*Watches snowball grow bigger and bigger*

And we're going to finally have all the dirt on Yuzu, Henry, and Mei. Though many of you, I think, have figured it out.

I'm also not an expert on a particular subject that will be discussed; I'm using some researched notes to discuss a complicated topic for many people to empathize with. So, please take everything I say with a grain of salt and don't use me as a source; instead, use medical research from qualified sources.

Also, going to be a lot of Henry talk for a good portion, but it'll make sense. After that, we're going to get more into Mei and Yuzu.

It doesn't pass the Bechdel Test, but life isn't meant to pass that.

P.S. Prepare for Spanish, and I forgot certain things in regards to continuity, so...yeah.

And thank you, Melissa, for the Spanish translations!

"Are you sure we bought enough?" grunted Mei as she struggled with the bag of vegetables, pasta, and some other ingredients for the dinner Yuzu was planning on making for them that evening.

"Absolutely," giggled Yuzu as she effortlessly carried her bags filled with meat, vegetables, bread, and alcohol despite her needing Mei's help standing up at the gym. "I haven't had a friend over recently, and with my appetite today, I plan on going all out. Besides, no matter how much I cook, I'm sure Henry and my dad will eat all the leftovers. Tomorrow is Italian day on Henry's schedule, and he doesn't mind leftovers if they fit in with his meal plan."

Mei gave an acknowledging grunt when she remembered Yuzu having to coerce Henry into eating at the restaurant, and since Yuzu mentioned it, Mei thought she would inquire further.

"Why is it so important for him to eat certain foods on certain days? Does he have stomach problems if he eats heavy food too many days in a row?"

"Not exactly." Yuzu gave a nervous grin and pointed at the entrance to a renovated apartment building. "This is us. Come on, and I'll explain when we get upstairs."

"Is there an elevator, or do we need to go upstairs," panted Mei as she struggled with her bags.

"Please, the buildings old, but not that old." Yuzu pointed at an elevator just inside the entrance. "Come on; we're on the third floor, then we can drink and relax while I cook."

"Are you sure you're not too tired to cook?" Mei let Yuzu scan them in and followed her in once the door opened. "I don't mind being a pack mule, but you look more tired than me. Are you sure I can't just order..."

"Yes, I'm sure," scoffed Yuzu as she waved Mei toward the elevator. "I already bought everything for tonight, and I'm set on cooking, so you're going to sit down, shut up, and join me for dinner."

"If you say so," sighed Mei, amused by Yuzu's attempt to sound dominating. "But what is it you plan on making? I'm guessing some kind of pasta thanks due to the tomatoes and the noodles. But what do you need olives, steak, anchovies, and capers for?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," said Yuzu as she climbed into the elevator and hit the button for the top floor. "Now hurry up. I'm hungry, and I want to get started. There's a movie I want to watch that's on in a couple of hours, and if we don't get started, I'm going to miss it."

Mei rolled her eyes and climbed onto the elevator, and stood next to the beaming Yuzu, who was humming happily to herself. As the doors closed, Mei felt herself smiling too, though she wasn't sure why and as much as she wanted to question it, she figured it was better not to.

At least for now. For now, Mei would put whatever insecurities she was feeling about her standing with Yuzu aside, enjoy her company, and try to forget about her day.

"And here we are," announced Yuzu as the door dinged open, and they stepped out into a lovely wood wall hallway with soft interior lighting.

"How quaint," commented Mei looking around unimpressed. "Well, if this is where we'll be eating, I suppose we'll be fine until the fire department shows up. Do you have a grill and utensils, or are we going to eat barehanded and risk salmonella?"

"Cute." Yuzu rolled her eyes and smiled at Mei, pointing to the door on the left. "We're over here. We're the only other loft on the floor, so plenty of space, and the family next door is out for the week, so it'll be quiet unless Matsuri decides to party crash."

"It's not a problem with me if they come back early," said Mei, hopefully hiding the fact that she would very much not enjoy having her evening interrupted. "I'm your guest, and Henry lives here, so..."

"Well, one of the reasons he's out is because I need a break," said Yuzu, opening the door and, after showing Mei where her shoes went, headed toward the kitchen. "He's been super annoying this week, which is why I'm glad that I got a match. I've been able to vent my frustrations out at the gym instead of on him."

"What did he do," asked Mei, hoping that it wouldn't set Yuzu off.

"He's..."

Yuzu sighed and pointed to a large island in the middle of the kitchen for Mei to set her stuff on before grabbing a giant beer bottle from the fridge and pouring it into two glasses.

Yuzu handed one to Mei and downed hers while Mei sipped hers gingerly and waited for Yuzu to continue.

Finishing her glass, Yuzu poured herself another one and sipped it before rubbing her hand over her face.

"He's just been more insistent on his routine this week, and when we haven't been able to, he's been rather childish about it," explained Yuzu after licking the foam from her upper lip. "But I told him everyone's been busy and that we all can't finish our work as quickly as him. Plus, a few of his friends got sick so that he couldn't see them, and that really messed up his day last Friday. It's a good thing Matsuri and Harumin could help out because I was about to have a breakdown if I didn't get some time alone."

"Is his schedule that important?" While Mei kept herself to a strict schedule, the fact that Henry could behave in such a manner was surprising as he seemed to be very polite, if a little immature. "Because from the way it sounds, he's acting very unreasonable and unfair to you."

"It's not so much as he's acting like this because he wants to," sighed Yuzu as she pulled out the bread, cheese, and other ingredients. "It's more like there are times that he can't help it."

"I find that hard to believe," countered Mei over the lip of her beer glass. "If he's that childish and self-centered, I think you're well within your rights to yell at him or take a break from him and give him time to think it over and apologize to you."

Yuzu stopped sharpening the knife she was preparing to use to cut up some vegetables and set it down before resting her hands on the island and stared at Mei sternly as if trying to hold something back.

Mei felt her blood run cold and cautiously reached for the beer and topped off her glass before sipping it and shrugged, saying, "At least that's what I would do in your position. But you know him better than me, so I'll defer to your judgment."

Yuzu continued to stare at Mei for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she chewed on her lip before calmly asking, "I still haven't told you what's up with Henry, have I?"

"Other than he is very strict about his schedule and tends to overreact to little things, not really." Mei set her glass down and met Yuzu's gaze, hoping she looked understanding. "But he did mention something about how you were pointing at your head when you asked if you could tell me something, so maybe that has something to do with it. It isn't easy to know with so little information, and I'd rather not make assumptions. Though from the look on your face, it seems that I may already have."

"You did," sighed Yuzu before taking another sip of beer before cleaning her knife and begin chopping vegetables. "But that's my fault, I haven't been painting him in a great light, and it's easy to misinterpret things when you don't have all the information. I feel like I've said all of this before."

"You have." Mei set her beer glass aside and asked if she could help. "So something is going on with him mentally?"

"There is," she confirmed before smacking Mei's hands away from the mozzarella. "But I'm not going to have you help me cook. I saw how much you spent on the wine earlier, so you're not doing anything. Besides, this is therapeutic for me. But if you want to help, you can turn on a movie or some music while we talk. It'll help me focus."

Yuzu pointed her finger at a shelf of neatly organized movie cases, vinyl sleeves, and cd cases next to an impeccably clean desk filled with paperwork, books on software engineering, and a state-of-the-art desktop workstation.

"Don't worry about what you put on; most of it's my stuff anyway. Just don't touch Henry's desk, please. It's got a lot of sensitive information, and I don't want him in trouble."

Mei nodded and walked over to the shelf, and scanned the music selection. Mei didn't recognize most of it, but there were a few she did, and not wanting to risk breaking the vinyl records, she grabbed a CD that looked okay, put it into the stereo, and pressed play, filling the room with soft notes and gentle words.

When she turned around to head back, Mei noticed Yuzu's hair shift, and her hands began moving faster as she chopped, so quickly that Mei was wondering how Yuzu hadn't sliced her finger off.

"That's impressive," said Mei, sliding back into her seat.

"Thanks," replied Yuzu with a slight blush. "I worked in a kitchen during college since my scholarship didn't cover everything."

"Athletics," asked Mei, thinking back to the match she saw earlier.

"Yeah." Yuzu nodded and wiped the knife off before washing it off in the sink. "Covered most everything but my rent and utilities. Henry, on the other hand, got a full ride, which wasn't surprising. He's good with numbers and computers."

"So he's a genius?"

"Kind of," chuckled Yuzu after drying off her knife and begin working on another part of the meal. "Do you know what ASD is?"

"It's a computer part, isn't it," asked Mei thinking back to the computer she'd had custom-built for her the previous year. "Pretty expensive, but reliable. Does Henry make those?"

"I think you mean AMD," laughed Yuzu before groaning and grabbing her side. "But you are sort of right since Henry's job has to do with computers. But other than that, the answer is no. Henry is on the Autism Spectrum, typically more in line with Asperger's syndrome. That's why he's very wound up about his routine. It's also why he's hyperfocused on certain topics like Spider-man..."

Yuzu pointed at a shelf next to Henry's desk that was littered with Spider-man memorabilia.

"And his video games, his shows, work, clothes, and why he's not great at picking up on social cues and subtlety. It's also why he has his headphones and tends to pace, rub his hands, and pull at his hair when he's nervous. They're little tricks that he uses to calm himself down when he feels stressed or overstimulated. The headphones and hand rubbing I can deal with, but when he pulls at his hair, I have to stop it fast, or else he'll leave bald patches and may even bleed."

"That's why he struggled when you pulled his hand away," said Mei remembering how Yuzu had to fight with him to stop pulling his hair at the restaurant.

"Yeah, and again, why he ignored the guy trying to fight him and instead cleaned up that spill. You've seen how organized everything is on his desk. He doesn't like messes, so when he sees one he's involved with, he's gotta clean it, and people misinterpret that as him ignoring them or being rude. Same with when he talks. He doesn't have much of a filter or sense of humor, so he's straightforward in his speech which is why he's very stiff when he talks to people and why he sounds condescending. It's also why he tends to laugh at a joke for weeks on end or make eye contact regularly, like with that comment Matsuri made about your friend's eyebrows. Until it runs its course, he'll think it's the funniest thing in the world."

"Is that why he gets so angry when his schedule doesn't follow through?" Mei began to understand Yuzu and Henry's predicament and felt a little guilty over thinking Henry was intentionally treating Yuzu horribly. At the same time, though, Mei could tell it took a toll on Yuzu and couldn't help but feel bad for her.

"He's usually not that bad if he has enough time to adjust to it." Yuzu pointed at a calendar where almost every block was filled in with some sort of note. "But that week, everything just piled up, and he was getting more and more agitated and aggravated. He doesn't need to sleep much, but that week he didn't sleep for like four days, which is rare, but that also meant I didn't sleep a lot because he got so frustrating, and I just..."

Mei saw a tear fall down Yuzu's cheek and handed her a paper towel to clean up with.

"Thanks," whispered Yuzu wiping her eyes with the towel. "Stupid onions."

Mei looked down, and there were indeed onions on the cutting board but the fact that Yuzu had to blow her nose had Mei thinking the onions weren't to blame.

"That sounds tough," said Mei trying to be as comforting and understanding as possible. "I remember going through days like that with my grandfather, but it sounds like it's been taking a toll on you."

"It does take its toll," coughed Yuzu before smiling at Mei. "But I've got help; a lot of people don't. I mean, you can tell just by looking at him and Matsuri that they're close. He's close to Harumi, too, and Kayo is okay with him. But Matsuri is the only one who can handle him as long as I can. But she doesn't live with him, so she gets more breaks."

"Well, he seems to like me, so maybe I can help you out when I'm not saddled with work?"

"I can't ask you to do that," said Yuzu apologetically before moving on to marinating the three giant steaks she bought. "I mean, I appreciate it, but I don't want you to think I'm pawning you off on him. I've had a lifetime of experience, same as Matsuri, and when he gets in a bad mood, it's like dealing with a six-foot toddler. But if you want to come and hang out with us, that's fine; I think it'd be beneficial for all of us; Anthoniko included."

"Anthoniko?" Mei felt an eyebrow raise in confusion when Yuzu pointed at a spot next to her. Turning her head, Mei did a double-take when she saw an enormous, shaggy, tan tabby-type cat with a fluffy mane and large paws sitting next to her and staring curiously up at her.

"How...what...when..."

"Scary how quiet he is, huh," chuckled Yuzu after washing her hands and rounding the corner. She picked up the cat effortlessly, and his whole body extended to more than half of Yuzu's height while its tail waved happily as she held him close to her chest.

"You'd think being as big as he is, he'd be a lot louder. But he's a quiet little cutie. Aren't you Anthoniko? At least until he's hungry or wants pets. Then he gets annoying."

The cat meowed loudly and licked Yuzu's cheek before allowing itself to be cradled in her arms, its toes flexing as it stretched its legs. The cat purred loudly and stared at Mei, blinking indifferently as the younger woman stared back.

"How'd he get so big?" Mei had seen plenty of cats running around her neighborhood. Some strays, some owned, but she'd never seen a cat this size in her life.

"He's a Maine Coon," explained Yuzu, giving the cat one more kiss before putting him down so she could wash her hands and finish her prep work. "They get that big, at least the males do. Females, I heard, are a little smaller, but not much."

"He's very...fluffy," said Mei as the cat extended a paw and patted her head, and meowed again. "I'm more used to dogs. What does he want? Does he want me to pet him or feed him?"

"Probably both." Yuzu grabbed a can of wet food and handed it to Mei. "Check his food dish; it's near the cat tower, and if it's empty, put this in. I can guarantee you that he'll be your new best friend once you feed him."

"Sure." Mei took the can and shook it in front of the cat's face. "Is this what you want?"

The cat meowed again and extended its neck, this time rubbing his cheek against Mei's hand, revealing large canines, before dropping onto the barstool and rolling onto his back, his paws gently swiping at Mei's hands.

"Be careful." Warned Yuzu as she finished up her preparations. "He may look cute now, but those mitts can be deadly."

"Thank you for the warning. Well then, Anthoniko," said Mei standing up and looking around the room for the cat tower Yuzu had mentioned, "let's get you fed."

Despite the amount of stuff in the living room, Mei was surprised at how spacious and organized it was. It looked like all three inhabitants of the apartment had their own space. Not only that, but Mei could tell the center had been reserved for company or relaxation. This was due to the oversized comfy couch in front of the sound system, a couple of recliners, and a big television with several game consoles attached. Which made it easy for parties and hosting people as it was located near the kitchen, which was more of an open space than a separate room.

When she stood, Anthoniko meowed loudly and ran toward his cat tower, meowing every step of the way with Mei following behind him. HIs food dish was indeed empty, and his water dish was almost dry, so after feeding him, Mei made it a point to fill his water, and when she returned, the cat took a moment to rub his face against her thigh, and she gave him a gentle pat on the head before going back to the kitchen.

"You made a new friend," teased Yuzu as she put a wood block filled with cheese, tomatoes, meats, and bread on the counter. "I told you you would."

"It didn't seem that difficult," shrugged Mei, taking a newly opened bottle of wine and two glasses from Yuzu. "I wish making friends was that simple with humans."

"So do I." Yuzu winked and jerked her head toward the couch. "Come on; we got about an hour before I need to be back here to make the pasta and steaks. So how about we get started on this before I get to work on the main course."

Mei didn't know if it was the alcohol or the way Yuzu had said those last words that made her blush but followed Yuzu and turned the stereo off. At the same time, Yuzu found something for them to watch while they nibbled on the appetizers, drank wine, and enjoyed some comedy show that Yuzu had decided to turn on.

She regretted turning it on almost immediately as Yuzu couldn't help laughing, making the pain in her stomach more and more annoying. But they finished it, and Mei found herself admiring Yuzu's smile more and more, along with her company.

Thankfully Anthoniko hadn't decided to join them on the couch; instead, he took his customary place atop his cat tower, sleeping on his back while Mei and Yuzu enjoyed themselves.

"This is delicious," said Mei after a big mouthful of pasta, finding the taste of the anchovy, capers, and crushed red pepper flakes an exciting combination. "What'd you say it's called."

"Pasta puttanesca," answered Yuzu after swallowing a large bite of her steak. "It roughly translates to 'whore's pasta.'"

Mei nearly choked on her final bite and, after a series of loud coughs and a drink of water, wiped her mouth and said through tears, "Why would someone name it that?"

"I dunno," said Yuzu, putting down her plate and patting her stomach with a satisfied sigh. "I've heard a few theories from the kitchen manager I worked with in college. She said some people think it was cheap to make, making it an easy dish for prostitutes to make. Or that because Italians use 'puttana' as a catch-all swear word, it can also mean that someone just grabbed, and I quote, a bunch of shit and cooked it together.' Which if you look at the ingredients, it makes a lot of sense."

"It's still good," said Mei after finishing her food and draining her wine glass before grabbing some water and drinking that and letting out a loud sigh of her own. "That was fantastic; thank you for cooking."

"You're welcome." Yuzu smiled and pulled her legs up onto the couch focused her attention from the television to Mei. "Did it help you forget about today? We got so stuck on talking about me and my life we forgot to talk about you."

"That might be a good thing," snorted Mei as she felt the wine warm her body. "I'm not very good with talking about myself. I'm better at listening and internalizing than expressing."

"That's not healthy." Yuzu shifted a little closer to Mei and rested her head on the back of the couch. "You gotta talk, or else you're going to explode."

"I know I should." Mei sighed and rested the back of her head against the couch; it was so comfy that Mei felt like she was melting into it. "But my family isn't great at it. My dad left after my mom died, and my grandfather wouldn't talk about him when he wasn't around, not that I blame him. I wouldn't be happy getting saddled with an eight-year-old because of my son's mid-life crisis, either."

"But you're trying to get all of his work back." Yuzu's voice was soft, and Mei felt the blonde place a warm hand on one of hers. "And he taught you to paint and raised you, and I think you're a good person, so he must have done something right if you're going through all this trouble to do it."

"It's been years, though." Mei clenched her fist as she bit back tears of frustration and failure. "Years and I only found one, and that's because of you. Everything else has led to dead ends or, in this case, a fake."

"Yeah, but think about the good that's come from it."

"There's something good about my grandfather's life work getting stolen out from under my nose," asked Mei derisively. "We must be drunk if you're thinking that."

"Well, that's rude." Yuzu smacked Mei gently on the shoulder before putting her hand back in its previous location, this time gently massaging Mei's hand. "But yes, there's a silver lining. If the paintings hadn't been stolen, you'd probably be at home, working yourself to death and eating takeout. Instead, you're here, eating good food and drinking great wine with me. That's a pretty good consolation prize, don't you think?"

"I guess that's true." Mei turned her gaze to Yuzu and gave her a tired smile. "You are a great cook. Think you could come over and teach me how to make it? I want to scare everyone with my cooking skills the next time they show up uninvited."

"That's a thing," inquired Yuzu, trying not to laugh. "Who all shows up to your house uninvited?"

"Harumi, Himeko, Kayo, Matsuri, Mitsuko," began Mei before listing off a few old friends from her school days. "Well, it's not fair to include Himeko because she lives with me now, but everyone else decides to drop in on me and make sure I have fun now and then. As you said, they bring takeout with them most of the time, so it's nothing like what we had, but it's nice sometimes to be reminded that there are people who care about me because I forget about it myself. I even forget to let people know that I care about them."

"That's hard to do sometimes." Yuzu placed a hand on Mei's head, shifted a little closer, and got permission before wrapping an arm around Mei's shoulder. "Remembering that there are people who love you and reminding them that you love them. I've done it; my dad's certainly done it. My mom isn't so bad, but there are days I wish she'd stop."

Mei chuckled and felt herself becoming intoxicated from Yuzu's body wash as opposed to the alcohol.

"And Henry, "Yuzu shook her head and chuckled, "he's even worse than my dad. But he has an excuse. My dad, well, he went through a rough patch, so I forgive him."

"I wish I could do that," sighed Mei, relaxing a bit more into Yuzu's embrace. "But I did the same thing my father did a long time ago. I hurt someone I loved. The first girl I ever loved. It was around the time my grandfather died, and Amamiya began stealing from me. I just shut down. She tried to get in touch with me, and I ignored her to the point where she just stopped trying to contact me. I never tried to apologize until she showed up at my hotel room when I was in Hawaii."

"That's not good," whispered Yuzu as she held Mei's hand. "But you apologized to her, right?"

"I did." Mei sighed and opened her eyes, staring blankly at the screen. "But only after she told me that she was still in love with me. After so many years of silence between us, she was still in love with me. I ignored her for years after my grandfather died. No contact, no texts, or phone calls, but she said she was still in love with me, and I had to break her heart. And you know what I did? I held her the entire night in my hotel bed while she cried over the fact that we weren't going to get back together and all I could do was apologize. What kind of monster does that?"

"I think it makes you a complex person, Mei. Not a monster," replied Yuzu with no judgment in her voice. "I mean, yeah, you hunkered down and went into survival mode, but you're not the only person to have done that. And when you saw her, you were honest with her, that your feelings had changed. But you showed her that you cared about her. You stayed with her when she needed you, and you tried to make things right, and I hope that she sees that."

"I do too." Mei felt herself begin to rouse from her stupor as she listened to Yuzu. "But it still doesn't make what I did right."

"It doesn't," said Yuzu reluctantly. "But as I said, you're a person, and people make mistakes, and people change over time. Well, most people change over time; some people don't. It sucks that you did that, and I feel for her, but you did what you could. You were honest with her about what happened, and I don't think you need to beat yourself up over it."

"I guess you're right." Mei let out a small yawn and sat up and stared at Yuzu, not even bothering to remove the blonde's muscular arm from around her shoulder. Why would she, it made her feel safe, and that was one thing Mei needed at the moment. "But what's worse is that I didn't just tell her that I was no longer interested in her, but that I also couldn't do it because I was interested in somebody else. Someone who I wasn't sure would be able to accept my feelings because of other obligations."

Yuzu stared at Mei for a moment in bewilderment but then looked down at their now intertwined fingers and then back up when she realized how tightly her arm had wrapped around Mei and felt her cheeks burn.

"Oh." Yuzu coughed when she realized just how intently Mei was looking at her and felt her head begin to swim. "I can see how that can be confusing. But uhh...yeah...I mean...the person in question is definitely...she's interested."

Mei smirked, and Yuzu blushed and giggled.

"But she wants the person asking to know that she's nervous about saying yes to moving beyond what they have. That her life is a complicated mess at the moment and that she wants the inquirer to know that she that there are things they need to discuss because she's got other commitments that may complicate matters."

"It's okay," said Mei nodding while reluctantly removing Yuzu's comforting arm from around her neck. "I get it. I do. It was stupid for me to try and come between you two, and I don't want to be that kind of person to break a couple up."

"What couple?" Yuzu tried to squeeze Mei's hand and hold her back, but Mei freed her hand. "Mei, I'm confused. I'm trying to tell you that I'm serious about how I feel. But you need to understand that..."

"That you're in love with him," said Mei finishing Yuzu's sentence. "I get it. I'd already assumed that telling you would end up like this, and I understand. You can't just leave him, not after everything that you told me."

"Mei, I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm not...Henry and I aren't like that."

"Sure you aren't." Mei felt her temper flaring but didn't know if it was because of her stress or the wine. She wasn't usually an angry drunk, but despite her knowing this was a possibility, she couldn't help getting upset.

"Just give me a simple 'no,' Yuzu. That I can deal with but holding onto a false hope is something I can't do. Not again."

"I'm not trying to give you false ho..."

Before Yuzu could finish, a loud bang came from the entranceway, followed by a voice saying, "Yuzu? Sweetie? Are you in there? We need you to open the door fast."

"Shit." Yuzu shot up from the couch, ignoring the momentary dizziness, fixed her hair, and gave Mei a pleading look. "My family is back. But can you do me a favor and stay a little longer? I think I know what's going on, and I need you to hear me out. But you're going to have to trust me."

"Yuzu, I can't."

"Mei, they're at the only real exit to the house, which means you can't leave. I know that doesn't sound good, and I didn't want you to meet them today, but we don't have a choice right now. They're going to want to talk to you, so please, stay a little longer. I promise we will talk about everything once they've settled down."

Mei opened her mouth to answer, but a familiar voice that Mei couldn't place said, "Yuzu, come on and open up. Your mom and I brought snacks! And Henry and Matsuri can't wait much longer."

"Please," whispered Yuzu as she backed up and moved toward the door.

Realizing that Yuzu was telling the truth about the exit, Mei sighed and shook her head reluctantly, saying, "Fine. I'll stay, but I'm not going to get my hopes up."

"Thank you," whispered Yuzu just as Matsuri shouted for Yuzu to hurry up. "I'm coming. I'm coming."

Mei smirked, despite her mood, and waited as the latch for the front door squeaked open and thundering of footsteps charged through the living room.

"Oy, Lindo," shouted Yuzu, and Mei knew she was yelling at Henry though she still didn't understand what she said. "Qual es el a puro?"

"Baño," shouted back Henry, annoyed at Yuzu's question as he stormed off toward a room Mei hadn't entered, not even noticing the guest. "Te demoraste mucho!"

"Yeah, Yuzu," panted Matsuri heading in the opposite direction of Henry, pausing briefly to stare in surprise at Mei. She started to say something but instead let out a grunt of pain, clutched her stomach, and ran toward what Mei now assumed was the bathroom.

"Oy, Mijo," the familiar voice from before shouted. "Portate bien con tu hermana."

Henry said nothing, primarily because he couldn't hear the man's voice, and Mei was still at a loss for what was going on until a slender, brown-haired woman with green eyes like Yuzu's, walked into the kitchen and headed toward the refrigerator. The woman, who Mei guessed was Yuzu's mother from the picture she'd received a while back, was speaking with her daughter, but it was in Spanish to Mei's dismay.

"Que comiste, Mama?" asked Yuzu as she took the leftovers and put them in the fridge.

"Comimos comida India," explained Ume, with a smile and a shake of her head. "Tu hermano pregunto que ya que es su noche de provar "comida nueva" si podeamos tratare comida India, lo cual fue una decision interesante. Usualmente, es algo nuevo del menu a uno de sus lugares favoritos, pero esta noche queria una comida diferente. Yo pienso que uno de sus amigos lo desafiaron a que lo hiciera, y tu sabes como el reacciona quando lo desafian a hacer algo. No que tu papa y yo nos quejemos pero es posible que lo hagamos quando Henry y Matsuri esten de regreso del baño. De todas maneras los dos an progresado mucho desde que dejaron la casa, y tu papa y yo estamos orgullosos de sus progresos."

"You bet we are," said a smiling, sandy-haired, green-eyed man who came limping in from the front hallway, Mei's head jerked in its direction at finally hearing somebody speak in English.

Mei did a double-take when she recognized him as the detective she'd met at the police station.

"You," said Mei pointing her finger at him, earning her the attention of everyone in the room. "You're that police detective from earlier."

"Lieutenant, actually," corrected the man she remembered as being named Greg. "Lieutenant Greg Okogi from the Denver PD. It's lovely to see you again, Ms. Aihara. I didn't know you and my daughter were acquainted."

Mei could see that he was scanning the room, piecing together every bit of evidence he could see while giving her that same welcoming smile while she kicked herself for not remembering him from the picture Yuzu had sent her from the trip she'd taken back home.

"It seems we interrupted something," said Greg standing up and turning to look at his wife. "Seems like you two have been having some fun. How many bottles did you get into? Is there any left for your mom? She only had two beers at dinner."

"Goro," exclaimed Ume, throwing a dishtowel at her husband. "What is with you tonight? Our daughter has a friend over, and you're acting like this?"

Ume rolled her eyes and stopped to help her husband with the towel and handed it to him before walking to Mei and extending her hand.

"Hello, Mei." The woman's mouth parted in a warm smile, much like her husband and daughter's. "My name's Ume Okogi. As you can tell, I'm Yuzu's Mom. I also have the unfortunate privilege of being married to that pain-in-the-neck lieutenant you had to deal with at the station earlier. Honestly, ever since he got that promotion, he's been more obnoxious than usual."

"Now who's acting out of sorts," teased Greg from the kitchen as he dipped a spoon into a tub of mint chocolate chip.

"I'm sorry, is it Greg or Goro," asked Mei as the door Matsuri had gone through opened, and she came walking out looking a little pale but better than she had before walking in.

"It depends on the person," sighed Ume shaking her head, ignoring Matsuri and Greg, who were making faces between bites of ice cream at her while Yuzu chuckled.

Mei turned to look at Yuzu briefly, and the blonde smiled back sheepishly, which made the whole situation increasingly more uncomfortable.

"If it's work or something that doesn't involve his personal life, it's Greg. For close friends, family, and say the doctor, it's Goro. He's just really picky about it. It had something to do with a game that came out when he was in elementary school and everyone making fun of him or bugging him about it. He's never played the game, nor will he because of it."

"Bastards made me hate it before I could try it," snorted Greg through a mouthful of ice cream before smacking Matsuri's spoon away with his. "Hey, Shrimp. I was gonna eat that."

"Too late, Unc," cackled Matsuri, downing her last bite and tossing her spoon in the sink before opening the fridge. "And now for something to wash it down with. Oooh, beer, wait, why's it opened?"

"Because we were drinking it and forgot about it when we opened the wine," sighed Yuzu, clearly annoyed that everything was snowballing out of her control. "But if you want it, you and Mama can have it. It might be a little flat, though."

"No shit," grumbled Matsuri after taking a sip and shrugging. "But it's better than nothing. Auntie? You want some?"

"I'm fine, dear, but thank you," replied Ume smiling at the pink-haired woman who was humming happily to herself in victory.

"Sweet. More for me."

At that point, Mei was beginning to contemplate her escape when the other door opened to reveal Henry looking less irritated and wearing Anthoniko around his neck like some sort of scarf.

"Feeling better, Lindo," asked Greg concernedly. "You need some Pepto or an antacid?"

"Antacid, please," requested Henry as he walked toward Yuzu and rubbed the top of his head, his shoulder shaking the cat, who barely seemed to notice. "I'm sorry I was rude, Yuzu. I had to go to the bathroom, and you made us wait."

"It's okay, Henry." Yuzu stood on her tip-toes and kissed the man on his cheek, and ruffled his hair. "I just set the latch because I was worried about someone breaking in. Plus, we have a visitor."

Yuzu pointed at the couch, and Henry followed her gaze, and Mei waved up at him. He waved back before taking a fizzing glass of water from Greg and drank it while Yuzu explained, "Mei came over for dinner after watching me train, and we've just been talking."

Matsuri snorted into her glass of beer before getting smacked on the shoulder by Yuzu, who said, "Yo te puedo golpiar facilmente sin cansarme mucho. Verdade?"

"Hazlo si es que puedes," retorted Matsuri, sticking her tongue out at her friend before failing to dodge the loud slap upside the head that Yuzu had thrown.

"Damn it, Yuzu," grumbled Matsuri as she stared down at the stain on her shirt. "Now I'm gonna smell like stale beer all night."

"Well, if you promise to be nice for the rest of the night, I may let you borrow one of my shirts." Yuzu leaned in and sniffed Matsuri and rolled her eyes. "But based on how you smell, you already had some beer; either that or that restaurant used some aromatic spices. Shower first, then I'll let you borrow an overnight shirt. I assume you're sleeping over because you and Henry have a late-night gaming session planned?"

"Yep," Matsuri smirked up at Henry, who was busy cleaning his glass. "We're going to try and get your dad to play with us too. See if we can't get him to like the character everyone gave him shit for sharing a name with."

"Not gonna happen," said Greg loudly as he limped over to one of the chairs and extended his leg out as he sat. Mei noticed that his footfall was particularly heavy and from the metal creaking she heard, it was probably due to a brace hidden underneath his jeans. "But anyway, enough about that crap. I'm sorry we couldn't help you out more today, Mei."

"It's fine," said Mei, glad to have something take her mind off the barrage of new information she was processing, not to mention her upcoming talk with Yuzu. "I may not have gotten the painting back, but we got some new information, so that will help us."

"It will," said Greg as he reached for the remote and turned the television on, though he turned the volume down. "But I'm sorry to say that unless anything else is brought to me personally, I won't be able to give you any updates in my area about the investigation. As much as I don't like it, I can't get too involved personally, and if I do, I could get taken off the case. Conflict of interest and the like."

"That's okay." Mei gave him an appreciative smile, and he smiled back. "I'm thankful for what you've done, and that's enough."

"You're welcome. Oh boy."

Mei turned away from Greg just in time to see Henry walk up to her with Anthoniko still on his shoulders. She watched as he carefully sat down cross-legged on the floor right next to her and pointed at the cat's head which was incredibly close to her hand.

"Do you want to pet him?" Henry asked, patting the cat's bushy tail. "Petting cats or dogs are supposed to help calm you down, and he seems to like it as much as a cat can. That's why we got him because Maine Coons are called 'gentle giants' because they're big and even-tempered, which is good because when I have bad days. He usually stays away from me when I have really bad days. When that happens, I spend time under my weighted blanket. Then when I'm a little calmer, he comes and lays on my chest."

Mei smiled at the cat and gave him a quick pet, earning her a lick on her finger when she pulled away.

"He's very sweet," she said, which made Henry smile awkwardly.

"I guess. I don't know what cat meat tastes like, so... oh, wait, you meant sweet like he's nice. Right?"

"Yes," Mei said with a smile. "And you're sweet too. Thank you for asking if I needed to pet him. Petting him helped a lot."

"You're welcome." Henry reached up and scratched the cat's head, making it purr loudly as he rocked back and forth as he scratched the leg of his jeans. "Yuzu said she was going to tell about why I don't act like you guys. Did she tell you?"

"She did." Mei noticed that Henry's scratching on his leg and rocking began to pick up a bit, and she wondered if it was because he was nervous. "And it helped me understand you better, and I want you to know that I accept it and you."

"Thanks." Henry's rocking and scratching slowed down a little, and Anthoniko hopped off his master's shoulder and climbed into his lap, where Henry proceeded to hug him. "Um, I know I asked you before, but you want to be my friend still, right? Even after what Yuzu told you? It's okay if you don't. I get told I sound like I'm forcing people to do stuff sometimes, even when I'm not trying to. So if you don't want to be my friend, it's okay. Besides, I've got lots of friends now. Matsuri's my best friend..."

"Damn right," shouted Matsuri as she polished off her third glass of beer.

"And I got Harumi," continued Henry, ignoring Matsuri's exclamation. "I also got Kayo, Mom, Dad, and Yuzu. I mean, those last three are family, but not my biological family, so I don't know if you can count them as friends."

At hearing this, Mei's gaze shifted from Henry to Yuzu, who had begun busying herself with cleaning dishes while Matsuri started chuckling to herself. However, Ume and Greg were sitting there watching quietly, smiling that Henry was connecting with someone new but looking as if they were waiting for things to take a turn for the worse.

"Yuzu's your family," asked Mei, her voice little more than a whisper.

"Yeah," nodded Henry before pointing at Greg and Ume. "But so are they. They're my parents. Not my biological ones, though. My biological dad died when I was four, and Mom and Dad adopted me after seeing my biological mom start hitting me at the funeral because I asked why my dad wasn't waking up. Well, not right after. There was a lot of other stuff involving a lady from Child Services, a judge, and some doctors. My birth mom signed lots of papers, and so did Mom and Dad, but they did adopt me, making us family. My last name's even Okogi, even though I'm not Japanese. But I don't care; it's just a name. People change names all the time. One of my friends, her name was John when she was born, but now it's Danielle."

He paused briefly before adding, "Please don't tell her I said that. She said she'd take my 1/3rd scale Peter Park Spider-Man PS4 Advanced Suit statue if I did, and that's my favorite one after my Spider-Man vs. Venom statue."

"I promise I won't and that your statues will stay in your possession," said Mei. Her brain went from overworked to overloaded, not only because of what Henry had just casually told her about his life before meeting Yuzu, and everything suddenly fell into place.

Mei finally understood why Yuzu and Henry acted the way they did with each other. Her protectiveness over him, how comfortable they were when talking to each other, and why she never got mad about it despite all the odd looks people gave him, not to mention her stress levels and patience with his antics.

Recovering from her thoughts, Mei again turned her attention at Yuzu, but the blonde had disappeared, and she saw Matsuri mouth the word, "bathroom," before placing her glass in the dishwasher and the bottle in the recycling.

Returning her focus to Henry, Mei saw that he was rocking again and scratching his leg, though Ume had joined him on the floor holding his hand and patting it as Anthoniko had decided to disappear as well.

"Well, Henry," said Mei making him jump a little in surprise. "I'm happy that you see them as family and that you all care about each other so much. And don't worry about me, I never had a problem with being your friend. But I'm going to need time to adjust to things. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." Henry smiled and nodded; his rocking increased slightly with what Mei guessed was excitement, though he avoided eye contact, and his voice barely changed. "I need a lot of time to adjust to stuff too. I don't like it when things change quickly. So, if you can't spend time with me on the day we agreed, can you try to tell me at least a day ahead? It'll help a lot, and I won't make as much trouble for Yuzu. She...she deserves a break sometimes. That's what everyone says, and since she takes care of me a lot, I want to take care of her too. I'm just not good at it, and when I don't do it right I get upset and...I act...I act..."

"Like you did at the restaurant about wanting some of the food," asked Mei, surprising Ume, who in turn gave her an approving smile.

"Yeah, that," he said, nodding his head. " Although sometimes I throw stuff or scream. I try not to, but it doesn't always work, and sometimes I make Yuzu cry. I don't hit her or say things like kids at school used to say to me; she just cries. I don't like crying, it's loud and annoying, but I know it means people are hurt, but I don't always understand why and need someone to explain it. So I do other things I know will work like clean and stuff. When I do that, she smiles, and she doesn't cry, sometimes she laughs too."

"I will do my best to keep you informed," said Mei with a smile of her own. "And try not to worry about taking care of Yuzu, like she takes care of you. It sounds like you're doing the

"Just don't punch anyone," asked Henry with a pleading look in his eyes, the first actual eye contact he made with her during their conversation. "I know Yuzu does it because people used to punch me, and she does it to stop them even when it's not a boxing match. But they've punched back too, and she got sent to the hospital one time; that's how she broke her nose. I don't like it when people hit each other in real life. I don't mind it in games and movies because stuff like that's fake. But just not in real life, okay?"

The hand Ume held began moving toward Henry's hair, but she yanked it back down, and he surrendered, choosing to ball up his free fist and rock a little bit faster as he waited for Mei's reply.

"I promise I won't hit anyone," said Mei holding up her hand as Henry gave her an unconvinced look. "I mean it, Henry. I don't like violence, not to mention if I hurt my hands I couldn't draw, and I want to show you all my new drawings. Once my NDA's are over, that is."

"Yeah, those suck." Henry managed an awkward laugh and pointed at his computer. "My work made me sign a bunch because of what I make. I think it's dumb, but I have to sign them if I want to work, and I can't say why. If I do, I'll have to find a new job."

"And that's all I need to hear." Mei chuckled and noticed Yuzu reenter the living room. "But it's getting late, and I need to get home, and you have a game night with Matsuri planned, correct?"

"Oh yeah." Henry stood up so quickly that Mei thought she heard something pop before Ume managed to let go of Henry's hand. Once free, he waved Matsuri toward what Mei now figured was his room and disappeared into it and began turning things on, forgetting about everyone and the conversation he'd just had.

"Later," snickered Matsuri, disappearing behind the door. "Okay, Hank. Get ready to get your ass kicked!"

"Children," chuckled Ume as she rubbed her shoulder and looked at Mei appreciatively. "It was very kind of you to do that for him. He's a good boy, and he tries, but it seems he takes a step back for every two he makes. So, it's okay if you need to put up some boundaries with him. Nobody will blame you."

"I appreciate it. But, I honestly hope it doesn't come to that." Mei hoped that Ume could pick up on the sincerity in her voice and felt relieved when Ume patted her on the head before wincing.

"You're a good kid," she groaned between talking and massaging her sore shoulder. "Thank God you didn't have to hold his hand. I swear he almost dislocated my shoulder. Goro, can you..."

"Already on it," replied her husband from the couch, already stretching his hands. "One shoulder rub coming up."

"Thank you, dear." Ume smiled and looked around. "I'm sure you don't need it, but can I offer you cab money or something. It is late, and I don't want you to have to walk home alone. Where do you live exactly?"

"I'm a bit far away," replied Mei before digging her phone out of her pocket. "But I can order get a cab or a ride-share. It's nice of you to offer to pay, but I'm fine."

"Nonsense." Ume snapped her fingers at Yuzu, who looked at her in confusion at being treated like a servant. "Yuzu, sweetie, get your keys and..."

"Mama, I drank," said Yuzu with an annoyed sigh. "And not all that long ago. Do you want me to be driving after having alcohol? Also, Papa's sitting right next to you. Why would you even suggest that to anyone, let alone in front of a cop?"

"She's right, my love," laughed Greg from his spot on the couch, his fingers flexing like in a Montgomery Burns fashion. "That wasn't a smart thing to do. I may have to arrest you for that..."

"Oh God," said Yuzu when she heard her parents laugh and wave Mei toward the door. "Come on, Mei. Let's get out of here before we throw up our dinner."

Bidding the affectionate couple farewell, Mei grabbed her stuff and followed Yuzu outside the loft, and closed the door behind them. The automatic deadbolt clicked, locking the door behind them, and with a sigh of relief and a strained laugh, they headed toward the elevator once again.

"Are they always like that?" asked Mei as she ordered her ride while they headed toward the elevator.

"Not always," answered Yuzu with a shrug. "But when they are, they can be nauseatingly cute and snuggly. Or they'll disappear into their room, and we won't see them for a few hours."

"I see," said Mei as she finished putting her location and followed Yuzu into the elevator.

There was a brief moment of silence, and Mei noticed Yuzu fidgeting as she waited for the door to shut and decided to break the ice.

"So, he's your brother," asked Mei, tapping her ride reservation, once the door closed and she and Yuzu were alone. "Older or younger?"

"Younger by two years," said Yuzu nervously. "But we graduated college at the same time, and he's the reason we can afford the loft. Not like we'd be homeless if he didn't have his job. It's just his job pays better than mine, a lot better. But he doesn't boast or anything; I don't think he could if he tried. It's just our situation because of our degrees is all."

"I see." Mei exhaled, and the door opened, and they stepped out into the chilly night air. "I wish you'd have said something sooner; then I wouldn't have felt so..."

"I thought you knew," said Yuzu apprehensively and stepped back against the wall of the building. "I figured it was obvious, or someone told you, but it looks like I screwed up. I'm sorry."

"I should be the one apologizing." Mei sighed and took a spot next to Yuzu, a few feet away. "I should have just asked you what was going on; then, I wouldn't have come off as such an idiot. I just figured you were with him because of how affectionate you were with him. However, his disinterest makes sense now. But even then, I resigned to the age-old cliche of..."

"Being a lesbian and falling for a straight girl," said Yuzu, her laugh breaking through and making Mei smile and nod her head.

"Crass, but correct," chuckled Mei, and she noticed Yuzu inch a little closer and decided to ask her another question. "You aren't...I mean...I'm not forcing you into anything you don't want, am I?"

"If you're asking if I'm straight," said Yuzu as she let her hand drop down between her and Mei, "then I'll answer that by saying that I'm about as straight as corkscrewed pasta."

"That's not straight at all," chuckled Mei along with Yuzu. Their bodies slowly grew closer as a small silence grew between them as they waited for Mei's ride.

After a few quiet moments, Yuzu sniffed at the cold and dared to scoot a few inches closer, her finger brushing the side of Mei's hand. "But, I meant what I said upstairs, you know; about being interested, I mean. I just wanted to lay everything out because people have made the same assumption as you did, and it's hurt me, and it's hurt Henry, and I don't want that to happen anymore. But it's hard because everyone I've risked telling just thinks he's abusive or he's an immature brat. But he's not; he's just different. But nobody wants to understand that; they expect me to leave him and dump him on someone else without realizing what that could do to him, and he's already had it bad enough. You know?"

"That's fair," said Mei, moving closer and risking brushing her hand against Yuzus before feeling the blonde's fingers do the same and envelope her hand. "And I get it, sort of, so if you want to talk about it, I'll have some free time Saturday. Whatever you want to do, we'll do, and who knows, maybe we can talk about a few things that make us happy instead of making us feel like garbage. Hell, maybe I can find a bar showing a boxing match, and you can explain to me all the different fighting styles you mentioned earlier. Or we can go to this beginner's art class a friend of mine runs, and you can get some lessons."

"Shut up," chuckled Yuzu, wiping away a tear before shoving Mei with her shoulder. "I know I suck at drawing; you don't need to rub it in."

"Perhaps," said Mei rubbing Yuzus's rough knuckles, wondering how long it'd taken for her hands to get like that. "But that doesn't mean you suck at art. Maybe we just need to get you into a certain type of art. Or you can take me clothes shopping and show me some of your favorite clothes. Whatever you want to do, we'll do. Deal?'

"Deal," said Yuzu beaming at Mei. "I'll make sure to get my training done, so we don't have to worry about time. And if you have the time, maybe you can try coming to my match in a few weeks? It's in Michigan, so you might need to get a hotel room, but it'll be fun, I promise. Or I think it will be; it depends on how the fight goes."

"I'll see what my schedule says, but if I can't make it, I'll order it for sure and watch you."

Mei saw Yuzu's cheeks turn red and felt an urge to kiss her begin to take form, but unfortunately, her phone buzzed, and she saw that her ride was only a short way away.

Cursing the driver for being so quick, Mei mentioned that she needed to get ready to leave and stepped away from Yuzu, expecting the blonde to let go, only to grip tighter and follow Mei to the sidewalk.

And there they stood holding hands in the cool evening air, saying nothing as the car drove up and the woman driving confirmed that one of them was Mei.

After acknowledging her, Mei felt Yuzu's grip slacken so she could enter the car.

Instead, Mei asked the driver for a moment, and the woman said it was fine and turning around; Mei leaned in and softly kissed Yuzu on the cheek and smiled at her, saying, "I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay." Yuzu's hand reached up and touched the spot where Mei had kissed and smiled. "Good night, Mei. Let me know you're safe. Please?"

"I will," said Mei as she climbed into the car and shut the door, waving until she was out of sight.

Despite the cold and her lack of shoes, Yuzu continued to wave until brake lights disappeared down a side street. Once they disappeared, she caressed the spot where Mei had kissed her and smiled. Her smile continued to grow as she remembered the sensation, and she let out a squeal of delight as she felt weeks of anxiety dissipate almost instantly.

"Thank you," she whispered to herself and turned to enter the building, unable to resist doing a small hop and clicking her heels together as the doors shut behind her.