Mei stared at the apartment door for what felt like ages. She took a deep breath, convinced herself she was ready, and curtly knocked on the door. She heard a 'One sec!' from behind the door in a painfully familiar voice and decided that she wasn't ready after all.

Before she could contemplate if she should run away, it was too late, the door opened to reveal an older, slightly ruffled Yuzu in a tank top and pajama shorts. She probably should've expected such an appearance given the early hour, but her heart still raced at the sight.

Yuzu's eyes widened immediately upon seeing her, recognizing her instantly, her mouth going slack. "Mei?"

Mei nodded at her, swallowing. "Hello. It's been a while."

Yuzu's green eyes suddenly watered, and Mei wondered if her anger still lingered even after all this time. She took a step back when Yuzu stepped forward, but the older woman simply pulled her in for tight hug. "Oh my god, Mei, its been so long!"

Mei trembled briefly as her body let out a breath of relief. Part of her had been convinced that Yuzu would've slammed the door in her face upon seeing her. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around Yuzu and closed her eyes, noting that she was still as warm as she remembered.

All too soon, Yuzu let her go, holding her by the shoulder at arm's length. "Mei… what are you doing here?" she asked, her surprise melting into confusion.

Mei looked at her for a moment, the briefest look of nervousness on her features. "I got the invitation," she said quietly, reaching into her bag and pulling out an envelope, pink and adorned with elegant script.

Yuzu recognized it as her engagement invitation and her hands slipped off Mei's shoulders. "Ah, you got it! I was worried because I didn't have your current address."

"It was forwarded to me eventually." Mei tucked the invitation back into her bag.

"Ah." Yuzu still looked confused as she rubbed the back of her neck in uncomfortableness. "You're about two months early for the party," Yuzu said with an awkward smile.

Mei looked away. "I know. I wanted to see you."

Yuzu blinked and crossed her arms in front of her chest, probably unconsciously. She took a step back from Mei, looking at her sandaled feet. This reaction looked more natural, considering the last time they saw each other… "Why?" she asked bluntly.

Mei looked at her sister again, eyes lingering on Yuzu's hair. "You look different."

Yuzu blinked and her hand unconsciously went to her hair, which was now a more natural looking chocolate brown. "Yeah, I uh… I changed it a while ago."

"It suits you."

"Thanks." Yuzu shifted on her feet again, nervously. "You look different too. Your hair is shorter."

"Yes," Mei replied neutrally. They fell into an uncomfortable silence before Yuzu cleared her throat. "Do you wanna come it?"

—-

"Do you want some tea?" Yuzu asked as she guided Mei towards a chair.

"No thank you." Mei sat down, resisting the urge to look about her in curiosity. A picture containing two people, heads close together, caught itself in the corner of her eye but Mei refused to look at it.

"Okay." Yuzu sat herself down across from Mei, crossing her arms once again. "Alright, so. I know you didn't come all the way here just to check out my new do." Yuzu's eyes were dead serious, even if the corner of her mouth pulled upwards in an effort to alleviate some of the tension.

"I did have an express goal on my way here," Mei admitted. She somewhat wished she had taken up Yuzu's offer for tea so that her hands had something to hold on to. She settled them in her lap. "But now that I'm here I'm not sure what to say."

"Oh, that happens to me all the time," Yuzu said, eyes trailing to the side fondly. "I'd go to the supermarket with a mental list, and when I get there, poof," Yuzu illustrated the 'poof' with her hand. "I completely forget what I was there to get. It drives Matsuri crazy."

Mei frowned at the mention of Yuzu's fiancé. "Not quite, no," Mei said, voice going a bit cold.

Yuzu rubbed at her arm as if she felt Mei's chill. "You know, now that you're here, you could be one of my bridesmaids! Harumin is going to be my Maid of Honor, of course. But I can totally make room for you now that my little sister is back in town."

Mei bit the inside of her cheek at the idea. "So I suppose you're going with a western theme?"

Yuzu nodded, an excited smile growing on her lips. "Yep! I always wanted to be a bride! I know the marriage isn't technically legal or anything," Yuzu's smile grew fond once again. "But Matsuri wanted to make sure I got the big wedding I've always dreamed of."

Mei's hands clenched themselves in her lap. "…Are we just going to pretend that there's nothing between us anymore?"

Yuzu stared at Mei's hands, the smile on her face morphing into a tight line. She leaned forward, eyes going to Mei's face. "Mei, if you're going to say something, please, just say it. I know you can beat around the bush for months on end, but I don't have the patience for that anymore."

Mei leaned back an inch before leaning forward several, hand reaching out to grasp the older woman's hand. Yuzu sucked in a breath of surprise, wide green eyes trying to make sense of what was happening.

"I've come back for you, Yuzu," Mei said quietly, caressing the back of Yuzu's still hand. "And I'm sorry for leaving for so long. I needed you but I didn't want to admit it. But I'm here now, and I'm ready. I'm ready to be with you-"

Yuzu abruptly pulled her hand away, chair scraping back as she stood up. She turned her back on Mei and walked towards the window, the look on her face unreadable. Mei felt her heartbeat spike in terror, standing up after her. "Yuzu?"

Yuzu was quiet for a while, taking several deep breaths. When she finally spoke, it was in a quiet voice. "Geez… You're not allowed to do that anymore, Mei." She turned back to Mei, flashing a strained half-smile at her. "I guess you're still not very good at considering other people's feelings, huh?"

Mei stood a few feet away, face set and ready to take whatever Yuzu wanted to throw at her. She owed Yuzu that much.

Yuzu sighed, brushing some dark brown hair behind an ear. "If you had any idea how many times I've imagined you saying that, you'd think I'm a creep," Yuzu chuckled humorlessly to herself.

"I'm sorry."

Yuzu bit her lip, looking at the floor. "I know. I know you are." She glanced back at Mei, her smile more genuine. "Thanks for the apology. But you know, I've forgiven you a long time ago!"

Mei was rooted to the spot, eyes widening almost imperceptibly. She expected Yuzu to be angry, and for there to be so many tears from Yuzu, who she knew was a huge crybaby.

Maybe not anymore.

"I know I have no right to be here and ask this of you," Mei spoke, trying her best to be as honest as possible.

Yuzu scoffed quietly under her breath. "You're right."

Mei's jaw clenched, the struggle on her face plain to see for once.

Yuzu shook her head. "Mei… You know it's not gonna happen, right? I've moved on." She looked at Mei sadly. "Why haven't you?"

Mei's hands flinched. "How can I?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I love you."

Something flashed in Yuzu's eyes so fast Mei barely caught it before the older woman turned away. "Stop it."

"No," Mei said in a louder, firmer tone. "I'm finally awake, Yuzu. This stupid scented invitation of yours is just to spite me, isn't it?"

"Mei, please stop."

"Well, it worked. I'm here, and I'm going to fight for you no matter what it takes."

Yuzu stepped forward in a flash, shoving Mei back with both of her hands, anger in her eyes. "Fuck off, Mei!"

Mei took the shove and smirked bitterly. "There it is. There was no way you'd forgive and forget so easily. I hurt you too much."

"What the hell is your problem, Mei?" Yuzu hissed, tears of anger gathering in the corners of her eyes. "I'm finally happy with my life, and you just felt like dropping in and screwing it up at your own convenience, like you always do?" She poked Mei's shoulder with her finger, hard. "Fight for me? You've gotta be kidding! You left!"

"I was afraid!" Mei's voice rose defensively.

"Yeah, you're a damn coward!" Yuzu spat at her, hot anger boiling over in her voice. "When things got hard, you just up and left to 'find yourself' or some bullshit! My mom might've been okay with that, but I'm not!"

Mei was flushed with anger as well, but her voice was more level, more certain with words she's prepared. "I have found myself— Do you want to know what it is I've found?" She grabbed Yuzu by the shoulders in a fast grip, refusing to let even as the older woman tried to back away from her touch. "I found that I was never as safe, happy, or warm, than when I was with you."

The disbelief radiated off of Yuzu in waves even if she could hear and see the sincerity in Mei. "You don't love me," she said, voice trembling with hurt and anger. It was the voice Mei last heard from her before she left, and it constantly haunted her. "You don't even know who I am anymore."

Mei took her chance, ducked her head and pulled Yuzu in for a desperate kiss. She felt Yuzu shudder against her at the contact and felt some hope in her chest. But Yuzu didn't kiss back at all. She gently pushed Mei away, tears finally rolling down her face.

Mei searched her eyes, looking for any sign of reciprocation. "Yuzu… Don't say that there's nothing here."

Yuzu shook her head quickly in response. "I would never say that." She reached up and wiped a tear from Mei's cheek. She hadn't even realized she'd started crying. "But you did."

Mei felt a sharp, familiar sting on her cheek as Yuzu suddenly slapped her after wiping the tear away. "That's for kissing me without my permission."

Mei's hand touched her stinging cheek, surprised the slap hadn't come sooner. "Yuzu, please-"

"I think you should go." Yuzu gestured at the door. "You're still my little sister, Mei. That's it."

Mei squared her shoulders, sadly regarding Yuzu one last time. "I'm not finished yet, Yuzu."

Yuzu refused to meet her eyes, marching over to open the door for Mei, clearly fuming. Mei smirked at her red face before stepping back out into the hallway, the door slamming shut behind her.

All things considered, that didn't go nearly as bad as she thought it would.

"Well, that got ugly, if I must say," a voice from Mei's right said. Mei glanced over with narrowed eyes to see Matsuri, who was leaning against a nearby wall, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Mei eyed her for a few moments, noting that Matsuri must've had some sort of freakish growth spurt during high school, because the girl was damn tall now. Her hair was more of a strawberry blonde now than the hot pink it used to be. She still had that same annoying aura that Mei disliked from the get-go.

Mei adjusted her bag casually, as if she hadn't just had a fight with Yuzu. "I'm surprised you didn't intervene."

Matsuri shrugged. "I knew I wouldn't have to. Yuzu is trustworthy, unlike your ass." She had a bag of grocery items in her hand. Mei recognized eggs and bacon. Matsuri was probably bringing home breakfast for them, and the thought made Mei sick.

Mei stared straight down the hallway, the taste in her mouth growing sourer with every passing second. "You should probably be more worried. Don't think you've won."

Matsuri laughed out loud at that. "Oh Mei, I'm not a kid anymore! Relationships aren't games." She pushed off the wall, walking towards Mei. She stopped just short of her, watching the other younger sister. The dark haired woman looked tense enough to throw a punch if Matsuri provoked her just right. As much fun as that would be, Matsuri was more mature than that now.

Matsuri's teasing smile turned a touch sympathetic. "If you really love Yuzu, then you'll let her go."

Mei sighed through her nose, tension leaving her shoulders somewhat. "We'll see about that."

Mei walked away yet again, but this time with every intention of returning very soon.

Matsuri shook her head as Mei turned a corner and disappeared from sight. "Still a bitch," she murmured to herself as she turned back to her shared apartment with her future bride.