Chapter 22: Mama's Support

Yuzu had told Mei not to wait up, but that definitely wasn't going to happen. Mei knew where Yuzu had gone, and she would not get a wink of sleep until her girlfriend was either back in their apartment or sent her a message saying that she would be staying at a friends house. Though she would have preferred the former, at the moment Mei would have settled for any form of contact.

Yuzu had left a little after five meaning that clubs and bars would be opening up, literally giving the blonde infinite options as to where she could go. This, however, would make things exceedingly difficult for Mei if she needed to go and find Yuzu.

It was already past eight but Mei wasn't expecting Yuzu to come home till much later. There had been times in their relationship where Yuzu had gotten very mad or upset and had left the house to find her cure.

The first time this happened, Yuzu had arrived home after two in the morning, her phone full of missed calls from both Mei and her mother. It was then that Mei had sat Yuzu down and explained that if she was going to run away and drink their problems into the mud -Not that Mei condoned what she was doing- that she at least needed to let her family know that she was okay.

Many would have said that Mei not going with Yuzu was wrong and unsafe, or even letting her go out at all for that fact, but Mei had learned her lesson a year ago. When they lived with Yuzu's mother, Mei had tried not to create any unnecessary tension in the house, and let Ume discipline Yuzu when she returned from her adventures. But that had to change when they got their apartment together over a year ago.

It wasn't often that Yuzu would leave to go get blootered but she had her moments. Her first one alone with Mei was when they had been decorating their new apartment. In all honesty, Mei couldn't even remember how the fight had started, something about Yuzu buying the wrong paint or something, it was a very pointless debate. Yet it escalated to the point of Yuzu blowing up and leaving to go get drunk. Mei being both annoyed and worried, demanded that she was either going with Yuzu or they were both staying in the house. Oh gosh was that a mistake on Mei's part.

For Yuzu, this was the first time she had been challenged like this, consumed by her rage she, and Mei, said some very hurtful, untrue things to one another and the fight ended with Yuzu staying at Harumi's for several days. The next time -Also the last time- Yuzu had gotten like this Mei didn't try and go along with her or blackmail her into staying, she just made sure Yuzu had her phone and told Mei where she was going. Yuzu, throughout the night, had messaged Mei and let her know she was okay, and this seemed to work. Obviously, the drinking aspect wasn't good but Yuzu didn't get drunk to the point where she couldn't walk... usually. When she eventually came home at the end of the night, Mei would make sure she was okay and put her to bed. And for a reason Mei didn't know, Yuzu, even with her hangover, was always in a better mood than when she left. Yuzu would wake up, get food and apologise to Mei, and like that the problem was gone. Mei prayed it would be the same this time around.

Mei knew this wasn't a healthy method of working through their problems but she didn't know what else to do. She didn't like sitting home feeling helpless as Yuzu was out wandering the streets, but there wasn't much to be done. It wasn't as if these arguments were life changing or needed to be talked about, as they were usually trivial matters. So, not talking about it didn't really matter, as long as the blonde girl walked through the door at the end of the night Mei didn't care. She would swallow her argument in a heartbeat, just to make sure Yuzu returned safely.

This had only happened on two occasions (the two mentioned) since they moved in together, not including Yuzu's fall, so she didn't see it as a huge problem. This time, however, Yuzu had pushed her luck, Mei had discussed it with Yuzu, and the blonde had promised to let Mei know where she was and if she was alright. But tonight not only had she not told Mei where she was going but hadn't texted her to say if she was okay. It had only been thee and a half hours since she left, but Mei liked regular updates or she started to worry. And it was safe to say she was very worried.

Not only did she not know Yuzu's whereabouts or her frame of mind, but she also felt heavily responsible for the girl's actions. If she had just let Yuzu be she would be snuggled up reading or something, not pacing the living room wondering if Yuzu would ever respond to her messages. She had called twenty minutes ago but after several rings, the line cut off, meaning that Yuzu was still coherent enough to know that she didn't want to talk to Mei. This allowed Mei to know that Yuzu was at least still alive but it made her worry even more; Yuzu wouldn't speak to her. Did that mean she was too mad at her to talk or that she just wasn't in a talkative mood? Mei couldn't figure it out, and stalking back and forth through their house was making her crazy.

She had thought about leaving and searching for Yuzu, but she knew that even if she found the blonde it would be a battle and a half to bring her home. That was if she could even convince her to do that.

No matter how hard she tried she couldn't see what would make Yuzu so upset.

How can playing something so beautiful make you so sad?

She had sat with her when she played, held her so she wasn't alone so what was bothering her? Before the blonde had gotten up and left Mei could have sworn she had seen the start of a smile, but it vanished so quickly she could have been wrong. It was all so confusing for her, Yuzu was being so confusing. She couldn't keep up.

All Mei could really do was continue sending her girlfriend messages and hope she would reply.

The music was blaring from every corner of the room, no matter how hard she may have wanted to, Yuzu couldn't block it out. The bar was packed full, she was grateful for her early arrival or she wouldn't have been able to find an empty booth to wallow in.

Yuzu has started her adventure wandering the streets, unsure of where she wanted to go. But she soon found herself ordering two shots, sitting at a relatively empty bar. Just what she wanted: A quiet place away from home where she could drink and think. However, now not only was it beyond noisy, but she was also finding it hard to look at her drink.

How long she had been sitting in the dimly lit room starting at her third shot she didn't know, but she knew it had been a while.

The first two she downed easily, loving the burning sensation as it went down. Then her phone lit up with a call from Mei, Mei her beautiful, loving supportive girlfriend. The one she had left at home to go drinking. Only now she wasn't drinking, she couldn't muster up the courage. Her shot glass had been sitting there staring at her for hours, she wanted to pick it up and forget her problem but she couldn't. It wasn't fair, Mei was worried sick, that was evident from the mountain of texts on her phone. The ones she didn't respond to, not because she was mad at the girl, but because she was ashamed of how she had left. No explanation, no saying where she was going, literally left Mei to think the worst. How could she willingly do what she knew Mei was praying she wouldn't.

Bing.

Glancing at her phone, it was lit up with another text from Mei. 'Yuzu are you alright? Can you call me, please I'm worried sick. Just let me know you are okay. x' Yuzu sighed. Looking at the top of her screen it was already past ten, she really had sat and stared at this drink for hours. Meaning Mei had sat and stared at her phone for the same amount of time.

'I'm safe' Was all Yuzu could manage to write back. Within a minute she had a reply from Mei, but like the rest, they went unresponded to.

Not only was she a crappy girlfriend now, but she still hadn't managed to solve her problem. She couldn't drink to make herself numb to the heartbreak, because then she would be crossing Mei when she wasn't even upset with her. All she could do was sit and hope her mind found a way out of thinking she was a failure to her father.

"Hey, can I sit?" Yuzu was brought out of her thoughts when a tall handsome man sat down next to her. Shuffling his way into the booth, he stopped when he was just shy of brushing Yuzu's arm.

Oh god just fuck off. Yuzu mustered up the biggest smile she could manage "Actually that seat is taken," Pulling herself away from the man now sitting next to her, Yuzu smiled hoping she didn't sound too annoyed that he was here.

The tall guy would be in his mid-twenties with lavish black hair and blue eyes, someone Yuzu would have definitely noticed several years ago. However, now he was just the same as the rest, now she had Mei and everyone else was irrelevant. She really couldn't be done with anyone trying anything with her tonight, this guy was already pushing her buttons and he had only just sat down.

"Are you sure? You've been sitting alone for quite some time now, I don't suppose you would like some company while you wait for your 'friend' to arrive?" He once again edged closer to Yuzu, unaware of her annoyance.

With no immediate reply, he placed his hand on her forearm. "How about I buy you a drink?" he smiled again.

"I'm sure, I have my own drink as you can see, so you can leave." Yuzu still trying to be polite gave a smile and gestures to her shot, pulling her arm free of his grasp.

"I can get you a new one seeing as you don't look like you want to drink that," He was keeping calm and collected as he tried to weave his way into Yuzu's night.

"Listen, I appreciate it but I really don't need you to get me a drink. So you can go back to your own table, really. As I said, I'm fine by myself." Her smile was quickly fading. She didn't have the time to deal with him right now, normally she wouldn't have been so blunt with someone but she really wanted to be alone.

"Hey now, no need to be rude were all friends here. How about I-" He was cut off as Yuzu stood from the table and threw her shot over him.

"I swear to god if you don't fuck off I'm gonna do more than just throw my drink over you!" Slamming the glass back onto the table, she hissed as it shattered in her hand.

Silence.

"Excuse me, miss, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Yuzu looked up from the now soaked man to see one of the bartenders standing beside her table, an awkward smile on his face.

With one last glare to her admirer, she grabbed her jacket and left without a word.

Now she wandered, she didn't feel like drinking anymore. Correction, she desperately wanted to drink but her guilty conscience was stopping her from doing so.

(An hour and a half later)

"I'm sorry I wasn't good enough, I tried but I couldn't do what you taught me. I'm sorry Dad," After she finished her apology she held her head in her hands and sobbed on the floor.

After being kicked out of the bar, Yuzu had found herself sitting in front of her dads grave. After cleaning it and placing flowers she had caught her dad up on the recent events of her life, and to finish her explanation she had let her father know her worries.

"I didn't mean to let you down, I-I just couldn't bring myself to play and I lost our connection. Dad I-I" Her words caught in her breath and Yuzu couldn't muster anything else, all she could do was cry.

"Oh sweetheart, don't say things like that. Your father would be nothing but proud of you, he loves you unconditionally whether you can play your song on the piano or not," Yuzu lifted her head at the warm voice. She turned to see her mother standing by the steps behind her, a sympathetic smile on her face.

"Mom!" Yuzu had never gotten to her feet faster than she had at this moment. Sprinting into her mother's arms, Yuzu couldn't hold back her cries.

At that moment Yuzu felt content, her mother's warmth made her feel safe. Untouchable. No matter how old she got, that didn't change, she knew her mother would never let anything bad happen to her. Now, when she cried for her father her mother was here to reassure her, wrap her in a hug and let her know what she needed to hear.

After calming down Yuzu finally pulled away. "Mama how did you know I was here, or about me playing again?" Yuzu although eternally grateful that she had shown up was still confused. She hadn't told anyone where she was going and the only person that knew she had played tonight was Mei. Her mother being here didn't make any sense.

"Well, you have Mei to thank for that. She called me after eleven and explained the situation. She said she couldn't get through to you and thought I might have some input. When she told me what happened tonight, what song you couldn't finish I had a feeling you would come here. So I drove here to make sure you were okay, and apparently, it was a good thing I did." Ume smiled as she wiped the tears from her daughter's face, knowing exactly why they were there.

"Mama, I couldn't-" Yuzu broke down again as she looked back to the grave.

"I know darling, I know. Here how about we sit down and have a talk?" Ume gestured to the bench opposite the graves, hoping she would be able to talk her daughter into understanding what she really needed to do.

When they were both seated comfortably and Yuzu had calmed down her mother started again.

"Your dad as you know was a very bright a happy man, much like yourself. He loved you more than the world itself. The song you played together, it was something that the two of you bonded over but he only ever saw it as a way of making you happy Yuzu. He didn't care if you could play it or not, only that it made you happy. Now, even after not playing for a decade you still remember it perfectly and played it perfectly according to Mei. So don't you think that's enough?" Taking a breather, Ume watched as she saw Yuzu's frown slowly morph into a relaxed expression.

"He would be over the moon that you remembered how to play it, and that you started playing again, but you crying is not something he would want. Especially not at his expense. So, do both yourself and your dad a favour and enjoy it. It will take time but if you really want to, you will play like you used to and not to make your dad proud but because you want to. There is nothing you could do to make him any happier than I'm sure he already is. Do you understand?" Ume continued to watch as a peaceful expression took over the other girls face.

"I do... Thank you, Mama." Yuzu turned into her mother and again wrapped her into an embrace.

"You don't need to say anything to me, I'm your mother it's my job to be there when you need me, no matter what it is. However, one person you should talk to is Mei, she really is panicking you know? She told me you haven't been answering your phone all night, we talk about that Yuzu." Steering from her sympathetic tone into a stricter one, Ume was preparing a lecture for her daughter but was cut off.

"I know Mama and I did reply... later. I should probably go and talk to her. I think she is really mad at me..." Yuzu trailed off, knowing she had to go home but scared of the wrath that awaited her arrival.

"I don't think she is. Come on, I'll give you a lift home, give you some time to think about what you are going to say to her" With that said Ume stood up and started walking back down the steps, not giving Yuzu an option in the matter.

The car ride home was comforting and relaxing, but it was quickly coming to an end as her apartment building was coming into view.

Pulling up outside, Ume waited for Yuzu to get out the car.

"Thank you again, Mama, for talking some sense into me. Drive home safe I love you... Ouch!" After saying goodbye Yuzu reached for the door handle but upon grasping it she hissed in pain.

Ume, of course, was quick to jump to Yuzu's side. "Yuzu?! What's wrong?" With a quick once over in the dark car, Ume couldn't see anything wrong with her daughter.

"I'm fine Mama I just cut my hand earlier. I'll clean it up when I get inside." Yuzu gave a smile, but her hand was throbbing.

She had pulled the larger pieces of glass from her hand when leaving the bar, but she still had to take out all the smaller shards and clean the open wound. After all, she had only briefly pressed her hand to her shirt to stop the immediate bleeding.

"Yuzu if you are hurt you should have told me sooner! I would have taken you to the hospital. I'll take you n-" Yuzu cut her mother off, waving her hand nonchalantly.

"Mama, I said I'm fine. I'll do it myself when I get in. We have a first aid kit and I'm sure Mei will be persistent in helping or taking me to the hospital herself. So just trust me okay?" Yuzu had ready opened the door with her good hand. With a quick kiss to her mother's cheek, she thanked her one last time before hopping out and making her up the stairs to her door.

It had taken Ume over an hour to get back to Yuzu's apartment. It really wasn't convenient that her daughters had decided to move in the opposite direction from her old town. Not only was it twenty minutes or so for Ume to get back to her house from the graveyard, but she still had to drive the hour to Yuzu's house and now back to her own.

This meant that the last time Mei had heard from Yuzu was more than three hours ago. It was already half one in the morning. (an hour and a half for Yuzu to get to the grave site, 12 am, then the time for Ume to drive her back)

Mei would most definitely still be up, but Yuzu could hear no signs of movement inside the apartment. No music, no tv no nothing. The silence was painful for Yuzu but she didn't have a choice. She had to go in.

Unlocking the door Yuzu quietly walked into the apartment, and to her surprise, every light was on: illuminating the house, and a Mei who was standing in the middle of the living room, her phone in her hand.

"Yuzu!" Upon seeing her girlfriend Mei practically ran into her, squeezing her tight.

"You're, you're not mad at me?" Yuzu was a little too shocked to hug Mei back, she was half expecting Mei to be fuming at her.

"No, of course I'm not mad. I'm just glad you are safe! You didn't message me, and I was panicking something had happened to you when you were out drinking. Wait... You're not drunk, you don't even smell of alcohol, well not on your breath anyways... Did you not go to a bar?" Mei pulled back from Yuzu to look at her; Her cheeks had their natural colour again, her eyes had regained their normal sparkle but a sorry look rested in them.

"I did go to start with, and I was ignoring your messages to avoid talking, but then you called me and I realised that I had left without any consideration of your feelings. I knew you wouldn't want me to drink, and in the end, I just couldn't... Hehe, I actually ended up getting kicked out of the bar, so I went to my dads grave to talk to him. That's when I met Mama, she talked to me and explained and cleared some stuff up, now I'm all better." Yuzu gave Mei a big toothy smile, her tone lighthearted.

"Thank you, Mei" Yuzu placed her good hand on Mei's cheek and gave her a wholehearted kiss. Mei returned it eagerly, finally feeling relief. She had the normal Yuzu back, and they weren't arguing. For the first time in hours Mei was content, having the blonde look into her eyes, the caring expression they held as she looked into Mei's was enough to turn her to jelly.

Drip...drip...drip

"Yuzu, what is that noise?" Mei dragged her eyes from Yuzu's and scanned the kitchen, looking for anything that could be making such an irritating sound.

"Oh, eh that would be me." looking down, Yuzu saw her hand dripping small bits of blood onto the floor.

She cupped her injured hand in her other, trying to catch as much of the blood as possible.

"Yuzu what the hell happened?! Why didn't you tell me you were hurt!" Mei shouted as she pushed Yuzu towards the kitchen sink, letting the bloody hand sit in it.

"Mei calm down, honestly it's not that big of a deal. -This hurts like shit!- Just get me the first aid kit from the bathroom and I'll fix it up." Yuzu gave Mei another smile but Mei's eyes were fixed on her girlfriend's bleeding hand. After several moments Mei finally registered what Yuzu had said, and ran to the bathroom, returning seconds later with a white box.

Mei sat watching Yuzu as she scrolled through her phone, the occasional laugh or chuckle leaving her lips at something she had read or watched.

After cleaning herself up, Yuzu showered and sat at the dining room table. Mei was quite surprised at the blonde's knowledge earlier, she had expertly cleaned and bandaged up her wound. Something Mei should have expected considering Yuzu did want to go into medicine.

It was now past two in the morning, Mei was waiting for either an explanation from Yuzu or for the subject to be dropped and the two go to bed. But here Yuzu was, just scrolling through her phone. After her first apology when she came in she had pretty much left it. Saying that she had spoken to her mother and that everything was fine now.

Mei trusted Yuzu, and if she said she was fine that was okay, but what were they doing now?

"Yuzu are we going to bed?" After ten minutes of silence on her part, Mei spoke up, unable to continue the silence.

"I eh, actually I was hoping we could get something to eat. You haven't had anything to eat and neither have I, I haven't eaten in like twelve hours I'm starving." Her attention was quickly taken from her phone and given to Mei, a shy smirk on her face. The transition from phone to Mei was so fast, Mei suspected Yuzu was waiting for her to say something.

"Yuzu, you are aware of the time right? I don't want to cook and I don't think anywhere is open right now, can't you just wait till morning?" A defeated look overtook Mei's face as she watched Yuzu unconsciously pout at her words.

"Fine, what do you want?" Mei got up and walked to her phone, knowing that her girlfriend wanted takeout.

"Chips and a burger please," Yuzu gave Mei a cheesy grin, but she only rolled her eyes. Just before she had dialled the number into her phone, Mei turned back to Yuzu, her eyebrow raised.

"Just a burger and fries?" This was strange. Yuzu however small her frame was, ate enough that she should have been built like a bus. The last time they had ordered 'a burger and fries' Yuzu actually ended up ordering half the menu, and she ate most of it too. Yuzu, however, nodded certainly at Mei, her smile wide.

"Yup, that's all I want, are you getting anything?" Yuzu asked as she continued to smile at Mei, who was still eyeing her sceptically. This was a strange occurrence for Mei, she was very much baffled. She was certain if she let the blonde, Yuzu would eat her into bankruptcy. That was a lot of money, but Mei was sure Yuzu would easily spend it on her stomach.

"No, I'm not hungry. Are you sure that's all you want to eat?" Once again verifying that her ear had heard right, Mei asked again. Her uncertainty only resulted in Yuzu laughing, "Yes Mei, just a burger and some fries. Now hurry up and order it before I fall asleep." Yuzu gave another grin before turning back to her phone.

"...He said it should be here in twenty minutes," Mei said as she leaned over the back of Yuzu's chair, snaking her arms around the older girls neck. After nearly a minute of comfortable silence, Mei spoke again, her voice quiet and tamed.

"Yuzu... are you sure everything is fine? I feel kind of responsible for everything, are you sure you're not upset with me?" Mei's voice was quiet and frail. Just because Yuzu was feeling better didn't mean Mei was.

Yuzu was confused more than anything. "Mei why would you feel even remotely like that? Yes, you asked me to play but that made me happy, it was just the song I picked probably wasn't the best choice. I'm not mad at you, I'm glad you wanted me to play, so stop worrying okay?" Yuzu turned her head and gave Mei a comforting kiss on the cheek.

"Okay" Mei too turned to meet her girlfriend's gaze, planting a firm kiss on her soft lips.

"...Yuzu?" Mei asked as she turned her face back into the blonde's shoulder. She got an 'Mhmm' in response. Yuzu had a feeling she knew what the younger girl was going to ask, but she thought it better to wait and see if she was right.

"...Why didn't you reply to any of my messages? I must have sent you at least a couple dozen, I know you got them. So if you weren't mad at me, then why didn't you answer?" Mei was practically mumbling as she asked her question. Yuzu was very aware of how Mei was feeling, if she said the wrong thing now Mei would feel responsible and guilty. So, after taking a moment to figure out the best way to word her answer, Yuzu started talking her voice gentle and caring.

"Well before you called I just wanted to be alone, but after you called and I actually read the texts you had sent, I felt really bad about how I left you. I guess I just didn't want to face you, knowing how I had treated you... but I definitely wasn't mad. Promise," Trying to finish her statement on a high note, Yuzu smiled and placed her hand on Mei's arms that were still around her, and gave them a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm sorry I worried you so much tonight, but now everything is fine. Mama spoke to me about it and explained that I don't have any reason to be upset. Not upset with myself, not with the piano and most definitely not with you." After laying several kisses to the pale arm, Yuzu let her lips linger against the warm flesh, smiling as she felt Mei hold her just that little bit tighter at her actions.

Mei was taking her time removing herself from Yuzu, not that the blonde minded, but Mei usually didn't hug her for this long. Looking over, Yuzu tried to stifle a laugh as she looked upon her almost sleeping girlfriend; Hunched over a chair, using both her arms and Yuzu's shoulder as a pillow.

"Mei?" Tapping the sleeping girl on the face, Yuzu grinned as Mei slurred several words before weakly opening her eyes.

"Mei, I think you should go to bed. I'll be through once I've finished eating, and don't say 'no' because you just fell asleep on my shoulder. You are exhausted, its super late so you should go to sleep." Yuzu, once Mei had taken several steps backwards, slipped out from her chair and wrapped her arms around Mei for a final time.

That's all she wanted to do; hold Mei, as close as possible for as long as possible. It had been an excruciatingly long night; Yuzu just wanted a full belly and to be in her warm bed holding the girl she loved. But the first step in that was getting her sleepwalking girlfriend to bed first.

When she eventually got an almost inaudible mumble from Mei, Yuzu assisted her to bed before giving her a kiss goodnight and leaving the room.

While she had spoken to her mother and had been reassured, Yuzu still felt like she had things to think over; Come to terms with her emotions.

As soon as she was back in the living room, her eyes landed on the burgundy piano that stood against the wall. Now that she had been comforted she felt confident, she didn't see a reason to be scared anymore. If she couldn't play perfectly it didn't matter if she could, great, but what was made clear to her today was that as long as she enjoyed herself none of that matter.

Now sitting in front of the instrument, Yuzu layed her good hand over the keys. Taking a deep breath, Yuzu readied her hand but just as she was about to press down on the white blocks there was a knock at the door; Reminding Yuzu of the empty pit that was her stomach. Eagerly grabbing her purse, Yuzu jumped to the door and collected her much needed food.

Mei tossed and turned at the feeling of an empty bed. Still sleeping, she stretched her arms to the right side of the bed, looking for the one person she allowed to hold her, but her hands came up empty. Once again she unconsciously shuffled towards the blonde's side of the bed, looking for the arms she desperately wanted around at this moment. Yet again she felt nothing.

This disappointment resulted in Mei reluctantly opening her eyes, having to actually look for her girlfriend annoyed her. She was expecting the girl to be curled up in a ball somewhere out of reach on the bed, but upon closer inspection, she found that the bed was empty.

The room was dark, the only source of light, the street lights that peeked in through the blinds. There was a very faint glow beneath the door, perhaps the bathroom or kitchen.

She suspected that the girl had either gone to the bathroom or to get a drink. Glancing at the clock as she sat up, it was a little past four, way too early for the blonde to be getting up. Still wanting her lover's arms around her, Mei decided to wait for the blonde to come back.

One minute passed then two then three, and before Mei noticed she had been waiting just under ten minutes for Yuzu to return. Reluctantly stripping the covers away, she ventured out into the hall to find out what was taking her so long. The hall was illuminated by light coming from the lounge. Taking her first step into the dimly lit hall, she narrowed the blondes whereabouts to either the living room or kitchen.

As she sluggishly drew nearer the lounge, her eyes widened to see the back of the person she was looking for in front of the piano. Mei was still more than half way down the hall when she saw the blonde, unable to hear the notes being played but saw her right hand playing up the piano.

She silently drew closer in hopes of hearing what the blonde was playing, and when she finally reached the point where the lounge met the hall, the notes just bearly hit her ears. It wasn't as 'full' as the song she heard earlier, but it was just as beautiful. Standing still, Mei was stuck between astonishment and contentment.

It was one thing to hear the blonde say she was okay, but for her to willingly be playing by herself was something Mei saw as a huge milestone. It proved that Yuzu really had figured things out tonight, and if Mei never knew what Ume had said to her daughter she was fine with that. So long as Yuzu was back to normal Mei was happy, content. She didn't need to know the details if the girl wasn't comfortable discussing it with her.

The song was beautiful, relaxing, much like the one Yuzu had previously demonstrated.

Several minutes later, when her hand finally stopped moving, Mei crossed the distance between them.

Just as she was closing the lid of the piano, Yuzu jumped at the feeling of being touched.

"Gwaah! What the fuck?!" Stumbling down from the stool in a failing attempt to get away from whoever was behind her, Yuzu scrambled for several seconds across the floor until she heard the weak laugh of her lover. Turning her body, she saw Mei standing behind the stool with one of her arms outstretched, probably attempting to catch the blonde before she fell, the other covering her mouth.

"Mei, what the hell was that for? You scared the living daylights out of me!" Yuzu groaned as she pulled herself from the floor, rubbing her sore bum as she did.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was going to hug you but I guess I just startled you. I thought you said you were coming to bed once you had eaten, couldn't this wait till morning, haven't you seen the time?" Mei, after her chuckling had subsided, reached her hand out to the blonde with a small smile.

"Next time say something first! But sorry for not coming to bed yet, I just got this feeling that I needed to play. I was just finishing, we can go back to bed now." Yuzu gave a bright grin as she skipped over to her still amused girlfriend, kissing her on the cheek before properly closing the piano.

"What you were playing sounded really nice..." Mei somewhat mumbled the compliment as they walked back to their room. She felt the blonde squeeze her hand at the words, "Awe, Thanks, Mei! It will sound a whole lot better once my left hand heals up. By the way how long were you standing behind me?" Yuzu asked as they both climbed into bed.

Once settled comfortably under the covers, with Mei snuggled in Yuzu's warm embrace, she gave a content sigh before speaking. "I was only there for a minute or two, I woke up because you weren't here. I thought you'd gotten up for a drink or something but you didn't come back like I was expecting you to. After about ten minutes of waiting, I went to see what was taking you so long, and that's when I found you playing." Circling her arms around the blonde's waist, Mei nuzzled her head into the soft chest. This was what she had been looking for.

Getting an 'oh okay' from Yuzu, Mei prepared to go back to sleep.

Tucking Mei in closer to her, Yuzu placed several kisses to Mei's head before snuggling down herself. It wasn't long before Yuzu's body finally gave in to fatigue, within minutes the two were both sound asleep, glad the events of the evening had passed and were finally holding one another in their arms.