Krystal woke up the next morning around an hour of ten to the delicious smell of baked eggs. At first, being still a bit sleep drunk, she couldn't quite grasp what was going on. With her eyes still closed, her hand sought for Amber. But even though she had outstretched her arm fully, she still felt nothing. To be sure she didn't accidentally miss her, she also sought with her leg, but after a few moments she came to realize that Amber wasn't with her anymore. 
Krystal opened her eyes and indeed saw that the pillows next to her were empty. And she almost wanted to start complaining already when she heard a soft humming coming from the kitchen. Krystal to her back so that she could see her. 
Amber stood in front of the stove, stirring in a frying pan, softly singing Need to feel needed — their song — in nothing but a few black Nike shorts and her sports bra. It still reminded Krystal to that day at which they had shared their first kiss, right after Amber had sung to her her self composed love song. Hearing her hum it still caused butterflies to erupt in her belly. Krystal watched the other girl for a few moments, simply admiring her. She shamelessly let her eyes run over her toned back muscles, biting her lip softly. 
Eventually she couldn't wait anymore. Krystal stood up from the bed — suddenly painfully aware that she still wore nothing at all — and quickly put her lingerie back on. To cover up her skin, she also took Amber's white blouse that she had worn last night, since she didn't feel like getting back into her dress. 
Amber didn't look up from the stove and simply kept humming, now changing Need to feel needed to The day we felt the distance from Kyuhyun. Krystal walked up to her, not sure whether Amber really hadn't heard her get up because she was humming or that she just pretended not to care that she was awake. Either way, she wrapped her arms around Amber's waist, hugging her from behind.
Her girlfriend stiffened for a moment, then looked over her shoulder, with a wide grin on her face. 
"Good morning, Princess," she said. Amber turned around in her arms and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Krystal kissed her back whilst tightening her grip around her waist a little bit. When they broke apart, she started to pout. Amber frowned her eyebrows. 
"What?"
"You have been bad!" Krystal said cutely. Amber rose her right eyebrow questionably. 
"You just went out of bed without me! You always do that!" she whined. "Next time you have to stay in bed with me, until I wake up."
Amber laughed and ruffled her already messy hair for a moment. 
"Why? So you can watch me drool on my pillow and hear me snore? Very attractive," she said sarcastically. But that was exactly what Krystal wanted. 
"Yes! You need to stay in bed with me the next time, or wake me up with a lot of kisses, okay?" she said. Amber laughed and kissed her again. 
"Okay, deal. But that means you won't get any breakfast then."
Krystal pouted her lips, thought for a second, then smiled. 
"I don't care, we can make it together," she replied smugly. Amber started to laugh. 
"Like hell I'm letting you cook in my kitchen! Last time you had to call your mom how to make rice!"
Krystal's smile dissapeared immediately and with an annoyed huff, she pushed a laughing Amber away. 
"Ugh, as if you're such an amazing cook."
"Better than you," teased Amber. She stack out her tongue and Krystal wrapped her arms in front of her body. 
"No kisses for you!" she hissed. Amber laughed and smoothly went over her, slid her arms around her from the back and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, so her next would be exposed. Krystal tried to get away but as soon as Amber started to press kisses in her neck, she stopped with wriggling. Krystal cocked her head a bit, so that Amber would have more access. For extra support, she grabbed the edge of the dresser. 
"No more kisses for me, you said?" Amber said playfully. 
Krystal growled softly, opening her closed eyes, hoping that with that she could regain her self control. It was so easy to loose yourself in Amber's kisses, especially when she wanted you too. 
"What if you let me cook in your kitchen the next time together with you and you get your kisses as well," she proposed. That way she'd get her way anyway, because she'd be able to cook for Amber for a change and she wouldn't have to hold back when she wanted to kiss her. Amber laughed and placed another quick kiss in her neck. 
"Okay then, Princess," she said. "But for now, you have to sit back and let me do the cooking, deal?"
Krystal looked up to her and rolled her eyes. 
"Fine," she mumbled. "I can use your shower right?"
"You make me feel ashamed as your girlfriend by asking that question. You don't have to ask, Krystal."
She chuckled and kissed Amber's cheek. Even after all this time, there was amazement to be seen in her eyes when she did that. Full kisses were often something else, something she was used to. Quick pecks on the cheek showed how Krystal was actually fond of her. Small specs of affection that made Amber's heart flutter in delight, even though she would never admit it. 
"I'm back in half an hour," she said with a wink. Amber sighed. 
"If you use up all the hot water again, I will personally-"
But Krystal had already turned around before Amber could finish her sentence, lifting her hand a little bit to silence her. Amber chuckled softly and rolled her eyes. Sometimes she wondered how she put up with Krystal. But at the same thing, she wouldn't want anything else. Krystal was the kind of girlfriend who kept things playful: exactly the way Amber liked her relationship to be. Otherwise it would just be boring. The constant flirting and teasing hadn't stopped after they started dating. 
Krystal got herself a towel from Amber's closed and got into the bathroom. She didn't even bother to lock the door. After last night she didn't think it'd be necessary anymore to hide herself from Amber. Part of her also wouldn't mind it if Amber got in with her. Kind of romantic, wasn't it, to share a shower? If it wasn't romantic, it at least was hot. 
But she blocked those thoughts out of her mind, afraid of getting herself back into the state she was yesterday evening. Even though she had liked it back then, it was a bit too much for her to handle to also let herself go like that in the morning. 

Krystal undressed and couldn't help to peek a look at herself in the great mirror that hung above the sink. She had to surpress a yelp when she saw her body. To keep herself from gasping, she pressed her hand tightly against . With shock, she watched the purple, dark spots all over her body. Those in her neck were the most visible. One on each side, purple with a hint of yellow. The skin around it was red. 
Not to mention the rest of her body. There were red spots of where Amber had bitten down every where. On her collar bone, on her right , one on her belly and her inner thighs were covered in it. 
Krystal tried to remember when all of that had happened, and she came to the conclusion that it was the second time. 
An hour after they had started to cuddle up in bed, Krystal had felt that her desire hadn't decreased much yet. She still felt ready to go and it hadn't taken long before she had been aching for Amber again. It didn't quite help that they hadn't dressed afterwards and that they were still . Without waking Amber, she felt in between her thighs, and noticed that she was wet all over again.  Her girlfriend had fallen asleep already, but it had taken her only a few kisses to wake her up and admit with a guilty expression that she actually would like more. She hadn't said it that bluntly because she wouldn't have been able to get that out of even if she wanted to, but luckily Amber had immediately gotten her hint. 
And the second time had been rougher, more passionate, because they both knew each other wantings and limits a little already. Krystal had gained a little experience, causing it to be more fun for Amber too the second time. They had experienced with the hickeys a little bit. And Krystal had been still kind of reasonable. She had been able to succesfully give Amber one on her inner thigh, but Amber had gone full out on Krystal. And yes, she had to admit that it was extremely hot for the time being, but her body looked like he ravage now. 
Softly she touched the one in her neck and flinched when a sting of pain shot through her neck. Quickly she took her hand away. The red spots were less painful, she noticed, but she still felt them. Damn, so this was how with Amber Liu was like, Krystal thought amazedly. 
She sighed and ran a hand through her messy hair, deciding to turn her back to the mirror. When the shower had turned hot, she stepped under and let it warm her skin. It didn't take a long time before she took it up to an almost burning temperature. 

Half an hour later she stepped out of the bathroom, still drying her hair with the towel. Amber was busy covering the table, placing plates, knives, forks and glasses in a neat order. She didn't look up when Krystal entered the room, but did pour her a glass of orange juice and shove one of the chairs away from the table so that she could sit. Amber turned back to the kitchen and got the frying pan. With a spatula, she let some of the scrambled eggs slide onto Krystal's plate, and let the rest drop on hers. Krystal noticed that there was quite much more on hers than on Amber's, but Amber didn't seem to have noticed, and otherwise didn't care. At last, she took the toast from the toaster and gave her two slices, then took two herself too. She dumped the frying pan in the sink and sat down across from her. 
Krystal took her fork and pricked a little in the scrambled eggs, a little careful. Last time Amber had made her something she had found some scales of the eggs inside the food. She hadn't said anything to her, because she didn't want to hurt her feelings, and just ate enough from it until she would cross the point where it would not impolite anymore to leave some leftovers. 

Amber looked at her curiously, waiting for her to take a bite. Eventually, she took some on her fork and brought it to . She chewed slowly. 
Her frown dissapeared immediately when she tasted how good it actually was. 
"Wow, this is really good!" she exclaimed. Amber laughed. 
"What, you expected otherwise?" asked her girlfriend. Krystal turned her eyes away and quickly took another bite, so that she wouldn't have to admit that indeed she had embraced herself for the worst. But this was really good. Scrambled eggs sprinkled with small pieces of spring onions and the toast was exactly right. 
"I asked my neighbour for a few recipes. I knew you liked scrambled eggs, so I just tried to make some. It's actually my first try so if you know how I could  improve-"
"Don't," said Krystal, with a mouth full of eggs. "It's perfect."
Amber chuckled and let her head rest in her hands while she watched her eat. Krystal munched the eggs away like she had never tasted anything better. It made her heart flutter to know that Amber had learned to cook her favourite dish for her just because she loved her. It was quite romantic. 
"You eat too," she said after a while, when Amber was still watching her. 
"Hmm, right," Amber replied, as she started on her own share. The brunette saw her devour her own food in a few big bites then whipe with the back of her hand. 
"Do you want some from me? You gave me more," Krystal offered concernedly. She didn't want her to be hungry. But Amber shook her head and smiled. 
"No, after tonight I figured you needed a little extra energy," the other girl teased. The worried expression dissapeared from her face immediately and in return, she lifted her middlefinger up to her. Amber started to laugh. 
"Ugh, just go away you!" she huffed. Amber winked with that big smug smile on her face. 

Five hours, a phone call from her mother and a latte macchiato later, Amber and Krystal were walking through the streets, hand in hand. It was autumn, causing both of them to be bundled up in a warm coat. Krystal wore a scarf to cover her neck, mainly because she had to cover up her hickeys. It was extremely embarassing to sit in a restaurant - since Amber and Krystal always went out for lunch together when they were together on days like these - and keep on her scarf. But it was nice and warm, so it wasn't too bad after all. 
With their fingers intertwined, Krystal felt secure. But there had gathered a sense of guilt in her stomach that was just hard to ignore. It made her eyebrows frown a slightest bit, making her looking troubled the whole time. Amber had asked already a couple of times if something was wrong, but she had just answered that she was thinking. And she was indeed thinking about something. 
Her mother had called her two hours ago to ask where she had been last night. Krystal's parents still didn't know she was dating, let alone a girl who happened to be the daughter of her father's best friend. All those times she went to Amber's place, she had lied that she went to Sulli's instead, because using her best friend as a cover was literally the best plan she could come up with. Sulli promised that she would cover for her if anything would every go wrong, but Krystal knew her mother would be too busy to check up on her only if she hadn't come home. And usually, she did, despite it being often very late. She had never stayed over at Amber's place, except that night after the conference party. Her mother must've noticed that her daughter was away often, whilst she had stayed home so often half a year ago but Krystal didn't know if she could come up with the conclusion that she was dating by herself. At least, her parents didn't know all the details yet, even if they already knew she was dating. 
At first, when their relationship had just started, Krystal had had no trouble with keeping a secret from her parents. In the first weeks, she convinced herself that they needn't to know, because they could break up at any given moment. One big fight and it would be over. But the longer they dated, the more Krystal found herself being really in love with Amber Liu, despite not having said 'I love you' just yet. Right now, when they were in their third month of dating, Krystal felt guilty that she didn't tell her parents yet. Amber had become such a big part of her life, it was hard to hide her from them. She felt ashamed too that she kept using Sulli as a cover up for so long. It was not fair for Amber as well as her parents and on top of that, Krystal grew uneasy. 
So she was playing with the idea to introduce Amber to her parents. Of course she was able to think of a thousand reasons not to, but she could also think of a thousand reasons not to date Amber at all. And still she did. So why shouldn't she introduce her to her parents? Sometimes, you can't be able to predict what's going to happen, and it's worth giving a shot.
"Amber...?" she asked quietly. Her girlfriend looked down to her and raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"I was wondering if you wanted to meet my parents."
Amber looked at her with an open mouth, at first unable to say something. Because she got uneasy because of her staring gaze, Krystal lowered her eyes, wishing she had said nothing. She hadn't considered the option yet that Amber wouldn't want to meet her parents at all. Of course, she thought, she wouldn't want to meet her parents too if she knew there was a big chance they'd oppose to their relationship and maybe even blame and hate her. 
Krystal wanted to let go of Amber's hand, but the other girl kept on holding it even tighter. Eventually, she cleared . 
"But I thought we had agreed to wait?" she asked carefully. Krystal nodded. 
"Yeah.. well.. I thought it might be- you know what, never mind. Forget what I said," she replied brusquely. Amber let out a snort. 
"I didn't say that because I don't want to meet them, you dummy. I just thought that you wanted to wait. But if you're ready, I'm ready," she said casually. With a frown on her face, Krystal looked up to her girlfriend, who smiled smugly back at her. Ever since that night on the roof, Amber keeps amazing her with her sensibility and her obvious care taking for other people, especially when it was about her. Because she used to think for so long that nothing bothered the brat, she was still surprised by her sweetness. 
"I-I'm ready, I think," she mumbled, a little ashamed of herself. Amber's smug smile slinked into a reassuring one as she nodded. 
"Well, then I guess it's settled. I expect you to make an dinner-date with your parents?" she said. 

A few days later, Krystal had gathered enough guts to talk to her parents about it. She wanted to make sure that she could introduce Amber as her girlfriend at a moment where her father could not get incredibly mad with her, so she had asked her mother if she couldn't make a reservation at a restaurant, instead of having dinner at their house. Her parents — quite curious about the significant other of their daughter — had agreed immediately. They had told her that they loved to meet the man who had finally conquered their daughter's heart. Krystal had had to gulp and press her lips together at that very moment, and had just nodded solemnly. 
So her parents had made sure that there was a reservation for five at their favourite restaurant: Bella Vita, an Italian restaurant their family went to when they were all off from work. It had been a while since Krystal ate there, so it would be good to go again. Hopefully she wouldn't make some bad memories. 
Jessica had insisted to tag along too. At first, Krystal didn't want her sister there at all. It was hard enough to come out to her parents and introduce her girlfriend too, let alone an extra person. But the more she thought about it, the more reassured she became that Jessica came along. The two sisters had never held secrets for each other and Jessica was aware that Krystal had found a new friend in Amber and that whenever she went to Sulli's, she actually went to her. Only she had left out one important detail about their relationship: Jessica still thought they were just friends. 
Or... maybe she didn't, Krystal came to realize. Most of their conversations were about Amber nowadays and mostly because Krystal had let something slip. Usually it was a casual remark. Once, when they had been talking about which colour to paint their nails in, Jessica had doubted between the colour red or purple, Krystal had said that she should pain ther nails red. At the question why, she had shyly answered that red was Amber's favourite colour. Usually, it wasn't more than that, and Jessica usually didn't ask any further questions, but she did notice the way her older sister was looking at her after comments like that: with squinted eyes and a certain gaze in her eyes her sister always got whenever she was cracking an diffecult problem. Krystal tried to shut up about it, but sometimes she just couldn't help it. 
Krystal therefor decided to tell Jessica at advance to the dinner about her and Amber. She wanted her full support if her parents decided that homouality after all was sinful and that they didn't want their daughter to like women as wel as men. All of a sudden, Krystal wasn't so sure anymore that it would work in their advantage that Amber was the daughter of Jacob Liu. Would her father blame his friend for Amber because she snatched his little girl away? Krystal hoped not. 
A couple of days prior to the dinner at Bella Vita, she texted Jessica. Krystal wanted to avoid a confrontation with her, because she was simply to scared to say such an important thing out loud. She wasn't brave when it came to these things, not at all. It was really scary to say something that you've hid about yourself for years and not know what the other person's reaction would be. It was even scarier because it was Jessica. It was her sister and she was either gonna love her with all her heart of despise her in a way that Krystal would not be able to handle. 
Also, to prevent that Jessica was going to rush to their elderly home from her apartment — which she tended to do when they were younger whenever Krystal felt bad — she texted her overdays, so she knew that her sister would be busy with work. At first it was a simple message that said: 

Hey, time to talk?

That way, she'd be sure to know Jessica would be online. After a quarter, she received a 'Yes' back. So Krystal started to type. It'd seem best to create just a really long message, so that Jessica only had time to reply after she had spilled her whole story. Krystal apologized for keeping her relationship with Amber a secret from her but that she was really scared about upcoming Saturday, where she'd have to tell the same thing to their parents. She shared her concern about her parents and whether or not she was going accept Amber and her as who they were. But she ended the message telling her that she was her sister, and that she wanted her to know first. 
Jessica had stayed online the whole time while she had written that long message and had read it immediately after she had sent it. But it took her at least a quarter to send a reply back. Right after Krystal had sent the message and noticed that Jessica had seen it, she had turned her phone off, unable to wait for her sister to reply because she simply was so drop dead nervous. 
It took Jessica a quarter to write back a message. When Krystal heard her phone buzz, she almost choked on her own spit. With shaking hands she opened the message a few minutes later, since she first had had to gather a little courage. But as soon as her eyes slid over the words, she noticed they were all but hateful. Jessica thanked her for telling her first but that she wasn't surprised at all. There always had been that air around her, Jessica told her, that she was not just interested in boys. She had checked out girls too much for that to hide her uality from her sister. That Amber was her first girlfriend wasn't surprising to her too, although she had some doubts about her. Jessica admitted that she thought Amber would be of bad influence to her and her family, despite being the daughter of Jacob Liu, their father's best friend. 
And despite the fact that Jessica didn't think Amber was the appropriate person for her, Krystal couldn't help but to jump up from her chair and do a little happy dance. She wasn't the kind of person who normally did that, but this time she didn't care. Her body felt like it would burst from happiness. At least Jessica accepted her, at least Jessica loved her. And when her sister did, it almost didn't matter anymore that her parents would reject them. She had Amber and Jessica now and that would be enough. 

So that Saturday, Amber and Krystal decided to prepare themselves for the dinner at her place. She had told her parents that she would arrive with Amber a little later because they still had to walk the dog, at which her mother's response was: "Does he have a car?!" Krystal simply had nodded but hadn't said anything else. Amber had promised her that she would borrow one of her father's cars to make a good first impression. To her it really wouldn't have made a difference if they came in an expensive car or by bus, but Amber found it necessary to brag about her father's wealth. It had made her roll her eyes but she knew that if Amber had made up an idea, she would damn well go through with it even if it's the last thing she will do. 
Amber wore the same white blouse and high pants that she had worn that day Krystal had come over for dinner at the Liu's. It made her re-live the memories that were made after the dinner. Whilst buttoning up Amber's blouse - since her girlfriend had managed to button it down twice the wrong way - she had to surpress thoughts to button it down again. But she pushed those thoughts out of her mind because she couldn't let herself be distracted today. There was too much at stake. 
Krystal herself had changed her white summer dress for a black tight one. She had always felt more comfertable in darker clothes and this dress fit her better too, not to mention it made her look more mature. Maybe if Amber and she dressed up well, her parents would also be accepting her sooner because of the fact that they looked like Jessica's age at least. 
When they had both fixed their clothes, their hair and had calmed themselves down for the incredibly nerve-wrecking dinner that was going to come. Eventually they walked down from Amber's apartment and got in the car. Even after months, Amber hadn't lost that sense of gentleman about her, because she still opened the car door for her when she got it. It was incredibly attractive and Krystal loved that about her. 
Amber started the car and after Krystal told her where to go, she drove that way. It took them at least three quarters to get at Vita Bella because Amber had driven the wrong way twice. 
"Yeah well I've never been to that fancy restaurant of yours that clearly is built in the middle of nowhere," Amber muttered chuckling when she had turned in a wrong way fro the second time. "Would your parents mind that we're a little late though?"
"No, but I think they're also drop dead nervous to meet you," Krystal said. "They were so enthusiastic that I was going to introduce my partner."
Amber laughed. 
"Well they're either gonna be relieved their daughter is not dating a filthy -grabbing man or completely horrified."
"How can you be so optimistic? I'm nervous to the point where I rather feel like dying than going in there," Krystal whined. Amber shrugged. 
"I think I just don't care enough. They're not my parents and I know I am not going to stop seeing you even if they dissaprove."
"What if they forbid me from seeing you?"[/i] Krystal asked softly. That was basically her biggest fear, and that her parents would kick her out of the house. 
"Well, they can't. We're both over eightteen, legally adults and I have broken into enough places to know that I can break into your house too if I want to," she laughed. "Don't worry about it, Princess, it's going to be alright. And if it won't be, we'll figure something out."
"I just hope so," sighed Krystal. The conversation fell silent as they drove on. 

They eventually parked in front of Vita Bella. Krystal already spotted the black Maserati from her father next to the silver Opal from her sister. Krystal gulped at the sight of the cars. Knowing that her parents and Jessica were in the restaurant already, eagerly waiting for Krystal to appear, made her nervous to a point where she was sick to her stomach. 
Before she knew Amber had already shut off the car engine, gotten out and had walked to the other side of the car to open her door. It took her a few seconds before she came to her senses and got out too. With her lip between her teeth, Krystal grabbed Amber's hand. She only noticed that she pinched hard when Amber whined softly. 
"Sorry.." she mumbled. Amber smiled at her and shook her head. 
"I want to tell you not to worry but it doesn't seem make a change," she said. "Relax, Krystal. I'm with you, okay?"
Krystal nodded slowly and turned her eyes away. She felt so miserable that she was able to cry right now. But Amber grabbed her by the waist right before the entrance and softly pressed her lips upon hers. Krystal sighed to Amber's lips and kissed her back, putting her arms around Amber's body too. The kiss was as soft and sweet as their first kiss had been. Tender, their lips slid over each other. Krystal found her heart beat slowing down, her mind emptying of those awful thoughts. The kiss was full of love and Krystal finally understood what Amber had meant when they were in the car. It indeed wouldn't matter if her parents wouldn't agree upon them, it would be enough to be with Amber. They would turn around eventually and until then, she had Amber and Jessica too.
Eventually, their eyes met when they broke apart again. Her girlfriend smiled reassuringly. 
"Ready?" Amber asked. Krystal took another deep breath, but nodded. 
"Yes. Let's go."
They took each other's hand again and pushed open the doors of the restaurant.

It might be a bit early but... happy Christmass to you all! I hope you have a wonderful time with your family and well, if you have not, you'll get through it, I promise <3

I will also announce that I will take a small hiatus of 2 weeks, because I'll be going on a holiday to Florida soon and I don't know how much I'll be able to write in between. Until then, wait patiently, the next chapter will be exciting!