Monika huffed proudly, smiling down at the piano. Finally, she was making some concrete progress. She could now execute that cramped-up chord consistently, and the first verse and chorus of her piece were solidified. Now, it was time to see if she could extend what she had into a full-length song.

To that end, she resumed playing. For now, she didn't sing – just plucked away at the keys to see what felt good. She started and stopped frequently, testing out different combinations, and once she thought she had a good thing going, she freestyled for a bit. She continued on in this way for a little while longer before tapering off, satisfied with her performance. But before she could begin the process of restructuring what she'd just practiced into playable material, a knock came from the already open door of the music room.

Monika looked up and smiled. "Hey."

Sayori smiled back. "Hi."

The vice-president of the Literature Club skipped across the length of the room and rested her upper body atop the piano. "So…this is why you had to leave so early?"

Monika winced. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Hey, you've got to do what you've got to do, right?" Sayori said cheerfully. "It's okay."

Monika shook her head. "No. It's not. When I think of you having to wake up alone, after everything that happened on Sunday…" Monika trailed off, reached up, and rested her hand atop Sayori's. "Look, I'm sorry. Please, just accept my apology."

"Monika, it's….it's fine. Really," Sayori said, her smiling faltering a bit. "More importantly, are you okay? Have you been practicing all morning?"

Monika nodded. "All morning, and then some. I came straight here after waking up."

"Since before school started?" Sayori frowned and looked at Monika questioningly. "How did you get in?"

Monika smiled knowingly. "I, um…well, the door was unlocked."

Sayori squinted at her. Monika smiled sheepishly, but that smile soon fell.

"Sorry," Monika said quietly.

Sayori sighed and moved around to sit next to Monika on the piano bench. "Why are you sorry?" she asked.

"I just…" Monika sighed and squeezed Sayori's hand. "For these past few days, you've been there for me whenever I needed you. And I haven't come close to reciprocating that at all." Monika smiled wryly. "I still…haven't even told you what's been going on with me. What's really been going on, you know? Behind the scenes."

Sayori nodded. "Yeah, I know." She brushed a strand of hair away from Monika's eyes, which were fixated on the piano keys in front of her. "But I already told you, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

"I know," Monika replied. "I just want you to know that I'm sorry. About all of it. I wish that I could explain it to you. I want our relationship to be a…a two way street. If we had more time, I promise that I'd do my best to support you like you've been supporting me."

Sayori didn't say anything for a few moments. Monika looked up, and found that Sayori was staring back curiously.

"What do you mean by if we had more time?"

Monika's breath caught in her throat.

"Y-You know," she said, taking care not to hurry her words. "Because I'm in here. Practicing for the festival performance. And you've got to be out there with everyone else, running the booth and everything. It just makes me feel bad that I can't help out, too."

"Oh," Sayori said with a smile. "Trust me, no one minded. Setting up the booth was super easy. But totally try and drop by if you can! Natsuki's cupcakes looked really good."

"I'll bet," Monika said softly.

Sayori nodded before gasping softly. "Oh, by the way, Yuri says thanks for taking on the performance yourself."

Monika nodded and smiled, squeezing Sayori's hand a little tighter. "T-That's nice of her."

Sayori hummed, leaned over, and pecked Monika's cheek. "Well, I appreciate you saying all of that," she said. "You care a lot and you're doing your best to improve. That's all anyone can ask of you." She giggled and wrapped her arms around Monika. "Besides, it'll be Summer soon, and then we'll have tons of time to spend together! And until then, we've still got the weekends, too."

Monika's smile shook, and she buried her face into Sayori's neck. "Thank you."

"No thanks!" Sayori pulled back and booped Monika's nose. "Only love."

Monika snorted. "You're lucky you're cute."

Sayori squinted and gave the briefest of pouts before cracking up. "Okay, okay, I'll let you get back to work. Plus, I've got to go run the booth now, like you asked, so…" She got up

but Monika grabbed her by the wrist.

Sayori looked down, surprised. "What is it?"

Monika blinked and let her hand fall. "N-Nothing."

Sayori sat back down. "Monika."

Monika shook her head. "I don't want to ask any more of you."

Monika face was turned away at this point, but with some gentle guidance from her girlfriend's hands, she managed to look back.

"Honesty," Sayori said simply, her blue eyes gentle and clear. "Even if it's selfish. I want to make you happy."

Monika swallowed and took a deep breath, quelling the bristles of anxiety within her as she had so many times before. She knew that she would get the song done in time for the performance. She had to. And if that was the case…

"Could you…stay with me for a little while longer?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Sayori said. "I like being around you. That's no trouble at all."

Monika hummed and wrapped an arm around Sayori's shoulders protectively.

Sayori frowned. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm…" Monika's arm tightened its hold on Sayori. "I'll be okay. I just want to be with you."

Sayori hummed and wrapped her own arm around Monika's waist snugly. "Okay."

The clock ticked away overhead, and Monika and Sayori sat that way for a long, long time.

"Sayori?"

She perked up, the setting sun painting splashes of red and orange on her cheeks.

"What?"

Monika smiled and swept the bedsheets away from her face.

"I love you."

Sayori giggled and snuggled back against Monika.

"I love you, too."