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 19-20 now.

Italics - Means the person is thinking.

This chapter is set a couple of days after the previous one just so you all know.

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 stood humming a pleasant tune to herself as she was busy sorting out her clothes this morning, standing in front of her chest-of-draws and soon smiling to herself as she took a couple of steps back, before she nodded her head in satisfaction and clapped her hands together, glad that that task hadn't taken her all that long to get done. The blonde letting a sigh leave her lips, as she glanced over to her fiancé who was sitting on their bed at the moment, with the laptop resting upon her lap, while her lavender eyes seemed to be almost stuck to the screen right now.

'She's been like that for a while now,' Yuzu thought as she frowned a little, feeling concerned for Mei and hoping she wasn't focusing on her online classes too much, as she knew it wasn't good for the younger girl to overwork herself. The blonde simply shrugging her shoulders as she came to sit beside Mei on their bed, leaning over her to see just what she was so interested in at the moment.

However she being a little taken aback as she saw that Mei wasn't looking at her online classes like she normally would be, instead she seemed to be researching the prices of small apartments in their area. Yuzu looking puzzled as she leaned closer to Mei and caught her attention when her chest made contact with the younger girl's back, causing her to stop what she was doing and turn her head to the blonde now, as a questioning expression formed on her face, wondering just why Yuzu was so close to her all of a sudden.

"What are you doing Mei?" Yuzu asked just the question that Mei was about to ask her, causing the younger girl to shrug her shoulders and just look back to the laptop screen again.

"Seeing how much a small apartment like ours would cost," she simply answered as she seemed completely unfazed by Yuzu's question, while it was obvious that the blonde was quite confused at the moment.

"But I thought you wanted to stay here, you know if you don't want to move than we don't have to," Yuzu stated as she was clearly wondering just why Mei was doing this after all that had happened the other day. Mei just pausing for a moment, letting herself freeze as she bawled her fists and soon nodded her head in response to the blonde.

"I know...I was just thinking that I might like the idea of moving out more if we were moving into an apartment like this one, it would remind me of our home after all..." Mei trailed off slightly, her voice being at quite the low tone as she turned her head away from the elder girl, and bit her bottom lip a little, Yuzu widening her eyes as she realized something.

'So that's it...She's doing this for me,' she thought as she moved closer to Mei, sighing a little as she wrapped her arms around the younger girl and nuzzled into her back lovingly, causing Mei to widen her eyes and look back to Yuzu in a questioning way.

"You don't have to force yourself Mei,"

The blonde whispered as she lightly kissed the back of Mei's neck, and buried her head into her shoulder, cuddling her close, while the younger girl just nervously sighed, resting a hand over Yuzu's as she pushed the laptop away from her and let herself relax in her fiancé's warm embrace.

"But...you seemed to really like the idea of moving out, and you were so excited to go and look around that house the other day after all,"

"That's only because I thought it was something that we both wanted, but if you want to stay right here, than that's what we'll do," Yuzu stated with a reassuring smile, and a confident nod to Mei, causing the younger girl to look back to her, however she still seemed unsure as it was obvious that she wasn't yet convinced it seemed.

"But you seemed to really like that house we went to see," Mei said nervously, as she turned her head away again, while Yuzu just shrugged her shoulders in reply and sighed slightly.

"I'll admit it was a really nice house, but that doesn't mean it can compare to our perfect little home that we have already," Yuzu made a gesture with her hand as she was obvious talking about their apartment, smiling to Mei still as she hoped to ease her worries, however the younger girl still having doubts in what the blonde was saying it would seem.

"But Yuzu...what about all the things you were imagining for us there like our daughter running around and playing in the back garden and- Mei questioning again as it was clear by now that this must have all been playing on her mind for quite a while, showing Yuzu that she didn't want to be selfish, and stubborn about this, however the blonde cutting her off before she could try and protest more than she already had.

"That's what I imagined if we did end up living in that house, but...you know I do have a few things I can imagine for us living here with our little girl as well," Yuzu stated as she caused Mei to now turn back to her, as she raised her eyebrow a little and seemed interested in what the blonde might say next.

"Like what?" she questioned with a curious expression, as Yuzu just smiled back to Mei and rested her head on the younger girl's shoulder, nuzzling into her neck again while holding her close still, Mei just sitting and waiting for the blonde to reply.

"Well I can see our daughter waking us up every morning by jumping on our bed and yelling at us to 'Get up', I can see her happily talking with her Grandma at the dining table while eating their breakfast together, I can see her wanting to help out with washing the dishes after our evening meal, I can see her splashing all the water out of the bath while trying to wash her, and asking to sleep beside us for the night after she's had a bad dream. So...you see Mei I can imagine plenty of things for us all living here together," Yuzu explained as it was clear that she really didn't have to think about what she was saying, it being obvious to Mei that she must have been thinking about these things sometime before. The younger girl seeming to go a little quiet for a few moments, as she was just taking in all that Yuzu had said, and still looked like she was nervous while glancing to the blonde.

"So...you're really okay with us just staying here?"

Mei asked as she tightened her hold on Yuzu's hand, as it was clear that she wanted to believe her, and trust that she was also happy to be staying living in their current home, and not having any plans about moving out for a good amount of time yet. Yuzu simply nodding as she held onto Mei's hand, and gave it a small squeeze, softening her expression a moment later.

"Honestly Mei...it doesn't matter where we are or which house we live in, as long as we're together, then it'll still always feel like home to me. Besides I'm really looking forward to raising our little girl in the same place that I've called home for so long now," she happily stated, causing Mei to widen her eyes as she felt Yuzu rest both of her hands over her swollen stomach, and caress her bump, the younger girl soon just letting a small smile form onto her lips as she rested her hands over the blonde's and felt all her worries leaving her mind, while Yuzu kissed her forehead and nuzzled her again.

"So am I,"

She replied in a whispered voice, as she nuzzled Yuzu back and sighed with a little relief, now finally getting that neither she nor Yuzu were forcing themselves to make the other happy, and was glad to be on the same page as her beloved fiancé when it came to where they would start to raise their daughter together once she was born.

The two not staying like that for very long however as Yuzu soon pulled away from Mei slightly and just smiled to her reassuringly, "Then you've got nothing to get yourself all worked up over, have you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow to the younger girl, while Mei just shook her head and softened her expression.

"I guess not,"

She said in a low voice, a small smile resting on her lips, as she could feel Yuzu simply hug her tightly again, and peck her cheek lightly, running a caring hand through her long, dark hair, before the blonde widened her eyes and felt a buzzing sensation coming from her pants pocket.

Taking out her mobile phone and glancing to see who was calling her, causing her to seem taken aback as she saw that her boss was the one trying to reach her at the moment, quickly letting go of Mei and nervously smiling to her.

"Sorry Mei...I've got to take this,"

She stated as she quickly jumped off the bed, still smiling to Mei nervously as she left the room to go and answer her phone, while the younger girl didn't seem all that bothered by the blonde needing to take a phone call so suddenly and just shrugged her shoulders, turning her attention back on to the laptop, and decided she might as well stop researching apartments now that she had been reassured by Yuzu and no longer needed to anymore.

Figuring that she should just get back to studying for her online classes, but then also being a little curious as to who had called Yuzu up, and kind of hoped she wasn't going to be called into work by her boss like she sometimes had been in the past.

Meanwhile Yuzu quickly answered her phone and put it up to her ear, wondering just why her boss was calling her all of a sudden, as she heard the elder woman's cheerful voice greet her kindly, "Hello Yuzu-san, sorry for calling you out of the blue like this, but I have something that I would like to discuss with you," she stated causing Yuzu to feel a little nervous as well as confused, hearing that her boss's tone was joyful enough, but wondering if that was misleading or not by what she was actually saying right now.

"Don't worry about it, what do you want to discuss? I'm not in trouble am I?" Yuzu asked in a joking manner, but also being half-serious as she felt a little nervous about the fact that maybe this call may just having something to do with her and her work, however her boss quickly easing those worries as the blonde could hear a slight chuckle come through her phone a moment later in response.

"Oh no, not at all..." she paused, her cheerful voice causing Yuzu to breathe a slight sigh of relief, however she was still feeling a little nervous as she waited for the elder woman to continue.

"I just wanted to see how you would feel about working full-time here, instead of just part-time like you currently are?" she explained in the same cheerful tone, and almost instantly making Yuzu go silent as her emerald eyes widened and she honestly didn't know to respond at all, seeming like she was trying to think for a few moments, while she glanced back to her and Mei's bedroom.

"I'm sorry...could you repeat that for me?"

The blonde asked, wondering if she had heard wrong or something, however when her boss repeated herself and said the exact same thing she had a moment ago, it just caused Yuzu to freeze and bite her bottom lip, clearly having no idea how to answer, while her boss just went on to explain more about this opportunity that she had for her, and Yuzu staying mostly quiet throughout the whole of it.

...

"So what exactly did you message Matsuri and me to come out here for Yuzucchi?"

Harumi asked as she and Yuzu were now sitting beside each other at the cafe in the mall, while their partners were standing in a store not too far away from them, Matsuri seeming to be dragging Mei around the all the different clothing stores while it was clear to see that she was as lively as ever today.

Yuzu just sighing deeply as she held onto her drink, stroking the outside with her thumb and nervously shifting her eyes a little, it being obvious that there was something on her mind right now, "Sorry if I'm being a bother by doing this Harumin...I just...I wasn't sure what to do," she said in a low tone, it seeming like she was trying to work out just how she was going to explain her little dilemma to Harumi and wondered if she would be able to help her at all with solving it.

The brunette just waving off to Yuzu, shaking her head and seemly gesturing for the blonde to know that she wasn't really much of a bother like she thought she was, "Don't worry about it, besides Matsuri has been constantly pestering me about getting to hang out at the shopping mall with you two again, and by the looks of things she really just wanted to terrorize Mei a little more," she stated as she clearly didn't really seem to mind being called out here quite suddenly by the blonde, chuckling slightly while she and Yuzu glanced over to Mei and Matsuri as they stood in a nearby clothing store together, it looking like the younger girl was trying to get Mei to buy some new clothes at the moment.

Harumi soon looking back to Yuzu as she caught her attention, and caused her to look back to her, seeing that her mind was still preoccupied with other things right now, "So what's up? Are you and Mei having issues again or something?" the brunette asked as she took a sip of her drink, and looked to Yuzu with a wondering expression, while the blonde just shook her head in response.

"No...But I am worried about us having issues in the near future," she said in a low toned voice, causing Harumi to look to her a little confused, while Yuzu still seemed to be very nervous and unsure of herself at the moment.

"What do you mean?"

Harumi questioned as she raised her eyebrow to the blonde, looking slightly puzzled as Yuzu soon just sighed again and started to explain to the brunette just what was on her mind right now, and had been causing her quite the bit of distress it seemed.

"You see a little earlier I got a call from my boss, and I at first thought I had done something wrong, and I was maybe in trouble, but instead as it turns out, my boss wanted to know if I wanted to start working at the cafe full-time and not just part-time anymore. Apparently one of her other employs quit the other day since they were moving away from the area, and now that means that a space has opened up, so my boss was asking if I would like to take it," Yuzu explained in a nervous voice still, while what she had said had caused Harumi to widen her eyes and look taken aback now, as a smile soon formed on her lips.

"You got a promotion? That's great news..." Harumi sounded overjoyed as it was easy to see that she was happy for Yuzu; however she paused as she noticed that the blonde didn't seem all that glad about it, and instead it looked like she was more troubled by this opportunity that had been given to her.

"Aren't you excited about it?" she asked, clearly being confused as to why the blonde wasn't as pleased as she was with hearing about this, Yuzu quickly nodding her head in reply as she went on to go into more detail about her worries to do with this new development.

"Of course I am, I mean it's a amazing opportunity for me, and it gives me the chance to earn more money and work more hours, my boss said she can even teach me how to use the cash machine since I would be doing more than just cleaning and waiting tables all the time," Yuzu's voice raising a little as it was clear to see that she was definitely interested in this promotion and did want to go for it, but Harumi seeing that there was still something bothering her about it all.

"But?" she questioned as she guessed Yuzu had more to say, and already feeling like she had an idea just why the blonde was having an issue with all this.

"But...then there's just one problem that I'm worrying about now," Yuzu said as she made a gesture to Harumi, causing her to turn around slightly and look to see Matsuri dragging a very reluctant Mei into another clothing shop, and knew she had been right in her thinking.

"Mei...you're afraid of how she will react right?" Harumi sighed, raising her eyebrow in question, Yuzu just shaking her head however as she was clearly more worried about something else.

"More than that...I'm worried about leaving her on her own more often, she's already very clingy towards me a lot of the time, so if I do take this job offer it means I'll be spending more time away from Mei, and I don't want her going distant on me or always feel lonely without me at home along with her," the blonde explained as she really didn't like leaving Mei all by herself a lot, but then this was a great opportunity for her, and it would be a shame to miss out on it.

"And you're unsure if you should tell her about it all?" Harumi asked, as Yuzu just nodded to her in reply, while she propped herself up on her elbow and sighed deeply now.

"That... and I'm also debating whether I should take the job or not," the blonde giving Harumi a anxious expression, clearly hoping that the brunette could just solve or decide all this for her, so she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

"Well what did you tell your boss?" Harumi seeing Yuzu's pleading look, but just chose to try and ignore it since she already knew she unfortunately couldn't solve this for the blonde at all.

Yuzu frowning as she had guessed that Harumi wouldn't be able to decide these things for her, but was still clearly disappointed that she would have to suck it up and just do it herself, "I told her to give me a bit of time to think it over for now, and I would get back to her about it later," she stated glancing away from Harumi, as she still had no idea what she was going to do at this point, while the brunette seemed to be quite concerned for the blonde now.

"Well you're going to have to figure out what you should do soon, after all I know your boss is quite reasonable and all, but I doubt she will keep that job open for you for very long before deciding to give it to someone else," Harumi pointed out as she knew she couldn't really help Yuzu much in this situation other than just giving her encouragement, there wasn't much else she could do for her close friend unfortunately.

"Yeah I know...I just wish it was an easier decision for me to make," the blonde nodded, mumbling that last part more to herself it seemed, as she knew she couldn't just avoid this for much longer and would soon have to make her choice, but still having no idea how to do just that.

Harumi just smiling slightly as she reached out a hand and rested it over Yuzu's, causing the blonde to look back to her in response, "If you already knew what you need to do, then why did you text me to come out here and talk about it all?" she asked, causing Yuzu to widen her eyes a little and seem taken aback, while Harumi just gave her an encouraging smile and winked to her in response.

Yuzu soon just letting a small smile form on her lips, "I guess I wanted a second opinion," she chuckled with a slight shrug of her shoulders as Harumi just chuckled in return, and hoped all would go well for the blonde knowing that she had seemed nervous to talk to her about it all, and already guessing that it would be a lot harder for Yuzu to tell her fiancé about it.

Just as Harumi was about to change the subject to lighten the mood a little, the other two came rushing back over to them both, Mei surprising Yuzu as she quickly sat down beside her and grabbed hold of her hand tightly underneath the table, causing Yuzu and Harumi to seem slightly puzzled as to what Mei and Matsuri had been up to while they were off going shopping together.

"Where did you two run off to then?"

Harumi asked her girlfriend, raising her eyebrow as the younger girl just shrugged her shoulders and came to sit down beside the brunette, guessing that she might as well stay here since it didn't look like Mei was going to be willing to move anytime soon, while Yuzu seemed concerned for why Mei was so on edge and looking to be uncomfortable right now, although guessing it most likely had to do with Matsuri in some way.

"I was trying to get Mei-san to buy some new clothes for herself, after all she will soon outgrow those ones she's currently wearing if she gets any bigger, but she was just being so uncooperative about it all," Matsuri explained as she folded her arms and looked like she was pretending to be annoyed, while Mei just glared daggers to her in response.

"But Matsuri, Mei's already wearing maternity clothes that I brought her a while back," Yuzu stated as she seemed a little confused, while she was still a bit concerned for the fact that her fiancé wasn't loosening her grip at all on her hand, and definitely didn't want to let the blonde go, as Matsuri widened her eyes in reply before she just shrugged her shoulders again.

"Oh...well I'm just saying that she may need to buy new ones again rather soon," she said with an innocent expression, however soon smirking to Mei, while she just narrowed her eyes and gave her a blank look, before turning to Harumi a moment later who also seemed quite angered by her girlfriend's teasing.

"Taniguchi-san is it alright if I punch Matsuri?" she asked with the same blank expression, her lavender eyes sternly glaring to the younger girl again, while Harumi just shrugged her shoulders to Mei.

"If you don't, I will,"

She simply just replied smirking back to Mei, before she glared to Matsuri and caused her to nervously look back to her, before the younger girl quickly stood up and began to make a break for it, Harumi getting up and running after her as she called out loudly to her, while Mei just sighed slightly watching the other couple run off around the mall.

Yuzu just chuckling at Harumi chasing Matsuri around and trying to catch her, sighing with a little bit of relief, as she felt slightly more confident about talking to Mei after telling all her worries to Harumi, but still being uncertain of herself while she soon noticed that Mei still hadn't let go of her hand, even though the other two had left the table now. She had loosened her grip somewhat, but it seemed like she still wasn't willing to let go of the blonde just yet, as Yuzu just smiled and squeezed Mei's hand tightly in return.

'I need to tell her about the job situation as soon as I can,' she thought as she nodded to herself and was determined to talk to Mei about her promotion soon, but knew that she would still need to think over just how she was going to go about it all.

...

The late afternoon rolled around as Mei and Yuzu soon headed back home together as they had said goodbye to Harumi and Matsuri, who had decided to stay out for a little bit longer before they would go home as well.

Yuzu already feeling nervous and unsure of herself as her and Mei walked back into their apartment it seeming like she had a better idea of how to approach talking to the younger girl about what had been on her mind for most of the day, but having not thought it through too well just yet as she still was worried about just how Mei would reply to it all.

The blonde closing the front door behind her and slipping off her shoes, watching Mei walk into the kitchen and dining area, as it seemed like she was ready to start preparing a nice lunch for herself, while Yuzu took a deep breath and followed after the younger girl, soon catching her attention and causing her to stop what she was doing and just look back to her.

"Mei...can I talk to you about something for a minute?" she asked in a nervous tone, as she was slightly turning away from Mei, causing the younger girl to just look to her with a questioning gaze, wondering just what this was all about.

"Sure,"

She nodded simply, as she went to sit down at the dining table, gesturing for Yuzu to come and sit beside her, the blonde coming to do so as she pulled up the chair next to Mei, and composed herself knowing that she shouldn't hesitate all that much, and just try to keep calm while she went over what she was going to say inside her mind a couple of times, before she soon turned all of her attention onto Mei and put on a confident looking expression.

Mei just looking curious as Yuzu began to speak after a couple more moments of preparing herself, "Listen just so you know I haven't decided on this just yet as I thought I would talk to you about it first, and if you are against it then that's totally fine, and you don't have to force yourself to agree or anything like that, you can just be honest with me okay?" the blonde still obviously being quite nervous as she was rambling a little, however soon stopping from continuing like that as Mei just simply nodded back to her in reply, as she was clearly just waiting for Yuzu to tell her what this was all about, not looking like she wanted to interrupt her at all.

"You know that phone call I got this morning?" Yuzu asked as she thought she should start off slowly, and just ease into this situation rather than jumping right into it.

"You said Taniguchi-san had called and asked if we wanted to go to the mall with her and Matsuri," Mei simply nodded as she didn't exactly see where this was going just yet, but seemed to be interested to hear more.

"Well...that wasn't exactly the truth, my boss was actually the one who phoned me up... and she asked me if I would maybe like to start working at the cafe full-time, instead of just part-time, you see someone who was on full-time...they quit and so now there's a place open for me. And I know it gives me more hours which means I'll be away from home more often, but it's a way to earn more money, and...I would really like to take my boss up on this offer, however if you are against it then I completely understand and- Yuzu was in the middle of explaining what she had been worrying about, filling Mei in on what the situation was, and tried to reassure the younger girl that she could say how she really felt without having to worry about forcing herself for the blonde, however Mei soon cutting off Yuzu as she didn't seem to be all that troubled by being told all this.

"Yuzu if you've got the chance to get a better job, and you want to go for it than you definitely should," Mei stated as she caused Yuzu to go silent and widen her eyes slightly as it seemed like she most certainly wasn't expecting the younger girl to respond like that at all.

"But why did you think I would be against it?" Mei asked as she looked a little confused and raised her eyebrow slightly to Yuzu, as the blonde was still surprised for a few moments before she composed herself and spoke in a nervously low tone now.

"B-because I'll be leaving you at home by yourself a lot more, and you already cling to me most mornings, not wanting me to leave so..." Yuzu trailed off slightly as she nervously turned away from Mei, while she caused the younger girl to widen her eyes a little, before she just sighed and softened her expression.

"Yuzu, I only cling to let you know that I'll miss you once you leave, and I know it causes you trouble sometimes so I'm sorry for that, but if you have this opportunity and you really want to get it before it slips away from you, then you should just go for it. I've told you before that I can take care of myself just fine, besides...we always planned for you to one day have a full-time job, right?" Mei explained as she seemed to understand just why Yuzu was nervous at the moment, and probably why she had avoided talking to her about all this until now.

Yuzu still looking surprised and unsure of what to say in reply, as she stayed quiet for a few more moments before she soon nervously stuttered, "A-are you sure...I-I wouldn't want you to spend your time feeling lonely because I'm not here with you," she asked still feeling uncertain about this decision, however Mei just nodding to her simply in reply.

"Just tell me what time you finish at, and I'm sure I can keep myself busy until then, after all I do need to focus more on my online classes, since I have let myself fall behind a little lately," she said, causing for Yuzu to still be taken back, however a hopeful look starting to form on her face as she could see that Mei was being honest with her, and clearly just wanted her to go for the things she wanted and not let her worries hold her back at all.

"So you really think I should go for the promotion?" Yuzu questioned, as Mei simply just nodded her head in reply a moment later.

"I personally think it would be a great opportunity for you, and you should take it, so go and call your boss, before I do it for you," she let a smile form on her lips, as she caused Yuzu to light up with relief and delight as she nodded quickly and smiled brightly back to Mei after she had let herself repeat Mei's words inside her mind a couple of times, feeling glad that this had actually gone much better than she expected for the both of them.

"Right...I'll go call her right now,"

Yuzu replied happily as she went to make a run for the lounge so she could call her boss, but instead stopped dead in her tracks as she quickly turned back to Mei and walked up to her, surprising her with a light peck to her cheek a moment later.

"Thank you Mei,"

She whispered giving Mei a tight hug, as she caused for the younger girl to just relax in her embrace and nuzzle into her for a few moments, before they soon separated and Yuzu quickly left to and call her boss, while Mei just watched her go with a slight sigh, propping herself up on her elbow as she seemed to be thinking to herself now.

'Of course I'll miss her when she's not here with me...but I'll be glad to know she's doing something that she really wants to, and then at the end of the day at least she knows I'll be right here, waiting for her to come home,' the dark haired girl thought as she let another soft smile rest on her lips and stood up from her chair, starting to prepare her lunch now like she had wanted to do since they got home. While she waited for her fiancé to come rushing back into the dining area to talk to her about how excited she was for her first real full-time job, and how much she was looking forward to it all, Mei clearly being more than happy for her in return.