So some news around my life

it has been a bit of a pain.

I will continue Uncomfortable Truths! I never planned on canceling or discontinuing it.

Number two I need to finish another project before I go back to it.

.

Number three someone by the name of Uroko did an excellent bit of fan art for me of Mei with tattoos! If you're on Amino, you can see it there or on tumblr. look up uroko-aka-tooru and it's so awesome!

4) I have an exciting Citrus based project I need to work on as well before fanfics, so you guys will, unfortunately, need to wait a bit longer. SORRY!

Now let's get started on making Mei into a dork.


Chapter 3

Why did I bother getting so worked up? It's a stupid movie, not a date.

Mei looked up at the street signs, trying to get her bearings and sighed loudly and scratched her head.

She should have realized that Yuzu would be the kind of person to throw an idiom like that around casually, given the company she usually kept.

Even Mitsuko would have caught onto the fact that Yuzu hadn't been serious, but for some reason, Mei had taken it that way, so much in fact that when her father had called her earlier that evening, she'd made the mistake of telling him about it.

"I don't think she meant it that way, Mei," he'd laughed over his cup of cappuccino. She'd managed to get him as he was eating his breakfast and Mei had suddenly realized how hungry she was. "I mean you've only met her twice and the first time you two practically ripped each other's heads off. I highly doubt she's willing to go on a date that quickly. But then again; it's not entirely out of the question. It's happened before so what's to stop it from happening again."

"That's not very helpful," Mei snorted as she finished tying her shoes.

"Well, what can I say," shrugged Sho after swallowing a large chunk of pastry, "people do strange things."

"You truly are no help." Mei walked over to her desk and began looking for her wallet. "I don't know why I bother asking you for advice."

"Because you need it." Sho shrugged and let out a loud sighed as Mei continued slamming drawers. "Mei, can you calm down and listen to me for a minute?"

Mei slammed one final drawer, finally finding her wallet and shoved it into the pocket of her hoodie and stared down at her laptop, her scowl staring up at her from the corner of her screen.

"What is it, Father? I'm already running late, and I don't..."

"Breathe," said Sho calmly taking a deep breath of his own. "Can you do that?"

Grumbling, Mei did as he asked and took a long deep calming breath and exhaled loudly while her father did the same.

"Are you feeling better," asked Sho after his third long breath.

"Not particularly." Mei pulled her wallet out and flipped through the bills in the center, glad to find that she didn't need to stop by an ATM. "But I am willing to listen a little more."

"Okay." Sho wiped his mouth and tried his best to smile at her. "All I'm going to tell you is to keep calm and don't force anything. She already did the family a huge favor finding one of Dad's paintings, and we both know how hard it is for you to get along with people."

"I could have done without the insult." Mei picked up a half-emptied bottle of water and drained it. "Also what's your point? Harumi already said something similar."

"My point, Mei, is that if she said she wanted to see and talk to you again, you must have done something right and whether it's platonic or possibly romantic shouldn't matter. Just relax and enjoy it. It's a movie and Harumi will be there with you, and you said she's friends with Harumi, so maybe she'll spend more time talking to her than she'll spend talking to you so you won't have to worry about making an ass out of yourself."

"That's…," Mei turned to her father and saw an expectant smile on his face, and she refused to say anything more. "Never mind."

"Mei," Sho shifted in his chair, a chuckle in his voice, "you know you've never had to hide your preferences from us. I mean I know your grandfather wasn't the most open-minded about things like this, but I thought he handled it okay."

"He was very supportive, all things considered."

Despite what people had thought about her grandfather's strict nature in raising her, he had never begrudged Mei when she'd managed to find someone she had a romantic inclination for; not that it mattered given all the time she spent under his tutelage and traveling with him over her summer vacations.

But when she did have the chance, Mei usually found herself in this exact situation.

Practically every time she found someone she enjoyed talking to, she'd get too ahead of herself, and managed to screw it up somehow. Whether it was misreading signs or being too forward, Mei's love life was practically non-existent given her obsessive nature and pouring her energy into finding her grandfather's work, and as she finished her second bottle of water, she sighed as managed to listen to her father's voice.

"He was," agreed Sho as he shifted in his chair and smiled up at her, "and I know I've been a shit father but..."

"Shit is an understatement," snorted Mei after dumping her bottle in her recycle bin.

"That's fair." Sho leaned back and raised his hands in defeat. "I screwed up, and that's why we're in this predicament, but I'm trying to help you so can you please give me one more minute before you storm out the door?"

Mei pulled open her phone and held up her clock app and started the timer.

"One minute, Father."

"All right." Sho coughed and took a sip of his refilled cappuccino before continuing. "I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but the best advice I can give you is to stop worrying about if she likes you. All I want you to do is enjoy yourself and have some fun if you do that, then situations like this will be a lot easier for you and your friends. Can you do that for me?"

Mei looked down at her clock and saw that she was thirty-seconds left and nodded.

"I'll do my best, Father. You are right, for once, and I will let you know how it goes."

"I'm not asking..."

"You will ask. I know you will," snorted Mei before shutting off her phone's timer, "and with that your minute is up. Enjoy your breakfast, Father. I'll speak with you later."

"Have fun, Mei!"

After shutting her laptop, Mei left and had spent the majority of her walk to the theater pondering over her father's words, hating that he was right but knowing that it was indeed the best course of action.

Cramming her hands into her pockets, Mei sighed in relief when she finally saw the sign to the movie theater and trudged forward, kicking a soda can before throwing it in a nearby trash can as she approached the ticket counter and paid.

Once inside, she headed up to the bar of that the theater had and after having her I.D. checked ordered a cocktail that was a mix of Curacao, vodka, and champagne. Mei had to admit it was good, if a bit bitter and noted the slight aftertaste of orange in it with that complimented the champagne. After another sip, Mei ordered a chicken, shrimp, and steak wrap with chips and cautiously sipped her drink while trying to ignore the audio of some reality show that was playing on one of the televisions hanging from the ceiling.

Pulling out her phone, Mei was surprised that even though she'd left nearly ten minutes late, she was still a little early and sent a text to Harumi saying that she was sitting at the bar waiting for them.

Just as she hit send, her food appeared, and the scent of the soy and garlic marinade made her stomach growl and forgetting all pretense, she began eating the wrap eagerly. She finished the first half in only a minute and took a deep drink of her cocktail before picking up the second half. After taking a big bite, Mei noticed that some lettuce dropped down her front and before she could clean herself up a pair of hands grabbed her sides and started to tickle her.

"Hey Mei," shouted a familiar voice making Mei jump out of her seat, nearly dropping her sandwich.

"That's not funny Harumi," panted Mei, turning around, lettuce and sauce staining her chin, glaring at the brunette who was now laughing while Yuzu simultaneously failed to hide her laughter behind her hand and as she stared at the menu board.

"Clean yourself up," giggled Harumi handing Mei a napkin, distracting her from her view of Yuzu.

"You know I hate it when…," Mei stopped, her ears burning as she wiped her mouth and listened to Yuzu order a drink and a tub of bacon popcorn a small smile still on her lips.

After regaining her composure, Mei leaned in and whispered, "Don't do that again, do you hear me?"

"Uh huh." Harumi winked and patted Mei on the shoulder before whispering, "You afraid I'm gonna tell your girlfriend about how much you hate getting tickled?"

Mei's nostrils flared at the question, and she was prepared to tell Harumi off, but Yuzu appeared behind Harumi with a blood red drink and quietly asked, "Everything okay?"

"We're fine," huffed Mei, pulling away from Harumi and straightening her hoodie before stepping back over to her food and drink.

"What'd you do?" Yuzu turned to Harumi and slapped her shoulder.

"Nothing," giggled Harumi before pointing at Yuzu's drink and handed over her I.D to the bartender who nodded in understanding. "All I did was tease her a little."

Harumi reached out for Mei's side, but Mei was ready for her and moved away quickly before sitting down on one of the stools.

"Do that again, and I'm going to leave."

Mei turned her gaze toward Harumi, glaring at her so coldly that all the color drained from her friend's face.

"All right." Harumi raised her hands and took her drink and then a large handful of freshly popped popcorn. "You win, no more tickling or jump scares; scout's honor. Deal?"

"How about you buy me a couple more drinks and then we'll call it even for tonight." Mei held up her nearly empty glass and shook it, and Harumi sighed in defeat.

"Can she get another one of whatever that is, please?"

"Thank you," Mei took a bite of her wrap and then nodded at Yuzu. "Nice to see again, Yuzu."

"Hi, Mei." The blonde took a bite of popcorn and licked a bit of the salt off her thumb. "How've you been?"

"I've been doing well." Mei finished her food and decided to order some popcorn for the movie before returning her attention to the blonde while Harumi perused the menu. "I finished a fair amount of work, added more to my plate, and am still waiting for the police to inform me about the status of my grandfather's case. How about you?"

"I've had a similar week." Yuzu hopped into the chair next to Mei and offered up her popcorn while they waited for Mei's to arrive. "I had to deal with some stuff involving a few clients. I lost one to an agency, which I don't blame him for seeing as how I have to charge a bit more as an independent agent to keep myself in the black and then there's…."

Yuzu stopped talking and looked down at her phone, her eyes growing wide.

"Oh, shoot. I'll be right back; I gotta take this." Yuzu excused herself and answered the call and nervously said, "Hey! How are you? Me? I'm..."

Yuzu walked out the door and Mei could see how relaxed her face was and how happy she looked as she talked to the person on the other end.

"Good thing we're catching the later movie," chuckled Harumi taking another bite of the popcorn. "'cuz she's going to be a while."

"Is it an important call?" Mei watched as Yuzu waved at them before returning to her conversation, looking like she was having the time of her life.

"It is, and it isn't," shrugged Harumi before sipping at her drink. "She takes a call like this every Wednesday and Saturday at exactly seven-forty-five, talks for about half-an-hour then goes on with her night."

"Why?" Mei continued to watch Yuzu, curious as to what was getting the blonde to shake her arms so animatedly as she talked.

"It's not my place to say." Harumi coughed and scratched her cheek. "I know you guys are kinda getting along, but I don't feel comfortable telling you that."

"I understand." Mei gave a polite nod and smirked as she stared down at her phone, hoping that Yuzu would be able to make it back in time and after deciding not to worry about it spent the next half-hour catching up with Harumi and explaining how she was slowly getting back into practice painting large canvas pieces.

"It sounds like the old Mei is starting to come back." Harumi held up her glass and smirked as Mei reluctantly clinked their glasses together. "So you gonna submit anything for us to sell or is it competition piece?"

"It's just practice." Mei yawned and nibbled on a few pieces of popcorn while Harumi busied herself with tossing kernels in the air and tried to catch them in her mouth."I don't plan on doing anything with it."

"You know we'd still accept it," said Harumi through a mouthful of bacon and popcorn. "Someone would still buy it, even if it isn't something you'd consider great."

"I'll keep that in mind." Mei reached over put a piece of bacon into her mouth and watched as Yuzu continued to laugh, wishing she'd brought her sketchbook with her; instead, she pulled the pen out of her inside pocket and began sketching her tub of popcorn, trying to keep her attention on her drawing.

"So, why did you invite Yuzucchi along?" Harumi took another large handful of popcorn and popped a few more bits into her mouth seemingly pleased about something.

"Do I need a reason?" Mei shot a peripheral glance toward Harumi and pointed down at her nearly empty glass.

"Not until you tell me why," Harumi sipped at her drink and grinned malevolently up at Mei.

"Can I get something different, please," asked Mei slowly growing annoyed by her friends incessant questioning. "Whatever you choose is fine by me."

The bartender agreed, and Mei returned to her drawing, ignoring Harumi as the brunette continued to chew on her popcorn loudly, refusing to break eye contact.

"Come on, Mei. Tell me what's going on." Harumi reached up and tried to poke Mei's ear only to have her hand slapped away.

"I told you that if you did that again, I'd leave and you're pushing your luck." Mei's gaze refused to leave her paper, but Harumi could tell by how she was gripping her pen that the woman meant business.

"That's fine with me." Harumi twirled her straw around in her drink, her smile refusing to leave her lips. "Yuzucchi's my best friend so, I don't mind hanging out with her alone, unlike some people."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Mei set her pen down and turned, her face stern as she menacingly rapped her fingers on the counter.

"What I mean is that you're a wuss." Harumi sucked down the rest of her drink and giggled. "You're doing the same thing you always do."

"Enlighten me." Mei took her drink and popcorn and began walking toward the theater with Harumi dogging her every step.

"What I'm saying is you're doing the same thing you used to do back when we were in school." Harumi's pace quickened, and soon she was standing in front of Mei while simultaneously walking backward. "You're doing that thing where you don't know if you like a girl, so you use me as an excuse to hang out with her instead of just asking her how she feels."

"No, I'm not." Mei tried to move around Harumi, but the brunette blocked her every one of her attempts, much to her annoyance.

"Then why'd you invite her?" Harumi stepped up and poked her face into Mei's, causing Mei to take a step back. "I mean you've only talked to her a couple of times so why are you suddenly asking her out?"

"Because you told me to," whispered Mei, while looking over her shoulder to make sure Yuzu couldn't hear them.

"What are you talking about?" Harumi nearly dropped the food she was carrying at hearing that she was responsible for Mei's behavior. "I never said anything about using me as some sort of buffer for you to get into her pants."

"When did I ever say that?" Mei was lucky she hadn't been drinking anything or else she was certain she'd have choked. "What on Earth makes you think that's my intention?! I'm only doing this because you mentioned that I should be nicer to her for helping me and that's what I'm doing. Just because I've found her to be a better person than I initially thought doesn't mean that I'm trying to date her."

"Uh-huh." Harumi reached up and pointed at her ears and snickered. "Your ears are telling a different story Mei, but I'll let it slide for now. Who knows, maybe you're telling the truth, or maybe you're lying. We'll soon find out."

Harumi pointed over Mei's shoulder, her grin going from mischievous to malevolent as Yuzu shouted at them from the end of the hallway.

"There you two are!" Yuzu skidded to a halt next to Mei, her hands filled with a covered drink and a brand new steaming basket of bacon covered popcorn. "You two scared the crap out of me! I thought the movie'd already started!"

"We still got a few minutes," giggled Harumi holding up Yuzu's first basket of popcorn which was still nearly full. "Did you seriously think I ate all of it?"

"Well, this is fresh," pouted Yuzu before bending her neck and picking a few kernels of popcorn; smiling as she munched on them happily. "You can have that basket."

"Gee thanks." Harumi lifted the basket and stared at the grease that was staining the wax paper and shrugged. "Well, at least it's free, and I haven't eaten today, so I guess it's better than nothing."

"Nothing but the best for my bestie," giggled Yuzu as she snuggled up close to Harumi before sneaking a drink from Harumi's glass.

"Hey back off you leech!" Harumi gently shoved Yuzu off of her before trying to steal some of Yuzu's popcorn, both of them laughing while Mei watched this curious display play out.

She'd never seen Harumi act like this before and Mei could only remember a handful of occasions where she'd ever been so engaged with someone. It was back when she was a child spending her summer vacations in Japan with her grandfather while he was on one of his tours and Mei suddenly realized that it'd been almost a year since she'd last spoke with her best friend. While Harumi and Yuzu laughed and chased each other around the hall, Mei pulled out her phone and looked for a number she hadn't called in over a year and typed out a quick message, hoping she'd hear back from the recipient.

"Everything okay, Mei," panted Harumi after finally evading a winded Yuzu.

"Everything is fine." Mei hit the send button and placed her phone back into her pocket and turned her head to see Yuzu panting almost as heavily as Harumi. "I was just sending a text to an old friend."

"Seriously? You have friends outside of me and the others?"

"Why are you surprised?" Mei shifted her drink and popcorn, hoping she didn't spill anything and frowned at Harumi. "You and I only met in high school, is it that hard to believe that I had other friends before you?"

"Just didn't think they'd stick around as long as me," commented Harumi after another long sip of her drink. "Ah dammit I'm almost out. You two go grab the seats I'll be right back."

Mei noticed Harumi wink at her as she ran off leaving Mei and Yuzu and Mei alone in the slowly filling hallway.

"So," coughed Mei as she gestured toward the door to the theater as a large group entered. "Shall we?"

"Sure!" Yuzu smiled up at her and followed behind a group of people. Once inside, Mei began looking around anxiously for some seats, and before she could find them, Yuzu pointed at a few toward in one of the back rows. "Let's get those, that way if we gotta get up we won't bother anyone."

"Okay," agreed Mei without any resistance as that was where she preferred her seats.

"Which one do you want?" Yuzu allowed a few people to enter and interjected when a couple of them sat down in one of the seats they needed. "Sorry, but can you let us have that one? We need it for our friend."

The girl in the group sneered at Yuzu but after seeing Mei standing behind her, decided to keep her mouth shut and moved toward the opposite end of the row.

"What's her problem," grunted Yuzu, taking the middle seat while Mei took the end.

"I don't know." Mei leaned back, glad to see that the chairs reclined a bit as she closed her eyes. "Nor do I want to."

"Oh." Mei heard Yuzu's chair squeak and opened her eyes to see Yuzu staring at the screen as she fiddled with her popcorn.

Mei noticed that Yuzu looked a little put off by the answer and with a slight pang of guilt, Mei picked up her drink and held it out for Yuzu.

"What's this?" Yuzu took the cup and sniffed the drink while staring at Mei. "This a mimosa cuz it kinda smells like one."

"It's a variation I believe." Mei nibbled on a piece of bacon just as the lights dimmed and the commercials began playing. "It's some sort of fruit bitter and champagne I think. It's better than I expected."

Yuzu leaned forward and took a cautious sip and smacked her lips before shrugging and taking another sip.

"I like it," whispered Yuzu leaning over and handing the glass back to Mei. "Wanna try mine?"

"Sure." Mei took the drink and took a long drink. It tasted like raspberry and something else, but she couldn't place it, but it wasn't bad, and she handed the glass back over to Yuzu and nodded. "I think I'll get that next time."

"What'd I miss," whispered Harumi before stopping and staring down at them in surprise.

"Nothing," answered Yuzu, pointing at the seat next to her. "We saved you a seat so hurry up and sit your butt down."

"Sorry," said Harumi as she snuck past Mei, not wasting the opportunity to kick Mei's foot as she walked by.

"What was..."

Several people shushed them, and Mei refused to waste the opportunity to glare at a snickering Harumi who was in the process of stealing fresher popcorn from Yuzu who was failing miserably at stopping her.

"Stop," giggled Yuzu as she pulled the basket away, almost knocking Mei's drink out of its cup holder and into her lap.

"Will you two quit it," snapped the woman behind them, hitting Mei in the back of the head with what Mei could only assume was a tub of popcorn.

"Sorry," giggled Yuzu before handing Mei her popcorn. "Protect this with your life."

"Sure," Mei added Yuzu's popcorn to her own and began nibbling on it as the previews started.

None of them looked that interesting to her, she rarely went to the movies, preferring to watch them as she read a book or worked. She did occasionally host her friends when she had them over for the evening, though the truth was that more often than not they forced themselves into her home and took over her living room leaving her little choice but to entertain them.

Most of the time she didn't mind as it offered her a welcomed break from her work, and it did help ease the emptiness that had been present ever since her grandfather had passed away and it did help clear out any old food she had in the fridge, especially when it came to Matty's bottomless pit of a stomach.

But today was different, and she had to admit that the company had something to do with it.

Usually, the only time she went to a movie was if it looked aesthetically pleasing, which more than not left her bored out of her mind. The last time she'd done that was when she saw a boring science-fiction movie where the only exciting part about it was this idea of people shopping in a parallel universe. She'd walked out of it about an hour in and by that time it was too late for her to get her money back for the time wasted and she ended up spending the rest of her afternoon in Mitsuko's shop. As the movie started, Mei's hand rubbed the very top of her neck, feeling the inked results of that wasted afternoon.

While her fingers caressed her skin, Mei lost focus on where she was and when she felt Yuzu's hand reach for the popcorn she jerked so hard that she sent half the bucket into the air, showering herself and the people in front of her with stray kernels and bacon. The woman and man behind them both groaned loudly and left with the faint hint of a complaint about speaking to management.

"I am so sorry," whispered Harumi to the people in front of them and pointed at Mei, "she doesn't get out much, and scary movies aren't her thing."

Mei felt the urge to smack Harumi upside the head, but the people in front of them said they understood.

"I can't believe they fell for that," whispered Yuzu after motioning for Mei to hand her the popcorn. "The movie hasn't even started yet."

"Well, she wasn't exactly lying." Mei stole some of the popcorn and chewed quietly. "I'm not much of a fan of horror movies."

"Then why'd you agree?" Yuzu took Mei's glass and stole another drink as the movie started.

Mei turned her head and watched as the light of the movie reflected in Yuzu's eyes, and she felt her cheeks and ears turn red before quietly saying, "I have my reasons."

Two hours and several drinks later the three of them left the theater laughing at how horrible the movie had been.

"I can't believe that people thought, that was scary," laughed Harumi, leaning on Yuzu's shoulder as they headed down the sidewalk and pointed at Mei.

"Oh leave her alone," giggled Yuzu, shoving Harumi gently while Mei continued to blush furiously. "You knew she didn't like scary movies so why'd you invite her."

"I dunno." Harumi stepped away from Yuzu and wrapped her arm around Mei's shoulder. "Maybe it's because she's been like this since we first and she's always trying to prove how cool she is and I get off on seeing the cracks in her armor?"

"Get off," grunted Mei, practically shoulder checking Harumi into a store display.

"Easy tiger." Harumi returned the gesture, though with much more force, knocking Mei into Yuzu.

"Hey watch it," screamed the blonde and Mei felt something cold soaking through her sweater. "Dang it, Harumin. You made me spill my drink and look what happened to Mei."

"It's fine." Mei slipped her arms into her hoodie and lifted it over her head before tying it around her waist. "See, just a minor inconvenience."

"All right." Mei could swear she saw Yuzu's face turn red for a moment but was sure it was just a trick of the street lights. "I'm still sorry that it happened."

Yuzu's eyes turned to Harumi who was suddenly interested in something on her phone.

"Hey," Yuzu grabbed Harumi by the shoulder and got her gentle headlock, "you need to apologize to Mei for being so rude."

"Fine," whined Harumi before shoving Yuzu off and returning the favor, rubbing her fist into Yuzu's head as she smiled at Mei. "I'm sorry for shoving you into Yuzu."

"It's all right." Mei frowned at the lack of sincerity in Harumi's voice, knowing since the beginning that it was intentional. "But you might want to let her go; I don't think she enjoys you doing that to her."

"She's used to it." Harumi ground her fist into Yuzu's head one last time before letting her go. "Aren't you Yuzucchi?"

"You're worse than Matty," whined Yuzu, rubbing the sore spot on her head. "Seriously are you sure you two aren't sisters?"

"Me and that gremlin?!" Several people stared at the brunette making both Yuzu and Mei laugh at her embarrassment. "Are you sure you sure you aren't huffing the paint your clients are using because I could swear you got brain damage."

"I admit to nothing." Yuzu reached out and flicked Harumi's forehead and giggled before dodging a half-hearted punch.

"Whatever," Harumi smirked and patted Yuzu on the head and yawned. "Anyway, I'm gonna call it a night. Do you need me to walk you home or can I catch a cab or a rideshare or something?"

"I think I'll walk." Yuzu pointed at the large splotch on the sleeve of her zip-up and shrugged. "It's a little warmer out than I thought and it's such a nice night. Plus I need a breather after everything that's been going on lately."

"Is everything all right?"

Yuzu turned to Mei and gave her a cheery smile and nod. "Yeah, everything is fine. I've just got a lot going on, and I could use a break."

"Do you want some company?" In her peripheral vision, Mei could see Harumi roll her eyes, but didn't pay her any mind. "It's getting a little late so it might be safer. Not to mention we did have our fair share of drinks."

"I'd appreciate it." Yuzu smiled and then turned to Harumi. "Are you going to be okay waiting for your ride or do you want us to wait?"

"Naw, I'll be fine." Harumi waved in a manner that told Yuzu that she should get going. "My ride'll be here in about ten minutes; I'll chill for a bit. Take care of her, got it?"

Mei gave Harumi a crisp nod and waited while the two women said their goodbyes.

When the did separate, Harumi winked at Mei and said, "Have a good night you two," in a way that, despite her steadfast denial, reminded the raven-haired woman of Matty.

As they headed down the street, Mei for the first time took notice of Yuzu's outfit and was amazed that Yuzu even owned such a simple outfit. She'd half expected Yuzu to follow Harumi's lead, in wearing a skirt and a lower cut top, but instead Yuzu chose to wear a pair of jeans, a zip-up sweater and a tee-shirt that had some weird creature on it that Mei vaguely remembered from her childhood, and a worn pair of tennis shoes. Her hair was put up in a couple of pigtails that Mei would have customarily thought as childish, but somehow the blonde managed to pull it off.

"Is everything okay?" Yuzu adjusted her purse; her eyes focused on the path ahead of them.

"Yeah, everything is fine." Mei coughed and rubbed her neck and smirked. "I'm sorry if my offering to walk you home was a bit forward."

"Why would I think that?" Yuzu smirked up at her and Mei could see that her cheeks were still a bit red.

"Since we don't know each other that well," Mei began as she brushed some hair behind her ear, "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to know where you live."

"Oh, yeah, that's true." Yuzu put her hands in her pockets and stared down at her shoes. "Well, to be fair, you are a friend of Harumin's, and she's not exactly an open book, so you've gotta be doing something right if she trusts you."

"I don't do that much." Mei shrugged and rubbed the top of her back tattoo. "Honestly if it weren't for her I wouldn't have much of a life."

"How come," asked Yuzu innocently as they waited for the crossing light to change only to apologize. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to pry."

"I don't mind talking about it," said Mei, though she felt an odd pain in her stomach as she tried to find the words. "It's just that, Harumi was the only real friend I had when we were in school."

"Really?" Yuzu looked surprised at this revelation and waved her hand up and down at Mei's clothes. "Who wouldn't want to be friends with this?"

"Plenty of people," Mei smirked and gave Yuzu an awkward sideways glance. "I wasn't unpopular, but too many people looked down on me thanks to my how much money my family has. Then there was the fact that I was valedictorian and I had several art colleges looking at me for scholarships, and a lot of people resented me for it, so they just decided to leave me alone."

"So how'd you meet Harumi?" Mei could see that Yuzu felt terrible for her, but was trying her best not to be judgemental.

"We were in art class one day, and she needed some help, so I helped her." Mei held up her hand and mimicked sketching. "After that, we started talking and hanging out which made me a little more popular but not much, but it got a lot of people off my back, though not much."

"I know how that feels."

"Really?" Mei repeated the same gesture that Yuzu had done to her making them both laugh.

"Shut up." Yuzu gently nudged Mei with her elbow before stroking the end of her pigtail.

"So what was it that made people not want to talk to you?" Mei, her kept her eyes locked on Yuzu, thankful that the streets weren't too crowded, not to mention that she wanted to see more of Yuzu's reactions, hoping that it might inspire her a little later.

"Ummm," Yuzu's cheeks turned red, and she twirled some hair around her finger before saying, "my dad….my dad's a cop."

"Why would that make people not want to talk to you?" Mei knew that most kids at that age didn't have much respect for people in positions of authority, but she didn't see that as a reason to not try and be friends with them or their kids. "I mean, my grandfather may have gotten his start doing protest pieces, but he did always do his best to try and do them within the confines of the law."

"Yeah well, it's a little different when you're in high school and want to go to parties, but no one wants you around because they think you're going to narc on them." Yuzu's body stiffened, and Mei watched as she began chewing nervously on her lower lip.

"So what did you do? If you don't want to tell me right now, I understand." Mei was curious about what Yuzu's life had been like during that time but didn't want to push her too far. She knew that strain all too well, and she didn't want to risk her new friendship just because she was curious.

"I did what a lot of people do; I tried to fit in." Yuzu pointed at her ears and wrists. "The clothes you saw me in last time? I bought them because I thought it would help me fit in and it kinda worked. A few people started inviting me to parties, and I thought I made a lot of new friends. But one day I did something pretty stupid, and it kinda killed my popularity until college."

"What happened?" Mei was feeling particularly invested by this point and hoped her curiosity wasn't getting the better of her.

"I may or may not have figured out a way to get a fake I.D. and offered to...buy some booze for a party."

"Oh no."

"Yeah." Both Yuzu and Mei shared a chuckle before allowing the blonde to continue. "I...got busted. Made it to the liquor store, got the beer, and some harder stuff and as we were leaving one of the cops that works in my dad's department saw me and one of the older kids that was with me, and when they tried to stop us, they ran, and I just froze."

"Were you still holding..."

"Well they managed to run off with the beer," giggled Yuzu as they stopped at a crosswalk. "But I got caught with like I think it was three bottles of whiskey, some rum, and a bottle of tequila."

"That is an incredibly accurate inventory," Mei said somewhat impressed that Yuzu remembered all of that.

"Stuff like that tends to stick with you when you're sitting in a jail cell in a skirt, and a crop top and the only thing your dad does to help you is to allow your mom to bring you a change of clothing."

"So I'd be correct in saying that there's a mug shot?" Mei gave Yuzu an expectant look and grinned when she saw Yuzu's face turn red.

"Yes," grunted Yuzu through gritted teeth.

"Can I see it?"

"No, you cannot." Yuzu turned her nose up and began walking a bit faster.

"Why not?" Mei matched Yuzu pace for pace, thankful for the height difference between them. "I'm not going to tell anyone about it, and you don't have to send it to me. I want to see it."

"I said 'no.'" Yuzu looked over her shoulder, and when she saw that Mei was only inches behind her, she began walking a little faster. "Besides, even if I wanted to show you, it's not like I have it on my phone. It's not something I'm particularly proud of."

"But we were just laughing about it," countered Mei, increasing her speed and was soon matching Yuzu step for step. "I figured since we were laughing it was something you were okay with showing me."

"And I'm telling you that I'm not." Yuzu stopped and stared up at Mei defiantly. "Why should I show you an embarrassing picture of me when I don't get the same from you?"

"That's a reasonable argument," said Mei feeling a bit ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry if I offended you. I just wanted to see it since the only other person I know who's ever gotten arrested is Matty and she had no problem showing off what happened to her."

"I know all about that," sighed Yuzu shaking her head. "Harumin and I were the ones who bailed her out, and she's still paying us back for it."

"You were the one who went with Harumi to get her out of jail?"

Mei remembered that night quite vividly. It had only been a year ago when Matsuri had called her out of the blue asking to come down to the nearby police station saying she'd been in a fight and was being held for a drunk and disorderly charge that was what she had called, "Complete bullshit."

Mei had refused the request and told her to try Harumi or her parents, citing she had several deadlines she needed to make and couldn't be bothered and that if Matty was in jail, she probably was guilty, though it turned out Mei was only partially right. The full story was that Matty had gone to a bar with her friend Nene and some guys had tried to hit on them. Matty and Nene had both declined and which the two guys didn't take too well, causing things to escalate quickly. Both Nene and Matty along with the two male friends that had accompanied the girls got into an altercation with the men where all arrested and because everyone involved had already had a couple of drinks the cops decided to add an extra charge.

Luckily the judge had been lenient and dropped the charge and as an apology, Mei had bought Matsuri dinner one night as an apology, and all was forgiven.

"Yeah, I was the one who went with her," said Yuzu tiredly as they began walking again. "I met Matty around the same time I did Harumin, and since then she's practically been stuck to my hip. But I think that night she wasn't exactly keen on letting me know about it since I'm always on her about getting her act together."

"How long have you known them?" Mei was still amazed that in all the years she'd known Harumi that they hadn't once been introduced.

"Since freshman year of college." Yuzu put her hands behind her back and began doing some weird march as the continued walking. "We were assigned as roommates, and we hit it off right away, we even had similar class schedules, so we became best friends almost immediately. How long have you known her?"

"End of junior year in high school," said Mei quickly. "We'd been at the same school since freshman year, but never really talked until that whole art thing. We aren't close like you two are though, so maybe that's why we didn't meet until now. Of course, we didn't talk that much while she was away at school, so that didn't help."

"But we're talking now," said Yuzu happily as they turned left, "and like they say, 'good things come to those who wait.'"

"Thanks." Mei felt her ears burn at the compliment and said, "But I'm glad you enjoy talking with me, I've been told by several people that I'm rather difficult to get along with. My father included."

"You are rather blunt," giggled Yuzu slowing her pace, "and you aren't exactly the most open person, but that's not a bad thing. It's just who you are."

"Thanks." Mei continued walking but stopped when she realized that Yuzu was no longer following her. "Is something the matter?"

"Uh kinda." Yuzu pointed at a building with large glass windows and shrugged. "This is my building, so I kinda have to..."

"Oy, YUZU!"

Both women turned their heads, and Mei nearly recoiled when she saw a tall, muscular, tanned man dressed in slacks, shirt, and tie waving from down the street carrying a couple of plastic bags and pulling a rolling suitcase behind him.

"Oh my god!" Yuzu's face lit up, and she immediately forgot all about Mei and ran toward the man before jumping at him. "Henry!"

"Careful," grunted the man as he tried to push the blonde off of him. "You know I don't..."

"Aw quit complaining and give me a hug," laughed Yuzu as she wrapped her arms around the man's neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Okay," groaned the man before carefully wrapping his arms around her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming over," sighed Yuzu as she climbed out of his arms and placed her hands on his cheeks. "I would have come home earlier."

"It was a bit of an inconvenience," said the man rather annoyed. "But, you told me you had plans, so it wasn't that bad. Thank you for telling me in advance. Is that the friend you were going out with?"

"Yeah!" Yuzu turned her attention back to Mei and ran over and pulled her toward man. "Henry this is my new friend, Mei Aihara. Mei this is Henry."

"Pleased to meet you," said the man in flawless Japanese.

"The pleasure's mine," said Mei instinctively switching to Japanese and adding a slight bow to her greeting. "Your accent is quite good."

"Thanks," answered the man with an uncharacteristically bashful grin. "It's all thanks to Yuzu; she's the one who taught me."

"And I'm very proud of you," answered the blonde, following suit. "Mei, do you wanna come up?"

"I'm good," said Mei feeling like she'd be little more than a third wheel after seeing such an intimate display of affection. "I would hate to intrude, it seems like you two need to have some time to yourselves."

"It's not a problem," answered Henry, continuing the use of Japanese. "Well, not much of one."

"Henry, you're being rude," whispered Yuzu with a gentle elbow to his ribs.

"Oh." Henry winced and rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Sorry about that, I wasn't trying to be."

"It's fine," said Mei faking a yawn. "I need to go home and finish some work before going to bed. I got a lot of deadlines coming up."

"Okay," said Yuzu sounding disappointed before taking the bags from her companion, looking a little deflated. "Um, I have some days off coming up soon to attend an event. If you got the time would you like to come? If not I understand. Harumin told me you've been working on some video game art and comic books. One of my clients is in high demand for that kind of work right now and...yes Henry I got the samples, they're upstairs."

"Thanks," said the man with the look of a kid who just got what he wanted for Christmas. "I'll be sure to send them a thank you note. That's what I'm supposed to do right?"

"Yeah." Yuzu gave the man an approving smile and squeezed his hand. "But are you sure you don't want to join us, Mei? You can crash..."

"I'll be fine," said Mei rather abruptly making both Yuzu and Henry jump back a bit. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to yell. I'm a bit tired and stressed out, so I won't make good company right now."

"Okay." Yuzu looked nervous and instead of looking at Mei focused on her feet. "Did you still want to maybe come to that event with me though?"

"If I get done with my work, I'll consider it." Mei smiled tiredly at Yuzu and waved at them. "Anyway, I better be going. You two have a good night."

"Good night, Mei."

"It was nice to meet you."

As she wandered down the street, Mei began kicking herself mentally as she realized Harumi had been right in her assumptions and after resisting a particularly strong urge to kick over a sidewalk trash can, Mei stomped down the street, paying little attention to the few pedestrians that were still on the sidewalk. By the time she reached her house, Mei was cursing and when her phone rang she didn't even bother to look at the phone as she answered it.

"What," she shouted into the phone not caring who was on the other end.

"Mei-Mei," said a cautious voice making Mei immediately regret her anger. "Is everything okay?"

"Himeko?" Mei ran a hand through her hair and as she entered her house and slammed the door, not realizing that she'd slipped into speaking Japanese for the second time that night. "What are you doing calling me at this hour?"

"I was answering your text," said her best friend nervously. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you, I forgot about the time difference."

"No, no, I'm the one who should apologize." Mei sighed and headed into the living room and dropped onto the couch, throwing one of her left leg over the side of the couch while tapping her right foot against the arm. "It's just been a difficult week, and I'm feeling a little tired. It's good to hear your voice; I'm sorry I haven't called you."

"It's okay," said Himeko with a happy sigh. "It's good to hear your voice too. I miss you."

"I miss you too." Mei smiled as she remembered all the summers they spent running around Himeko's family home playing games, drawing, and even attending festivals together. Outside of the friends she had now, Himeko had been the only real friend she had, and she felt horrible for neglecting their friendship for so long. "We need to catch up. Are you going to be heading back to this side of the world soon?"

"Actually," chuckled Himeko after silencing a yipping dog, "I'll be in your area soon for a show and was going to be calling you soon to see if I could borrow the guest room."

"That's not a problem," yawned Mei as she pulled her sweater off before grabbing the blanket she kept on the back of the couch and turned the television on. "I'll make sure to clean it up before you get here. You have a time frame?"

"I'll be in at the end of next month," said Himeko happily. "It's been so long since we've seen each other. Do you think we can spend some time doing sightseeing? I can bring some gifts back for your relatives!"

"That sounds nice," said Mei as she buried into the blanket and stared blankly at the television as she remembered the sight of Yuzu kissing Henry on the cheek. "I'll make sure to get done with all my work before then and keep it to a minimum in preparation for your visit."

"Thanks, Mei-Mei," giggled Himeko excitedly. "What's going on with you? Anything big happening?"

"No," sighed Mei as she felt a slight pang of nausea as the sight of Yuzu getting cozy with Henry played again in her mind. "Just the usual."