Lily slowly began to feel more comfortable around her friends. It wasn't so bad, having Yugiri in the tub with her. Sakura would come over to talk to them midway through the bath, and would leave to ensure Lily's privacy as the others were getting out of the big tub. Yugiri kept her back to Lily and always got out first so that Lily wasn't embarrassed getting out of the tub.

It all worked to help Lily's confidence and she felt that she might be ready for the big tub. Setting her jaw, the youngest of the group made her way toward the larger bathtub. The others were in there, chatting and roughhousing as usual. Yugiri was already under the shower nozzle. All Lily had to do was get into the tub.

Unfortunately, the more she looked at it, the more her heart constricted in her chest. The water stared back at her, waiting for her to make a move. Lily's legs wobbled as she made to step inside. Her heart popped.

Sakura glanced over just in time to catch Lily as the poor girl fell backward. Ai kept the others back as Sakura stepped from the tub. Gently, she set Lily back on her feet and urged her to take deep breaths. Lily wiped her eyes and did as Sakura instructed.

"Are you okay now?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Y-yeah," Lily sniffed.

"You shouldn't push yourself too hard," Sakura told her, guiding her toward the smaller tub. "If you start feeling like it's too much, just call one of us over."

"But I wanna make it to the big tub," Lily whimpered. "I'm not a little kid."

Sakura helped her slip into the small tub with a sigh. "It's not about you being a little kid, Lily. We all want you to get in the big tub with us, too. But we want you to do it at your own pace. Maybe getting all the way in was too much this first time. We can try some big steps before we take that one, okay?"

Lily pushed the water around in her tub and pouted. "Okay. I just… wanted to do it this time."

"We'll be here for you when you're ready," Sakura told her. "As long as it takes, right?"

"Right."

As Sakura made her way over to reassure the others, Yugiri stepped over to the tub. Lily scooted over to make room for her. As Yugiri slipped into the water, she smiled at Lily.

"First try didn't go so well?" she asked.

"I almost fainted," Lily deadpanned.

"Shall we continue small steps then?"

Lily didn't respond. She jumped slightly at a hand on her shoulder and looked up. Yugiri gave her a gentle smile. "It's alright for you not to be ready yet. We're all here to support you."

"Yeah." For the rest of the bath, they turned the subject to mundane things, like Kotaro's outrageous behavior.

So Lily's first attempt didn't go well. That was okay. There were other ways she could get herself ready for the big tub. She knew the others would be supportive of whatever she tried, so all she had to do was think of more things.

After some time thinking it over, she realized there was something she could do that might help her.

As the group made their way to the bath house after practice, Lily kept close to Yugiri. This was a good next step, right? If not, she could figure out a way to ease herself into it. But for now, this would be a solid next step.

"Yugi?"

Yugiri glanced down at Lady Lily. She had expected the small girl to head to the showers with everyone else. "Yes, Lady Lily?"

"U-um…" Lily took a deep breath. If she couldn't do this, it would be fine. If she could, it wouldn't be the end of the world. She just kept telling herself that. "If you want, you can shower with the rest of us."

"Are you sure?" Yugiri searched her friend's face. It was clear Lady Lily was nervous even asking her. Yugiri just didn't want to send her into another panic like the day before.

"Yeah." Lily swallowed and straightened her shoulders. "Yeah, I think I can do it."

Yugiri nodded and slowly followed Lily over to the showers. However, Lily froze up as soon as they got over there. Thinking quickly, Yugiri knelt beside her. "Would it be better if I started showering before you?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lily squeaked. It always seemed to be better when the others were already immersed in whatever they were doing.

"Very well." Yugiri stood and turned on her own shower, sitting on the stool provided. Once she was submerged, she smiled at Lady Lily.

With a deep breath, Lily let her towel fall and switched her shower on. She stole a glance to Yugiri, only to find her focused on her own shower. Lily sat on her stool and went about cleaning herself. Her shoulders remained tense through the whole thing, but after a while, the rest of her started to relax. It wasn't… all that bad, showering next to someone. Just like inviting Yugiri into the bath, it would take some getting used to, though.

Once she finished her shower, Lily made her way over to her tub. This time, Yugiri accompanied her. The older woman still allowed Lily to get in first and waited until she was fully submerged before getting in, too.

For a big step, Lily would have to say this was a success.

Like I said, small steps lead to bigger ones. One step at a time.

Remember, sneak peeks and updates are available on my tumblr, gothalbinoangel-fanfiction. Where you can also ask questions. I just opened up commissions, too!