Finally, about two and a half hours after she'd initially left, Yuri made her way downstairs and shuffled into the living room to greet her friends.
"Oh! Hi, Yuri!" beamed Sayori. Monika offered a smile and a wave of her hand.
Natsuki, on the other hand, squinted suspiciously at the girl. "Are you sure you're not tired anymore?"
"U-Um…I'm fine for now," Yuri replied, not meeting Natsuki's gaze. Yuri sat down on the couch such that both Sayori and Monika were in between her and Natsuki.
Natsuki huffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You'd better go to bed early tonight, you hear?" Her eyes wandered down to the floor. "Hey, is your toe okay?"
Monika followed Natsuki's gaze curiously and saw that there was a band-aid wrapped around Yuri's left big toe. Yuri curled it anxiously.
"F-Fine. I stubbed it getting out of the shower." Yuri brushed a lock of hair away from her face.
"Oh, gosh. Does it hurt?" asked Sayori.
"Not at all," Yuri replied, seemingly thankful for the distraction from Natsuki, whose eyes were still boring holes into Yuri's toe. "I-I'm sorry that I worried everyone," Yuri continued.
"Well, don't worry about it, Yuri," Sayori replied with a smile. "You're okay now, and that's what's important!"
Monika, who'd been taking some time to formulate what she thought was a good contribution to the conversation, finally spoke up. "I hope you don't mind, but we had some tea earlier."
"Oh, that's no trouble at all," Yuri said, brightening up a bit. "May I ask what kind?"
"The new Asian brand you bought the other day," Natsuki said, unable to stop herself from smirking. "It was good. Sayori thought it was too bitter, though."
"Hey, I said I liked it!" Sayori spoke up. "It was just a little bitter, that's all."
"You and your sweet tooth," Monika said with a chuckle. "I liked it just fine, Yuri."
Yuri nodded and smiled sweetly. "How interesting…Thanks for letting me know."
The four of them sat there quietly for a few moments. Yuri let out a yawn, and in response, Natsuki shot a smoldering look in her direction. Yuri looked away quickly. Monika chuckled to herself, thoroughly amused by their dynamic.
"What?" Natsuki snapped, turning on Monika. "Got something to say?"
Monika blinked and leaned back. Had she laughed out loud? "N-No, I was just thinking of…"
She came close to making an excuse, but caught herself at the last moment. Breathing in, she thought for a moment before continuing.
"I was just thinking how nice it is that we're all together right now," she said. "Just being around you all and watching you interact makes me feel really happy."
Natsuki and Yuri both looked surprised, but Sayori smiled proudly. Monika exhaled and sank back into her seat. Then, realizing she had more that she wanted to say, she continued.
"Also…I'm sorry that I've been putting so much pressure on you all to prepare for the festival. It's supposed to be a fun event, and the last thing I want is for any of you to feel anxious about it. So if I caused you any undue stress, I'm sorry."
They all looked touched at that – Yuri, in particular. She looked away from Monika, but smiled softly nonetheless.
"H-Hey, come on, Monika," Natsuki said, crossing her arms and looking everywhere in the room but her friend. "What are you trying to do, make us cry?"
"O-Oh, not at all," Monika stammered. "Are you okay? I didn't mean – "
Sayori squeezed her hand, causing Monika to take pause for a moment. Monika looked back at her friend to find that she was positively beaming.
"We get it, Monika," she said. "No worries. That's a super nice thing to say, and I'm sure that Yuri and Natsuki appreciate it as much as I do."
Natsuki offered a small hum of agreement, and Yuri nodded firmly, now fully smiling.
Feeling like she was making some real progress at last, Monika smiled to herself. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Sayori stood up.
"Alright, you guys," she said. "How about an adventure?"
The other three members of the club looked up at their vice-president confusedly. "W-What?" Yuri stammered.
"Let's go bowling!" Sayori said, still beaming her heart out. "Or mini-golfing, or whatever. Get some fresh air, you know? I think it would be fun!"
Yuri placed a hand on her chin. "It certainly feels like it's been a while since we've had an evening all to ourselves…"
Natsuki nodded concurrently. "Yeah. And maybe a night downtown will get you guys to stop being so mushy."
Realizing that Natsuki was merely teasing her (and feeling more than a little proud at having had that realization), Monika smiled. "I've got to say, right now, that sounds perfect, Sayori."
"Awesome!" Sayori said, zooming over to the front door. "Then let's get going!"
"Hey, wait for us! We haven't even decided where we're going, yet!" Natsuki shouted, chasing after Sayori. Yuri followed suit, giggling at her friends' antics.
Monika, feeling better than she had in weeks, stood up and