Work Text:

A Team Pigeons production...

Written and edited by Why and Joe.

Ninety-Nine

AKA: The one where Mei comes back home for good.

Yuzu walked nervously through the garden of stone, panting slightly from her rush across the city in order to arrive before daylight had faded. She made it, but only just. Yuzu turned a corner and her judgement proved to be accurate. There she was, standing alone by the grave of Yuzu's father.

Yuzu made no sound, for she simply could not. Her voice seemed to have eluded her. Her mind could no longer help her. She must have lost it because she could not really be there, only a few steps away from her. But her eyes were filled with the sight of her and she kept them wide, not daring to blink, not even once. If she did, the sight could disappear forever. It had happened before.

They were in the between, those last few minutes separating light and darkness, when both were true. It felt like a fitting place for them to meet. In a moment so brief.

"Yuzu..."

It was no longer just her eyes. She had her essence in her ears as well now.

"Yuzu..."

It was like hearing her name for the first time after being forgotten by the world. She was so close now. So close, the breeze carried forth her scent and Yuzu filled her lungs with it. Three of her senses, what were the odds? She had deceived herself before. Hugging her pillow, breathing her in, only to wake up to an empty bed.

Her beloved raised her hand slowly, almost reverently, as if asking for permission which her head granted by its own will. Yuzu nodded without meaning to and now she could feel her hand, cool and elegant cupping her face, skin against skin... If only she could taste her. Then she would be almost sure, as so many other times it had been just a dream. If she were to kiss her...

Yuzu felt the warm, sharp breath upon her lips. Another illusion? A cruel trick of the mind? She hesitated, not wanting the familiar dream to end before reality would inevitably drag her kicking and screaming back to loneliness. Yuzu gave in, just as she had always done. She craved that touch. At times, it was all that had kept her going.

Their lips finally reached each other and the sensation was enough to force Yuzu's eyes open. She expected to wake up, to look across at the empty pillow and feel the emptiness beside her once more. But she didn't wake up. She was greeted by those purple eyes, the ones that had tormented her for so long.

Reaching out with now shaking hands, she ran her dainty fingers through the glossy black hair, once the object of childlike envy and now the most relieving sight in the world. After what felt like an eternity of gentle probing with their tongues, the two bodies finally separated.

"...Mei."

The word had been taboo to Yuzu for so long, despite encapsulating her entire being.

"Mei."

She echoed Yuzu by whispering her own name.

"Mei."

Yuzu said it again, as though tasting the sound of it for the first time.

"Mei... is the only name I have, Yuzu."

Yuzu could feel her voice on her skin, they were so close. Yuzu nuzzled Mei's cheek with her nose and in a moment, her lips were captured once again. It felt as Mei was praying to her, begging, so strong was her need to get closer and closer to Yuzu.

They parted in a breathless gasp. Without pausing Yuzu took Mei's face between her hands and brought her close once again; their foreheads firmly pressed together. Yuzu felt Mei's slight trembling hands cover her own.

"Mei is the only one I love..." Yuzu raised her face to catch Mei's eyes with her own. "Mei and nothing else. Just Mei."

"Yuzu."

She spoke again, imposing that aura of calm authority that she had always possessed. Yuzu hadn't felt that presence for so long, yet it filled her with a sense of awe and trepidation, just as it had always done.

Yuzu suddenly became alert, hanging on the next words of the person standing before her, as though expecting her to deliver some profound truth - The only truth that Yuzu had ever known. It was at this point that Yuzu noticed the tears running down her lover's face, the way her alabaster skin looked in the light of the dwindling sun and the slightly dishevelled clothes of someone who had hastily changed outfits. Mei took a deep breath.

"Yuzu."

She once again tried to speak and this time, the words flowed freely.

"I have many regrets over what has happened between us. I regret not being able to feel your warmth for so long. I regret that I could not see that smile every morning, the smile that brought life to this once-empty heart. I regret that when we last met, I was not able to tell you the things I wanted to tell you."

"...Mei" Yuzu whispered with anticipation.

"...But I do not regret that I fell in love with you."

Yuzu had to stop herself. She wanted nothing more than to kiss Mei's tears away and declare her absolute love to her. Resisting Mei when she was soft and vulnerable wasn't something she has ever managed to do and Mei had never been as soft and vulnerable as she was right now.

Standing under the pale moonlight, the silver light suited her elegant beauty. She was a vision of perfection, the only work of art. She was so close, looking at her with honest eyes. Eyes brimming with love. Yuzu had to force stillness over her every muscle. It was physically painful to clamp down on every possible movement. The smallest distraction and one of her limbs would betray her. Her body seemed to possess a will of its own and every fiber of it was calling for Mei but no, not yet...

"Mei. I too regret nothing. I fault you for nothing. Since I met you, every second of my life has been worth it. I learned the real meaning of desire, of happiness, of pain, of loneliness and so much more. Even when you left, I kept learning. I learned that I would never stop loving you. I learned undying devotion, and foolish hope. You were with me always. Every day. I kept studying as you inspired me to do."

Yuzu paused to catch her breath, before continuing.

"It's funny... In a way, I am glad that you left, because you came back to me. Against all odds, when it was already too late. At the most difficult time you came back to me, and that can only mean that from now on, we are forever. You and I, Mei, we are forever."

Mei's smiles had never reached her eyes, as if a curse has been placed on her. But when the word "forever" slipped past Yuzu's lips, the curse was broken at last. Mei could finally smile.

"Actually." Yuzu blushed slightly. "There is something I regret..."

Mei knew what she had to do. A look at Yuzu's willing and honest eyes was all it took for the mystery to be solved. Mei reached into the front pocket of her tight jeans. When she pulled her hand out it was a fist, closed around her irreplaceable treasure. Yuzu had unlocked the chain holding her ring around her neck. She liberated it from this prison, ready to place it where it truly belonged. They passed the rings to each other in silence. The moon and the stars were all the witnesses they needed.

"Yuzu..." Mei whispered her name like a prayer, for at the moment it was the only prayer she knew. The only one that mattered.

Yuzu's hand looked so thin and frail when she raised it toward Mei. Skin almost translucent under the moonlight, fingers trembling slightly. The moment Mei put her fingers around Yuzu's hand, the trembling stilled. A new and different kind of strength was born from their touch. It was unwavering, certain and absolute. It feared nothing and no one. It was the only truth. Unshakable, and it was theirs.

"Yuzu" Mei placed the ring on the tip on Yuzu's annular finger. "With this ring I give myself to you."

"Mei," Yuzu began. "What about th-"

"Yuzu." Mei intervened. "I wouldn't trade what I have with you for anything. I was a fool for ever thinking otherwise."

The corners of Mei's lips curled upwards once again, forming a smile more radiant and beguiling than the moon above them. A wave of relief washed over Mei and she basked in this unknown sensation. In that moment, she could do anything. She could be whoever she wanted to be and feel the things that she wanted to feel. The world now felt so large yet so easily reachable for the first time. Of course, Mei's entire world was standing right in front of her. Yuzu was all she needed now.

The two stood in silence, studying each other's rings in their clasped hands. Yuzu felt no anxiety, no urge to speak to fill the quiet void. Mei knew no uncertainty about the emotions inside of her. For a time, they were statuesque, a monument to the conquest of love and forgiveness over fear and spite. The two completed one another.

"Mei, I don't want to ever be apart from you again." Yuzu eventually broke the silence and cast all of her anguish aside.

Mei closed her eyes and nodded in agreement.

"Yuzu, let's go home."

The End

Author's notes: Hi everyone, Joe here! I hope that you enjoyed this short piece that we wrote!

Why and I often work on random creative writing scenarios where we'll take turns firing a few paragraphs back and forth to each other. The purpose of these exercises is to get a feel for how our beloved Citrus characters would behave in a given scenario. Sometimes, we'll continue to work on these pieces and adapt them into short stories.

This particular piece was written using the method described above and was originally titled "Return". It was written in the direct aftermath of chapter 37 of the manga being released. Fans have already discussed and continue to discuss at length about where they think the Citrus series is heading as it seemingly draws closer to its conclusion. This is our own dramatic take on how the current story arc could be resolved.

This is a one-shot story that is not necessarily part of the canon of our ongoing Citrus series "Milk and its Derivatives". However, some of the future one-off side stories we share will be part of the Milk... canon.

Thank you for reading! If you have a minute, leave us a comment, please.