The annoying sound of rubbery squeaks resounded through the apartment complex as Yuzu quickly made her way up the staircase - a smile beaming on her face as she ascended the familiar, yet not too familiar steps.
She had been climbing up and down these very steps for the better part of a year now, but today was special and it was evident in how disheveled her current state was; her impeccably styled blonde hair in unusual disarray and her makeup, a little more smudged than she'd like.
Being in college was more fun that she could've ever imagined and, at the same, it was much more stress and work than she would've hoped for. Being the social butterfly that she was, Yuzu had volunteered to help at almost every single event. Though regardless of how much work she was given, she always found a way to enjoy these events.
Still, even her undying energy had its limits and being part of the track team was not helping, especially with how much training they've been doing these past few weeks. Case in point, she was tired. Every fiber of her being screamed in unholy fatigue.
"I'm back!" Yuzu announced her arrival to a seemingly empty apartment and no answer came from within the halls, prompting her to look around the house.
Beyond the door was a modestly decorated space. The organized shelving and nearly monochromatic scheme of the living room was solid evidence to the fact that Yuzu was outranked here. Though, at the same time, little pieces of colorful decorations, a few fashion magazines neatly stacked on top of the coffee table and an odd human-faced fruit plush that was sitting suspiciously on top of the sofa was also proof that the 'boss' loved her enough to allow such clutter to exist.
A slight chuckle passed through Yuzu's lips when she heard soft footsteps slowly approaching from the bedroom. "Speaking of the boss…" She thought as a crown of raven-hair appeared from the corner.
"Yuzu?" Mei asked while rubbing her eyes, obviously still drowsy from her afternoon nap.
"Hey." Yuzu approached Mei and gave her a light peck on the cheek before greeting 'I'm back' once more. This time a 'Welcome back' was answered and Yuzu happily gave the still drowsy Mei a warm smile.
"Had a good nap?" Yuzu inquired and Mei nodded in affirmation, still not being one to talk needlessly. "Sorry, track practice was crazy today! It's a bit late but I'll get right to dinner. Is there anything you want to eat?" Yuzu blurted one thing after another as she ushered the taller girl towards the dining area, earning her a slight grunt of frustration.
"Yuzu." Mei called her, but Yuzu didn't hear it through her own ramblings.
"Yuzu." Mei repeated apprehensively, in a much more authoritative tone, causing Yuzu to stop whatever she was doing. "It's still early, we can worry about dinner later." She continued after she caught Yuzu's attention.
"S-sorry." Yuzu apologized, but Mei simply turned around and looked at her from head to toe before letting out a deep sigh. "You look tired." She commented after seeing Yuzu's messy hair.
"I'm fi-" Mei's piercing glare went right through her, "Okay, maybe a little."
"You keep telling me not to overwork and look at you." Another sigh sounded from Mei.
"In my defense, I don't do nearly as much as you," Yuzu argued. She had grown accustomed to having these little playful spats with Mei.
"That's not the point here, Yuzu. If you're this tired, then I could-" Mei halted almost immediately, a crimson shade forming on her cheeks as she furrowed her eyebrows. "-We can just order from a restaurant." She continued.
Yuzu nearly erupted in laughter but thanked her self-control for preventing it. Small quarrels are normal between them now, but laughing at that would've caused Mei to ignore her for the rest of the day and Yuzu definitely didn't want that.
No matter how capable Mei was in everything, it seemed like cooking alone was something that she couldn't get a handle on. Yuzu tried to encourage her over and over again, that the taste was something she would learn over time, but Mei was never satisfied that her cooking tasted so bland when compared to Yuzu's. It was a great source of annoyance for Mei and one that she would eventually abandon in frustration.
"All right, let's do this then!" Yuzu exclaimed in excitement, causing Mei to raise an eyebrow in question. "Why don't you help me cook?" She smiled at Mei, eyes wide with expectation.
Mei just stared at her. It was obvious that the girl was uncertain on how to respond, so Yuzu quickly continued. "Come on, we'll cook something simple. It'll be fun!"
"Yuzu, the last time you tried to teach me, we ended up having to order out anyway. Why don't we just skip to the end so you can rest as well?"
"But Mei! I want to cook with you, please?" She begged. Yuzu had gotten better at appealing to Mei's affection in the past year or so. She knew that Mei wouldn't be able to resist her when she's pouting like this and true to her expectation, Mei agreed without another complaint.
The two headed for the kitchen and Yuzu started collecting few ingredients from the fridge, before arranging them neatly on top of the kitchen counter while Mei took whatever utensils Yuzu asked for.
Yuzu insisted that she'd do the majority of the work and that Mei can take care of putting them in the pot and mixing them all together, but the former student council president held too much pride to allow such a thing. It was 50:50 or nothing at all and Yuzu had no choice but to oblige.
Side-by-side, the two started cutting vegetables. Mei looked towards Yuzu and peerlessly copied everything she did. Yuzu found it completely adorable, like a little child that was watching her mother cook.
Come to think of it, Mei probably never learned to do such things with her mother and it was always something that Yuzu found saddening. She tried so hard to get Mei to experience all of the things she probably missed out on while she was growing up, but she knew that no matter what she did, it would never be a replacement for those moments Mei had already lost.
Still, she tried her best. Be it a trip to the amusement park, celebrating Christmas with the family or even just lazing around on a slow Sunday afternoon, she wanted Mei to experience all of it. To be more precise, she didn't want Mei to lose any more chances at making fond memories.
To think that just a little over a year ago, she had almost lost Mei because of her own uncertainty. Even though she knew that Mei had made that decision for herself, Yuzu never understood that she also had a say in the matter and she regretted every single day that went by without her realizing this.
"Yuzu? What's wrong?" Yuzu snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Mei, there was an obvious hint of concern in the other girl's eyes and she realized that her emotions must've been printed on her face again.
"Nothing!" She tried to brush it off, but Mei had gotten sharper with these things and questioned her again; forcing Yuzu to be honest.
"I was just thinking about before, you know?" She answered with a bit of embarrassment, but Mei didn't quite get what she meant.
"When you…" She continued.
"Oh." Mei understood at this point and her heart sunk at remembering how much pain she had given to Yuzu. Laying the knife down, Mei averted her gaze and stared directly in front of her in silence.
Yuzu was worried that she had opened old wounds by mentioning it. They never really talked about what happened then, even when Mei moved back in during their third year at Aihara Academy, it was always a topic that neither of them wanted to touch upon.
Silence lay still between them; Yuzu didn't know what to say, she knew she messed up.
Mei clutched her hands together and instinctively played with the wedding ring that had become a permanent fixture on her finger. Then she sighed deeply. A sigh deep enough to push Yuzu on the edge of anxiety.
"Yuzu."
"Yes, Mei?" Yuzu tried to sound as relaxed as possible, but her voice was obviously trembling. Maybe she was still afraid to hear what Mei had to say about the entire thing after all this time or maybe, she was simply afraid to know what Mei thought about it… and it was crippling.
"Thank you."
Yuzu's eyes widened in bewilderment as her head snapped towards Mei. "Sorry?" She said, as if to ask Mei to repeat herself.
"For coming after me." Mei's tone was somber, but light. Almost as if she had just unburdened herself with something she had been meaning to say for the longest time.
"You could have just easily left me alone like I asked you to, but you didn't and now here we are." A small smile appeared on Mei's lips as her eyes softened. "Thank you." She repeated.
Yuzu was completely dumbfounded. There was a lot to process, but one completely drowned the others; Mei had changed. She was already aware of it, but she never realized that Mei had changed to this extent.
Without a thought, Yuzu wrapped her arms around Mei's waist and buried her face on the taller girl's back.
"Yuzu? We still need to cook." Mei protested.
"Just for a few seconds." Yuzu requested. She allowed herself to bask in Mei's warmth, she listened to her hastening heartbeat and with a whiff of her shampoo, she remembered everything little bits of memories.
The ice-cold student council president who so fervently denied her existence, who ran from her every chance she got and to be married to her now. Looking back, it felt almost impossible to think that they would end up here.
Mei has changed and even though she changed, she was still very much Mei. She was still everything she used to be and at the same time, everything she wasn't.
"Yuzu, could you let me go for a bit?" Mei tugged at her hand gently and Yuzu complied without a word.
Mei swiftly disappeared into the bedroom, only to return just as quickly and with a decorative paper bag in hand.
"Here." She extended the gift towards Yuzu, who in turn, gladly accepted it even though she didn't know what it was for. Inside the bag, she found a few white chocolates and a scarf, plus a few lip tints.
"Mei, what's this for?"
Mei avoided her gaze, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, though that didn't do much except accentuate the blush that was forming all the way to the tips of her ears.
"I couldn't get you anything for Valentine's Day and Matsuri suggested that I could always give you something on White Day."
Yuzu laughed heartily at what she heard. Mei was never one for occasions, but she was oddly considerate over the smallest things.
"Thank you, but you didn't have to get me anything." Yuzu wiped a few tears from her eyes.
"If I had known you would be this childish about it, I wouldn't have." Mei quipped. An obvious attempt at hiding her embarrassment with her sharp tongue, but Yuzu knew that better than anyone else.
"Aw, are you getting shy?" Yuzu teased as she approached Mei and gave her a hug. Mei would've protested, but she quite liked being in such close proximity to Yuzu. The blonde's warmth was something she had grown accustomed or even attached to, if one was to argue.
"I love you," Mei confessed in whispers. Quiet enough that it could easily be carried by the wind, but loud enough that Yuzu heard it.
Pulling herself slightly away from Mei, Yuzu looked up at her wife and with a grin gave the girl a chaste kiss before replying.
"I love you too."