Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Well that’s too bad, I was kinda hoping we could go this weekend since we’re busy again for a while.” Yuzu closed the door behind Mei and proceeded to take off her coat.

After the events of last week, Harumi invited Yuzu and Mei to another sleepover along with Matsuri. Yuzu had been looking forward to it, but Mei on the other hand still hadn't forgotten about Yuzu mistaking her for a demon and all that.

Mei actually didn’t want to go, but wasn’t about to let Yuzu go alone and miss out on what they were going to do. As much as she wanted to say otherwise, she did have a fun time with her friends.

Unfortunately, bad weather had cancelled their plans and since Mitsuko was out of town, it was far too risky going outside with lightning and thunder by foot.

“I don’t think we should worry about it too much, there's always next week.”

“Yea.. You're right, hopefully we won’t be as unlucky as we are now.” Yuzu smiled and removed her shoes

“Oh! Mama? You here?” Yuzu felt some guiltiness for not acknowledging their mother. She didn’t even pay attention to whose footwear was in the rack. She walked down the hallway at a fast pace, Mei following behind.

When they got a view of the kitchen, their mother wasn’t in sight nor was anything on, most likely meaning she wasn’t home.

“Oh, she isn’t here. Maybe she’s delayed from the storm or something.” Yuzu observed the empty kitchen and flicked the switch, revealing a sticky note stuck to the fridge.

“Well that probably has the answer to it.” Mei moved over and took responsibility of reading the note.

“Hey girls! I have some extra work today so I won’t be home until around 8. I heard there’s a storm today, so that also might cause problems. Yuzu, you're in charge of making dinner tonight! Sorry for such late notice.

Love you,

-Mama ♥ ”

“And it does.” Yuzu giggled, not minding her mother was coming home late, knowing it really only gave her more time to spend with Mei. But dinner was still a priority before they could have any fun this evening.

“I’ll go get dressed and get started on dinner! You can just wait til’ I’m done cooking.” Yuzu started to turn herself towards the direction of their room.

Mei shook her head and . “Nope, I’m helping you. You aren’t going to do this alone, not when we have no school tomorrow and I have no work.” Mei said sternly, determination in her voice

“But Mama said-” 

“I’m volunteering, you're not going to stop me from helping, will you?” Mei said with the same blunt tone, but still with good heart.

Yuzu thought for a moment and asked herself why she was arguing against it in the first place. “No, I’m not.” Yuzu gave a small kiss on the cheek and chuckled. “I just realized this is going to be your first time cooking since you came back!” Yuzu said as she walked away

Right… she had only come back a few weeks ago from her grandfather's house, a not so good experience, but now she was glad to be home. In fact, the entire reason Harumi invited them last week was so that they could all hang out again after Mei’s long absence.

“I guess I should go change too…” Mei thought as she trailed Yuzu.

~-~-~-~-~-~

“You should cook more often Mei, it tasted pretty good for a beginner.” Yuzu said as she picked up her plate and made her way over to the sink.

“You really think so? I’m not as good as you… it wasn’t anything special.” Mei appreciated the compliment and went to put her plate away as well

“Well, you made it, so it is special to me at lea-”

BOOM-CRACK

“Ah!” Yuzu lost her balance and tripped against the floor, fortunately Mei had already put her plate away so she had her hands to save her.

“Yuzu! Are you okay?” Mei didn’t release her hold

“Yea… thanks for the catch…” Yuzu sighed in relief and put the dish down before anything else. “Stupid thunder…”

“Be careful next time.. I don’t want you getting hurt just because of a loud noise.” Mei sighed and let her go. 

“It was unexpected though! And I was talking to you in the process.”

“And I was as well, but I didn’t get scared.” Mei said as she made her argument even harder to break through, but she did feel some shame for being bossy when Yuzu almost just fell.

“I guess you have a point there.” Yuzu’s expression returned back to a smile, but sighed as she looked out the window. “And of course the rain has to stop now, especially when it just turns dark.”

“Does she really need to keep bringing that up? The sleepover is cancelled, we can go next week if Taniguchi allows it.” Mei thought to herself, slightly annoyed. Mei just wanted to enjoy her time alone with Yuzu, she didn’t want to bring up other people or events… or maybe it was because she was jealous that Yuzu ran away from her to Harumi’s arms…

“Anyways though, I’ll prepare some tea and we can just get comfy on the couch, sound good?” Yuzu said as she started preparing it, now this idea was more of what Mei was thinking.

Mei didn’t say anything, but gave Yuzu a confident nod. A few minutes later, Yuzu returned with their beverages.

Mei took a sip of her tea, while Yuzu started scrolling through the options on what they could watch. The rain had died down and they hadn’t heard any thunder in a while, so it would probably be peaceful for the rest of the night.

“Any requests on a genre or movie?” Yuzu said as scrolled through, she would rather watch something Mei wanted to, but was fine if Mei let her pick.

“Not really anything's goo-” 

BOOM- VRRrrr…

“AH! What’s happening?! Mei?!” Yuzu practically jumped off the couch in a rush to find Mei in the dark

“Yuzu?! Are you okay?!” Mei heard Yuzu fall, she panicked for a second or two, wondering if she was hurt or not.

“Yea… what about you?” Yuzu lifted herself back up, her breathing more rapid than seconds ago. 

“I’m fine.” Mei sighed, a power outage was the last thing she needed right now. Her evening with Yuzu was dismissed early, WAY too early. Luckily both of their mugs were on the table in front of them so nothing had spilled or made a mess. “Can you check if it's safe outside to sit on the balcony? I’m going to try and call mother.”

In the past, when their apartment had outages at night, they had come up with an idea to sit on the balcony until the power would come back on since the city would still have light, the view of the city and Tokyo Bay was nice and with it being dark made it even better. Sometimes they would even stay there for a while after the power came back on. 

“Sure, the thunder's not as frequent now, so the storm is probably close to leaving.” Yuzu said as she made her way to the blinds, moving slowly so she wouldn’t trip over anything.

BRR-

“You may not call right now due to unavailable data or unexpected issues.” The phone played.

“Huh? That's weird, I’m pretty sure this phone has data on it…” Mei said, waiting for Yuzu to respond. She waited, but Yuzu still hadn’t said anything after a few seconds. 

“Yuzu? Is it okay outside?” Mei looked up to see a silhouette of Yuzu looking out the blinds, actually… it wasn’t even a silhouette, more like a really faded outline of her.

“Yuzu??” Mei set the phone down and walked towards Yuzu and the window. She had an unsettling explanation in the back of her mind as to why the phone hadn’t worked and why Yuzu wasn’t talking.

When Mei reached the window, she peered out and saw that their street, their city, and even the islands across the bay were dark, no light as far as her eyes could see. And the moon being covered by clouds only made it worse. They were in a city-wide power outage.

Yuzu finally spoke, her voice shaky as the words came out. “T-theres no light… there’s nothing!” 

5 minutes later…

“I want the power back… why can’t it come back quicker… please…” Yuzu whined, she sounded like she was whining out of fear and not of annoyance. Ume hadn’t answered, she couldn’t use her phone, and had no idea when the power was coming back on. 

“Are you really this scared, or is this just an act?” Mei genuinely asked, she knew Yuzu could be scared easily, but it had only been a few minutes in the complete darkness and she was already acting like a wreck. 

“No! I don’t like the dark… or more like when everything's dark..” Yuzu spoke, her voice shakier than it was a few minutes ago.

Mei knew Yuzu wasn’t the type to lie about personal issues or fears, so she decided that she would believe it for now. If Yuzu was actually telling the truth, then she honestly did feel some hurt in her body to see her love so scared.

“So you’re not scared when we sleep in the bedroom with the lights out?” Mei asked as she made herself comfortable, she made it her responsibility to make sure that this wouldn’t be awkward or depressing just sitting in the dark while Yuzu whined.

“Well at least we have light outside when we sleep! But now there's nothing, nothing at all…” Yuzu quietly whimpered, she felt a bit better with Mei’s hold, but still had some work to go.

“I see… but you actually aren’t scared of the dark though, right?” Mei asked. She genuinely was curious what Yuzu was being so afraid of right now, the power would probably come back on soon anyway and she had Mei.

“I guess kinda, more like what’s IN the dark…” Yuzu said, her words giving Mei a more clearer view of what she was inferring. 

“You don’t mean… Yuzu, are you seriously still believing Matsuri’s story? You already know how much she tries to toy with us.”

Yuzu was a bit offended that Mei was criticizing her for falling for Matsuri’s trick, even if it was a week later, but knew she was right, Matsuri had only told that story just for fun, she probably hadn’t even planned that it would scare Yuzu. “But it was scary! And she never actually confirmed if it was real…” Yuzu played in her defense

Mei actually almost let out a small laugh from that, she honestly felt like she was having a childish conversation right now. “Yuzu, you're just saying nonsense now. Monsters aren’t real.” Mei said, her tone trying to sound unamused.

Yuzu sighed, she knew she shouldn’t be so gullible when it comes to Matsuri or really anyone who tells unnatural things to her. “I’m sorry.. I don’t know, but scary stuff just doesn’t just rest well in my mind.” Yuzu chuckled

“I think I know that now.” Mei said, taking a moment to savor just the two of them in the dark, quiet apartment. 

But there was one thing that could make this moment nice right now… but Mei wasn’t really sure how to approach it. Although, she knew that if she made the right moves, she and Yuzu could have a perfect time even with the dark downside.

“Would it be okay if I… was with you right now?” Mei said as casually as she could, but her choice of wording was definitely vague on to what she really wanted

Unfortunately Yuzu didn’t get the message “Huh? But you are with me right now.”, which Mei sighed and decided to try again.

“I- I mean… would you let us be together?” Mei said again, she could feel her face grow more pink as she spoke, actually appreciating the fact Yuzu couldn’t see her face’s tone right now. Her attempt was closer to the point, but she could definitely say it better than that.

This was still too unclear for Yuzu to understand. “But… we already are together?” Yuzu let out a small giggle, but didn’t change any confusion she had.

This changed Mei’s flustering to frustration, she had gone two phrases with no answer and she was losing her patience. She thought that maybe she shouldn’t do any alternate phrasing or secret meanings and just go in for the true intention.

Mei took one more sigh and spoke her offer. “Would you feel better if I held you?” Mei said, her words slow, but her heart beating way faster than that. She would be lying if she said she was embarrassed, she only said “I love you” to Yuzu a few days ago, and now she was trying to initiate cuddling.

Yuzu’s heart matched Mei’s in its thumping and also her face. Describing her as happy would be an understatement right now, she felt she could tackle Mei out of joy if she really did try, but knew that would probably kill the moment. 

Meanwhile, Mei was still waiting on a reply, she couldn’t see Yuzu’s face that well to see her expression, but couldn’t hear her anymore. Her previous impatience still wasn’t gone yet and the words she said next was something she couldn’t control.

“I-” Yuzu started.

“Unless you prefer Harumi’s hold…” Mei said, instantly regretting the words that slipped out of her mouth.

“What?!? Mei?? What do you mean…” Yuzu’s mind clicked on why Mei said such a thing. “I said I was sorry for that!” Yuzu said

This did not help Mei’s guilt at all and made her feel terrible for even saying something so spiteful to someone who was afraid and needed comfort. Her jealousy had gotten the best of her, and even though it was just a little that she showed, a little was still so much and now she had revealed it to Yuzu.

“I know, I know… I… I’m sorry Yuzu…I shouldn’t have said that…” Mei stuttered out, her voice sounding unconfident and nervous. 

Yuzu sighed and pulled herself towards Mei, putting Mei’s comfort before hers. “How long have you been thinking about this?” Yuzu spoke softly

“...Ever since it happened…” Mei looked away, embarrassed of the current situation she was in. 

Yuzu sighed again, Mei thought at first it was a sigh of disappointment, but instead felt Yuzu’s wrapping arms around her waist.

“It’s okay.” Yuzu chuckled. “It's normal for you to get jealous over that, I’m kinda surprised you held out for that long.” Mei could feel only what she could assume to be Yuzu’s head on her chest.

"Are you sure though..? I really didn't mean to say that so suddenly, especially when you have a lot on your mind." Mei looked back, her heart swelling at what was below her

“I'm sure." Yuzu said confidently, but wouldn't last long. "But anyway… I-I think that would help… really help.” Yuzu stuttered out, returning back to her original tone. 

“What would?” Mei said absentmindedly, forgetting the entire lead up to this conversation

“Y-you holding me?” Yuzu asked, wondering if she actually broke something inside of Mei.

“Oh! Right…” Mei blushed and slowly but steadily, reaching out in the direction of Yuzu. Soon she found her spot around her shoulders, feeling a familiar sense of comfort

“Are you feeling less scared now?” Mei asked only a few seconds later, the previous conversation starting to fade away, and a new sense of peace coming through. 

“Definitely.” Is all Yuzu said, and that’s really all that really needed to be said. Having the love of her life ask to cuddle may be all she could ever want right now. She was proud of Mei for trying to make a step forward, even if it did take some added effort. 

For a while, they just sat there, enjoying each other's company. They really didn’t need or focus on anything right now, only themself and the other. Mei took one more look at the girl in her arms and closed her eyes and sighed. She wouldn’t even mind if she fell asleep right now if it meant that she’d stay right there for the rest of the night. But she knew that it would be irresponsible to not inform their mother they were okay if the power came back on. 

She couldn’t think of anything that could make her move right now. For as far as she knew, she wasn’t planning on going anywhere for the rest of the night if things didn’t change. But of course, there are always some things nobody can control.

Mei looked to see if Yuzu was still awake, making sure she wasn’t disturbing any rest. And she still was, but would probably change if she waited a few more minutes. 

“Yuzu… I have to use the bathroom.” Mei said, unwrapping her arms around Yuzu, much to both of their displeasures. As far as they knew, it was only an electricity thing and all utilities should still work.

“Hm..? Oh okay… be careful, it's even darker than before.” Yuzu yawned. She could already feel herself missing Mei’s warmth.

“I will, are you going to be okay here alone?” Mei asked as she stood up. She did feel a bit at fault for cuddling with Yuzu all that time and leaving all of a sudden.

“I will… don’t let me stop you from letting you do something that you need to do. It’s only for a few minutes anyway.” Yuzu chuckled lightly, but in her mind she did start to feel the presence of darkness grow more.

“Right… I’ll be back soon, don’t go anywhere.” Mei walked away into the hallway carefully, and soon reached the restroom. She mindfully closed the door extra loud, letting Yuzu know she reached it.

She had to say, Mei being with her got rid of some of her fear. And although Mei was gone right now, Yuzu did feel a bit more at ease from Mei’s help, in a way it kinda just felt like them sleeping from the silence, but they were awake.

“It’s just a few minutes… Mei’s just down the hallway… I can do this…”

Yuzu repeated those sayings in her head, closing her eyes and thinking of some nice things, like where they could go to spend the weekend tomorrow, or even just stay inside and make up for tonight's interruption.

A few minutes had gone by and Yuzu did feel some of the dread creep back in her. Her mind was just going to things that made her happy, most of them involving Mei. It mostly just went from Mei to reality to Mei to reality. 

She replayed the evening's event and thought it was a bit funny how terrified she was at the start and how unamused Mei was by it.  However, the longer she thought about it, she felt it transform even more. Into a scenario that was terrifying for her… unimaginable… nothing compared to made up stories

“No… no, that didn’t happen… not that…”

Although she knew Mei chose her, and was never planning on leaving again, Yuzu couldn’t help but think how she would be if Mei wasn’t here right now… 

If Mei wasn’t here along with their mother, Yuzu would still be afraid, in the dark, and worst of all: alone. She felt reminded of all those months alone and how Mei only just came back a few weeks ago. She realized it could’ve been completely possible for her to be nothing like she was right now if she was the only one in this pure darkness.

“Mei… no I don’t want to be alone… not again… please…”

“Yuzu, I’m back.” Mei stated, coming back around the couch. It had only been a few minutes, but to Yuzu it had felt way longer.

“H-huh?” Yuzu shook out of her little nightmare and back to reality. She was so in thought, she didn’t even hear Mei leave or walk back. 

“It’s only me, don’t worry.” Mei said reassuringly as she slowly sat back onto the couch. She expectantly waited for Yuzu to come close and cuddle her again, but none of the such happened. That’s when Mei took a closer notice at how heavy Yuzu’s breaths were and how much

“Yuzu? Are you okay? Did something happen?” Mei asked, insistently pulling Yuzu towards her. Forgetting all about being embarrassed about cuddling, her tone sounding concerned, not sure if her leaving did something.

“I- I guess I wasn’t okay all alone here… I kinda scared myself again” Yuzu lowered her head into the top of Mei’s chest as she sighed and trying to return back to contentness. 

“I can see that now.” Mei’s hands returned to her residence on Yuzu's back, not thinking of letting go again. “Are you comfortable telling me?”

“I think so… just promise me you won’t feel sad, okay?”

Yuzu didn’t have any problem, but did feel like it might hurt Mei if she went too into detail.

“I promise.” Mei nodded, and waited anxiously on what words Yuzu was about to speak.

~-~-~-~-~-~

“Um, Mei… thanks for the hug but I feel this is kinda much.” Yuzu’s words went muffled into Mei’s chest. 

Mei had responded in probably the strongest hug Yuzu had ever received from her, catching the older girl off guard, but extremely happy at the same time.

“Why would that be the case?” Mei looked down at Yuzu.

“Well, it's kinda hard to breathe and I’d rather be able to look at you.” Yuzu’s giggles into Mei’s chest sent a feeling Mei couldn’t even describe–it was like a shiver, but it was warm. Maybe this was what Yuzu feels when she held her.

“Oh… sorry..” Mei let her arms loosen just a little, as much as Yuzu needed to be comfortable.

“It’s okay. You were only trying to help me feel better.” Yuzu spoke her words in a more gingerly form as her eyes met Mei’s. It looked like Yuzu’s face was red, but Mei honestly couldn’t tell, and she wasn’t about to caress Yuzu’s face either; that would probably make the color even darker.

“But are you now?” Mei asked, her voice giving a sense of restlessness.

“Is that even a question?” Yuzu dulled her eyes as continued her peer at Mei. “You have Mei, this entire time you have. And I’m ever so thankful you're just here…even if I can just hear your voice it would help me.” Yuzu admitted, her voice not actually that different, but her words just as meaningful as always.

“Thank you Mei… Thank you for being here for me… I love you so much” Yuzu said, her voice sounding quieter. 

Between Yuzu being in her arms and saying such words, Mei didn’t know what to say right now. Not that she regretted it, but she never felt so glad to be back here right now. The only home she’d ever know where she’d not just be respected, but loved and appreciated even more. 

Mei was going to respond with something usual like a “thank you” but she felt that wasn’t enough right now. Yuzu had just poured out probably not even a 1/10 of her heart out and it still sounded so meaningful, a simple thanking would not match that same level. 

Although Yuzu would say something along the lines of “everything you did already is enough”, Mei would not make herself believe that until she matched Yuzu’s heart. To carry out the lifelong promise of always being there by her side and making her feel needed.

She knew she was going to have to say it again one day, and that day; or rather night would be now. And with that, Mei said that ever so heart fluttering phrase for the second time to her love. 

“I love you too, Yuzu, and I always will.”

There. Mei had finally said it. Even though it wasn’t anything compared to Yuzu, it was the most affectionate thing she could say right now and-

“Zzzzzz…” Yuzu let out a quiet snore as she began her slumber early.

“Oh… well that's fine, hopefully I still got the meaning across.” Mei sighed, but did crack a smile, knowing she had many possibilities in the near and distant future. She had no plans in letting go, letting Yuzu enjoy her rest.

~-~-~-~-~-~

“Sheesh… that took way too long.” Ume sighed as she unlocked the door, the power had come back on and she was able to get back home late, but safe. No one had called her ever since power was restored, which was definitely unusual from girls considering they both would never forget to tell their mother if they were okay or not.

She was about to call her daughters names to let them know she’s home, but that idea quickly vanished as the first thing she realized was that all the lights were off. 

“Huh? The power came back on a while back, the only way for it to be dark is if someone turned off the lights manually…” Ume said to herself as she turned them back on.

Well that’s weird… all of Yuzu and Mei’s shoes were still in their spots, and they normally never sleep this early as it was only 8:00 on a Friday night.

But as she walked down the corridor, she heard the sound of quiet and soft snores, confirming that they in fact were asleep. She also heard a fragrance of food, also confirming that Yuzu had cooked dinner like she said in the note. She walked as silently as she could to their bedroom to avoid interrupting their sleep. 

But as strange as it was, the sound of sleep got quieter and quieter… She opened the door and saw no one on the bed or ground, only a single Kumagoro sitting on the bed patiently for its owners.

This led to her creeping her way back to the main area since the only other place she felt they could be was the couch. She walked around to the front and there they were, Ume’s chest and heart feeling way warmer than it previously was in the cold night.

They had both fallen asleep onto the couch right there laying down, holding each other. With Mei being on the bottom as Yuzu had found herself burying her face into Mei’s neck. It was a miracle they hadn’t woken up when Ume switched the light back on.

Ume smiled, her eyes still wide from initial shock, as she walked back as carefully as possible to turn the light back off. Any idea of dinner going out the window, and decided to just skip to bedtime. “I guess I’ll let them sleep on the couch tonight.”

Chapter Text

“Yuzu, I don’t think this is a good idea…” Mei asked as drops of water hit the top of the umbrella. 

“Trust me Mei, I did this all the time as a kid!” Yuzu gave a bright smile and ran out from under the shield protecting her. While they were walking home, Yuzu had the idea of walking in the rain, which had been pouring for the whole day, for the rest of the way back. 

Maybe it was because of the excitement of a three-day weekend, or because she genuinely did feel in the mood to. And like she said: She did this tons of times when she was a kid, and maybe she could share it with Mei. Dancing in the rain looked really romantic in all her mangas and movies, but she felt so much more immersed doing it in real life.

“You’re sure you're not going to catch a cold or anything? I don’t want you getting sick, especially when we have an extra day together…” Mei said, slightly worried she wasn’t being responsible enough and letting Yuzu put herself in danger.

“I’m sure!” Yuzu laughed and turned around, now walking in reverse to meet Mei’s eyes, concerning the taller girl even more. “You could join me if you want, home isn’t that far away anyway.” Yuzu gave Mei a waiting look, but still, a smile remained on her face.

“Sorry Yuzu… but I don’t think I should. I’d rather not risk getting sick…” Mei said and shook her head, although she did have to admit, it did look really nice… and not just the rain part. Yuzu looked beautiful as is when she had makeup on and her hair in a cute way. But to Mei, she looked just as good in this condition, maybe not cute or pretty, but majestic and striking.

“Aw. It’s alright, I’m not gonna force you to do something that you’re not comfortable with.” Yuzu smiled and reached out to Mei’s free hand. “Let’s get home as soon as possible, okay?”

“Of course.” Mei nodded and let Yuzu claim her, fingers not wasting any time intertwining. 

“So you did this all the time as you were a kid and never got sick?” Mei raised an eyebrow and followed Yuzu, trying to keep the umbrella as stable as possible with one hand. For now, she could just watch the love of her life in a beautiful state and walk home hand in hand.

“Yup! Never got sick, not once!” 

The next day…

“Achoo!” 

“I told you this wasn’t a good idea…” Mei murmured as her hand felt Yuzu’s forehead, letting out a deep sigh of disappointment. 

The next day when Yuzu woke up, she felt feverish and sick. She immediately got worried of what she had told Mei and all her concerns, and also the fact that if she DID find out she would barrage her with scoldings and “I told you so’s.” Yuzu tried her best to avoid any signs of feeling sick whenever she was around Mei or Ume, but unfortunately, she let a few sneezes and coughs break through her while she was near Mei, and by evening the younger girl had grown skeptic enough to confront Yuzu who immediately broke secret.

“I’m sorry, okay? *Cough* …I thought this wouldn’t happen, it never did when I was young!” Yuzu defended herself.

“That’s because you wore a raincoat those times!” Ume said as she facepalmed and shook her head. “You at least had some headcover then, but this time you had nothing!” Ume scolded, her disappointment matching Mei’s.

“I…!” Any slim chance of Yuzu winning this argument went out the roof. Her mother was right, due to her carelessness, she now had a fever AND had endangered her family in getting sick too. “I’m sorry Mama. I’m sorry, Mei. It was a dumb thing to do…” Yuzu diverted her eyes to the ground, knowing she was the one at fault in this situation.

“What am I going to do with you?” Ume rubbed her eyes and sighed, she had no problem with her daughter playing in the rain, why would she stop Yuzu from having just a little fun? She was more disappointed that Yuzu had done it recklessly and in an unsafe manner, she definitely could’ve at least kept a hoodie in her backpack–not even a raincoat.

“Hey… *Cough cough* It’s not THAT bad of a fever. I’m not throwing up or anything…” Yuzu tried her best to seek some positivity out of the situation. 

“Well then let’s see.” Mei picked up the thermometer that was resting on the table and gestured for Yuzu to open her mouth.

“Mmmf!” Yuzu overdramatically pouted, not giving Mei a very enjoyable look.

“Calm down, it’s only for a few seconds.” Mei rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but crack a smile.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

“99.4…” Mei said, reading the thermometer's digits.

“See? I told you it wasn’t that bad!” Yuzu gave her mom a confident look, smiling triumphantly for whatever reason.

“I don’t know why that’s something you’re proud of, but I guess it isn’t THAT bad.” Her mother said, feeling a bit more weight off her shoulders. If the numbers were right, then the fever would probably go by tomorrow or the day after, allowing her to not miss a day of school.

“Just promise me you won’t do something this dumb again?” Ume sighed, but her face returned to its calm, motherly, caring self. “And not just for my sake, for Mei’s as well. I expect you to not do these kinds of shenanigans when you and Mei get married and start living together.” Ume stated authoritatively. 

Mei felt some embarrassment and blush from Ume’s sudden change of topic, but still nodded along.

“I know I know, I won’t do it again unless I’m safe. I promise.” Yuzu said sincerely, catching some pinkness on Mei’s face before she could get rid of it, causing Yuzu to smile at her personally, not assisting Mei’s face at all.

“I’ll go prepare dinner now. You two just stay where you are.” Ume got up and started working on her next task of cooking them their meals.

Fortunately, it didn’t take very long as she didn’t have to make that large of a portion since Yuzu was only allowed to eat toast for the next few days. But that didn’t stop her from cooking just a bit more than the minimum just in case Shou came back or if Yuzu got better sooner than expected. 

Ume placed both of the plates onto the table and went to start serving herself. Mei started her dinner as Yuzu stared at her plate, feeling a bit left out with what was on her plate. Combined with the feeling of wanting a bit of fun, she came up with a plan.

“Mei, can I have a bite of your food?” Yuzu said with pleading eyes, trying to be as persuasive as possible. 

“And why should I do that?” Mei swallowed her current portion and gave Yuzu an unamused look, knowing exactly what she was planning.

“Well, Mama’s cooking smells really good, and I don’t think one bite would hurt~” Yuzu smiled cheekily and looked away from Mei’s general direction.

Mei looked at her plate and looked back at Yuzu, maybe Yuzu was right, it was only one bite of tempura. And as long as she didn’t give anymore, it should be okay

“Hmm. You’re right Yuzu, I guess it does smell good…” Mei started, causing Yuzu to think she won. “However, how would you even smell anything when you have a fever?” Mei gave the same unamused look at the same time, causing Yuzu to be caught off guard. 

“Well um…! I just know it smells good! I don’t need any sense!” Yuzu proclaimed.

“Hmm… Very well… you have a point there,” Mei said, picking up her chopsticks.

As silly of any idea as it sounded, Yuzu was expecting Mei to feed her. She opened her mouth and closed her eyes, waiting for Mei to walk on over and give her the fish. But she was met with nothing but the sound of something sitting on her plate and footsteps walking away.

Yuzu opened her eyes to see Mei already back on her side of the table and returning to her meal. 

“H-hey! I thought…” Yuzu stopped herself, realizing how bad of an idea it was for Mei’s chopsticks to go anywhere near her, nevertheless her mouth, in the first place.

“You thought what?” Mei looked up again, but still not showing any annoyance from her side surprisingly.

“Never mind.” Yuzu smiled and gladly ate the portion Mei had given her, making her dinner just that much better.

“But you must be really tired, Yuzu. You should probably sleep early,” Mei continued, her voice noticeably flatter than before.

“Huh? What makes you say that?” Yuzu raised an eyebrow, I'm not sure where Mei got that conclusion from but did know that sleeping early was good for you when you’re sick.

“I mean, you let out a long yawn just now. It sounded like you’re really tired, even though you did nothing…” Mei explained, insulting Yuzu by accident, giving Yuzu a strong gaze from across the table

Yuzu didn’t care about the insult; rather, her mind was focused on what Mei meant by her yawning. She thought she would notice a yawn, especially a lengthy one, but she couldn’t recall any that she had let out recently…

…

“Yuzu, are you okay? you look kinda red… that's not a good sign during a fever…” Mei said as she watched Yuzu’s face slowly turn pinker and darker. 

Yuzu had no plans to tell Mei why her mouth was open, in the case of making her look even more like a fool or getting a disapproving look from her fiance. She also couldn’t cover her face since her hands had crumbs on them, so she had to just let this play out and wait for her blush to drift away.

“Y-yea… I’m fine…” Yuzu chuckled to herself nervously. “Guess it is a good idea to head to bed soon…” Yuzu smiled and continued her dinner.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“I’m back, do you feel better from the shower?.” Mei said as she returned to find Yuzu sitting on the edge of the bed. Mei set her towel into the closet and hung it to dry, she was already in her pajamas.

“A little, I don’t feel as ill as when I woke up today. So… you don’t have any academy work today right?” Yuzu said in an obvious shy way; way too unusually shy to go unnoticed. 

“None, I agreed to sleep at the same time as you, and I’m sticking to my word,” Mei said as she had a feeling Yuzu was trying to make her reconsider her choice, although she didn’t know why Yuzu would want that.

“I see…” Yuzu saw Mei’s confused face and realized her words sounded different in Mei’s ears. “Don’t get the wrong idea! I-it's just that… I just want to see you when I’m sleeping…” Yuzu said nervously.

“See… me?” Mei asked herself but then grasped what Yuzu meant by that. “You want to see me working since if I sleep on the futon you can’t see me?” Mei confirmed with Yuzu.

“Y-yea… I know it’s kinda selfish, but… would you?” Yuzu asked, giving one last shot. She didn’t want to force Mei but knew well that her pleading voice could very much force Mei to go through with it.

“I’m sorry Yuzu… but maybe if I had something to take care of I would, but it would be useless for me to just sit there… but I’m still going to be sleeping just a few feet away from you.” Mei felt sorry for denying Yuzu but knew it was irresponsible to do something like that.

“I understand, Mei. Don’t worry about it.” Yuzu nodded understandingly, she did indeed feel a bit too selfish for asking to have Mei do something at her expense. She was going to smile at Mei to reassure her, but the younger girl was already gone, presumably to go get something. All Yuzu knew was that it was probably important since Mei would seldom go to do any task right before bed.

“Yuzu.” Mei called Yuzu’s attention, who was preparing the bed in the meantime. Yuzu turned around to see Mei holding out Kumagorou towards her. “Here, you can have Kumagorou tonight,” Mei said with a hint of jealousy. 

“Aw, thanks, Mei!” Yuzu giggled at Mei’s offering and gladly took it. “But aren’t you worried about me making him sick?” Yuzu asked, squeezing Kumagorou.

“We can always clean him, and besides… you probably need him more than me…” Mei looked away and sighed, starting to prepare her futon.

“If you say so!” Yuzu smiled and placed the soft bear onto the bed, she definitely would miss Mei’s presence of being beside her, but she guessed Kumagorou was as best as she was gonna get tonight.

Or at least that’s what she thought…

“Sorry, I’m making you sleep early with me Mei, especially on a weeknight. We could’ve been doing something more fun than this if it wasn’t for my carelessness…” Yuzu said as she crawled onto the bed, watching Mei lay her futon flat on the floor.

Mei sighed, she did partially blame Yuzu for all the trouble (and herself a little as well), she knew it couldn’t be helped. If sleeping at the same time as Yuzu made her feel better, then that's what she would do, even if it was at the expense of Mei. And besides, it did feel lonely and unfair doing something without Yuzu.

“It’s fine, Yuzu. As long as you’re going to be okay, I’ll be okay as well.” Mei said, surprisingly without any reaction, especially when she said something that sounded romantic to Yuzu.

“Also, you can use the entire bed tonight. I don’t want you falling off the bed on top of being sick.” Mei said, not wanting any more problems on top of the already annoying fever.

“Alright!” Yuzu said as she lay down and gave one last grin at Mei before the younger girl turned off the lights. She watched as Mei walked back and lowered herself down to the floor, feeling a sense of separation, ignoring it.

“Goodnight Mei. Sweet dreams~” Yuzu said, Mei hearing her audibly move the blanket into a comfortable position.

“Goodnight Yuzu… sweet dreams…” Mei said, but not as confident. She felt a feeling of being out of place over not sleeping in the same bed but knew this was only temporary. And on top of that, the futon wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world.

All she had to do was sleep, it wasn’t that hard. She just needed to focus on herself… Yuzu would most likely feel better tomorrow and they could do anything they want…

10 minutes later…

“How long has it even been…?” Mei thought to herself, desperately trying to move in whatever position her body felt the most comfortable. For whatever reason– actually there was an obvious reason why she couldn’t sleep and I don’t think I have to say it to you.

She could hear Yuzu’s snoring, which meant she clearly didn’t have a problem… well she had Kumagorou so the advantage wasn’t very hidden. Mei wondered if Yuzu actually didn’t have a problem or if having something to cuddle with really helped that much. She and Yuzu cuddled sometimes and she would always feel sleepy after a few minutes…

Soon Mei felt relieved to feel a familiar feeling, the tugging of her eyelids. A drowsy sense swept over her, and soon not caring about the uncomfortable futon below her. However, as soon as Mei was about to lose consciousness…

“ACHOO!”

Mei jolted up from her futon mostly, not scared, just startled from the loud noise. She gave a sigh of annoyance, but let it go, she guessed that she would just sacrifice a few more minutes to fall asleep.

“Sorry about that, Mei…” Yuzu said weakly, before dropping back onto the bed and returning to her rest.

“It’s fine…” Mei said, unaware that Yuzu had fallen back asleep. She laid back down and sighed again. The sneeze was pretty big, so Mei was hoping that maybe there wouldn’t be another one… and when there would be, she would be asleep.

But that’s not what happened… not at all.

*Cough cough*

…

“Achoo!”

…

*Cough*

…

“ACHOOO!”

For the longest time, Yuzu would let out a sneeze or cough every few minutes. Mei swore Yuzu had never been this loud earlier in the day… was she doing this purposefully? To give Mei a sign…? Nonetheless, whether or not these actions were real or not, it hurt Mei… she hated hearing Yuzu suffer through all this whilst they were trying to sleep. 

“Is she trying to do this on purpose?” Mei thought restlessly, literally. There was no way she was going to sleep at this rate or with this type of disturbance. She wanted to see if Yuzu was okay, but she wasn’t asking Mei’s name or saying anything at the least.

After a while, Mei decided that there were two solutions to this problem, none sharing any similarities in any way. One, she could either leave the bedroom and sleep in the living room… or two, she could go onto the bed with Yuzu and sleep as far as she can away from her. One choice was extremely logical, and the other well… was silly and careless–

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“Why am I doing this?!?” Mei asked herself, staring at the Yuzu with extreme vexation. She felt too guilty to leave the room and have Yuzu stay sick here all alone, besides Kumagorou. She noticed that Yuzu didn’t listen to her pillow advice and had stayed on her respective side of the bed, almost like she was imagining Mei was still sleeping beside her.

“This is your fault, I wouldn’t be doing this if you didn’t– who am I kidding, I’m acting just like you…” Mei thought, her eyes gazing at Yuzu’s closed ones. The Aihara inheritance, the future chairwoman of the academy… doing something like this? But no, she wasn’t doing this because of some stupid bloodline or inheritance. She was doing this out of her free will, something she had never imagined a dozen months back.

Mei pulled herself onto the edge of the bed as delicately as she could; any sinks in the bed could potentially wake up her dozing partner and embarrass her even more from being caught. 

“Every time I try to show how much I appreciate you, your eyes are always closed…” Mei said as she started lying on the bed, trying to stay as far away as possible from Yuzu, but very well that the blonde could move around in the middle of the night.

All it took was one sneeze from Yuzu to make Mei almost back out of her decision. She fought against the urge though and stayed put, she wouldn’t say it wasn’t worth it until she she got sick.

“I’m going to regret this aren’t I?” Mei thought, but her heart stopped when she felt Yuzu move around on the sheets.

“Regret… no…” Yuzu said in her sleep. It didn’t take Mei long to realize what she had thought was actually what she said. She panicked even more as she felt Yuzu moving a lot, she watched as the blonde went from lying on her back to facing her direction.

Mei knew it was too late to back out; otherwise, Yuzu would have woken up. She continued to look at Yuzu’s face, watching every flinch and exhale. She was so panicked that she didn’t know what else to do, not even Kumagorou’s face which was also looking at her was helping. But when she slowly saw Yuzu open her eyes, she thought it would genuinely be the end of her reputation, and would probably lose the ability to use any senses. 

“Yuzu! I… I…” Mei stuttered. She couldn’t think of any explanation for this besides her wanting to be closer to her. It looked like this was the end of any credibility behind anything she had said previously, she would probably be teased and embarrassed by Yuzu for the rest of their lives…

But contradicting Mei’s expecting outburst from her partner, Yuzu seemed to have dim eyes and gave a tired expression, not one that was surprised or embarrassed. Yuzu stared at Mei for what felt like way too long, but it was only about half a minute.

Finally, words left Yuzu’s mouth, preparing Mei for the worst and watching in fear. “I’m sorry, Yu-” Mei started, but was interrupted.

“Kumagorouuu… there’s a really really hot girl over therrree…” Yuzu mumbled and flipped over, not one hint of hesitation coming out of her sentence.

Mei lay there, her entire face frozen still, but her skin tone burning from blush. She turned herself around, guaranteed if she saw her face right now, it would be comparable to crimson. She was right, she DEFINITELY regretted doing this.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

The next morning, when Yuzu woke up, the first thing she realized was that she had her sense of smell back. She noticed this through her nose, smelling a pleasant, sweet aroma as she moved around in bed. Even though it took a while, she wondered why she would smell something so nice in bed.

The longer the thought stayed in her mind, she realized that this wasn’t just any air freshener or perfume… it was Mei’s bath salts. But Mei was sleeping on the futon on the floor… how was the smell so strong and close to her…?

She quickly got up and looked over to see the other side of the bed neat and empty, no Mei. Yuzu sighed, she sighed and reminded herself that Mei would NEVER do something like that.

“Yuzu… good morning.” Mei’s voice came as she entered the bedroom, still in her pajamas. 

“Mei! Good morning!” Yuzu said as she smiled at her lover, forgetting all about the aroma and just Mei.

“Are you feeling better now? You definitely sound better than yesterday.” Mei said

“Yup! I think the fevers are gone now, we can do whatever we want today!” Yuzu exclaimed, already feeling excited. “Is that why you’re up so early!? So you could spend more time with me?!” Yuzu gave Mei an adoring look, Mei would probably never tell Yuzu why she got up early, so just fell to the cute eyes and confirmed. However, maybe if Mei got sick from Yuzu last night, it might’ve might’ve made the scenario look more suspicious, but luckily that wasn’t the case

“I guess yea… can I ask you something?” Mei asked and sighed deeply

“Of course you can Mei, go for it.” Yuzu smiled, crawling towards the edge of the bed.

“Um… did you wake up at all last night? Or do you even remember seeing something in your dreams?” Mei asked that same hesitant feeling from last night returning.

“No… none that I recall… why do you ask?” Yuzu said as she got off the bed and started walking in Mei’s direction

“N- no reason.” Mei sighed and followed Yuzu to the day that would come.

Chapter Text

September 12th, 3:40 PM: The day before Mei’s birthday

“...Wait, so what was the plan again?” Harumi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yuzu looked around attentively to see if a specific person was around before responding to her friend's question. “To surprise Mei for her birthday!” Yuzu exclaimed

A plan that had been in the making for almost a week, Yuzu created a plan for Mei’s birthday. She gathered as many people as she could, but sadly, only three people said they could make it, one being Mei’s best friend. Yuzu had currently gathered everyone in the courtyard after the final bell of the day to tell them her plan.

“Duh, we get that part.” Matsuri jumped in. “But how about you tell us how we’re gonna do that?”

In any other situation, maybe Yuzu would feel tired about saying the same thing over and over again, but to her this was a very important conversation she was having with her friends.

“I’m gonna take Mei out on a date, and you all come over to our place and set up everything before we come back. Mama said she would help as well! Sounds simple enough?”

“I guess so. What time do we arrive?” Harumi asked again, having more of an idea.

“Uhh. Like 5 ? I hope that works for you all? Make sure you all get here early .” Yuzu looked at the three who were attending the party, especially Himeko, who seemed to be a bit too focused on the situation.

“I think that sounds like a great plan, Aihara Yuzu.” Himeko said in a way too happy tone, surprising the other girls, especially Matsuri the most.

“Thanks Himeko! I just hope Mei likes it…” Yuzu trailed off, having a dreamy look on her face.

“Wait, Yuzucchi, I thought that Mei wasn’t the type of girl to celebrate her birthday. Didn’t you say once that she doesn’t think it should be an important thing to her?” Harumi asked the third question of the conversation, but all three had the same amount of importance.

Indeed, Mei had said that. Ever since her mother disappeared and father left to travel the world, the days all felt the same: alone, sad, and gloomy. She didn’t even have anyone to celebrate her birthday with, and after a while, it just got phased in with every other day. However, Yuzu wanted to change that because this was a special year for them.

“Well… Mei and I got engaged this year, and I feel like, as her fiance, it's necessary to give her an actual good birthday. I feel like I would be a bad one if I didn’t even celebrate my love's birthday…” Yuzu said, having that same dreamy expression, even some pink color popping up on her cheeks.

“Jeez, you don’t gotta shove it in our face. We get you already are living your fullest while we can’t even find anyone to date.” Himeko huffed, not being happy about the indirect bragging, even if it was for her best friend.

“Hehe, sorry. But you all do get the plan now right?” Yuzu asked as she looked at all three of them

“No Yuzu, how about you tell us the entire thing again~ Ow!” Matsuri yelped as Harumi pinched her cheek before she could say anything more

“Well, first I’m gonna…” Yuzu started again. Unfortunately, Harumi’s actions were not enough to stop Yuzu from taking Matsuri’s joke seriously.

“Oh god, she’s actually telling us again…” Harumi thought as she glared at Matsuri with disapproving eyes.

Meanwhile, Himeko had been listening to Yuzu’s plan seriously, repeating it in her mind so she made sure she wouldn’t forget a single step, even though it wasn’t very lengthy. It had been forever since she had attended a birthday party for Mei, and she thought that one would never be held again, even when Mei moved in with Yuzu’s family. To say less, she took Yuzu’s words with way too much importance, way more importance than any academy work. But what could go wrong? It was just taking pride in your friend's birthday. What's the worst that could happen?

“You guys get it now??” Yuzu gave a happy grin; no sense of annoyance or pretending could be detected or seen in her expression. 

“Yea… I think we’re good now.” Harumi nodded wearily, still not happy with Matsuri’s little joke.

“I think I got a hold of it now, I don’t think you need to tell us again, unless you want- Mmmf!” Matsuri was again cut off by Harumi, who gave up and just straight up just covered her mouth.

“You heard her, you don’t need to tell us again, right Himeko?” Harumi looked over at the student vice-president, who looked like she wasn’t even paying attention to anything that was happening in the background, to be deep in thought.

“Himeko?” Harumi said a bit louder, catching her attention this time.

“Oh! Yes, Aihara Yuzu, you don’t need to remind us again.” Himeko woke up from her little dream and took her attention back to her classmates. 

“Perfect! I guess I should get going now. Mei’s probably wondering why I’m taking so long to leave school…” Yuzu picked up her bag and hung it on her shoulder, smiling at the little bear that hung on the side.

"I really wish that more people would've showed up, but its fine I guess. It is the beginning of the school year after all." Yuzu said, sighing and looking at the friends that were in front of her.

"Yea, I was honestly expecting Nene to show up since I was coming, but I guess she finally has a hobby other than writing THOSE stories." Harumi chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Hehe yea, who knows what that girl does. But if she doesn't want to come, I won't force her since Mei probably wouldn't want that." Yuzu smiled and her thoughts returned to Mei

“Well, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow, Yuzucchi! We’ll give Mei a great birthday, don’t you worry!” Harumi gave a thumbs up and gave a promising smile

“Thanks, Harumin! Cya tomorrow!” Yuzu waved and ran off to find her fiance. As soon as she was out of sight, Harumi sighed and removed her hand from Matsuri’s mouth. 

“Well, at least it was funny right-” Matsuri started

“Shut up.” Harumi shook her head and picked up her bag to go on her route home.

September 12th, 11:00 PM

“Hmm, what should I get Mei? She’s the council president; would it be disrespectful to just write her a card?” Harumi thought to herself.

Harumi wasn’t only doing this because Yuzu said so; she genuinely did care about Mei and thought that having surprised her at her first birthday party would help her and Mei become closer than just knowing Yuzu.

“I think this is good enough.” Harumi pulled an envelope out of her drawer and started writing the words “To Mei.”

Being better at writing than a lot of other people in the school, she didn’t really take that long to create the perfect card for Mei. However, when she finished writing the current date, a thought hit her.

“Wait… did Yuzucchi mean 5 AM or PM?” Harumi slightly panicked; she didn’t have a clue what Yuzu and Mei’s morning routine was. Do they wake up exceptionally early? She felt like she should know this.

“Maybe I should call her, but she did say the plan so many times… should I ask a question and potentially disturb her from doing something important?” Harumi thought to herself, holding the phone in her hand, hovering over the call button.

“Here goes nothing…” Harumi shook off her nerves and pressed the call button. 

Meanwhile, in the Aihara household…

BZZZZ. BZZZZ. BZZZZ.

“Zzzzz…Mei… Zzzzz…” Yuzu snored.

No response from Mei as the younger girl was already in a way deeper slumber than Yuzu was in. But to be fair, her ears were already covered by Yuzu’s chest and hair, so there was no way she was hearing any noise unless Yuzu moved, which was impossible considering the comfortable position they were in right now.

The phone went to message.

“Hey Yuzucchi, sorry if I’m interrupting something with a silly question, but is it 5 AM or PM? That’s all, thanks!”

Yuzu’s body shifted, but sleep still had too much control over her to wake her up. 

“Zzzzz… Harumin… Zzzzz…” Yuzu snored.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“They're probably busy… maybe it’s in the evening and I’m just overthinking this… what shops are even open at 5 AM?” Harumi shook her shoulders and sighed. “Whatever, it probably is 5 PM. I don’t think their schedule is THAT crazy.” Harumi giggled and set her mind ready

“Like Yuzucchi said, we’re gonna give Mei the best birthday she could ask for!”

September 13th, 4:30 AM. Mei’s birthday

Yuzu opened her eyes. She took a second to regain consciousness but soon realized what day it was. She smiled and looked over at the window: it was still dark outside. She didn’t plan on getting up extra early as she wasn’t going to be doing any setting up.

Her eyes then shifted to Mei, who looked as peaceful and cute as ever. She was about to fall back down onto her pillow until she saw Mei shift in the sheets a little, then saw her eyes flutter open. 

“Mei…” Yuzu locked on Mei’s sleepy eyes, but the younger girl matched her gaze.

Mei didn’t say anything but widened her eyes a bit more from her current dimming, and a light shade of pink started to form on her exposed ear. 

“Yuzu…” Mei finally responded, coming a bit closer to her, visibly showing a sign to be cuddled again by Yuzu.

Yuzu really couldn’t control herself any further, one part from seeing Mei act so cute in the morning and the other being the lucky girl's birthday. She leaned in and gave Mei her best hug as she could manage right now. Her lips also found their way to Mei’s cheek, which started giving their own gift to her. 

“Good morning, Mei, and… happy birthday…” Yuzu mumbled as she started treating Mei with her extra early morning kisses. 

“Thank you, Yuzu…” Mei whispered out. Being a weekday, and with nothing to do yet, Mei had no protests about this and fell to Yuzu’s lovely treatment. She thought about moving closer to Yuzu, but that idea dismantled once she felt Yuzu getting closer to HER. 

She could feel Yuzu’s lips leave her cheek and felt the strands of hair move farther back on the side of her head. Yuzu could feel Mei shiver once she was close enough to her ear, she waited a little before hovering over Mei’s exposed ear and mumbling out a few words.

“I love you, Mei…” Yuzu whispered, so quiet only Mei could hear them, which was fitting since those words were only meant for her.

Mei let her nerves disappear, not caring enough about embarrassment, and just said what she wanted to say and what Yuzu wanted to hear. 

“I lov-” 

BZZZZZ. BZZZZZ. BZZZZZZ.

“What the… who’s calling this early in the morning…?” Yuzu pulled away, causing Mei to feel the most displeased she’d ever been during a cuddle session.

Yuzu picked up the phone. A part of her wanted to just ignore the call, but she never had someone call at this time, so it could be important. Yuzu swiped the little circle and accepted the call.

“Hello…?” Yuzu said, her voice in a weary tone, but hopefully, the person on the other end would understand.

“Yuzu Aihara, open the door right now!” A loud voice went through the phone, waking Yuzu up a little, even waking up Mei a little as well

“Huh? Himeko…? What do you mean…?” Yuzu responded, not sure why Himeko was calling her now.

“Are you home right now?” Himeko asked

“Well… ye-” Yuzu started

“Well, then open the door and let us in!” Himeko returned to her loud student council tone of voice.

“Wait… you’re here… at our apartment?” Yuzu widened her eyes, catching Mei’s attention, now giving Yuzu a questioning look. 

“Took you long enough.” Himeko gave an annoyed sigh.

“But… why?” Yuzu asked again, annoying Himeko even more. Maybe if it were later in the day, Yuzu would realize the obvious without clarification, but right now, she was clueless.

“Because you told us to arrive at 5 for Mei’s birthday!” Himeko lost patience, ending up talking way louder than she intended to, startling everyone on the other side of the phone.

Yuzu paused for a few seconds, looked at Mei, who looked like she was about to lose patience as well, and then rubbed her eyes in tiredness.

“Himeko… I meant 5 PM, the evening…” Yuzu said in a fatigued voice. There was a silence over the line, She couldn’t hear anything from Himeko, probably indicating that the navy-haired girl had put the phone away from her ears, most likely from shock and cringe. In truth, Yuzu could not care less about what was happening, she was way too sleepy to be disappointed or angry at Himeko. But soon, she was dealing with something else, or SOMEONE else.

“M-Mei?!” Yuzu let out a light gasp as she saw Mei rise and start trying to embrace her again, the younger girl trying to bury herself in Yuzu’s neck. Her time had been interrupted by a phone call that was lasting way too long, according to her, and she missed Yuzu’s touch.

“Mei wait…” Yuzu tried her best to control her fiance, but she struggled whilst doing so. She heard a giggle, which at first thought was from Mei, but realized it was from the phone, and Himeko wasn’t the type of person to laugh at something like this…

“Wait… Himeko, did you bring the others with you?” Yuzu said as she pushed Mei away reluctantly, displeasing her even more, but let her hold her hand as a suffice.

“Um… y-yes…?” Himeko stuttered out nervously, she handed over the phone to the tall, exhausted girl beside her.

“Yuzucchi??” Harumi said in probably the worst condition Yuzu had ever heard her in.

“Harumin?? Himeko brought you as well?” Yuzu asked. She knew Harumi was no early bird, but she sounded even more tired than herself, and she had just woken up.

“And Matsuri too…” The pink-haired girl gave a sly smile, with no signs of being tired at all.

“Did you think that the party was at 5 AM too?” Yuzu asked expectantly. Harumi looked at the vice-president beside her and would’ve given a strong glare if she had the energy to get one out, but instead just turned her head back again.

Harumi sighed; she couldn’t believe this had happened to her. “No, let me tell you what happened exactly… actually can you let us inside first?”

As much as Yuzu wanted to stay here and go back to her time with Mei, she knew it would be rude to deny them into her apartment since they took the train all the way here only to go all the way back.

“Be right there.”  She sighed and slowly let her legs dangle off the ledge of the bed, however, someone else had some protests about this.

“Yuzu no…” Mei mumbled as she reached her arm out to Yuzu’s, cracking Yuzu’s heart a little. She didn’t even know what exactly was happening, and now Yuzu was leaving her? What could be more important than staying with her? To say she was dissatisfied anymore would be an understatement; she was becoming agitated every moment Yuzu spent a second’s attention away from her.

“Mei, please wait… I promise I’ll come back soon and give you even more attention than I did before.” Although it wasn’t that much of a serious situation (at least to them), it felt wrong to leave Mei alone, especially on her birthday, but right now, her friends probably needed her the most right now.

“Promise?” Mei asked a question Yuzu rarely heard, but it sounded so adorable to Yuzu, making it all the much better.

“I promise.” Yuzu said firmly, hoping to get Mei’s trust with this. She told herself to get back as quickly as possible, not letting any problems come up from this point on.

As Yuzu closed the door, Mei sat up and laid back against the bed frame. For some reason, she felt like she cared about the fact that it was her birthday a bit more, even though she never did.

Yuzu walked as quietly as possible as she could to the front hallway since she didn’t want to wake up Ume. She knew that she wouldn’t have any complaints about it, but she would rather not wake her up as early as she and Mei did.

“Thanks, Yuzucchi,” The girls walked into the apartment, and Himeko and surprisingly, Matsuri gave a bow to the blonde. Everyone except Harumi who was already taking off her shoes and probably forgot. To add further, Matsuri and Himeko looked completely casual, Matsuri with her hand in her pockets with her usual sly smile, and Himeko looking neat and tidy, it was really only Harumi who was bedridden.

“So how did this all happen?” Yuzu eyed expectantly at mainly Harumi and Himeko.

Harumi sighed and rubbed her eyes before nodding. “Alright, so what happened was…”

30 minutes ago…

Knock-knock-knock

“Oh, good morning, Momokino-san and Mizusawa-san. What brings you here so early in the morning?” said Mitsuko, in a rather formal outfit.

“Good morning, Taniguchi-senpai. Sorry for the disturbance. Aihara Yuzu invited me and her friends to Aihara Mei’s birthday, and she said it was early in the morning.” Himeko responded

Matsuri stood still but nodded. She felt like if she agreed with a potentially wrong Himeko, she would get blamed for it too.

“Oh, it's no problem. I have an important meeting today, so I had to wake up early, so this works out well. I’m presuming you’re here for Harumi?” Mitsuko gave an understanding look and cracked a small smile.

“Yes, if that would be okay.” Himeko nodded.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“It’s time to wake up, Harumi!” Mitsuko said as she walked into her sister's room, but she got no verbal response, only a snore in return. She rolled her eyes and just took the more straightforward method instead of wasting her words.

“I said…” Mitsuko started. “It’s time to wake up!” She said as she lifted the blanket hastily off the sleeping girl.

“Huh?!” Harumi pulled herself up, waking in a cold sweat. “What the heck was that for?!?” 

“Your friends are here to bring you to Aihara Mei’s birthday. Now don’t keep them waiting!” Mitsuko smiled cheekily, pulling her sister up from the futon and pushing her towards the bathroom to freshen up.

“Wait… but I thought-” Harumi took in to process how fast things were going right now.

“I hope you have a good present for her!” Mitsuko said as she closed the door behind the high schooler.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“Well here she is!” Mitsuko opened the door, and out followed a very exhausted-looking Harumi. 

“Thank you, Taniguchi-senpai. I greatly appreciate this.” Himeko gave a small bow while Harumi stumbled past her.

“Of course, I would have loved to attend, but I have a lot of work today as you can see.” Mitsuko said as she looked down at her suit.

After a few minutes of just some boring chats about some boring subjects, well, according to anyone who wasn’t a student council member, Mitsuko wished farewell and closed the door.

Once they were far enough from the house, Matsuri let her giggles go and gave her a sly smile. “Sup Taniguchi-senpai, feeling sleepy huh~?” 

“Everyone I know is insane…” Harumi thought to herself as she forced herself to walk and not fall over any second.

Present

“So that's how I got dragged into this… I was actually gonna come in the evening.” Harumi said, finishing her story, hoping that Yuzu hadn’t fallen asleep while she had told it since she herself probably would.

“I see..” Yuzu nodded slightly, a part of her feeling bad for her best friend. Even though it was probably common sense that it was any time other than before sunrise, Yuzu still felt a bit guilty and put some blame on herself for not specifying enough.

“Well, I guess you all can stay here if you want. Mama definitely wouldn’t mind as long as you’re not too much of a ruckus.” Yuzu decided to move on from this mistake and be a good host.

Yuzu led them through the hallway and into the lit kitchen. She did feel a bit bad for her best friend and took one look on the couch; no one was going to use it since it was so early, Harumin could definitely sleep there until she actually felt a bit less tired.

“Y’know Harumin, if you’re really tired you can sleep on the couch-” 

“Zzzzz…” Yuzu turned around to see her friend collapsed on the dining chair, her head resting on the table.

As soon as Harumi saw any surface that looked reasonably comfortable in the slightest, all mindset went to that, and the table and chair were the first thing that came into view, not caring enough about manners or other people.

It wasn’t like Yuzu was gonna wake her up, she probably needed the rest of her sleep and it was a bit more convenient than taking up the entire couch. Matsuri giggled at the plum haired girl's actions, while Himeko seemed to really not care as much since the revealing news Yuzu broke to her.

“Well… I guess that just leaves you two.” Yuzu looked at the remaining awake girls.

“Himeko, I know it's a bit early, but if you want you can set up some decorations or at least take them out of the closet so you don’t have nothing to do.” Yuzu said thoughtfully, she clearly wanted to make Himeko feel better about her blunder, and gave her something she can work on, knowing she would feel better about it.

“R-really? You would let me do that- I-! I mean I would love to help Yuzu Aihara!” Himeko exclaimed, clearly feeling better already. She didn’t want Yuzu to repeat herself, ever so grateful she was giving her another chance. She knew she thought this a lot, but she really felt so lucky for Mei to have such a great partner

“And Matsuri…” Yuzu thought of maybe any way Matsuri could help Himeko, but that was a 50/50 shot of happening, since it didn’t take a genius to figure out that she came here for fun rather than work. 

In truth, Matsuri was actually pretty excited that she would be hanging out this early with her friends. A part of her knew that Himeko had made a mistake, but couldn’t care less. She was looking forward to spending time with a certain tall senpai for a few hours before the sun rose, but that kinda went out the window when that senpai decided to fall asleep.

“Me and Mei have a console we use sometimes when we’re bored, you can use it if you’d like.” Yuzu’s eyes met the TV and thought of a decent idea.

“You do? Mei uses it too?” Matsuri raised an eyebrow and she followed Yuzu to the living room, clearly interested.

“Yea, she’s actually better than me at the games we play, but you can play it for now, just don’t use the volume since I’m gonna go back to bed, okay?” Yuzu handed Matsuri the controller and let her do the rest from there.

“Sure Yuzu-chan, I don’t mind. Just don’t get too clingy to the bed and Mei-chan, or we might be here even longer~” Matsuri teased.

That tease made Yuzu remember that Mei was still waiting for her and she should probably get back before she gets too alone. She picked up her pace a little and smiled 

“Yea, I won’t.” Is all Yuzu said as she started heading back to her bedroom. 

“Mei? I’m back.” Yuzu said in a peaceful tone. Opening the door, she saw Mei facing the opposite side, rolling over from Yuzu’s voice. The room was still dark, reminding her that it was still almost 5 in the morning. She shut the door behind her quietly and started to crawl onto the bed.

“Yuzu,” Mei said as she made sure her eyes met Yuzu’s again, feeling much better already. The blonde crawled up onto the bed and lay down beside Mei, not wasting any time and already holding her in her arms again.

“I’m sorry… was I gone for too long?” Yuzu whispered into Mei’s ear. All she got was a nod that shifted the sheets some, which Yuzu thought was cute.

Yuzu thought Mei was going to ask some questions on why she left, but it seemed more that her fiance just wanted her right now, so that’s what she gave.

Mei felt something on the side of her face again for the second time today, she didn’t even need to process what it was, knowing the familiar feeling.

Yuzu started to continue her previous teasing from before she left. She gave Mei what she thought she deserved from before: her love, which she hoped was enough to satisfy Mei, considering it was her birthday.

It definitely was.

One kiss on the ear and the younger girl fully gave in, moving her arms up to reach Yuzu’s neck, but when she got another peck on the ear, she just settled on her shoulders.

“Happy birthday, Mei~” Yuzu said as she moved on to start on her lover's neck, however she didn’t want to be too strong and leave any marks since there were other people in the apartment, and they were going to go outside later. 

“You said… that already…” Mei said awkwardly, it sounded silly, but her mind was kind’ve caught up in other things right now.

Yuzu giggled, pulled away and moved herself to be able to meet Mei’s eyes. 

“Do you not want me to say it again?” Yuzu giggled and said with confidence, her eyes dim.

“No.” Is all that Mei said, not leaving Yuzu’s gaze so she wouldn’t go back to teasing her. Right now, she wanted something more than just a teasing kiss.

“I love you, Mei.” Yuzu whispered for the second time today, clearly not showing any signs of ever stopping, not after today or anyday. Her face merely hovering over Mei’s, and using a free hand to cup her cheek.

Mei took a deep breath and sighed, and prepared herself to respond to those words, uninterrupted this time.

“I love-” 

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Oh.

Yuzu instinctively jumped away from Mei’s arms and landed a few feet away from her on the bed. It took a few seconds for her to recover from her mini heart attack, but soon calmed herself down.

“Um… Yuzu? Where are the decorations? I don’t know where the closet is…” Himeko said, her words muffled by the door to Yuzu and Mei.

Yuzu mentally slapped herself in the head. The decorations were in her bedroom’s closet, all the way in the back so Mei wouldn’t find them, she sighed and sat up straight again, hoping this would be the last time she would be interrupted from her morning cuddles.

“Sorry… I’ll be right-” 

“No.”

“Huh? Mei, I’m sorry-” 

“No, Yuzu,” Mei said with one of the most serious looks Yuzu had ever seen from her lover. And before Yuzu could even say another word, the black-haired girl was already getting off the bed and making her way to the door.

To say Mei was annoyed would be an understatement. Her entire morning was so confusing, and she didn’t even know why. She didn’t know why Himeko was here, but could not care less at the moment. For Mei, the line had been crossed far too long ago, and now she was going to push it back all the way. HER cuddles and affection with HER lover in HER home were being interrupted on HER birthday. 

And for the first time in a very long time, she actually cared that it was her birthday. Today was her day and no one was supposed to ruin it, and if she had to stop others from doing that, then she would.

“M-Mei Mei!” Himeko froze, not expecting Mei to be the one to answer the door. She could barely see her face at all since the hallway and the bedroom didn’t really have any source of light.

Mei stepped out the door a bit more, rubbing her eyes. This was when Himeko finally looked up to see her best friend's expression. What she was met with was probably the most DEADLY stare she had ever seen from ANYONE.

“M-Mei Mei…? Himeko took a step back, at first maybe she thought that it was just how Mei looked just after waking up, but the council president wasn’t blinking, still giving a cold mean look. Meanwhile, Yuzu had no clue what Mei was doing since her back was facing towards her.

“Oh hey Mei-chan. You’re awake too?” Matsuri said in a teasing voice, her footsteps could be heard audibly as she walked down the hallway.

She didn’t see Mei’s face from the front, but she did receive a side-eye which made her freeze as well, feeling like this wasn’t the time for her to be messing around.

“Uh… n-nevermind, I’ll just leave!” Is all Matsuri said as she turned around hastily, walking the other direction, feeling a bit uncomfortable and uneasy.

It looked like the navy-haired girl’s fate had been sealed, but after a few seconds, Mei started to slowly shake her head in disapproval, which Himeko didn’t know to feel better or worse.

Finally, Mei walked backwards and closed the door and sighed. Yuzu had no idea what Himeko saw, but decided to dismiss it after her fiance turned around with a yawn and a sleepy look. She wasted no time like before and returned to bed, this time crawling over Yuzu, her hands pinning her down on the bed, not letting her leave. Not like she was gonna.

“Sorry I got impatient, I just wanted us to be at peace.” Mei said quietly, feeling a bit bad for Himeko, but had no intentions of not apologizing later.

“It’s okay, it's kinda my fault. It’ll all make sense later.” Yuzu giggled.

“But later isn’t now, so can we just…” Mei started.

“Cuddle?” Yuzu ended her sentence.

Mei blushed a little, but smiled. “Yes.” She said

“Well… it’s your birthday after all.” Yuzu smiled and moved a bit closer to her love. 

Poor Himeko, she just wanted to be a good friend and help, but ended up being what Mei took her anger out on. Sitting beside Matsuri on the couch, thinking to herself, she would just have to hope that the rest of the day would be better than what it was now.

Chapter Text

September 13th, 5:48 PM: The evening of Mei’s birthday

“Man, what a day!” Yuzu said as she unlocked the door, stretching her arms out as she entered the apartment, her friends following behind her.

“You can say that again.” Harumi smiled and nodded.

After the hectic morning, Yuzu and Mei eventually woke up and Yuzu explained everything to her lover. Even though Mei was in a good mood waking up, she did still show some annoyance, mostly the fact that Yuzu hadn’t informed her of inviting 3 people without any proper preparation. But it’s not like she could stay mad at her for long, as her mood was like I said earlier, abnormally positive.

When Ume woke up, she was a bit taken aback by having the people Yuzu said were supposed to be here when the sun was setting, be here just as it rose. But she, like Mei, quickly shrugged it off and took the opportunity to welcome her guests properly.

After a while, right before noon, Yuzu and her party decided to finally celebrate Mei’s birthday by hanging out around the city. Ume said she would have all the decorations ready by the time they came back, however, Mei specifically wasn’t very happy with her mother doing all the work just for birthday decorations that would be taken down tomorrow morning, but unfortunately Ume was one of the people she could not win an argument against.

Yuzu decided to hit the mall first, planning to spend most of the day there. Shopping was an obvious activity, having 2 out of 5 of the people being gyaru’s. Yuzu made sure to also shop to Mei’s interest more though, not forgetting what day it was. After maybe a few hours of shopping, they had their lunch break and headed to the movie theater in the same mall. The attendees of the party had to buy a ticket though as this was originally planned to be a movie date for only Yuzu and Mei, Yuzu already having their tickets. 

All while this was happening, Yuzu was still trying her best and focusing on Mei, trying to see if she was having a good time or not. And Yuzu was delighted when she glanced over at Mei, seeing her not looking away from the screen of the theater. 

The group ended their outside activities by just walking around the back of the mall, and seeing the waterfront. The weather wasn’t exactly perfect, but it wasn’t raining or anything so it could be far worse than just a cloudy day. As the lights of the bay came on, and the day started to fade away, the group decided it was time to take their leave, coming back to Yuzu’s apartment where her mother had prepared the cake and decorations.

“So, did you enjoy today Prez?” Harumi asked, giving a tap on the shoulder. Almost everyone looked to see what Mei was going to say, even though most of them knew it was obvious.

“Yes, very much so.” Mei said without any hesitation. She would be lying if she said that she didn’t enjoy having a birthday with everyone treating her specially. It had been a while since she had last experienced being spoiled with gifts and friendliness.

Even though Yuzu had an idea of what Mei was going to say, she still let those words sink in, beaming with a dreamy smile. 

“I’m glad, Mei.” Yuzu said quietly, but enough for everyone to hear. And everyone could also see that her eyes were still locked on Mei’s, the black-haired girl also gazing back.

“Your fiancé had a good day spending time with you, I think we all know you’re ‘glad’ Yuzu-chan.” Matsuri said, rolling her eyes, but far from a mean way. Just thinking it was a bit annoying for the couple to be lovey-dovey and romantic, ignoring everyone else.

“Is that really necessary??” Harumi shook her head at the girl with headphones. “Also, we’re literally guests at THEIR house, let them do what they want.” She defended.

“No Harumin, it’s really fine-” Yuzu tried to say but was interrupted.

“I have to agree with you on this one Taniguchi-senpai. Let Mei Mei do whatever…” Himeko started to trail on with Harumi as well.

Yuzu sighed and silently took off her shoes as Mei saw and did as well. Yuzu then took her hand and led her towards the kitchen, not interested in any arguments with anyone at the moment, or at least for today.

“Mama?” Yuzu said. She didn’t see their mother, but instead saw that the living room and kitchen had been decorated subtly with some balloons, specifically cool colors of blue, purple, and pink. Another noticeable factor was that their bears that normally hang out in their bedroom were placed around the rooms in noticeable places.

But she did feel a sense of heat, heat that was radiating from the kitchen, presumably from the oven.

“Ah! Yuzu, Mei. You're home earlier than I thought!” Ume smiled as she appeared out of the hallway, probably coming out of her daughters’ bedroom.

“Yea, we just came back, is everything almost ready?” Yuzu asked, still examining the decorations that were put up. 

“Almost, all I need is the cake which is baking right now. It should take… let's say another 10 minutes?” Ume looked at the clock on the wall, walking back to the kitchen to check the timer again.

“Perfect! Shouldn’t be a problem, I think we can be able to pass the time for a while, right Mei?” Yuzu looked over at her lover, to see that she herself was also looking at all the decorations that had been put up for her purpose. 

“How bout you sweetie, did you enjoy today?” Ume asked Mei, her voice being a bit louder that Yuzu’s, popping her thoughts for a second.

“Oh… sorry. Yes, I did, very much so in fact.” Mei said again firmly, making any disappointment from her not answering Yuzu’s previous question disappear.

Ume gave a nod to Yuzu, giving a sincere smile. “You did good today Yuzu, I’m proud you were able to adjust to the problems that came along.” She said,

Mei also nodded “Me as well-” 

“What’d we miss?” Matsuri asked. She and the others coming out from where Yuzu and Mei just were.

Yuzu was going to say something, but Mei spoke first surprisingly. 

“We were just seeing the progress mother has made with the decorations.” Mei said, then looked at Ume. “Speaking of which, I don’t recall ever thanking you for it.”

“Oh you don’t have to-” She said with a relaxed expression.

“Mama, stop being so humble!” Yuzu said, cutting her off “You did all this work by yourself when the others were originally meant to be helping you as well!” 

The other girls said nothing, but nodded along, especially Himeko, knowing it was her fault for any mistakes that had happened this morning.

“So thank you, mother.” Mei continued, giving a slight bow, Yuzu following as well.

“Aww, you guys are too sweet. It’s my honor trying to give you the best birthday possible, but I think that title goes to Yuzu.” Ume smiled cheekily over at the blonde.

“Heh, you don’t need to thank me, Mei. It’s not a big deal or anything.” Yuzu grinned proudly, closing her eyes and preparing for Mei to say or do something even more nice than a ‘thank you.’

“Well… okay then.” Mei responded in a slightly disappointed tone.

“Huh?” Yuzu opened her eyes to see that Mei had walked away from her, going into the living room.  “H-hey! I thought…” Yuzu tried to say, but couldn’t finish her sentence out of shock. She didn’t know if Mei was playing with her or if she took it literally. Whatever it was, it certainly made her embarrassed, and the suppressed giggles escaping from behind her were not helping at all.

“I’ve really gotta stop closing my eyes when I say stuff like that…” Yuzu thought to herself and sighed.

“Well, I guess that means we’re just playing video games until the cake's done.” Matsuri stopped her giggling, shrugged and followed Mei.

“Are you okay with that, Yuzu Aihara?” Himeko asked, not knowing whether it was okay to let the pink-haired girl make her own decisions.

“Yea, as long as we don’t use Mei’s and I’s save slot, then I think we’re okay with it.” Yuzu responded, nodding and finally everyone else found a seat somewhere in the living room.

“Wait so you and Mei actually play together??” Matsuri emphasized Mei’s name, remembering what Yuzu told her in the morning.

“Yea, I think she’s actually better than me. I showed her the controls once and she kinda went on her own from there.” Yuzu giggled, remembering the time when she first showed Mei the controller.

Oh, and also when she got hit in the face.

“Thank you, Yuzu. I think you’re the better player.” Mei said with no blush, but with definitely a respectful tone.

“Aww! Thanks Mei! But I think…” Yuzu continued off.

“How do they even compliment each other over anything?” Himeko nudged and whispered to Harumi, eyeing the engaged girls suspiciously.

“Couple stuff.” Harumi responded, sounding a lot like she had experienced Yuzu and Mei do this type of stuff around her before.

“Well Mei-chan, if you’re actually as good as your love and joy says you to be, how about we see who's the better player?” Matsuri smiled smugly, feeling extremely confident, even amused that Yuzu was hyping Mei up all just for her to lose. She looked over to see what Mei’s reaction was.

“Like who finishes the level first?” Yuzu raised her eyebrows and spoke first, not paying much attention to what Matsuri had just called her.

“Mhm. And don’t worry about any reward or anything, I don’t wanna stress you out on your bday.” Matsuri continued, sounding even more cocky. Meanwhile, Harumi was thinking about saying something, knowing well what Matsuri was up to, but didn’t want to stop Mei if she actually wanted to.

“Are you going to follow through, Mei Mei?” Himeko asked, a bit worried for her friend, also knowing the pink-haired girl's antics.

“I guess so.” Mei watched as Matsuri held the controller in her hands, she didn’t see this as a big deal, more like just something fun to pass the time. Maybe if stakes were higher, she would be more serious about it, but right now her day was perfect and there was little to nothing that could ruin it.

A few minutes later…

As soon as the end screen popped up, Matsuri placed down the controller, wiping her forehead overdramatically. She would consider it a good run, she managed to beat the time it took Mei to beat, confidence running through her veins.

“Wow. She beat your time, Mei.” Yuzu gazed at the screen with an emphasizing tone. In truth, she really only said it like that to give Mei some reason to focus. She could tell that her lover was starting to feel some drowsiness, with her blinks being longer than before and cute yawns being more frequent.

“I see.” Mei also looked at the TV, not feeling the slightest jealousy or intimidation.

“Your turn then, Mei-chan.” Matsuri handed Mei the controller, with her classic smug smile.

“The cake is almost done, girls, let's have this be the last game, then we can decorate and have Mei make a wish!”  Ume said from behind the counter, catching Mei’s attention.

“Sure Mama!” Yuzu said back.

“Hear that Mei-chan? You got one shot at this, you gotta make this count~” Matsuri tried her best playing with Mei’s mind, the most she did was just put her attention back on the screen.

“Just let her do her thing. Go for it, Mei.” Harumi said, starting to get a bit annoyed with all of Matsuri’s stupid conceited voice.

Mei didn’t say anything, but sighed, no one in the room knew if it was a sigh of tiredness or a sigh of clearing her mind. She examined the buttons one more time, then started the game.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“Completed” appeared on the screen, and after that came “New PB!”

“WHAT?” Matsuri stared once at the time Mei had gotten, and then back at Mei. She swore that Mei did the exact same things as she did, even looking at the controller more often. But then she still somehow beat her score by such a significant margin… the more she thought, the more confused she became.

“You did it, Mei! You even got your best score on your birthday!” Yuzu cheered and gave Mei a sideways hug, making the black-haired girl wake up a little.

“Congrats Mei Mei.” Himeko nodded as well. She didn’t really see any satisfaction in winning, but wanted to be a good friend so just went along with it.

“Nice one Prez.” Harumi gave a thumbs up, trying her best to hide her laughter. She reached her hand around Matsuri’s back and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

“Thank you.” Mei put down the controller and just sighed into Yuzu’s hug, suddenly feeling like she didn’t need any cake or presents, satisfied with what she had right now.

“Well, you’ve played this game before, so it would only make sense since you have the most experience out of the two of us.” Matsuri said as she pretended to shrug it off.

“Surrre. Nice coping.” Harumi rolled her eyes and just patted Matsuri’s head.

“I’m not!” She exclaimed, turning her head towards the others. “And it’s not like anyone's gonna agree with me either.” 

There was a peaceful silence for a while, no one really knowing what to say. Mostly just everyone doing their own things, the sound of the oven and the background music coming from the TV the only things that anyone could hear. 

“Um. Mei Mei?” Himeko looked over nervously at the Aihara’s. 

“Yes Himeko?” Mei slightly gave the signal for Yuzu to let go, in which she did understandably.

“I know this is an awkward time to say this, but… I’m sorry for being such a nuisance, interrupting your and Aihara Yuzu’s sleep…” Her head looked down at the floor.

“Oh… no it’s fine… if anything I should be the one asking for your forgiveness, after what I did…” Mei dimmed her eyes, and avoided eye contact, a bit of shame for being so rude and disrespectful to her friends, especially when they were only trying to help.

Matsuri knew immediately what they were talking about, and still shivered a bit from the side-eye she received, even if it was for a few seconds, she did not enjoy it at all.

“And I’m sorry to you as well, Matsuri.” Mei turned her head towards her now.

“Wait wait, what even happened? What did I even miss when I was asleep??” Harumi looked at Mei, then Yuzu, feeling a bit left out.

“I got no idea Harumin. Do you mind telling us about it?” Yuzu looked at Mei with caring eyes. She had only been on the bed, not knowing what had happened when Mei went to open the door. But when Mei had came back like nothing ever happened, Yuzu just seemed to forget about it.

Mei thought for a second, but then decided that the day was going way too well for her to ruin the mood. “Yes… I think it's too embarrassing for me to tell you all right now…”

“Well if that's the case, then you don’t need to tell us, Mei. You can tell me when you feel better about it.” Yuzu smiled and held Mei’s hand with both of hers.

“Thank you, Yuzu…” Mei thought it was funny that Yuzu was acting kind, only for Mei to say something that wasn’t very serious.

“So what’re you giving Mei for her birthday, Yuzu onee-chan, being her fiancé and all?” Matsuri asked out of nowhere with a sly smile.

Yuzu paused, and for a second froze. She felt something in her chest hurt and her mind started turning slowly.

“W-what?” Yuzu said nervously, her breathing getting a bit louder, but no one seemed to notice.

“Nah I’m just joking, I don’t wanna ruin the surprise for us.” Matsuri giggled, for once actually admitting that she was asking a rhetorical question.

“Haha… yea.” Yuzu tried to join in awkwardly, her mind focused on other things.

She tried her best to calm herself down, but she could only think of how embarrassing it would be telling everyone right when Mei asks where her fiancé's present is.

“I’ll be back, I just have to go to my room for a sec.” She said as she got up and walked away at a quick pace.

“Okay… just be back soon, the cake’s almost done.” Ume told Yuzu as she walked by, but she was already gone by then.

Everyone just chatted for a while, not taking too much concern in Yuzu’s unexpected leave. It was 5 minutes after when the oven started to beep, indicating the timer was done, that Mei started to worry what exactly Yuzu was doing.

Mei had been thinking of what reason Yuzu had gone to their room, but couldn’t think of anything. However, she had known Yuzu for a long time, and she knew that Yuzu only leaves important events when it's either an emergency or she’s trying to avoid something…

“Something feels off…” Mei said quietly, tension building in her head, starting to realize what might’ve happened.

“Well duh, you’re bride-to-be just left without telling anything.” Matsuri rolled her eyes, knowing the obvious, Harumi and Himeko however listened to Mei’s words with more care.

“That’s one thing, but…” Mei stood up and sighed. “I’m going to go check up on her.” Mei said firmly as she started to hurry away, following the path the blonde took a few minutes ago.

“Come back soon, and tell Yuzu the cakes ready for candles!” Ume tried getting Mei’s attention, in which she actually nodded and continued on her way.

Mei stood in front of the bedroom door, it wasn’t closed all the way, so she didn’t need to worry about that. She also kept her ears peeled for a few seconds, in case Yuzu was displaying some type of emotion that she could hear directly.

After making sure it was safe to go in, she didn’t hesitate any further and opened the door lightly.

Yuzu was sitting down at the small table crisscross, her head was facing downwards at the surface, that was until Mei opened the door and made her turn around to face her.

“M-Mei!” Yuzu gasped and smiled nervously at her lover. “Um… what brings you here?”

“The cake’s done, we’re going to decorate it, are you coming?” Mei asked in an innocent tone, but also sounding unamused.

“Uhh, yea just give me a minut-”

“Yuzu what's wrong?” Mei said desperately, her patience already drained.

Yuzu initially had tried to at least hold out for a while, but Mei pleading was too much to keep her resolve intact, her heart hearting even more.

“I… I…” Yuzu stammered, struggling to let her mouth say the words she was ashamed to say to anyone, but especially Mei.

“You…?” She eyed her in suspense, not liking whatever Yuzu was doing with her words.

“I forgot your present!”

There was a silence, a long one. One person was taking in what had just been said while the other had her hands covering every part of her face. It was nearly half a minute later when Yuzu panicked and broke it the air.

“Even though you and Mama were busy on my birthday… you still went out of your way to get me a present, and now when it's your birthday, I totally forgot…” Yuzu looked at the wooden floor in shame, not confident enough to look Mei in the eyes.

“Yuzu.” Mei said, making her lover finally lift her head up and look at her. Her eyes looked unamused with some slight seriousness behind them.

“Come, sit down.” Mei continued as she walked past Yuzu and sat down on the floor in front of the table, where Yuzu had been previously sitting. The blonde hesitated, but nodded and followed through, sitting beside Mei.

“Now, Yuzu, can you tell me why you think this is such a big issue?” Mei asked genuinely, turning herself slightly to look at the blonde more comfortably.

“Because I feel like I should be able to show the same amount of care you do for me, and when you actually gave me a gift for… my cause, it made me feel really really happy…” Yuzu explained, her true thoughts showing themselves, exactly what Mei wanted to hear.

“Hm, I see.” Mei nodded and did slightly blush, trying her best to hide so it didn’t make it look like the conversation was unserious.

“And what did you do today, for me?” Mei gazed at Yuzu’s eyes, trying to get her point across, hopefully with this question.

“I… took you on a date and… was supposed to surprise you, but not anymore, with a party…” Yuzu examined her own words.

“And I surprised you with a gift.” Mei said calmly, glad that she could make her point across.

“I… I guess you’re right…” Yuzu sighed, a bit jealous that she didn’t use that logic herself. “But you're not mad or disappointed I didn’t get you a gift??” She asked the question she had been wanting to know the answer to since Mei had walked into the room.

“No.” Mei simply said, shaking her head kindly, then she moved closer to hold her from behind. She'd been getting better at cuddling since that power outage months ago, and getting more comfortable at showing affection. “Yuzu, I never even cared about my birthday before today, so by you doing ANYTHING today for me exceeds my expectations.” She blushed a bit more, turning her head slowly falling onto Yuzu’s shoulder.

“Wow, thanks Mei… that’s so sweet…” Yuzu smiled and blushed, her hand coming on top of Mei's which was on her chest, worsening Mei’s face… but she knew that Yuzu thought it was cute so she didn’t mind as much.

“Of course… and there’s always next year, right?” Mei whispered, looking up at Yuzu.

“Maybe…” Yuzu whispered softly, causing Mei to be taken back a little by her response.

“What do you mean ‘maybe?’” Mei asked, her head lifting up in seriousness. She was expecting a ‘yeah’ or even a ‘mhm’, but ‘maybe?’ That was a pretty scary response from Yuzu especially.

“Well, what if this is the last birthday you’re going to be my fiancé?? If we get married next year, that means I never got you a gift when we were engaged!” Yuzu exclaimed.

“O- oh…” Mei sighed in relief, but did feel her heart jump a little with Yuzu’s thoughts. Maybe they would get married next year, who knows, but right now she was sure that she would be okay just like this.

Meanwhile…

“Hm. Maybe they won’t turn into grandmas after all.” Matsuri whispered, her eyes peeking through the gap between the door and the wall.

“And there goes the moment.” Harumi sighed, tempted to at least pinch the pink-haired girl, but knowing their cover would be blown by any decently loud noise. 

“What? Listen, at the pace I thought they were going at, they were certainly going to.” Matsuri stuck her tongue out at the taller girl. “Right, eyebrows?” 

“Hey! Don’t bring me into this, and stop calling me that! Can we just go get them already? Mrs. Aihara is waiting.” Himeko said back and sighed. What was supposed to be a simple call for dinner turned into the 3 girls waiting outside and listening to what was going on inside, not as stalkish, but more of just not wanting to ruin the moment.

“You literally listened right here with us, but I guess you got a point.” Matsuri rolled her eyes and pouted overdramatically.

“Y’know Matsuri, I’m kinda impressed with you today.” Harumi said out of nowhere, causing Matsuri to turn her head maybe too quickly at the gyaru, also catching Himeko’s attention, having a very different opinion.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Matsuri asked in a confused tone.

“Well, you didn’t really do anything that upset Prez today, considering it's her birthday and all. And I’m also shocked that you made yourself get a lower score so Mei could win.” Harumi said casually, not knowing that she had the second part wrong.

“Taniguchi’s right, you did well today Mizusawa-san.” Himeko listened and felt that Harumi made a point, also not knowing the full story.

“I didn’t…! Y’know what, sure, thanks.” Matsuri sighed, although she didn’t like that Harumi was assuming, she would probably have no chance of having them believing that Mei was actually better than her unless Yuzu told them.

Maybe it was for the best, but for some reason, Matsuri kinda did like being less problematic. Although she did admit it was fun, she did stop some of her habits that she did when she reunited with Yuzu after she moved. It seemed like everyone in their friend group was perfect compared to her, specifically one person, but that's a story for another day. Anyways, it honestly felt like being with the people around her really did make her a better person. She had the smarts, the wealth, and the friends, the only thing she really wanted was someone she could have just as good of a relationship as Yuzu and Mei had.

Chapter Text

BRZZZZ BRZZZZ BRZZZZ

Matsuri opened her eyes, her thoughts annoyed at the alarm clock. Her annoyance however disappeared a few seconds later as she realized it was a Saturday, being the beginning of the weekend and no school for a few days.

She probably forgot to change her alarm settings for the weekend, furthermore she had stayed up late the previous night. With the sun just peeking through the window, she just decided to go back to sleep since no one else in her house would be up this early too.

After a few hours, she woke up for the second time, this time actually at a reasonable time for her. She did her morning routine and arrived at the table for breakfast, her mother already cooking.

“Mama, how many more minutes until it’s ready?” Matsuri asked.

“Just a little longer dear, I’m almost done.” She responded.

“Alright.” Matsuri nodded and just scrolled on her phone. A few minutes later, Inori showed up at the table as well, right as when their mother served them their food.

The food was never bad, but Matsuri honestly didn’t care though, she had her own plans today and was eager to start on them. 

“Matsuri, your father’s going to be coming home a little before noon, do you mind staying until lunch?” Her mother said amidst their breakfast. 

Normally, she would’ve been pretty annoyed with this, but her mother had said it surprisingly kindly, more surprising was that she even mentioned it.

“Um. Sure, I can do that.” She nodded again, but still not smiling.

A couple hours later…

“What a waste of time.” Matsuri muttered as she walked down the street. She knew she wasn’t as close to her family as her friends were to theirs, but she got what she expected: her entire family just talking while she just sat there with no acknowledgement. Sure it sucked, but it wasn’t unordinary for her, this is just how her family life went.

Her plans were simple: just find any of her friends that were hanging out in the city as well. With the sun in the middle of the sky, she had way less time than she had originally planned, but it really was what it was. She knew that all the malls were crowded since it was the weekend, so it would either make it easier or harder to find someone she knew.

Her first stop was LaQua, the mall that was closest to her apartment complex. She didn’t expect anyone, but Mei did come here to buy a present for Yuzu’s birthday, so might as well try. She knew it was probably going to be the most packed, so she would probably leave early. The kids going down the water slide she and Mei went down a few months ago didn’t help either.

After a full walk around the entire mall, she found no one she recognized. Disappointing, but expected for this area. 

She also paid attention to who she was walking past on sidewalks as well, just in case. After a short, but boring train ride, she made it to Odaiba. Although the mall near her apartment had an entire water slide and was giant, she kinda liked Odaiba more since it had an ocean front, less people, and, most importantly, an arcade.

When she didn’t find anyone, she still decided to stay there just a bit longer for some arcade games, the crowd wasn’t super big either so she took her sweet time taking a break.

Finally, after two failures, she took the train to Toyosu, where Yuzu and Mei lived. Now since it was a weekend, she 100% knew that Yuzu was either hanging out with Harumi, going on a date with Mei, or just inside her apartment.

At first, when she exited the station, she couldn’t see anyone. However, when she crossed the street, she finally saw someone that she recognized…

“Sup Taniguchi-senpai~” Matsuri said from behind the bench where Harumi was sitting.

“Ah! Oh…” Harumi sighed. “Hey, Matsuri.” She looked back at her phone as Matsuri came around and joined her on the bench.

“So what’re you up to? Not hanging out with Yuzu-chan, hm?” Matsuri said teasingly, a bit surprised she found Harumi all alone. Matsuri did know that Harumi had met Yuzu’s old friends a few months ago, wondering why she wasn’t at least hanging out with them.

“Nah, she’s on a date with Mei.” Harumi responded back, taking no notice for Matsuri’s extra question.

“Ah. I see, but you really don’t want to go do anything else? You kinda looked depressed just sitting here alone.” Matsuri said jokingly, being careful not to upset her friend.

“I mean, I was gonna shop later, but we can now if you want.” She shrugged and blinked a bit longer.

“Well then let’s go! It’s been boring walking around by myself.” She stood up and started heading towards the mall, Harumi really having no choice and following.

Harumi’s routine for shopping with Matsuri was a bit different than what it was with Yuzu. They mostly just walked around and chatted, and went into stores if they saw something eye-catching. With Yuzu, they would mostly spend time in stores and only leave if they wanted food or to leave.

“So why were you just sitting by yourself? Y’know you could’ve just texted me if you wanted to hang out.” Adjusting her headphones slightly, walking down the long hallway.

“Well the weather’s been pretty good compared to the summer, I guess I’m just relieved that it's not blazing hot wherever I go.” Harumi shrugged, looking down at the floor.

“Huh. I thought summer would be your favorite season, considering your clothes and stuff.” Matsuri looked over at her senpai. “Speaking of…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?! What’s wrong with my clothes??” She looked down at herself, feeling slightly offended.

“Well when you aren’t wearing your uniform, you just wear stuff that shows skin. Like at least Yuzu-chan wears some variety, you just wear clothes that attract weirdos.” The pink-hair girl giggled, really trying her best to annoy the older girl.

“WOW. I see how it is. Coming from the girl who wears the same coat and headphones every single day.” Harumi said, trying to control herself, knowing if she tried to do anything in public it would look even worse for her.

“Do you ever SEE rando’s stare at me when we’re in public? No! I have no problems, it’s all you.” Matsuri shrugged and continued the banter, clearly feeling much more amused than before.

“Whatever, I can’t help that I’m just more attractive than you.” Harumi said.

“Wha-? I was talking about your clothes, not your… nevermind, yea I guess so.” Matsuri stuttered, but eventually sighed, knowing that her senpai kinda did have a point.

“So you're admitting that I’m pretty??” Harumi said in a surprised tone, taking Matsuri back a bit. The pink hair girl tried her best to 

“I mean… it’d be a lie if I said you weren’t…” Matsuri looked away lightly to hide her face.

“And am I going to get a compliment back?” Matsuri thought in her head, not looking towards Harumi in order to hide her casualness.

“That’s gotta be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me!” Harumi giggled. “But thanks anyway, I appreciate that.”

“Nope.” Matsuri followed up her question, sighing internally. To be fair, she did know that she was asking for too much, but for some reason she was kinda jealous knowing if Yuzu was in her place, she would compliment her back.

“Wanna just head to the food court? I haven't had any lunch yet.” Matsuri changed the topic, trying to ignore her senpai’s response.

“Sure!” Harumi said, clearly feeling more happy, which Matsuri at least saw as a good thing.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“So you wanna go to your place after this?” Matsuri asked as she started to eat her burger.

“Can’t, my sister’s having a business meeting at our house or something, she won’t like it if I bring anyone home today..” Harumi shook her head. Since she had already eaten lunch, she just decided to just share some of Matsuri’s meal as a snack. She knew for a fact that the younger girl was NOT finishing this meal no matter how big it was.

“Dang, looks like I’m going to be the only person you talk to today~” Matsuri said playfully, but she did feel some disappointment in realizing she wouldn’t be able to see or play with Harumi’s cat.

“Greeeat.” Harumi rolled her eyes, but honestly didn’t really care that much of the remark.

Matsuri ate her food happily, while Harumi just did some small talk while scrolling on her phone like before. She never looked up though, as the younger girl would try her luck and take glances at her occasionally, acting like it was a sin if she got caught.

“Mei!”

Matsuri bolted her head around to see that it was none other than the Aihara couple nowhere closeby, but still could be vividly seen in Matsuri’s eyes.

The pair were pretty far away, Matsuri feeling a bit concerned that she had the same reflexes as Nene, however they were merely just walking past the food court, presumably going somewhere else.

Harumi also looked in the direction of her friend and saw the couple, a bit impressed that Matsuri had used her senses to know that they were near.

“That’s the date you were talking about?” Matsuri asked her senpai, but not looking in her direction, just seeing the Aihara’s walk until they were out of view.

“Yeah.” She thought for a second and remembered who she was talking with right now. “And don’t you think for a second about ruining it!” Harumi said strictly, not giving any leisure to the girl with headphones.

“Calm down, I wasn’t even planning on it!” Matsuri responded, a bit insulted that that was the first thing the plum-haired girl thought of. Harumi nodded, eyeing her skeptically, but knew Matsuri was telling the truth.

The two just ate their food until it was all done, then they started walking around again, small talking casually. Matsuri didn’t really think much of it until Harumi asked her a weird question.

“Hey, Matsuri. I don’t want to intrude on your personal feelings or anything, but…” Harumi started, her tone feeling way more serious than before.

“Go on…?” Matsuri asked, her curiosity rising with each word that was said.

“When we went to prez’s birthday, were you like actually jealous of Yuzu and Mei’s relationship?”

“No? I was just trying to spark a bit of attention. But why though?” Matsuri asked, tilting her head.

“I don’t know… I guess it just feels like we’re a bit behind y’know? Yuzucchi’s already engaged, with someone that we all know is good for her, and we all don’t even have crushes or any interest in love yet…” Harumi said. The first part of Harumi’s sentence could be brushed off easily as it wasn’t usual for people to have their love life almost complete already, but the second part she fully understood.

“I wouldn’t say we’re behind, I think they’re just ahead. And they’re case is really different from anyone else's, they lived together prior to proposal, so they knew each other better than people who just meet each other on weekends.” Matsuri reasoned, not taking it as a really big deal, but she was a bit surprised that this subject was being brought up, especially with someone like Harumi.

“Yeah, but still… having a best friend that already has her sights on marriage makes me feel a bit like a failure…”

“Don’t you dare call yourself a failure!” Matsuri exclaimed, taking her friend back a bit.

“Huh?”

“H-hurting yourself isn’t going to do anything. You’re going to find someone, okay? I know you will… so just stop saying stupid things like that and focus on yourself. Imagine how Yuzu-chan and Mei-chan would react if you told them this… they would probably feel really ashamed of themselves.” Matsuri justified, her voice also going quieter as she finished the sentence.

“Wow Matsuri… now THAT’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me…” Harumi widened her eyes and actually gave an embarrassed blush, thinking of Matsuri’s reasoning. 

“Am I ever going to be complemented back?” Matsuri thought internally, becoming slightly annoyed again. She was actually trying to be nice by making her senpai feel better, but it seemed like she got nothing out of it.

Matsuri walked towards the entrance of the mall, where Harumi stopped, wondering if Matsuri was lost in thought or she was genuinely walking out.

“Oh, you don’t want to buy anything? I can buy you something if you want.” Harumi said to get Matsuri’s attention, feeling a bit generous for what Matsuri just said.

“Nah, I’m good. Not really anything that interests me here. I feel like the outside’s better than inside.” Matsuri turned around and smiled, internally appreciating Harumi’s offer.

“Alright then.” Harumi shrugged and followed Matsuri outside, where they continued their stroll, just on the outside of the mall now.

“So you’ve never had a crush before? Not even like a celebrity crush or anything?” Matsuri asked. She had thought back to what Harumi had talked about earlier, interested in learning more of this story.

“Never. The closest this is that I guess liking some of my friends more than others, but not ‘like like’ or anything.” Harumi responded as they walked on the sidewalk leading up to behind the mall.

“Ah, so like me over Yuzu-chan?” Matsuri giggled, and winked at her.

“Other way around, but sure.” Harumi rolled her eyes, but still felt amusing to her.

“Like not even Yuzu-chan?? You’ve never even imagined any possibility of you and Yuzu together before she revealed everything?” A question Matsuri had asked plenty in the past, she could recall the last time when she followed her to the bookstore when Harumi was checking manga for Yuzu.

“No! I never did, the most I thought of her was a best friend! Nothing more, nothing less. Jeez you ask way too many questions…” Harumi sighed and shook her head slightly vigorously. “Although… there are some things I did that I still feel sick about before knowing Yuzucchi was lesbian and all.” Harumi cringed at her own thoughts, remembering one specific occurrence at karaoke when Yuzu first moved to her new home.

“Hehe, yea I think I know what you’re talking about. I couldn’t ever imagine doing something like that~” Matsuri chuckled. Although she wasn’t there, it didn’t take much to imagine how it looked, and how Yuzu reacted.

“You literally did worse! You were a savage player back then!” Harumi spoke in a transgressive tone. 

Matsuri pretended to ignore what she heard, obviously because whatever that was being said was 100% true. She just continued walking as the gentle breeze swept through their hair gently.

The silence was then interrupted by a joyful tune that the both of them knew. Being loud enough for them to hear it, they looked at each other as if they were going to ask each other, catching Matsuri a bit off guard.

“Wanna get ice cream? This might be the last time the weather’s going to be decently warm…” Matsuri asked.

“Yea you got a point, sure, I can buy for us both if you wa-”

“Thanks Taniguchi-senpai, but you don’t gotta do that.” Matsuri said before Harumi even finished her offer. “You should spend it when you go shopping with Yuzu-chan, not ice cream with me.” Matsuri mumbled quietly, feeling a pain in her chest with every word.

“Huh. It’s kinda creepy seeing you act humble like that, you sure have been acting real out of character today…” Harumi said jokingly, assuming Matsuri was just being really nice.

“It’s called growth, okay?! Just forget about it and come on.” Matsuri said as she turned around and started walking, hiding the pink that had formed on her face, resembling her hair quite a bit. 

The two followed the sound of the delightful ice cream truck music, hoping it wouldn’t drive away before they got there. Luckily, as soon as they entered the park adjacent to the mall, they spotted it in all of its glory.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

“Thank you very much.” Harumi thanked the worker and grabbed both of the sweet treats.

Turning around, she handed the pink one to Matsuri while keeping the chocolate one for herself.

“Staying on brand?” Harumi raised an eyebrow and chuckled

“Shut up! It’s normal for anyone to like strawberry!” Matsuri rolled her eyes again, knowing obviously what Harumi was referring to.

“Let’s find a bench, I don’t wanna risk this stuff staining my clothes.” Harumi started to walk away and looked around, Matsuri was about to follow until…

“WAAAAAA!” A loud cry came from behind her. She turned around to see what she assumed it to be, and she found herself to be correct. Some kid, who looked to be around 3 to for, had just dropped his entire ice cream cone on the ground, and was now crying about like any small child would do.

His mother who was standing beside him, trying to stop him from crying, didn’t really look embarrassed or disappointed, she looked as if she did care about and was probably going to go buy another one.

“Hey Matsuri, you coming?”

It must’ve kicked some nerve into Matsuri’s mind, as she started to think that it reminded of her own mother and Inori… except the mother here actually did care for such a small mishap. It really felt like that was the type of family she wanted, a family like Yuzu’s, a person like Harumi’s grandmother, people that cared about others even if they were strangers.

That’s when she looked at the fallen ice cream on the ground: the color was pink. She looked back at her own ice cream, untouched and showing no signs of melting.

“Matsuri?”

The mother nor the child looked like they were poor or anything, but the thing was that Matsuri had a lot more money than other kids her age, and rarely was that money ever spent. So even if that silly child dropped the ice cream again, she’d much rather see her own money get wasted than people who don’t deserve to see their purchase fall on the pavement.

Matsuri sighed deeply as she walked over to the family, knowing that a few years ago, she probably would’ve told herself something along the lines of “that’s just life, deal with it,” and forget about it. But this time, she wasn’t a player, she was doing this because she legitimately cared about others more than herself.

“Hey kid-” Matsuri stopped herself, already feeling like she was being rude. “I mean… hey there.” She said awkwardly.

The small child looked up at her with tears still visible, and the mother looked down at her curiously.

“Oh, hello there! Is something the matter?” The mother asked kindly. Matsuri noticed that instead of helping her son, she focused on Matsuri, giving her full attention.

Matsuri looked down at the little boy, and reached her hand out. “Um… well I see you dropped your ice cream, and if you’d like I could give you mine… I just got it as well.” Matsuri kept mentally slapping herself from the awkward pauses she was making, not sure why she was being so out of tune with someone who was way younger than her.

“Well isn’t that kind of you! Thank you for your offer!” The mother smiled down at her, then looked at the boy. “Do you want hers, sweetie?” 

The boy simply nodded and reached his hand up for Matsuri to give it to him. Instead Matsuri kneeled down so it was easier for him, then handing to him, giving a smile of her own.

“And what do you say to her?” The mother said from above, patting the boy's head.

“T-thank you onee-chan.” The child stuttered shyly, but Matsuri didn’t mind as she was feeling some nervousness of her own.

“No problem.” Matsuri said and stood up, and walked away trying to act unphased, but felt like she was standing out like a sore thumb in the park.

“Hey!” A voice came from behind her, the same person pulling her hoodie.

“Huh?!” Matsuri stopped and looked behind her. “Oh… don’t scare me like that!” Matsuri exclaimed.

Harumi let go of her hoodie and just walked around to face Matsuri. “I know I’m asking again, but are you actually okay?? I’ve never seen you do something like that before…” Harumi said in a loud, almost excited tone as she scrolled through her phone.

“S-so you saw me do that…?” Matsuri felt her chest sink in, though she knew it was the right thing to do, the other side of herself felt nearly embarrassed that Harumi saw that.

“I mean, you were standing still even when I was calling your name, so when you did that of course I had to watch, and I took some photos as well!” Harumi continued to scroll on her phone, Matsuri now realizing what she was looking at.

As much as Matsuri wanted her senpai to delete them, she could never say that, especially if that meant that she was somewhere in Harumi’s camera roll.

“That was really cute what you did there… I never would’ve never expected that from the Matsuri I knew a few years ago…” Harumi spoke, her words causing Matsuri to stop abruptly in her path.

“Oh, now I’m definitely going to buy you another ice cream! Wait here and I’ll be back soon!” Harumi started walking the other direction, seemingly unnoticed by Matsuri’s sudden change of movement.

The pink-haired girl sat down on the bench Harumi had pointed at, her mind running in circles around that word Harumi had referred to her as.

“Cute…? Was that actually how it looked to her…?” Matsuri stared into the abyss blankly, she could feel her face burning, but had no self control to try and make it go away. Minutes past of her just thinking her thoughts and soon she heard the footsteps that were approaching her.

“Here you go.” Harumi placed the now second strawberry ice cream cone into Matsuri’s hand; Matsuri herself not giving any reaction, still looking into nothing.

“Dang, it got late fast…” Harumi looked up at the sky and how close the sun was to the skyline. “Looks like I should go, onee-chan wouldn’t be happy.” This actually got Matsuri’s littlest attention, finally breaking out of her thoughts.

“Well I guess I’ll see you at school, or maybe tomorrow? Anyways, I’m off, cya later Matsuri!” Harumi gave a little wave and started hurryingly walking away the direction where she came.

“Cya…” Matsuri said back, but her eyes not daring to even move once. With no one else to break her thoughts, she went back to them, mentally feeling worn out by what had just happened in the past 5 minutes.

“Cute…” Was the only word she could think about, that moment where Harumi called her that playing in a loop in her mind… actually it wasn’t even about her, more of the moment that she called cute. But she didn’t care, it was the closest thing to her senpai ever complimenting her like that and she would savor it for now.

“Matsuri!” A voice came from out of nowhere, a voice that she had heard only the second time today.

“Oh… hey Yuzu-chan.” Matsuri lifted her head up to see Yuzu and Mei standing right in front of her.

“Hey! Didn’t expect to see you sitting here all by yourself, what's up?” Yuzu asked, holding Mei’s hand in hers.

“I was hanging out with Taniguchi-senpai, but she had to go…” Matsuri trailed off, just the bringing up of Harumi made her be reminded of what had just happened.

“Harumin was here??” Yuzu looked around, a bit disappointed she didn’t get to see her best friend, but had Mei so brushed it off.

“Yea.” Is all Matsuri said, not locked on the conversation at all.

“Um… Mizusawa-san? Your ice cream is melting onto you…” Mei said, feeling like something was off. Normally Matsuri would walk around and search for other people, never sitting all alone like this. Furthermore, she hadn’t teased anything at all or asked if they were on a date.

“Oh. Thanks.” Matsuri looked down and saw that it indeed was spilling onto her, instead of actually taking a bite of the desert, she just positioned to hover on the sidewalk instead.

“Your welcome…” Mei grew even more suspicious, feeling like she would’ve been called smart sarcastically or at least gotten an eyeroll. But instead it was just another basic response.

“I guess we should take our leave as well, it’s getting late. Right, Mei?” Yuzu looked over beside her, noticing nothing that Mei did.

“Yes, and you have to help mother with dinner so it’s best not to be late for her.” Mei said quietly and nodding.

“Sorry for not sticking around too long, Matsuri, cya later!” Yuzu gave a wave and started walking away, holding Mei’s hand.

This time Matsuri didn’t say anything, but did wave back. After a while, she got up and started to head back towards the train station even thought she was in no mental condition to even walk straight. Her day at the start was just to find someone to hang out with, but instead she was left in a state where she felt she didn’t need any dinner or any video games. To her, she had gotten a win that she felt earlier was never going to ever be achieved.