Homecoming Fight

The sky felt different that night, it was so calm and peaceful yet depressing and lonely. The night sky felt like a deserted garden without any twinkling flowers as the crescent guardian silently kept watch from a distance.

Leo was sitting on the window sill in the bedroom, his thoughts complex. His dark hair was messy and rugged, while the neglected and unshaven stubble added numbers to his age. Even though he wore a long sleeved shirt, it was not hard to tell that he was cold.

The harsh winter breeze swept through the window, making his whole frame shiver. He hugged himself and rubbed his arms to warm himself as he shifted his gaze towards the bed at the corner of the room. Or more exactly to the person on the bed.

Mili was lying on the bed, concentrating on the book in her hands. He let himself stare at her petite, slender figure while she was immersed in the world of words.

Her long black hair would fly with the wind ever so often, causing the bangs to fall onto her face, partially shielding her big beautiful eyes. Her small nose and cheeks were tinged faint red, giving her a natural blush. Her light pink lips would unconsciously twitch and tremble, making Leo's heartbeat to accelerate. Her pale complexion together with her svelte figure gave her an angelic appearance.

Despite the chilly weather, Mili was only in a sleeveless top with a pair of knee length shorts. Unlike Leo, Mili was strong and tough to all climatic conditions.

As he watched her immersed in her own world, Leo felt alone and sad. But it wasn't supposed to be like this. This was not how he planned his homecoming to be...

Leo was away from home for three months, finishing an overseas project, which took longer than expected. He's been very busy with his work these past months and he barely talked to Mili. But he couldn't help it, he had to work extra hours to finish as early as possible so he could hurry back home.

And so, as soon as he was done with work, he boarded a night flight despite being tired and exhausted. He knew he left Mili alone for too long and have a much more long way to make up for it. But when he was finally home, everything turned different and the situation was anything but favorable.

Things started sour and went south. Now he was totally lost on what he was supposed to do.

Leo sighed and rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. 'How did it get to this?'

- -

Yesterday Morning

Mili was watering the plants near the doorway, in her night gown and flip-flops and sleep still lingering in her eyes. Her hair was springing out in all directions but she wasn't concerned in the least as she sat near the long row of plants, watering them and humming a tune under her breath, oblivious to everything else.

"Mili!" A voice called out.

She turned towards the voice and gasped. The water can in her hands dropped to the floor as she slowly stood up. She covered her mouth in surprise as tears formed at the corner of her eyes.

The next second, a smile broke out on her face as he jumped on him and threw her hands around his neck. "Leo!"

Leo caught her by the waist and spun around as their laughter filled the air. He slowly set her down as Mili tangled her hands in his overgrown hair and pulled him closer. Leo smiled and tightened his arms around her, fully embracing her touch and warmth.

"I'm Home." He whispered.

Mili immediately pulled back and smashed her head against his.

"Ouch!" Leo groaned, as he rubbed his forehead. But there was a smile on his face. "Your welcome is a little painful."

"Why didn't you say you were coming?" Mili demanded, her lips twitched into an adorable pout as she glared at him with her big eyes.

"Ah, right." Leo took a few steps back, stood straight, cleared his throat and stretched his arms wide.

"SURPRISE!" he announced with a grin.

Mili stood there silently with a blank face, bare of any reaction. Leo's grin faltered as he shifted his posture, scratched his head and looked away awkwardly. Mili watched her husband's weird antics and then burst out laughing. Leo blew a sigh of relief and flashed a smile.

"I missed you, Leo." Mili went in for a hug, closing the gap between them and rested her head on his chest.

"I missed you too." Leo replied, kissing the top of her head.

"Now then-" he continued, and picked her up into his arms. Mili let out a light squeal but quickly hooked her arms around his neck.

"We'll make up for the lost time." Leo announced, sporting a playful smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Wait wait…" Mili interrupted his excitement and Leo turned to her.

"What about your luggage?" she asked, pointing to the suitcase and laptop bag lying on the ground behind them.

"You..." Leo shook his head and sighed helplessly. "You really know how to ruin a moment."

Mili giggled and stuck her tongue out at him as he made his way inside and closed the door behind him.

- -

Leo woke up with a hammering in his head. He looked at the clock hung on the opposite wall and groaned. It was already past 3 in the afternoon but he was still tired. His head was pounding and his body was still feeling the exhaustion from the long flight.

He struggled his way out of the bedroom and settled at the dining table, absorbing the sunlight coming from the veranda. Mili walked out from the kitchen, holding two big brown cups in her hands.

"Good Morning, Leo." she greeted with a kiss on his forehead as she handed him his cup.

"It's afternoon, sweetheart." Leo smiled as he took his cup and pulled Mili onto his lap.

"Well yes, but…" Mili spoke, as she sat comfortably on Leo, putting a hand around his neck. "Since you finished your night sleep now, its morning for you."

"Cool logic." Leo amused her and took a sip from his cup. It's milkshake, his routine and Mili's cup was filled with coffee. Her favorite.

Leo finished his drink and placed the cup on the table, feeling much better than a moment ago. Mili took the cups and went into the kitchen to deposit them in the sink. Then Leo saw a brochure of some kind on the table and pulled it closer to have a better look. Upon closer inspection he realized that it was actually a concert poster of an International Music band .

"It's great isn't it?" Mili asked, sitting in the opposite chair.

"What is?" Leo looked at his wife in confusion.

"That's the most popular music band right now." she said nodding towards the poster. "And as a part of their world tour, they are currently in the city."

"Hmm…" Leo drawled monotonously, without any interest.

"I heard their songs, they are really good..." Mili continued in an excited tone as she jumped about in her seat.

"And..?" Leo raised his eyebrow, knowing that his wife still has something else to add.

"I got us tickets for tonight's concert." Mili blurted out in a hurry as she looked at him with sparkles in her eyes.

"Tonight?" Leo was stunned to say the least. He was completely exhausted and in no shape to go anywhere. And just the thought of dealing with loud music and large crowds was draining his already low energy.

"Yeah, and I'm super excited. It was a miracle I even got the tickets at such a time. So you better hurry and get ready."

No! No! No! Leo mentally screamed. She has already decided everything?

"No, not today Mili." He said, rubbing his forehead.

"Come on... It'll be fun." She insisted. "Since you were working all this time, it'll be a change for you as well."

"Not today, Mili. I'm too tired." he voiced his opinion. But Mili was too excited to listen to him, as she kept babbling about the events she planned.

"Don't worry, I planned everything perfectly. You just have to follow me."

"No, Mili-"

"There's a restaurant nearby so we can go there after the show and have our dinner.

"Mili stop-"

"And if we are too tired, we could even stay there for the night. This will be our date after a long time and I'm sure you'll have a great-"

"I SAID NO!" Before he knew it, Leo's voice blasted through the room as his fist banged on the wooden dining table.

Mili stood silent in place, shocked and a little scared too. As Leo realized what he just did, he immediately regretted his actions as he didn't mean to raise his voice. All the work tension and pent up stress finally caught up to him. And his sudden outburst made his headache worse.

"I'm sorry, Mili. I didn't mean to yell like that." he stood up and walked to her. "I'm just too tired today, please understand."

"Maybe some other time, okay? I promise." he gave a quick kiss on her forehead and headed back into the bedroom.

He took a couple of pills for the headache and went back to sleep. And when he woke up again, it was almost eight in the evening. But his head was light and he was feeling a lot better. Guess all he needed was a good sleep. He took a quick shower and got dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of tracks.

Then he realized something. That thing was too quiet for too long. This can't be good.

'Where is it? Where is it?'

He began looking for a rectangular piece of technology. He shuffled the bed, checked his luggage bags and searched all around the room. But it was nowhere to be found. He slowly made his way out of the room, trying to remember where he left it previously. As he got closer to the dining table, he saw a slim black object on the table. He immediately rushed over and picked it up. His mobile.

He wondered why it was there? Did he forget it here in the afternoon? But he didn't remember taking it out after coming back. Well...maybe he forgot it since he was too tired and exhausted. And there was that thing about the concert too.

'Ah, Concert. I'm in a deep, deep trouble.'

He sighed and put those thoughts on hold as he quickly unlocked his mobile and scanned through it. There were a few mails and messages but no missed calls.

No missed calls? Now, that's a surprise. He expected at least a dozen missed calls. Anyway, he shrugged it off and checked his mails and messages. Suddenly his stomach growled, pulling his attention away from his mobile.

'Why is it so quiet here? Where is Mili?'

He looked around the dining table and kitchen, but it was desolate. He slipped his mobile into his pocket and walked past dining table and into the living room. There he heard sounds and voices coming from the TV.

And there she was, lying on the couch. Book and a burger in each hand, reading and eating at the same time. Who's watching the TV then?

"What are you doing?" Leo asked as he walked in and crouched in front of the sofa. He glanced at her hand. "And what are you eating?"

Mili ignored him and continued her multitasking perfectly.

"Now is not the time to be eating burgers, sweetheart." Leo spoke and grabbed the burger out of her hand. Mili gave him a brief glare and sat up. She scooted to the corner of the couch and pulled out another burger from below and started eating like nothing happened.

Leo looked over the couch and took a double take at the cardboard box placed there. He pulled it closer to inspect it and was shocked to see the box filled with oil and junk food ranging from french fries and sandwiches to hot dogs and burgers.

'What in the world...'

He sighed and turned to Mili, who was happily reading while chomping on the burger in her hand. He turned off the TV and stood beside Mili, staring at her without uttering a word as Mili continued to her read her book. After a few minutes, Leo's persistence worked and Mili put her book down and turned to him.

"What?" she growled at him and Leo couldn't stop his chuckle, watching her annoyed face.

"Lets eat." He answered with a smile. "And I mean, REAL FOOD."

Mili took the last bite of her burger and stood up. "I'm done."

"What?" Leo was taken aback. "But what about me?"

"You can eat those." she said pointing to the items lying beside the couch.

"I'm not eating those…" Leo scrunched up his face in disgust.

"Not my problem." Mili shrugged her shoulders and walked away without a worry as Leo just stood there staring at her retreating figure.

'What the hell!'

Leo understood that Mili was angry at him for ruining her plans. But denying him food? That was not anger anymore, its GRUDGE!

"Ugh..." He groaned and threw his head back helplessly. He then looked at the junk food lying beside the couch and his nose wrinkled in disgust.

No, not happening.

Leo walked to the fridge, hoping to find something edible in there. He can find something in there right? Some fruits, veggies, maybe curries from previous day at least? He opened the door with a smile, but his tiny light of hope was extinguished by the cold air when he saw the fridge almost empty, except for a few cans of diet coke.

His mouth was left hanging at the sight and now he was more hungry. And angry too. Anger due to hunger. Finally he grabbed a coke can and walked to the couch and plopped down. He popped the can open and turned the TV on before taking a sip.

After flipping through a few channels, he turned off the TV in disgust and threw the remote aside in anger. Almost every channel was filled with cooking shows. That was not funny at all. Was that any time for the cooking shows, at eight in the evening? Was this Karma?

He took the last sip of the coke and was already looking at the box beside the couch. He was hungry and desperate. No choice now. He picked up the contents from beside the couch and placed it on the table. Before he realized it, he was stuffing his mouth with what he called 'junk'.

After barely eating anything for almost a whole day, he realized the value of food. The last he ate was in the flight back and it was anything but tasty. And he was asleep all day today. After finishing his inadequate dinner, he disposed off the remains in the trash bin and headed to the bedroom. The bedroom light was turned off hinting that Mili was already asleep. He sighed and went into the room.

As he thought, Mili was fast asleep under the covers. He slowly made his way into the bathroom and quickly brushed his teeth. He came out and closed the door behind him as he took his shirt off before slipping under the covers. He scooted close to Mili and pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her.

He decided to apologize properly first thing tomorrow morning and end this for good. With a quick kiss to the side of her head and whispering good night, he fell asleep.