“I know, I know. That’s one of my favorite things about you,” Emily said, rubbing her nose against Lena’s. She pulled her hand back, where she was still holding the ring, and she opened the box for Lena to see. It was a silver band with two strands that twisted together like ribbons, with a couple dozen tiny diamonds set in the band. Emily grabbed it out of the box, sliding it onto Lena’s left ring finger, and the two of them admired it on her finger.

“It’s absolutely perfect, love,” Lena whispered. She pecked Emily on the lips again. “Just like you.”

“Says the superhero,” Emily teased, and she closed the distance between them once more.

After they pulled apart, Lena tilted her head back in thought. “D’you think Winston’s an ordained minister yet?”

Emily laughed, and Lena’s heart swelled as she realized she would get to hear that beautiful sound for the rest of her life now. “If you’d’ve told me five years ago even that I’d be marrying Tracer of Overwatch and that we’d consider getting a gorilla to officiate, I woulda laughed in your face.” She smiled as she held Lena close. “But I’d never change a thing, because everything in my life has led me to this moment.”

Lena ran her fingers through Emily’s hair, smiling as she gazed into her fiancée’s eyes. “I love you, Emily, and I always will love you. Forever and always.”