5 Chapter 5: Injured

She could hear light sobs as her eyes fluttered open, her vision was still slightly cloudy, but as she quickly scanned the room, she instantly recognized that she was in a hospital. She could hear the constant 'beep' from a monitor next to her and although she couldn't see it right now, she really wanted to turn it off, the dull, repetitive sound was ear piercing.

Yuzu instantly recognized those light sobs as the woman she loved, but why was she crying? And why was she in the hospital? She could feel Mei clutching onto her hand, and she tried to give her girlfriend a reassuring squeeze. She immediately felt the side of the bed Mei was leaning on rise and saw Mei come into her field of vision.

"Ugh" Yuzu tried to speak, but only found herself choking. Mei quickly left her only to return moments later with several nurses.

Yuzu shivered slightly at the sight of the tube that was removed from her throat, before looking back to Mei. Her eyes were red and puffy, hair was a mess and she was still in her... pyjamas? Yuzu was sore but she couldn't help smiling at the sight of Mei standing in her pyjamas in a public place.

"Hey?" Yuzu didn't know what to say, she couldn't remember what had happened or why she was here, or even how she got here. The sound of Yuzu's voice was enough to put Mei over the edge as she felt tears spill over like they had done almost continuously for the past couple of hours. Mei ran over to Yuzu pulling her into a tight embrace, she didn't know what she would do if she hadn't woken up.

"Ow ow ow, Mei that's sore," at Yuzus rushed words Mei quickly removed herself from the girl as she waited for her to say something, but when no answer came from the blonde Mei thought she should say something.

"W-why?" was the only word that came out of Mei's mouth through her choked sobs, and to yuzu that didn't make any sense, she didn't even know why she was here and now Mei was looking at her with red eyes and an accusing look. Before Yuzu could question her, the door opened and several doctors came in.

"Good morning Miss Aihara, nice to see you're awake I'm Dr Messon. How are you feeling?" A cheery man in his 40s spoke as he shuffled round to take a look at her chart.

"Sore... I don't know why I'm here, and I hurt like, everywhere," Yuzu answered with a small smile as she gestured down her body, which earned her a glare from Mei. Which Yuzu returned with another questioning glance before turning her attention back to her doctor.

"Okay, Takahashi is going to present." The doctor said as he gestured to a small woman at the side of the room, who Yuzu thought must have been an intern going of her jacket.

"Miss Yuzu Aihara came in this morning at 12:15 with alcohol poisoning, most of the danger was passed after we pumped her stomach and put her on an IV drip. She was also found to have a small concussion from the fall as well as a fractured right shoulder and a sprained wrist, and some light bruising along the entire right side." when she was finished, she moved back to let the Doctor continue.

"Yes, so Miss Aihara, can you tell me what year it is, or the events leading to how you got here?" He smiled again as he politely waited for an answer.

"Ehh... it's 2019, and I remember leaving the house at about 9 or something like that... buying some alcohol from a shop and coming back home but that's about it. Sorry" Yuzu said sheepishly, she really couldn't remember, what amazed her the most was how she could have injured herself so badly and not remember it.

"It's okay that's not uncommon, I'm gonna go ahead and assume you have quite the headache right now?" he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, which she again nodded and smiled at.

"Last night you were brought here in an ambulance and after some help from your friends here, we were able to see that you had drunk an entire bottle of whiskey, she had also told us that she found you at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Which is where we think you got your fracture and and sprain from as they were most likely the point of impact when you fell. You have a slight concussion from the fall as well as some minor cuts and bruises." He paused as if to give Yuzu time to take in the information.

"We are going to do some mandatory check-ups and if everything comes back clear you should be able to go home by the end of the day. Do you have any questions?" Yuzu slowly shook her head, as she started to remember the events of last night at the doctor's words. And soon it was just Mei and Yuzu sitting in the hospital room.

Mei was sitting on Yuzu's left tightly clasping the blonde's hand in both of hers as she lightly kissed her fingers.

"Why would you do something so stupid Yuzu, you are supposed to be a medical student you know what could have happened, what if I hadn't found you... Why would you drink that much?" Mei was crying once again as she grasped onto the hand tighter as if she would disappear if she let go.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get that drunk, I just wanted something to drink and we were all out so I had to go and buy some, but when I got home I realized I hadn't brought my keys. So, I just waited outside." Yuzu trailed off as she heard just how stupid she sounded.

"Why didn't you just knock I would have come and let you in, why did u sit out in the cold for hours when you could have just asked me to let you inside? I was worried sick, I didn't know what had happened to you. At first, I thought you were just in the lounge but when I went through to find you there was no one there." Yuzu could hear the cracks in her voice but she stayed silent knowing she had more to say.

"When I tried to call you I realized that you had left your phone. I didn't know where you went but I thought you had just gone out to let off some steam, but you were taking so long to come back. I just... Then I heard glass shattering outside, then a loud bang. When I got there, I found you at the bottom of the stairs, covered and choking on your sick, you were covered in cuts and shaking, I just... lost it. I didn't know what to do. I froze."

"Mei" Yuzu didn't know what she was supposed to say, she had thought Mei didn't know or even care she was gone, and now she was finding out she had been worrying the whole night. But if Mei didn't call then how did she get into the hospital?

"How did I get here then?" she asked cautiously not wanting to upset Mei any more.

"Our neighbour heard the commotion as well and called the ambulance, I couldn't, I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry." Mei was now hugging Yuzus hand as she continued to show her dismay and apologized.

"Why are you apologizing? I had actually planned on saying sorry to you. While I was outside I realized that I had no right to be mad at you, I'm sorry for getting upset about something so trivial. I'm sorry I made you worry so much. And I didn't want to knock because I was mad, at the time I thought you cared more about your assignment than me. I know it's silly after hearing how worried you were, but I wasn't thinking straight I guess I was just being stubborn and didn't want to have to ask for your help." Yuzu, despite her pain, sat up and pulled Mei closer using her mobile arm to wrap Mei in a tight hug as she placed soft kisses on her head.

"Anyways, seems like my actions were kinda counterproductive." Yuzu chuckled as she lay back into the bed.

"What do you mean?" Mei asked, still holding her hand. Yuzu smiled awkwardly at the question.

"Well I was mad at you for not wanting to have sex, now thanks to my actions I definitely won't be able to, at least not for a while." Mei looked at her grinning girlfriend with a slight blush, that was not what she was expecting. But she smiled anyway, glad to see that she was back to her cheerful self.

"I'm sure I can figure out a way," Mei said, she knew her face was as red as a tomato but she smiled anyway. Yuzu also smiled back, she felt so much lighter.

Hours later, after several tests and Mei had spoken to the doctor about what she needed to do whilst taking care of Yuzu once they got home. She got given Yuzu's pain relief tablets and instructions about her cast and sling, and they were now on their way home. Yuzu looked over at Mei who was concentrating on the road, Yuzu could see the bags under Mei's eyes, it was quite obvious to the blonde that she hadn't slept all night while waiting for her to wake up.

"You know Mei you didn't have to drive, we could have just gotten the train back, I know how tired you are." She said, but she knew it was futile as she had already tried to persuade Mei not to drive, however, Mei was adamant that Yuzu needed to be taken home as fast as possible and shouldn't have to sit on a bumpy, crowded train cart.

"You know Yuzu, you didn't have to go out and get whiskey just because you couldn't get laid, you could have just had a beer, you know we have those in the fridge." Yuzu could see the smug smile Mei was wearing as she looked at her briefly before turning back to the road, she just snorted in response, she was glad Mei was able to joke about the situation. If she was going to be housebound for several days, she didn't want Mei to be in a bad mood with her.

"Hey Yuzu?" The blonde looked back at Mei waiting for her to continue. "Yeah?" There was a pause in the conversation, as Mei decided on her next words which fell heavy in the silence of the car when she spoke.

"You know I love you... more than anything in the world, I would give up anything to be with you, you are my purpose for living. If I lost you I would be lost myself. So... so please don't be so damn reckless with your life from now on... Okay?" Her voice was wavering a little but was stern and sounded almost like a plea, she was still focused on the road not daring to look at the blonde who she knew was watching her.

"I promise," was all Yuzu said, she didn't need to say anymore, they both clearly knew how the other felt about the situation, about each other. The rest of the journey home was relatively silent apart from little snippets of conversation.

When they reached their apartment door, Yuzu found the shattered bottle of glass at the front door along with her vomit, 'I must have dropped it here before I fell last night' she thought, I need to clean this up before we get a complaint. Oh, and I have to thank our neighbours, and what about my classes what am I going to do. As all these thoughts rushed through her head, she felt Mei's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, I'll clean it all up, you just need to rest, we can speak to people about it later okay? And I'll message the school and see about getting your work emailed to you for the next couple of days, so let's just get you inside to get some rest." Mei finished as she opened the door gesturing for Yuzu to go inside.

She walked in and headed for the bedroom picking out her fluffiest pair of pyjamas before heading to the bathroom to run a warm bath, a hot relaxing bath sounded heavenly to Yuzu right now. She sat and waited for it to fill, as she heard Mei cleaning the steps outside. She didn't think it was right for Mei to have to clean up her mess, but she didn't think there was anyways she was going to persuade her to stop.

Yuzu struggled out of her dirty clothes and tossed them into the laundry basket before slipping into the steaming bath, making sure to keep her cast out of the water. She had a cast on her forearm for her wrist and a sling on top of that for her shoulder, she could take the sling off whilst washing but she was told not to take the cast off for a couple of weeks when her next check-up would be to get it removed.

With some struggle, she managed to wash her body, but she couldn't wash her long locks while simultaneously keeping her sore arm out of the bath. Annoyed at her own inability to wash she reluctantly called Mei.

"Mei!?" She shouted so the other woman would hear her through the door, within seconds Mei was standing in the bathroom, Yuzu smiled realizing she had run.

"Would you mind washing my hair, I would do it but I don't want to risk getting my cast wet. Sorry to..." She trailed off at the sight of Mei undressing in front of her, she smiled and moved slightly in the bath so that Mei could sit behind her.

"I'll happily help, you don't have to be sorry," she smiled and started to wet the blonde's hair before massaging the scalp with shampoo, rinsing and repeating the process with conditioner. When she was done, she sighed and wrapped her arms around Yuzu, laying sweet kisses on her bare shoulder and back.

"I love you," she said between kisses, Yuzu smiled and leaned back into Mei, happy just to sit in her grasp.

"I love you too." Yuzu replied. After sitting there for a long time Mei decided it was best for Yuzu to get out of the bath encase she became dizzy. Yuzu reluctant at first, happily complied as Mei took her out of the bath and dried her before dressing the blonde, kissing her all over as she did.

This was the most attention Yuzu had received in weeks, and although she was sore, she really didn't want Mei to stop. When the last of her clothes were on, Mei captured Yuzu in a long passionate kiss, which Mei nor Yuzu wanted to end.

"C'mon, you need to go to bed," Mei said with a smile as she eased away from Yuzu and opened the bathroom door for her. Mei tucked Yuzu into bed after covering her with extra blankets and pillows to make sure she was comfortable, gave her one final kiss before leaving the bedroom. When she got to the lounge, she felt all her strength disappear as she collapsed onto the couch, feeling the all too familiar sensation of tears spilling over her cheeks.

She didn't think they were sad tears but tears of happiness, gratefulness even, she really couldn't see her life without Yuzu in it. It was currently late afternoon and she decided she would have a quick power nap before preparing dinner for the two, then she had to get school sorted out. After all, she would probably only get one or two days away from her studies to look after Yuzu, so she had to get everything ready for the blonde.

Yuzu woke to the delicious smell of food wafting through the apartment, she always craved food after a hangover more times than not she wanted savoury, and today was no different as the smell made her mouth water. She quickly got out of bed and walked through to the kitchen where she saw a smiling Mei putting a plate of food, a mug of tea and some juice onto a tray, which yuzu assumed was for herself.

Yuzu sat herself down at the dinner table and admired her lover from a distance, Mei must have been extremely tired if she hadn't noticed the blonde the whole time. Yuzu finally decided to speak, her throat was still sore from vomiting so much last night, but she didn't mind.

"Hey beautiful, thanks for making dinner it smells amazing" Mei almost dropped the spoon she was holding at the sound of yuzus voice, she quickly turned around to see her sitting patiently at the table, a big grin plastered on her face. Mei's smile faded as she began to worry.

"Yuzu you should be in bed resting your arm it won't heal if you don't rest. I was just about to bring your dinner through to the bedroom, you can go back through I'll be there in a minute." Yuzu didn't move an inch even when Mei used her 'student council president' voice, Yuzu was used to it now, she continued to smile.

"You hate eating in bed, last time you came home early from a class and caught me eating crisps in bed you nearly killed me there and then. I believe the word you used to describe the action was 'disgusting' before completely changing all the sheets, and on top of that, you were mad for like 3 days. So, I think I'm gonna eat at the table" Yuzu laughed and shuddered at the memory and stayed seated.

Mei also let out a chuckle as she brought the tray over and gave yuzu a kiss.

"That was under different circumstances, but if you want to eat here then fine," She walked back and plated herself some up before returning to the table to sit opposite Yuzu, eyeing her sceptically.

"It doesn't hurt don't worry, I'm fine really, just super hungry," she smiled, before picking up her chopsticks and began eating.

"Oh my gosh Mei, this tastes like heaven... I don't know what you did but well done your cooking really is improving...Yummy" Yuzu continued to praise Mei's efforts throughout her meal. Mei had known she would want something savoury as she always did after a night out, so she had decided to make one of Yuzu's favourite dishes. She knew her food wasn't bad but she knew that Yuzu was exaggerating the taste because of her hangover.

As soon as dinner was over Mei had sent Yuzu back to bed after rejecting her offer to help tidy up, Yuzu waited for what felt like hours until Mei came into the room to get ready for bed. She watched in awe as Mei changed into a pair of cotton shorts and an oversized blue shirt, before climbing into bed on Yuzus left. Yuzu didn't feel much pain in her shoulder as she had taken her tablets not that long ago at the instructions of Mei. She tightly wrapped her arm around Mei pulling her as close as possible, knowing that Mei would be too cautious to do it herself.

"Yuzu be careful, you are going to hurt yourself, the doctor said no strenuous activities or anything that could irritate your shoulder." Though Mei said this Yuzu could feel her nestling in closer towards her body, laying one hand on Yuzus stomach the other around her back, while resting her head on Yuzu's chest. The sound of Yuzu's heartbeat brought Mei so much comfort.

"Heey Meeei, do you want to do something for me?" Yuzu asked Mei as she pulled back to look into her eyes smiling brightly. Mei however almost cringed at the whining tone Yuzu had spoken in but decided against showing her annoyance and just nodded at the blonde.

"What do you need?" Mei said as she sat up on her elbow to look down on Yuzu, she had a feeling she knew what was coming next by the grin on Yuzu's face, but waited for a reply anyway.

"Well, I read this study the other week in school, about how 'Natural Pleasure' (Yuzu winked) can help with pain relief in the female body, and gosh Mei I really am in so much pain right now. So, will you help me out?" Yuzu had a tinge of red on her cheeks as she spoke in a sultry tone, Yuzu wasn't lying she had read an article saying just that but had never bothered about it till now.

"Are you serious Yuzu, trying to use medicine to get me into bed?" Mei smiled back to Yuzu a mixture of disbelief and humour on her face. Her reply was completely serious.

"Very, completely, deadly, utterly serious." Yuzu had a lecherous grin on her face as she leaned up to kiss Mei. Who happily leaned down into the blonde. After a few moments, she pulled away, giving Yuzu several more kisses over her face.

"If you had said that on any other day in any other circumstance, I might have taken you right there. But you need to rest and trust me," Mei leaned down to Yuzu's ear and lightly bit on the skin.

"You couldn't handle me tonight." Mei winked herself at Yuzu who was flushed red at Mei response, Mei laughed before kissing her again and settling back down on her left side.

"Goodnight, love you," Mei said and was met with the usual reply from Yuzu.

"Night, I love you too." With a final kiss on the head, they both drifted to sleep together for the first time in over a week.