Notes: A Mugi story to round out the bunch.

Summary: Yui decides to make Mugi her wife. But while listing all the reasons why they can't marry, Mugi stumbles upon a simple reason why they should.

Implied Pairings: YuiMugi

Marry Me, Mugi-chan!

A K-ON! Oneshot by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

It was a fairly typical day for the members of the light music club.

Mio was focused entirely on writing a new song, somehow managing to ignore nearly everyone else in the room.

Ritsu had fallen asleep at her desk.

Azusa was once again trying to show Yui some of the tricks that all "proper" guitarists knew, and that Yui, of course, either did not know at all, or simply wasn't aware that she herself knew.

Mugi was making tea and setting out slices of the cake she'd brought from home. It wasn't that she didn't need to practice, or that she didn't want to. It was just that the others would be worn out after their intense efforts, and they would expect (and possibly even demand, in some cases) to be fed afterwards. Besides, Mugi was probably the most talented musician in the group, though she would never offend the others by even implying that. She had been following a firm practice regimen for years now, to the point where she was not overly concerned when the group got distracted by other things, and practice was delayed by a few days.

Unfortunately, there was no way for Mugi to explain that without offending someone. Anyway, she found it was best that the group practiced as much as the distractions would allow, if for no other reason than to keep the material fresh in Yui's head. Even that was no guarantee that she would remember anything, but Mio refused to tempt fate by doing anything less.

For that reason, Mugi didn't interrupt as soon as she was done setting out the afternoon snacks (even if Yui generally treated them like a first dinner). She waited until Azusa had nearly reached the limit of her patience with Yui and her questionable mental capacities.

"Everyone! I have tea and cakes read-"

"FOOD!!!" Yui and Ritsu bellowed at once, nearly knocking each other over in their hurry to stuff their faces. Mugi had never really been able to decide why they rushed, since everyone started out with the exact same portions.

Azusa dragged herself over a moment later, looking eternally grateful when Mugi handed over her personal cup. Mio followed soon after, wisely choosing to avoid the stampede.

"Mugi-chan, this cake is great!" Yui exclaimed (thankfully, not while her mouth was full of cake). "What did you put in it?"

"It's only a pound cake that someone gave to my father, Yui-chan. I just brought it here."

"I'm sure that made it taste better, then!"

Mugi was not really sure how to answer that. "Um, thank you?" Noticing that most of Yui's tea was gone already, she quickly refilled the cup.

Yui beamed at her. "You're going to make a really good wife one day, Mugi-chan!"

For some reason, that simple compliment made Mugi's face glow bright red. "D-Don't be silly, Yui-chan! What makes you say that?"

"It's obvious! You're pretty, you're nice, you always have good snacks, and you smell like fresh cake!"

Azusa made an odd choking noise in the middle of drinking her tea, and Ritsu had to slap her on the back several times before she could catch her breath. Mio just sighed and shook her head.

"Well, um, thank you, again," Mugi murmured, wishing Yui had saved her compliments for a more private moment. She placed the teapot back on the table and went to her seat, noticing, with some dismay, that Yui had followed her, and was glancing at her shyly. "Did you need something else, Yui-chan?"

"Mugi-chan, you don't, um, have anyone you really like, right?" Yui asked.

It didn't take Mugi long to figure out where this was going, and despite her best judgment, she went with the truth. "No, I don't..."

"So, you could be my wife!" Yui said happily, giving her a big hug.

Mugi blinked slowly, noticing that the other girls were gaping at them. "Y-Yui-chan, I'm flattered, but I couldn't possibly get married right now."

"Oh, I know! I meant later!" Yui added quickly, releasing her hold on Mugi's neck. "We should both finish school first, and maybe we'll want the band to tour for a couple of years before we settle down. But for now, you can be my girlfriend, right?"

Mugi's mouth worked silently as she gazed up into Yui's expectant smile. She never would've expected that Yui had given this so much thought. She was saved from answering by Mio walking over and rapping her knuckles lightly on Yui's head.

"Yui, you can't just propose out of the blue like that!" Mio scolded. "And you didn't even ask her properly! Besides, I'm sure a girl like Mugi has tons of suitors lined up. You can't just expect her to forget about them!"

That was, of course, very true. Mugi had been getting marriage proposals since she was in diapers, and was expected to end up with the son of some promising family in the near future.

Yui pouted and rubbed her aching head. "But Mugi-chan said she didn't like any of them! She obviously likes me better!"

Mugi laughed nervously. "That is true, but-"

"So we can get married!" Yui squealed, latching onto Mugi's neck again.

"I don't think it would be so simple, Yui-chan. I doubt my parents would approve of me marrying you."

"Because I'm not rich?" Yui asked.

"Because you're a girl, idiot," Ritsu sighed. "You can't give them any grandchildren!"

Yui grinned. "You could have them for us, Ricchan!"

Mio dove out of the way as Ritsu lurched across the desk and clobbered Yui, knocking her to the floor. "My womb is not an orphanage!"

Azusa carefully helped Yui sit up, gently fingering the still-smoking bump on her head. "Are you okay, Yui-senpai?"

Yui smiled through her pain. "I am as long as Mugi-chan still wants to marry me!"

Mugi sighed helplessly and wrapped her arms around Yui. "I'll add you to my list of suitors, but that's it for now."

Yui's smile lit up the whole room. "Azu-nyan, you can be our flower girl!"

Azusa frowned. "I can't be the maid of honor?"

"Nope, that's Ricchan, since she's having our-"

"I AM NOT!!!" Ritsu howled, having to be restrained by Mio.

While she had gone along with Yui's request more of out friendship that anything else, Mugi was inwardly very worried. There was just no way she could go against her parent's wishes on the matter of marriage. Her mother had already been greatly disappointed when Mugi had not joined the choir as planned.

But that Mugi was getting rid of all the gifted sweets that tended to pile up in their house was a source of much relief to her father, who ate spicy food almost exclusively. There was a slim chance that Mugi could get him to bend on marrying a rich boy, but she didn't think any amount of pleading would make him agree to her marrying a girl. Even if that worked, she couldn't imagine him bending the rules for a girl like Yui, who, while very kind and loving, was not exactly capable of supporting Mugi. If anything, Mugi would be the one supporting her.

Then again, that could explain why Yui saw Mugi as being the wife instead of the husband. It did not explain what Yui intended to do for money and housing, or if she had even considered such things.

Mugi caught herself in the middle of such thoughts, realized she had put far too much time into worrying over something that wasn't going to happen, and forced herself to stop.

Or tried to stop, anyway.

But she was still thinking of Yui, and how they weren't going to get married, when she picked a cake from the pile in the kitchen without checking the expiration date on the box.

Yui didn't say anything about wedding plans the next day, but it was obvious that they were in full swing.

Azusa came in with a huge book of flowers, and was trying to decide which would be most appropriate for a wedding.

Mio was working harder than ever on a song she intended to sing (somehow) for the wedding.

Even Ritsu had come in with a rather thick book. She refused to say what it was for, and each time she was asked, she became red-faced and angry.

All of this only made Mugi feel worse. She needed to tell Yui that she was only being nice before, and that they would never actually be allowed to get married. She decided that it was best to tell Yui over cake, so that the news would be bittersweet at worst.

But even that plan fell through: in her excitement, Yui practically inhaled her slice of cake, and then asked for two more before Mugi could even say one word. Thankfully, Mio volunteered to get more cake.

If she hadn't, they might never have found out.

Yui tossed back her second piece of cake, and was reaching for the third when Mio smacked her hand away.

"Yui, STOP!" Mio shrieked, grabbing the cake from her.

"Mio-chan, you cake thief!" Yui whined. "That was my piece! Get your own!"

"Yui, there is MOLD on this cake!" Mio snapped, showing her the greenish fuzz growing on the bottom. "And you just had two pieces!"

"So?" Yui asked, pouting childishly. "You should still get your own!"

Mio admirably resisted the urge to scream. "Yui, this stuff could make you very sick! Couldn't you taste it?!"

Yui opened her mouth, turned a spectacular shade of purple, and fell out of her chair.

When Yui opened her eyes ten minutes later, the first thing she said was, "Mugi-chan, I'm hungry..."

"You IDIOT!" Ritsu shouted. "Eating is what got you into this condition!"

"But I'm okay, really! I just need some foo-"

"NO!"

"Yui-chan," Mugi whispered as she squeezed Yui's hands. "I'm so sorry! It was all my fault! I wasn't paying attention!"

Yui smiled. "Don't worry, Mugi-chan, I'm totally fine!"

"It's lucky that Yui-senpai ate so fast, or the rest of us would've eaten it, too," Azusa sighed.

"So mold is... bad for you?" Yui asked slowly.

"YES!" everyone but Mugi and Yui shouted.

"Oh. Okay! I'll try to remem-"

"DON'T!" Mio yelled. "You'll forget everything else! We'll just remind you!"

Yui smiled weakly and started to relax, until she noticed the tears in Mugi's eyes. "Mugi-chan, what's wrong?" she asked softly.

Mugi sniffled and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "Didn't the cake taste different at all to you, Yui-chan?"

"Yeah," Yui admitted slowly, "but when I saw the mold, I just figured that-"

"WAIT! YOU SAW THE MOLD BEFORE YOU ATE IT?!" Mio demanded angrily.

"Sure!" Yui chirped. "I even kinda had an idea what it was, too!"

Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

Azusa was the first to regain her voice. "Yui-senpai, you... why would you eat mold?"

They all expected some scatterbrained answer that would make no sense to them at all. But Yui's answer made perfect sense to everyone, and Mugi especially.

"Because Mugi-chan gave it to me," Yui replied simply, smiling up at Mugi. "Even if she wasn't going to marry me, I'd still eat anything that she gave me. That's just... how I feel about Mugi-chan."

There was complete silence for a long moment.

Then Azusa turned away and burst into tears. Mio sighed, unable to stop smiling as she gently petted Azusa's head. Ritsu, on the other hand, feared where this was going, and immediately went to dispose of the moldy cake before Yui could eat more of it.

Mugi could only stare at Yui in shock, still processing what she'd just heard.

"What's Azu-nyan so upset about?" Yui wondered aloud.

Mugi blinked and smiled. "I'm not sure, Yui-chan. But what I am sure of is that when I get home tonight, the first thing I'll do is tear up that list of suitors."

Yui's face fell. "Oh. So, you're not getting married?"

"No, I am. I just don't need the list anymore." Mugi leaned in and kissed Yui's cheek. "I know exactly who I'm going to marry. Although I wouldn't, if you hadn't eaten that moldy cake."

Yui giggled softly and rubbed her head. "I don't mind eating mold for you again, Mugi-chan."

Sighing, Mugi took Yui's arm and helped her up. It was no longer a question of if she'd marry Yui, but how soon she could manage it legally. At this rate, Yui would eat herself into the grave by the time she was 20, if there wasn't someone around to constantly watch her. Poor Ui could only keep an eye on her meals at home, and no doubt desperately needed help to keep Yui alive.

It was extremely convenient that Yui was so very lovable, despite being so needy.

"We really need to have dinner at your house, and discuss some things with Ui-chan," Mugi decided. "Is tonight good?"

Yui grinned. "Yes! I'm sure she won't mind! You can even bring more-"

"NO CAKE!!!" everyone else shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Aw..."

"I'll bring something else for dessert," Mugi promised, taking Yui's hand again and lacing their fingers together. "It's my job to monitor your diet, now, as your friend, and..."

"And?" Yui asked.

"Later," Mugi murmured in her ear with a smile, "as your wife."

Yui immediately threw her arms around Mugi's neck. "You mean it?!"

"Yes, I do," Mugi laughed, returning the hug.

"Oh, but wait," Yui said, letting her go. She whispered into Mugi's ear, "We still have to convince Ricchan to have our kids."

Mugi laughed again. "Oh, that's no problem. All we have to do is ask Mio next, and make sure that Ricchan overhears. She'd be all too happy to help out then."

Yui stared at her in awe. "You really are a good wife, Mugi-chan! I never would've thought of that!"

Mugi blushed, and very nearly kissed Yui on the lips right there. Then she remembered the last thing that Yui had knowingly eaten, and settled for Yui's cheek again. "If I am a good wife, it's only because I have an equally good... ah, groom."

Yui blinked. "Well, I do like your hair, Mugi-chan, but what does that have to do with you being a good wife?"

Sighing patiently, Mugi slipped her arm around Yui's waist and subtly steered her away from the desk she'd nearly run into. Being Yui's wife, it seemed, was a job she'd need to start even before they were properly engaged...

The End.

Endnotes:

Some cakes mold pretty easily at room temperature, and it loves to happen on the bottom, where you don't think to look. So always inspect the bottom of a cake you've had for a couple of days, especially if it's not frozen or refrigerated. A light dusting of mold probably won't make you that sick, but that's still no reason to chance it (or to eat it on purpose). But if you do find a person you're willing to eat mold for, stay with them... and don't let them buy the groceries. Ever.