Chapter 35.5 "Hey, Mei…"
Disclaimer: Citrus Characters belong to Saburouta.
Summary:
Because sometimes, there just aren't enough words.
A/N: Spoilers for Chapters 35-36, One-shot but Possible Continuation.
When yuzu woke up on the morning after her date with Mei, she could feel an automatic smile imprinting on her face. They had finally gone on a proper date, and on top of that, they tried on wedding dresses! She opened her eyes to find the student council president still laying next her. Mei was already awake, with her head slightly tilted on the pillow and her cheek resting on her palm. She was trying really hard not to smile at Mei's thoughtful, yet lovely face, while she kept examining her as if memorizing every single detail of the blonde's face. She had never seen Mei's bright purple eyes pay such close attention to something before, let alone her. Yuzu started to doubt if Mei even realized she was awake and staring back at her.
After a while, Mei's tightly-pressed pink lips slowly began to open, and it truly seemed like she was about to reveal something incredibly important.
"Yuzu...Should I save a lock of your hair in case someday you decide to dye it? Blonde truly suits you." She finally said. Yuzu blushed and smiled.
When they first met, Yuzu spent most of her nights trying to figure out what Mei thought so deeply under all her beautiful dark hair. Her stare always seemed so distant and pensive, but after spending some time together, she started to open up a little. Despite Mei's lack of experience with conveying her feelings, Yuzu always felt comforted by her words. She was starting to understand her. Mei saw the world her own way and Yuzu loved her because of that.
After breakfast the rest of the morning went by slowly, doubly because Mei had left in a hurry and acting strange. Yuzu didn't see her at the academy either, and she wondered if she said something that morning that might've upset her. When she got home from school, Mei's belongings weren't there anymore. Mei had left just a farewell note and with that, a shattered heart. But what hurt the most was the more Yuzu thought about it, the more sense it made. The student council president was bound to marry her fiancé and inherit the academy and even though Yuzu knew that someday it might happen, her lingering hope made its way to tears on the nights of the months to follow.
It's been two years since Yuzu saw Mei for the last time. Her mom handed her a letter that arrived this morning to their house. The envelope is addressed to Aihara Yuzu, with no return address and nothing written inside. And even though Yuzu doesn't know what that blank letter means, she knows sometimes there just aren't enough words.
Yuzu cut a lock of her hair and placed it inside the envelope.
In case she comes back and I'm not home, she thought, while hanging the envelope on the fridge door.