Author's Notes:
I don't own Citrus or any of its characters, no copyright is intended.
This story is set when Mei and Yuzu are just finishing their last year of highschool and are around the ages of 18-19 now.
Italics - Means the person is thinking.
This story contains 'Science babies', don't question it, just enjoy it. ^_^
Warning: This contains yuri (girl x girl) pairings, don't like? Don't read simple otherwise enjoy. ;)
...
Yuzu and Mei were soon walking back into the kitchen and dining area, as the blonde's Mother began to set down lunch for the three of them. Ms Okogi smiling to her daughter and Mei as they now all sat down to enjoy their homemade meal together at the dining table.
Yuzu and her Mother casually making conversation as they both simply tucked into their lunch, while Mei sat staring to the fresh food on her plate and bit her bottom lip, it not being the same sort of food as the other two had since her lunch was mostly just dry and flavourless foods such as rice and bread, that would hopefully keep her from feeling the need to throw it all back up later.
The blonde and her Mother soon noticing Mei's struggles and looking to her with slightly concerned expressions. Ms Okogi reaching her arm over to Mei's and resting a comforting hand on her, getting her attention and causing her to slowly lift her head and look back to the older woman, giving her a understanding smile, while the younger girl just seemed nervous in response.
"You know you don't have to push yourself to eat, if you don't want to Mei," she stated causing Mei to widen her eyes a little, before soon feeling her stomach grumbling, knowing just how hungry she really was right now since she hadn't eaten anything since this morning, but at the same time being weary of eating just in case it would make her sick later.
"It's not that I don't 'want' to eat...I just..." Mei paused as she spoke in a low voice and sighed deeply; resting a hand on her stomach as she rubbed it slightly and knew she couldn't continue to be scared like this for the next nine months coming.
Now catching her girlfriend's eyes as she looked to the blonde, and saw her looking back to her with a reassuring smile, Yuzu nodding to her simply and letting her know that there was no pressure on her at all, and she could choose whether or not she was going to eat right now.
Taking a deep breath Mei simply picked up a piece of bread and started to munch on it slowly, luckily it not making her feel sick at all, as she continued to tuck into her food and satisfy her hunger, while Yuzu and her Mother just smiled in return, glad that this seemed like Mei would finally get back to eating normally again soon enough.
"So just what have you been up to toady anyway Yuzu?"
Ms Okogi asked her daughter, causing Yuzu to look back to her, and almost immediately went silent as a nervous expression took over her face, while she slightly glanced to Mei, which just made the younger girl roll her eyes a little before she stopped eating for a moment to tell the blonde's Mother for her, since she could clearly see that that was what Yuzu was asking her to do right now.
"She's been shopping, buying me all kinds of remedies for my pregnancy symptoms, practically every book there is on pregnancy and parenthood, and a whole bunch of other things that I probably will not use very much," Mei explained as she gave a slight blank stare to Yuzu, while the blonde's Mother just raised an eyebrow to her daughter, as Yuzu smiled nervously back to the older woman.
"Yuzu, I know you're worried, but you didn't need to go that far-
"I know, I know I went a little overboard but-Yuzu tried to defend herself, but was soon cut off by Mei.
"Just a little? Yuzu you even went and brought some newborn diapers, when we won't be needing them for a long while yet," Mei added while she just caused Yuzu to turn away from her, as the blonde kind of wished she hadn't looked to the younger girl for help now.
"Okay a lot overboard, but it's only because I wanted to show you just how serious I am about being here for you and our baby, Mei," Yuzu stated trying to make it seem that she had at least thought about all this a little before doing it, when in reality that may have not been entirely true.
"Yuzu you even started looking for a job," Mei pointed out causing Yuzu to go a little silent again, while the blonde's Mother was surprised to hear something like that, now widening her eyes and looking back to her daughter with a pleasantly surprised expression.
"You went looking for a job Yuzu?" she asked, while Yuzu just sighed slightly and nodded, before looking back to her Mother with a determined expression a moment later.
"I asked Harumin if she could help me find one yes, and I do hope to get one someday soon so that I can start providing for Mei and the baby myself, but at the same time I know that there's no rush for it, and I do still need to put more thought into this, before going along with it all," Yuzu explained as her Mother just nodded to her in reply with a slight smile, while the blonde then glanced to Mei and smiled a little when she saw the younger girl just roll her eyes and smile back to her slightly, before she soon went back to munching away on her lunch and letting the conversation between the blonde and her Mother change somewhat as they all continued to enjoy their food.
"What kind of job would you go looking for then Yuzu?" Ms Okogi asked as she seemed to just be making conversation at this point, causing her daughter to stop eating and sit back in her chair as she thought for a few moments.
"Maybe something to do with fashion, or maybe I could try waitressing, or perhaps I could try finding a job working with young children since then I would be more prepared when the baby is born," Yuzu basically was just thinking out loud at this point, as it was clear that she was still unsure of what exactly she would want as a job, but at least it seemed like she had quite a few options open to her.
"Well I'm glad that you're thinking about it, after all it would be good for you and Mei to become more independent, especially with your baby on the way," Ms Okogi smiled, glad that her daughter was clearly getting ready for the near future, even if she may be taking things a little too far too fast at the moment.
"Did you always want to go for the job that you have Mom?" Yuzu now asked, and causing her Mother to seem slightly taken aback, as she clearly wasn't expecting her daughter to ask her that sort of question, but soon quickly shook her head and smiled back to the blonde, while Yuzu just gave her a wondering expression in response.
"Well really I think I was a lot like you when I was younger Yuzu, meaning that I wasn't sure what I wanted to really do with my life, and then when I met your Dad things just started to fall into place, and before I knew it you came along. And I realized that all I really wanted was to be a good Mother to you, that's all I've ever wanted in life especially when your Father passed away," the older woman explained as Yuzu widened her eyes a little, Mei doing the same as she looked to the blonde's Mother.
"Aww Mom you've always been a great Mother to me!" Yuzu stated happily as she reached over the dining table and hugged her Mother tightly.
"I'm glad then, since that means I must have done my job right," the older woman just chuckled slightly and hugged her daughter back, smiling as she held Yuzu close to her, before the two soon separated and went back to talking on the topic of Yuzu possibly getting a job more.
Mei staying silent as she looked to Yuzu and her Mother, sitting back in her chair as she seemed to be thinking for a few moments, 'Yuzu still doesn't know what she wants to do in the future, but at least she's thinking about it. As for me...I wouldn't even know where to start,' she sighed slightly and looked down to her stomach, resting her hand over it and rubbing gently again.
'It's true that I want to be a good Mother to this baby just like Yuzu's Mother did with her...but will that be enough? Maybe I need to start thinking more about what the future just might hold for Yuzu and me,' she thought as she lifted her head a little and looked to her girlfriend and felt a slight smile tugging on her lips, while hoping that she would soon figure out just what she wanted for herself as well as her and Yuzu's little, unborn baby.
...
The rest of the day passing by rather quickly as it wasn't long before Mei and Yuzu were both lying on the blonde's bed together, Yuzu having already fallen fast asleep as she cuddled Mei close to her and had one arm wrapped around her lovingly.
However the younger girl seemed to be finding it hard to do the same and get some sleep herself. She wasn't sure if it was because of the fact that she had been sleeping a lot more often than normal for the past week, or if it was because she was actually eating and hadn't thrown up at all today, meaning that she still had quite a bit more energy inside her than what she had been having lately.
Not to mention the fact that her mind wasn't exactly 'relaxed' right now, instead it was still buzzing with different thoughts and unanswered questions. Sighing deeply as she stared up at the ceiling and tried to collect her thoughts about all that she and Yuzu had talked about today, before she glanced to Yuzu's chest-of-drawers and raised her eyebrow for a moment, seeming to get some sort of idea all of a sudden.
Turning to Yuzu, Mei now bit her bottom lip as she saw the elder girl sleeping soundly, slowly wiggling out of her loose hug, and steeping out of the bed, while looking back to the blonde as she heard her mumbling a little, and then sighed as Yuzu just rolled over and smiled in her sleep, whispering out the younger girl's name, while Mei just gazed to her with a softened expression. Before she turned away from the blonde, and went walking over to the chest-of-drawers and kneeled down to the bottom drawer.
Pulling out the drawer as she reached right to the very back of it, moving underwear and countless pairs of socks out of the way, and widening her eyes as she soon felt the familiar feeling of a small box in her hand. Bringing out the small box as she looked to it, and slowly opened it, gazing to the two sliver rings that Yuzu had brought for them both so long ago.
Sitting on the floor now as she held the small box in her hands tightly, before she took hers out and slowly slid it onto her ring finger, then reaching out her hand in front of her and sighing as she, looked at the way the dim light from the moon outside coming into the bedroom through the open balcony, was hitting the sliver ring, and causing it to shine a little in the dark.
"Mei?"
The sound of her girlfriend's voice calling out her name pulling Mei out of her thoughts as she widened her eyes and turned to the bed, seeing that the blonde was now sitting up in her bed rubbing her tired eyes, while she looked back over to her with a wondering expression.
"What are you still doing up, couldn't you sleep?"
Yuzu asked as she yawned a little, and widened her eyes when she saw just what Mei was holding in her hands right now, and was about to question just what the younger girl was doing again, but paused as Mei simply just came walking back over to the bed and sat beside her.
"Let me put yours back on as well Yuzu," the younger girl simply said in a low voice, seeming to have an unreadable expression on her face at the moment, as Yuzu looked confused, before she just smiled slightly and nodded to Mei, holding out her hand for her girlfriend.
Mei taking hold of Yuzu's hand as she slowly slipped Yuzu's ring onto her ring finger, then looked back to the blonde, while Yuzu simply took hold of Mei's hand and smiled when she felt the younger girl squeeze her hand and interlock their fingers tightly.
"You know one day, I'll give you a real ring Mei," Yuzu stated in a whispered tone as she leaned into the younger girl and rested her forehead against hers, while Mei just sighed slightly and looked back to the blonde with what seemed to be a nervous expression.
"Do you really think all this will work out for us Yuzu?" she whispered as Yuzu noticed that Mei's other hand was resting on her stomach at the moment, and just simply smiling as she rested her free hand over Mei's and caused her to widen her eyes a little in response.
"No. I know we can make this work for us Mei," Yuzu simply replied as she cuddled Mei close to her, while she nodded, feeling slight tears welling up in her eyes as she tried to hide them from the blonde, however Yuzu clearly seeing them, as she sighed and outstretched her arms for the younger girl.
"Come here Mei," The blonde smiled as she embraced Mei tightly and could feel the younger girl bury her head into her chest, while she held onto Yuzu tightly.
The two holding each other close for what seemed like hours, before separating slightly as Mei brought Yuzu into a loving kiss and they both moaned pleasantly. Soon lying down together as they both gazed into the other's eyes, letting silence fill the bedroom while they slowly drifted off to sleep in one another's arms peacefully.
...
The next day Yuzu allowed for both her and Mei to have a bit of a lie-in, letting herself and Mei spend more time in their bed together, sleeping for a little longer than normal, before the two of them eventually decided to get up and have a quick breakfast.
Before early afternoon soon came rolling in and the two headed off to go and meet up with Harumi and Matsuri at the mall, Yuzu already having arranged to hang out with them both for lunch today.
The Four young girls soon all meeting up in the mall, as they were all now sitting down at a table in the mall cafe, all talking to each other casually while they were having a bit of a early lunch together.
Mei however seeming to be avoiding eating the food from the cafe, as she hadn't been sick since the day before yesterday. She didn't want to ruin that and go back to not being able to hold down anything for long again, as she sat glancing to the food every so often, biting her lip as she was a bit hungry from only having a small breakfast about a little under an hour ago, but shaking her head as she simply reminded herself that she didn't need to eat right now, and she definitely didn't want to do it, if she were to become sick later because of it.
Matsuri soon turning and noticing just how much Mei seemed to be struggling right now, as she turned to the elder girl and caught her attention, causing Mei to lift her head a little and look back to her.
"So have you been feeling any better at all Mei-san?" the younger girl asked, with an innocent smile to Mei, causing the other three to all turn and look to her, all of them obviously seeing that Mei wasn't going to eat any of the cafe food that was in front of her at the moment.
"Well I haven't been sick at all since the day before yesterday, and since I'm actually eating now, I have more energy than I have been having lately," Mei simply stated, giving the younger girl a blank stare, before Yuzu chimed into the conversation.
"Plus you're not as pale anymore Mei, seems like that dry food is really working on getting rid of your morning sickness. There's even a few foods that I've been looking up how to make, that will have a little more flavour to them, but shouldn't cause you to be sick," the blonde explained with a cheerful smile, clearly feeling more than happy about the fact that Mei's worst pregnancy symptom that had been giving her the most grief was now seeming to be pretty much gone for the most part.
"My cramps haven't been as bad either lately,"
Mei simply added with a slight nod to Yuzu, causing for Harumi and Matsuri to glance to each other and smile, glad that the dark-haired girl was now coping much better with her health, and didn't seem to be causing Yuzu any worries anymore like she had been doing a lot lately.
"Well that's good to hear, I guess the first week must really be the worst then," Harumi stated with a smile, as Yuzu just nodded with a slight chuckle in return. Widening her eyes a little a moment later as she felt a light touch to her hand.
Looking down and noticing Mei's hand resting over her own, the blonde looked to her girlfriend with a wondering gaze, while Mei just glanced back to her out of the corner of her eye, propping herself on her elbow, as she simply squeezed onto Yuzu's hand, and hid a slight blush as the elder girl smiled to her brightly, and squeezed her hand back, their fingers soon interlocking under the table, as they just both looked back to the other two and kept holding onto one another's hands tightly.
"So I hear that you're looking for a job now Yuzu-chan?" Matsuri asked, as she caused the blonde to turn to her, while Harumi almost instantly glared to her girlfriend in response.
"I told you not to ask her about that! Sorry Yuzucchi, I didn't mean to tell her, it just kind of slipped out last night when I was talking to her over the phone," Harumi scolded the younger girl, looking like she was ready to put her in a headlock or something in order to stop her from talking. While Matsuri nervously just smiled to her girlfriend in reply.
"I still don't get why it's such a problem for me to know about it Harumi-chan," Matsuri stated, while she was clearly just causing Harumi to glare at her more right now.
"Because I already told you that- Harumi started to explain just why she didn't want the younger girl knowing about the fact that Yuzu was looking for a job, but was soon cut off by the blonde.
"Harumin, it's okay. It's not like I'm trying to hide it or anything after all," Yuzu stated cutting off the brunette as she smiled to the two, hoping that she could diffuse an argument that seemed like it was going to start if she didn't chime in.
"See it's fine Harumi-chan," Matsuri smiled as she nodded to Yuzu and gave a slight smirk to her girlfriend, causing the elder girl to just glare to her again, "So what kind of job do you want to go for Yuzu? And why did you ask Harumi to help you, when she can't even find a stable job for herself?" the younger girl asked, as she caused Harumi to clench her fist, while she was just barely holding herself back from grabbing onto Matsuri's collar right now.
"This is exactly why I didn't want you to know about this," the brunette stated in a stern voice, while Matsuri just simply shrugged back to her girlfriend in response.
"It's the truth though, isn't it?"
The younger girl simply stated with a slight smirk, causing Harumi to roll her eyes at her, before the two started to get into a small argument, as Yuzu smiled nervously to them both and tried to keep the situation relatively calm, hoping that the other two wouldn't end up causing a scene at all and draw too much attention to themselves.
Mei just sighing slightly while she watched the other three for a few moments, and feeling a small smile tugging on her lips as she really did prefer this over being at home by herself, after all she would most likely just be either watching the television or sleeping if she was at home right now. All this kind of making her glad that she had enough energy to come out of the house and spend more time with Yuzu like this.
Matsuri stopped teasing Harumi for a moment as she glanced over to Mei and drew her attention onto the dark-haired girl as she took notice to the slight smile that was slowly forming on her lips, and felt like commenting on it, but instead something else caught her eye and caused them to widen a little as she now saw the sliver ring that Mei was currently wearing on her ring finger at the moment.
"Mei, are you wearing the ring that Yuzu-chan gave you a few months back?" the younger girl asked as she seemed a little taken aback for a few moments, causing the other three to all look to her, as Mei soon just gave her a blank expression and nodded simply.
"Yes, and Yuzu's is wearing hers as well," Mei simply stated as she lifted up her other hand from under the table, which was still tightly holding onto Yuzu's, and showed Matsuri the fact that the blonde was indeed actually also wearing her matching ring on her ring finger as well.
"Mei wanted to put them on last night, and I guess neither of us have really wanted to take them off since," Yuzu explained as she nervously smiled to Matsuri, clearly not really expecting to talk about the topic of the matching rings with the other two just yet although she did figure it would come up soon enough since both her and Mei were wearing them right now.
"And your Mother didn't notice at all?" Matsuri asked with a slightly raised eyebrow, seeming to not be as taken aback now.
"Well we slept in for quite a while this morning and didn't get up until my Mom had already left for her work," Yuzu stated as Matsuri just sat back in her chair and nodded with a wider smirk to the blonde, while Harumi seemed to be a little confused by all this, and also kinda surprised.
"Wait what rings? Don't tell you two have already been engaged for months now," the brunette said, seeming clearly like she was in need of an explanation of sorts right now.
"No, they're matching promise rings that I gifted to Mei a while before we were found out and she left. I was actually quite surprised that she had kept hers all this time," Yuzu explained, and caused Harumi to sigh with a little bit of relief, as she knew the other two would be parents soon enough, but still thinking that marriage was maybe moving a little too fast for them both at the moment.
"Why is that? Did you think I would just get rid of mine when I left you Yuzu?" Mei asked as she slightly raised her eyebrow to the blonde and caused her to turn back to her instantly.
"No, no, of course not Mei," Yuzu quickly shook her head in reply, smiling nervously to Mei, while the younger girl just gave her a blank expression in return.
"So are you two actually planning to finally tie the knot sometime then?" Matsuri asked as she now sat, leaning forward with her elbow propping her up on the table, as she smiled innocently to Mei and Yuzu, causing them both to look back to her in return with nervous expressions.
"Well yes..." Yuzu paused, as she hesitated a little, while glancing over to Mei, who simply just seemed to have an unreadable expression on her face now, "But not for a good while yet," the blonde finished as Matsuri just nodded back to her with a smile, before Yuzu changed the subject slightly so that the focus wouldn't be on her and Mei anymore.
"What are you two planning to do for the future anyway?" she asked as she smiled nervously to Matsuri and Harumi, and caused them both to seem a little surprised, as they looked to each other for a few moments, before turning back to the blonde again.
Yuzu waiting patiently for an answer as she now felt Mei slowly letting their still locked hands rest down onto the table, and glanced to her slightly with a smile, while the younger girl simply just glanced back to her with a softened expression, not seeming to mind much anymore if other people saw them holding hands, while they were both currently wearing their rings at the moment. Matsuri speaking up and catching their attention again a moment later.
"Well...we've been thinking that once I finish school, and Harumi-chan here can actually find a job that will have her for more than a couple of weeks, we decided that we would start looking for a place that we can move into together," the younger girl explained as she looked to Harumi with a slight smile, while the brunette just nodded back to her with a returned smile, and felt like rolling her eyes again at that comment about her struggles with finding a stable job. But instead just refrained from it and rested her hand over Matsuri's, letting the younger girl hold onto her tightly in return.
"Awwww, I can already tell that you two will have a great future together," Yuzu smiled happily as she was glad to see the other two expressing their love and saying what they both wanted for their future together, rather than just arguing like they normally do. While Harumi and Matsuri smiled back to Yuzu in return.
"You two are also planning to find a place together as well right? What kind of house would you be looking for?" Harumi asked as she squeezed onto Matsuri's hand tightly, while she turned back to Yuzu now, as Matsuri simply sat smiling to her girlfriend still.
"Hmm...I guess just going for a small apartment would probably be the best thing for us both at the moment, but I would like to one day live in a nice little house out of the city, where we can watch our little baby grow up, and start going off to school," Yuzu thought out loud as she seemed to a dreamy look in her eyes, going off on a bit of a ramble about the future home she hoped to have with Mei one day, while Harumi just smiled to her and soon joined in about the kind of house she would like to live in with Matsuri someday as well.
While Harumi and Yuzu were talking about their future's, Mei looked to them both as she bit her bottom lip, feeling a little surprised that Yuzu had been thinking so far ahead that she could actually seem to picture the kind of house she would want for them and the baby, 'Yuzu is already thinking about the kind of house she would want us to move into together. Meanwhile I...I can't really imagine living anywhere but with her and her Mother in that small apartment that we currently all share,' she thought as this was another thing that she had never really been giving much thought to either until now.
Matsuri looking over to Mei, noticing how lost in thought the elder girl seemed right now and just smiled slightly for a moment, before she tapped Harumi on the shoulder and caught her attention.
"Harumi, could you go and get us all another drink please?" she asked her girlfriend with a her classic innocent smile, as Harumi just turned to the younger girl and looked to her with a raised eyebrow, before she soon simply just stood up from her chair.
"Sure I guess, Yuzucchi can you come and help me?" she looked to the blonde now, while Yuzu simply just nodded back to her with a smile in return.
"Yeah of course," the blonde stood up from her chair and removed her hand from Mei's, turning to her girlfriend a moment later, "Do you want some more water Mei?" she asked, as Mei simply just nodded in reply, causing Yuzu to smile to her and nod back in response, before she turned as her and Harumi both left the table to go get some more drinks for them all together, while Matsuri smiled to Mei as she just looked down to her hands nervously for a few moments.
"Something on your mind Mei-san?" the younger girl asked with a slight smile as she caught Mei's attention and wanted to see if she could get her to talk to her for a bit, or at least say what was obviously bothering her at the moment.
"Not partially,"
Mei simply stated as she looked back to Matsuri with a blank expression, and seemed to be going a little cold on the younger girl right now, making it clear that she didn't want to talk at this moment, and hoped for the other two to come back to the table soon.
"It's about Yuzu-chan right? And the plans she has for your future together?" Matsuri raised her eyebrow a little now as she could tell that the elder girl was avoiding answering her question, like she expected her to do, and simply just waited as she folded her arms across her chest, and sat back in her chair.
Mei hesitating for a few moments as she looked down to her hands again, knowing that the younger girl wouldn't drop this until she came out with what she was really feeling right now. Sighing deeply as she glanced over to Yuzu standing at the counter with Harumi, before letting herself just say what was on her mind at the moment, and not continue to bottle up these thoughts she had anymore.
"She's been doing so much for me since I came back, and I'd like to do something for her, but I don't know what. Plus...ever since I told that I'm pregnant she seems to have all these plans for our future together...when I...I have no idea just what kind of future I want for Yuzu, for this baby, or even just for me. I...I've never really had the chance to think for what I would want out of my own life like this before, so now I... I don't even know where to start," Mei explained as she was basically just letting her thoughts turn into words, speaking her mind, while she still looked to Yuzu, avoiding Matsuri's gaze. Before she just turned away to look down to her hands again.
"Then don't you think it's time you started thinking about it all a bit more, and work out just what you would want for yourself, Yuzu-chan and your baby?" Matsuri asked with a simple smile to Mei, as she caused the elder girl to look back to her with slightly widened eyes now.
"But...how would I do that?" she questioned, seeming to be lost on just what she should do, and not understanding how it seemed so easy to Yuzu, but not to her.
"You'll just have to figure that out for yourself I'm afraid Mei-san, after all only you can decide what you want out of your own life," Matsuri replied, giving a cheerful smile to the elder girl, before she soon stood up, turned and left to go over to where Harumi and Yuzu were getting their drinks, leaving Mei to think all by herself for a few moments, while she just watched the younger girl go.
Mei looked over to Matsuri as she thought about what she had said for a moment and just sighed, looking down to her stomach now, as she rested her hand on it and rubbed her clothed skin lightly, 'She's right...all my life I've just gone by what other people have told me, so now it's about time that I started thinking and figuring this all out for myself, and going for what I want, not just for myself and Yuzu, but also for our baby's sake,' she thought as she soon slowly lifted her head and looked back over to Yuzu again.
'The truth is Yuzu and I are going to be parents before we know it, so I need to start thinking about the kind of future that I want for all of us. Just like Yuzu is right now,' she nodded to herself a little, as she let a small smile form on her lips, knowing that she needed to really start doing what Yuzu currently was and work towards figuring out the kind of future that she would want for herself and her little family.