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. ;)
...
Harumi's bedroom was bathed in a calming darkness, as complete silence filled the air and Matsuri lay sleeping peacefully in the couple's shared futon that had been laid out on the wooden floor. The young girl happily snuggling into her soft pillow, and would roll over every so often, enjoying the fact that right at this moment she had the whole bed to herself, as her girlfriend had already gotten up by now.
Matsuri thinking she could luckily spend some time sleeping in today, however that not seeming to be the case as her restful sleep didn't last all that much longer to her displeasure, as she was quite rudely awoken by the wooden door to the bedroom being slammed open as it hit the wall with a loud 'thud'. The sudden noise causing the sleeping girl to stir, only to be brought right out of her resting state, as she heard the sound of the curtains being pulled apart, causing the bright beams of the sun to be let in and cover the room in light.
Groaning as her eyes snapped open Matsuri turned over in the bed, pulling the covers up to her head, blocking out the blinding light for her luckily, but the covers quickly being taken off her again a moment later, as Harumi now crouched down and tugged roughly on the younger girl's arm.
"Come on already Matsuri, get up will you!"
The brunette said sternly as she practically had to drag her girlfriend out of the bed by her arm, while Matsuri just groaned again, being forced to sit up as she glared back up to the elder girl, Harumi just glaring in return, and resting her hands on her hips, it being clear that she wasn't just going to give in and let the younger girl go back to sleep at all right now.
"Why are you waking me up so early Harumi?" the younger girl whined as she yawned, turning away from her girlfriend, clearly still feeling awfully tired, but stretching anyway as she guessed there wasn't much point in trying to go back to sleep at the moment since the brunette would most likely wake her back up again.
Harumi just looking back to the younger girl, raising an eyebrow to her as she folded her arms across her chest before answering, "It's not early, and we said we would help Mei and Yuzu welcome Maiya-chan home from the hospital today, remember?" the brunette reminded Matsuri as she just looked like she was thinking for a minute or two, seeming like she was trying to remember what Harumi was talking about, only to shrug her shoulders while she ran a hand through her short pink hair, still trying to wake herself up by the looks of things.
"Yeah I remember, but I thought we weren't leaving until after lunchtime?" Matsuri pointed out, only to have Harumi roll her eyes and gesture to the digital clock that was placed on a nearby, small side table.
"It's almost two in the afternoon Matsuri," she simply stated, causing Matsuri to glance to the digital clock as she widened her eyes, and suddenly didn't seem as reluctant to get up anymore, jumping up from the futon, looking worried and clearly awake now.
"Well why didn't you wake me before now?"
"I did, four times actually, and every time you would just say, 'I'll be ready in a minute',"
Harumi explained figuring she should have guessed that the younger girl was half-asleep when she answered her the previous times she had called to her to 'Get up', quoting Matsuri in a child-like tone, while causing her girlfriend to just glare back to her and seem annoyed by being made a mockery out of.
"Okay, I sound nothing like that, and besides how was I- the younger girl tried to defend herself, however Harumi just shaking her head and cutting her off a moment later, causing Matsuri to glare back to the brunette in response.
"Alright whatever, just hurry up and get ready will you? We're already late and Yuzucchi, Mei and the others will all be waiting for us," Harumi said as she just rested her hands on the younger girl's shoulders, pushing her over to the wardrobe so she could quickly change her clothes, before they would have to leave for the hospital.
"'Just hurry up and get ready will you'?" Matsuri mumbled out mocking Harumi's voice like the elder girl had done to her a few moments ago, while she smirked to the brunette and walked over to the wardrobe to start getting changed out of her sleepwear.
Harumi just rolling her eyes and glaring back to her girlfriend in reply, sighing heavily and turning to leave the bedroom, hoping that Matsuri would do as she had said and just get ready without anymore fussing, while she stood outside the room with her back leaning against the wall, already knowing they were going to keep the others all waiting at the hospital, but luckily it wouldn't take them too long to get there and they could still make it before Mei, Yuzu and the others started to become concerned about them.
...
Fortunately Harumi and Matsuri had gotten ready and made it to the hospital before they could cause anyone to worry that much about what was taking them so long to get there, as the young couple had quickly made it to the maternity ward where Mei was getting discharged from today along with little newborn Maiya.
However soon realising that maybe they shouldn't have rushed so much after all, as it didn't look like Mei and Yuzu were all that ready to leave the hospital just yet, Mei being busy getting her and Maiya's things into a couple of bags, as well as talking to Yuzu's Mother and her Dad about a few things they had to sort out once they had brought the little infant home this afternoon. Meanwhile Yuzu was cradling a wailing Maiya over her shoulder, patting her back softly and whispering caring words to her, as it seemed like she was clearly very upset about something right now.
Harumi and Matsuri glancing to each other with uneasy expressions, as they quickly came over to the others, clearly wondering what was causing little Maiya such distress at the moment, "Hey Yuzucchi, did we keep you waiting long?" Harumi asked as she caught the attention of the tired looking blonde, causing Yuzu to turn back to the brunette, shaking her head and giving a weak smile as she tried to look like her usual cheery self, but it being obvious that she was just putting on a fake act at the moment.
"Not really, but we were starting to wonder where you two had gotten to," the blonde stated with a slight sigh, as her daughter's loud cries had just turned into background noise to her at this point, and she honestly wouldn't be able to tell if Maiya was settling down at all or not, just causing the other two to become concerned for her as they glanced to each other and wondered if they should say anything regarding the crying infant or not.
"Yeah...sorry about that, I had to practically drag Matsuri out of bed earlier in order to get here,"
Harumi explained simply as she pointed her thumb to her girlfriend, causing the younger girl to turn back to her and grit her teeth, glaring to the brunette while Harumi just folded her arms and rolled her eyes in return. Yuzu smiling nervously to the two, and nodding her head, sensing the tension between the young couple and actually feeling a little glad that it seemed like her and Mei weren't the only ones having a bit of a rough start to this already quite stressful day.
"Well I'm glad you two are both here now anyway," Yuzu stated, smiling to the other two and causing them to look away from each other, turning their attention back to the blonde instead while it was clear that they were still annoyed over what had happened between them earlier.
"So how come Maiya-chan's so upset?"
Matsuri asked, changing the subject as she and Harumi decided to focus more on the situation right now rather than their own issues. The younger girl gesturing to the still crying infant, while Harumi nodded in agreement, it being clear that she was also wondering what had caused the normally very cheerful newborn to become so distraught at the moment.
Yuzu just sighing heavily as she glanced to her wailing daughter and stroked her short, black hair softly, watching as the infant began sucking on her little fists, but still continuing to cry, her round face having turned all red by now, and it not seeming like she wasn't going to calm down anytime soon unfortunately.
"It's kind of hard to explain..."
The blonde trailed off a little as she tried to think of how she could answer the other two, causing them both to look back to her with confused expressions; clearly seeming interested to hear more of an explanation from Yuzu at this point, as it looked like she was still unsure of how to respond to them both.
"What do you mean, is she sick or something?" Harumi asked, as her and Matsuri were looking quite concerned for little Maiya, hoping that nothing was wrong with her health or anything, and that she was still being discharged today along with Mei.
However Yuzu quickly easing their worries as she shook her head and smiled nervously to the two, causing them to both breathe a sigh of relief, only to become puzzled yet again a moment later when the blonde now answered their question.
"Oh no, it's nothing like that, we already checked with the Doctor and she said 'she's perfectly fine', so there's not much to worry about all that. Maiya-chan here is just unhappy because I'm the one holding her at the moment," the blonde said as she smiled weakly, causing the other two to both seem taken aback, and confused by Yuzu's reply as they just glanced to each other, uncertain of what to say and were thinking about questioning Yuzu, only to have Mei speak up and catch all of their attention a moment later.
"Stop saying things like that Yuzu, she's not crying because you're holding her,"
She stated as she came walking over to her fiancé and daughter, it seeming like she had stopped talking to her Dad and Yuzu's Mother, and had clearly heard what the three were talking about at the moment. Stroking Maiya's cheek, as the infant still sobbed, looking like she was wearing herself out finally as her cries were soon becoming quieter, while Yuzu just smiled nervously and shrugged her shoulders to Mei, knowing that the younger girl refused to let her believe that she was the one causing their daughter's loud crying spells to occur.
"All three of us had a bad night and none of us slept very much at all, plus we did have to wake her up from her nap a little while ago so that we could get her changed and ready to leave. That's most likely the real reason as to why she's been in such hysterics for the last twenty minutes," Mei explained as she gave a slight warning stare to her fiancé, causing the blonde to just nod back to her quickly in reply, knowing that she was probably right after all, but still seeming like she had certain other thoughts as to why their daughter was crying so much while being held in her arms right now.
"Umm...what's this all about?"
Matsuri asked as her and Harumi still looked confused as to what exactly was going on with the other couple and their daughter, clearly both of them looking for some kind of explanation right now, as Mei just softened her expression and turned away from her fiancé, facing the other two and drawing their attention on to her while they looked between Mei and Yuzu, hoping that they would soon understand just what they seemed to be missing here.
"Well we've been having trouble getting Maiya to settle and go to sleep at night, and Yuzu has got it into her head that it's her fault and she's the one causing our daughter's distress," the dark haired girl informed the other two about what had been happening lately during their sleepless nights in the hospital, and causing both Harumi and Matsuri to look taken aback over just the thought of the blonde accusing herself of being the reason for their daughter's tears.
Harumi and Matsuri both unsurprisingly looking a bit speechless and unsure of what to say, as they glanced back to each other, seeming like they were trying to think of something to respond with for a few moments, while Mei and Yuzu stood simply waiting to hear how they would reply. Yuzu still trying to keep Maiya calm and quiet, as the infant was still whimpering a lot, but it being clear that she had pretty much exhausted herself right now, and so was just choosing to rest her head on her blonde Mother's shoulder, and suck on her little fists still, letting her eyelids drop as she could very well fall back to sleep soon enough.
"How the hell did you come to that conclusion Yuzu?" Harumi asked finally finding her words it seemed as she and Matsuri looked to the blonde for an answer, while she sighed after a moment and lowered her tone a little now.
"I came to it after realising that every time I try to get her to go to sleep, she just cries loudly for hours on end, I try doing all sorts of things to calm her, but nothing seems to work at all. And then the moment I give her to Mei to hold, all it takes is a few seconds before she's all settled and sound asleep, so you see...I think she must just like her Mama Mei more than me," she explained as she gave a nervous smile to Harumi and Matsuri, while they both went a little silent again unsure of how they should reply it seemed at the moment.
However Matsuri not staying quiet for long as she soon spoke up, looking worried for the blonde, "Are you sure? I mean Mei-san is the one that feeds her, so maybe that's why she settles easier when she's being held by her," the younger girl suggested trying to reassure Yuzu that the things she was saying could be wrong, and she was just letting her own accusations get the best of her.
"Yeah, that can't be right Yuzucchi; there must be some other reason why,"
Harumi agreed, as she also clearly didn't believe that the blonde was at fault for making little Maiya so upset, the brunette quickly thinking of something that would hopefully reassure Yuzu more as she hated seeing her looking so down on herself and giving all those weak smiles that she obviously was hiding behind at the moment.
"She's settled down now it seems after all,"
The brunette added as she gestured to the now just whimpering Maiya, as she was slowly beginning to fall back to sleep again it seemed, while she still was being held over her blonde Mother's shoulder. Matsuri just nodding along, as her and Harumi tried to think of more to say, but Yuzu just smiling nervously to them both as she shrugged her shoulders and patted her daughter's back gently, feeling her nuzzling into her warmth, causing Yuzu to guess that she was just too tired at this point to bother putting up another fuss now.
"That's only because she's worn herself out by now, she did the exact same thing last night," the blonde simply stated, as she caused for both Matsuri and Harumi to look a bit unsure of what to do or say at this point, before they decided to turn to Mei, wondering if there was anything she could say in order to help them out and get Yuzu thinking differently from how she currently was at the moment.
Mei just letting out another heavy sigh, as she turned to look Yuzu in the eyes, causing the blonde to look back to her in response, although she still had quite the nervous expression on her face at the moment, "Yuzu I told you before you need to stop telling yourself these things, they aren't true at all. Babies cry all the time for lots of different reasons, and you can't possibly know the meaning behind every time that Maiya cries at something, so you shouldn't keep thinking you're the one at fault here, because you're not alright?" she said changing her expression to a more serious gaze, as she narrowed her lavender eyes, and rested a caring hand on Yuzu's shoulder.
The blonde continuing to look nervous as she looked into Mei's eyes, seeing the worry she had in them right now, causing her to widen her own emerald eyes and smile back to her fiancé, slowly nodding to her a moment later, "You're right Mei, I'm just afraid that I might be doing something wrong," she confessed, knowing that there was no way to know exactly what was causing their daughter to cry so much, after all it's not like Maiya could tell them just yet.
"You know I'm scared of making a mistake as well right?" Mei whispered as she softened her expression and caused Yuzu to look a little caught off guard before she just chuckled slightly and nodded again in reply to Mei.
"Yeah, sorry Mei,"
Yuzu smiled as she wrapped an arm around Mei and pulled her closer to her, hugging her tightly and nuzzling into her neck, as the younger girl just let a small smile of relief form on her lips, hugging the blonde back tightly, before they both looked to their daughter and saw that she was now sound asleep over Yuzu's shoulder, looking like she was quite comfortable and relaxed at the moment thankfully.
Harumi and Matsuri smiling and sighing out of relief as well, being glad that Mei was able to get through to Yuzu and reassure her, happy to see the blonde back to her cheerful smiling self again, as she kissed Mei lightly on her forehead, thanking her and stroking her cheek softly, before all of their attention was taken off the current situation, and brought on to Yuzu's Mother and Mei's Dad as they came walking over to them all now.
"Right then I think we've got everything together, are you three ready to leave now?"
Yuzu's Mom asked with a cheerful smile to Mei and Yuzu, as the others just turned back to her and nodded in reply, while Mei's Dad was carrying the two bags that contained Mei and Maiya's clothes they had been wearing in the hospital, as well as some 'Congratulations' cards from their friends, and a few other things that they would need to take home with them. Mei and Maiya soon enough getting discharged from the hospital, and them all catching the bus home, so that they would all return back to the apartment together soon enough.
...
After the fairly short journey back to where the apartment complex was, they had all returned back to Mei, baby Maiya, Yuzu, and her Mother's home. The blonde's Mother quickly starting to make an early dinner for them all, while Matsuri, Harumi and Mei's Dad helped Yuzu unpack the bags that they had brought home from the hospital, leaving Mei to take care of little Maiya by herself for a bit as she sat on the sofa in the lounge, breathing out a long sigh, while she looked around and took everything in.
"Welcome home Maiya,"
She whispered to her daughter, as she felt she really had missed this apartment even though she only been staying at the hospital for a few days, she was still more than glad to be back home once again. Softening her expression as she looked down to the infant in her arms, seeing that Maiya was wide awake at the moment and was just curiously looking around the room in wonder, her bright emerald eyes practically shining as it was obvious that she wasn't used to being in a room this big, since for the first few days of her life were spent on a small hospital ward.
Yuzu sighing deeply as she finished putting away the clothes that Mei and Maiya had worn in the hospital, placing them all into a basket to be washed later. The blonde standing and leaning against the bedroom wall looking around for a moment, before she folded her arms across her chest seeming like she was lost in thought and her mind being preoccupied by other things then the fact that she was glad to be home again along with Mei and their daughter now.
Matsuri soon stopping what she was doing at the moment as she noticed Yuzu looking lost in thought and maybe a little down like how she looked earlier at the hospital, leading Matsuri to guess what was going on before was still playing on her mind a lot. The younger girl looking concerned for the blonde as she now went over to her girlfriend and caught her attention by tapping her on the shoulder, causing the brunette to also stop what she was doing and look back to her with a questioning expression.
Only to have Matsuri not say anything to her, and just point over to Yuzu, causing Harumi to glance to the blonde and widen her eyes upon seeing Yuzu seeming so low at the moment, and also starting to feel concerned for her, as she and Matsuri looked back to each other and nodded, before they quickly walked up to Yuzu, caught her attention and brought her out of her thoughts now.
"Hey Yuzucchi, we're pretty much all done with unpacking Mei and Maiya-chan's bags now, so why don't you go and check on Mei for a bit?" Harumi suggested to Yuzu as her and Matsuri smiled to the blonde, causing her to just shake her head in response as she smiled nervously back to the other two.
"Well...I'm sure Mei is most probably tired, you heard we didn't sleep all that well last night, so I should maybe just go and help my Mom prepare the dinner she's making for us instead," she said nervously as she obviously would rather go do something else rather than having to go and talk to her fiancé about the thoughts that were troubling her at the moment. Having Matsuri and Harumi both shake their heads in reply, as it seemed like they were going to deny Yuzu's request, only to have Mei's Dad interrupt them before they could speak, while he had finished putting away the things that his daughter had brought back home, and now came to stand beside the other three.
"I think I've got that covered, so why don't you go and tell Mei that 'dinner will be ready soon'?" Shō said as he caused Yuzu to look taken aback for a moment, while he and the other two just gave the blonde encouraging expressions in hope that she would just give in and go to try out their suggestions instead of just continuing to avoid the situation altogether.
Yuzu looking to her two close friends, and Mei's Dad for a couple of moments more, knowing really that they were right and she needed to face this and talk about all her worries with Mei, after all nothing would be fixed if she just continued to let things carry on like this. So she just sighed and soon nodded to the others, them all looking glad and relieved that the blonde had agreed to do as they had suggested, giving her reassuring smiles in return, as Yuzu had decided that she would speak to Mei about the thoughts she was having right now, and stop bottling them all up like she had been doing for quite a while.
The blonde leaving her bedroom, as she slowly made her way into the lounge, looking to Mei as she saw her fiancé sitting on the sofa holding and watching their newborn daughter in her arms, while Maiya gazed around the room clearly being entranced it seemed by the apartment at the moment. Yuzu just taking a deep breath as she nodded to herself, and came to sit beside Mei on the sofa, catching the younger girl's attention in the process.
"Hey looks like Maiya-chan is excited to be home now," she stated with a bit of a nervous smile, as Mei just nodded back to the blonde with a softened expression in response.
"Yeah, I think she likes it here," Mei said as she stroked Maiya's cheek, while it seemed she was too interested in getting a good look around at everything to take much notice to her Mothers at the moment.
"Your Dad said to tell you that dinner will be ready soon enough," Yuzu spoke in a bit of a low voice, as she wasn't really sure just how she was going to approach telling Mei about the worries she was still having despite what the younger girl had said to her at the hospital.
"Okay, thank you for telling me,"
Mei simply replied as she took her attention off the blonde and just went back to looking at the little infant in her arms, as it seemed like she kind of got the feeling why Yuzu had come to talk to her, and was waiting for her to bring it into their conversation somehow, but as she saw her struggling to think of way to do that right now, Mei sighed as she looked to her fiancé's lost in thought expression and guessed she would just bring up the subject for Yuzu instead.
"Yuzu you do know Maiya cries when I'm holding her as well, it's not just you," Mei stated causing Yuzu to look a little wide eyed, as she was surprised that Mei had been the one to bring up the exact topic that she was trying to talk to her about right now, before the blonde just nervously nodded a moment later in response.
"I know...I just think she seems to cry more often when I'm the one holding her," Yuzu sighed as she looked to their cute, little daughter while she was still looking around the room in awe, clearly already liking it much more than the hospital it seemed.
Nodding Mei looked like she was thinking for a moment, as Yuzu just nervously looked back to her, wondering if she was going to say anything in return or not, only to be a little taken aback when the younger girl smiled and chuckled slightly, before she looked back to the blonde and caused her to seem quite confused now.
"Wasn't I the one that was afraid about not making a connection with our baby?" Mei asked as she caused Yuzu to widen her eyes, before she chuckled back a little, shrugging her shoulders a moment later in reply, seeing how it was kind of funny that she was now worrying about something that the younger girl had become concerned with before their daughter was even born.
"Yeah, I guess I wasn't really expecting to deal with the fact that our baby might hate me," the blonde thought out loud, only to have Mei frown at her, and respond to her in more of a serious tone, causing Yuzu to kind of regret saying what she had just come out with.
"She doesn't hate you Yuzu!" Mei raised her voice, causing Yuzu to just agree with her nervously, and instantly want to take back what she had blurted out, before the younger girl just sighed and continued on in a lower tone.
"She loves you, I can tell by how she interacts with you. I've watched you make her smile in a way that I find I just can't, you're a great Mama to Maiya and you have so much love to give her..." she paused for a moment, seeming like she was collecting her thoughts, before carrying on soon afterwards.
"Listen she's going to cry a lot of times, and we most likely won't know the meaning behind her tears, so don't go assuming things that aren't true alright, I mean...for all we know she could just not want to be held sometimes," she explained, as she had a serious expression on her face, but there was clear worry in her eyes, leaning closer to Yuzu and resting a hand over her's, squeezing onto her tightly, while she caused the blonde to widen her eyes and look speechless for a few moments, having just listened to all that Mei had told her and seemed to be thinking about it right now.
Mei just waiting for Yuzu to reply to her, as the blonde stayed silent for a little while, looking like she was thinking about what Mei had said for a bit longer, before she soon just let a smile form on her lips, sighing deeply and running a hand through her long, blonde hair, shaking her head as she looked back to her fiancé and nodded to her.
"You're right, you're absolutely right. I'm sorry Mei...I really have let my thoughts run away with me this time haven't I?" she said with a slight chuckle, causing Mei to just soften her expression and nod back to her in reply as Yuzu squeezed her hand back and reached up to stroked the younger girl's cheek with her free hand, pecking her lightly on her forehead and thanking her for bringing her back to her senses, before the blonde pulled away a little and bit her bottom lip, obviously showing that she was feeling nervous once again.
The younger girl just raising her eyebrow as she wondered what Yuzu was thinking right now, before the blonde removed her hand from Mei's and held her arms out towards her fiancé, "Can I try holding her for a bit?" she asked nervously, glancing away from Mei slightly, while Mei simply just nodded back to her a moment later.
"Of course, she's your daughter after all,"
She simply replied as she passed little Maiya over to Yuzu, as the infant seemed distracted from looking around the room once she was moved, and as soon as she realised she was being held by her blonde Mother she happily nuzzled into her neck and held tightly onto her shirt, seeming like she was feeling tired, as she yawned and began to let herself drift off into a peaceful sleep, while Yuzu just smiled and sighed out of relief, glad that it looked like their daughter wanted to be held by her this time and obviously didn't 'hate' her as she had wrongly thought before.
"You see. My guess is she was just being fussy and stubborn, and if she's anything like you...it means that she'll no doubt be keeping us guessing like this for a while," Mei stated with a softened expression, as she stroked Maiya's short black hair, and Yuzu just nodded to her in reply with a smile.
"You're probably right about that,"
She agreed with a slight chuckle, as she patted Maiya's back lightly, feeling her snuggling into her more and enjoying the warmth she was getting at the moment from her blonde Mother. Mei and Yuzu just smiling to their sleeping daughter contently, before they soon heard the blonde's Mother calling for them both, causing them to guess that their dinner was probably ready now.
"Why don't you go and put her down for a nap, while we have our dinner?"
Mei suggested as Yuzu just nodded in reply with a cheerful smile, before they both walked to their bedroom, the blonde slowly lowering the sleeping infant into her yellow cot, and covering her little body with a warm blanket, while Maiya happily nuzzled into her comfy bed and smiled in her sleep.
The two young Mothers just looking down to their sleeping daughter, smiling to her sleeping soundly as Yuzu wrapped her arms around Mei and held her in a tight embrace, kissing her lightly on top of her head while Mei just sighed contently, relaxing in Yuzu's arms and nuzzling into her lovingly, hugging her back before they both soon left little Maiya to sleep in peace as they made their way back to the dining and kitchen area so that they could wave Harumi and Matsuri off and thank them for helping today, as they could now sit down at the dining table along with their parents and have their freshly cooked dinner altogether as a family.
...
Just letting you all know that from the next chapter onwards I will be coming out with new chapters every two weeks instead of every week (like with how it was when I was in College before), this is because I will soon start to try out for 'Amateur dramatics' (which I am so excited for!), meaning that I won't be able to write as much anymore, but I promise to get a new chapter out to all you lovely readers every two weeks. So keep looking forward to what's to come for Mei, Yuzu and their little bundle of joy from here. ^_^
Thank you all for reading as always by the way
Killerchainsaw ;)